Southern University at New Orleans

Center For African and African American Studies
6400 Press Drive
New Orleans, LA 70126
504-286-5296

The Center was founded in 1989 as a department of SUNO, and holds an extensive collection of African art--one of the largest in the Louisiana university system--as well as manuscript collections focusing both on Africa and on the African-American experience.

Among Mardi Gras-related items are the Mardi Gras Collection (1985-93), with programs and photographs of debutante balls of the Young Men Illinois Club and the Capetowners; also, a transcribed interview with Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr., founder of Guardians of the Flame, and a videotaped interview with his daughter and queen of the tribe, Cherise Harrison Nelson. Interviews date from 1991-92 and focus on black Mardi Gras Indian traditions.

The Papers of the late Dr. Edwin B. Hogan (1962-1984), educator and gospel musician, include honors and awards conferred by Mayors Moon Landrieu and Ernest "Dutch" Morial, and others, including Wali Abdel Ra'oof, a director of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation.

Of special interest are the Papers of Edward "Kidd" Jordan (1989-1993), jazz musician and director of the Institute of Innovative Jazz and the Heritage School of Jazz. They include clippings, programs, and photographs of jazz concerts at home and abroad.