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Plaçage Quadroon balls of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans, In 1814

Placage or “Quadroon” Balls were a part of New Orleans culture that served two purposes. One was to give white men access to the Black women they wanted to engage with romantically. The other was to give Black women financial status! There’s just one problem with this scenario. These balls were nothing more than a myth! It’s true that New Orleans was one of the few places where white men and Black women were free to marry, and it’s true many light-skinned free Black women who married white men d