New Orleans Official Visitors Guide 2009 - (Page 26) LouISIAnA’S AFrIcAn AmErIcAn HErITAGE TrAIL n 2008, Louisiana unveiled the first 26 sites on the African American Heritage Trail. The trail tells the stories of African Americans who have made contributions to Louisiana, America and the world. Six of these sites are right here in New Orleans. Congo Square in Armstrong Park is hallowed ground— a place where enslaved African Americans were allowed to gather on Sundays to sing traditional African songs and participate in African dancing and drumming, helping to lay the foundations for what later became jazz. The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture, and History at 1418 Gov. Nicholls Street is dedicated to preserving the lives, history and communities of New Orleans, specifically the historic Faubourg Treme area, one of America’s oldest black neighborhoods. While in the Treme, don’t miss the Mardi Gras Indian Showcase at the Backstreet Cultural Museum. And take a peek inside St. Augustine Church, the oldest African American Catholic parish in the country. Also on the trail are St. Louis Cemeteries No. 1 and No. 2 at 400 Basin Street. Many famous New Orleans citizens are buried here, including Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. Another mustsee is the famous French Market, designed by architect Joseph Abeilard, a free man of color. The Trail also includes the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, home to the world’s largest collection of manuscripts relating to African Americans, race relations and Civil Rights. African American and African art is also on exhibit. Of course, the African American Heritage Trail is only the beginning. Everywhere you look in this great city you see lasting influences of African culture on the city’s unique food, art, music and architecture. Visit NewOrleansOnline.com or NewOrleansInfo.com for more information. n e W O r l e a n s m e t r O p O l i ta n c O n V e n t i O n & V i s i t O r s b u r e a u Ellis Wilson, Funeral Procession, c. 1950s http://www.NewOrleansOnline.com http://www.NewOrleansInfo.com
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