BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Black History Month in February celebrates Black Americans’ contributions, nationally and locally, in culture, politics, education and more.
Louisiana First News’ “Honoring Black History” special shows stories about people and places in the Baton Rouge area and state.
Here are stories from the special highlighting Black business, culture and history.
Donaldsonville museum celebrates three decades of preserving history
The River Road African American Museum in Donaldsonville has taught visitors about local Black history for 30 years. Longtime board member Gerard Preyan said the museum teaches visitors parts of Black history they might not have learned in school or books.
“It opened the doors and a lot of eyes to people, things have happened in the past that they weren’t aware of,” Preyan said.
The museum also hosts events throughout the year to educate new generations.
Understanding Black hair and the significance of salons, barbershops
Baton Rouge beauty salons and barbershops offer a space for people of all ages in the Black community to get together. Employees of local businesses talk about how hair can build confidence for Black people.
“I think we’re getting better with accepting people for whatever style they would like to wear,” EnVogue Hair Studio cosmetologist Kimberly Williams said.
History made: the City of Gonzales elects its first Black mayor
Gonzales Mayor Tim Riley said he’s honored to be the city’s first Black mayor and hopes his leadership leads to more inclusion throughout Louisiana.
“I know I won’t be the only Black person to achieve this office. You’re going to have others come right behind me and I’ll make sure of that,” Riley said.
His door is open to community members who want to get to know him and share their concerns and ideas for Gonzales.
Black Americans who served are honored at World War II Museum
A traveling exhibit now at the New Orleans World War II Museum focuses on Black servicemembers and the hardship of racial segregation.
“Many people don’t realize because the history has been ignored or just swept under the rug, that over 1.2 million African-Americans served in uniform during World War Two and a million or more served on the home front during that same war,” Curator restoration manager Cory Graff said.
The exhibit will be at the museum until it hits the road again in July.
Southern University School of Nursing named best in the US
Southern’s nursing school was recently recognized as the best in the country by Nurse.org. The school has spent the last 40 years teaching students how to be top-notch nurses.
“We’re the largest producer of African-American nurses in the state and we’re top three in the nation. We’re the largest producer of male nursing students, particularly African-American male nursing students in the United States,” Dr. Sandra Brown, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health said.