New Orleans Buck Jumping (Second Lining) definition, information, & videos

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision -May 3, 2024

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TBC Brass Band performing Donny Hathaway's 'This Christmas' at the Big Nine 2009 Second Line Parade



BigRedCotton, Uploaded on Dec 24, 2009

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This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the 19th century dance known as the "buck & wing", and the "buck jumping" dances may be derived from it or whose terms are sometimes mistaken for it.

This post features information about & several videos of New Orleans "buck jumping" (also referred to as "second lining" and "footwork" (although the  term "footwork" may refer to very similar but also different types of dancing and/or competitive dance activities).

Part I provides information & video demonstrations of buck & wing, buck dancing, and several wing movements in tap dancing.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-pigeon-wing-buck-wing-and-buck.html for Part I of this series.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owner.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dancer or a dance historian. My comments are shared in the interest of eliciting more information & opinions about this subject.

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THE DIFFERENT MEANINGS FOR THE TERM "BUCKING"
The term "bucking" is currently used to describe a rodeo event, and three completely different African American originated dance movements.

In this pancocojams post "buck jumping" refers to New Orleans, Louisiana second lining (dance movements).

The other definitions of "bucking" refers to 
1. a rodeo event.

2. "buck dancing" ("flat foot dancing" and "clogging") or the pre-tap dance movements called "buck and the wing"..

3. majorette "bucking" (as performed by Jackson State University's Prancing J-Settes, the Dancing Dolls from the television series Bring It among others). Those movements consists of rhythmic pelvic thrusts (pelvic contractions) that are done within a dance routine.

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In addition, the verb "buck" is a shortened form of the term "buck wild". The saying "Knuck if you buck" means "Fight" (Knuckle) if you have the nerve to (if you dare to; if you're crazy enough to challenge me knowing that I'm formidable and you will lose).

Also,"buck" is positive adjective that term is associated with the Hip Hop dance form "krumping" 
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DEFINITIONS OF AND INFORMATION ABOUT BUCK JUMPING (SECOND LINING)
These article excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Online Source #1
From https://bittersoutherner.com/a-dance-of-liberation-buckjumping "A Dance Of Liberation"

Lily Keber’s upcoming, feature-length documentary, “Buckjumping,” will take filmgoers deep into more than a half dozen New Orleans neighborhoods, where second-line parades boost the spirits and bring communities together in a way that happens nowhere else.
-Chuck Reece; no publishing date given; 2019? 

"The Oxford English Dictionary defines “buck jumping” as “a rodeo event in which a rider attempts to stay in the saddle of a bucking horse.”

The Pigeon Town Steppers, one of New Orleans’ many community-based social aid and pleasure clubs, would define buck jumping differently. They would tell you it’s the dance style associated with the city’s second line parades and that without it, New Orleans would not be New Orleans."
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Online Source #2 
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG6KH905cGU&t=30s "You better second line! Jazz funeral in New Orleans for Juanita Brooks", posted by kookydave, Oct 20, 2009
Come pay your respects like we do down here in Nawlin's. Experience a real New Orleans second line jazz funeral for the lovely and talented Juanita Brooks.
1. @wb7ptr, 2013
"The first line is the actual family of the deceased, close friends, etc. who are right up with the hearse. Not sure but I think the band is part of that as well. The second line is the people behind the band. The tradition has been around New Orleans several hundred years. Many here believe a person must EARN a jazz funeral but I'm not sure on the common thought on that. Just about any decent musician, Mardis Gras Indian or other "culture bearer" can expect one."
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2. @seanlambert2865, 2015
"the first line is the family and friends who would normally dance to the music. That's why when the band plays, it's called second lining."

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Reply
3. @seanlambert2865, 2015
"Well the hired musicians are usually a brass band that travel with the 1st line. The actual "second line" is made up of random musicians playing out of respect and the pure enjoyment of playing. And it's all good, it's a very beautiful thing that should be shared with everyone "

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Reply
4.@amybaker4654, 2017
"Sean Lambert..Thank you for explaining that.I wondered what second lining meant."

