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This French drawing, titled La Creole, was created as an an homage to the Creole women of New Orleans in the mid-1800s.
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Photo by Photo from New Orleans: An Illustrated History
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Hey Blake,
At this year's Festival of Cartoon Art at The Ohio State University, Patrick McDonnell, one of the co-authors of a book on New Orleans-born cartoonist George Herriman ("Krazy Kat") was questioned about Herriman being "Creole." The audience member assumed the term meant "part African-American."
Webster's defines the term from its origins as a word for people of Spanish or French ancestry born in the colonies. The term doesn't appear to imply information about race as it would seem to cover both whites of Spanish/French ancestry and blacks of Spanish/French ancestry.
How has the term "Creole" been used historically in New Orleans and what does it mean now?
Etymologically Confused in Columbus
Dear Confused,
Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite cartoons: "Krazy Kat." I'll bet not many people know that the Kat's creator was born here in 1880 but moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was 10.
For those readers who haven't seen this marvelous cartoon, I'll try to explain. The cartoon, which premiered in 1913 and ran until its creator's death in 1944 and a few years afterward, featured Ignatz Mouse, Krazy Kat, and Offissa Pup. The setting was a surreal landscape that resembled the desert Southwest, and the premise was simple. Ignatz devoted his life to throwing bricks at Krazy. The Kat, blinded by love for the mouse, believed that this act was a sign of affection. When Ignatz managed to hit Krazy on the head with a well-aimed brick, he was then arrested and jailed by Offissa Pup who, oddly enough, was in love with Krazy Kat.
There are a number of biographies of George Joseph Herriman, often with conflicting information about his background. However, I have seen the birth records of the New Orleans Health Department which list him as "Colored." His father was George Jr. and his mother was Clara Morel.
While I have written recently about the definition of "Creole," I will still be happy to answer your question. The word derives from the Portuguese word "crioulo" meaning a slave of African descent born in the New World. But later it came to apply to Europeans born in the New World.
In 18th-century Louisiana and other French and Spanish colonies, "Creole" designated American-born slaves as opposed to African-born slaves. At various times, "Creole" also applied to the Louisiana-born scions of French and Spanish colonial families or Louisiana-born people of European, Haitian, and African ancestry who spoke Creole or Black French. It has also been used to refer to light-skinned and relatively prosperous blacks who tend to live in the 7th Ward in New Orleans and are supposedly descended from the antebellum free people of color. Today, many people still believe the term "Creole" refers only to a native Louisianian of pure white blood who is a descendent of those French and Spanish pioneers who came to settle the New World.
In 1890, the Louisiana Legislature passed its first Jim Crow law requiring that all railroads carrying passengers in Louisiana must provide "separate but equal" accommodations for white and "colored" people. Even though whites in the South had generally practiced racial discrimination in public facilities since before the Civil War, this first segregation law -- along with an increase in white racial prejudices -- may have been a factor in the Herrimans' decision to leave the state.
Hey Blake,
Why are the soffits painted light blue on some houses?
Just Curious
Dear Curious,
This is true. On a walk down many streets in the Marigny, French Quarter, Esplanade Ridge, and various other places in the city, you will see the soffits on the porches -- no matter what color the house and trim -- painted blue. There is a logical explanation for this phenomenon. As you know, we in New Orleans are plagued with roaches and mosquitoes, but there is another pest that also causes aggravation: the wasp. These pesky insects build nests where ever they please, but soffits are especially popular.
Many people, however, think that wasps can be fooled. They believe that if the soffit is painted light blue, the wasp will think it is the sky and find a more suitable place to build his home.
