Crowds dressed in glitter and rainbow attire marched in the rain-slicked streets of the Treme Monday afternoon, their steps syncopated to the bellow of brass horns, as they celebrated the life of Edwin “Buggy” Johnson Jr.
The 27-year-old Walmart stock clerk — beloved for his warmth, flair and a larger-than-life personality that outshone his profound hearing disorder — was stabbed to death last month near Lake Catherine, according to New Orleans Police.
The crime stunned the diverse communities that Johnson touched in his relatively short life. As a gay, Black, deaf man, he thrived at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, and his joyful authenticity inspired those around him, according to those who remembered him Monday.
More than 60 friends and strangers alike turned out to honor Johnson Monday, despite spotty rain showers. Minutes before the second line, some distributed flower chains and rainbow-printed fans as the brass band tuned their instruments and a man grilled oysters nearby. Waving handkerchiefs and feathered umbrellas in the air, they channelled Johnson’s vibrant spirit with a second line that began at Tuba Fats Square and concluded at The Original Nite Cap, the speakeasy where Johnson had worked.
His siblings, including his sister Kennedy Johnson — who all wore hot pink shirts featuring a photograph of him surrounded by the words “Justice for Buggy Johnson” — remembered their brother and the joy he radiated…