"Leprosy the Separating Sickness" at Tulane School of Public Health

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Courtesy of Anne Harmon Brett

From the exhibition "Leprosy the Separating Sickness".

A new exhibition on display at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine explores Louisiana's fascinating and troubled history of Leprosy. Presented by Anne Harmon Brett (daughter of Carville photographer Johnny Harmon), Claire Manes, and the Friends of Carville Historic District, the photo exhibition Leprosy the Separating Sickness documents through photographs the many men, women, and children who were hospitalized—often for the remainder of their lives—at the USPH Hospital in Carville, Louisiana. Most of the photographs displayed were taken by Johnny Harmon, a professional photographer who was also a patient/resident at the hospital, and shine light on the lives and humanity of the individuals who were isolated on the compound that today contains the National Hansen's Disease Museum. The exhibition also aims to dismantle the many misconceptions that continue to exist today about the bacterial condition of Leprosy. After the exhibition is displayed at Tulane, it will be presented at the Jean Lafitte Center (Acadian Cultural Center) in Lafayette in April and May, then the Jean Lafitte Center in Thibodaux in June and July, and the Bayou Teche Museum in New Iberia in September. The exhibit is made possible through a grant by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. sph.tulane.edu.