Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

New Orleans Buries African American Skulls Used in Racist Research
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
06 Jun 2025
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · New Orleans Buries African American Skulls Used in Racist Research

Nineteen Black people who died at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December 1871 and January 1872 were decapitated and their skulls were removed and sent to Leipzig, Germany for study in the racist pseudo-science known as phrenology. In 2023, the University of Leipzig contacted New Orleans officials and offered to repatriate the skulls, which were recently returned. On May 31st, a jazz funeral was held for these men and women, and the remains were properly interred. Our guest is Dr. Eva Baham. She is a professor at Dillard University in New Orleans and Chair of the Repatriation Committee.

Louisiana
Germany
Colonialism
African America
Racist Medicine

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio May 8, 2026
08 May 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss a military attack carried out by Western-backed insurgents against the African nation Mali and the imperialist a
ACLU
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Louisiana v. Callais and the Black Vote
08 May 2026
The Supreme Court ruling in the case Louisiana v.
Lousiana
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
The Struggle for Black Electoral Power in Louisiana
08 May 2026
C.C. Campbell Rock is a New Orleans-based journalist.

More Stories


  • Black Politics, Class Struggle and the Illusion of Centrism
    Russell Rickford
    Black Politics, Class Struggle and the Illusion of Centrism
    25 Mar 2020
    Black Democratic Party operatives seek to camouflage class antagonisms among African Americans and to equate racial progress with the feeble policies of “diversity and inclusion.”
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    25 Mar 2020
    This week the Democratic Party and the failures of US healthcare were on your mind.
  • BAR Book Forum: Aparna Mishra Tarc’s “Literacy of the Other”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Aparna Mishra Tarc’s “Literacy of the Other”
    25 Mar 2020
    The global citizenry shows increasing apathy towards each other’s social and political conditions.
  • BAR Abolition  Mutual Aid Spotlight: Ujimaa Medics
    Dean Spade and Roberto Sirvent, BAR Contributors
    BAR Abolition  Mutual Aid Spotlight: Ujimaa Medics
    25 Mar 2020
    Chicago’s  Ujimaa Medics bring a racial justice and cultural specificity lens to community health care through mutual aid.
  • Trump Using Virus to Privatize Government, Increase Repression
    Frank Chapman
    Trump Using Virus to Privatize Government, Increase Repression
    25 Mar 2020
    Trump’s administration is more interested in saving Wall Street and boosting their profits than they are in saving lives and meeting the needs of the people.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us