Discoverying the Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood

World Footprints

Economy Hall was the meeting place for the Société d'Economie et d'Assistance Mutuelle (Mutual Aid), a benevolent society that was formed in the early 1800s by Louisiana Creoles and free people of color in response to oppressive whites’ efforts to diminish their rights and prosperity. The strength of Economy Hall’s community endured through the era of slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow terrorism. In a story that is both personal and historical, author Fatima Shaik takes us on a journey that begins with the rescue of the library of ledgers, journals and papers by her father in the 1950s to the discovery that he had come to possess the documents that told the story of one of the most important institutions both for jazz and mutual aid for blacks in New Orleans—Economy Hall. Join us as author Fatima Shaik uncovers the rich hidden history of a free Black brotherhood that was almost lost forever.