President George W. Bush speaking at the church in 2004

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Second FB page for the Union Bethel A.M.E. Church

Website

New Orleans Churches- Union Bethel A.M.E. Church

2014 Times Picayune article- New Orleans Four Freedoms Education Building gets rebuilding grant from feds

Kevin Harris, architect LLC- Union Bethel AME Celebrates Easter Sunday in Newly Restored Church

Union Bethel A.M.E church was organized in 1866, serving the city's newly freed Black population following the Civil War, and upon the passage of the 13th and 15th amendments. This Gothic Revival building was completed soon thereafter. The church, according to their website, is said to have been where Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out to the congregation in December of 1961 and called for "a new emancipation proclamation." He then urged the President of the United States to issue an executive order to make segregation unconstitutional by way of the 14th amendment. In 2004 during the 75th birthday commemoration, President George W. Bush spoke before the congregation about King's legacy. Suffering much damage during Hurricane Katrina, renovations were completed in 2007, the same year the church was placed on the list for the National Register of Historic Places. 

Union Bethel A.M.E. Church (New Orleans, Louisiana)

More than any major city in America, New Orleans demonstrates the mixing of diverse peoples and cultures. With nearly a hundred entries that are either explicitly dedicated or at least related to African American history and culture, we selected a handful of entries that tell the story of people of African descent within the center of New Orleans. 

African American History of New Orleans

<p>Named in honor of the men and women who led the famous Amistad Uprising of 1839, the research center dates back to 1966 when the historical collections of the AMA were&nbsp;housed at Fisk University. The collection later relocated to Dillard University before acquiring a space in the United States Mint building in New Orleans. The organization has been located at Tulane since 1987.&nbsp;</p><p>The Amistad revolt, is summarized by&nbsp;the National Archives:</p><blockquote>In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. This abduction violated all of the treaties then in existence. Fifty-three Africans were purchased by two Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment to a Caribbean plantation. On July 1, 1839, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. On August 24, 1839, the Amistad was seized off Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig Washington. The planters were freed and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven, CT, on charges of murder. Although the murder charges were dismissed, the Africans continued to be held in confinement as the focus of the case turned to salvage claims and property rights. President Van Buren was in favor of extraditing the Africans to Cuba. However, abolitionists in the North opposed extradition and raised money to defend the Africans. Claims to the Africans by the planters, the government of Spain, and the captain of the brig led the case to trial in the Federal District Court in Connecticut. The court ruled that the case fell within Federal jurisdiction and that the claims to the Africans as property were not legitimate because they were illegally held as slaves. The case went to the Supreme Court in January 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams argued the defendants' case. Adams defended the right of the accused to fight to regain their freedom. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans, and 35 of them were returned to their homeland. The others died at sea or in prison while awaiting trial.1<br></blockquote><p>The Amistad Research Center is housed in Tilton Memorial Hall, named in honor of New Orleans businessman and Tulane supporter Frederick W. Tilton. Although he was originally from the North, Tilton had lived in the South since the 1840s and&nbsp;supported the Confederacy. In fact, he&nbsp;traveled to England on behalf of Jefferson Davis in hopes of purchasing arms to help Confederate armies. After the war, Tilton rebuilt his business empire as a leading importer of iron and contributed much of his fortune to Tulane and other educational and cultural institutions throughout New Orleans.&nbsp;</p>

Amistad Research Center holds a combined total of fifteen million documents related to the history of African Americans, making it the largest repository of its kind in the United States.  The library began with the support of the American Missionary Association, an organization that worked throughout the South and attempted to help former slaves during the era of Reconstruction. The manuscripts and other materials of the AMA form the cornerstone of the research collection. These 19th century materials reveal a great deal about the history of former slaves throughout the South and are essential genealogical resources for many African American family historians. The Center's holdings have grown dramatically since the 1980s, and now include over 800 separate collections that together represent hundreds of thousands of documents and photographs related to the history of the Jim Crow Era, early 20th century, and modern civil rights movement. The center has a small gallery space that includes rotating exhibits drawn from their collections. 

Amistad Research Center

The church was built in 1858 for the Jefferson City Methodist Episcopal Church, which was a white congregation. St. Peter A.M.E. was founded in 1850 and its members worshipped in a nearby house. Eventually, the church allowed them to worship in the basement. In 1877, the church sold the building to St. Peter A.M.E. In terms of architecture, the church features stained-glass windows and a shingle-covered tower, both of which are unique features to Black churches. In respect to social and humanitarian causes, the church has been an important player in the community. In the 1920s and then 1930s&nbsp;nursing classes and business/secretarial classes were held&nbsp;here, respectively. During the 1930s the Works Progress Administration (WPA) opened an office at the church&nbsp;and for many years helped people find jobs. In the 1960s and 1970s&nbsp;boy and cub scouts held their meetings at the church. Community gatherings and other social events continue at the church today.&nbsp;

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Peter A.M.E. Church is one of the oldest African American congregations in New Orleans. The church itself is important for its architecture, Black history, and its association with social and humanitarian causes. It was originally built in 1858 and underwent significant modifications in 1890 and 1924.

