New Orleans

Black New Orleans Chefs Rewrite a Whitewashed, Tourist-Driven Culinary Narrative

A group of chefs is working to highlight the role of African-descended people, including enslaved Black people, creoles, and Haitian migrants, in creating the city's cuisine; food scholar Zella Palmer emphasizes that culinary ability and knowledge was among the skills targeted by traffickers who brought west Africans to New Orleans. 

Racism and the 19th Century Yellow Fever Epidemic in New Orleans

by Karin Wulf

Karin Wulf interviews Kathryn Olivarius about her new book on the social and racial factors that prolonged a contagious epidemic that may have killed as many as 150,000 people in New Orleans between 1803 and 1861. 

Sold as a Dream for Black Buyers, a New Orleans Neighborhood is a Toxic Nightmare

"New Orleans city officials allowed developers to build homes on land contaminated with chemicals linked to cancer. They didn’t tell the people who moved in."

New Orleans's Second Line Tradition is a Reminder of the Need for Collective Grieving

Funeral processions and independent second line marches in New Orleans demonstrate the power of the collective and public rituals, and represent the cultural influences of African, Caribbean and indigenous traditions in the city.

New Orleans Urged to Rename Lee Boulevard after Music Legend Allen Toussaint

“The City of New Orleans should prioritize celebrating our culture bearers, our diversity, and everything that makes our city special, not those who worked to tear us apart and represent a horrible history of racism that we are still dealing with today,” said City Councilor Jared Brossett.

The Homophobic Background to Jim Garrison's Persecution of Clay Shaw

by Martin J. Kelly, Jr.

Alecia Long's book argues that Jim Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shaw as a conspirator in the Kennedy assassination was steeped in homophobia and leveraged the defendant's inability to properly defend himself because of the illegality of homosexuality to make up for lack of evidence. 

Hurricane Ida Shows the Climate Dystopia Ahead for All of Us

by Andy Horowitz

"Structural problems need structural solutions. Don’t give charity to Louisiana because it’s unique. Demand that Congress take meaningful action, because Louisiana is not unique, and you may be next."

In New Orleans, Documenting History Of Iconic Black Street

Two New Orleans area activists, Raynard Sanders and documentary filmmaker Katherine Cecil, head the Claiborne Avenue History Project which aims to document and publicize the street's history. 

Before the Civil War, New Orleans Was the Center of the U.S. Slave Trade (Excerpt)

by Joshua D. Rothman

After Congress ended the importation of enslaved people in 1808, domestic traders made New Orleans the center of an increasingly active and lucrative slave trade. 

Mardi Gras is a Critical American Tradition — Even Without Parades

by Olivia Durand

Mardi Gras rituals and public celebration have reflected the efforts of some white New Orleanians to establish and preserve white supremacy and the efforts of Black and Creole residents to express demands for freedom; the festivities are not just a party but "the active performance of what American society cares about."

With Mardi Gras Parades Canceled, Floats Find a New Home

In a development unseen since the city's Mardi Gras begain in 1857, New Orleans residents under COVID lockdown are turning their houses into parade floats, an informal support program for artists missing the yearly boost the parade season brings. 

How the New Orleans Streetcar Revival Left Bus Riders Behind

A number of historical dynamics, including racial segregation and the growth of a tourist economy, account for decisions in the Crescent City that have refurbished a fraction of the old streetcar system at high cost while ignoring the health of bus systems that poor and working residents depend on, says NOLA transit historian Kevin McQueeney. 

Only Accountability Will Allow the U.S. to Move Forward

by Mitch Landrieu

Full accountability for the Capitol Riot is essential lest white supremacists and other extremists take the lesson that their actions are accepted and permitted. The white supremacist massacres of the post-Reconstruction period show that moving on without accountability is impossible. 

Once a Symbol of Desegregation, Ruby Bridges’ School now Reflects another Battle Engulfing Public Education

by Connie L. Schaffer, Martha Graham Viator and Meg White

The New Orleans school integrated by Ruby Bridges is now operated by a private charter school company, part of a trend that three education scholars say jeopardizes the survival of the entire system of public education in the United States.

60 Years Later, Ruby Bridges Tells Her Story In 'This Is Your Time'

Ruby Bridges, whose integration of New Orleans Schools in 1960 was captured by Norman Rockwell, has written a children's history book about her experiences. 

Why Hurricane Katrina Was Not a Natural Disaster

by Nicholas Lemann

Fifteen years ago, New Orleans was nearly destroyed. A new book by Tulane historian Andy Horowitz suggests that the cause was decades of bad policy—and that nothing has changed.

Unions Are Essential for Eliminating Racism

A new study finds that unions don't just increase wages and benefits for workers on the job — union membership is also linked to diminished racist attitudes among white workers. If we want to defeat racism, building strong, democratic unions is essential.

Book Reconsideration: “A Confederacy of Dunces” — Still an American Comic Masterpiece?

A reassessment on the 40th anniversary of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, a novel that many consider one of the funniest ever written by an American.

New Orleans To Create Street Renaming Commission, Change Names 'Honoring White Supremacy'

The group will be tasked with identifying places to be renamed and create a plan to educate the public on the changes made.

Q&A: Historian Andrew Kahrl On The Segregation History Of Lincoln Beach And Plans To Reopen It

The long-shuttered African American beach was created to preserve segregation in New Orleans.