'XXX-rated' throws and racist behavior anger spectators at Olympia parade in Covington

quote:

---

Maisha Harrell-Bijou had taken her young nephews, ages 2 and 4, to the Krewe of Olympia parade that rolled through downtown Covington Saturday night, hoping the youngsters would have fun and catch some trinkets.

What the family caught instead were lewd throws that their aunt said showed male genitalia and looked more like sex toys than family-friendly fare.

Meanwhile, Terrell Watts, who was watching the parade with her 4-year-old grandson, said that a rider threw a full can of beer at the boy. "I blocked it from hitting him," she said. Someone also threw a realistic-looking rubber breast at the boy, she said.

---

quote:

---

Watts and Harrell-Bijou are not the only ones complaining. So is Covington City Councilman Peter Lewis, who said that a throw that he intercepted while watching the parade with his family "was even worse than what Maisha received."

---

quote:

---

Some who are raising complaints say that African-American spectators were singled out by riders. "They would take beads and hang them in front of us and laugh at us, mock us and not throw anything," said Lewis, who is black. "Then they started throwing sex toys at the little kids, which was very inappropriate."

---