Giants of African-American Achievement
Giants of African-American Achievement: St. Louis Cemetery #2, Square 3
Explore the African, Afro-Creole, and African-American history of New Orleans in St. Louis Cemetery #2, and see why square 3 of this cemetery has been described as the greatest collection of monuments to African-American achievement anywhere in the world. Come learn about the men and women interred here and how they changed history.
For a general overview of death and burial in New Orleans cemeteries, consider first touring with us in St. Louis Cemetery #1 or taking our general St. Louis Cemetery #2 tour. This specialized tour in St. Louis #2 will offer a few cemetery and burial basics before moving on to the main theme of African and Afro-Creole history in New Orleans, with an emphasis on les gens de couleur libres (“free people of color”), the most prosperous and literate free black population in the U.S.
Among the highlights of the tour:
- The arrival of enslaved West Africans in New Orleans
- The development of the free black community
- The black Creole radicals who pushed for freedom and equality
- The impact of the Haitian émigrés on the local culture
- Black education in antebellum New Orleans
- Blacks in the military, from the 18th c. militias through the Civil War
- Reconstruction and the battle for equal rights
- The first black daily newspaper in the U.S.
- Noteworthy men and women whose contributions are the stuff of legend, such as fencing master Basile Crokère, Sister Henriette Delille (founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family and on track toward sainthood in the Catholic Church), benefactor of black education Marie Couvent, first black military hero André Cailloux, first black Lieut. Governor in the U.S. Oscar Dunn, and many more….
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Tour Schedule
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Mondays and Fridays
Meet at the Backatown Coffee Parlour, 301 Basin St., Suite 1 .
Contact Us
Email: tours@doubloontours.com
Phone: 504.256.9540