St. Peter A.M.E. Church

By 1930, the Black community in New Orleans&nbsp;suffered from a high death rate (twice that of whites) and&nbsp;a high infant mortality&nbsp;rate (12%). These and other health issues prompted the effort to build the new hospital and provide more training to Black healthcare professionals. The hospital was successful in improving the health among the Black community: it tested and treated patients suffering from tuberculosis, helped reduce the infant mortality rate, and provided treatment for syphilis.&nbsp;

Now an apartment building for people 62 years or older, the Flint-Goodridge Hospital was the first hospital in New Orleans to admit African American patients. It was founded in 1911 but the building was not constructed until 1931. It was a part of the new Dillard University and as such served as a training school for doctors and nurses. During the 1930s the hospital was the only one to offer internships to Black physicians in training. The hospital played a significant role in improving the health and wellbeing of the Black community in the city. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The building was renovated in 2007 to convert it to  apartment housing.

Flint-Goodridge Hospital of Dillard University (Flint-Goodridge Apartments)

<p>Sparked by a series of sit-in's through the Jim Crow South and the work of CORE, five African-Americans and two white students staged the first lunch counter sit-in on on September 9, 1960, in New Orleans at Woolworth's on the corner of Canal St. and N. Rampart St. The segregated lunch counter reserved for white clientèle only refused service to the African-American students. Six police officers at the scene did not force the students to leave. However, the students were harassed verbally and physically by the counters patrons. Meanwhile, Woolworth's employees continued to offer service to its white customers.<br></p><p>This peaceful, nonreactionary form of protest, became standard practice for the Civil Rights Movement, which effectively contrasted the behavior between the protesters and the violence used by segregationists. Not only did this event change the city of New Orleans, the sit-in also inspired other forms of protest, such as Freedom Riders and the Freedom March in 1963. All of which lead up to the signing of the Civil Right's Act in 1964, which overturned Southern segregation laws.</p>
<p>Today, however, visitors will not find the original Woolworth's building at the intersection. On February 26, 2015, the historic site was demolished for the purpose of building a new condominium. Although the building itself is no longer there, the spirit of those freedom fighters can be found on the streets of New Orleans and at the heart of the city.&nbsp; <br></p><br><br><br><br>

Canal street was the city's main shopping area in the 1960s. However, Jim Crow law allowed lunch counters to refuse service to African Americans, which made up 40% of New Orleans population. On September 9th, 1960, white and Black members of the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) defied those segregation laws at Woolworth's lunch counter. The students were arrested for holding the sit-in at the Canal Street location. However, the event contributed to the historic Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Sit-Ins at Woolworth's, 1960

<p>This park also features a small historical marker on the gate at the entrance. The &nbsp;property was once part of the electric&nbsp;distribution system in the city and was donated to the city by New Orleans Public Service in 1973. It was named Edison Place after&nbsp;Thomas Edison, who served as&nbsp;director of the&nbsp;city's first electric company (Edison was the inventor of the electric light bulb and was a major advocate for the use of electricity).&nbsp; </p><p>However, Edison Place became a popular hangout for the city's unsavory elements and it was locked up by the 1980s.&nbsp; In 1999, a group of private investors restored the space and opened it as a live music venue now know as Musical Legends Park.&nbsp; They also contracted with local artist, Stephen Gibson, to produce life-size sculptures of the city's music legends and place one at the park every few years.&nbsp; The world famous Cafe Beignet is located at the of the park. The cafe is best known for its Beignet donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate.&nbsp;</p><p>The legends enshrined at the park include: <u>Antoine "Fats" Domino</u> (1928-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ) - Fats, of French Creole descent, was born and raised in New Orleans.&nbsp; He went on to become a highly successful pianist, songwriter and early pioneer of rock 'n roll.&nbsp; <u>Louis Prima</u> (1910-1978) - Prima had a lot of titles, to include singer, songwriter, bandleader, trumpeter, and actor.&nbsp; His career took him far from his native New Orleans, to include New York City, Las Vegas, and a gig playing at President Franklin Roosevelt's birthday party.&nbsp; <u>Ronnie Kole</u> (1929-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ) - Kole was born in Chicago, but his love for jazz brought him to New Orleans where he became an internationally known jazz pianist.&nbsp; <u>Irma Thomas</u> (1941-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ) - A Grammy Award winner and member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Thomas is known by all as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans."&nbsp; <u>Allen Toussaint</u>&nbsp; (1938-2015) - Born in the Gert Town neighborhood of New Orleans, Toussaint was a well-known songwriter, musician, arranger and producer.&nbsp; </p><p><u>Al "Jumbo" Hirt</u> (1922-1999) - Also known as the "Round Mound of Sound," Hirt was on of the best jazz trumpeters of his day.&nbsp; The New Orleans native is best known for the theme to the Green Hornet television show.&nbsp; <u>Pete Fountain</u> (1930-2016) - Born on White St, Fountain took his jazz clarinet to the Lawrence Welk show where he&nbsp;left after a few years, famously claiming "champagne and bourbon don't mix."&nbsp; He's also known for founding the Half-Fast Walking Club, a freelance&nbsp;Mardi Gras marching group.&nbsp; <u>Chris Owens</u> (1932-&nbsp;&nbsp; )&nbsp;The "Chris Owens Review" has been a fixture at the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon Streets since she arrived in New Orleans from Texas in the late 1950s.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

