2013 Relic Reading and Discussion Program: Creole Identity & Experience

Dr. Olivia McNeely Pass will introduce and lead discussions on “The Creole Identity and Experience” at the Fairwood Branch at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays, April 18-May 23, as a part of this year’s RELIC (Readings in Literature and Culture) program.

The six sessions are entitled:
1) What Is a Creole?
2) Gens de Couleur Libre: Neither White Nor Black;
3) Gens de Couleur Libre: Between Privilege and Oppression;
4) Cane River: Complexity of Slavery and Race in a Simple Setting;
5) Cane River: The Persistence of Creole Family;
6) Creole Identity at Mid-Twentieth Century: Assimilation and Survival.

Readings will be taken from: The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice, Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization by Arnold Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon, Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana’s Free People of Color edited by Sybil Kein, Catherine Carmier by Ernest Gaines, and Cane River by Lalita Tademy.

Book sets are limited, so participants should pre-register by e-mailing ltomlin@ebrpl.com or by calling (225) 924-9380.
This program is funded by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

History of Scotlandville High School

By Peggy Carter.

This past school year, the students from a class at Scotlandville Magnet High School were assigned the task of writing the history of their school. They soon discovered that there was very little written information about their school. So Pamela Donaldson, a Library Technician who works with the Black Heritage Room at the East Baton Rouge Parish Scotlandville Branch Library, and Elva Jewel Carter (Peggy), the Reference Librarian at Scotlandville Branch Library, decided to research the subject so that we would have some written history about the school. We decided to create an InfoGuide on a useful topic.

We gathered information from a variety of sources: newspapers, newspaper archives, books, and people. It took a long time to get all the information and check for accuracy since the school began in 1952 and changed many times to fit the needs of the community. Scotlandville Magnet High School started as a junior high school, evolving into a junior/senior school, a senior high school, a magnet high school and finally a three-tier school with educational programs for magnet and community students as well as an engineering curriculum.

The final result of our research can be accessed through this The History of Scotlandville High School InfoGuide.

Featured Database: Sanborn Historical Maps

The library subscribes to the Sanborn Historical Map collection featuring maps of Louisiana cities dating back as far as 1885. For Baton Rouge, you will find well over a hundred maps. The maps for Baton Rouge are dated May 1885, June 1891, May 1898, June 1903, April 1908, August 1911, August 1916, 1923, 1923-1947, 1923-May 1951. It is fascinating to see how our city has changed and grown over time.

Maps can be downloaded as PDF files, and are printable (just not for commercial purposes). On the database you can select the size of the viewing window, re-center maps and zoom in and out.

We also have a physical collection of historic Baton Rouge maps that are part of the Baton Rouge Room collection at the River Center Branch. To find out more about our map holdings please visit the Baton Rouge Room InfoGuide.

To access the maps you can go to EBRPL.com, then Online Databases, or go straight to the maps through the Sanborn links on this page. All you will need to access them is your library card.

Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore

We have a fantastic Louisiana audio archive to share with you. The complete Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore is housed by the Center for Louisiana Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Part of the collection has been digitized and is now accessible within the Louisiana Digital Library. In this collection you will hear oral history interviews, stories, jokes and musical performances. The collection is entertaining and offers a real insight into Cajun and Creole life over the last 35 years or so.

To find out more, you can also visit the website for the physical Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore.

News Leader Newspaper Archives

A look at the News Leader newspaper archives on microfilm by Anne Lemmon.

The News Leader, a weekly newspaper, began publication in 1952 in Baton Rouge, LA. In 1971 the name was changed to the Baton Rouge News Leader and its publication continued until 1977 when it was superseded by the Baton Rouge Community Leader. The News Leader reported on social, religious, sports and business news in the black community. Photographs of people featured in various social or religious events as well as sporting events were included throughout the paper. National news and issues of the day were covered in passing but were not the central focus of the articles.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library has copies of the News Leader on 10 reels of microfilm covering January 7, 1968, Volume 17, No. 1, through December 30, 1973, Vol. 22, No. 52. Each weekly issue consisted of 32 pages and sold for $.15 a copy. The paper’s format included 16 pages dedicated to news, features, and sports and 16 pages for the News Leader Special Feature Section (8 pages of features–similar to the Parade Magazine of today, and 8 pages of syndicated Sunday comics).

The microfilm records of the News Leader are a good source for obituary information for Baton Rouge citizens of the black community. There was a weekly column called “Deaths” that gave death dates and funeral information. This column and the “In Memoriam” column provided information about the deceased, date of death and often the names of relatives or next of kin.

Several columns were featured on a regular basis including Dorie’s Diary by Doris Gale which covered personal topics such as visiting relatives, vacation travel; get well wishes, and social club meetings. The Teen Corner highlighted teen achievements in school and church. Church and religious choir events and other programs were covered on a regular basis as were local school events. Pictures covering these events were almost always included. Wedding and engagement pictures were in every issue as well as debutante events. The Men in Service column featured black servicemen state wide.

The sports section highlighted school events. Southern University and their opponents (Alcorn Braves, Xavier University, Grambling State, and Florida A&M) were often reviewed in articles. High schools teams such as McKinley High Panthers, Scotlandville Hornets and Capitol High Lions were some of the local teams mentioned.

The microfilm copies of this newspaper can be reviewed at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Main Branch, 225-231-3750, located at 7711 Government Blvd., Baton Rouge, La 70806.