Tremé: How 'Urban Renewal' destroyed the cultural heart of New Orleans

This is part two of Charisse Gibson's two-part "Tremé: Death of a neighborhood, survival of a culture" series about the downfall of the historic New Orleans neighborhood. Click here to read part one.
NEW ORLEANS ⁠- Congo Square's surroundings are ever-evolving, as many say attempts to modernize New Orleans come at the expense of Tremé.
“It was known by the Spaniards in the 1760s, when they took over Louisiana, as Plaza Los Negros, ‘the Black Place,’” says historian Al Jackson, owner of the Tremé Petit Jazz Museum. But of course, it became known as Congo Square: Where the indigenous were allowed to congregate.
Dr. Eric Johnson is the President of Urban Regeneration Advisors. When talking about the forces that took down Tremé, he says they were swift and unforgiving. He says the square created a strong footprint, but it was massive projects that permanently cut through the heart of the neighborhood.
FULL STORY: www.wwltv.com/article/news/lo...

[@tremegirlnola2834]

I'm NEW ORLEANS Born And TREME RAISED.. I am pleased and Beyond Blessed To Say I'm From The HeartBeat.. The Mother.. The First & Oldest Black Neighborhood In The United States.. I'm am the Niece, Great Niece, & Great Niece Of Many Jazz Legends Of TREME.. TREME IS HOME! HOME IS WHERE MY HEART WILL FOREVER BE... 💜

[@IslenoGutierrez]

Join the crowd. I’m born and raised in New Orleans and my family originated in the French Quarter and now it’s no longer filled with my people. That’s happened over and over in New Orleans. Look at New Orleans was majority white before 1980, now it’s majority black but trending toward a majority white future. Nothing lasts forever. Things change. Change is the only guarantee.

[@eazypeazy33]

My grandfather was raised in Treme.. He would shine shoes with his friend Ralph.

[@GrafEisen1]

For broadcast news this shockingly hard hitting, good job!

[@devindavis1107]

Yall are doing a fantastic job with this series. Much appreciate elevating the impacts of intentional racist urban planning and gentrification on the people of treme over the years.

[@Birdie2ndson]

it would be great to know the council members that let these things happen to Treme. awareness works

[@ddebruler5580]

May the city be renewed.

[@IslenoGutierrez]

The city has been renewed many times over. If the French came back and saw it now, it would seem foreign to them.

[@mom_im_losing_it]

I use to squat the abandoned part of the that funeral home . Crazy

[@lazarusfowsta]

Very sad. Reminds me of What happened with Greenwood in Tulsa.

[@nola305]

But tragically, (Black) people were killed in those instances unlike Treme', sadly!

[@davechae5890]

Peaceout

[@yachekabrown8622]

Job well done!!! Keep up the good work!

[@SaneCatLady429]

Ha, I KNEW it. I was just there visiting, staying in the Treme neighborhood, the Louis Armstrong Park just down the street. When I saw the park, I guessed that they'd shoved all the people out of that neighborhood to build a public works project and line their friends' pockets with construction contracts, etc. They kept a few of the old houses in the middle of the park, but they are locked up behind fences.

[@inspiredbyhislight2806]

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. BUT, THE REASONS WHY SHOULD ALWAYS MATTER.

[@deborahbarkins5664]

I remember those days not no more

[@madreep]

My neighborhood was gentrified as well. It's a hipster hell now

[@edcortes5764]

It's criminal that they put that expressway over Claiborne. Now, it's just an eyesore and ghetto when it could've been a cultural center, like the French Quarter. Sad, sad.

[@dimviesel]

Damn

[@wellyaknow7698]

Shameful. So much history and culture of African American people gone. They boldly do this in each city that has rich history of the survival and prosperity of African Americans who literally built this country. 😢

[@whateverman2674]

why does it look ghetto?

[@lateriaquionne2283]

Treme was the first black neighborhood in the nation.Since 1800's first area blacks was able to purchase a home

[@faiyaz9768]

Racist

[@mreyespy13]

That guy is not even from america why is he their? Maybe he should move back to england lol.

