By Jeremy K. Simien

I am often asked: Why are there not more depictions of Louisiana’s Free People of Color? Where Did it all go? Here are some of the unfortunate answers: Many of the artifacts pertaining to Creoles of color were lost because of an inability to maintain them. This is especially true in regards to the belongings of families who stayed in Louisiana. The civil war, reconstruction and Jim Crow era America systematically crippled Creole families of color. The focus for these people of color who stayed in the United States would not be placed upon preservation, but rather survival. There are instances of material culture pertaining to Free People of Color being found with families that moved from the south to northern states. There were quite a few of these families who left Louisiana and passed under the color line. By assuming alternate racial identities, they were able to secure opportunities that would have not otherwise been afforded to them. These families left Louisiana for places such as Illinois, Missouri, and California; there, they assimilated into the white mainstream. Unfortunately, in some cases, the descendants of these families are unaware of the historical cultural significance of their artifacts and sometimes unaware of their African ancestry completely.

Many of the Creole families of color who left the United States were also able to secure opportunities that allowed them the means to preserve their heirlooms. Some of these heirlooms, including papers, portraits, and works have since been recovered in places such as Mexico and Europe. While some are still lost waiting to be found, too many are now forever lost to time.

In regards to depictions pertaining to Creoles of color found in the Louisiana State Museum’s collection: Many survive because they were acquired as “Novelty pieces” by early/prominent collectors. It seems that many times, these early collectors and their peers conducted minimal research on these Women of Color sitters, and by default falsely attributed any woman of color to be the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau(x). These pieces that I speak of were preserved for novelty/amusement and have rarely served as homage to the illustrious history of the Creoles of African descent.

Because of the circumstances described above, images depicting Creoles (of color) are rare. However, increasingly rare are depictions of Free Men of Color.

The idea of a wealthy man of color threatened the ideas of white supremacy that were reinforced during Jim Crow era America. It is the belief of scholars, including myself, that these depictions were seen as more threatening than images of women of color for a few reasons. The first being that depictions of Free Women of Color could be explained by stories of male white patronage (via placage. See below.) or by saying that a portrait was executed by an artist because of a sitter’s exoticism. One portrait of a Free Woman of Color with tignon is even said to be the maid of the artist. It was this assertion that may have lead to a restorer removing a lace collar from the painting as she believed it was a later embellishment. For a maid or servant could surely not afford such finery. The later discovery of the Artist’s original sketch has revealed the lace collar was, in fact, original.

About Tignons:

A tignon (pronounced “Tee-yawn”) is a decorative head wrap made of tied or wrapped fabric, usually shaped in the form of a turban. Tignons, or moussors as they were called, resemble the West African Gele. They were made from many different fabrics, including fine silk to madras cloths.

What was the so-called Tignon-law?

The “Tignon-Law” was the name given to a portion of Gov. Esteban Rodriguez Miró’s 1786 sumptuary laws that mandated that Women of color should wear head wraps and refrain from wearing excessive jewelry and other elaborate ornamentations. Today’s Scholars, myself included, have now conjectured that Tignon laws were never truly enforced. After all, there have been no records to date involving persons penalized for not wearing a tignon. In fact, there are known depictions of white Creole women wearing tignons and also depictions of Women of color not wearing them. So, the absence or presence of a tignon is not a determining factor to whether a sitter is a Creole of Color. Regardless, the moussor, or tignon, is an important part of the history of the Free People of Color, and whether by choice or requirement, there exist depictions of Women of Color wearing these head wraps into the 20th century.

About Placage & Quadroon Balls:

Placage is the name commonly given to the socially recognized system in Louisiana in which European men entered into common-law-like marriages with Free Women of Color. This system was in place as interracial marriage was prohibited by the Code Noir, a book of laws governing conduct for People of Color and Europeans/whites in the Colony. The term “placage” comes from the French word “placer” meaning “to place with.” While this was not recognized as a legal marriage, placées and their unofficial marriages were recognized. In fact, the children of these unions were allowed to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Denis Prieur, the tenth mayor of New Orleans, was one of these white men engaged in a placage relationship. He lived openly with a Free Woman of Color.

Placage relationships have been greatly mischaracterized by supposed “scholars” and novelists of the past. Reports of white men attending Quadroon-balls and picking out Free Women of Color mistresses have largely been debunked. The digitization of historical records, period newspapers along with newly published works about the Free People of Color have helped shed these unflattering and damaging stories from the legacy of the Creoles of African descent. It should be noted that many Free Women of Color legally married Free Men of Color contrary to what was purported in the past.

Why is the story of Louisiana’s Free People of Color important?

The story of the Louisiana’s F.P.O.C/G.D.C.L offers a narrative of resistance, persistence, and survival. It acknowledges both the influences and resistance of the African spirit in the Americas. Until recently much of the narrative involving the African presence in Louisiana/America is told solely by images of slavery. These depictions are important but may render viewers with an impression that people of African descent were at some point complacent in this position. This is not the case and history attests to this. Aside from the recorded instances of insurrections and revolts against the institution of slavery; Free People of African descent attacked racism and slavery and demanded equal treatment. The story of the Louisiana’s Free People of Color is vital because it illustrates that despite the fact that people of African descent have been victimized, they refused to remain victims. In the face of oppression, people of color who were afforded freedom did not only survive, but thrived.