First Draft

Over the course of a century, two iterations of Chinatown in New Orleans shaped the city’s landscape and culture.

Long before Lewis and Clark explored North America, one Indigenous wayfarer crossed the continent—twice—in search of his people’s roots.

The story of a grandmother’s escape from South Vietnam won third place in HNOC’s 2025 Student Writing Contest.

A poetic meditation on the enduring scars of war took top honors in HNOC’s 2025 Student Writing Contest.

Shortly after Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the first American pope, HNOC’s Jari C. Honora uncovered a surprising New Orleans connection, revealing the pontiff’s maternal grandparents to be Creoles of color from the Seventh Ward. 

Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, a new exhibition tells the story of a community’s rise out of tragedy.

Along with food and music, fashion was used by Louisiana Creoles to declare and express their unique identity.

Two disasters, the fall of Saigon and Hurricane Katrina, spurred the two largest waves of immigrants to New Orleans in recent history. 

Thanks to the rise of the United Fruit Company and the city’s Catholic roots, New Orleans saw an increase in Hispanic residents during the first half of the 20th century.