NEW ORLEANS— Sylvester Francis, founder of the Backstreet Cultural Museum has died. Francis founded the Treme institution in 1999 as a means of highlighting the New Orleans traditions of brass bands, Social Aid & Pleasure Plubs and Mardi Gras Indians.
WGNO’s Stephanie Oswald visited the the museum a few years ago and filed this report:
According to friend Bruce ‘Sunpie’ Barnes, Francis faced many a medical challenges in recent years, and that, combined with a ruptured appendix led to his death.
Sylvester Francis was 73, and there’s a tribute planned outside the museum at 1116 Henriette Delille St, starting today at 5pm.
