Published: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 By Dave Walker, communication specialist A New Orleans social aid and pleasure club parade offers an array of challenges to photographers attempting to capture the spirit of the procession. The photo subjects are in constant motion, animated by rumbling brass band rhythms. Smoke from food-vendor grills drifts through the air. Crowds of onlookers and second liners flow…
May 25, 2021
Published: Friday, April 23, 2021 By Fatima Shaik, author of “Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood” Editor’s note: This story is excerpted from the new book Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik. Learn more about the book, or order your copy, here. “When you made Economy Hall, you was tops. It was just like you was playing at that big place . . . Carnegie Hall.” —Musician George “Pops” Foster, interviewed by historian William Russell, 1958 Untold thousands have gathered under the Economy Hall tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to hear traditional local music, but how many have known the history behind the name? Economy Hall was the English translation for the meeting place of la Société d’Economie, a mutual aid association founded by successful free people of color in…
May 10, 2021
