.Local Deep South

The name “New Orleans” conjures recent thoughts of broken levees, drunken tourists and the inevitable gentrification of America’s well-loved city. What requires more effort to reflect upon is the history of the city’s cultural heritage, with its deep connections to Africa and a richness that birthed jazz music and soulful foods. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans is one film that looks beyond the horror of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and into the story of the nation’s oldest black neighborhood, Faubourg Tremé. A revolutionary community in its own right, this neighborhood is often overlooked within the history of America’s Civil Rights movement. Filmmakers Lolis Eric Elie and Dawn Logsdon share this history in this revealing documentary in hopes of restoring and preserving the heritage of the Deep South.

Faubourg Tremé screens at the Rialto on March 11 as a benefit for a North Bay community program that also influences restoration and preservation—of young people. The Worth Our Weight Cafe and Culinary Apprenticeship Program (WOW) serves to remedy the issues that so many youth in the community are faced with. Created by chef Evelyn Cheatham as a place where underserved youth between the ages of 16 and 24 can work off community service hours or just to receive restaurant training, the WOW program is cooking up a New Orleans&–style meal along with Jimtown Store, the Epicurean Connection and the SRJC culinary program. The meal, which is accompanied by a winetasting, a presentation of Faubourg Tremé and Q&A with the filmmakers, is a steal at $25 per ticket. All proceeds benefit WOW’s Apprenticeship Program.