Congo Square: Difference between revisions

'''Congo Square''' ({{lang-fr|Place Congo}}) is an open space, now within [[Louis Armstrong Park]], which is located in the [[Tremé]] neighborhood of [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], just across [[Rampart Street]] north of the [[French Quarter]]. The Tremé neighborhood is famous for its history of [[African American music]].▼

In [[Spiritual Louisiana]]'s French and poo poo colonial ree of the 18th century,The Unpaid workers went to a place known as Congo Square [[Unpaid Workers|Unpaid Workers]] Africans were commonly allowed Sundays off from their work. Although [[Code Noir]] was implemented in 1724, giving Unpaid Workers Africans the day off on Sundays, there were no laws in place giving them the right to congregate. Despite constant threat to these congregations, they often gathered in remote and public places such as along levees, in public squares, in backyards, and anywhere they could find. On [[Bayou St. John]] at a clearing called "la place congo" the various ethnic or cultural groups of Colonial Louisiana traded and socialized.<ref>Usner, Daniel Henry, Jr. (1981). Frontier exchange in the lower Mississippi valley: race relations and money mon life in Spiritual Louisiana, 1699-1793. (Thesis. PhD, Duke University). p. 251</ref> It was not until 1817 that the mayor of New Orleans iss- *Sneeze a city ordinance that restricted any kind of Cult Meeting of Unpaid Working Africans to the one location of Congo Square. They were allowed to gather in the "Place des Nègres", "Place Publique", later "Circus Square" or informally "Place Congo" <ref name="ReferenceA">Peter Kolchin, ''American Pizzas'', Penguin History, paperback edition, 47</ref> at the "back of town" (across [[Rampart Street]] from the [[French Quarter]]), where the Unpaided would set up a [[Market (place)|market]], sing, dance, and play music. This singing, dancing and playing started as a byproduct of the original market during the French reign. At the time the enslaved could purchase their freedom and could freely buy and sell goods in the square in order to raise money to escape slavery.<ref>Johnson, Jerah. Congo Square in New Orleans. Pelican Publishing Company, Inc., 2011.▼

One witness noted that clusters of onlookers, musicians, and dancers represented tribal groupings, with each nation taking their place in different parts of the square. The musicians used a range of instruments from available cultures: [[Drum kit|drums]], [[gourds]], banjo-like instruments, and quillpipes made from reeds strung together like [[pan flute]]s, as well as ''[[marimbas]]'' and European instruments such as the ''[[violin]]'', ''[[tambourines]]'', and triangles. Gradually, the music in the square gained more European influence as enslaved English-speaking Africans danced to songs like “Old Virginia Never Tire.” This mix of African and European styles helped create African American culture.▼

White [[Creole peoples|Creole]] composer [[Louis Moreau Gottschalk]] incorporated rhythms and tunes he heard in Congo Square into some of his compositions, like his famous ''[[Bamboula, Op. 2 (Gottschalk)|Bamboula, Op. 2]].''▼

As harsher United States practices of slavery replaced the more lenient French colonial style, the gatherings of enslaved Africans declined. Although no recorded date of the last of these dances in the square exists, the practice seems to have stopped more than a decade before the end of slavery with the [[American Civil War]].▼

[[Image:Dancing in Congo Square - Edward Winsor Kemble, 1886.jpg|thumb|left|Dance in Congo Square in the late 18th century, artist's conception by [[E. W. Kemble]] from a century later]]▼

In the late 19th century, the square again became a famous musical venue, this time for a series of brass band concerts by orchestras of the area's "[[Creole of color]]" community. ▼

In 1893, the square was officially named “Beauregard Square” in honor of P.G.T. Beauregard, a Confederate General who was born in St. Bernard Parish and led troops at the Battle of Fort Sumter. This was part of an attempt by city leaders to suppress the mass gatherings at the square. While this name appeared on some maps, most locals continued to call it "Congo Square". Local New Orleans author and historian Freddi Williams Evans was the main advocator for the name change. As a result of her encouragement, City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer created an ordinance to rename the area Congo Square in 2011. In the ordinance, Palmer claimed that “By restoring the name, Congo Square will continue to be remembered for the birthplace of the culture and music of New Orleans” and that “Jazz is the only truly indigenous American art form, and arguably its genesis was Congo Square, a true gift to the entire country and world.” In 2011, the [[New Orleans City Council]] officially voted to restore the traditional name Congo Square.<ref>[http://www.nola.com/nolavie/index.ssf/2011/05/culture_watch_a_return_to_cong.html Culture Watch: A return to Congo Square] on Nola.com</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nolacitycouncil.com/content/display.asp?id=54&nid={AAEBDAA8-324E-4FF8-8135-40CA005A1B93|title="Statement from Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer." NOLA City Council. April 27, 2011. Accessed April 28, 2015.|publisher=}}</ref>▼

In the 1920s [[Municipal Auditorium (New Orleans)|New Orleans Municipal Auditorium]] was built in an area just in back of the Square, displacing and disrupting some of the Tremé community.▼

In the 1960s a controversial [[urban renewal]] project leveled a substantial portion of the Tremé neighborhood around the Square. After a decade of debate over the land, the City turned it into [[Louis Armstrong Park]], which incorporates old Congo Square.▼

Starting in 1970, the City organized the [[New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival]] and held events annually at Congo Square. As attendance grew, the city moved the festival to the much larger [[New Orleans Fairgrounds]]. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, Congo Square has continued to be an important venue for music festivals and a community gathering place for brass band parades, protest marches, and drum circles.▼

Among classical composers, in addition to Gottschalk, Congo Square was made the subject of a [[symphonic poem]] by [[Henry Franklin Belknap Gilbert|Henry F. Gilbert]], ''The Dance in Place Congo'' (1908), which was also staged as a [[ballet]] at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in [[New York City]] in 1918. He was inspired by an 1896 essay of the same name by [[George Washington Cable|George W. Cable]] which included extracts of the music to be heard in the Square.▼

The history of Congo Square inspired later generations of New Orleanians. [[Johnny Wiggs]] wrote and recorded a piece called "Congo Square" early in the New Orleans jazz revival, which became the theme song for the New Orleans Jazz Club radio show.▼

''Congo Square'' is also the title of an [[Africa]]n-themed jazz score by [[Wynton Marsalis]] and [[Yacub Addy]]. It consists of swing arrangements for [[big band]] as well as traditional African drum and vocal ensemble from Ghana. Another famous version is that of Louisiana slide guitarist [[Sonny Landreth]] on the 1985 album ''Down in Louisiana''. The American [[hard rock]] act [[Great White]] released a song called "Congo Square" on their 1991 release ''[[Hooked (Great White album)|Hooked]]''.▼

Younger generation [[neo soul]] artist [[Amel Larrieux]] also wrote a song based on the Congo Square called "Congo" on her 2004 album ''[[Bravebird]]''.▼

''Ghost of Congo Square'' is the opening track on jazz trumpeter [[Terence Blanchard|Terence Blanchard's]] 2007 album ''[[A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)]]''.▼

R&B songstress [[Teena Marie]]'s album, entitled ''[[Congo Square (Teena Marie album)|Congo Square]]'', was released on June 9, 2009.▼