Erica Zeno
We have a placemat in my house that tells the story of a young boy who asks his mother what the world would be like without black people. His mom explains to him that African Americans have invented many of the objects that we use in everyday life. The two try to go about their day as if all of these things don’t exist and the boy quickly sees how difficult it is. At the River Road African American Museum, I saw a list of items invented by African Americans as well as some early examples of inventions. I was immediately reminded of this story and shared it with some people in my group. I think many people were surprised at how many things they commonly use were invented by African Americans. The museum’s curator mentioned how she knows many people in the area whose ancestors were once enslaved at nearby plantations. This made me reflect on my own ancestry. I don’t know many details but I’m pretty sure that my ancestors on my dad’s side were enslaved in Louisiana. Donaldsonville was also the home of many prominent African American’s in history, including Pierre Caliste Landry, America’s first elected, black mayor! The brochure sums this museum up nicely. It “captures the spirit, soul, and significance, of the people who thrived and enriched south Louisiana’s sugar cane country.” It was a truly humbling experience.
One of the interesting things we learned at the museum was that the curator of the museum started it when she noticed how none of the plantations nearby mentioned slavery on their tours. She wanted to give a voice to the slaves that once labored on nearby sugar cane plantations. Apparently this has changed for most tours, but I was curious to see what they said on our tour. First of all, Oak Alley Plantation is gorgeous. Even though it rained (poured really) while we were there, the views were breathtaking. The tour of the house was nice but it mostly focused on the features of the house itself, the family that originally owned the house, and the next couple owners. Our tour guide did mention slaves on the tour but only in the context of their work around the house. She never spoke about the lives of the slaves who lived in the fields, although she did mention that the plantation was looking for an expert to lead tours of the slave quarters.
Work has been slowing down a little since Dining Out For Life (DOFL) is over. I think the event went well! On the day of, Nithin and I walked around the French Quarter and the Marigny with Michael to take pictures at different restaurants. It was so nice to see how excited everyone was for the event and to see how well our social media campaign was received. Michael presented our social media plan to the National DOFL conference in Palm Springs and they apparently loved it! A couple of people from the National DOFL group asked for a copy to be modified and used for other DOFL events around the country! It feels really good to know that our plan has the potential to impact DOFL events in other cities and that we have made a positive contribution to NO/AIDS.
I didn’t want this to be too long but here are some other things that have happened over the past couple weeks:
· I went to news stations and met anchors, including Sally-Ann Roberts, sister to Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.
· I helped out with a needle exchange program
· I sang onstage with Charmaine Neville at Snug Harbor
· My dad came to visit!
· I saw the Beyonce and Jay-Z concert and it was INCREDIBLE!!!
We have all been brainstorming things we want to do on our last weekend together in New Orleans. It’s strange to think that we have less than two weeks left here. I still feel like I haven’t done everything that I wanted to do. There is always something going on here. This city has enough to keep you busy for a lifetime! I’m very thankful for the time I’ve had here and can’t wait to enjoy the rest of it with all these awesome people!
One of the interesting things we learned at the museum was that the curator of the museum started it when she noticed how none of the plantations nearby mentioned slavery on their tours. She wanted to give a voice to the slaves that once labored on nearby sugar cane plantations. Apparently this has changed for most tours, but I was curious to see what they said on our tour. First of all, Oak Alley Plantation is gorgeous. Even though it rained (poured really) while we were there, the views were breathtaking. The tour of the house was nice but it mostly focused on the features of the house itself, the family that originally owned the house, and the next couple owners. Our tour guide did mention slaves on the tour but only in the context of their work around the house. She never spoke about the lives of the slaves who lived in the fields, although she did mention that the plantation was looking for an expert to lead tours of the slave quarters.
Work has been slowing down a little since Dining Out For Life (DOFL) is over. I think the event went well! On the day of, Nithin and I walked around the French Quarter and the Marigny with Michael to take pictures at different restaurants. It was so nice to see how excited everyone was for the event and to see how well our social media campaign was received. Michael presented our social media plan to the National DOFL conference in Palm Springs and they apparently loved it! A couple of people from the National DOFL group asked for a copy to be modified and used for other DOFL events around the country! It feels really good to know that our plan has the potential to impact DOFL events in other cities and that we have made a positive contribution to NO/AIDS.
I didn’t want this to be too long but here are some other things that have happened over the past couple weeks:
· I went to news stations and met anchors, including Sally-Ann Roberts, sister to Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.
· I helped out with a needle exchange program
· I sang onstage with Charmaine Neville at Snug Harbor
· My dad came to visit!
· I saw the Beyonce and Jay-Z concert and it was INCREDIBLE!!!
We have all been brainstorming things we want to do on our last weekend together in New Orleans. It’s strange to think that we have less than two weeks left here. I still feel like I haven’t done everything that I wanted to do. There is always something going on here. This city has enough to keep you busy for a lifetime! I’m very thankful for the time I’ve had here and can’t wait to enjoy the rest of it with all these awesome people!