At the famed Dooky Chase Restaurant, where veterans of the civil rights movement still recall making plans to change the world over bowls of gumbo, black and white foodies now line up for Leah Chase’s Creole cooking.
Back before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, however, some customers had to enter discreetly and meet secretly. In the 1950s and `60s, as the movement gained steam, many of its leaders dined at the restaurant, then used a back room for meetings.
It was here that plans were drawn up to help the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stage sit-ins and to shelter others trying to further the cause of racial equality.