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The Historic New Orleans Collection

Runnin’ and Runnin’ in Louisiana: The Underground Railroad

October 15, 2024

First-person accounts of enslaved people who sought freedom enliven this exploration of the Underground Railroad in Louisiana.

A black and white illustration depicts a group of African-American individuals walking with determination. A prominent figure in the foreground, wearing a headscarf and long dress, points forward, leading the group. The artwork is dynamic and expressive.

Learn about the Underground Railroad from primary sources in this interactive presentation. Excerpts from runaway slave ads, oral histories of formerly enslaved people, photographs, and more illustrate the stakes, challenges, and triumphs of freedom seekers.

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Derven Scholars

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First Draft

Threads of Motherhood

First Draft

The Thanksgiving Sermon That Rallied the Secessionist Movement

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Portrait of a woman with dark hair, wearing a black dress with a white collar. She is seated, holding a small object in her left hand, against a plain background. Her expression is calm and composed.

Cane River Collection

Over 1,400 legal and financial documents amount to a detailed record of one slice of 19th-century Black Creole life.

Detail of the back cover from the Elmwood Plantation menu, showing an illustration featuring the columns of the building.

Elmwood Plantation Menu

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

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“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.

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Virtual exhibitions

Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 1808–1865

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A tour guide gestures towards an exhibition display at HNOC.
HNOC in the News

In NOLA.com Guest Column, HNOC Historian Discusses “Captive State” As Public History Project

October 20, 2025
Curator Eric Seiferth explains how HNOC’s 2025 exhibition and companion book serve as an important public telling of privately known truths.
Two men stand in front of a large painting, engaged in conversation.
HNOC in the News

WGNO: Born a Slave, Sold Six Times. Meet New Orleans's First Coffee Barista

January 28, 2025
“Wild Bill” Wood from WGNO-TV interviewed HNOC Family Historian Jari Honore to tell the fascinating story of Rose Nicaud.
A tour guide gestures towards an exhibition display at HNOC.
Announcement

“Captive State” Book: Upcoming Local and Regional Literary Events

September 17, 2025
Explore opportunities to learn more about HNOC’s latest publication at upcoming community events.

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