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


  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jahan Choudhry  Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    19 Aug 2020
    This week protests in Portland and Racial Capitalism were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: “Black Study and Abolition”
    Semassa Boko
    BAR Book Forum: “Black Study and Abolition”
    19 Aug 2020
    Our theorizing must take on the dynamic, fugitive, and excessive aesthetics of black practice and performance.
  • BAR Book Forum: Aliyah Khan’s “Far from Mecca”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Aliyah Khan’s “Far from Mecca”
    19 Aug 2020
    Islam should be understood as a religion of enslaved African Muslims and contemporary Black Muslims in the Americas—not simply as a religion of 20th and 21st century Arab, African, and As
  • Beyoncé's "Black is King" and the  Pitfalls of African Consciousness
    Russell Rickford
    Beyoncé's "Black is King" and the Pitfalls of African Consciousness
    19 Aug 2020
    With Black is King, Beyoncé and Disney have combined to sell audiences a lavishly fabricated Africa—one that is entirely devoid of class conflict.
  • What I Fear About University Actions in the Context of Black
    P. Khalil Saucier
    What I Fear About University Actions in the Context of Black Lives Matter 
    19 Aug 2020
    White folks at the university decided to set things right on race – without consulting Africana Studies.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us