Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans
In May 2017, four Confederate monuments were removed from public spaces in New Orleans. The following November, third graders at Homer Plessy Community School wrote proposals for monuments that represent all the people of our city.
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In May 2017, four Confederate monuments were removed from public spaces in New Orleans.
The following November, third graders at Homer Plessy Community School wrote Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans. The book is filled with these young citizens’ proposals for monuments that represent all the people of our city.
Monument ideas are as diverse as New Orleans itself; from iconic figures of the Crescent City such as Oretha Castle Haley, Ruby Bridges, and Homer Plessy, to cornerstones of Louisiana culture, including beignets, crawfish, and alligators. Students worked one-on-one with Big Class staff and volunteers to research their topics, then wrote persuasive pieces on why they should be commemorated with a monument in New Orleans’s public space.
We celebrated these young writers and their book with a publishing party in the Homer Plessy Community School garden. Students proudly beheld their book and read their pieces for friends and family.
