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Stories by author "Paper Monuments": 45

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Saint Katharine Drexel and Xavier University

By Paper Monuments, Sharlene Sinegal Decuir, Narrative & Brendon Palmer-Angell, Artwork
Katharine Mary Drexel, born on November 26, 1858, into one of the wealthiest families in Philadelphia was destined to be a socialite and a member of privileged society. He father, Francis A. Drexel and his brothers owned an international banking…

Couvent School

By Paper Monuments, Mary Niall Mitchell, narrative & Lydia Stein, artwork
On January 29, 1858, student André Gregoire wrote the following in an assignment for his English class: “A man cannot do anything if he has no education to conduct himself in business; therefore, I make all my efforts to learn as soon as I can.” He…

Charity Hospital

By Paper Monuments, Roberta Brandes Gratz, narrative & Hugo Martinez, artwork
Charity Hospital did not have to close. It was restored to working order within a few weeks of Katrina with the extraordinary volunteer effort of more than 200 doctors, nurses, technical professionals, citizens and military staff. UMC at $1.1…

1946 Flambeaux Strike

By Paper Monuments, Rien Fertel, narrative & Jeffrey Andrews, artwork
New Orleans calls them the flambeaux — French for “flaming torches” — the contingent of mostly African-American men who carry 70-pound, kerosene-fueled wooden crosses used to illuminate Carnival parade routes. It’s a tradition as old as Mardi Gras…

Bras-Coupé

By Paper Monuments, Bryan Wagner, narrative
& Bryan C. Lee Jr., artwork
When Bras-Coupé was a slave owned by General William DeBuys, he was known by the name Squire. Like so many other slaves in New Orleans, Squire refused to remain in bondage. He escaped to the cypress swamps above the city where he joined the…

Streetcar Protest 1867

By Paper Monuments, Jeremy Paten, Artwork & Suzanne-Juliette Mobley, Narrative
When the first mule-drawn streetcars were introduced to New Orleans in the 1820s, no black passengers, free or enslaved, were allowed to ride. Free blacks challenged this new indignity atop the erosion of long-held rights; under territorial…

Dew Drop Inn

By Paper Monuments, Hannah Chalew, Artist & Al Jackson, Narrative
The Dew Drop Inn "opened" its doors in 1939 under the ownership of Mr. Frank Pania. The Dew Drop would become a major player in the development of Rhythm and Blues. The "Drop," as it was called, became the hub of social and…

Arson Attack on the UpStairs Lounge

By Paper Monuments, Frank Perez, Narrative
& Liz Lerman, Artist
The UpStairs Lounge was a gay bar that occupied the second floor of a building at the corner of Chartres and Iberville Streets in the French Quarter. It was a friendly, neighborhood bar that afforded gay men a safe space to gather and enjoy each…

Sassy Servants and Belligerent Bridgets: Irish Domestic Workers in the 19th Century

By Paper Monuments, Laura D Kelley Ph.D., narrative & Rebecca O'Malley Gipson, artwork
Domestic servants were a permanent feature of middle class families in 19th century America. We tend to think of them as lacking agency over their daily lives and without power to shape their future. Yet, Irish immigrant women belie that image, as a…

H.E.R.E. (Human Rights for Everyone) Activists Unite Against Anita Baker

By Paper Monuments, Matt Phelan, artwork & Frank Perez, narrative
A former beauty pageant queen and popular singer, by 1977 Bryant was the official spokesperson of the Florida Citrus Commission. She was also a fundamentalist Christian who became incensed when Miami-Dade County passed a non-discrimination ordinance…

Desire Standoff

By Paper Monuments, Trent Smith, narrative & Langston Allston, artwork
On September 15, 1970, one of America’s largest standoffs took place between the New Orleans chapter of the Black Panther Party and multiple branches of law enforcement within the Desire housing projects in the city’s Ninth Ward. Leading up to the…

The Pythian Temple

By Paper Monuments, Amber N. Wiley, narrative & Chris Daemmrich, artwork
The Pythian Temple building at Gravier and Loyola (formerly Saratoga) streets was erected in 1909, and was soundly celebrated throughout the United States in the African American press as a true monument to the literal heights of the “Negro race.”…

Commander Noel Carriere

By Paper Monuments, D. Lammie-Hanson, artwork & Emily Clark, narrative
Commander Noel Carriere was decorated for bravery in the American Revolution, a black hero in his own time, forgotten in ours. Carriere was born into slavery at English Turn in 1745 to African parents who came to New Orleans in chains. His…

The General Strike of 1892

By Paper Monuments, Henry Lipkis, artist & Leon A. Waters, narrative
125 years ago, one of the greatest united strikes happened here in New Orleans – the General Strike of 1892. The general strike grew out of the labor movement struggles for improved economic well-being and Black peoples’ continued struggles for…

Comité des Citoyens

By Paper Monuments, Rachel Cockrill, artist & Lauren Lastrape, narrative
Most famous for being the group that organized member Homer Plessy's violation of railroad segregation laws on a train in 1892, the Comité des Citoyens was a group founded by Rodolphe Desdunes and Louis Martinet, with aid and advice from…

La Village des Chapitoulas

By Paper Monuments, Daniela Marx, artist & Shannon Lee Dawdy, narrative
New Orleans is an Indian town. When Frenchmen and Africans arrived in the bend of the Mississippi that would eventually be re-named New Orleans, they encountered a place that had been home to Native Americans for hundreds of years. We know from…

San Malo Maroons

By Paper Monuments, Pippin Frisbie-Calder, artist & Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, narrative
The San Malo Maroons have the most remarkable and extensively documented history of runaway slave communities in the Western Hemisphere. These men and women lived in the swamps surrounding New Orleans. They established permanent settlements in Chef…

The Enslaved Peoples' Uprising of 1811

By Paper Monuments, Katelyn Jones (Yep Design Works), Artist, Monark Roy (Yep Design Works), Artist, Sly Watts (Yep Design Works), Artist & Bryan Wagner, narrative
The Louisiana Slave Revolt of 1811 was the largest slave insurrection in the history of the United States. The revolt was carried out by enslaved men and women, house servants and field hands, some born in Louisiana and others recently arrived from…

Marie Baron and Les Forcats

By Paper Monuments, Jeffrey Goodman, artist & Shannon Lee Dawdy, narrative
Marie Baron was among thousands of forçats, or French criminals sent to Louisiana in the early 1700s as forced laborers. Most were convicted for life terms, but if they survived the first few years (the majority did not), they could acquire a de…

St. Louis La Nuit

By Paper Monuments, Jeffrey Goodman, Artist & Sylvia Frey, Writer
The extraordinary life-history of Saint Louis la Nuit reads like a first draft of early New Orleans history. Born in Africa in 1728, he had a name, a family and an ethnic identity which defined his place in the world. Torn from his identity moorings…
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This work is licensed by The Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies at the University of New Orleans under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.
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Funding for technical support provided by anonymous donors in memory of the Samuelson, Wolfson, and Fertel families.

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