Freedom House in Treme Continues their historic work

By Jann Darsie

The Ella Project student volunteers visit The Freedom House in 2022

Little did Candice “Divine” Henderson know when she put in a contract on 917 North Tonti Street that it would turn into the project it has become. A first-time homebuyer, Henderson had looked at 30-plus properties and made offers on three. As she had the inspection on the Tonti Street house, the realtor asked if she knew that it was a historic house with a significant place in the Civil Rights Movement. She didn’t. 

 Henderson first connected with the house while in Tremé to look at another nearby property. The 917 North Tonti address popped just as she was walking by the house while checking listings. “It chose me!” Henderson said about the former residence of the Civil Rights Castle Family who housed Freedom Riders and provided a safe house for individuals involved in the 1960s movement.

 The Craftsman double served as the New Orleans headquarters for the Freedom Riders working to integrate interstate buses in the South. Hundreds of Freedom Riders, who were under a constant threat of arrest and violence, found refuge in the Tonti Street house.

 After the act of sale in March of 2021, as the historical significance became more and more apparent, Henderson began to have many conversations with community residents and leaders about the house. One such person was Carol Bebelle, known as Mama Carol, co-founder of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in Central City. Realizing how much power was in the house, Mama Carol suggested a libation to the ancestors with invitations to living Freedom Riders. Dodie Smith-Simmons and Claude Reese were on hand for the ceremony.

 Henderson had begun to envision turning her home into a museum and educational center, The Freedom House. And since she purchased it, the house has fittingly been named on the National Register of Historic Places.

 The Ella Project has as one of its main goals to provide the fortitude for their clients to develop what they want to do. They have provided Henderson with advice and counsel on general licensing and other contractual matters as she has faced the challenges of getting her dream off the ground. The Ella Project attorney and co-founder, Ashlye Keaton said: “We are committed to working with Divine and the Freedom House on an on-going basis.” 

 Keaton also said the Freedom House is vital to continuing the Civil Rights Movement – which hasn’t stopped moving. The house is not just bricks-and-mortar; it is living history that connects the past, the present and the future. “It embodies the spirit of that movement, and will provide a beacon to the community,” Keaton added. “Preservation isn’t just for buildings; it is also for our culture.”

 In March 2022, Henderson’s sister came to town for five months to help get things going. She helped to successfully apply for nonprofit status for the Friends of Freedom House; established a website and a social media presence; and filed articles of incorporation with the state. 

 In August of that year, former Freedom Rider and longtime activist Jerome “Big Duck” Smith paid a visit, and that’s all Henderson needed to be convinced to create a house museum. “Big Duck and John Castle [son of Vergie Castle and Johnnie B. Castle] have both taught me spiritually and served as inspiration. I had to think about what I wanted to see done and with whom I should connect,” she said.

 Henderson sees the house functioning in two ways: like a classroom, and as a museum in both traditional and non-traditional ways. “Young people are really our target audience,” Henderson said. “We want them to connect with living members of CORE from the 1960s, while there is still time. In our partnership with The Black School, young people have interviewed activists such as Ronnie Moore, the CORE field secretary for the South, and Johnnie Castle.” 

 One such young person who visited as part of her Ella Project internship was Tulane law student Brianna Thurman. Although it was a couple of years ago, Thurman said, “the spirit of the tour and optimism I felt about the house museum still resonate with me. As a New Orleans native, I’m very passionate about efforts to preserve aspects of New Orleans history that may be forgotten or overlooked.”

 The house itself is an important relic, and the significant work that took place there is currently shown on the walls, Thurman said. “It provides the opportunity to carry on the legacy of love and passion for a better and more just New Orleans. It was a safe harbor for those who fought for Black liberation and social justice, so I found the concept of turning half of the house into a museum and half of it into a community engagement and retreat space to be unique and exciting,” she added.

In preparation for the museum, Henderson has collected photographs, memorabilia, newspaper clippings and original items from such Civil Rights notables as Ronnie Moore, Johnny Castle and Dodie Smith-Simmons. 

 There are more steps to take before the museum can open. Because the house is in a residential neighborhood, the Friends of Freedom House must apply for a zoning variance to operate a house museum. They will appear before the City Planning Commission on May 28th, and later before the City Council. The project has received support from its Tremé neighbors and from City Councilman Eugene Green.

 Once approved, the facility will receive students on field trips, hold tours by docents and guides, and, hopefully, facilitate many interactions with the Civil Rights pioneers. It is the goal to have those intergenerational conversations be transformative, so that the young visitors will leave feeling compelled to take action. And that they will be inspired to be a part of change in today’s world where various freedoms are under attack. 

 A more nontraditional function of the house involves the table. This is the original piece of furniture that the likes of James Baldwin, Lena Horne and other Civil Rights icons gathered around. Present-day organizers and activists will have the opportunity to sit at the same table to strategize and plan courses of action and change. 

 As third-year law student Thurman put it, the Freedom House can accomplish the dual objective of championing New Orleans’ contribution to the Civil Rights Movement while facilitating a space where its users can create and be in community with one another — as they did in the past. 

More information on Friends of Freedom House can be found at www.friendsofthefreedomhouse.com and on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook @friendsofthefreedomhouse and on TikTok @Freedomhousemuseum.

Notes from Ella is presented in part with a grant from the New Orleans Jazz Festival & Foundation.