2008 PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES
Thursday,
October 9, and Friday morning, October 10
Because of Yom Kippur on Thursday and the travel restrictions it will impose on many
of our Jewish members, the official program this year will begin at midday on Friday. But we strongly encourage those
of you who can travel on Wednesday or Thursday to come to New Orleans and participate in either our all-day Habitat for
Humanity Service Project or one of several walking and bus tours on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Continue to check
this website for updates and other pre-conference options.
Help with Hurricane Katrina Recovery - SHA Service Project: Habitat for Humanity
Thursday, October 9, 7:15 A.M.–3:45 P.M.
New Orleans still needs your help, more than three years after the levee breaches that
flooded the city on August 29, 2005. Why don’t you come to New Orleans early and help build someone’s home? The SHA is
sponsoring a special work project for members and their guests at a Habitat for Humanity construction site.
No special skills are required. The SHA will provide lunch and round-trip transportation from
the Sheraton to the work site. If you wish to volunteer for additional days before or after the conference, it is possible
to sign up with Habitat for Humanity on an individual basis. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity’s work in the New Orleans
area, visit their website. Please note Habitat’s “Frequently Asked Questions” page.
The deadline for signing up is September 10. To register for this project or if you have any questions,
contact SHA Local Arrangements chair Karen Leathem or by phone (504) 568-6961.
Pre-Conference Reception - The Cabildo, Louisiana State Museum
Thursday,
October 9, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.
The Local Arrangements Committee invites you to a lively reception of food, drink, and local music at the Cabildo at the Louisiana State Museum
on Jackson Square. The reception is sponsored and funded by Tulane University, Louisiana State University, Loyola University,
the University of New Orleans, Xavier University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Dillard University, the Louisiana State Museum,
Friends of the Cabildo, and the Southern Labor Studies Association.
PRE-CONFERENCE TOURS
All tours will leave from the Local Arrangements table in the Registration area on the third floor
of the Sheraton. Space is limited, so advance registration is required. To reserve a spot or ask questions about the tours,
contact Karen Leathem or by phone at (504) 568-6961.
Hurricane Katrina Bus Tour
Thursday, 2:00-4:00P.M.
Price: TBD, expected at about $25 per person. Continue to
check this website to confirm fee.
This is a unique opportunity to learn about the 2005 floods from tour leader Ivor van Heerden,
author of The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why during Hurricane Katrina—The Inside Story from One Scientist. Dr. Van Heerden,
who is deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center, spearheaded the Team Louisiana levee investigation team. You’ll hear his
account of that forensic investigation and find out the status of current flood protection projects and coastal restoration.
The tour will include the sites of key levee breaches. You will also be able to see the uneven recovery in New Orleans’s hardest-hit
neighborhoods
WALKING TOURS
Reconstruction Street Battles
Thursday, 3:00-5:00 P.M.; Friday, 9:30-11:30 A.M.
$10 per person; $5 for students or unemployed.
Departure: Sheraton Hotel, Local Arrangements table in the Registration area
Professor James Hogue of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte leads this special
walking tour based on his book Uncivil War: Five New Orleans Street Battles and the Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction.
In walking through the business district and the French Quarter, you’ll see New Orleans as you’ve never seen it before.
Points of interest include the site of the Mechanics Institute Massacre of 1866 that was instrumental in solidifying support for
Radical Reconstruction and key locations related to the White League’s 1874 coup d’etat.
Proceeds go toward costs associated with SHA’s Habitat for Humanity Service Project
New Orleans Labor History Tour: From Slavery to Right-to-Work
Sponsored by the Southern Labor Studies Association
Thursday, 3:30-5:30 P.M.; Friday, 9:00-11:00 A.M.
$10 per person; $5 for students or unemployed.
Departure: Sheraton Hotel, Local Arrangements table in the Registration area
Beginning in the slave market district, this walking tour provides an overview of the city’s diverse labor history.
The route will include historic sites connected to waterfront workers, the 1892 General Strike, the building trades, the sugar district,
and Exchange Alley and neighboring union hall locations. The French Quarter’s late- nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century status as an
integrated neighborhood of working-class will feature prominently. The tour ends in the French Market with the stories of the origins of
two significant sandwiches created in the market: the muffuletta and the “po boy.” The culinary legacy of early twentieth-century immigrant
labor, these sandwiches offer opportunities to consider the long-term effects of post-Katrina worker migration patterns, especially the influx
of new Latin Americans.
Tour organizers: Darryl Barthe, a University of New Orleans history graduate student and descendant of the family that established and led the Plasterers’ union local
for decades, and Michael Mizell-Nelson, assistant professor of history at UNO. The tour will also feature the research of UNO graduate
students Anita Yesho, Leo Gorman, and Ryan Mattingly, all of whom will accompany the tour group.
French Quarter Walking Tour
Friday, 9:15-11:15 A.M.
$20 per person
Departure: Sheraton Hotel, Local Arrangements table in the Registration area
Stroll through the French Quarter for a historical overview and architectural highlights. You’ll learn
about New Orleans’s unique Creole culture, including its musical and culinary legacies. Your guide will be provided by the Friends
of the Cabildo, a nonprofit volunteer group that supports the Louisiana State Museum.
New Orleans
Sites of Interest
Outside of New Orleans:
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