Giving "The Help" A Hand: Applauding Lives Spent In Service

On this week’s show, we’re sharing untold stories of lives spent in service. 

We begin with a tour of the Kemper-Williams Residence at the Historic New Orleans Collection with decorative arts curator Lydia Blackmore, who conducted exhaustive research on the individuals who worked for the Williams family. 

Next, we revisit our interview with the late historian Michael Mizell-Nelson. In 2010, Michael took us on a streetcar ride for a history lesson about the streetcar strikes of 1929 and their connection to the advent of the poor boy sandwich. 

Then, Adrian Miller discusses the African-American men and women who fed our First Families, from George Washington to Barack Obama.

Finally, we hear from the great Dr. Rudy Lombard, who passed away in 2014 after a lifetime of civil rights activism. Rudy’s vision for change was spurred in part by his personal experience as the child of the housekeeper and cook at the Uptown residence of prominent New Orleanians. 

If you can help tell the stories behind any of the employees of the Kemper-Williams Residence please contact Lydia Blackmore at: lydiab@hnoc.org