NEW ORLEANS (AP) — If you've heard about New Orleans' famous cemeteries with their above-ground tombs, you've probably heard about the tomb of voodoo queen Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.
But you can't just show up on your own to visit. Since 2015, tourists have been allowed into the cemetery only on guided tours.
Other famous denizens of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 include an important figure in the fight for civil rights, Homer Plessy. Plessy was of mixed race. He challenged segregation, sitting in a rail car for whites. He lost his case in the notorious 1896 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson, which was used to justify segregation until the 1950s.
Scenes from the 1969 cult movie "Easy Rider" were filmed at the cemetery.
