How funerals became New Orleans most joyful street parties

New Orleans —

A bowtie is adjusted. A trombone is hoisted. On the corner of Dauphine and Toulouse, two motorcycle cops block the intersection.

The opening notes of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” emerge from a trumpet. The melody is carried as a saxophone and sousaphone join in. The band moves through the streets of New Orleans, the crowd right behind them. At first a dirge, then the tempo rises, and the hymnal swells. Block-by-block it grows reverent. Ardent, and joyful.

A funeral second line parade is an emotional experience –– a public, shared display of grief that evolves into celebration of a life. It’s a custom born of West African and Caribbean cultures, now entirely New Orleans .

The term “second line” refers directly to the people behind the musicians, i.e., the second line