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


  • The Great White Heist
    Michael Harriot
    The Great White Heist
    16 Sep 2020
    Just because enslaving and stealing labor from Black people was perfectly legal prior to 1868, America should not get to ignore descendants of the people who supplied this nation with 246 years of
  • Freedom Rider: Democrats’ Climate Change Lies
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Democrats’ Climate Change Lies
    16 Sep 2020
    The Republicans lie about the harm they do to the planet, and the Democrats lie and pretend they’re not doing the very same things.
  • Tribute to Kevin Zeese: Life and Loss in the Struggle for Liberation
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    Tribute to Kevin Zeese: Life and Loss in the Struggle for Liberation
    16 Sep 2020
    Zeese never wavered in his opposition to the corporate duopoly, white supremacy, and the forces of militarism.
  • Will a Biden Foreign Policy Make a Difference for the World?
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Will a Biden Foreign Policy Make a Difference for the World?
    16 Sep 2020
    For the people of the world the real fascism of anti-democratic, brutal regimes supported by the U.S., murderous sanctions, and right-wing coups will continue unabated. 
  • Fourteen Martyrs in the Struggle Against Racist Terror and Trumpism-Fascism
    Paul Street
    Fourteen Martyrs in the Struggle Against Racist Terror and Trumpism-Fascism
    16 Sep 2020
    Their names are not as familiar as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but these victims have paid the ultimate price, dying in the line of anti-racist and anti-fascist citizenship duty.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us