Louisiana

Chase (1923-2019) was known as the "Queen of Creole Cuisine" and transformed Dooky Chase's Restaurant in New Orleans into a civil rights movement meeting place and a Black dining institution. While running one of the first upscale dining establishments for Black patrons in the segregated South, she served both civil rights leaders and local residents, making her restaurant a vital cultural and political center where leaders could meet to discuss strategy during the civil rights movement. Beyond her role in social justice, Chase was also renowned for her contributions to Creole cooking, her vast Black art collection displayed in the restaurant, and her influence on American culinary culture, inspiring the character Tiana in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog."

Collins (1895 - 1988) chronicled life in Black New Orleans through her photography. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 20, 1895, and raised in a Creole Catholic family as the eldest of six children. At 14, she had to earn wages to supplement the family income and she started working in photography. When she began her career, she passed as white, allowing her to work as an assistant to white photographers and develop her skills.

Verrett (1931-2010) was an operatic mezzo-soprano who established herself as a soprano sfogato, mastering both vocal ranges with extraordinary power and flexibility throughout her celebrated career. She rose to international prominence from the late 1960s through the 1990s, earning particular acclaim for her commanding interpretations of Verdi and Donizetti heroines, along with definitive portrayals of roles like Carmen, Tosca, and Lady Macbeth.

Ambassador Thomas - Greenfield (1952) is the 31st United State’s Ambassador to the United Nations.

Morial (1932-2024) was a staunch voting and civil rights activist, the wife of the first Black Mayor of New Orleans, Ernest "Dutch" Morial, and mother of Marc Morial, the second Black Mayor of New Orleans.