A popular tourist destination, this small park in Bourbon street honors some of New Orleans' best and well known musicians. It is operated and maintained by the New Orleans Musical Legends Foundation, Inc., which was founded in 2000. There are several life-size statues of these musicians, including Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Fats Domino, Chris Owens, Ronnie Cole, Louis Prima, Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas. Live jazz is played here everyday and the park is free and open to anyone. There is a cafe at the far end of the park. 

Musical Legends Park

<p>The former hotel was one of over fifty places in the city of New Orleans where slaves were regularly bought and sold. Historians have documented the existence of these sites, yet as of November 2015, only one historic marker has been placed at any of these locations. Ironically, that marker, which is located across the street from the Omi Hotel at&nbsp;Maspero’s Restaurant, is incorrect. The sign claims that Maspero's Exchange was located across the street from the Omni Hotel when the slave exchange operated at the St. Louis Hotel.&nbsp;</p><p>There are numerous other sites throughout the city where the slave trade occurred. Some of these places are now home to public buildings while others, such as a slave pen located at Chartres&nbsp;Street and Esplanade Avenue, are the location of private homes. Historians are working to document the location of these slave pens and markets, but few city leaders have been willing to support the creation of historic markers.&nbsp;</p>

Prior to the completion of the Omni Hotel in the 1950s, this was the site of the St. Louis Hotel. During the antebellum period, the St. Louis Hotel was one of over fifty places where slaves were bought and sold. 

St. Louis Hotel and the New Orleans Slave Trade

<p>Established in 1881, the&nbsp;Christian Women's Exchange served as a service organization that sought to meet the needs of women-from widows and poor women to the middle-class members and leaders of the organization. The organization raised funds through creating and selling handmade items, holding special events,&nbsp;and also also sold used clothing and household&nbsp;items through consignment shops. The Proceeds from these activities allowed them to operate boarding houses for single women as well as dining rooms and social&nbsp;spaces for middle-class women negotiating a male-controlled city.&nbsp;</p><p>During New Orleans' World Fair of 1884, the newly-formed organization operated a nursery that allowed working mothers to attend the fair. The organization continued to focus on economic support for working and single&nbsp;women, as well as educational and cultural opportunities for members, throughout the late 19th and 20th century. During the&nbsp;1970s, as many of the historic buildings in New Orleans faced demolition, the organization worked with other community groups to support historic preservation. As part of that mission, the Women's Exchange operates two museums-&nbsp;the Gallier House and this historic house&nbsp;museum.</p><p>The Hermann family, which built the home in 1831, moved to New Orleans in 1813 and lived in the house until 1844.&nbsp; Samuel Hermann sold the house to Felix Grima after losing most of the family fortune when the English cotton market crashed in 1837.&nbsp; The Hermann family stayed in the French Quarter and Samuel died in 1851.&nbsp; Felix Grima was born in New Orleans in 1798 and he and his family lived in the house until 1921.&nbsp; It was then purchased by the Christian Women's Exchange in 1924.</p><p>It was converted into a period museum in the 1970s and also features the slave quarters, an extant stable and a restored courtyard complete with a parterre garden that features fig and citrus trees.&nbsp; Within the home one will find authentic as well as reconstructed period pieces, of which, about one-third belonged to either the Hermann or Grima families.&nbsp; Original pieces include the mahogany dining room table and sideboard, various family portraits and numerous books from Felix Grima's library that can be viewed in his restored office.&nbsp; The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.&nbsp; </p><p><br></p>

This Federal-style mansion was built by slaves and free people of color between 1830 and 1831 for the family of Samuel Hermann. The Christian Women's Exchange acquired the property in the 1920s and used operated a boarding house for single, low-income women until the 1970s when it was converted into a house museum. The same charitable organization operates the museum, although they changed their name to the Women's Exchange in 1998 to emphasize their desire to serve women of all backgrounds and faiths. The museum tells the story of the people who built, lived, and worked in this home over the past two centuries. It also preserves and shares historic furnishings and artwork representative of New Orleans in the 19th century. 

