Midlo Hall article continued...
In Louisiana, she is perhaps best known as the author of Africans in Colonial Louisiana, a groundbreaking study of enslaved peoples and resistance in the Colonial era, and as the creator of the Louisiana Slave Database, one of the first systematic attempts to compile detailed information on enslaved individuals that could be used for both genealogical and historical research. She was a lifelong activist who spoke out against racism and oppression of all kinds, and who continued to be an active scholar up until her passing in August of 2022, at her home in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Dr. Hall’s son, Haywood Hall, thought that the Midlo Center would be an excellent location to host a public tribute to his mother, as the center was endowed by Dr. Hall’s parents, Ethel and Herman L. Midlo, to promote the history and culture of New Orleans with an emphasis on civil rights. Long-term friends of Dr. Hall, historians Kathe Hambrick and Ina Fandrich joined Bruce Sunpie Barnes and Rachel Breunlin of the NSP in curating the altar. It combined materials inspired by Dr. Hall’s work on maroon communities in southeastern Louisiana with items recognizing her love of Mexico.
On the evening of the 8th, Dr. Hall's friends, family, students and colleagues joined together at the Midlo Center and paid tribute to the legacy of this profoundly influential scholar and activist. Musicians Sunpie Barnes and Dr. Michael White performed musical tributes for attendees. Visitors wrote cards and brought items to be incorporated into the memorial, sharing their own reminiscences of her mentorship, her influence and her friendship. It was a touching public tribute before a private memorial held at the Whitney Plantation the following Tuesday.
