531. Eli Langley, part 1

531. Part 1 of our conversation with Eli Langley, a member of the Coushatta Tribe and a graduate of Harvard. “Eli Langley ’21 grew up in a family devoted to safeguarding the culture, history, and language of the Coushatta Tribe. His father, a tribal cultural adviser, and his mother, an anthropologist and tribal historian, nourished him with Native folktales and inspired him early on to take pride in his roots. At 12, he asked his parents to send him to a boarding school to challenge himself academically. At 18, he learned Koasati, the language of his tribe, becoming its youngest speaker, and in 2016, he became the first member of the Coushatta Tribe to be admitted to Harvard. Now, upon his graduation this month, he will become the first tribal member to use their Native language to fulfill the College’s second language requirement.... 'My story is a continuation of my people’s story,' said Langley. 'I’m a cog in the wheel, and I stand on the shoulders of giants. I know that I’m only able to undertake these things with the strength and the knowledge of my culture.'” (Harvard Gazette)

1. This week in Louisiana history. July 14 1937 First piling driven for N.O. Charity Hospital.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Oretha Castle was born in Oakland, Tennessee and moved to New Orleans with her parents in 1947. After graduating from Joseph S. Clark High School she enrolled at Southern University in New Orleans where she joined other students in the struggle for civil rights, eventually becoming the head of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in New Orleans. In 1967, Oretha married fellow CORE member Richard Haley. Mrs. Haley served as deputy administrator at Charity Hospital where she instituted better health care for the Black Community. While at Charity, she helped organize the New Orleans Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation. In 1972, she directed the political campaign of Dorothy Mae Taylor who became the first Black woman legislator in the state. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Oretha Castle Haley died at the age of 48.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Masur Museum of Art
   1400 S. Grand St.
   Monroe, LA 71202
   Website
   Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
   Saturday 12-5 p.m.
   318.329.2237
   Located in the former home of the Masur family, the Masur Museum of Art is the largest collecting and exhibiting visual arts museum in Northeast Louisiana. We are dedicated to providing our community with a dynamic visual arts experience through exhibitions, public programming, and collections management.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Rug Cutters at the Favela Chic Bar on Frenchmen.

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