2008 Lecture Series: History Ya-Ya

The UNO Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies and the Louisiana State Museum co-sponsor

A Monthly Lecture Series on New Orleans History and Culture

The Louisiana State Museum, in conjunction with the UNO Midlo Center
for New Orleans Studies, inaugurates a free lecture series called History Ya-Ya. This series
features topics pertinent to the state’s social, political, and cultural history, and features national
and international scholars as well as local writers, journalists, and social commentators. Each
lecture will be held at the Louisiana State Museum – Cabildo on the third Thursday of each
month. In addition, the Museum will showcase relevant objects from the Museum’s collection at
each lecture.

January-May Schedule
All lectures will be held at the Cabildo beginning at 6:00 pm. Free admission and light
refreshments will be served.

Thursday, January 17, 2008
Ronnie Virgets
History of the New Orleans Fair Grounds
In one form or another, the Fair Grounds as a race track has been an integral part of the New
Orleans landscape since before the Civil War. This lecture touches on that colorful history in all
its historical, political, and social implications to one of America’s greatest cities.

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Dr. Raphael Cassimere
Why Black History
In 1926 Carter G. Woodson and members of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and
History began celebrating Negro History Week to educate the American society in the general,
and black Americans specifically about the important contributions of African Americans to the
history of the United States. Dr. Cassimere, Jr. will discuss the continuing need and importance
of continuing this observance in a lecture, "Why Black History."

Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dr. Warren Billings
The Chief Justices of Louisiana, 1813-2008
Dr. Billings will collectively profile the chief justices and provide more detailed sketches of
those among the twenty-one individuals who left singular marks on the Supreme Court of
Louisiana from its creation in 1813 to the present. Dr. Billings will also comment upon the court
as an institution and how it has operated.

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dr. Charles Chamberlain
Sharing the Stage: Inter-racial Jazz and Civil Rights in New Orleans, 1946-1970
While jazz in New Orleans is often viewed as good-time party music, during the 1940s and early
1950s inter-racial jazz performances emerged as a form of protest to racial segregation among
some musicians and promoters. Reacting to this issue, the conservative state legislature passed a law in 1956 prohibiting “inter-racial entertainments,” a move which prompted Louis Armstrong
and his integrated All-Stars to stay away until 1965. Despite the new law, white and black
musicians still found ways to share their music, and this cooperation laid the foundation for the
modern music industry in New Orleans.

Thursday, May 15
Dr. Alecia Long / Cabildo 6 PM
(Mis)remembering General Order No. 28: Benjamin Butler, the Woman Order, and Historical
Memory
The story of Benjamin Butler’s relationship to the women of New Orleans is well-known to Civil
War historians and virtually all of them have concluded that Butler's infamous General Order
No. 28 was successful in subduing and taming the she-rebels of New Orleans. In this lecture Dr.
Long will demonstrate that a closer and longer look at Butler’s tenure and his experiences with
disorderly women after promulgation of the Order on May 15, 1862, suggests a starkly different
conclusion. Dr. Long will also demonstrate how Butler’s manipulation of historical facts has
shaped the memory of the Order and its purported success.

To view the list of speakers for the  Midlo Center’s Spring 2007 lecture series click here.

Direct Inquiries to:

Midlo Center
Department of History
University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA 70148
Tel: 504.280.6611  Fax: 504.280.6883
E-mail: c.atkinson@uno.edu

To return to Midlo Center main page, click here

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