Culture
F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 1 42 THIS 44
THE
AFRICAN ARTISTIC
AMERICAN
HISTORY MONTH, HEAD
TO
P A SS I O N S
DONALDSONVILLE
A D V E N T U R E S O F K I M B E R LY M E A D O W L A R K // 4 7
THE
// 4 3 G R A N N Y G O T A
ART OF GOING VIRTUAL
Photo by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
Beyond Tribulation
THE RIVER ROAD AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM SHINES LIGHT ON BLACK PERSPECTIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE REGION By Ariel Baise
A
quaint blue building situated in the heart of Donaldsonville holds more history than one can imagine. Settled in the middle of what many call Louisiana’s “plantation country,” the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM) sets out to tell the stories and histories of the region’s Black communities—as Todd Sterling, the River Roads African American Museum’s Board President puts it: “The ascension, the success part, the family part, the cultural part, and the contributions to America and the contributions to Louisiana.” Kathe Hambrick opened the River Road African American Museum at Tezcuco Plantation in 1994 as an 42
institution to educate the community and interpret the lives of African Americans in rural South Louisiana. After a fire that destroyed Tezcuco, the museum moved to Donaldsonville in 2003, where it continues to advance this mission today, focusing on the narratives of the people and descendants who built and worked at the picturesque, grand plantation homes often seen on local tourism brochures. The museum highlights how Donaldsonville is home to many Black firsts and prominent figures in Louisiana and even America. In its Louisiana Reconstruction exhibit, the role of African Americans in local affairs during the Reconstruction period is highlighted in the story of
F E B 2 1 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
Donaldsonville’s Pierre Landry, the first Black mayor in the United States. Also from Donaldsonville was the jazz musician, Plas Johnson, who played the saxophone for “The Pink Panther Theme,” and is featured in the museum’s Rural Roots of Jazz exhibit. Through exhibits like African Influences on LA Cuisine, Rural Black Doctors, Rural Folk Artists, and Louisiana Black Inventors, the museum grants recognition to the contributions of African Americans to American society, many of which went unacknowledged or uncompensated. An example that will soon be on display is the Julien Cane Planter, an early twentieth century invention of Leonard Julien Sr. that revolutionized and industrialized the sugar industry.
CADDIE
//
W
More than just telling such stories of iconic African American figures, the RRAAM works to give light to history from a Black perspective beyond slavery and tribulation. “The main thing is to take control of our history,” said Interim Director of RRAAM and brother of the founder Darryl Hambrick. “Take control of the direction and how it plays out into our lives.” In addition to the museum’s main building, a circa 1890s restored Caribbean-style cottage called the Brazier-Watkins House, the campus includes several historic buildings significant to the history of the region. “We stand as a way to go to your community and look at historical buildings around you,” said Darryl Hambrick. “Look back at the past… to see how your community was built based on things they had to deal with.” One ongoing project of the RRAAM is the renovation of a Louisiana Rosenwald School, one of only four remaining buildings of the original four hundred constructed between 1912 and 1932 as part of the Rosenwald Schools Program, which raised schools for African American students in rural areas. The museum’s was moved in 2001 from the Romeville community in Convent, Louisiana. “It’s looking to be completed within the next three to four months,” said Darryl Hambrick in early January. “It’s a building that we have been working on for fifteen to twenty years.” Located down the street from the museum in Louisiana Square is the restored shotgun-style office of Dr. John H. Lowery, whose story is also featured in the Rural Black Doctors exhibit. Dr. Lowery, from Plaquemine, was a notable doctor who received his medical degree from New Orleans University in 1894. He served both Black and white patients in the early 1900s. Around the corner is the True Friends Benevolent Hall, a cypress wood venue built by a Black organization. The Brazier-Watkins House was where The Benevolent Society provided medical and burial insurance for local members. It served as a communal gathering place—where events such as concerts and balls and
