152. Janet Bordelon, Part 2.

152. Part 2 of our interview with Janet Bordelon about Jewish people in Louisiana. Janet teaches Jewish history at Kehillah Jewish high school. She brings with her over 10 years of teaching experience at the secondary and undergraduate level. In 2014, Janet completed her PhD at NYU in 2014. Her research focused on church state issues in American history. Because of her connection to central Louisiana, she is especially interested in Jewish history regarding central and north Louisiana.

151. Janet Bordelon, Part 1

151. Part 1 of our interview with Janet Bordelon about Jewish history in Louisiana. Janet Bordelon teaches Jewish history at Kehillah Jewish high school. She brings with her over 10 years of teaching experience at the secondary and undergraduate level. In 2014, Janet completed her PhD at NYU in 2014. Her research focused on church state issues in American history. Because of her connection to central Louisiana, she is especially interested in Jewish history regarding central and north Louisiana.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 9, 1682. Louisiana Territory is so named by the Sieur de La Salle who reaches the mouth of the Mississippi April 9 with a party of 50 men after descending from the Illinois River.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 9, 1904.  Sharkey Bonano was born.  Born in Milneburg in 1898, trumpeter Gustave Joseph (Sharkey) Bonano entered the world as Jazz was beginning to brew in his hometown. Sometimes compared to Louis Prima, he was known as a charismatic personality and a fine musician.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival
   April 15th, 2016 - April 16th, 2016
   Downtown Riverbank Stage
   Downtown Natchitoches, Natchitoches, LA 71457
   800-259-1714
   Website
   Downtown Riverbank Stage
   Two-day musical event with a variety of music from rock to soul; food vendors on the riverbank of Cane River Lake in Downtown Natchitoches, Louisiana. For more information visit www.NatchJazzFest.com or www.Natchitoches.com.

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150. Bryan Wagner Interview

150. This week we interview Bryan Wagner about Bras Coupe and the history of policing in New Orleans.  Bryan is an associate professor in the English Department and affiliated faculty in the American Studies Program at UC Berkeley. He received a BA from Carleton College and a PhD in English from the University of Virginia before coming to Berkeley in 2002. His primary research focuses on African American expression in the context of slavery and its aftermath, and he has secondary interests in legal history, cultural theory, and popular music. His first book, Disturbing the Peace: Black Culture and the Police Power after Slavery, a study of black vernacular expression and its entanglement with the law, was published by Harvard University Press in 2009.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 1, 1718. Approx. date land began being cleared for city of New Orleans.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 2, 1842.  Daniel Henry Holmes Establishes D.H. Holmes Department Store. The Canal Street store was a landmark for 140 years, until Dillard's Department Store chain bought Holmes' stores & closed or renamed them in 1989.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   2016 Louisiana Samboree
   April 3rd, 2016 - April 10th, 2016
   State Fair of Louisiana-"Dare to Dream"
   3701 Hudson Ave, Shreveport, LA 71109
   318-655-0414
   Website
   State Fair of Louisiana: "Dare to Dream"
   Each year Louisiana Good Sam host a rally called Samboree which is held in April. The Good Sams are RV clubs.  The Louisiana Spring Samboree is rotated among the south regions (Texas, Arkansas). They are three day events and bring together hundreds of families from surrounding states. You will make many friends who you will run into from time to time at other functions. You can play games, both indoor and outdoor; attend seminars; enjoy good entertainment; and many other special activities.  Any member of the Good Sam Club is authorized to attend a Samboree. Membership in a local Good Sam Chapter is not a prerequisite; however joining a local Chapter is encouraged.

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Bryan Wagner

Bras Coupe

149. LaKisha Simmons, part 2

149. LaKisha Simmons interview, Part 2.  Author of Crescent City Girls. “What was it like to grow up black and female in the segregated South? To answer this question, LaKisha Simmons blends social history and cultural studies, recreating children's streets and neighborhoods within Jim Crow New Orleans and offering a rare look into black girls’ personal lives. Simmons argues that these children faced the difficult task of adhering to middle-class expectations of purity and respectability even as they encountered the daily realities of Jim Crow violence, which included interracial sexual aggression, street harassment, and presumptions of black girls’ impurity.” LaKisha Michelle Simmons is assistant professor of global gender studies at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. She specializes in Black gender history, history of sexuality, childhood, and cultural geography. 

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 26, 1804. The Louisiana Purchase was divided at the 33rd parallel into two parts, the District of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans.
2. This week in New Orleans history. March 26, 1912. Mistrial for Annie Crawford. The 28-year-old woman was on trial for the poisoning of her 24 year-old sister Elise. Elise had been ill for quite some time before her death.  The Crawford family had lost three family members within the past 15 months. On June 25, 1910, another sister, Mary Agnes Crawford died suddenly -- the cause of death was attributed to Acute Meningitis.  Three weeks later on July 15 her father, Walter C. Crawford passed away -- the cause of death was allegedly Uremic Poisoning.  Two weeks after that, on July 29 her mother died -- it was thought that she also succumbed to Uremic Poisoning.  Upon the death of Elise suspicions were raised that the family might have been victims of murder.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Louisiana Crawfish Festival
   March 31st, 2016 - April 3rd, 2016
   Sigur Center grounds
   8245 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, LA 70043
   504-329-6411
   Website
   Sigur Center grounds
   Sample your way through more than 30,000 pounds of crawfish, served boiled, fried, baked, over pasta, and more! Live music, rides and crafts.
   $5.00 entry fee

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148. LaKisha Simmons, part 1.

