The Local Arrangements Committee has organized four tours highlighting the historical resources of New Orleans. Participants will have a unique opportunity to take these tours with their fellow historians.

Preregistration for tours is highly recommended. Tour tickets are nonrefundable and cannot be exchanged. Tour participants must be registered for the AHA meeting. Log in at historians.org/myaha to add tickets to an existing registration.

Tour groups will meet in Preservation Hall Studio 1 at the New Orleans Marriott.

Tours may travel by bus or walking. Fares and admission fees are included in the price of the tour. See the tour descriptions for details about the accessibility of each tour site. Accessible buses or alternate transportation for people with disabilities will be available on request. Contact annualmeeting@historians.org for additional information.

Tour 1: The Rainbow Fleur de Lis: A Walking Tour through Queer New Orleans History

Time: Thursday, January 6, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Tour leader: Frank Perez, LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana and Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking Tour

AHA members are encouraged to register for this leisurely sashay through New Orleans LGBTQ+ history. This tour focuses on what makes New Orleans’s queer history distinctive, including Gay Carnival, Southern Decadence, the Up Stairs Lounge arson, the city’s impact on the national trans rights movement, and its unique heritage of queer literature. Recently featured in Prejudice and Pride, an ABC News documentary, the Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking Tour has received critical acclaim from both local and national media outlets, including NPR, USA Today, Queerty, GayCities.com, and The Advocate.

Please note: The tour involves approximately one mile of walking on city sidewalks; pavement may be uneven.

Limit 20 people. $25 members, $35 nonmembers

Tour 2: Shalom Y’all: Tour of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

Time: Friday, January 7, 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Tour leaders: Kenneth Hoffman, Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, and Anna Tucker, Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

In May 2021, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (MSJE) opened a new, 9,000-square foot facility in New Orleans’ Central Business District. MSJE, which includes both permanent and rotating exhibits, explores the many ways that Jews in the American South influenced and were affected by the distinct cultural history/context of their new homes. MSJE executive director Kenneth Hoffman will provide a welcome, followed by a highlights tour from curator Anna Tucker. Participants will then take a self-guided tour of the MSJE.

Please note: The museum is ADA compliant. Masks are required inside the museum.

Limit 25 people. $20 members, $30 nonmembers

Tour 3: History and Culture in Tremé Walking Tour

Time: Saturday, January 8, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Tour leader: Malik Bartholomew, Know NOLA Tours

Established in the 1810s, Faubourg Tremé is one of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans and one of the most important historical centers of Black culture in the United States. This walking tour is as rich as the history of the neighborhood, from Creole and African diasporic origins in the era of slavery and freedom, through development as an African American economic hub and spiritual center in the early 20th century, and the community’s endurance in spite of government “redevelopment” over the last several decades. Few areas in New Orleans present a better on-the-ground experience to learn about New Orleans’ unique architecture, Black masking Indians, the history of jazz, and African American social organizing and political activism. Led by historian Malik Bartholomew, the tour will include Congo Square, St. Augustine Church, the former site of Storyville, the Tomb of the Unknown Slave, Claiborne Avenue and the I-10 overpass, and more.

Please note: Participants will travel by bus to and from the start and end point of the two-mile walking tour. 

Limit 25 people. $40 members, $50 nonmembers

Tour 4: Sugar & Blood // Oil & Water: Touring Louisiana’s Plantation and Petrochemical Corridor

Time: Sunday, January 9, 1:00–5:30 p.m.

Tour leader: Josh Lewis, Bywater Institute, Tulane University, and staff of the Whitney Plantation

The area along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and St. John the Baptist Parish is known by several names: the River Parishes, the German Coast, and Cancer Alley, among others. In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of enslaved Africans, Afro Creoles, and Black Americans cultivated and processed sugar at the many plantations established along this corridor. The region now serves as a central node in the global circulation of petrochemicals and bulk agricultural commodities. Industrial development and water management practices have transformed the region and its waterways, bringing new forms of economic activity as well as serious environmental impacts, which have contributed to the marginalization of Black residents. This combination driving and walking excursion begins with a bus tour focused on points of environmental and historical interest along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and the Whitney Plantation, including a major flood-control structure, the site of the 1811 Slave Revolt, and several petrochemical facilities. The tour continues with a self-guided walking tour of Whitney Plantation, the only plantation in the United States interpreted entirely through an African American lens, and concludes with a return bus drive to New Orleans.

Please note: The museum sustained damage during Hurricane Ida. We will notify registrants if changes to the itinerary are necessary. This bus tour includes some walking. The Whitney Plantation Visitor Center is ADA compliant. Most of the tour is on a gravel path. Smaller wheelchairs may have difficulty navigating the grounds; motorized wheelchairs work well on the gravel. Some of the historic structures are accessible only by stairs. Visitors must download the Whitney Plantation app to take the tour.

Limit 30 people. $60 members, $70 nonmembers