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This article discusses newspaper publisher Louis Charles Roudanez in context of the influential community of Creoles of Color in 19th-century New Orleans, Louisiana. Noting their high degree of education, commitment to racial equality, and radicalism, it documents Louisiana's Napoleonic heritage. It shows the importance of the Haitian revolution of 1843 in creating the ferment and radicalism of this community, and the central place of Louis Charles Roudanez in that milieu.

This article discusses the launching of "L'Union," the first African American newspaper in the southern United States, in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1862. The founders included Louis Charles Roudanez, who proved to be an important figure in Louisiana Reconstruction. The article shows the influence of the Haitian revolution of 1843 on the U.S., convincing the emperor Napoleon to sell the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. The article traces Roudanez' support of African American voting rights.