The remains of nineteen African-American men and women from New Orleans have been returned from the University of Leipzig to the Crescent City.
The History
In the 1880s, the skulls of 19 African Americans were sent from New Orleans’ Charity Hospital to German doctor Emil Ludwig Schmidt. They were to undergo “study” to bolster scientific racism and racist colonial ideas. Schmidt later donated the remains to Germany’s University of Leipzig.
A few years ago, the University of Leipzig reached out to New Orleans offering to repatriate the remains. Dillard University Professor Eva Baham worked to secure their return, and along with genealogists, was able to identify all but two of our fellow Americans wrongfully shipped abroad.
The Event to Honor Them: Say Their Names
On May 31, 2025, Dillard University, Louisiana’s oldest HBCU, will host a memorial to welcome home the 19 wrongfully discarded Americans. The memorial will include a jazz festival in their honor. And a properly dignified burial will finally be granted to Adam Grant, Isaak Bell, Hiram Smith, William Pierson, Henry Williams, John Brown, Hiram Malone, William Roberts, Alice Brown, Prescilla Hatchet, Marie Louise, Mahala, Samuel Prince, John Holman, Henry Allen, Moses Willis, Henry Anderson, and two unknown individuals.
When and Where
The memorial will take place at 9 a.m. at Dillard’s Lawless Memoral Chapel, and will also be livestreamed.
RELATED POST: Harvard Ends 15-Year Legal Battle. Gives Up Claim to Early Photos of Enslaved Americans.
REFERENCES:
Bobbi-Jean Misick. Skulls of Black New Orleanians, used as ‘specimens’ in Germany, returned to be laid to rest. VeriteNews.org. URL. May 28, 2025.
Chelsea Brasted. After being part of racist experimentation, 19 New Orleanians’ remains return home. Axios.com. URL. May 29, 2024.
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