"The story of Congo Square continues to unfold, for it mirrors that of New Orleans and of the people who were essential to the city's survival, development, and cultural formation." - Freddi Williams Evans, Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans
This is an interactive resource. Please scroll and click on the buttons on this page to learn how Congo Square became ground zero for African culture in New Orleans and remains an important space for the African American community today.
WHAT IS CONGO SQUARE?
- 1724: The Code Noir is established under French rule of New Orleans. Borrowing portions of the first Code Noir (1685) from the French colony of Saint Dominigue several alterations were made to control close contact between people legally identified as black and white. The code defined conditions of slavery, established harsh rules of conduct, and established Sundays as non-work days for all inhabitants of the colony, including enslaved people.
- 1795: A city ordinance restricted amusement for enslaved people to Sundays.
- 1803: Louisiana was purchased by the United States from France after Spain transferred Louisiana to France.
- 1817: As white inhabitants wanted to distance themselves with the amusement of enslaved people on Sundays, the City Council passed an ordinance that confined enslaved gatherings to one place in the back of town: Congo Square.
Image: Code Noir of Louisiana, 64 Parishes.
More information on Code Noir: Click here
RELIABILITY OF SOURCES ON CONGO SQUARE
It is crucial to acknowledge the reliability of sources that exist on Congo Square. Writers during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were largely white individuals, who often perpetuated myths and mystique about African traditions. Many visitors to New Orleans who recorded their experiences looked at Congo Square with a distasteful lens. The eyewitness accounts of Congo Square that we have were written by individuals who did not understand enslaved people's language, culture, or religion. The term "Congo" refers to people of the Kongo and Angola regions of Africa, but some writers used the term to describe enslaved people in general. There are gaps in the timeline of Congo Square and further research continues to aid in the understanding of Congo Square's influence on the culture of New Orleans.
INDIGENOUS CONNECTIONS TO CONGO SQUARE
Prior to the arrival of Europeans and Africans in New Orleans, the Houma Nation utilized the site as a gathering place. The Houma moved towards New Orleans from Mississippi because of Europeans and push from other Native groups. Living in outlying New Orleans areas, they went into New Orleans for trade and were considered free people of color. They traded and sold goods like gumbo file', which is the spicy herb created from grinding the sassfras leaf, and herbs in Congo Square but they did not hold important ceremonies there because of the private nature of their practices.
AFRICAN TRADITIONS IN CONGO SQUARE
Above: Lecture at the 100 Years of Beat Conference in Berlin, Germany in 2018 by Dr. Freddi Williams Evans, start at 15:35. Dr. Evans is an arts education consultant and renowned historian of Congo Square. Her research and advocacy for Congo Square influenced the New Orleans City Council to pass an ordinance in 2012 that made "Congo Square" the official name of the landmark. For more information on her work, please visit her website.
THE BAMBOULA
The Bamboula was one of many African dances performed at Congo Square on Sundays during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Bamboula refers to the rhythm of the dance, the drum used for the dance, and the dance itself. Dancers created a circular shape, and couples dance the Bamboula in the center. The 3+3+2 rhythm of the Bamboula is still used in second line parades and Mardi Gras Indian music.
Image: The Bamboula (64 Parishes, Courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection, from a magazine (unknown) illustration from March 1886)
"A majority of the retail stores are kept open and during the morning a space around the market is much more alive, with a host of the slave and coloured population exhibiting a variety of articles for sale, than any other day in the week. This and their assembling on a back square of the city for the purpose of joining in what they term their Congo dances in the afternoon is excusable, or more so in those who have no other day they can consider their own for business or amusement. In short, though there is little appearance of a northern Sabbath." - Arnold Green, a traveler, writing on the Sabbath in New Orleans in 1823 (The Journals of Welcome Arnold Greene, 122-23.)
- 1835: The Mayor of New Orleans, Denis Prieur, authorized Congo Square to be enclosed with an iron fence.
- 1843: An ordinance prohibited strolling musicians, organ players, and other musicians from practicing without a mayor's permit.