Hermann-Grima House

<p>The story of Preservation Hall dates back to the 1950s at Associated Artists, a small art gallery at 726 St. Peter Street in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Upon opening the gallery, the proprietor, art dealer Larry Borenstein, found that it curtailed his ability to attend the few remaining local jazz concerts. He began inviting these musicians to perform “rehearsal sessions” in the gallery itself. Soon over time, the music was becoming more attractive than the art on display. These concerts featured living legends of New Orleans Jazz like George Lewis, Punch Miller, Sweet Emma Barrett, Billie and De De Pierce, The Humphrey Brothers, and dozens more.</p><p>During this period, traditional jazz had taken a backseat in popularity to the genres of rock n’ roll and bebop which left many of these players to work odd jobs to make their financial gains. Although concerted efforts by aficionados, such as William “Bill” Russell, succeeded in recording and documenting this fading artform during the “New Orleans Jazz Revival” of the 1940s, venues that offered live New Orleans jazz were few and far between. Before long, Borenstein’s sessions took on a life of their own and enthusiasts of the music gravitated toward the gallery, including a young couple from Pennsylvania named Allan and Sandra Jaffe. The Jaffes arrived in New Orleans in 1960 on an extended honeymoon from Mexico City. During their visit, they conversed with a few jazz musicians in Jackson Square, who were on their way to “Mr. Larry’s Gallery.” As avid fans of New Orleans jazz, the honeymooners followed the musicians and were introduced to Borenstein along with a number of living jazz legends that had gathered that evening for a jam session. Needless to say, they were enraptured by what they saw and heard. The music was pure and unaffected by the swaying of popular music. The Jaffes knew they happened upon something special and moved to New Orleans permanently after their honeymoon.</p><p>The jam sessions at the gallery became much more frequent and that prompted Borenstein to move his gallery to the building next door to make way for a place where jazz music could thrive. Performances were held nightly for donations and were organized by a short-lived, non-profit organization named The New Orleans Society for The Preservation of Traditional Jazz. Shortly after, The Jaffes returned to New Orleans and Borenstein passed the nightly operations of the hall to Allan Jaffe on a profit-and-loss basis. This was where Preservation Hall was born. A new chapter for the Jazz genre was beginning.</p><p>The nightly jazz concerts at Preservation Hall gathered a significant amount of press interest from its inception. The news attention started with local television news around New Orleans and quickly went to the mainstream media along with online newsletters. As time went on, Allan believed the success of both the Hall and it’s mission of preservation would require these bands to tour the world so in 1963, he organized the newly minted Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a string of performances in the Midwest. True to Jaffe’s estimation, the tour was a resounding success and interest in the band lead the rediscovery of New Orleans jazz to as far as Japan. The following decades found the band traveling and featured on a wide array of television performances. Following Allan Jaffe’s untimely passing in 1987, Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band now operate under the leadership of the Jaffe’s second son, Benjamin.</p><p>Picking up the mission where his parents left off, Benjamin Jaffe began a series of initiatives centered around expanding listenership to the music both at the Hall and on tour. As the years continued, the band began and welcomed a number of collaborative tours and recordings with artists outside of the traditional Jazz genre, including the Blind Boys of Alabama (gospel), Mos Def (hip-hop), the Del McCoury Band (bluegrass), My Morning Jacket (rock), and even a modern dance/ballet collaboration with critically-acclaimed choreographer Trey McIntyre. In addition to rejuvenating the music, Preservation Hall engages with the New Orleans cultural community emphasizing education and social programming. Persevering through the hardships of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, the Preservation Hall team created and supported organizations, such as The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program, The New Orleans Jazz &amp; Heritage Foundation, and the Make It Right Foundation.</p>

<p>Founded in 1961, Preservation Hall is a musical venue in the French Quarter to protect, preserve, and perpetuate traditional New Orleans jazz. The Preservation Hall venue presents intimate, acoustic New Orleans jazz concerts over 350 nights a year featuring ensembles from a current collective of 100+ local master practitioners. On any given night, audiences bear joyful witness to the evolution of this venerable and living tradition. It is also a record label recording studio and a non-profit foundation.</p>

Preservation Hall

<p>The Tremé neighborhood is located very close to the French
Quarter in New Orleans Louisiana and has been very important to the history of
African American music. Before the United States owned New Orleans, the Spanish
and French allowed their slaves in this area to gather on Sundays when they had
the day off. At the time this area was outside of the city, which was the only
place they were allowed to go. They referred to this place as “Place des Nègres”
or “Place Congo.” Here the slaves would cling onto their African heritage for
one day a week by playing music and dancing. </p>

<p>This tradition continued after New Orleans became part of
the United States. African culture was suppressed by the Protestant government
of New Orleans, which resulted in the gatherings at Congo Square becoming a
tourist attraction to people from all over. Stricter slave laws by the United
States resulted in the end of these slave gatherings at Congo Square before the
Civil War. Congo Square became a popular music venue after this and remains as
that today. </p>

