In New Orleans, Trinity City Arts unites creativity and public safety
It started around a New Orleans kitchen table when Mat Schwarzman heard stories about his friend’s mother – and was moved. Yvonne Olivier Bechet, it turned out, was one of the city’s first female Black police officers during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s.
“She would tell me these stories about her life ... that were so remarkable they were hard to believe,”
says Mr. Schwarzman. From mediating near gun fights to organizing talent shows and police-school partnerships, Ms. Bechet, who died in 2020, was dedicated to community service within her police force and her neighborhood.
Inspired by her example, Mr. Schwarzman co-founded what’s now called Trinity City
