2023-11-17 11:16:00
New Orleans likes to bask in its role as the birthplace of jazz, home to the lively French Quarter and host of the wild Mardi Gras, the Southern-style carnival.
The Mississippi is never far away in “The Big Easy”, the city of carefreeness, and even when the sun beats down relentlessly in summer, somewhere an avenue flanked by Virginia oaks provides shade.
But there has never been a museum that deals with the turbulent civil rights history here or anywhere else in Louisiana, whose largest city is New Orleans.
Since the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum opened in early October, that no longer applies.
The project was not driven by a group of civil rights activists, but by the Republican politician William Nungesser. As deputy governor, he is responsible for the cultural department. Nungesser explained at the opening that he wanted to set an example at a precarious point in American history.
Early on, civil rights activists from New Orleans and the surrounding area took a prominent role in the fight against the repeal of Jim Crow laws. The catalog of reprisals that actually led to the continuation of racial segregation even after slavery was abolished.
Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge, for example, was the scene of the first bus boycott by African-American citizens in June 1953. Beginning in the mid-1950s, civil rights activists in New Orleans met secretly in a back room of “Dooky Chase’s Restaurant” to develop strategies for abolishing segregation. In addition to Martin Luther King, they also included Ernest N. Morial, who was later elected as the city’s first black mayor.
On November 14, 1960, the time finally seemed ripe to admit the first three African-American children to schools that had previously been reserved exclusively for whites. One of the pioneers was Leona Tate, who had to be escorted by US marshals.
The children spent their breaks indoors and ate their meals under stairs, Tate remembers. The risk of an attack by militant racists seemed too great. Only months later did normality return.
The locations of these events have been part of the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail since 2021, which Nungesser is also responsible for. However, all other states in the so-called Deep South of the USA have long documented their civil rights history in museums.
In Memphis (Tennessee), for example, the Lorraine Motel, on whose steps Martin Luther King was shot on April 4, 1968, has been the location of the National Civil Rights Museum since 1991. There are also comparable exhibition halls in Georgia, Alabama, Texas and even in ultra-conservative Mississippi. In Louisiana, however, the plans were repeatedly put on hold – also as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Although this omission has now been remedied, the external setting for the museum seems strange at first glance, as the exhibition is located in a wing of the congress center. But the reasons for this are plausible: There was a need to hurry, there was no other suitable building.
But the complex is named after Ernest Morial, who, after his time as an activist, steered the fortunes of New Orleans as mayor from 1978 to 1986. To this day he is considered one of the most deserving politicians in the city’s history, which dates back to 1718.
For many years, Morial would remain the only black man whose name adorned a public building in New Orleans, which was predominantly inhabited by African Americans. It wasn’t until 2001 that the airport was named after Louis Armstrong – the beginning of a new era in which diversity became normal. The location of the museum also has symbolic significance.
What remains remarkable, however, is that a Republican, of all people, provided the funds for the opening. Ultimately, the party is experiencing a continuous shift to the right and prominent politicians are blatantly racist.
Nungesser said he was following developments in his Trumpist-driven party with concern: “I don’t want to comment on that in detail. But I would like us all to talk to each other more again.”
He is assured of the backing of well-known Democrats. LaToya Cantrell, for example, is not only African American, but also the first woman to be elected to the office of mayor.
She also speaks of difficult times on the occasion of the opening: “The civil rights movement has by no means reached its goal with the museum. This can be just another step in a long journey.” Ernest Morial’s son Marc underlined the enormous importance of the museum for his family: “We will never stop fighting.”
When you tour the exhibition, despite all the euphoria, it doesn’t go unnoticed that it is more of a temporary arrangement. Exhibits from the 50s and 60s are missing.
Instead, the house is limited to display boards with rather short texts and historical recordings, which are enriched with multimedia recordings. Large-format canvases with symbolic images hang in between. The visual highlight is the 3D animation of the march on Baton Rouge on August 10, 1967.
However, this “beta version” of the museum will not remain the same as the conference center will soon be expanded. The museum will then receive larger exhibition space.
The reason for the seemingly hasty opening became clear during the gubernatorial election. In mid-October, the Republicans recaptured the only governorship in the Deep South held by a Democrat: Jeff Landry, proposed by Donald Trump and considered a conservative hardliner, is now at the helm.
However, the opening of the museum, which Nungesser had previously pushed through, can no longer be stopped or even reversed. New Orleans and Louisiana finally have a dignified place of remembrance.
Louisiana – Information:
Climate and travel time: New Orleans is a year-round destination. However, the cooler months from October to April are more pleasant than the hot and humid summers.
Museum and Trail: This Louisiana Civil Rights Museum In New Orleans the entrance fee is 7 dollars (around 6.60 euros), reduced price is 6 (around 5.70 euros), children under six years of age pay no entry. The Louisiana Civil Rights Trail currently consists of 14 stations of historical significance also in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Bogalusa. It will be expanded gradually.
Getting there: From Europe there are only direct flights to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport from London, alternatively from Frankfurt and Munich via common hubs such as Atlanta or Charlotte.
Entry: For stays of up to 90 days, an electronic permit is sufficient (This) or a visa.
1700222612
#Orleans #Civil #Rights #Museum