New Orleans has always been heralded for its unique and distinctive history.  Our architecture, our buildings, our neighborhoods are all well recognized throughout the world for their range in styles and cultural value.  The French Quarter is often described as a living museum.  We are also well known for our cultural history and world renown contributions in food and music.  Jazz, after all, is this city’s gift to the world.

The country’s social framework has also been influenced by events that have occurred in New Orleans history.  The New Orleans based Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, for example, established the “separate-but-equal” segregation policy, solidifying Jim Crow. In its aftermath New Orleans would become one of the most heated battle grounds in the African American fight for equality and civil rights.

Yet, there are still even lesser known contributions in our history that, until recently, have not been widely recognized for their social significance.  It was in New Orleans in 1808 that the nation’s first Spanish Language newspaper, El Misisipi, was first published.

This was the first step in a proliferation of Spanish language journalism in the United States.  Latino journalism in the continental U.S. today has its roots in a small office in what is today known as the Vieux Carré.

To celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of this historic event the year 2008 will see the launch of a national call to commemorate this historic time for Latinos and Latino news media in the United States.

As part of the bicentennial year, Accion Latina, a non-profit, educational and and cultural organization  in San Francisco is spearheading a project called Voices for Justice: The Enduring Legacy of the Latino Press in the U.S. The project involves the production of a documentary film, companion book and website that chronicles the 200-year history of Latino journalism in the U.S. and the issues Latino media has covered.

Puentes New Orleans, Inc. and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies have joined to host a press conference which will be held on October 15 at 11:30 am at the New Orleans Museum of Art in honor of the bicentennial in order to launch the national call.  There will be a reception from 5:00pm to 7:00pm also at the New Orleans Museum of Art.  You can also catch the same information in this week’s edition of Nuestro Pueblo, written by Ana Gershanik.

Accion Latina also produces a bilingual, biweekly newspaper titled El Tecolote that serves San Francisco’s Latino community.  The paper celebrated its 38th anniversary.

For more information about the press conference or reception, contact Lucas Diaz at (504)821-7228 or Juan Gonzales at accionjg@aol.com or (415)648-1045

Tags: El Misisipi, hispanic community, hispanics in new orleans, latino community, Latino Journalism, Latino news media, new orleans, new orleans history

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Archived News, El Rafa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.