Home for the Holidays

Exploring Our Legacy, Connecting with Fellow Descendants, and Reimagining the Future of the Communities We Call Home

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Welcome to Home for the Holidays, a campaign dedicated to honoring the shared heritage of descendants from Louisiana’s River Parishes, with a focus on the former Orange Grove and Beuna Vista Plantations. Together, we’re preserving the memory of those who came before us, connecting as a community, and shaping a brighter future for the Renaissance Parishes.

Who We Are

Home for the Holidays is a collaborative initiative from RISE St. James that brings together descendants, community members, scholars, teachers, experts, and anyone interested in learning more about the region to:

  • Explore the Legacy: Learn about the history and cultural significance of Orange Grove and Beuna Vista Plantations.

  • Engage in Research: Discover new findings about enslaved burial grounds and uncover the stories of resilience and strength that shaped our past.

  • Teach and Share: Foster a deeper understanding of our history and its relevance to our present and future.

What We Do

Starting in early 2025, we will hold regular digital and optional in-person meetings to connect, pose questions, conduct research, discuss preservation efforts, and engage descendants in shaping the legacy of these sacred sites.

  • Orange Grove: Learn about groundbreaking research that reveals burial practices and highlights the community’s efforts to protect this sacred ground from industrial development.

  • Beuna Vista: Connect with fellow descendants to honor the lives and resilience of those who endured slavery and helped shape the foundation of our community.

Why Join Us?

  • By participating in Home for the Holidays, you will:

  • Gain insights into Louisiana’s complex history.

  • Contribute to the preservation of sacred burial grounds.

  • Strengthen connections with fellow descendants and community members.

  • Help shape educational programs that honor the past while building a sustainable future.

Think you may have a connection or be a descendant?

Learn More

If you believe you have a connection to or maybe a descendant of the former Beuna Vista and Orange Grove Plantations (or others in the area), we would love to hear from you. Sign up to join upcoming conversations about our shared history and connections to one another. Together, we can preserve our legacy and honor our ancestors.


LOUISIANA MAPPING PORTAL

In the US state of Louisiana, along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, a heavily industrialized ‘Petrochemical Corridor’ overlays a territory formerly known as ‘Plantation Country’. In the region’s majority-Black communities, residents – descendants of people historically enslaved on the same land – breathe some of the most toxic air in the country and suffer one of the highest risks of cancer, along with other serious health ailments.

As industrial development pollutes their air, it also threatens the burial grounds of their ancestors.