Royal Sovereign pays homage to the Colored Carnival Association, founded in 1938 by a collective of Black professionals in Mobile, Alabama during the Jim Crow era. Created to ensure Black participation, leadership, and visibility within Mobile’s Mardi Gras traditions, the organization provided structure and dignity at a time when white-only societies dominated the celebration. It would later become the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, leaving an enduring imprint on Alabama’s Carnival history and establishing a legacy of Black Kings and Queens in the birthplace of American Mardi Gras.
At the center stands a masked Black man in full royal regalia, representing the founders of the organization, the first official King Alex Herman, and, more broadly, all men born of Mobile. The figure embodies inherited dignity, resilience, and sovereignty. Born royal, majesty in motion.
Artist: ShaMyra Sylvester
Medium: Inkjet on Fine Art Paper
Year: 2026
Size: 18 × 24
Royal Sovereign pays homage to the Colored Carnival Association, founded in 1938 by a collective of Black professionals in Mobile, Alabama during the Jim Crow era. Created to ensure Black participation, leadership, and visibility within Mobile’s Mardi Gras traditions, the organization provided structure and dignity at a time when white-only societies dominated the celebration. It would later become the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, leaving an enduring imprint on Alabama’s Carnival history and establishing a legacy of Black Kings and Queens in the birthplace of American Mardi Gras.
At the center stands a masked Black man in full royal regalia, representing the founders of the organization, the first official King Alex Herman, and, more broadly, all men born of Mobile. The figure embodies inherited dignity, resilience, and sovereignty. Born royal, majesty in motion.
Artist: ShaMyra Sylvester
Medium: Inkjet on Fine Art Paper
Year: 2026
Size: 18 × 24
