ABSTRACT
Because of the specific tourist orientation of New Orleans, popular depictions of the city often neglect its history as a major site of the slave trade and the practice of slavery. In 2018, the New Orleans Slave Trade Marker and App Project was launched to convey detailed information about the history of slavery and enslaved people in the city for its visitors. This essay uses the New Orleans Slave Trade Marker and App Project as a lens through which to analyze the portrayal of slavery within the tourist landscape of the city. It explores the sites that have been interpreted, considering the information presented at each in the context of its broader history and implications for public memories of American slavery. This essay contextualizes these narrative interventions in New Orleans with analysis of similar developments in other heritage tourism sites.
