2.4: The End of Congo Square

About this episode

The episode discusses the decline of Congo Square in New Orleans, including the banning of African dances and the transformation of the space into a whites-only park.

New Orleans becomes hostile to Congo Square. The African dances are banned. The space falls into disrepair, then becomes a whites-only park. Against all odds, it fights for its original identity. LEARN MORE: Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by Freddi Williams Evans Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson “A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in New Orleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by Jason Berry The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell “African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” by Jason Berry “Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach “New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny “The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Music in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena J. Epstein https://antigravitymagazine.com/feature/sacred-ground/ https://chrisdier.com/2015/03/10/raquette-the-lost-sport-of-new-orleans/ SOUNDS: French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Keller

Topics covered

• Congo Square
• African culture
• New Orleans history
• dance ban
• racial segregation
• cultural identity

Keywords

• Congo Square
• New Orleans
• African dances
• cultural identity
• racial segregation
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans, Congo Square in New Orleans, A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in New Orleans, 1800-1862, The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square, City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300, The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans, African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music, Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square, New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System, The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Music in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans

Places: New Orleans, Congo Square

More episodes of City History: New Orleans

• 2.5: The 1832 Cholera Pandemic · April 3, 2026 · 52 min
• 2.3: How Congo Square Survived · January 4, 2026 · 22 min
• 2.2: Congo Square · November 21, 2025 · 33 min
• 2.1: Congo Plains · September 30, 2025 · 25 min
• 1.31: Why the Battle of New Orleans Mattered · July 7, 2025 · 34 min
• 1.30: The Goodbye Look · June 4, 2025 · 23 min