Lower Coast of Algiers (Images of America)

by Dari L. Green & Robin Crawford

Algiers is the second-oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans and stretches 12 miles from Riverview to the Cut Off. A rural area, in comparison to the inner city of New Orleans, Algiers's land was cleared by African slaves, and plantation homes were built along the riverfront for the original French colonists. The lower coast of Algiers is often known for its slave pens, plantations, farms, and citrus groves, but there is an even greater story of the people who overcame such subjugation. The Cut Off, a rural village in the Lower Coast of Algiers, tells a story of struggle and triumph in the midst of scientific, institutional, and structural racism. Presented through themes of historic faith-based institutions, community leaders, businesses and landmarks, schools, and residential development, the Lower Coast of Algiers focuses on the people who shaped the Cut Off community spiritually, culturally, politically, economically, and socially.