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| Tremé (community organization) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tremé Community Organization |
| Formation | 1960s |
| Type | Nonprofit community organization |
| Headquarters | Tremé, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Region served | Central City, Storyville, Faubourg Tremé |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Tremé (community organization)
Tremé (community organization) is a neighborhood-based nonprofit headquartered in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, active in community development, cultural preservation, housing advocacy, and civic engagement. Founded amid mid-20th century civic mobilization during urban renewal debates, the organization has worked with local institutions, elected officials, cultural practitioners, and preservationists to address displacement, cultural heritage, and neighborhood services. Its activities intersect with municipal policy debates, grassroots coalitions, and national preservation networks.
The organization's origins trace to postwar community associations that emerged alongside the Civil Rights Movement, urban renewal projects, and preservation efforts in New Orleans. Early organizers drew on models from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Congress of Racial Equality, and neighborhood groups active during the Brown v. Board of Education era to contest clearance plans and advocate for tenant rights. During the 1960s and 1970s the group allied with activists connected to Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and community leaders who opposed federally funded displacement through programs administered under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and discussed at city hearings presided over by mayors including Moon Landrieu.
In the 1980s and 1990s the organization expanded cultural programming, collaborating with institutions such as the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and local orchestras tied to the legacy of musicians who performed in Tremé venues. After Hurricane Katrina the group participated in recovery coalitions alongside United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Common Ground Relief, and national preservationists affiliated with National Trust for Historic Preservation to resist speculative redevelopment. Contemporary history includes engagement with citywide initiatives under administrations of mayors like Ray Nagin and Mitch Landrieu, while partnering with legal advocates from ACLU of Louisiana and neighborhood legal aid providers to defend tenants and historic properties.
The organization’s mission centers on cultural preservation, affordable housing, and civic participation, connecting local arts traditions to broader social services. Programs have included tenant counseling in coordination with Legal Services Corporation partners, preservation workshops with Save Our Cemeteries, and youth arts apprenticeships tied to mentors who have worked with the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans and the Louisiana Folklife Program.
Public-facing initiatives feature neighborhood festivals honoring brass band traditions linked to ensembles that performed in venues associated with figures like Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong; cultural mapping projects conducted with researchers from Xavier University of Louisiana and Dillard University; and heritage tourism efforts coordinated with the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Historic New Orleans Collection. Social services include flood mitigation assistance in partnership with Federal Emergency Management Agency programs and workforce training collaborations with Pine Technical College and local community colleges.
The organization operates as a membership-based nonprofit governed by a board of directors reflecting neighborhood stakeholders, cultural practitioners, clergy, and small business owners. Executive leadership has rotated among longtime community organizers, clergy members from congregations such as St. Augustine Church, and nonprofit managers with experience at the Louisiana Housing Corporation and city agencies. Committees oversee programs in housing, culture, and youth, working with volunteer coordinators and project managers drawn from partnerships with AmeriCorps and local internship programs at University of New Orleans.
Financial oversight follows standard nonprofit practices with audits conducted by regional firms and compliance reports submitted to state regulators including the Louisiana Secretary of State and federal funders like the National Endowment for the Arts. The organization has engaged consultants from urban planning firms that have worked on projects submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and municipal planning boards.
The group has influenced municipal zoning disputes, historic district nominations, and housing policy debates, often appearing before the New Orleans City Council and participating in public testimony at hearings overseen by offices such as the Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy. Advocacy campaigns have targeted predatory leasing practices and supported inclusionary zoning proposals that were debated during mayoral administrations and in coordination with advocacy networks like PolicyLink.
Cultural advocacy helped preserve several landmark sites that were later recognized by the National Register of Historic Places and supported educational programming in partnership with the New Orleans Public Library system and school initiatives run by the Orleans Parish School Board. The organization’s youth programs have produced apprentices who later performed with ensembles hosted by venues such as Tipitina's and festivals like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Funding sources include foundation grants from institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and regional funders like the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, as well as municipal grants administered through the City of New Orleans and federal awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Programmatic partnerships have involved universities, faith institutions, preservation nonprofits, and service providers, while corporate sponsorships have occasionally come from local businesses in the French Quarter and the hospitality sector.
Collaborative projects have been funded through competitive processes administered by agencies including Historic Preservation Fund programs and philanthropic initiatives coordinated with entities like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Volunteer and in-kind partnerships include collaborations with neighborhood associations and arts organizations.
The organization has faced criticism over allocation of resources, transparency, and balancing heritage tourism with resident needs. Critics, including tenant advocacy groups and some members of community coalitions, have alleged that partnerships with tourism interests occasionally prioritized visitor-facing projects tied to the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation over affordable housing initiatives advocated by groups associated with ACORN and tenant unions. Disputes have arisen during redevelopment proposals reviewed by the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission and in controversies over post-Katrina rebuilding priorities debated in coalitions that included national nonprofits.
Questions have also been raised about governance during leadership transitions and grant management practices scrutinized by local journalists and watchdogs aligned with media outlets such as The Times-Picayune and community radio broadcasters. The organization has responded by instituting revised bylaws, independent audits, and community listening sessions with stakeholders from congregations, cultural institutions, and tenant coalitions.
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Louisiana