<p>Along with the suppression of African music culture in New
Orleans, the white leaders of the city renamed Congo Square Beauregard Square
after Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. This name did not stick, and the
New Orleans City Council officially changed the name back to Congo Square in
the late 19th century. In the 1960s, New Orleans built Louis
Armstrong Park which incorporated Congo Square within it. </p>

<p>With additional African and Creole immigration during the
Haitian Revolution, New Orleans became an even more culturally diverse area and
this had a major influence on African music coming from New Orleans. To
preserve the heritage and music tradition of Congo Square, New Orleans began
having the Jazz and Heritage Festival at Congo Square in 1970, which was moved
to the New Orleans Fairgrounds when attendance became too large for Congo Square
to handle. Congo Square itself remains a popular area for fairs and musical
performances today.&nbsp;</p>

Congo Square is an area located in Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the neighborhood of Tremé, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was created during the French and Spanish colonialization of Louisiana. On Sundays when Slaves did not have to work, they would gather here and establish markets, play music, and have singing and dancing. This tradition continued after Louisiana became part of the United States, and further immigration and the addition of various cultures to the area helped create a very culturally diverse area of the city, which became a very popular tourist destination. In 1970, New Orleans began having a Jazz and Heritage Festival at Congo Square which still occurs today. 

Congo Square

Free Blacks located in New Orleans in 1844 organized The St. James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) because they felt they were mistreated at a predominantly white church named Wesley Chapel - a white church that accepted free Black members. The new church aligned itself with the Free African Society (FAS), which dates back to 1787 in Philadelphia. &nbsp;With a new building completed in 1851, St. James' first pastor, Thomas Doughty, traveled to Indiana for an AME conference as an effort to gain formal recognition as an AME church, which he easily obtained.1&nbsp;<br><br><div>Although Philadelphia hosted those constructing the U.S. Constitution in 1787, it was also home to&nbsp;Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, two prominent Black ministers that would form the Free African Society (FAS) of Philadelphia. The FAS mission included providing mutual aid among church congregations, notably for free Blacks.2 Allen and Jones eventually split over differences on how to worship. Allen, a committed Methodist, did not enjoy the Quaker-style methods, including silent prayer; he wanted members of his church to openly express themselves. He left the FAS, but Absalom Jones remained and became the organization's president. Most of the members were former slaves and many of them went on to become active abolitionists.3</div><div><br></div><div>By the eve of the Civil War, at least 10,000 free Blacks resided in New Orleans, although that number is believed to be low. Some of the reason for the&nbsp;high numbers of free Blacks can be attributed to Haitian refugees that arrived in 1809. From that population, St. James created a strong congregation, but some of the members -- despite laws that forbade it -- were slaves.&nbsp;Within New Orleans, free Blacks, creoles, and other mixed races formed a more broadly themed coalition called the Free People of Color. St. James exists as one reminder of the incredible cultural heterogeneity that existed in New Orleans, even as the Civil War commenced. 4&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>But, it's history goes beyond the Civil War. In fact, a report by Tulane University noted:<br><br></div><blockquote><div><i>"During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the church served as the organizational site for the Black Masons of Louisiana. In the early 1900s, the church secured the establishment of a Black elementary school, the Bienville School, later renamed the Albert Wicker School. In the second half of the 20th century, the church was involved in the organization of the Black YMCA (later named the Dryades Street YMCA) and it served as a staging site for Civil Rights protests on Canal Street. St. James owns a number of properties adjacent to the church, and part of their post-Katrina mission is to provide affordable housing to neighborhood residents in need. The church also continues to support the Albert Wicker School located a few blocks away on Bienville Street."5</i></div></blockquote><div><i><br></i>The building stands as a legacy of Black culture in New Orleans, as well as numerous mixed races. And the church's history provides insight into the broader historical narrative that is New Orleans for more than two centuries.&nbsp;<i><br></i></div><div><br><br><br><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><br><br><br><br>

Built in 1851, the church dates back to 1844 and it's association with the Free African Society dates even further, to 1787.  Historic St. James is the first African Methodist church established in the Deep South and today the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church is believed to be the oldest predominately African American denomination in the United States. 

St. James A.M.E. Church

<div>The Carver Theater, named after George Washington Carver, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1950, as a state-of-the-art theaters for Blacks in New Orleans. The Carver Theater retired as a movie theater in 1980 and became a housing office operation and medical clinic. The theater sustained heavy damage from six feet of water during Hurricane Katrina. The building was completely renovated and opened in 2014 after a $8 million renovation. During the renovation, the buildings wood frame and drywall were removed. The exterior architectural details were preserved, including the display windows which once held movie posters.</div>

The historic Carver Theater was constructed in 1950 to house concerts, plays, off-broadway shows, films, conventions, graduations, Mardi Gras balls, dance recitals, corporate events and private parties. The theater is named after the famous African-American scientist, George Washington Carver. Recently remodeled, following damage from Hurricane Katrina, the theater was resold and now functions today much as it did in the 1950s. 