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Online Source #3
From http://nolabounce.com/?p=4499 "Second Line Jump: New Orleans Rap And Brass Band Music" By Matt Miller; September 27, 2010
"The number of brass bands has expanded along with the proliferation of “second Line” clubs, so-called “social and pleasure” organizations which hire bands for parades. These clubs stage parades on Sunday afternoons throughout the second line “season” (which spans much of the Fall, Winter and Spring), often to celebrate the anniversary of the club’s founding. These second line parades, along with the “jazz funerals” and Mardi Gras parades that often define New Orleans in the national imagination, serve as a central venue for brass bands and play a key role in disseminating and reinforcing a commonly-held musical sensibility. To outsiders, second line parades might seem like a purely celebratory event, but they can also channel more destructive energies.

The bands are often joined by a rowdy group of spontaneous participants (often teenagers or young men) who contribute highly expressive dance and ad-hoc music-making. “Buck jumping,” an individual dance form associated with both brass bands and local rap, is one of the many features of New Orleans’s musical culture that in concept and nomenclature can be traced back to the 19th century and the era of slavery.”...
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This article was reformatted to increase its readability.

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Online Source #4
From https://gambinos.com/history-second-line/ "Jump In The Line: History of Second Lines [Gambinos Bakery"*; no publishing date given; retrieved September 17, 2023]
"Second Line Basics

For those of you who are new to the idea of a second line, at its base it is a brass band parade.  The brass band usually is made up of a trumpet, a trombone, a saxophone, a tuba, a bass drum, and a snare drum, but these instruments vary depending on the band and the event.  At the core of the parade is what’s called the “main line,” this includes the band itself, the krewe or club with which the band is affiliated, and in the case of funerals or weddings it includes the funeral and wedding party.

The “second line” refers to the spectators who join or follow the main line and contribute to the walking parade.  This is what separates a second line from any other New Orleans parade: groups are not only welcome but encouraged to follow along, allowing the second line to grow as it marches.  The term “second line” doesn’t only refer to the parade itself, it also speaks to the type of dancing you will find during those parades.  “Second lining” is a highly recognizable strutting, chicken-like dance move that many people use to keep pace with the band.  So “second line” is a term with many meanings; it applies to a type of parade, a part of the parade, and a dance move used within that parade.

Second lines have a multifaceted history that blends traditions of both European and African cultures and while the second line can be said to have developed in conjunction with a number of events, the one we most closely relate it to is the jazz funeral.  A jazz funeral is a New Orleans tradition that has a brass band following the hearse and leading the funeral procession to the cemetery.  On the march to intern the body, the brass band usually plays solemn dirges, a more classic way of experiencing a funeral.  What makes the jazz funeral different from other funerals, however, is that after buying the body, the brass band transitions to upbeat, happy, and celebratory music.  They lead the funeral procession away from the cemetery with a brightness that is meant to allow them to reflect on the dead’s life with joy and help them to celebrate being alive.

Second lines are still used for funerals in New Orleans, but they have evolved with a number of differences from the classic jazz funeral.  Second lines tend to use upbeat songs for the entirety of their march, leaving out the dirges.  Where jazz funerals are usually restricted to the family and friends of the deceased, a second line allows for others to join in, helping to celebrate and honor the life of the one who passed.

Where Do They Come From, Where Do They Go?

Most research shows the second line dating back to the mid to late 19th century, its development deeply ingrained in the African-American community in New Orleans.  In large part the second line’s creation and evolution can be attributed to what we now refer to as Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs.  In the period following the Civil War, African-American citizens struggled to attain proper governmental support and insurance, which incited the development of communal societies or co-ops that would provide social aid for their members.  These neighborhood organizations would charge their members dues which would contribute to a fund used for basic health and funeral insurance.

One of the earliest social aid organizations was the New Orleans Freedman’s Aid Association which was founded in 1865.  This specific social aid group worked to provide loans, education, and insurance to recently freed slaves in the post-Civil War era.  This club, and many like it, often hosted parades and block parties to advertise their services as well as celebrate and honor members when they died.  These celebrations coincided with jazz funerals and together evolved into what we now recognize as second lines.

