The Philadelphia Mummers Parade is a tradition that has been believed to go back to the time of Ancient Egyptians. The word “mummer” can be traced back to ancient Greece and "is derived from the word Momus, which is the personification of satire and mockery, and the old English word, Mommer, relates to miming and masking." (Quaker City String Band 2016) The name was taken from the "mummers plays" that have been traditions in England since the 13th century. There is an overwhelming amount of conflicting information regarding “mummers” concrete origin, but we can piece together how it has become a staple in Philadelphia celebrations.  

In the 17th century, Swedish immigrants settled on the Schuylkill River and brought their “Second Christmas” celebrations with them. This included roaming the neighborhoods with food and drink and spending time with friends and family the day after Christmas through the new year. As more groups from different cultures moved to the area, traditions and celebrations started to blend. Swedish, British, Irish, and Italian are just some of the cultural influences that meshed together to start to form different celebrations during the start of the new year. Costumes, music, food, alcohol, and partying began to be a staple, along with the shooting of guns in the sky as a noise maker to celebrate. President George Washington also took part in the celebration during his time in Philadelphia. "Washington lived in the President’s House right on 6th and Market Street and is credited with calling upon the Mummers New Year’s Day to celebrate the holiday for all 7 years he lived in Philadelphia. Groups of people would go door to door to recite poems, tell jokes, and friendly impersonations of Washington. In exchange, they received cakes and alcohol." (Quaker City String Band, 2016)

In the 19th century, minstrelsy became popular in American theater. The shows were performed by white actors wearing blackface makeup to portray racial stereotypes towards African Americans. "These performances characterized blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual, and prone to thievery and cowardice." (Blackface: The Birth of an American Stereotype, 2018). This tradition trickled down to the performance of the mummer's brigades. The members dressed in blackface for costumes, with no repercussions. The mummer's parade was an overwhelmingly white event. Few Black clubs participated in the parade in the early 20th century. The Golden Eagle Club was the first African American mummers club in Philadelphia in 1906 with 300 members. As quickly as Black clubs began to form, they began to drop out because of the racial insensitivity, cruelty, and abuse they were facing. 

Cecil B. Moore, a Marine, gifted lawyer, devoted father, and President of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) tremendously fought for Black Philadelphians to have the same rights, respect, and rules as white Philadelphians. During the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, Cecil B. Moore began the fight and the pressure to ban blackface in the parade. A week before the 1964 parade the Philadelphia parade coordinator finally banned blackface. The mummers reacted by picketing the coordinator's home until the decision was reversed. It was and blackface was allowed at the parade. The NAACP went to the courts and asked that a judge rule that blackface could not be used in Mummers Parade. Their petition was thrown out on New Year’s Eve. 

It was not until the following year, that it was court ordered that blackface be banned in the parade. 12 years after the blackface ban, the New York Times referred to the Philadelphia Mummers parade as still "essentially a white man's event."

In 1985, the South Philadelphia String Band petitioned to use blackface for their "Cotton Club" skit. They were denied. 

As years went on, the hope of inclusivity and racial sensitivity was just that, a hope. In 2015 New Year's brigades mocked the Black Lives Matter Movement by making signs like "Mummer Lives Matter." Blackface was photographed on Twitter in a brigade that same year. In 2020 Froggy Carr, a wench brigade, was thrown out of the parade because a member was in blackface. Instead of performing at city hall, they marched down Broad Street and 2nd Street and enjoyed their day. The member explained that his friend passed away and he used to wear blackface, so he was doing it to honor him. The member received a 75-dollar fine and was banned from the parade for five years. 

Watch interview here 

In 2016, the mummers had sensitivity training, and for the first time, performances and themes must be pre-approved by the city. In 2016, participants in the Mummers Parade included a Caribbean steel band, a Mexican American carnival organization, an African American drill team, a Puerto Rican bomba group, and a brigade of drag queens. "Progressive and racially integrated mummers’ groups like the Vaudevillains, the Rabble Rousers and the Lobster Club have sought to change the political tenor of the parade, with performances that confront climate change, nuclear proliferation, big agriculture, student loan debt, access to health care and fracking in rural Pennsylvania." (DuComb, 2019c) As we enter a new decade, the newer generations have joined the fight to make the parade more diverse and progressive. New brigades have formed to embrace mummery as a powerful movement to advocate for change and inclusivity. Many have expressed that a few ignorant people should not be a reflection of the entire group, as they are working to rebrand and become a respected atmosphere. This past 2024 Mummers Parade, there were 10,000 participants. 

Yes, that's me. A former mummer strutting on Broad Street with my family. Born and raised in South Philadelphia, The Mummers Parade was a day to look forward to and a cherished memory I have had for decades. My niece and nephew have marched every year since they were born with their father, and I support their brigade with love. The 2nd street they mention in most articles regarding the mummers is where I live today with my husband. The Mummers Museum which holds artifacts, costumes, and history of over a hundred years is on my corner. For three decades I lived and looked forward to a day of joy and laughter with my family, ignorant of the cruelty and racist behavior right in front of my face. Almost everything I reported above is something I learned by researching for this project. I started to question my love for the mummers during the Black Lives Matter movement. I remember looking out my window, a BLM flag waving proudly on my front door, and seeing signs diminishing a movement I was supporting. I could not believe in front of my home was a mockery of a movement so much bigger than anyone on that street. When I had the privilege of taking the Rocking the World class, I could not get the mummers out of my head. I kept thinking of the white men and women allowed to run around in costumes drunk, waving cruel flags, and having no repercussions. I could turn on the news and hear about a person of color being arrested for nothing. People of color being killed for nothing. My front step flooded with white people with no fear because they are looked at as the higher caste, and so am I. I am grateful that I educated myself on this and hope to be a leader to my family and my younger generations that march proudly to change this tradition. To make this tradition one of honor, love, and inclusivity and not of evil.