The first public gatherings of enslaved Africans and free people of color took place here at Congo Square throughout the 19th century. Traditions of dance, music, religion, and cuisine of the homeland was openly enjoyed, celebrated, and served as a continuum of African culture. In the southern corner of what is now known as Armstrong Park was where meetings and open markets were held. Noted as one of the most hallowed sites in American music history, the rhythms of Congo Square served as the formation of Jazz, second line, and Mardi Gras Indian traditions. Wynton Marsalis once said, “Every strand of American music comes directly from Congo Square.” (Source: Afropunk.com; Black History: Congo Square, New Orleans-The Heart of American Music 2018)

Since 1999, this gathering place is home to collections of costumes, artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, films, and other materials vital to New Orleans’ African American culture. (Source: Louisianatravel.com) Helping to preserve and perpetuate the African American societal traditions, The Backstreet Cultural Museum fosters the appreciation of significant local traditions, like jazz funerals, Mardi Gras Indians, social aid & pleasure clubs, the Skull and Bone Gangs, and the Baby Dolls. (Source: BackstreetMuseum.org)

Though it’s a place of worship, St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Tremé also serves as a sanctuary of history. The parish is the oldest African American church parish in the U.S. and it is the oldest African American Church in New Orleans. Established in 1841, St. Augustine welcomed black citizens of New Orleans, both free and enslaved as worshipers. It continues today with its authentic, culturally enriched Sunday gospel mass as a beacon of spirituality and culture. (Source: NewOrleansHistorical.org)

Taking a bite into fried chicken is like taking a bite into history. The history of Willie Mae’s Scotch House begins in 1957 when the establishment was a bar in the Historic Tremé neighborhood. It moved to its current St. Ann Street location a year later. Now, it’s made up of a bar, beauty salon, and barbershop. In the early 70s, the demand for the delicious fried chicken and sides from bar customers had to be met, and the celebrated eatery as we know it was born. Willie Mae’s has served an extensive list of celebrities and food lovers from around the country. Ms. Willie Mae’s great-granddaughter now carries on the family tradition of a welcoming atmosphere with food cooked with love.

We can’t fit all of the exceptional black-owned restaurants in New Orleans on this list alone, but some of our other favorites include: The Praline Connection, Dunbar’s, and Lil Dizzy’s Café, each long-standing eateries visitors should experience. Newer black-owned restaurants have emerged and are carrying the torch of fine food serving traditional Creole classics while adding their own unique twist. Sassafras, 14 Parishes, Neyow’s Creole Café, Morrow’s, The Half Shell on the Bayou, and The Munch Factory are just a few you can add to your NOLA to-eat list.

Two of the city’s oldest corridors have experienced a revitalization and are worth taking in. Your cultural appetite will be fed walking along the historic O.C. Haley Boulevard. The history of the O.C. Haley corridor (formerly known as Dryades Street) dates to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Jewish and Italian merchants, African-American doctors and insurance companies, dairymen and German bakers alike set up shop, seizing the entrepreneurial opportunities available to anyone with ideas and energy. In the 1990s, thanks to the arrival of investor-anchors Café Reconcile and Ashé Cultural Arts Center, a long-term, collaborative effort began to bring visitors and commerce back to this commercial district. The thoroughfare is named in honor of local civil rights activist, Oretha Castle Haley. (Source: OCHaleyblvd.org)

Not far from O.C. Haley is the Pythian Market. Before it was an upscale dwelling and modern vendor market, the Pythian was the home of the Negro Board of Trade, and it also housed the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP. The building was developed in 1909 by Smith W. Green, a former slave who later became a successful businessman. Green headed the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization established by Congress in the wake of the Civil War to unite the country. The Pythian Temple was also home to a theater that hosted vaudeville shows, music performances, and African American Carnival balls. (Source: WGNO)

Bayou Road is a corridor representative of the resurgence of black-owned businesses in one of the city’s oldest thoroughfares. Once serving as an illumination of inspiration for free people of color in the 1800s, the corridor is comprised of African American-owned businesses in the areas of retail, food and beverage, entertainment, and culture. The corridor’s anchor, Community Book Center, has been a home base for local writers and book lovers and a gathering place for meetings and events for over 30 years. A true community center in every sense, CBC also served as the official book vendor for Essence Festival. (Source: New Orleans Main Street Resilience Plan, Essence.com)

“Nothing less than complete equality is acceptable to our community” —  NAACP representative Daniel Byrd in 1949. This is the quote engraved on one side of the historical marker at the site of McDonogh #19 Elementary School in the 9th ward. The Integration of Southern Elementary Schools took place when four six-year-old children in New Orleans became the first African Americans to integrate ‘white-only’ public elementary schools in the Deep South. On that day, November 14, 1960, three girls Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne enrolled in McDonough #19 School at 5909 St. Claude Ave. Ruby Bridges, the fourth student, began classes at William Frantz School, at 3811 North Galvez St. The integration of New Orleans public elementary schools marked a major focal point in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. (Source: Keith Medley, We As Free Men)

Le Musée de f.p.c. (Free People of Color), located on Esplanade Avenue, opens a door to the brilliant yet hidden history of a people whose stories have largely been confined to archival boxes, out-of-print books, yellowing musical scores, and the headstones in the city’s historic cemeteries. Locked by law into a marginal existence between slavery and freedom, free people of color were anomalies in a caste society rooted in black and white, master and enslaved. Still, their achievements and vibrant culture serve to rewrite the conventional narrative of the history of our city. Le Musée de f.p.c. exclusively interprets, preserves, and presents the story and material culture of free people of color as it examines the first three centuries of New Orleans history. (Source: Le Musée de f.c.p.)

The George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art is an institution that collects, interprets, and preserves the visual aesthetic of people of African descent in North America and beyond. Nestled in the lower garden district, The McKenna Museum seeks to make African Diasporan fine art accessible to visitors of all ages by way of innovative programs and exhibits that engage versatile audiences. The institution identifies and presents emerging artists alongside well-established fine arts masters. The McKenna Museum is committed to the preservation of the distinct culture found within the African American community of Louisiana. (Source: The George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art)

What began as a place to archive vast records of the American Missionary Association, Tulane University’s Amistad Research Center now permanently houses hundreds of manuscripts, rare documents, photographs, scholarly articles, and African American literature and art. The Amistad Research Center is a hidden gem filled with rare, historical finds documenting the African American diaspora, racial history, and civil rights in the United States. Be sure to carve out some time on your visit to sit with the incredible pieces of history in the Amistad Research Center. (Source: Amistad Research Center)

“For any young African American man to achieve what Brandan has – it’s just incredible,” says local creative, Gina Charbonnet. Brandan “Bmike” Odums is the gifted visual artist behind Studio BE, the 35,000-square-foot warehouse turned non-traditional mural showcase, in the Bywater. In 2013, Odums completed a series of graffiti paintings depicting iconic African American civil rights leaders at the Hurricane Katrina damaged/abandoned public housing complex in the 9th Ward. Given the name #ProjectBe, the space received national acclaim, bringing spectators from all over to see the art before the deserted complex’s set demolition date. Odom’s contributions to art and the African American community is as large as his murals.