“People of African descent have been in New Orleans, like the French, from the early eighteenth century. The city’s relative social and geographic isolation during its early history as a French colony and international port contributed to the unique black culture. Blacks were brought to the city as slaves from Senegal, Senegambia, and the Windward Coast of West Africa, as well as from the French Caribbean islands, especially Haiti, after the French Revolution. Some were trained as skilled laborers and crafsmen and were able to buy freedom for themselves and their families upon enactment of the so-called Code Noire, which made this possible for the first time. This gave rise to a community known as the “Freemen of Color.” The intermarriage of Freemen of Color with native Indians and French settlers resulted in the growth of Creoles—blacks of mixed ancestry.”

—Alan Govenar, from A Joyful Noise: A Celebration of New Orleans Music by Michael P. Smith, 1990.