Our Mission

The mission of the Duplantier Cousins Committee for Justice (Cousins For Justice) is to actively promote justice - "making things right" - through education, research, and community organizing. We work to build holistic programs of reeducation through structural symbols of remembrance. We believe this mission starts with Magnolia Mound Plantation Museum and the work to honor the history of Black, African, and Creole ancestors.

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Our Initiatives

We are completing this work through:

  • Fundraising for a memorial to the enslaved community of Magnolia Mound

  • Creating permanent displays around the history of Black, African, and Creole life

  • Building ongoing relationships with descendants of enslaved communities

Steps Taken

  • February 2026 - The Exhibits Committee holds public research event to share the names of 300+ people once enslaved on the grounds of Magnolia Mound and future plans for a memorial on site. Read the full story here:
    https://www.wafb.com/2026/02/02/magnolia-mound-museum-unveils-research-enslaved-people-black-history-month/

  • September-December 2025 - The Exhibits Committee begins archival research on people once enslaved at Magnolia Mound. The Committee includes Friends of Magnolia Mound members Susan Eaton, Donna Wright, and Babeth Schegel, Director of Magnolia Mound Ashley Freedman, Duplantier Descendants Lou Duplantier and Jamie Price, English Professor Agnus Woodward of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, and LSU History Professors, Aaron Sheehan-Dean and John Bardes. June 2023 - Lou and Maggie Duplantier prepare exhibit honoring the enslaved community for 2023 Duplantier Reunion at Magnolia Mound.

  • July 2025 - Friends of Magnolia Mound approves an “Exhibits Committee” chaired by Lou Duplantier that will focus on public, permanent displays of Black History on site.

  • June 2025 - Cousins for Justice meet with BREC and Magnolia Mound staff to collaborate on a formal project.

  • March 2025 - Three more Duplantier descendants join The Cousins Committee, bringing it to eight members.

  • January 2025 - Duplantier family members formalize their collective, establishing it as “Duplantier Cousins Committee for Justice” or “Cousins for Justice.” Sean Duplantier and Lou Duplantier join the board of the Friends of Magnolia Mound to advance work on a memorial and exhibit.

  • August - January 2024 - Duplantier descendants meet with Magnolia Mound staff and Friends of Magnolia Mound to assert need for improvements and gather more knowledge of their work.

  • August 2023 - First meetings among Duplantier descendants centered around Magnolia Mound history begin.

  • April 2021 - Lou Duplantier writes M.A. Thesis - “A Revised Ancestry ofThe Duplantier Family: Centering the Enslaved Community and Tracing Generational Capital”