- 1850: Police began to arrest groups of enslaved people engaging in recreation.
- 1851: The First Municipal council renamed the Place de'Armes, Jackson Square, and designated Congo Square as the new Place d'Armes where the militia would drill on Sundays.
- 1854: The City Council granted private citizens permission to exhibit fireworks in Congo Square.
- 1856: The City Council outlawed drums, horns, and trumpets in public places unless it was part of a militia procession.
Image: Sculpture by Adewale S. Adenle in Congo Square (Louis Armstrong Park) today depicting enslaved gatherings (photo by Kent Kanouse)
CONGO SQUARE IN TRANSITION
After the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, white city leaders tried to suppress African Americans, specifically by banning their gatherings in Congo Square. During the Civil War and after Congo Square became a Place d'Armes, the "dancing days in Congo square were over; the banjo and the violin are heard there no more." (Daily Picayune, December 11, 1864)
On April 21, 1865, New Orleanians held a mass meeting in Congo Square to mourn the death of President Abraham Lincoln. (Black Republican, April 29, 1865)
Congo Square entered a transitional period; the New Orleans City Council Ordinance 7351 CCS PF 1893 changed the name of Congo Square to Beauregard Square in honor of Confederate war hero, General P. G. T. Beauregard and renovated with new trees and benches. (Daily Picayune, March 24 & 29, 1893)
CONGO SQUARE TO BEAUREGARD SQUARE
- 1906: Beauregard Park Commissioners prohibited Black residents from walking through the park on Saturday nights on their way to the nearby dance hall.
- 1917-1923: The city purchased expensive playground equipment and a swimming pool for Beauregard Square.
- 1926: The construction of the Municipal Auditorium on the site of Congo Square signaled the beginning of a redevelopment scheme that would cater to the city's elite.
- 1928: A retelling of the Sunday afternoon gatherings, called "New Orleans Auditorium Site in the Old Days," was held at Beauregard Square.
- 1949: The New Orleans Jazz Club sponsored open-air jazz concerts, featuring Sharkey Bonano and his Kings of Dixieland and the African American trumpeter "Papa" Celestin and his band.
- 1953: The New Orleans Creole Fiesta Association, members of African heritage, performed dances in Congo Square.
Image: THNOC 2021.946, Congo Square New Orleans
"When it became clear that the reminder of the Lincoln South Project was not financially viable, the grounds (of Congo Square) were redesigned as a green space, enclosed by an iron fence to limit access, and named Louis Armstrong Park. (Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans, Matt Sakakeeny)
ERASURE ATTEMPTS AT CONGO SQUARE
- 1963: Landmark Society protests the $21 million plan that proposed street cutting and parking construction through the square.
- 1970: The first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was held at Congo Square. Although the festival outgrew the site and moved to the fairgrounds, there is a Congo Square Stage every year at Jazz Fest in remembrance of its roots.
- 1973: The city completed demolition of nine blocks of the Tremé neighborhood adjacent to Congo Square, with no plans for redevelopment.
- 1974: The city council authorized funds to develop the property surrounding Congo Square into Louis Armstrong Park Complex in honor of the musician.
- 1970s: The name "Congo Square" came back into popularity among the residents of the Vieux Carre and Faubourg Treme in the 1970s as the city converted the site to Louis Armstrong Park Complex.
- 1990s: Renewed interest in Congo Square prompted the emergence of several community festivals that became annual events.
- 1997: A historic marker funded by the community was unveiled at Congo Square.
- 2007: The first annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival was held in Congo Square.
Image: THNOC 2021.946, Opposite Congo Square, N.O.
CONGO SQUARE TODAY
In 2009, Congo Square reopened to the public after Hurricane Katrina in conjunction with the reopening of the adjacent Mahalia Jackson Theater. The New Orleans City Council formalized the name "Congo Square" in 2011. Although scholars debate if the birth of jazz actually occurred at Congo Square, it is undeniable that Congo Square was vital to keep African music and dance alive in the United States. The video below presents a tour of Congo Square today and some of the current social and political events occurring in relation to the site.