Oscar Dunn, America’s Forgotten First Black Lieutenant Governor
Oscar Dunn, America’s Forgotten First Black Lieutenant Governor
The New Orleans pioneer’s legacy has been overshadowed, and an intended monument never built.
BY CHELSEA ADAMS
THERE ARE STATUES OF MANY people in the city of New Orleans. But Oscar James Dunn isn’t one of them, despite having made his mark as the nation’s first African-American lieutenant governor who served in Louisiana from 1865-1871.
New Orleans native Brian K. Mitchell remembers his great-grandmother lauding his distant relative’s accomplishments, but when he got to school, he discovered no one else had ever heard of his great-great-great uncle Oscar Dunn.
READ MORE: Oscar Dunn, America’s Forgotten First Black Lieutenant Governor: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/osca...
The New Orleans pioneer’s legacy has been overshadowed, and an intended monument never built.
BY CHELSEA ADAMS
THERE ARE STATUES OF MANY people in the city of New Orleans. But Oscar James Dunn isn’t one of them, despite having made his mark as the nation’s first African-American lieutenant governor who served in Louisiana from 1865-1871.
New Orleans native Brian K. Mitchell remembers his great-grandmother lauding his distant relative’s accomplishments, but when he got to school, he discovered no one else had ever heard of his great-great-great uncle Oscar Dunn.
READ MORE: Oscar Dunn, America’s Forgotten First Black Lieutenant Governor: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/osca...
