“I have come to view New Orleans as an entwined collective of ancestral neighborhoods, history and culture,” wrote Keith Weldon Medley in his book “Black Life in Old New Orleans (American Heritage).” “Without the history and the neighborhoods, the culture has no context. Without the culture, the neighborhoods have no spirit.”

Much of Black and New Orleans history would have been lost if not for Medley. According to the Preservation Resource Center, the historian, photographer and author “made profound contributions to New Orleans’ history and culture.”

Medley, a New Orleans native who died last week, grew up in the Faubourg Marigny. He attended St. Augustine High School and graduated from Southern University at New Orleans.

He loved to research, write and talk about his hometown. He even introduced visitors to its hidden gems as a tour guide.

His book, “We As Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson,” was a 2004 finalist for the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Book Award. It tells the history of the organization leading up to the Plessy v. Ferguson case, which mandated separate-but-equal treatment and established segregation. According to the Library Journal, the book is “an excellent complement to the scholarly works of Charles A. Lofgren, Otto H. Olsen and Brook Thomas. This remarkable read is recommended for public and academic library collections.” 

Medley also received the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Publishing Initiative Grant – twice. He often spoke at historical, cultural, and commemorative gatherings. His articles appeared in the Times-Picayune, Smithsonian, American Legacy, Historic Preservation, Southern Exposure Magazine and New Orleans Tribune among others.

“Early on, I appreciated the unique aspects of my city,” Medley wrote, listing Mardi Gras Indians and second-lines as examples. “Those who study New Orleans without seeking its African and African-American influences invariably miss what it means to know New Orleans.”

For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.

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Tammy C. Barney is an award-winning columnist who spent most of her career at two major newspapers, The Times-Picayune and The Orlando Sentinel. She served as a bureau chief, assistant city editor, TV...