148. LaKisha Simmons interview, Part 1.  Author of Crescent City Girls. “What was it like to grow up black and female in the segregated South? To answer this question, LaKisha Simmons blends social history and cultural studies, recreating children's streets and neighborhoods within Jim Crow New Orleans and offering a rare look into black girls' personal lives. Simmons argues that these children faced the difficult task of adhering to middle-class expectations of purity and respectability even as they encountered the daily realities of Jim Crow violence, which included interracial sexual aggression, street harassment, and presumptions of black girls' impurity.” LaKisha Michelle Simmons is assistant professor of global gender studies at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. She specializes in Black gender history, history of sexuality, childhood, and cultural geography.

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 19, 1687. French explorer Rene'-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle who claimed the entire Mississippi river drainage for France, is murdered by his own men. (most creditable account).
2. This week in New Orleans history.  March 19, 1835. New Orleans Draining Company was established by act of the Louisiana legislature on March 19, 1835, the Company was to drain, fill, and improve all of the land between the settled portion of the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Capital in the amount of $1 million, divided into 10,000 shares, was authorized by the act, which also provided limits for purchase of stock by the city and state.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Acadiana Dragon Boat Festival
   March 26th, 2016
   Bouligny Plaza
   102 W Main St, New Iberia, LA 70560
   337-352-2180
   Website
   Bouligny Plaza
   Traditional dragon boats holding 20 rowers and one drummer will race down the Bayou Teche. Food, beverages, etc will be available and music through the day.

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147. Renee Sentilles, part 2

147. Renée Sentilles’ interview about Adah Isaac Menken.  Renee has written a major biography about Menken, Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity. The actress grew up in New Orleans and became the United States' first celebrity, as well known for her lifestyle as for her acting. This week we interview her about Loreta Janeta Velazquez, who wrote the memoir The Woman in Battle after the Civil War describing her adventures during the Civil War.  She both dressed as a man to serve as a soldier, and as a woman to carry out her spying assignments.

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 12, 1817. Miss. Steamboat Navigation Co. seized Capt. H. Shreve's boat, the Washington.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Andrew Jackson Young, born March 12, 1932 in New Orleans, is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as a Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and Mayor of Atlanta.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Iowa Rabbit Festival
   March 18th, 2016 - March 19th, 2016
   Burton Complex
   7001 Gulf Hwy, Lake Charles, LA 70607
   337-436-9566
   Website
   Burton Complex
   Celebrating the economic and culinary impact rabbits have in Southwest Louisiana, the annual Iowa Rabbit Festival is a one-of-a-kind event, from the rabbit gumbo to crowning the new Miss Bunny, who will go on to represent the festival at other state-wide festivals and competitions. The family-friendly event has some of the best music in the area from the Iowa High School Marching band to local Cajun favorites. This festival has it all, from great food to live music and cook-offs! All proceeds from the festival go to support the community of Iowa and various other youth organizations, schools and not for profit groups.

146. Renee Sentilles, part 1. Lamar White, part 2

146. Renée Sentilles’ interview about Adah Isaac Menken.  Renee has written a major biography about Menken, Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity. The actress grew up in New Orleans and became the United States' first celebrity, as well known for her lifestyle as for her acting.  Also, we complete out chat with Lamar White about the budget crisis in Louisiana.

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 5, 1766. Antonio de Ulloa becomes the first Spanish governor of Louisiana; arrives in New Orleans but does not take possession.
2. This week in New Orleans history. March 5, 1999.  Reverend Avery Caesar Alexander died (June 29, 1910 - March 5, 1999).  Reverend Avery C. Alexander was an important leader in the struggle for civil rights for black Louisianians. A member of the NAACP, Rev. Alexander traveled statewide participating in voter registration drives in the years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. In New Orleans, he helped to organize several boycotts against white businesses to hire blacks for jobs above the "broom and mop" level. He also led a successful boycott against New Orleans Public Service, Inc. to hire the first black bus drivers. Rev. Alexander participated in marches with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama and the first and second marches on Washington. He also was involved in sit-ins to integrate lunch counters all over New Orleans.
3. Iberia Performing Arts League Presents, “Jesus Christ, Superstar”
   March 3rd, 2016 - March 20th, 2016
   Essanee Theatre
   126 Iberia St., New Iberia, LA 70560
   337-364-6114
   Website

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Adah Isaacs Menksn

Renee Sentilles

Lamar White