304. Maida Owens, part 1

304. Part 1 of our interview with Maida Owens about the history of midwives in Louisiana. Maida, the director of the Louisiana Folklife Program , is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Louisiana traditional cultures.  Owens has been with the Division of the Arts since 1986, during which time she has worked with organizations and researchers across the state to identify one of Louisiana's most important assets—its traditional folk artists in order to determine the most innovative and effective ways to present Louisiana's folk musicians, storytellers, and craftsmen to Louisiana citizens and the world. She was director of the Louisiana Crafts Marketing Program from 1986 until it ended in 2008.

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 17, 1791. Baron de Carondelet de Noyelles is appointed gov.-general of Louisiana.
2. This week in New Orleans history. On Saturday, March 16, 1957, Little Walter and his Fabulous Jukes performed at Dave Brown's Blue Eagle on Felicity at Saratoga Street. Billed as "King of the Harmonica Blues" Little Walter's hits included Midnight Rumble, Blues With a Feeling, Last Night, and  Juke.  The advertising poster for this show announced "Leave all blades and pistols at the door".
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Metairie Road St. Patrick's Day Parade
   March 17th, 2019
   Old Metairie
   1901 Severn Ave.,
   Metairie, LA 70001
   504-731-7083
   Website
   Founded in 1971, the St. Patrick's Parade of Metairie has been taking to the streets of Old Metairie for more than forty years! The parade consists of over 100 floats and trucks, bands, marching clubs, and all the carrots, cabbages, potatoes and beads you can catch! Bring the family and come celebrate the luck of the Irish at Jefferson Parish's Metairie Road St. Patrick's Day Parade!
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to the band at the Krazy Korner Bar on Bourbon St.

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303. Tonja Lee on Women's Healthcare

303. We interview Tonja Lee about women's access to healthcare in Louisiana. Tonja Lee is a sociologist in Baton Rouge and a scholar of women's studies.

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. "When I wrote and recorded 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' back in 1952, it marked the birth of rock 'n' roll," said Price, who was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1998. "That song sold millions, and it was the introduction of music as we know it today."   Lloyd Price in an interview with Bill Herald of Examiner.com.  Born one of 11 children of Louis and Beatrice Price in Kenner on March 9, 1933, Lloyd Price had formal musical training in trumpet and piano, sang in his church's gospel choir, and was a member of a combo in high school. On March 9, 2010, his 77th Birthday, in New Orleans, Lloyd Price was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and on June 20, 2010, Price appeared and sang in season 1 finale of the HBO series "Treme."
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Black Heritage Festival
   March 9th, 2019
   Lake Charles Civic Center
   900 Lakeshore Dr.,
   Lake Charles, LA 70601
   337-436-9588
   Website
   The annual Black Heritage Festival will be held March 10, 2019 and will feature live entertainment, mouthwatering food, and great family fun. The festival brings together the cultures of Africa and Southwest Louisiana and highlights the best in the community. Celebrating diversity, culture and education, the festival is filled with legendary Zydeco, Jazz, R&B and Gospel performers.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to Doreen the Clarinet Queen on Royal Street.

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302. Christine Koch Harris, part 2

302. Part 2 of our interview with Christine Koch Harris about her dissertation, Liminality in gender, race, and nation in Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans by Sidonie de la Houssaye. This project examines themes of race, gender, and nation in a series of four novels by nineteenth-century Louisiana author Sidonie de la Houssaye. The series, called Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans (The Quadroons of New Orleans), is based on the system of plaçage. Plaçage, a system of concubinage in which white men took women of mixed racial heritage (such as “quadroons”) as mistresses, becomes a source of conflict and contradiction in the series. The author sees plaçage as a tragic necessity for some educated and morally “upright” quarteronnes. For others, those quarteronnes depicted as libidinous and avaricious, it is a means of benefiting from the destruction of families from the upper echelons of white society.

