Cemetery monument
In anticipation of “We Speak Your Names” — the gathering of descendants at Grand Coteau on September 23, 2018 — the Committee on Slavery, Accountability and Reconciliation assembled a list of as many names as were known of enslaved people at the Convent of the Sacred Heart. The deceased were buried in the parish cemetery. From the detailed parish records, the committee was able to assemble the names of all those enslaved or formerly enslaved persons known to have been buried there. A site in the cemetery was selected and a monument with all the known names inscribed was dedicated, with everyone present on that day.
Plaque
On the Academy of the Sacred Heart grounds in Grand Coteau stands a building which was constructed in 1834 for three enslaved families who lived on the property. On that building there is now a plaque containing the names of 83 members of those families who lived on the property from 1823 to 1865. At the “We Speak Your Names” gathering in 2018, many of their descendants gathered for a group photo (pictured above).