User:Jadeamouraaa/Norman C. Francis Parkway



Norman C. Francis Parkway is a street located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The street runs in to the surrounding neighborhoods Mid-city and Gert Town. The North part of the street extends down from Dumaine street and Moss street, while the south part of the street extends from Walmsley Avenue. The length of the parkway is approximately 2.1 miles. The parkway has recently been renamed from Jefferson Davis Parkway to Norman C. Francis Parkway, making it one of the first streets in the city to be renamed.

Renaming
Norman C. Francis Parkway was officially renamed in 2021. Before being renamed Norman C. Francis, the parkway was formly known as Jefferson Davis Parkway or Jeff Davis Parkway. Jefferson Davis was the president of the confederate states from 1862 to 1865 before dying in New Orleans in 1889. The city decided to rename the street in 2020 after recent events happening regarding the severity of black lives being lost and mistreated. Mentioning that the parkway runs along the back of Xavier University of Louisiana a historically black university, making it unjust for the street to have a name that represents Confederate ideas and beliefs. Norman Francis, who takes the name of street now, the former president of Xavier University of Louisiana and an advocate in the community who uplifted the area. Francis served as the president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 until retiring in 2015.

Norman C. Francis
Norman C. Francis was born March 20, 1931 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated Xavier University of Louisiana in 1952 and graduated Loyola University Law school in 1955. After serving in the US Army from 1956 to 1957, he returned to Xavier to serve as dean of men and eventually becoming president of the university. Norman C. Francis is an advocate for the African American community within the city of New Orleans. He served as the first African American president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 to 2015. Xavier University of Louisiana is the only Catholic HBCU in the country. The university has gained recognition nationwide but not without the of Francis. Throughout the years, Francis' dedication was not over looked he was awarded and acknowledged many times. During his efforts and support during Hurricane Katrina, he was named chairman of Louisiana Recovery Authority.

History
The parkway was initially proposed in 1904 and would be created to connect two major parks, Audubon Park and City Park. The original name of the street would be "Hagan Avenue" named after John Hagan, a wealthy entrepreneur, who was respected within the city. John Hagan was a wealthy land merchant, looking to expand his wealth. While explaining that he wanted to build the worlds most beautiful street he did not ask for any money from the city. Hagan and his business partner funded the entire construction and only asked for residents permission. Shortly after, a news article was released in 1910 announcing that the street would be officially named Jefferson Davis Parkway along with a statue, Jefferson Davis Monument, to stand in Audubon Park. Later on in the 2000s the city decided to remove the monuments because of recent change of beliefs within the city.