1. This week in Louisiana history. March 3, 1964. John McKeithen elected as Governor.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Iberville and Bienville "Discover" the Mouth of the Mississippi. March 2, 1699. The celebration of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) arrived in Louisiana with two Canadian brothers, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. Sent by Louis XIV to secure the territory of La Louisiane for France, the brothers’ expedition entered the mouth of the Mississippi on the evening of Monday, March 2, 1699. Their party continued upstream to a spot on the west bank (about 60 miles downriver from present-day New Orleans) and encamped. This was the following day, Tuesday, March 3, 1699, which was Mardi Gras day. In honor of this European holiday, expedition leader Iberville named the site Pointe du Mardi Gras and the connecting tributary Bayou Mardi Gras.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Cajun Country Courir de Mardi Gras
   February 9th, 2018 - February 13th, 2018
   Various Locations in Eunice, LA
   Downtown Eunice, 300 S. Second St.,
   Eunice, LA 70535
   337-457-7389
   Website | Email
       This unique five day celebration is not your typical idea of Mardi Gras with beads and doubloons. In fact you won't find these trinkets in sight, but instead, men and women on horseback donned in hand crafted wire masks, tall hats called capuchons, and very distinctive costumes. This one of a kind celebration begins the Friday before Mardi Gras Day, but the main event is the Courir de Mardi Gras procession or "chicken run" which involves chasing a live chicken to collect for a community gumbo, and silliness by revelers all day. Don't wait till Fat Tuesday to join in the fun. Throughout the weeked, experience the town's rural traditions with jam sessions, street dances, cooking demos, Mardi Gras exhibits and a special Liberty Theater show. Les Jeunes and L'il Mardi Gras runs for children are on Sunday as well as an old time boucherie (hog butchering).
       The Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras dates back from when the town was first established in the late 19th century. The Courir was abandoned for a few years during World War II, but in 1946 a small band of riders revived the tradition. Today, the Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras has more than 2,000 participants on the run, and it continues to increase each year.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to the Sidewalk Swingers on Royal Street.

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301. Christine Koch Harris, part 1.

301. Part 1 of our interview with Christine Koch Harris about her dissertation, Liminality in gender, race, and nation in Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans by Sidonie de la Houssaye. This project examines themes of race, gender, and nation in a series of four novels by nineteenth-century Louisiana author Sidonie de la Houssaye. The series, called Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans (The Quadroons of New Orleans), is based on the system of plaçage. Plaçage, a system of concubinage in which white men took women of mixed racial heritage (such as “quadroons”) as mistresses, becomes a source of conflict and contradiction in the series. The author sees plaçage as a tragic necessity for some educated and morally “upright” quarteronnes. For others, those quarteronnes depicted as libidinous and avaricious, it is a means of benefiting from the destruction of families from the upper echelons of white society.

1. This week in Louisiana history. February 24, 1843. Bossier Parish created out of Natchitoches District, named for Pierre E. Bossier.
2. This week in New Orleans history. New Orleans first iIlluminated Carnival Bicycle Parade was held on February 23, 1887.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Mardi Paw Pet Parade
   February 24th, 2019
   12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
   RiverView Park
   601 Clyde Fant Pkwy,
   Shreveport, LA 71101
   318-752-2287
   Website
   The Mardi Paw Pet Parade sponsored by the local animal krewe will be held at Reves Marine Center in Shreveport on Sunday, February 24 at 12 p.m.  All animals are invited to participate. Animal costumes encouraged. Prizes will be awared. Free for spectators.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to a brass band at Royal and Toulouse Streets.

