The Black School

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The Black School

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Black School, Art, New Orleans, LA.

The Black School is an experimental art school teaching Black/PoC students and allies to become agents of change through art workshops on radical Black politics and public interventions that address local community needs.

08/31/2026

✨Tell Your Friends: One Month Left To Apply✨👀🖤Learn more at: 🔗 theblack.school/apprenticeship

✨🎨 There's still time to apply for Cohort 8 of our Design Apprenticeship program! ✨Share this post with your network today✨: we’re looking for passionate young creatives ready to build their skills, connect with peers, and imagine Black futures.

The 2026–2027 Design Apprenticeship is a paid program for Black youth ages 14–24 to explore art, design, and activism.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: 9/30/26 🎨✨

🎨This apprenticeship offers:

🖤 Hands-on design projects that center Black culture, history, and community

🖤 Workshops + mentorship led by Black artists and designers

🖤 Skill-building in graphic design, architecture, public art, and creative activism

🖤 Opportunities to co-create community projects that make an impact

Learn more at: 🔗 theblack.school/apprenticeship

Spots are limited. Don’t miss this chance to join a community of radical Black makers and thinkers.

08/25/2026

👀🖤Learn more at: 🔗 theblack.school/apprenticeship

✨🎨 There's still time to apply for Cohort 8 of our Design Apprenticeship program! ✨Share this post with your network today✨: we’re looking for passionate young creatives ready to build their skills, connect with peers, and imagine Black futures.

The 2026–2027 Design Apprenticeship is a paid program for Black youth ages 14–24 to explore art, design, and activism.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: 9/30/26 🎨 Link in Bio✨

🎨This apprenticeship offers:

🖤 Hands-on design projects that center Black culture, history, and community

🖤 Workshops + mentorship led by Black artists and designers

🖤 Skill-building in graphic design, architecture, public art, and creative activism

🖤 Opportunities to co-create community projects that make an impact

Learn more at: 🔗 theblack.school/apprenticeship

Spots are limited. Don’t miss this chance to join a community of radical Black makers and thinkers.

08/24/2026

HONORING JEROME “BIG DUCK” SMITH🕊️🖤

New Orleans has lost a monumental freedom fighter, culture bearer, and community anchor with the passing of Jerome "Big Duck" Smith, last Friday, at age 87.

A fearless Freedom Rider, member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and frontline activist who endured sit-ins, picket lines, and beatings in the 1960s, Big Duck dedicated his life to radical Black self-determination.

Local dispatches from WWL-TV, WGNO, and WDSU detail his lifelong transition from civil rights strategist to beloved elder, celebrating a legacy spent defending Black dignity and spatial sovereignty.

Big Duck’s movement work extended far beyond the 1960s, anchoring generations of New Orleans youth through his founding of the Tambourine and Fan Organization. At Hunters Field and the NORD Tremé Center, he spent decades instilling political consciousness in young people—teaching them where they came from, what they were capable of, and why their collective power mattered.

His commitment to youth mentorship and neighborhood survival programs provided a living model of community control and intergenerational care.

holds deep gratitude for Big Duck’s guidance; our 5th Black Love Fest was produced at historic Hunters Field in direct honor of his leadership and community legacy, and featured a exhibition on his legacy.

As we prepare to open the doors of The Black Schoolhouse on 10/10 at 1660 N. Roman St. in the 7th Ward, we honor Jerome "Big Duck" Smith by carrying his fire forward—ensuring our youth apprenticeships, political education, and neighborhood organizing remain grounded in the courage and love he gave to New Orleans.🕊️🖤

08/19/2026

Here's how to get FREE The Black School 10th Anniversary Merch! 🧢👕✨

Head over to Community Book Center. Pick up your favorite book. 📚Check out with the legendary Mama Vera and hold up your sign at the register!

It’s that simple. Get your hands on limited-edition caps, tees, and more while supplies last...

Mark your calendars—we built a home for us! 🏛️✨
📅 The Black Schoolhouse Grand Opening: 10/10 ✨
RSVP today: theblack.school/opening

08/17/2026

✊🏾"Recognize that art is a powerful tool, a language that can be used to enlighten, inform, and guide to action." - Emory Douglas in his political artist manifesto, "Position Paper 1: On Revolutionary Art"—published in The Black Panther newspaper in 1968.

Following up on our Emory Douglas spotlight from back in February, this we continue to honor Douglas—Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party (1967 - 1980s) and the visual architect of the Black Power movement.

His iconic printmaking and graphic design supported Black political prisoners, demonstrating that art IS a vital tool for Black freedom, political education, community care, and self-determination.

📍 Exhibition Feature: Emory Douglas: In Our Lifetime

🏛️ Where to View: San Francisco’s African American Arts & Culture Complex (AAACC)

👀 What to Expect: A three-floor retrospective featuring rare, original archival posters and prints from the 1960s and '70s.

