#STREETSIGNSMATTER

#StreetSignsMatter is a movement to erase our streets of figures in history who fought to enslave and oppress Black people.

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RENAME THESE STREETS

Jefferson Davis Parkway will become Norman Francis Parkway

Photo By: Sarah Ravits

Robert E Lee Blvd Leah Chase Blvd

SIGN THE PETITION

rename ROBERT E LEE BLVD to LEAH CHASE BLVD

Robert E. Lee was a cruel slave owner who destroyed families, tearing them apart and Leah Chase is the very opposite. She brought all people together like a family.

Known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” Leah Chase was born on January 6, 1923 in New Orleans, Chase was one of 14 children. She was raised in the small town of Madisonville, LA. There were no high schools for black children, so after sixth grade, Chase moved to New Orleans to live with an aunt. After completing high school, Chase had a colorful work history including managing two amateur boxers and becoming the first woman to mark the racehorse board for a local bookie. Her favorite job, though, was waiting tables in the French Quarter. It was here that she developed her love for food and feeding others.

In 1946, she married local musician Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr., whose father had opened a street corner stand selling lottery tickets and his wife’s homemade po’boy sandwiches. Eventually, Leah and Dooky Jr. took over the business, which by then had become a sit-down restaurant and a favorite local gathering place.

In a town deeply divided by segregation, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant was one of the only public places in New Orleans where mixed race groups could meet to discuss strategy for the local Civil Rights Movement. Although such gatherings were illegal through most of the 1960s, Dooky Chase’s was so popular; it would have caused a public uproar if local law enforcement had interrupted the meetings. Black voter registration campaign organizers, the NAACP, backdoor political meetings and countless others often found a home at Dooky Chase’s, and Leah cooked for them all.

New Orleans has 30 streets and monuments named for historic figures who spent their lives enslaving and oppressing black people.

MAP KEY

1	Robert E. Lee Boulevard	General Robert E. Lee was commander of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He has no direct ties to New Orleans, but his statue was among the most prominent in the city.
2	Lee Circle
3	Walker Street	General John George Walker led Confederate troops in battles throughout Louisiana and Arkansas.
4	Jefferson Davis Parkway	Before becoming the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, Davis was a U.S. Senator from Mississippi, where he owned a cotton plantation and more than 100 enslaved people. We want to rename Jefferson Davis Parkway for Norman C. Francis who was a civil rights leader and served as the president of Xavier University for 4 decades.
5	Jefferson Davis Memorial
6	Mouton Street	General Alfred Mouton, son of a Louisiana governor, was an engineer in New Orleans and sugarcane farmer before joining the Confederate war effort.
7	Lane Street	General James Henry Lane served under Stonewall Jackson and fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.
8	Polk Street	General Leonidas Polk fought for the Confederacy and served as Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana.
9	General P.G.T. Beauregard	Born in St. Bernard Parish, Beauregard ordered the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter. Beauregard also pushed for the army to use a different flag from the Confederate national flag because its “stars and bars” looked so similar to the U.S. flag. It resulted in the X design with stars, which is now at the center of controversy.
10	Beauregard Avenue
11	Beauregard Drive and Lee Street	Within Jackson Barracks, two streets are named after Confederate generals: P.G.T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee.
12	Governor Nicholls Street	Francis T. Nicholls was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.
13	General Albert Pike	Pike practiced law in New Orleans before joining the Confederate army.
14	Rev. Abram Joseph Ryan	Ryan was called the “Poet-Priest of the South” and the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy.”
15	Col. Charles Didier Dreux	Dreux was the first Confederate field officer killed during the Civil War.
16	Forshey Street	As an engineer, Caleb Goldsmith Forshey worked with the Confederate Engineering Corps to help fortify gunboats.
17	General Ogden Street	Frederick Nash Ogden led Louisiana’s 9th Cavalry and fought in the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War.
18	Calhoun Street	While John C. Calhoun didn’t fight in the Civil War, he was among the antebellum period’s foremost advocates of slavery and secession.
19	Gen. Taylor Street	Gen. Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, was a prominent plantation owner before the war. He led Confederate troops in a number of Louisiana skirmishes.
20	Confederate Flag Etching	An engraving near the entrance to New Orleans City Hall depicts a scene with a Confederate flag.
21	E.D. White	Edward Douglas White was a Supreme Court Chief justice who served the Confederate Army and was a member of the Crescent City White League. His statue sits in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court building on Royal Street in the French Quarter.
22	Washington Artillery Park	A plaque at the base of the Washington Artillery Park cannon monument lists its engagements including that it “served the Confederacy in two theaters of the war".
23	Battle of Liberty Place Monument	The monument commemorates the 1874 clash between ex-Confederates in the Crescent City White League and the Reconstruction government. It was moved in 1989 from its original spot on Canal to the river end of Iberville Canal Place.
24	Capdeville Street	Named for Mayor Paul Capdeville, a Confederate veteran.
25	Slidell Street	Named presumably for John Slidell, the Confederate government’s ambassador to France who was famously taken captive in the Trent affair.
26	General Meyer Avenue	Adolph Meyer served in the Confederate Army from 1862 through the end of the Civil War.
27	General Early	Gen. Jubal Early fought in several key Civil War battles, including Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg.
28	Lafayette Cemetery No.1	A marker, placed in 1970, notes the cemetery is the burial site of Gen. Harry T. Hays, ”distinguished Confederate General.”
29	Bragg Street	Gen. Braxton Bragg trained Confederate soldiers in the Gulf Coast and later served as superintendent of New Orleans waterworks.
30	Palmer Park	Pastor Ben Palmer’s Thanksgiving Sermon in 1860 is cited as a chief influence on Louisiana leaders to join the Confederacy. In it, he defended slavery and endorsed secession.

