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Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes was a prominent editor, author, and civil rights activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his work in Plessy v. Ferguson, the most important civil rights case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 19th Century, and a book he authored about the history and culture of Creoles in Louisiana.

*Rodolphe Desdunes was born on this date in 1849. He was a Black civic leader, author, and scholar. Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes spent much of his professional life as a clerk with the U.S. Customs Service. Still, his contribution to history lies in his efforts to promote black achievements and challenge Jim Crow laws.

Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes was one of the leading civil rights activists behind the landmark 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, which unsuccessfully challenged the 1890 Separate Car Act of Louisiana that required “separate, but equal” accommodations for blacks and whites on train cars.

While visiting his son Daniel in Omaha, Nebraska, Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes died on August 14, 1928, of cancer of the larynx. It was occasionally said that he died in California; this misconception may have arisen from the fact that it was Mrs. Coritza Mora of Stockton, California, who made the arrangement for sending the remains to New Orleans.

Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes (November 15, 1849 – August 14, 1928) was a Louisiana Creole civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans, Louisiana. In Louisiana he served as a militiaman during the Reconstruction era and was involved in the Battle of Liberty Place.

Born in New Orleans in 1849, Rodolphe Desdunes actively participated in the city’s Creole social and political scene, eventually co-founding the Comité des Citoyens (Citizens’ Committee) in 1891. As the son of Pierre Feremie Desdunes, of Haitian ancestry, and his Cuban mother Henriette, Desdunes lived as a free person of color.

Daniel Desdunes was born in about 1870 (perhaps 1873) to Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes and Mathilde (Cheval). His siblings were Agnes (about 1873), Louise (about 1874), Coritza (born in 1876), and Wendelle (born winter 1876-1877). Rodolphe was a customs agent, civil rights activist, journalist, historian, and poet.

Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes was a prominent editor, author, and civil rights activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his work in Plessy v. Ferguson, the most important civil rights case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 19th Century, and a book he authored about the history and culture of Creoles in Louisiana. Desdunes ...