Situated in the southwest corner of Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, Congo Square has a history that goes all the way back to the origin of the city. This history has been highlighted and cultivated in a meaningful way to allow it to continue to serve as a meeting place for people who live in and visit New Orleans. Doing so has established a legacy for Congo Square that embraces the historical significance of the area while also creating engagement with the modern community.
A Gathering Ground for Africans in Early New Orleans
New Orleans was founded in 1718 and came under the rule of French and Spanish forces over the following decades. Sunday was considered a “day of rest” which compelled the early Spanish ruler to give their slaves the afternoon off and allow them to socialize. Starting in the 1740s, gatherings of enslaved Africans took place in an open area outside the city where slaves and free blacks would come together for meetings, open markets, and African dance and drumming celebrations.
By 1803, Congo Square had become famous for it’s gathering where people drummed, danced, sang and traded on Sunday afternoons. After New Orleans became part of the United States in the early 1800s, a city ordinance limited gatherings of slaves to the area, and only until sunset. The singing and music in Congo Square became a powerful form of expression and resistance, which led to an active attempt to restrict people from gathering in 1851.
Congo Square kept on being to be utilized by people to sing, dance, worship, buy, and sell goods though. These gatherings continued up to and through the Civil War, at which point city officials actively attempted to stop the gatherings. As part of this effort, the square was renamed as “Beauregard Square” in 1893 after former Confederate Army General P.G.T. Beauregard. It continued to be referred to as Congo Square until the name was formally changed by the New Orleans City Council in 2011.
An urban renewal project in the 1960s removed a substantial portion of what had comprised Congo Square. After many years of debate over how to transform the space, Louis Armstrong Park was established, which incorporates this old portion of Congo Square. A wide-open plaza that features a brick edifice defines the modern Congo Square.
Among the most famous dances that took place in Congo Square were the Bamboula, the Calinda and the Congo. These African cultural expressions gradually developed into New Orleans jazz and rhythm and blues. That’s just one of the ways Congo Square has helped shape the modern city and an example of how it continues to do so.
A Place for Communities of Multiple Eras to Relax, Congregate and Celebrate
Even as it has changed over the years, Congo Square has continued to be an important venue for music festivals as well as a community gathering place for brass band parades, protest marches, and drum circles. Congo Square annually hosts Martin Luther King Day celebrations, weddings, festivals, concerts, filming and more.
Some of the most famous events in New Orleans have direct ties to Congo Square. The annual Red Dress Run begins in Congo Square which is known for its participants dressing in all red. The original New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was held in Congo Square in 1970, although the event quickly outgrew the space. There still is a “Congo Square Stage” annually at Jazz Fest.
What started as a spot for the community to unofficially gather is now a place where the history and legacy of the area can be celebrated and cultivated. Historical markers and wide-open spaces in Congo Square provide room for gatherings and happenings that continue to have a profound impact on the culture of the city, region and the entire United States.
The Musical Heart of New Orleans
Referred to by some as the musical heart of New Orleans which has truly defined jazz and rhythm and blues, Congo Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. This history is actively commemorated in the space but has also enabled continued use by the community for a variety of events and gatherings. Doing so highlights what it can look like to both embrace and build upon a legacy that continues to evolve make a difference to everyone that experiences it.
