The African American Experience in Louisiana

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3. Late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century urban residences a) Houses (see also Educational and Political) Several early twentieth-century urban residences have been recognized by the National Register for their association with significant African-American individuals (see Educational, Professional and Artistic, and Political categories for examples), but none for associations with the broader patterns of events of the African American experience in Louisiana. African American urban residences of late nineteenth-century Louisiana are not represented on the National Register at all. The greater numbers of extant late-nineteenth and twentieth century residences can make it more difficult to argue significance than for their rarer antebellum counterparts, however arguments for significance within the context of the African American Experience in Louisiana can and must be made. The dynamic history of Africans Americans in Louisiana from Reconstruction, through the Jim Crow era, to the Civil Rights movement, provides a framework to delineate many associations of significance. Very modest urban houses built for freed people shortly after the Civil War may be significant for their illustration of the transition to a free life. During Reconstruction, numerous leaders emerged in the African American community and often their houses may be the surviving resources with the greatest connection to their lives. The home of C. C. Antoine in Shreveport is listed on the National Register for this association (see section J. Political). An example of a potentially National Register eligible house of a less renowned late nineteenth to early twentieth century community leader is John Gideon Lewis’ home in Natchitoches (Figure 13). Lewis was Grand Master of the M. W. Eureka Grand Lodge and an important community leader for whom a school was later named. The quality of his house hints at his position in the community. Figure 13: John G. Lewis House, Natchitoches, Natchitoches Parish. As segregation permeated life in Louisiana and African Americans were more and more restricted in the places they could go, houses served many functions. While churches often provided the venue for many community activities, houses too might shelter meetings and important social gatherings, and also acted as boarding houses and restaurants for travelers in the Jim Crow era. The use of residential properties for commercial purposes in the context of Jim Crow is deeply telling of the extent to which segregation affected everyday African American life. When African Americans traveled away from home it could be very difficult to find a place to stay or eat a meal among other things. Because of these circumstances, a national travel guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book was developed in 1937 with the specific goal of keeping the African-American traveler “from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable.” “Tourist Homes” were one type of facility listed in this guide. These were private homes offering rooms for travelers. Among those offering accommodations to travelers in Louisiana were S. A. Wilson in Mansfield, Mrs. F. Livaudais in New Orleans, and B. Giron in Page 59 of 123
Opelousas. 238 A private home used for such extra-residential purposes because of segregation is potentially eligible for the National Register if that use was can be well documented and established as a product of the exclusion of African Americans from other facilities in the area. Such a residential property would also have to convey its significance in this regard by being recognizable to a visitor from its historic period, and retaining its location. Exceptionally large and stylish residences should be eligible as symbols of African Americans’ ability to excel and succeed in a social situation that put every impediment before them. An example of such a building is the S. W. Green House of 1928 in New Orleans (Figure 14). S. W. Green was the son of a former slave, an extremely successful businessman, and a community leader and his wife, Laurenia was involved with the NAACP. The Greens’ seventeen-room, craftsman style mansion was designed by the renowned architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth. Such a home would have been an expected symbol of success for a white businessman of this era, but to white supremacists, it was unacceptably ostentatious for a black man and part way through construction, the Ku Klux Klan attempted to burn the structure. Undeterred, or perhaps, even more determined to complete his dream house, Green resumed construction in the face of such threatening hatred. 239 Recently threatened again by construction of the LSU/VA hospital complex, the home has been Figure 14: S. W. Green House, New Orleans, Orleans Parish. relocated and awaits preservation. Historic African-American houses such as Green’s are rare because of the obstacles both to building wealth and displaying it. They could become rarer still if not identified and protected in the case of new construction projects like the LSU/VA hospital. One similar house in New Orleans, the 1925 Henry E. Braden House was documented by for the Historic American Buildings Survey before its removal for the building of a new post office on Louisiana Avenue. Of the many sectors of life in which African Americans achieved great individual significance, music (and particularly jazz) is of special import to the cultural legacy of Louisiana and New Orleans. The homes of notable African American musicians may be eligible for the National Register if they are the only building connected with the individual or most associated with a significant period in their lives. The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans has worked to identify the homes of jazz legends. An example of a successfully identified and preserved musician’s house Figure 15: Kid Ory House, New Orleans, Orleans Parish. 238 The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide, 1949 ed. (New York: Victor H. Green & Co., 1949), 1, 32-33. 239 Kenneth Bryant, “A Crucial Piece of Black History Faces the Wrecking Ball,” Inside the Footprint, New Orleans, Louisiana,: Documenting the Lower Mid-City Footprint of the Proposed LSU-VA Hospital, http://insidethefootprint.blogspot.com/2010/09/guest-piece-crucial-piece-of-black.html (accessed January 31, 2011). Page 60 of 123
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The African American Experience in
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary
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of the city of New Orleans, beautif
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BACKGROUND HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
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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: African architectural antecedents,
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 and 106: Pontchartrain Park course, now rena
Page 107 and 108: J. Political This property type is
Page 109 and 110: K. Military Although the history of
Page 111 and 112: was likely the only place in Donald
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A careful evaluation of all buildin
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eviction by white landlords should
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4. Towns and Settlements Towns and
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preserving the history of this remo
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GEOGRAPHICAL DATA This context is l
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etween Louisiana’s historic resou
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Edwards, Jay D. “Shotgun: The Mos
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Vlach, John Michael. “The Shotgun
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The African American Experience in Louisiana

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