I love the Essence Festival of Culture. The annual July event provides so much pleasure — and, as Frankie Beverly would say, happy feelings.
It’s such a joy to see thousands of Black women, Black men and Black families with a variety of accents, hues, shapes and sizes coming together for a good time, education, information, connecting and reconnecting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center during the day, at the Caesars Superdome at night and wherever they can find old and new friends with a common ethnic and racial bonds stemming from the African diaspora.
As I travel to other places, no matter for how long or for what reason, I always want to get out of whatever conference room or convention bubble to some aspect of the Black community.
I strongly encourage you to enjoy all that the three-day Essence Fest has to offer. Every Essence Fest lover I know has a different idea about how to enjoy it. I change up most years. However, make sure you see the city.
Whether you’re a regular visitor to New Orleans or this is your first time in the Crescent City, I’ve got a few ideas and tips for you. I’m not a New Orleans expert or historian. I’m not a certified tour guide. I am a native New Orleanian who has lived in several other places, and there is no place in the nation with our depth and feel of Black culture.
People dance in Congo Square during the NOLA Juneteenth Festival at Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
Because I live here, I’ve been to a bunch of our Black culture, Black excellence institutions, places and sights. Aside from our fabulous food trucks and restaurants — a list that would be longer than the space I have here — there are places where you can get a taste of Black New Orleans with a short walk or a short ride-share drive.
Consider going to Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park any day while you’re here. The square is the only place in all of North America where enslaved people were allowed to gather for dancing, drumming, fellowship and trade in the 1700s and the 1800s. Don’t miss the 12-foot, one-ton Armstrong sculpture by African American master artist Elizabeth Catlett. Some of you might remember HBO’s post-Hurricane Katrina “Treme” series. You’ll be in the heart of the historic neighborhood.
Times-Picayune columnist Will Sutton on Thursday, September 12, 2019.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
If you haven’t left for New Orleans yet, pack your whites. There’s a special annual event not far from Essence on Saturday morning. Yes, it’s early. 7 a.m. But if you love our culture, you’ll love the experience, produced annually by the .
The event, which starts at Congo Square in Armstrong Park, acknowledges the Transatlantic and domestic slave trades, a history that some want to forget. This is a remembrance as we release the chains from that dark past. Starting at Congo Square with a program that includes land recognition, a multifaith call for healing, African drumming and recognition of some of our local griots.
If you like art and creative spaces, check out , a huge, 36,000-square-foot gallery where Brandon “BMike” Odums has created a creative community space where youth and professionals create art, hold conversations and build relationships.
Marchers leave Congo Square during the annual Maafa Commemoration in New Orleans.
Advocate staff photo by SCOTT THRELKELD
Jump in a car and head over to Bayou Road for a history lesson in one of the city’s Black business districts. Some say it’s the city’s first road, and the oldest, built/constructed/established about 3,000 years ago as a travel route for indigenous ancestors to get from Bayou St. John to the Mississippi River. The brick street is home to several Black businesses, including the Community Book Center, a 40-plus-year-old bookstore designated as the Essence Festival’s official book partner this year. We’ve got another Black bookstore, Baldwin & Co. It’s also a coffee and tea spot, made famous in part by a social media post by Oprah Winfrey.
If you’re up for a bit more of an adventure and some nature, don’t go to the now world-famous Lower Ninth Ward to see the Hurricane Katrina destruction and the comeback progress. Go see the Sankofa Wetland Park and Nature Trail, a Black-led, 40-acre environmental space that helps with flood protection. It’s a beautiful, calming space. While you’re in the L9, check out the TEP Center, named for Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost, three of the six-year-old girls known as the New Orleans Four. On Nov. 14, 1960, they integrated New Orleans schools, making national news. The center was one of two schools desegregated that day ,
Artist Brandan "BMike" Odums gives a tour of StudioBE in New Orleans, La., Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
There are some good Black music venues, bands, and wonderful Black deejays such as and r. Catch them if you can.
By no means is this an exhaustive list. You can find more options at the New Orleans Tribune’s , a guide for Black tourists, and the New Orleans & Co. .
If you want more specific guidance, you can find me roaming Essence Festival and Essence-adjacent activities day and some nights — until I crash.