Albion students enjoy New Orleans cultural tour

About a dozen Albion College students were recently part of a cultural tour of New Orleans.

The four-day excursion to the Big Easy was sponsored by The James L. Curtis Institute for Race and Belonging. Students visited HBCU’s Dillard University and Xavier University, the Whitney Plantation Museum, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. They also participated in a New Orleans cultural history scavenger hunt and toured the St. Charles Cemetery.

“Ultimately, the goal was for members to observe and gain enhanced understanding of the connection between place, culture, and history,” explained Ari McCaskill, executive director of the James L. Curtis Institute for Social Change.

Ja’Nice Davis ’27, from Detroit, said the New Orleans trip changed her understanding of resilience and resistance. 

“Resilience was not just surviving Hurricane Katrina, but continuing to rebuild and protect the community despite ongoing challenges,” Davis said. “Resistance appeared in the determination of residents who refused to give up their homes, culture, and history. It showed me that everyday actions, like staying, rebuilding, and speaking up, can be powerful forms of resistance.”