Skip to content
The Historic New Orleans Collection
Visit
Calendar

Explore our content

Architecture & Urban Development Black History & Culture Slavery & Its Legacies Environment & Ecology Local Life & Culture Government, Policy, & Politics War & Military Conflict New Orleans Arts & Media Commerce & Trade Gulf South Identities
00 8 web
Topic
Slavery & Its Legacies
Filter
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
HNOC Chief Curator Jason Wiese on WYES-TV's "Informed Sources" program
HNOC in the News

WYES-TV: HNOC Chief Curator Discusses the New Orleans Experience Throughout US History

June 20, 2026
On the June 19 episode of “Informed Sources,” Jason Wiese joined a panel of experts to reflect on how the city has shaped American history.
Read More
A historical illustration depicts a man in formal 19th-century attire standing beside an ornate table. The man has a mustache and wears a long coat. The background includes a draped curtain and part of a wall map.
Events

“Monumental” Book Signing with Brian K. Mitchell

June 26, 2026, 1–3 p.m.
Join us for a book signing with the lead author of “Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana.”
Learn More
An illustration showing a Black shoemaker near New Orleans's French Market.
Exhibitions

Made to Last: Black Craftspeople in Early New Orleans

June 25, 2027 to January 9, 2028

Follow the lives of three craftspeople who used their skills as artisans to navigate Louisiana’s ever-shifting political, cultural, and economic landscape.

Learn More
Photograph of an unidentified Black craftsperson with a hammer
Exhibitions

Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence

June 25, 2027 to January 9, 2028

Explore the contributions of Black craftspeople in this traveling exhibition developed by the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum and the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive.

Learn More
A photo of P. B. S. Pinchback
Announcement

HNOC, LHA select “Pinchback: America’s First Black Governor” for 2025 Williams Prize

March 11, 2026
Author Nicholas Patler sheds new light on the life of an influential leader in Reconstruction-era Louisiana.
Read More
2025 0084 2 001 O10 2026 02 20 173610 pddd
Collection highlights

“The Scourged Back”

HNOC acquired an original copy of the infamous image that took Civil War-era America by storm, quickly becoming a tool of the abolitionist cause.

Learn More
A historical museum exhibit features a large black-and-white photograph of an old prison building. In front, there is a wooden stock used for restraining prisoners, with openings for neck and wrists. The quote on the photo describes the harsh prison conditions.
HNOC in the News

Louisiana Weekly: HNOC Receives LEH Award for Louisiana Mass Incarceration Exhibit

January 29, 2026
Officials praised “Captive State” for addressing a difficult and often polarizing subject with scholarly depth while remaining accessible to a broad audience.
Read More
Exhibit wall with a blue panel stating, The institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked. A section titled CAPTIVE STATE features text and a colorful quilt with nature and wildlife motifs displayed on the right.
Press Release

“Captive State” Named Museum Exhibition of the Year by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

January 15, 2026
HNOC joins eight other Bright Lights Awards recipients that were recognized for their significant contributions to the understanding of Louisiana’s history and culture in the humanities field.
Read More
Detail of the back cover from the Elmwood Plantation menu, showing an illustration featuring the columns of the building.
Collection highlights

Elmwood Plantation Menu

This stylish menu from a restaurant in a former plantation home belies the site’s dark history of human enslavement.

Learn More
1 2
...