The African American Experience in Louisiana

Recommendations

Info

listed Lincoln Theater was much celebrated when it opened in 1950 (Figure 103). News reports of the day demonstrate the monumental importance of the opening of such theaters to the African American community. Theaters must be sufficiently intact to convey their original purpose as theaters, as well as being easily recognizable to someone from the historic period, to be eligible for this association. Because the primary experience of the theater occurred in the interior space, interior integrity of design, materials and feeling is important. Enough interior material must remain to convey the historic design and function. Location and setting are important factors for theaters because they convey the relationship of the theater to its neighborhood, but an altered setting should not necessarily make a candidate ineligible. 5. Clubs/ Taverns/ Music venues Night clubs, taverns, saloons and businesses of this type by any name were obviously another significant type of recreational property. Often, they also provided venues for music. Perhaps the oldest music venue with significance for the African American experience in Louisiana was not any type of saloon, but a Masonic Temple. Perseverance Lodge No. 4, which was built in New Orleans in 1820 and is listed on the National Register, was a white Masonic hall, but provided a venue for some of the earliest performances of African American bands known (Figure 104). Located in the Faubourg Tremé, where many Free People of Color lived, and within close proximity to Congo Square, the hall also was available for use by other members of the public and became renowned as a place to see the city’s African American performers. Many of the other property types discussed above also included venues for music. See also the Commercial and Masonic Temple and Benevolent Society Hall sections. Two popular clubs in Natchitoches Parish that offered African Americans opportunities for recreation and entertainment they could not enjoy at other local venues were the Fiesta Club and Bubbá’s (Figure 105 and 106). The Fiesta Club was the place to be on Sunday afternoons where the activities included horse races, football, baseball, and billiards. Bubbá’s juke joint was also Parish. home to race track and baseball games and additionally hosted popular musicians like Fats Domino. To be eligible for the National Register in association with the theme of this context, these types of properties need to have a demonstrated significance in the African American experience and retain an easily recognizable historic appearance. Original location and setting are important contributing factors for eligibility, but are not necessarily essential. Figure 104: Perseverance Lodge No. 4, New Orleans, Orleans Parish. Figure 105: Fiesta Club, Natchez, Natchitoches Figure 106: Bubbá’s, Bermuda vicinity, Natchitoches Parish. Page 103 of 123
J. Political This property type is intended to encompass all kinds of resources for their association with political events or activities. This property type was created mainly for properties associated with Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement, but it may include associations with political elements of any era. To be eligible for the National Register specifically for significance in relation to politics, the associated political events must have been important at the local, state, or national level. Resources of this type must retain an easily recognizable historic appearance. The importance of integrity of location and setting must be evaluated on an individual basis. 1. Places of political gatherings An example of a property that is listed on the National Register in large part for its significance as a Civil Rights meeting place is Union Bethel AME Church in New Orleans (Figure 107). Built in 1921, the church long served as an auditorium and civic gathering spot for the African-American community, but this became particularly important during the Civil Rights movement when it hosted mass meetings. The church had a seating capacity of 1,500 and historic sources reported meetings attended by 2,000 to 2,500 people during the Civil Rights movement. Notably, one the historic meetings at the church featured the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. as the speaker. While Union Bethel AME Church hosted very large meetings, a church or other venue in a smaller town might still have local significance for its role in a political movement of that region. It should be remembered, however that eligibility for association with events that occurred less than fifty years ago requires exceptional significance and that places associated with Civil Rights activities are very likely to be eligible for other roles in the community as well. 2. Places of protests and demonstrations Figure 107: Union Bethel AME Church, New Orleans, Orleans Parish. The Kress Building in Baton Rouge is listed on the National Register for its significance as the site of the first of Baton Rouge’s sit-ins in the 1960s (Figure 108). Sit-ins have a clear association with a building, but other protests and demonstrations might have a less easily definable links to individual properties. For example, the instigating moment of the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott occurred on a bus, which could be an eligible object if that individual bus was identified and preserved, but the boycott itself was not limited to one place or object. Figure 108: Kress Building, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish. Page 104 of 123
Page 1 and 2:
The African American Experience in
Page 3 and 4:
TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6:
of the city of New Orleans, beautif
Page 7 and 8:
BACKGROUND HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
Page 9 and 10:
apprenticeships with skilled artisa
Page 11 and 12:
Coartación seems to have been assi
Page 13 and 14:
freeing slaves in all its colonies,
Page 15 and 16:
slaying of his son. An immediate an
Page 17 and 18:
to 129 at Parlange in Pointe Coupé
Page 19 and 20:
was apparently different when they
Page 21 and 22:
indicative of their individual weal
Page 23 and 24:
the cleanliness and comfort of the
Page 25 and 26:
chartered in 1848 and its building
Page 27 and 28:
a horse, tanning leather or making
Page 29 and 30:
which should go hand and hand with
Page 31 and 32:
difficult to distinguish between th
Page 33 and 34:
near riot with groups of African Am
Page 35 and 36:
egan actively opening schools and p
Page 37 and 38:
according to the terms of the contr
Page 39 and 40:
estimated thirty-four whites and 15
Page 41 and 42:
continued to vote in Louisiana unti
Page 43 and 44:
suddenly being free with no wealth
Page 45 and 46:
Bogalusa even established separate
Page 47 and 48:
Into this situation entered the Rev
Page 49 and 50:
provided some of the best facilitie
Page 51 and 52:
their predecessors. 229 Two months
Page 53 and 54:
State Historic Preservation Office
Page 55 and 56: example of this is the way that seg
Page 57 and 58: architecture or Criterion B signifi
Page 59 and 60: as the home and meeting place of De
Page 61 and 62: African architectural antecedents,
Page 63 and 64: Opelousas. 238 A private home used
Page 65 and 66: owner was the State of Louisiana, w
Page 67 and 68: to the ongoing struggle of African
Page 69 and 70: documented house of an African Amer
Page 71 and 72: 6. Cemeteries Plantation cemeteries
Page 73 and 74: would suffer from a loss of setting
Page 75 and 76: adding the benefits of modern techn
Page 77 and 78: commissioned to design would play i
Page 79 and 80: 1850s, serving free children of col
Page 81 and 82: eligious, there were some parochial
Page 83 and 84: Iberville Parish when it was docume
Page 85 and 86: housing just grades one through fou
Page 87 and 88: A compromise between the demand of
Page 89 and 90: uildings for African Americans vers
Page 91 and 92: loss of location or setting for som
Page 93 and 94: In order to be eligible for the Nat
Page 95 and 96: African American artists many times
Page 97 and 98: locks of the street, just a dozen r
Page 99 and 100: Masonic organization for African Am
Page 101 and 102: founded in 1883 (Figure 92). The bu
Page 103 and 104: uildings or structures. Possible ex
Page 105: Pontchartrain Park course, now rena
Page 109 and 110: K. Military Although the history of
Page 111 and 112: was likely the only place in Donald
Page 113 and 114: A careful evaluation of all buildin
Page 115 and 116: eviction by white landlords should
Page 117 and 118: 4. Towns and Settlements Towns and
Page 119 and 120: preserving the history of this remo
Page 121 and 122: GEOGRAPHICAL DATA This context is l
Page 123 and 124: etween Louisiana’s historic resou
Page 125 and 126: Edwards, Jay D. “Shotgun: The Mos
Page 127: Vlach, John Michael. “The Shotgun
show all

The African American Experience in Louisiana

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?