Center for Louisiana Studies

In celebration of Juneteenth, we're sharing this remarkable Louisiana recording: Becky Elzy and Alberta Bradford singing “Free at Last,” also known in the archival record as “Thank God Almighty.”

“Free at Last” is one of the best-known African American spirituals, recognized for its repeated refrain, “Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last,” and preserved in hymnals, classrooms, and archival recordings, and quoted of course by Dr. Martin Luther King in his most famous speech.

Long before the song became widely known in American public life, it was carried in the voices of singers like Elzy and Bradford, two women from Iberia Parish who remembered and shared spirituals learned across a lifetime.

Recorded in June 1934, and possibly on the 18th or 19th of that month, their performance holds special meaning on Juneteenth.

The Center for Louisiana Studies is honored to hold repatriated copies of these recordings, helping ensure that this important part of Louisiana’s cultural heritage remains accessible here at home.

Thank God Almighty Here's a great version of this song by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama:

Meet this year's CLS Acadie/Acadiana Student Exchange Fellow — along with our newly named feline friend Inez Cat-alon! Thanks to all who suggested kitten names in our previous post.

"Hi/Bonjour! My name is Haylie Prest. I am a fourth-year student at the University of Moncton, where I am pursuing my bachelor's degree in education specializing in French Studies. I am originally from the beautiful Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, where I had French immersion and learned about the relationship between Nova Scotia and Louisiana. This summer, I will be doing a research project at CLS on this relationship and the shared history between our two regions. I love to travel and learn new things, which is why I am so happy to be here exploring Lafayette!

Je m’appelle Haylie Prest, je suis une étudiante de quatrième année à l’Université de Moncton, où je poursuis actuellement un baccalauréat en éducation. Mon majeur est en études françaises. Je suis originaire de la belle vallée d’Annapolis en Nouvelle-Écosse, où j’ai suivi l’immersion française et j'ai appris au sujet des relations entre la Nouvelle-Écosse et la Louisiane. Pendant l’été, je ferai un projet de recherche en partenariat avec le CLS sur ces relations et l’histoire partagée entre nos deux régions. J’aime voyager et apprendre de nouvelles choses, c’est pourquoi je suis si heureux d’être ici à explorer Lafayette !"

https://louisianastudies.louisiana.edu/programs/acadie-acadiana-student-exchange

More notes from the field! Our friends at the West Baton Rouge Museum continued their incredible partnership with Chinbo Inc for the second year in a row at Kamp Kréyol. This 5-day immersion camp brings together learners from the Louisiana Creole diaspora and heritage language enthusiasts and activists from all around the state. If you're looking for resources to learn Louisiana Creole/Kouri-vini, visit chinbo.org.

Summertime is fieldwork time for us at the Center for Louisiana Studies. We recently visited the Tunica-Biloxi Language and Culture Youth Camp which took place at the Tribe’s Cultural & Educational Resource Center in Avoyelles Parish. We were amazed to learn about the Tunica-Biloxi language education program and their partnership with Tulane University.
Tune into Find Your Center on KRVS 88.7 at 3:00 p.m. today to hear our interview with Ryan Lopez, Co-Chair of Culture & Heritage Committee for the United South and Eastern Tribes.

Name our kitten!
This past week, CLS staff found a sweet stray kitten outside the Roy House. She of course soon received a bath and lots of love.

Please suggest a good Louisiana name for our new friend in the comments!

Tonight! Don't miss this talk about historical fiction writing and the Haitian Revolution.

New from UL Press!

Link in comments. New release! The Builders: Six Master Carpenters Who Shaped Louisiana’s Antebellum Lafourche Country. Between 1828 and 1850, antebellum Louisiana experienced a period of immense economic and population growth. During this era of unprecedented change, six master carpenters, all native to other parts of the United States, migrated to the Lafourche region of southeast Louisiana. In The Builders, author David Plater dives deep into the archives to provide detailed narratives of the lives and careers of these craftsmen as they worked in and around the bayou towns of the Mississippi River Delta. The stories of each man—told through court records, police jury minutes, succession records, and beyond—demonstrate how a relatively unpopulated region came to be a thriving center for trade. What is more, Plater shows how each man’s background and expertise contributed to the architecture that came to define antebellum Louisiana.

We send our condolences out to family and friends of Dr. David Barry. Among many other things, he was an important supporter of the work of the Center during his incredible tenure as Dean of College of Liberal Arts at UL Lafayette.

https://www.lafuneralservices.com/obituary/allen-barry?fbclid=IwY2xjawSQJf5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE1dlFqc3liUVJybDNKQmVWc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHlMgeveh4d1IOrdg6-C8JzhRj2Ss_IdJisYpceUYDSSYJLFrEfRnJH70AqtC_aem_QPajuyxGkqaFOoRjVGBurQ

Obituary for Allen David Barry at Louisiana Funeral Services & Crematory Allen David Barry was born March 9, 1944, in Fullerton, CA, the son of Ray Lorentzen Barry and Esther Elizabeth Mathews. He had two sisters, Dorothy and Diana, and one brother, Robert. David was raised in Southern California and attended UCLA, where he began his freshman year aspiring to be

Come see us at Vermilionville for Creole Culture Day this Sunday, June 7th. Check out UL Press books on Louisiana Creole people and history, and learn about Creole collections in the archives at the Center for Louisiana Studies.