On May 20, 2011, Levees.org and Grammy Award-winner Irvin Mayfield Jr. Unveiled a Historic Plaque at the London Avenue Canal levee breach site (east side) in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans.

Members of the Gentilly community unveil the Historic Plaque. Photo/AG Eugene

Irvin Mayfield Jr. played the first song he ever learned, “A Closer Walk with Thee” on the Elysian trumpet, hand-built by David Monette, the modern master of trumpet design, and dedicated to the memory of Irvin Mayfield, Sr. and all of the victims of the flooding on August 29, 2005.

The event closed with the release of two doves by Big Chief Clarence Dalcour of the Tribe Creole Osceola.

While the Historic Plaque is Levees.org’s gift to the people of Gentilly, the text was crafted and the location was chosen in collaboration with the neighborhood association leaders and affected residents.