🗓️ Exhibition Closing: On view through October 2026.

Read Douglas’s own words on his journey into the movement in this KQED interview: https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986932/emory-douglas-black-panthers-interview-aaacc-san-francisco

Be sure to save our Emory Douglas Reading List to deepen your design activism! 👇🏾

EMORY DOUGLAS READING LIST

Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas
Editor: Sam Durant (with essays by Kathleen Cleaver, Danny Glover, & Colette Gaiter)
The definitive visual archive of Emory Douglas’s iconic art for The Black Panther newspaper from 1967 to 1980.
https://archive.org/details/blackpantherrevo0000unse

"What Revolution Looks Like: The Art of Emory Douglas"
Author: Colette Gaiter
Publisher: AIGA Design Archives
Essay within Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas and essential reading for graphic designers. Breaks down Douglas's technical printmaking innovations, his "paper-to-people" distribution strategy, and how he created a unified visual identity for a Black liberation movement.

The Black Panther Newspaper Digital Archive (1967–1980)
Source: Freedom Archives / UC Berkeley Library
Primary-source access to over a decade of weekly print production. Study how Douglas used high-contrast woodcuts, accessible two-color printing, bold thick outlines, and photo-montage to build community power.
https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/blackpantherparty

"Fight the power"
Publisher: The Guardian
A direct, first-person interview where Douglas discusses designing for working-class audiences, working under tight deadlines, and making art accessible on street corners.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/oct/25/emory-douglas-black-panthers

"Emory Douglas on His Iconic Black Panther Art, 60 Years Later"
Publisher: KQED
At the African American Arts & Culture Complex, Douglas sat down with KQED to share his personal memories and what he hopes today’s younger generations will learn from the Panthers’ legacy.
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986932/emory-douglas-black-panthers-interview-aaacc-san-francisco

How are you using your creative tools to serve the people? Let us know below!

Source photos: Beth LaBerge, KQED

08/05/2026

10 years of radical art education, community design, and Black self-determination. 🖤✨

From mobile workshops in NYC to laying roots in New Orleans’ historic 7th Ward, we are officially opening the doors to The Black Schoolhouse!

Join us on October 10, 2026 from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM CDT at 1660 N. Roman St. to celebrate 10 years of building intergenerational collective power, spatial sovereignty, and Black institution building.

🌿 Community Garden
📚 Liberation Library
🎨 Gallery & Makerspace
⚡ Youth Apprenticeships

🔗 RSVP today at the link in our bio: ( www.theblack.school/opening ) to lock your entry for this historic milestone!

08/03/2026

🖤 NEW RESOURCE ALERT 🖤

We’re honored to be featured in the newly released July 2026 New Orleans Community Resource Guide for Resistance and Renewal!✊🏾✨ https://www.imaginewaterworks.org/new-orleans-community-resource-guide/

About the Guide: Compiled annually by volunteer community members in partnership with Imagine Water Works, this free public guide is an essential directory of free and low-cost resources across Greater New Orleans—covering everything from healthcare, food access, and housing to legal aid, youth programming, and disaster readiness.

📍How to find our listing: Flip to Page 59 under the Youth section (Community Support & Education). It includes a save-the-date reminder about our upcoming 10th Anniversary Grand Opening on 10/10/26: theblack.school/opening

🖤Gratitude: Much love to , coordinating organizer Coleen Murphy, cover artist Harriet Burbeck, and all the volunteers who verify and steward this crucial tool for neighborhood survival and community care year after year.

📲 Get your free copy: Download the full guide at 📲www.imaginewaterworks.org. Save it to your phone and share it with your neighbors!

07/22/2026

10TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION DROP ✨
We’re celebrating ten years of Black radical art, design, and community organizing, culminating in the completion of our permanent physical home in New Orleans’ Historic 7th Ward.

To share this milestone with our community, we’re dropping the TBS 10th Anniversary Collection: a limited-run capsule series honoring a decade of building an organization and now, a community center.

THE CAPSULE ✨

10th Anniversary Building Tee
Fit & Feel: 100% cotton, classic boxy fit.
Colorways: Natural & Chocolate.

TBS Surf Cap
Fit & Feel: Unstructured mid-profile snapback crafted from 100% recycled, quick-dry nylon with a single front panel and plastic snap closure.
Design: Clean, centered The Black School script logo.
Colorways: Bone & Atlantic.

LIMITED RUN: This capsule is available starting today in limited quantities and will stay live until our next monthly collection drop. Every purchase directly funds our ongoing youth apprenticeships, community workshops, and building.

🔗 Purchase the collection:
https://theblack.school/shop/

🔗 RSVP for our Grand Opening on 10/10:
https://theblack.school/opening

Address

New Orleans, LA

Telephone

+15044914045

Website

http://www.theblack.school/

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