Carver Theater (New Orleans)

<p>Dooky Chase’s Restaurant opened its doors in 1941 in the Treme Neighborhood in New Orleans. Leah Chase worked as a waitress before stepping into the kitchen of Dooky Chase’s which was originally owned by her in-laws. Leah married trumpet player and band leader Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. in 1946. Dooky Chase’s began as a small restaurant stand that sold po-boy sandwiches and lottery tickets. By the 1950s, Leah convinced her in-laws to make Dooky Chase’s a sit-down establishment with a fine dining feel. The inspiration behind Chase’s Creole creations were the fancy dishes she used to eat while working in the French Quarter. With the transition to fine dining in the 1950s, African American customers had a place where they could enjoy fine dining in an establishment that was owned and operated by African Americans and open to all. </p><p>During the Civil Rights Movement, Dooky Chase’s served as a meeting place and offered common ground for both white and African American residents to enjoy a meal together. Chase defied the segregation laws of the time and allowed both white and African American patrons to dine together. In the 1950s Dooky Chase’s hosted Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Chase also hosted Freedom Riders and held NAACP meetings. In a 2018 interview Chase states, “We changed the course of America in this restaurant over bowls of gumbo.” </p><p>Musicians such as Ray Charles and Nat King Cole also flocked to Dooky Chase’s. The restaurant also supports the arts and displays famous works from African American artists like Elizabeth Catlett and John T. Biggs. Chef Leah Chase served as an inspiration for Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. She also made television appearances on NCIS New Orleans, Treme, Somebody Feed Phil, and Beyonce’s Lemonade music video.</p><p>In 2005 Dooky Chase’s suffered devastating flooding as a result of Hurricane Katrina and was forced to close its doors. Leah Chase lived in a FEMA trailer while her restaurant was being repaired. Insurance covered roughly half the damage while community donations covered the rest, allowing the restaurant to reopen after eighteen months of hard work and planning. Thanks to donations, Dooky Chase’s reopened in 2007. Chase stayed to fix the restaurant because she believed it would help keep the community strong. </p><p>On the two-year anniversary of Katrina, a controversial visit to Dooky Chase’s was made by President George W. Bush. Barack Obama visited the restaurant as well. In 2016 Chase won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation. On June 1, 2019, renowned Chef Leah Chase passed away at 96. Her family continues her creole traditions and Dooky Chase’s remains open. Her memory also lives on through the Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. and Leah Chase Family Foundation which supports cultural arts, education, culinary arts, and social justice.</p>

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana has been a hotspot for Creole cuisine since 1941. Chef Leah Chase opened her restaurant in an era when there were few fine dining establishments in New Orleans that were either integrated or open to people of color. Chase served generations of civil rights leaders, and the restaurant has also been graced by leading celebrities and political leaders. Dooky Chase’s was the first white tablecloth eating establishment for African American patrons. Leah Chase also defied the segregation laws of the time by allowing both white and African American patrons to dine and come together and talk over her award-winning food. 

Dooky Chase's Restaurant 

<p>Free people of color, often abbreviated f.p.c., is the term used to refer to Blacks who were born free or manumitted prior to the Civil War. &nbsp;Also referred to as gens de couleur libres, their presence in New Orleans is recorded as early as 1722. &nbsp;Although there were enclaves of free people of color who numbered well over a quarter million residing throughout the United States during the antebellum period, New Orleans and south Louisiana were home to one of the oldest and largest populations of such. &nbsp;On the eve of the Civil War, in New Orleans alone, there resided 18,000 who owned and paid taxes on $15 million of property.</p><p>This remarkable community of resilient, resourceful and enterprising people produced artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, educators, physicians, journalists, and countless business owners and professionals prior to the Civil War. &nbsp;And in the midst of Reconstruction, the former free people of color led the entry of Blacks into politics. Perhaps most forgotten is the activists role they played in the Civil Rights Movement as early as 1862 and in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896.</p><p>The Residence</p><p>Le Musée, the Greek Revival residence at 2336 Esplanade Avenue, and its vicinity, centered in the area known as upper Treme, were originally part of the plantation of Domingo Fleitas. Fleitas, a Spanish colonial who had fought with Galvez in the American Revolution, had grandchildren born free people of color.</p><p>This stretch of Esplanade Avenue, mid-way between the Mississippi River and Bayou St. John, was not developed until the 1850s when Benjamin Rodriguez, a Jewish speculator who also owned the Esplanade omnibus, began acquiring lots in the area. Rodriguez first built his home at 2306 Esplanade, where the Musson family later lived for a period of time and their cousin Edgar Degas, the acclaimed French artist, visited. &nbsp;In 1859, Rodriguez contracted with Joseph Jouet, the same builder who constructed the famed French Hospital, to build the house at 2336.</p><p>Though this residence was never owned by persons of color until its present ones, because of their dominance in the building trades, it can be assumed that they participated in the construction.</p><p>Esplanade Avenue has always been noted for its gracious homes and abundant greenery. Little known is that free people of color owned numerous properties along the avenue and its intersecting streets in the antebellum period.</p>

