Old photographs of public figures in blackface have become political scandals lately, embarrassing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam.
'Those who incorrectly compare our use of black makeup to 'blackface' minstrelsy can first look to our name to dispel that notion," the statement reads.
Zulu's historian, Clarence Becknell, said their parade's tradition of black makeup with white to highlight the mouth and eyes dates back more than a century, because when the organization first began parading, its members couldn't afford traditional carnival masks.
Zulu's makeup has been controversial in the past, and membership in the club even dropped to the teens in the 1960s