[@IslenoGutierrez]

Neighborhoods don’t stay the same forever, they change. The French quarter was a French/Spanish neighborhood, then it turned Italian, now it’s mostly carpetbagger and gays. New Orleans was a majority white city before 1980 and look at it now, it’s majority black since 1980. Neighborhoods change, cities change. The pendulum is swinging again and now another New Orleans neighborhood is changing. That’s the only thing constant in New Orleans since it was founded. Change. That’s what New Orleans is.

[@lateriaquionne2283]

That's not true Treme was the first black neighborhood in the nation! Since the 1800's Treme was the first neighborhood blacks was able to purchase a home.

[@IslenoGutierrez]

@@lateriaquionne2283 That’s not true. The Tremé was not a black neighborhood. It was a neighborhood filled with mostly free people of color. Free people of color were mixed race people, commonly known as mulattoes. Also, there were also whites of French and Spanish descent that lived in the Tremé. There were also some blacks that lived in it also. It was a multicultural neighborhood that had a mulatto majority and a white and black minority. Over the decades, more blacks had moved in while many mixed race people have moved elsewhere. And now it’s changing again as it’s becoming more white. It’s going the same way most all the other New Orleans neighborhoods have changed. In fact, most neighborhoods in New Orleans used to be white before the white flight of the city in the 1970’s, now look at them how a great many are black now. Cities change. Neighborhoods change. New Orleans has been changing for a long time, Tremé included.

[@DaTruthTeller504]

@Tito Torres Stop trying to rewrite Black New Orleans history!!! The gentrification of black New Orleans and other black neighborhoods throughout the nation is real.

[@robertlloyd122]

So, a coupla things: - Sure, neighborhoods change. Examinations like this are about WHY and HOW they change. Who has the power to EFFECT that change, and to what ends? Who benefits... and who gets screwed? - I wasn't aware that "carpetbagger" and "gay" were ethnicities.

[@IslenoGutierrez]

@@robertlloyd122 Neighborhoods change because people move around. It could be related to anything…financial situation, economic reasons, political reasons, work related, religious reasons, change of scenery, new experiences etc. it impacts any neighborhood in both positive and negative ways despite what skin color or ancestry someone has. But that’s what New Orleans is. Change. That’s it’s history. Somebody always benefits and somebody always gets screwed, that’s how it goes in any such situation. Someone is always complaining and someone is always defending. That’s the way it is and the way it has been in New Orleans since even when the Amerindians had it before the French arrived and one tribe encroached the space of another. Change is constant. Unchanged neighborhoods are not. My father’s downtown New Orleans childhood neighborhood was all whites back in the 1950’s, today it’s all blacks. The whites then complained just as blacks are complaining today. My 19th century French and Spanish ancestors that lived in the French Quarter complained when Anglo-Americans were taking over the business climate on Canal street and Italians were moving into their neighborhood in en masse. Change is constant. Neighborhoods all over New Orleans used to be white back in the 50’s when New Orleans was 70% white and today they are black in a city that’s now 59% black (that’s down from 67% just before Katrina). Why? Change. It’s the only thing that’s guaranteed. This ain’t any different. New Orleans culture, history and cuisine is built on constant change. The Amerindians, the French, the Spanish, the Africans, the Anglos, the Caribbeans, the Germans, the Irish, the Italians, the Jews etc. Everything everyone loves about New Orleans comes from constant change. Oh and Carpetbaggers and gays are indeed both ethnicities. Read the definition, smart ass. “An ethnicity or ethnic group is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups.” Both carpetbaggers and gays have perceived shared attributes, one sharing non-local attributes as foreigners to the area and culture and one sharing homosexual attributes. Don’t confuse ethnicity with ancestry and don’t be a smart ass, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[@robertwoodpa6463]

Gentrification preserves buildings, brings jobs, brings businesses, and brings people who pay property taxes. Everything changes. Neighborhoods thrive then decline and sometimes thrive again.

[@maaxrenn]

but theres something more to be said about a neighborhood that sets the cultural identity of a city that the city uses to promote itself areas that perhaps shouldnt be turned into a highway

[@LonnellRich]

Building highways in the middle of neighborhoods is not an example of preserving buildings

[@brucelee5576]

How dare gentrify this area , bring back the killings the carjacking the dope .

[@corieydadon]

Shut up