Portrait of Reverend Doctor Benjamin Morgan Palmer, 1880.

ID: 4742 ~ Source: Courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum.

This file appears in: Segregation in Palmer Park

Rev. Benjamin Morgan Palmer was an influential leader of the Presbyterian Church who argued for secession from the Union and, during Reconstruction, supported racial segregation.

This file appears in: Segregation in Palmer Park

Segregation in Palmer Park

By Kevin McQueeney & Kathryn O'Dwyer

Though designated for public use, Palmer Park was segregated until the 1970s. The park’s namesake, Benjamin Palmer, was a staunch defender of slavery and leading segregationist, set a tone of…