The African American Experience in Louisiana

The Texas Avenue Historic District in
Shreveport, which encompasses the 800 block
of the avenue, was nominated to the National
Register for its architectural significance, but it
has strong associations with the African
American experience as well (Figure 127).
Texas Avenue was a commercial destination for
African Americans in Shreveport referred to
simply as “The Avenue.” Another part of it
was added to the St. Paul’s Bottoms Historic
District in 1999. Five of the addresses in the
Texas Avenue Historic District were
traditionally occupied by African American
businesses. These included a pharmacy, doctors and dentist offices, a newspaper, barbers, a
shaving parlor, and a notary public. Other buildings on the block were occupied by Lebanese,
Jewish, Italian, and Chinese businesses. This is evidence a phenomenon seen elsewhere in
Louisiana as well; the coexistence of various groups of ethnic minorities and immigrants with
African Americans on the outside of the white American mainstream during the early twentieth
century.
3. Suburbs
As the suburbanization of American
occurred in the mid-twentieth
century, African Americans were
often excluded from the new
developments. In 1955,
Pontchartrain Park opened as the first
subdivision for African Americans in
New Orleans (Figures 128 and 129).
This was a momentous event for the
many African Americans who
like others in the middle class in
this period wanted new homes
with the yards and other amenities
of semi-suburban living.
Emblematic of the achievement of
truly equal housing opportunities
in the mid-century segregated south, Pontchartrain Park is significant for its association with the
African American Experience in Louisiana. It should be noted that as one of the later developed
areas of New Orleans, Pontchartrain Park is in a lower lying part of the city which was
devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but residents are fighting to restore this treasured and
consequential historic neighborhood. Rebuilding post-Katrina has resulted in a lot of alterations
to the historic fabric of the neighborhood, such that while the official determination of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Louisiana Division of Historic
Preservation is that Pontchartrain Park is still eligible to be nominated as a historic district
presently, there is a question as to whether it will remain eligible in the future.
Page 113 of 123
Figure 127: Texas Avenue Historic District, Shreveport,
Caddo Parish.
Figures 128 and 129: Pontchartrain Park, New Orleans, Orleans Parish.