2020 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year & Author of “The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields,” The History Press
Hello all! As you may or may not have noticed, I have been on hiatus from this blog for almost two years. This is for a few reasons. First, I decided to go back to graduate school, which is undauntedly time consuming as I teach high school. However, the main reason is that I have … More Upcoming Book Available!
I’ve compiled a listicle of my favorite historical photos of New Orleans. Through its complex history, New Orleans experienced a series of issues: slavery, war, riots, segregation, hurricanes, etc. I stopped prior to 1980 to keep it as historical as possible. I kept it at 100 to keep it succinct, but there are many more … More 100 Iconic Photos of New Orleans Through the Ages
On September 14, 1874, over 5,000 heavily armed members of the White League, a white supremacist paramilitary organization, mobilized to overthrow the Reconstruction government of Louisiana. Under the guidance of John McEnery, a Democrat upset at his recent loss for governorship, they stormed Canal Street to initiate the coup. There they clashed with the Metropolitan … More The History Surrounding New Orleans’ Confederate Memorials
In 1933, famed ethnomusicologist John Lomax and his son Alan Lomax pioneered on an arduous journey to capture the sounds of the American South. They wanted to find African-American folk songs in its purest form as close to the days of slavery as possible. Lomax believed prisons provided the best source as its walls created … More The Historic Music of Angola Penitentiary
Ever wondered why people use “axe” as opposed to “ask”? The linguistic history of the “mispronunciation” is much more intricate than you probably think.
The Chicago Tribune published an infuriating piece by Kristen McQueary, who claimed a feeling of “envy” for the “upcoming 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.” This sensationalized article justifiably struck a nerve among Katrina victims. It presented itself at perhaps the worst time: at the near precipice of our ten year anniversary.
On a Sunday afternoon on June 24, 1973, around sixty patrons were drinking at the Upstairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter. At 7:56pm, the buzzer that signaled a cab sounded. The man that opened the steel door was greeted by a hurling Molotov cocktail that quickly engulfed the staircase and spread … More The Upstairs Lounge Fire: The Largest Massacre of Gay People in U.S. History
