According to widely accepted historical tradition, African-American slaves were allowed to gather on Sunday afternoons in an open field just outside the city, at a spot known by various names including Place Congo.
The slaves and free people of color used this space to market goods, to socialize and to sing, make music and dance, maintaining their cultural heritage as well as social cohesion. White New Orleanians and visitors to the city would go there to witness African-American music and dance.
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Nicole Webre, Palmer's legislative director, said author and historian Freddi Williams Evans contacted Palmer's office several months ago to point out that even though the space is widely known today as Congo Square, it is still officially named Beauregard Square.
It was given that name in 1893, the year Beauregard died. A native of St. Bernard Parish who lived in New Orleans most of his life, Beauregard -- known as Gustave or G.T. in his lifetime -- initially seemed on track for significant success in the Civil War. He accepted the surrender of Fort Sumter in April 1861, marking the start of the war, and three months later commanded the victorious Southern forces at the war's first major battle, First Bull Run in Virginia.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that a Jim Crow era city government tried to obscure the cultural and historical significance of this place by slapping the name of a Confederate general onto it. But it's hard to get something like that to stick in this situation. Some things are permanent. It would be like trying to get people to call the Superdome "Entergy Field" or some such thing if the naming rights ever are sold.
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