Making Race in the CourtroomNo American citys history better illustrates both the possibilities for alternative racial models and the role of the law in shaping racial identity than New Orleans, Louisiana, which prior to the Civil War was home to Americas most privileged community of people of African descent. In the eyes of the law, New Orleanss free people of color did not belong to the same race as enslaved Africans and African Americans. While slaves were negroes, free