As racial segregation began to fade in the south, the need for individualized organizations to provide insurance faded as well.  This is what created the transition from social aid clubs, to pleasure clubs or benevolent societies.  Contemporary Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in New Orleans, like Zulu or the Jolly Bunch, usually don’t provide insurance anymore.  Instead they are used as clubs to allow locals to engage with one another and socialize in celebratory ways.  Their name, however, still references the purpose they originally served.

The Contemporary Second Line

It is New Orleans tradition to use second lines to celebrate weddings as well as funerals, but nowadays we second line for more than just these purposes.  Many Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs use second lines as a way of introducing themselves to the community or providing a reason for their members to get together.  It’s rare that a Sunday afternoon goes by in the French Quarter without being able to catch at least one or two second lines put on by these clubs.”…

*Here's information from that page about Gambino's Bakery
"In New Orleans and around the world, Gambino’s Bakery is a household tradition that offers over 74 years of experience with delicious baked goods."...
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Buck jumping is closely related to- if not the same as- the 21st century HIp-Hop dances known as "footwork", "gangsta walkin", "jookin", "buckin", and other terms. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangsta_Walking for information about these Hip Hop dances. That Wikipedia article traces the origin of "gangsta walkin" and suggests that dance may have "a New Orleans connection. Early gangsta-walking in Memphis was often called "buck jumping", and "buck jumping" is another name for second-lining in New Orleans.”...

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SOME INFORMATION ABOUT NEW ORLEANS SOCIAL AID AND PLEASURE CLUBS 
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturaltraditions/socialaid.html
"Strutting and jumping and high-stepping underneath their decorated parasols, blowing whistles and waving feathered fans, the African-American members of New Orleans’ social aid and pleasure clubs are the organizers, originators, and sponsors of the second line parades for which the city is famous. The brass band that follows the parade’s grand marshal and club members, who are always dressed in coordinated suits and classy hats, blast out exuberant rhythms to propel everyone’s high-spirited march through the streets. The club and brass band are known as the first line, and the audience that forms behind the parade to join in the festivities is the second, hence the term second line parade.

African-American social aid and pleasure clubs aren’t just about parading, however. They grew out of organizations of the mid to late 1800s called benevolent societies, which many different ethnic groups in New Orleans formed. Serving a purpose that today has largely been supplanted by insurance companies, benevolent societies would help dues-paying members defray health care costs, funeral expenses, and financial hardships. They also fostered a sense of unity in the community, performed charitable works, and hosted social events. Benevolent societies always had strong support in the African-American population, and some scholars trace the roots of the African-American societies back to initiation associations of West African cultures from where the majority of New Orleans blacks originally came."
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The members of New Orleans Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (SAPC) & the second line paraders strut while they perform footwork that consist of particular fast hopping kinds of jumping, sometimes with leg lifts and squatting (dips). These movements typify "buck jumping". 

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FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are posted in chronological order with the videos with the oldest dates posted first.

Video #1: New Orleans Secondline Dancing



SneakinSal, Uploaded on Dec 25, 2006

Secondline dancing on a porch on Washington Avenue, New Orleans. New Generation Social Aid & Pleasure Club parade, December 10, 2006.

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Video #2: Sudan 2008 Second Line featuring Rebirth



Posted by BigRedCotton, December 03, 2008
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Notice the dancer crawling under the legs of another dancer. I've seen videos in which that same dance movement in some traditional Senegalese dances. I've also noticed that movement in performed in certain videos of African American Jazz dancing (swing dancing) and in videos of African American "krumping".

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Video #3: The Hot 8 Brass Band with Ladies And Men of Unity -'Poppa Was A Rolling Stone'



Uploaded by BigRedCotton on Apr 6, 2009

Ladies and Men of Unity Social Aid and Pleasure Club 2nd Annual Second Line Uptown

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Video #4: Divine Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Club 2009 Annual Parade



Uploaded by BigRedCotton on May 17, 2009
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Notice the "wing"* leg movements (leg lifts) that are done in this video (such as at 1:54-1:57; 2:50-2:53, and 6:27-6:32).

*derived from the buck & the wing dance

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Video #5: Buck-jumping dance-off on Oak St. during the Pigeon Town Steppers Easter Second Line



Lisa Pal, Uploaded on Apr 5, 2010

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This concludes Part II of this series.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to those who are featured in these videos, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.