Erased by Displacement
Mrs. Irene B. Griffin
August 12, 1943 — September 3, 2020
Born in Ascension Parish in Donaldsonville, LA, Irene Breaux moved to New Orleans in 1959 to complete high school. After getting married and starting a family, Mrs. Irene and her husband Robert found themselves frequently moving throughout much of the 1960s—in part to urban renewal policies and development plans that displaced Black communities across the city and as a result of discriminatory housing practices.
Mrs. Irene and her family were displaced from Lower Mid-City for the expansion of the medical corridor along Tulane Ave. and then from the Tremé community during the construction of the I-10 Interstate highway and the demolition of homes for the development of what would eventually become Armstrong Park. After relocating to the Lower Ninth Ward and later Hollygrove in 1969, her family secured stable housing in the Desire Public Housing Development, where they stayed for five years. In 1974, her family moved to the Iberville Public Housing Development, where she resided for twenty-five years. In 1999, Mrs. Irene purchased a home in the Upper Ninth Ward.
During the early 1980s, she became actively involved in tenant rights organizing, advocating for public housing residents, and working to improve substandard housing conditions. Mrs. Irene joined the Iberville Public Housing Resident Council in 1984, becoming president in 1989, and serving on the Council until 1998. She also served as a member of the New Orleans Citywide Tenant Council, advancing housing rights locally and nationally.
1961 - 1962
1944 ½ Gravier Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1962 - 1963
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
519 South Galvez Street, New Orleans, LA
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1963
1943 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1963 - 1966
612 South Rocheblave Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1966
1915 ½ Gravier Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1967
1956 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1967 - 1968
919 North Villere Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1968
1915 Flood Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1968 - 1969
1843 France Street. New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1969
1316 General Ogden Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
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1969
9024 Oleander Street, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
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1969 - 1974
3514 Desire Parkway, Apt. B
Desire Public Housing Development, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
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1974 - 1999
1537 Bienville Street, Apt. G
Iberville Public Housing Development, New Orleans, LA
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2020
