NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – The president of the Original Big 7 Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Edward Buckner, is working on the final details before he leads a 19-year-old second line parade on Sunday.
“This is so important to our community, so important to the mothers, so important to our causes and themes that we have,” says Buckner.
The group’s Mother’s Day tradition was shattered two years ago, when police say two brothers fired into the parade crowd. No one died from the alleged gang-related violence, but 20 people were injured, some seriously.
“I thank everybody, all the Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs and all the people of the city. I thank them because they were very kind to us and they really helped restore all the energy that we had that day. They really brought it back,” says Buckner.
In the year of the shooting, 2013, the procession went down an alternate route due to a construction detour. Last year it was back on its usual path, the same one it will be on this Mother’s Day, kicking off at 1825 Elysian Fields Avenue.
Michelle Devezin lives along the route and is a big fan of the second line culture.
“We’re gonna go, we’re gonna have fun, have a lot of drinks, party, dance, socialize. Bring your kids. Have a lot of fun. It’s gonna be a parade to see.”
“We really want to celebrate the mothers and make the mothers know that we really love them,” says Buckner. It’s not like that one shooting was gonna deter me, or 10 shootings or 20 or 50. I believe that the good of the people will always prevail,” says Buckner.