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300. Erin Stewart Mauldin

300. We interview Erin Stewart Mauldin about her book, Unredeemed Land. "Unredeemed Land is the first book to place the Civil War and emancipation at the center of the history of southern agriculture. Mauldin reveals how landscape destruction and social upheaval intersected with environmental change during these events, ultimately creating the Cotton South. Unredeemed Land is a must-read for anyone interested in southern history and environmental studies" (Megan Kate Nelson). — "Trained as an Environmental Historian, my work explores the intersection of race, economic inequality, and environment in the 19th-century U.S. South, bridging the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods. I borrow heavily from the natural sciences, geography, and environmental sociology to reframe the big questions of nineteenth-century southern history: slavery as capitalism, the impacts of the Civil War and emancipation on southern agriculture, economic stagnation in the shadow of 'King Cotton,' and, more recently, the twin processes of industrialization and urbanization."

1. This week in Louisiana history. February 18, 1699. Iberville sets out in search of the east fork of the Mississippi River.
2. This week in New Orleans history. On February 16, 1840, Margaret Haughery opened the first of four orphanages.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade
   February 16th, 2019
   6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
   Streets of Monroe/West Monroe, LA
   Trenton St. in West Monroe, Louisville Ave and Downtown Monroe,
   Monroe, LA 71201
   318-323-0230
   Website
   The Krewe of Janus brings a family-friendly, traditional Mardi Gras Parade with marching units, floats, costumes and throws to Northeast Louisiana. This is an annual event with an average of 175,000 in attendance. The parade rolls at 6:00 p.m., starting in downtown West Monroe and crossing the bridge into Monroe. 2019 will be our 36th year.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas.

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299. Kalamu ya Salaaam, part 2.

299. Part 2 of our interview with Kalamu ya Salaam. Kalamu is an American poet, author, filmmaker, and teacher from the 9th Ward of New Orleans. A well-known activist and social critic, Salaam has spoken out on a number of racial and human rights issues. For years he did radio shows on WWOZ. Salaam is the co-founder of the NOMMO Literary Society, a weekly workshop for Black writers.  

1. This week in Louisiana history. February 9, 1718. Bienville appointed Gov. of colony, replacing L'Epinay.
2. This week in New Orleans history. On February 9, 1979, officers of the New Orleans Police Department went on strike. The teamsters protested recognition of the local Fraternal Order of Police. Mayor Dutch Morial declared the stirke an illegal work stop.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   February 15th, 2019
   Shreveport Convention
   400 Caddo St,
   Shreveport, LA 71101
   518-828-6270
   Website
   Krewe De Les Femmes Mystique Grand Bal 2019 will be held at Shreveport Convention Center on Friday, February 15 , at 6:30 p.m ; Tableau presentation is at 7:30 p.m. Adult admission is $75. There will be a royal preview party from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., cash bar, buffet and plenty of entertainment. The attire is black tie.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to the Tip Jar Junkies on Royal St.

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298. Kalamu ya Salaam, part 1

298. Part 1 of our interview with Kalamu ya Salaam (born March 24, 1947) is an American poet, author, filmmaker, and teacher from the 9th Ward of New Orleans. A well-known activist and social critic, Salaam has spoken out on a number of racial and human rights issues. For years he did radio shows on WWOZ. Salaam is the co-founder of the NOMMO Literary Society, a weekly workshop for Black writers.

1. This week in Louisiana history. February 5, 1883. First train service from New Orleans to California
2. This week in New Orleans history. Earth, Wind, & Fire's Al McKay is born February 2, 1948. Guitarist, songwriter, producer, former member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and the recipient of five Grammy Awards, Al McKay was born in New Orleans on February 2, 1948.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   February 8th, 2019
   6:30 pm - 12:00 am
   Sam’s Town Casino and Hotel
   315 Clyde Fant Pkwy,
   Shreveport, LA 71101
   318-382-2150
   Website
   Krewe des Ambassadeurs Grand Bal will be held at Sam's Town Casino and Hotel in Shreveport on Friday, February 8 at 6:30 p.m. Adult admission is $80. The event is black tie, with a cash bar and a band to entertain after the presentation.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce & Kerr listen to a jazz trumpet in Jackson Square.

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