- Thank you National Endowment for the Humanities and other donors
- Posted August 23, 2007
The Newcomb Archives and the Vorhoff were recently chosen as the recipients of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Under their program to stabilize humanities collections in federally designated disaster areas, the Archives and Library were awarded $368,511 for the purchase and installation of an environmental system. This grant will allow us enhance to longevity of records about the lives of women who attended Newcomb or who were active in Louisiana. Moving chronologically from the colonial
period to the present, this collection of seventeen biographical essays
provides a window into the social, cultural, and geographic milieu of
women’s lives in the state. Within the context of the historical forces
that have shaped Louisiana, the contributors look at ways in which the
women they profile either abided by prevailing gender norms or
negotiated new models of behavior for themselves and other women. Louisiana Women concludes with an essay that examines women’s active responses to problems that emerged in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The
women whose absorbing life stories are collected here include Marie
Therese Coincoin, who was born a slave but later became a successful
entrepreneur, and Oretha Castle Haley, civil rights activist and leader
of the New Orleans chapter of CORE. From such well-known figures as
author Kate Chopin and Voudou priestess Marie Laveau, to lesser known
women such as Cajun musician Cleoma Breaux Falcon, this volume reveals
a compelling cross section of historical figures. The women profiled
vary by race, class, political affiliation, and religious persuasion,
but they all share an unusual grit and determination that allowed them
to turn trying circumstances into opportunity. Lively yet rigorous,
these essays introduce readers to the courageous, dedicated, and
inventive women who have been an essential part of Louisiana’s history. Historical figures included:
NEWS CONCERNING ARCHIVAL USE AND PUBLICATIONS
Scholar Janet Allured, recipient of a Travel-to-Collections grant in 2008, is the editor of Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times (University of Georgia Press).
