Louisiana African American Heritage Trail (french: Sentier de l'héritage afro-américain de la Louisiane) is a cultural heritage trail with 38 sites designated by the state of
Louisiana, from
New Orleans along the
Mississippi River to
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...
and
Shreveport, with sites in small towns and plantations also included.
[Kimberly Quillen, "African American Heritage Trail unveiled in New Orleans this morning"](_blank)
''Times Picayune'', 27 February 2008, accessed 17 January 2015["A Story Like No Other: African American Heritage Trail"](_blank)
website In New Orleans several sites are within a walking area. Auto travel is required to reach sites outside the city.
A variety of African-American museums devoted to art, history and culture are on the "trail", as is the
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Established in 1994, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park serves to preserve the resources and cultural landscapes of the Cane River region in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Located along the Cane River Lake, the park is approximatel ...
, and the first two churches founded by and for
free people of color. The trail includes two extensive
plantation complexes, with surviving slave quarters used by people who lived and worked at the plantations — until 1930 in one case, and into the 1960s at the other. Two
historically black universities are also on the trail.
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph Landrieu ( ; born August 16, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to ...
, as Lieutenant Governor, supported the establishment of the cultural heritage trail in order to highlight the many contributions of African Americans to the culture of Louisiana and the United States; and to promote these sites as destinations for tourism, which is increasingly important to the state's economy. The state established the trail with 26 sites in 2008, more were added in 2012 and 2019, and the list was expanded to 38 with an announcement from Lieutenant Governor
Billy Nungesser
William Harold Nungesser (born January 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 54th lieutenant governor of Louisiana.
A Republican, Nungesser is also the former president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission, having been re-elected ...
in 2022.
Historic sites
Included in 2008 were:
*New Orleans
**
Congo Square
Congo Square (french: Place Congo) is an open space, now within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The square is famous for its in ...
;
**
New Orleans African American Museum;
**
St. Augustine Church (New Orleans) in Tremé;
**
St. Louis Cemeteries No. 1 and No. 2;
**
French Market
The French Market (french: Marché français) is a market and series of commercial buildings spanning six blocks in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a Native American trading post predating European colonization, the market ...
;
**
Amistad Research Center
The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is an independent archives and manuscripts repository in the United States that specializes in the history of African Americans and ethnic minorities. It is one of the first institutions of its kind in the United ...
,
Tulane University
*
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...
's grave,
Providence Park Cemetery,
Metairie;
*
Arna Bontemps African American Museum (birthplace of writer of the
Harlem Renaissance),
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
;
*
Madam C.J. Walker's birthplace,
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
;
*
Hermione Museum, Tallulah, Louisiana, one of four antebellum houses in the parish, has exhibit about Madam C. J. Walker;
*
Melrose Plantation, center of Louisiana Créole culture;
*
Laura Plantation,
Vacherie
Vacherie is an unincorporated community in St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area . The name of the place derives from the French word for ''cowshed''. On the SW side of the community is the ...
;
*
Evergreen Plantation,
Wallace;
*
River Road African American Museum River Road African American Museum is a museum of culture and history in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, United States. Founded in 1994, it was among the first Louisiana museums to tell the story of Africans and African Americans, both slave and free. ...
,
Donaldsonville
Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Bat ...
;
*
Grambling State University
Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...
,
Grambling
Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritag ...
;
*
Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum
The Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum & Veterans Archives is a museum on Phoenix Square in Hammond, Louisiana.
There are three main buildings. The north building has a dinner theater and storage. The middle building contains the mai ...
,
Hammond;
*
Port Hudson State Historic Site
The Port Hudson State Historic Site is located on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, just outside the limits of Port Hudson and in the vicinity of Jackson. The site preserves a portion of the fortifica ...
,
Jackson;
*
Whitney Plantation Historic District
The Whitney Plantation Historic District is preserved by the Whitney Institute, a non-profit whose mission is to educate the public about the history and legacies of slavery in the Southern United States. The district, including the main house a ...
,
Wallace;
* African American Museum,
St. Martinville;
*
St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church,
Natchez, Louisiana
Natchez is a village in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 597 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village and parish are part of the Cane River National Heritag ...
;
* Black Heritage Art Gallery,
Central School Arts and Humanities Center,
Lake Charles;
*
Creole Heritage Folk Life Center,
Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.''
Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 ...
;
*
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Established in 1994, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park serves to preserve the resources and cultural landscapes of the Cane River region in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Located along the Cane River Lake, the park is approximatel ...
-Creole Center,
Natchitoches;
*
Southern University,
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...
;
*
Multicultural Center of the South,
Shreveport;
*
Southern University Museum of Art,
Shreveport;
*
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum,
Monroe
See also
*
National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened in 2016
*
Rural African American Museum
Rural African American Museum is a museum in Opelousas that focuses on the history of African Americans living in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States, from the American Civil War to the present. It was inaugurated in late 2018 and is fre ...
,
Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.''
Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 ...
*
African-Americans in Louisiana
*
List of museums focused on African Americans
This is a list of museums in the United States whose primary focus is on African American culture and history. Such museums are commonly known as African American museums. According to scholar Raymond Doswell, an African American museum is "an i ...
References
External links
"A Story Like No Other: African American Heritage Trail" website
{{coord missing, Louisiana
African-American historic places
Louisiana culture
Tourist attractions in Louisiana
African-American museums in Louisiana
Slave cabins and quarters in the United States
2008 establishments in Louisiana