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The Historic New Orleans Collection

Congo Square

October 15, 2024

A timeline and illustrated history of New Orleans’s iconic gathering place.

A historical illustration depicts a group of people in a circle, with two dancers in the center holding hands. Drummers sit nearby with instruments. Its labeled The Randoola.

“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.”

This interactive resource traces the evolution of Congo Square, explaining how it became ground zero for African culture in New Orleans and has remained an important space for the African American community today. Included are a timeline, notes on the reliability of historical sources related to Congo Square, and a video featuring scholar Freddi Williams Evans.

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Derven Scholars

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