We will then look at the politics of practicing Voodoo in the last century and the embodiment of contemporary racial and legal politics pertinent to the religion. Given the supposed freedom of religion in the United States, we will examine the methods used by local institutions to suppress the practice of Voodoo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

We will then transition to a look at late twentieth and early twenty-first century practices not necessarily defined as Voodoo by practitioners. Drawing on extensive interviews we will examine the “family superstitions” of New Orleanians not always identified as Voodoo by the people who perform them but revealing enduring traditions of spiritual problem-solving that remain embedded in family and community life. Highlighting significantly distinct perspectives on the continuity of Voodoo as a religion in New Orleans, this panel will attempt to actively engage with the evolution of these practices and the myriad ways of understanding one of the most unique and noted aspects of New Orleans culture.