University of Kwazulu-Natal

Nola Resistance Oral History Project Bunk History

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nola resistance oral history project bunk history

The modern African American civil rights movement brought about immense cultural change in New Orleans. The fight for racial justice included voter registration drives as well as efforts to end segregation and curtail discrimination in schools, on public transportation, and in businesses. Local chapters of CORE, the NAACP, and NAACP youth council led the movement. This oral history project, funded in part by a National Park Service grant, records testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans between 1954 and 1976. For more information, access the full audio and transcript for each oral history. The project documented a number of historic events and themes in the interviews with the activists who took part.

The ten short videos below highlight these stories from the civil rights movement in New Orleans. In November of 1960, six years after the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education found segregation by race in public education to be unconstitutional, New Orleans’s public schools began the process of integration. That fall, four young girls—Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, Gail Etienne, and Ruby Bridges—integrated two elementary schools in the Ninth Ward, McDonogh 19 and William Frantz. During the early 1960s, civil rights fighters pushed for enforcement of the federal ruling to provide integrated facilities for interstate travel by organizing bus trips known as “Freedom Rides.” New Orleanians, including members of... Dodie Smith-Simmons recalls her experiences as a Freedom Rider, including the day when a colleague told her to “get Bobby Kennedy on the phone.”

Explore our oral history project featuring testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans between 1954 and 1976. Explore our oral history project featuring testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans between 1954 and 1976. The modern African American civil rights movement brought about immense cultural change in New Orleans. The fight for racial justice included voter registration drives as well as efforts to end segregation and curtail discrimination in schools, on public transportation, and in businesses. Local chapters of CORE, the NAACP, and NAACP youth council led the movement. This oral history project, funded in part by a National Park Service grant, records testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans between 1954 and 1976.

For more information, access the full audio and transcript for each oral history. The project documented a number of historic events and themes in the interviews with the activists who took part. The ten short videos below highlight these stories from the civil rights movement in New Orleans. Published: March 1, 2020 Last Updated: June 1, 2020 “We, in 1963, we had a vision on the right to vote, and desegregation. What is your vision?”

—Ronnie Moore, interviewed for NOLA Resistance Oral History Project, September 27, 2017 A cornerstone of the project was making the contents of the oral histories easily accessible for researchers, students, and the general public. The full audio and a searchable transcript for each interview are available at hnoc.org/nolaresistance. An additional set of ten thematic videos—each approximately three to four minutes in length—is also available. The videos feature project participants—including Leona Tate, Dodie Smith-Simmons, Don Hubbard, Katrena Ndang, Dr. Raphael Cassimere Jr., and Malik Rahim—speaking to the larger stories that knit their experiences together.

The result is a powerful recounting of pivotal moments and events from the local civil rights movement. Another critical component of the project is curricula for middle and high school students. THNOC’s education department developed three lesson plans from the oral histories: “Stories of Resistance,” “Young Leaders of New Orleans,” and “Integrating McDonogh 19.” According to Curator of Education Jenny Schwartzberg, each lesson “prompts students... The lessons, also available online, help students cultivate critical–thinking skills, further develop their reading comprehension abilities, and gain experience in assessing different types of historical sources.” These oral histories, funded in part by a National Park Service grant, record testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for racial equality in New Orleans from the 1950s through the 1970s. You can listen to their stories and read the associated transcripts in our online catalog or in person at the Williams Research Center Reading Room at 410 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.

Call (504) 598-7171 to make an appointment. The ten short videos below highlight stories from the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans. WATCH NOW For African Americans, living in Jim Crow New Orleans meant facing dehumanizing racial segregation and degrading personal interactions on a daily basis. Confronting these inequities head on was one of the many ways civil rights fighters pushed back. During the early 1960s, civil rights fighters pushed for enforcement of the federal ruling to provide integrated facilities for interstate travel by organizing bus trips known as “Freedom Rides.” New Orleanians, including members of...

Dodie Smith-Simmons recalls her experiences as a Freedom Rider, including the day when a colleague told her to “get Bobby Kennedy on the phone.” The Castle family, including Oretha and her sister Doris Jean, were leaders of the local civil rights movement. Their family home, dubbed “Freedom House,” served as a place for visiting freedom fighters to meet, plan, eat, and rest. Dooky Chases’s Restaurant, where family matriarch Virgie Castle worked, provided food to demonstrators and a place for leaders of the movement to convene. Throughout 1960 and ’61, demonstrators protested unequal hiring practices and services for African-Americans at Canal Street businesses. Dr.

Raphael Cassimere Jr., then a leader of the local NAACP Youth Council, recalls these efforts. The local New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was one of the most active groups in the city and region during the early Civil Rights Movement. Led in large part by students and young activists, New Orleans CORE participated in direct action protests and registered voters across the state: non-violent efforts which, nevertheless, often elicited a violent white response. This video was produced as part of The NOLA Resistance Oral History Project, funded in part by a National Park Service grant, which recorded testimony from individuals who were active in the fight for... Learn more: https://bit.ly/33YJBHj . .

. #blackhistorymonth #votinrights #civilrightsmovement #civilrights #socialjustice #nolacivilrights #nolasocialjustice #civilrightsmovementsofnola #neworleanscivilrights #socialjusticeneworleans #blacklivesmatter #visitthnoc Enter a search term to see content mapped geospatially, or start with one of the featured places below. On the next screen, you’ll be able to narrow your results with additional ideas, people, dates, and places.

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