A group of ten former lieutenants of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx has broken off and formed its own parading organization, whose members will ride with the Knights of Sparta parade, the krewe announced Wednesday.
The Mystical Order of the Phoenix, as the new female group is called, will ride with Sparta, an all-male krewe that parades Uptown on the first Saturday of the New Orleans parade calendar.
Krewe members called the recent Nyx controversy “the elephant in the room” at a press conference Wednesday.
Nyx captain Julie Lea unleashed a firestorm of controversy with a social media post in May saying “All Lives Matter.” The term is widely seen as a dismissal of the slogan “Black Lives Matter.”
Though Lea apologized, the controversy has engulfed the krewe, leading to a hemorrhaging of members and several schools saying they will not allow their bands to march with the Nyx parade.
“There were a lot of good things that came from that organization: the sisterhood, the camaraderie, the spirit. We want to take that now and move forward in a new direction,” said krewe co-founder Karen Boudrie.
In addition to Boudrie, Phoenix founders include Selina E. Boone, Kara Borasch, Carla Catalano, Alison Frazier, Dawn Frick, Chanel Labat, Nikita ‘Mickey’ Milton, Heather Nichols and Gigi Saak.
There is no captain, but rather a ‘rotating’ board, which will govern the organization together with the help of float lieutenants.
Krewe leaders said the group is in its early stages and they wouldn’t give any specifics on how many members may be joining or riding with Sparta, or how many floats in the parade may feature Phoenix members.
The Knights of Sparta organized in 1951 as a ball-only organization. It began parading in Orleans Parish in 1981, rolling on the Uptown route. Its parade is on the first Saturday of the city’s parade calendar. The krewe rolled this past year with approximately 300 male riders.
At Wednesday's press conference, krewe leaders admitted that there is uncertainty about Carnival 2021, because of the coronavirus pandemic and fears about the virus' spread among large crowds. But Sparta's captain, who by tradition is not publicly identified, said parade plans are progressing despite the fact that parades may not be allowed to roll.
"We really have no firm idea of what will transpire for Carnival 2021," he said. "Many organizations, including ours, are proceeding as if we will have a parade. Certainly what is uppermost in our thoughts is the safety of not only the members of our organization but also those who come to see the parade."
This is the second group this week of former Nyx members to announce plans for a new krewe. A new group called Themis, named for the Greek goddess of fairness and divine justice, said it is recruiting members to ride in 2021.
Themis president Kimya Holmes told NOLA.com roughly 600 women have expressed an interest in joining her new group. She said the organization will seek permission to parade from the city, and she pledges the krewe will be ready to roll if it is possible, though there are questions about the city granting any new parade permits.
RELATED: Southern University's 'Human Jukebox' will no longer lead Nyx parade after 'All Lives Matter' post
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