Le Musee de f.p.c. is a historic house museum dedicated to educating visitors on the culture and history of free people of color in New Orleans. Free people of color, abbreviated f.p.c., is a term used to describe Blacks who were born free before the Civil War. New Orleans was home to the largest population of free people of color during the time. The museum is located in the historic neighborhood of Treme on Esplanade Avenue. Le Musee houses a collection of art pieces, furniture, and documents that represent the valuable history of free people of color in the city.

Le Musee de f.p.c. Historic House Museum

The museum is presently closed pending a Five-Year Capital Campaign that will provide vital support for an ambitious and visionary facilities expansion that includes increased gallery and collections management space, meeting facilities, a reading room, a gift shop, coffee shop/cafe, a new kitchen, updated restrooms facilities, and refined landscaping.

New Orleans African American Museum

<div>COLLECTIONS</div><div>The Backstreet Cultural Museum is home to collections of costumes, artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, films, and other materials important to New Orleans’ African American culture. Our collections inform and enlighten visitors of all ages. The collections continue to grow with donations of new objects that incorporate unique influences while simultaneously maintaining traditional styles.</div><div><br></div><div>EXHIBITIONS</div><div>The Backstreet Cultural Museum’s permanent exhibits, from displays on Mardi Gras Indians, to social aid and pleasure clubs, and jazz funerals, reveal a particular view on life. &nbsp;The exhibits illuminate African American history in the struggles against slavery and disenfranchisement and for freedom. &nbsp;The artisans who created the objects know hardship, yes. But they also know how to live triumphantly and express the beauty of life; something that no hardship can ever take away.</div><div><br></div><div>The Backstreet Cultural Museum’s exhibitions explore the creative achievements, improvisational brilliance, and collective spirit of New Orleans’ African American society. &nbsp;The exhibits provide opportunities for all visitors to embrace the rich legacy of African American culture.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Film Collection</div><div>Museum founder Sylvester Francis began filming New Orleans’ African American parading culture in the late 1970s. &nbsp;Since then, he has amassed films and videotapes that document over 500 jazz funerals. &nbsp;This collection also records more than thirty years of New Orleans’ African American Carnival celebrations, Mardi Gras Indian public performances, and the second-line parades of social aid and pleasure clubs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The museum’s film collection is available for the public to access. Videos from the collection are shared with a wide audience at the museum’s annual exhibit during the New Orleans Jazz &amp; Heritage Festival. The museum regularly screens its films at schools and other venues in the Tremé neighborhood. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Mardi Gras Indians</div><div>The Backstreet Cultural Museum is proud to host an extensive collection of Mardi Gras Indian regalia, including suits of Big Chiefs, Queens, Flag Boys, Wild Men, and more.</div><div><br></div><div>The Mardi Gras Indians are one of New Orleans’ greatest cultural treasures. &nbsp;Every year, the tribes take to the streets, bringing generations of history right along with them. &nbsp;Each suit is an elaborate design of beads, feathers, plumes, and stones: the result of a year’s worth of labor, time, money, and creativity.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Mardi Gras Indian tradition is rooted in a legacy of resistance. &nbsp;Enslaved Africans, escaping the dehumanizing violence of the plantation, found hospice with Native Americans. The Mardi Gras Indian tribes are noted for their exquisite costumes, public performances at Carnival, and their musical contributions. The Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans endure as the preservers of a distinctive cultural legacy.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Skull and Bone Gangs</div><div>The museum’s holdings include costumes and objects related to the North Side Skull and Bone gang, one of the oldest African American processional traditions of New Orleans.</div><div><br></div><div>The Skull and Bone gangs serve to bless Carnival by stirring the spirits, thus warding off sickness and injury and ensuring a safe celebration. In the early hours of Mardi Gras day, the Skull and Bone gangs roam the streets, walking with stilts, wearing handcrafted skulls, skeleton suits, and carrying animal bones. &nbsp;With harmless mischief—knocking on doors, beating drums, shouting and singing—they alert the community that Mardi Gras has arrived.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Baby Dolls</div><div>The exhibits contain costumes and artifacts related to the Baby Dolls tradition.</div><div><br></div><div>The Baby Dolls are a New Orleans’ African American Carnival tradition that dates to the first half of the twentieth century. The Baby Dolls are made up of women wearing fancy dresses who parade through Tremé and other largely African American neighborhoods. After decades of being inactive, the Baby Dolls tradition was revived in 2004 and is growing stronger each year. It is a beautiful sight to encounter Indians, Skeletons, and Baby Dolls gathering at the Backstreet Cultural Museum on Mardi Gras Day.</div><div><br></div><div>Jazz Funerals</div><div>The museum’s collection includes films and videos, photographs, obituary records, and memorabilia from jazz funerals in New Orleans over the last thirty years.</div><div><br></div><div>There is an African American proverb that advises us to cry at birth and laugh at death. &nbsp;No tradition better exemplifies this than the jazz funerals of New Orleans. Jazz funerals are an important ritual that sustains the community and links it to the ancestors.</div><div><br></div><div>The jazz funerals of New Orleans date to the beginning of the twentieth century. Many jazz funeral processions are held each year, often to honor musicians or members of social aid and pleasure clubs.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>After the church ceremony, the casket is led to the cemetery by the slow, somber dirges and hymns of a brass band. &nbsp;After the burial, however, to signify that the time for mourning is over, the band picks up the tempo, followers of the procession break into dances, and the second-line parade begins: a celebration to send the loved one’s spirit into the afterlife. &nbsp;</div>

