New Orleans Slavery and Racism
Slavery seems so long ago, but this timeline shows how recent 1865 was . Following 246 years of enslavement we had 100 years of Jim Crow and segregation. You may think that Black people became full citizens in 1954 with the Brown vs Board of Education decision, but you would be mistaken. Even the U.S. Civil Service which President Woodrow Wilson re-segregated in the 1920’s was not fully integrated until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.
It has only been in the last 60 years that descendants of former slaves have been able to begin acquiring generational wealth. If 1965 seems late to you for true citizenship to begin, remember that the first Black student didn’t graduate from LSU until 1967.
Indoor auctions in New Orleans were primarily for enslaved humans used in urban households. Outside settings for large auctions. Imagine the profits made every year at this location which was The City Exchange, known for its auctions of people prior to becoming the St. Louis Hotel. This is now the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel across from the LA Supreme Court in the French Quarter.
Trinity Episcopal Church recently removed Bishop Polk’s name when it changed Bishop Polk Hall to Bishops Hall.
This is a page from St. Louis Catholic Cathedral of Baptisms for enslaved and free people of color.
Historical documents were provided by Sarah Waits, archivist for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and member of Repair the Breach NOLA.