Congo Square is often described as the “birthplace of jazz.” But its history goes far deeper—as a place where, every Sunday, the enslaved of New Orleans would practice traditional African music and dance.

In this first episode of a trilogy, we examine Congo Square’s origins, its persistence across French and Spanish New Orleans, and how early American officials sought to regulate it.

LEARN MORE:

Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans by FreddiWilliams Evans

Congo Square in New Orleans by Jerah Johnson

“A Window on Slave Culture: Dances at Congo Square in NewOrleans, 1800-1862” by Gary A. Donaldson

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver toCongo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: New Orleans at 300 by JasonBerry

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans byLawrence N. Powell

“African Cultural Memory in New Orleans Music” byJason Berry

“Deep Skin: Reconstructing Congo Square” by Joseph R. Roach

“New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System” by Matt Sakakeeny

“The Invention of a Memory: Congo Square and African Musicin Nineteenth-Century New Orleans” by Ted Widmer

SOUNDS:

French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri --https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0