HNOC in the News

Beyond Bourbon Street Podcast Explores “The Trail They Blazed”

September 10, 2025

Exhibition curator Eric Seiferth joined host Mark Bologna to discuss HNOC’s newest exhibition about the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans.

Visitors explore "The Trail They Blazed" exhibition at HNOC.

A man visits HNOC’s The Trail They Blazed exhibition. Photo by Melissa Carrier, HNOC

“In 2016 and 2017 we started recording oral histories of people who were active in New Orleans in the Civil Rights Movement. We recorded 50 hours in 30 interviews, and that became the base for our storytelling in The Trail They Blazed. . . . We incorporated a way for visitors to hear the voices of the activists sharing their experiences. Their words drive the storytelling.”

Eric Seiferth, exhibition curator

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Enjoy more episodes of the Beyond Bourbon Street podcast that explore past HNOC exhibitions, publications, programs, and more.

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Related Exhibitions

Exhibitions

The Trail They Blazed

June 6, 2025 to June 7, 2026

Leaders of the local Civil Rights Movement tell their stories of resistance and persistence.

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Black and white photo of people in line for voting registration outside a building. Two men are seated near a Voting Applications sign, and several individuals are standing in line, some wearing hats and summer clothing.

Related Collection Highlights

American Black Directory

A post-segregation sibling to the Green Book, this directory compiled information on Black-owned businesses across the country.

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A sepia-toned vintage photograph of a man with curly dark hair and a mustache. He is dressed in a 19th-century suit with a double-breasted coat and bow tie. The image has an old, slightly worn appearance.

Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez Papers

A rare collection of manuscript essays and family correspondence offers a thrilling look at one of the most influential people in the early struggle for African American civil rights in Louisiana.

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Related Virtual Exhibitions

Four women stand behind a table set with a tablecloth, glassware, and a candle holder. Three of them wear light-colored dresses with floral corsages, and one wears a dark dress with a white collar. They are smiling and posed for a photograph.

Women's Rights

Voices of Progress: Twenty Women Who Changed New Orleans

Portraits of women who fought for equality, justice, and charity

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A group of people walking on a street, several wearing Vote 3 Dutch Morial shirts. Some are smiling and waving. Trees and houses are in the background. The mood appears lively and supportive.

Women's Rights

“Yet She Is Advancing”: New Orleans Women and the Right to Vote, 1878–1970

The story of women’s suffrage, leading up to and beyond the passage of the 19th Amendment

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Related News

An exhibition installation shows a streetcar bench from a New Orleans streetcar, labeled "FOR COLORED PATRONS," and placed in front of a vintage black and white photo of a streetcar from the same era.

HNOC in the News

NOLA.com: In a Tourist-Heavy Part of the City, Voices of New Orleans Civil Rights Movement Are Heard

June 16, 2025

Dave Walker for the Times Picayune explores the personal stories embedded HNOC’s new exhibition, “The Trail They Blazed.”

Exhibition curator Eric Seiferth speaks with WGNO about The Trail They Blazed at HNOC.

HNOC in the News

WGNO: “The Trail They Blazed” at the Historic New Orleans Collection

June 25, 2025

Journalist Christopher Leach explores HNOC’s exhibition honoring the achievements and sacrifices of local leaders during the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans.