UL Lafayette Guilbeau Center

09/30/2026

Hey everyone! We’ll be doing an open house on MONDAY October 5th (the Monday BEOFRE fall break) in the Guilbeau Center on the 5th floor of Griffin! You may have seen our poster around campus, especially in Griffin, but this is your opportunity to come hang out and meet the team in person and find out what the Guilbeau Center can offer you as a student, or even a professor! We will have refreshments and will be hosting during our open hours that day!

06/25/2026

Everybody welcome Professor Pat to the Guilbeau Center! Here at UL Lafayette's Guilbeau Center for Public History, we support community-centered projects across campus, Lafayette, and beyond.
We provide resources, expertise, and partnership opportunities for anyone interested in community engagement, finding their voice, or documenting and sharing their story.
Our own research focuses on breaking silences around historical topics, themes, and communities.
Professor Pat, a revered expert in the field of public history and specialist on the renewal efforts of Pelican French will be collaborating with us shed light on the often-overlooked histories of Louisiana!

100% Human-Made!

06/23/2026

In celebration of Juneteenth, Guilbeau Center staff members Sarah Rodriguez and Codi Falterman joined other UL Lafayette students and alumni in New Iberia to attend the Faith and Freedom Symposium, which explored how African Americans have utilized religious beliefs, spiritual practices, and sacred spaces as tools of community organization, fueling freedom movements from Abolition to Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter.

Hosted by the The Shadows on the Teche and the Iberia African American Historical Society, we got to hear about Desegregation at Loyola University New Orleans, Rural Churches as Tradition Keepers, and a keynote speech given by author of Voodoo & Power: The Politics of Religion in New Orleans, Dr. Kodi Roberts of LSU.

Shadows on the Teche
Iberia African American Historical Society

06/18/2026

On January 19th, 1838, under governmental pressure, the Commercial Banking Company and the Gas Light & Banking Company sought to expel the washerwomen, a community of working women of color, from their place of work, Canal Street. But when the companies arrived, the Picayune reported they were confronted by two cannons! Two weeks later, an agreement between the two parties was reached and the washerwomen remained on Canal Street until at least 1860, when the new streetcar line was constructed.
The Canal Street Washerwomen represent but one link in an unbroken chain of Louisianians fighting for their right to dignity and economic advancement. A fight that continues to this very day.
-New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice: Led by a united front of exploited Black and Immigrant workers, organizing and building the power to reclaim dignified work, racial justice, liberation that transcends borders. Today their Warrant Clinic clears warrants, traffic tickets, and fines that trap New Orleanians in a cycle of debt and criminalization.
-Urban League of Louisiana: For 85 years, the Urban League of Louisiana has worked to build a Louisiana where Black and other people of the global majority have economic self-reliance, generational wealth, civil rights, and equitable representation. Today they provide health screenings, support families, and train the next generation of leaders and business owners.
-Step Up Louisiana: Step Up Louisiana is a grassroots organization that builds power to win education and economic justice for all. They work to disrupt systemic oppression in schools and workplaces through voter education, advocacy, and action. Recently they helped pass a New Orleans Worker Bill of Rights, supported the construction for sustainable schools, and helped create equitable school transportation.

Sources:
PRAKKEN, B**R P., and LAUREN SMITH. “Black Resistance, Struggle, and Agency on Canal Street’s Neutral Ground: A Washerwomen’s Case Study, 1837-1841.” Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, vol. 66, no. 4, 2025

03/31/2026

Interested in learning how public history sites interpret the stories you have been learning about this Women’s History month?

The Guilbeau Center has 2 books in our collection to help you do just that! Check out “Interpreting the Legacy of Women’s Suffrage at Museums and Historic Sites” by Paige Harrington, or “Doing Women’s History in Public: A Handbook for Interpretation at Museums and Historic Sites” by Heather Huyck. Take a look at what other books are available for free check out at https://guilbeaucenter.com.

The Guilbeau Center is located in Griffin 518 and is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 to 1:30.

03/09/2026

The Guilbeau Center was busy recording the sessions for the Louisiana Historical Association conference last week here in Lafayette! This event brought together brilliant minds and conversations from around the world to discuss the variety of perspectives and facets in Louisiana history today.

The staff of the Center is taking a well-deserved break, so the Center is closed Monday and Tuesday, March 9 and 10. We will resume regular hours on Wednesday, March 11. Appointments outside of open hours can be arranged by emailing Guilbeau [email protected]

03/02/2026

Black History Month might be over, but you can explore the variety of titles in the Map to Black Studies collection at the in . The Guilbeau Center has been happy to partner with the Gaines Center and Dr. Theodore Foster on growing this important collection that aims to strengthen the foundation of Black Studies at UL Lafayette and make these seminal works accessible to students and other researchers.

This image shows a small selection of books in the Map to Black Studies collection that were highlighted by the administrative staff of the History, Geography, & Philosophy department on Griffin 5th floor.

02/27/2026

Say hello to another one of our newest staff members, Brittany! She is currently working at the Guilbeau Center as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. We are looking forward to a fun and productive semester working together! Take a second to read a little more about her below.

"My name is Brittany Hohensee and I am currently working toward an English Degree with a concentration in Literature and a minor in Secondary Education. I am excited to learn more about the Guilbeau Center and how it aids both the university and the public. I spend most of my free time traveling, taking photos and being creative in any way I can."

11/15/2025

Come see us downtown Lafayette at PRIDE Block Party!!! Here till 5p.

11/12/2025