Synopses & Reviews
Across Rampart Street from the French Quarter, the Faubourg Tremandeacute; neighborhood is arguably the most important location for African American culture in New Orleans. Closely associated with traditional jazz and andldquo;second lineandrdquo; parading, Tremandeacute; is now the setting for an eponymous television series created by David Simon (best known for his work on The Wire).and#160;Michael Crutcher argues that Tremandeacute;andrsquo;s story is essentially spatialandmdash;a story of how neighborhood boundaries are drawn and take on meaning and of how places within neighborhoods are made and unmade by people and politics. Tremandeacute; has long been sealed off from more prominent parts of the city, originally by the fortified walls that gave Rampart Street its name, and so has become a refuge for less powerful New Orleanians. This notion of Tremandeacute; as a safe havenandmdash;the flipside of its reputation as a andldquo;neglectedandrdquo; placeandmdash;has been essential to its role as a cultural incubator, Crutcher argues, from the antebellum slave dances in Congo Square to jazz pickup sessions at Joeandrsquo;s Cozy Corner.and#160;Tremandeacute; takes up a wide range of issues in urban life, including highway construction, gentrification, and the role of public architecture in sustaining collective memory. Equally sensitive both to black-white relations and to differences within the African American community, it is a vivid evocation of one of Americaandrsquo;s most distinctive places.
Review
andldquo;When Zora Neale Hurston noted that New Orleans was the fountainhead of African American culture, she was talking about Tremandeacute;. Michael Crutcherandrsquo;s book is a long overdue study of this critically important neighborhoodandmdash;a place that exemplifies key issues about race and gentrification in the postindustrial United States. Given its timely subject matter and accessible style, the book should be of interest to scholars as well as general readers.andrdquo;andmdash;Anthony J. Stanonis, author of Creating the Big Easy: New Orleans and the Emergence of Modern Tourism, 1918andndash;1945
Review
andquot;Never before has the mystery and glory of Faubourg Tremandeacute; been brought together in one volume. For the knowledgeable insider, Michael Crutcherandrsquo;s research conquers familiar myths with facts, and elevates other myths to the status of verifiable truth. For those students who are unfamiliar with this unique American neighborhood, Crutcher makes a cogent argument in clear prose for why this place is worthy of attention, study, and celebration.andquot;--Lolis Eric Elie, writer for the television program Treme
Review
andldquo;This work fills a void in the geographic literature that investigates the historical evolution of a New Orleans neighborhood associated with free people of color and its contemporary destruction and reconstruction. The text is written in clear, jargon-free languageandmdash;an accomplishment for any author dealing with such complex theoretical concerns.andrdquo;andmdash;Toni Alexander,
Journal of Cultural GeographyReview
andldquo;Mutti Burke has pioneered into new historiographical territory, and
On Slaveryandrsquo;s Border will be profitably read by specialists, generalists, and graduate students alike.andrdquo;andmdash;Dave E. Paterson,
The Journal of Southern HistoryAbout the Author
Michael E. Crutcher Jr. is assistant professor of geography at the University of Kentucky.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Creating Black Tremandeacute;
Chapter 2. Afro-Creole Tremandeacute;
Chapter 3. The Clearance for High Culture
Chapter 4. Killing Claiborne's Avenue
Chapter 5. A Park for Louis
Chapter 6. National Park Savior
Chapter 7. Saving Black Tremandeacute;
Epilogue. Post-Katrina Tremandeacute;
Bibliography
Index