Mayor Cantrell and Mark Raymond Jr. Talk renaming our streets

ABOUT US

The A.P. Tureaud Legacy Committee's mission is to combat systemic racism through advocacy and grassroots organizing in order to create a more equitable society for all. The Committee is petitioning to rename two New Orleans streets in an effort to celebrate the contributions of African Americans.

For far too long, we have honored and glorified racist individuals who fought to continue the practice of slavery and the oppression of BLACK people. Their notoriety and misdeeds should be noted in history, but not memorialized in our streets.

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Alexander Pierre Tureaud, Sr., known as A. P. Tureaud (February 26, 1899 – January 22, 1972), was the attorney for the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP during the Civil Rights Movement. With the assistance of Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, A. P. Tureaud filed the lawsuit that successfully ended the system of Jim Crow segregation in New Orleans. That case paved the way for integrating the first two elementary schools in the Deep South.

A.P. Tureaud Jr., Vice President

A. P. Tureaud, Jr. is an educational consultant, artist, and public speaker. Mr. Tureaud is a retired school administrator with more than 30 years serving the White Plains Public Schools, New York.

The first African-American student to attend undergraduate school at Louisiana State University in 1953 by court order, Mr. Tureaud was dismissed from LSU after only eight weeks. Mr. Tureaud earned a bachelor’s degree from Xavier University in New Orleans and a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York.
In 2011, Louisiana State University awarded Mr. Tureaud the honorary doctor of humane letters in the Spring Commencement.
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Royce Duplessis, Esquire, President

Royce Duplessis was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. He is a graduate of Xavier University (B.A., 2004) and Howard University School of Law (J.D., 2010). Royce feels a personal indebtedness toward the late A.P. Tureaud, Sr., as he (like many others) is a beneficiary of Mr. Tureaud's numerous contributions to civil rights in Louisiana.
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Elise Tureaud Nicholls, Secretary

Elise Tureaud Nicholls was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she graduated from Xavier University Preparatory High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Xavier University of Louisiana. After graduating from Xavier, Mrs. Nicholls completed a dietetic internship at Freedman’s Hospital, Howard University.

Over the ensuing years, some of the organizations that she has been involved with include: Operation Crossroads Africa; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Xavier University National Alumni Association; Washington Inter-Alumni Council-UNCF; National Alumni Council-UNCF; American Dietetic Association; East River Family Strengthening Collaborative Inc.; Legal Defense Fund, Inc.; and the NAACP. She currently is the director of a Senior Wellness Program in Washington, DC.

As a Board Member of the A.P. Tureaud, Sr. Legacy Committee, Mrs. Nicholls hopes to advance the awareness and need for continued diligence in securing civil and social justice for all and to secure scholarship funds for aspiring law school students.
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Katherine Hurst

Katherine Hurst is a Licensed Master Social Worker with experience as a direct practice provider as well as public health and research experience.

Katherine's education and passion serve as her drive for seeking social justice and promoting change initiatives. In her professional roles she has worked with adolescents seeking higher education, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and patients whose lives have been altered due to a cancer diagnosis. She knows that vulnerability and empathy are our greatest strength as human beings. Katherine has been a champion of equity for all.
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Black Owned business guide

In light of the current refocus on the Black Lives Matter movement and the economic pressure put on small business owners after the COVID-19 outbreak, we are trying to compile a list of local Black owned businesses to support during this time.

Please add your business to the list!

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