HNOC in the News

WVUE-TV: HNOC Debuts “The Trail They Blazed” Exhibition

June 4, 2025

Curator Eric Seiferth explains how HNOC’s new exhibition showcases New Orleans’s important role in the local and national Civil Rights Movement.

“We worked with a group of civil rights activists, who shared their stories and also helped design the exhibition. We asked them: ‘who is this for?’ and they said young New Orleanians. That’s where the [exhibition] title comes from . . . we want to honor the work done by the older generation who is still here, while encouraging [modern] civic activism.”

Eric Seiferth, curator for The Trail They Blazed

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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

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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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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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

A woman points at an installation at HNOC's "The Trail They Blazed" exhibition. Children are gathered around her.

Announcement

HNOC Opens Submissions for 2026 Student Writing Contest

December 10, 2025

Inspired by the exhibition “The Trail They Blazed,” this year’s contest prompts students to address civil rights issues facing America today and in the future.

HNOC in the News

Verite News: New Exhibit Showcases Local Figures of Civil Rights Movement

June 13, 2025

“The Trail The Blazed” comes to the Historic New Orleans Collection after appearing as a traveling exhibition at different locations throughout the city.