Meet the Black artist bringing Mardi Gras to Super Bowl LIX
Tahj Williams is living a double life.
By day, she works at Microsoft in cyber security, and by night, she’s Queen Tahj, a New Orleans Black Masker who has the honor of handcrafting the logo and theme art for Super Bowl LIX.
Williams is the first artist to be commissioned by the league for the role, and her work puts Black Masking culture, artistry, and fashion on the National Football League’s biggest stage. For the uninitiated, Black Masking is a tradition as old as New Orleans.
“Black Masking culture started because Black natives, African-Americans, and Black people in general could not participate in the mainstream Mardi Gras that happened on St. Charles,” Williams explained. “When you come down here and you’re and you’re going to Mardi Gras and you’re going to the parades on St. Charles, we actually were not allowed to participate now. We hid on the back streets of New Orleans, and we had our own celebration and that celebration we still practice today. That’s the Black Masking.”
Williams’ uncle introduced her to the tradition when she was just a young girl, and it was the first time she ever saw a “Queen,” a woman who holds a position of power or regard. “My uncle only showed me the men because that’s who he was friends with. Those were his friends in the culture,” Williams said. “I had never seen a woman in and when I saw her that moment changed my whole life.”
When deciding where to start with the logo and the theme art for the Super Bowl, Williams went about the process as she would do her Masking suits for Mardi Gras. “I wanted it to be the most authentic representation of our culture and what it means to be a culture bearer here in this city, especially as a Black Masking Indian.”
Black Masking Indians are the African-American people, who weren’t allowed to participate in mainstream Mardi Gras, dressed up in Mardi Gras regalia inspired by Indigenous hand-beaded costumes and feathers.
Williams relied a lot on feathers, bright colors, and the city’s architecture to bring the logo to life. “When people think of New Orleans, they think of the second line culture. They think about our amazing food, which all of that is true but people sometimes forget how deeply rooted into history our architecture is. I took pieces of our architecture to incorporate in the logo, that way the rest of the world will have that piece of New Orleans.”
NFL
The NFL commissioned Williams at the end of 2023 to create a logo, which caused her to miss Mardi Gras in 2024 to focus on crafting the logo and theme art. This year, she will be back at Mardi Gras, and her suit is a play on the logo and art she created for the Super Bowl. She won’t say how exactly until she debuts her suit in March.
Williams is similar to many athletes in that she lives and breathes her art. She played basketball and football in middle school. And while she was the only girl on the football team then, she was one of the captains.
“Football had the deepest impact on my life. I was prepared at a young age to submerse myself into something that was different,” Williams said. “Being able to put myself in uncomfortable situations and get through it. Was it easy being the only girl on the team? No, it wasn’t but it was fun. At the time I don’t think I realized what that meant for the next young woman coming after me.”
She credits her time in sports to knowing she can do everything she wants, no matter what, including keeping her day job with Microsoft. “I make this joke and I call myself Hannah Montana. Those worlds haven’t collided yet and I like it. I feel like a double agent.”
NFL
Only a few people at work know she’s collaborating with the NFL. However, some food delivery people have recognized Williams.
“I’m a big advocate for Uber Eats just because I’m at my table sewing so much,” she shared. “I don’t always want to go out and eat but like I used to be able to just order Uber Eats and get my food. No problem. Now everyone is like ‘congratulations.’ I was like ‘what? You’re not supposed to be able to recognize me right now.’”
It’s only within the last week that the magnitude of seeing her work showcased all over New Orleans and the Caesars Superdome started to hit Williams. She said she wasn’t sure how she felt before this week. It wasn’t until she was leaving a restaurant close to the stadium that it started to hit her how big of an impact this would have on the city. Black Masking culture and local artists worldwide would get these sorts of opportunities.