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<p>PHILADELPHIA &#8212; Organizers of the Mummers Parade are hopeful that cultural education efforts will help the city&#8217;s annual New Year&#8217;s celebration be more respectful and inclusive following a string of racially and ethnically offensive displays.</p><p>The initiatives include sensitivity training sessions and online videos that explore issues such as cultural appropriation and privilege, sexual identity and the rules of satire. Mummers&#8217; leaders also published an open letter last week condemning &#8220;expressions of hate and bigotry.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We want to make this open for more people,&#8221; said George Badey, a veteran member of the Fralinger String Band and chairman of Love the Mummers. &#8220;The parade needs to evolve and represent the full spectrum of Philadelphians.&#8221;</p><p>The Mummers Parade &#8212; a Philadelphia tradition since 1901 &#8212; is often likened to New Orleans&#8217; Mardi Gras, or Carnival celebrations in the Caribbean and South America. It includes more than 10,000 performers divided into brigades; many wear ornate and expensive costumes, and some clubs create large props to accompany their musical performances. Spectators line the streets, and the parade is broadcast live on TV.</p><p>But the revelry has been tarnished in recent years. The 2013 parade included a minstrel theme and Delhi-based call center routine. In 2015, a member of a brigade known as &#8220;wenches&#8221; carried a sign saying &#8220;Wench Lives Matter,&#8221; a slight to the activist organization Black Lives Matter.</p><p>Then in January, one skit mocked transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner and another featured participants who painted their faces brown to portray Mexicans.</p><p>Mayor Jim Kenney, a city native and proud former Mummer, condemned the performances. In a recent statement, Kenney urged the Mummers to display a more respectful tone that celebrates the group&#8217;s tradition of satire and pageantry as well as the city&#8217;s diversity.</p><p>&#8220;Now, we need all Mummers, not just leadership, to honor that goal because, as we&#8217;ve seen in past years, one bad skit or one bad actor can ruin the reputation of the whole parade and hurt a lot of (Philadelphians),&#8221; the statement read.</p><p>Kenney has said that the free services the city provides to the Mummers, including sanitation and policing, could be at risk moving forward if there are further culturally offensive incidents.</p><p>The sensitivity training sessions are not mandatory, but a voluntary initiative between Mummers and the city. Nellie Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia&#8217;s LGBT liaison, led the session on homophobia and transphobia, and said much of the response was positive.</p><p>&#8220;While they might think a skit making fun of Caitlyn Jenner is teasing a celebrity deserving of ridicule, for many people, by attacking her, it is sanctioning and approving a message that making fun of transgender people is an OK thing to do,&#8221; Fitzpatrick explained. &#8220;Some Mummers have reached out and said, &#8216;We didn&#8217;t know. This was really informative.&#8217; That gives me hope that there can be a different experience.&#8221;</p><p>For much of their history, Mummers groups included only white men. Women were allowed just a few decades ago. The tradition is also a family legacy, with many clubs based in south Philadelphia.</p><p>The Mummers have struggled to diversify, though the parade did create a division last year specifically for ethnic groups. Two new Hispanic performance groups, a black drill team and the LGBT Miss Fancy Brigade were among the participants.</p><p>That division is not returning this year, as organizers hope to incorporate diversity into the existing Mummer divisions.</p><p>Steve Coper, a saxophonist who also performs in the Fralinger String Band, said his club has been sensitive to how they represent different groups, citing a Native American theme they adopted in 2007.</p><p>&#8220;We went into research to make sure it was appropriate and that we were playing songs in the right way,&#8221; Coper said. &#8220;We sought advice from experts. Most of us are aware and most of us want to do all the right things and be very entertaining.&#8221;</p><p>Coper attended trainings on satire and on LGBT issues, and said he found the sessions helpful and necessary.</p><p>&#8220;Last year, we had some issues &#8230; certain performances and behaviors that were not so hot,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to do some course corrections. We need to be more inclusive and more aware that these communities exist, that they need to be supported &#8230; We shouldn&#8217;t denigrate anyone.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Riverfront Mummers participate in the Philadelphia Mummers Day Parade on New Year&#8217;s Day, Jan. 1, 2016. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Mummers5.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Riverfront Mummers participate in the Philadelphia Mummers Day Parade on New Year&#8217;s Day, Jan. 1, 2016. </caption0><photoCredit0>David Swanson | The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Mummers4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Asa Khalif protests during the Mummers Day Parade on New Year&#8217;s Day in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 2016. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Mummers4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Asa Khalif protests during the Mummers Day Parade on New Year&#8217;s Day in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 2016. </caption1><photoCredit1>David Swanson | The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Errin Haines Whack</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Mummers seek inclusive tone after insensitive displays