Streets on the Table: Introduction
Text
In 2019, the New Orleans City Council launched a city-wide effort to change the names of streets honoring white supremacists. While the city implemented its renaming efforts, a clear need for an educational component to give context to the changes presented itself. Filling the gap, public history graduate students at the University of New Orleans created projects to illuminate the work of the Street Renaming Commission.
Produced by the Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies, Streets on the Table is a podcast that reflects on the historical relevance of both the old and new street names. Hosted by two UNO graduate students, the podcast highlights the lives and histories unrecognized in the commemorative landscape. Listeners will learn about artists, self-liberating people, educators, scientists, and many others underrepresented in street signs, public memorials, and historical narratives.
Episodes were released on a rolling basis throughout the summer of 2022. Scroll to the bottom of the media list to listen to the introduction episode.
Files
Statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia.
Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, protests erupted throughout the world and propelled racial justice issues into public consciousness. This photo addresses the presence of Confederate monuments and the commemorative landscape in the United States. | Source: i threw a guitar at him., CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Confederate Monument Toppled
In New Orleans, a Confederate monument lays on the ground, bearing the acronym "BLM" as a reference to the Black Lives Matter movement. A street sign for Jefferson Davis Parkway is visible in the background. Norman C. Francis Parkway now stands in its place. | Source: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Robert E. Lee statue removed from Lee Circle in New Orleans.
In 2017, the City of New Orleans removed a statue of Robert E. Lee from its pedestal at the end of St. Charles. The removal marked the last of four Confederate monuments to be taken down in accordance with the 2015 New Orleans City Council's vote to relocate memorials to white supremacy. | Source: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Street Renamed
Public history graduate students at the University of New Orleans stand near a new street sign. Allen Toussaint Blvd replaced Robert E. Lee Blvd in early 2022.
Streets on the Table Podcast
Public history graduate students at the University of New Orleans created projects to provide context for the New Orleans City Council's street renaming efforts. Streets on the Table, a podcast that reflects on the historical relevance of both the old and new street names, is an example of one of those projects.