The African American Experience in Louisiana

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.
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