At The Backstreet Cultural Museum, visitors can find an amazing assortment of memorabilia indigenous to Mardi Gras, jazz funerals and other traditions found only in New Orleans. The museum houses the city’s largest collection of brilliantly colored and elaborately designed Mardi Gras Indian costumes hand made by local artisans costing upwards of $10,000 a piece. In this simple setting, the museum also houses an enormous collection of still photos and video footage of Mardi Gras Indians, jazz funerals and second lines.

Backstreet Cultural Museum

<p>On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old African-American man named
Homer Plessy purchased a ticket and proceeded to board a segregated East
Louisiana Railroad passenger train car at Press and Royal Streets in New
Orleans. Rather than sitting in the designated “colored” section, Plessy in a
section on the rail car designated to seat whites only. After a planned altercation
with the train conductor, Plessy refused to give up his seat and move to the
colored only car. The train was stopped and he was arrested immediately by a
private detective hired for the planned cause. Plessy was arrested for breaking
Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890 which required the segregation of rail
passengers traveling on intrastate railroads. </p>

<p>The question the Supreme Court of the United States faced in
1896 was this: ‘Is Louisiana's law mandating racial segregation on its trains
an unconstitutional infringement on both the privileges and immunities and the
equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment?’ In a seven to one
decision, the court found that the Louisiana state law to be within
constitutional boundaries. The justices based their decision on the
separate-but-equal doctrine, that separate facilities for Blacks and whites
satisfied the Fourteenth Amendment so long as they were equal. (A doctrine that
would not be overturned until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.)
Interestingly enough, the exact phrase, "separate but equal" was not
part of the opinion. However, Justice Brown conceded that the while 14th
amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law,
that "in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish
distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from
political equality, or a commingling of the two races unsatisfactory to
either." This ruling goes as far to state segregation as not in itself
constituting as unlawful discrimination. </p>

<p>This case sanctioned segregation in public accommodations
throughout the country. It was not until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954
when this doctrine was overturned on the grounds that “separate but equal is
inherently unequal”, especially in the context of public education.</p>

On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old African-American man named Homer Plessy purchased a ticket and proceeded to board a segregated East Louisiana Railroad passenger train car at Press and Royal Streets in New Orleans. Rather than sitting in the designated “colored” section, Plessy in a section on the rail car designated to seat whites only. After a planned altercation with the train conductor, Plessy refused to give up his seat and move to the colored only car. The train was stopped and he was arrested immediately by a private detective hired for the planned cause. Plessy was arrested for breaking Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890 which required the segregation of rail passengers traveling on intrastate railroads. 

Plessy vs. Ferguson Historical Marker

The museum celebrates the history and culture of the Lower Ninth Ward, the area of New Orleans that suffered the worst of Hurricane Katrina and the levees that ultimately failed to protect the city. It was founded in 2011 by Dr. Caroline Heldman and Ian Breckenridge in response to the slow rebuilding efforts in the ward. Though small, the museum serves as important link to the past. Its exhibits are dispersed in six rooms and feature photographs and information about the neighborhood since the 1700s, when it was a colony for escaped slaves.  Other topics include the role the ward played during desegregation, important historical figures from the area, the ward's legacy of community social justice and activism, and Hurricane Katrina and his aftermath. In addition, the museum has recorded over 60 oral histories from residents in the ward. Lastly, the museum also serves as an important community center, offering after school programs from children such as workshops in arts and crafts, poetry, and youth leadership. 

African American History of New Orleans

Union Bethel A.M.E. Church (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Introduction

Images

Additional Information