Exploring the Untold Stories of Families Enslaved in Louisiana

July 26, 2023

This Saturday, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library will hold a day-long symposium examining the efforts of genealogists to uncover the untold stories of families enslaved in Louisiana. Much of the symposium will be based on research by Rachel Swarns, a professor at New York University, a contributing writer for The New York Times and the author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church.

Swarns, who will deliver Saturday’s keynote address, joins us to discuss how she uncovered stories many thought were lost to history. She is joined by David Laatsch, genealogy librarian in the special collections department at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library.

Listen to interview

Louisiana Considered, WWNO New Orleans Public Radio, July 2023