The .gov means it’s official.
Louisiana government websites often end in .gov. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a Louisiana government site.
The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Stories about a Black-owned dairy that operated in Shreveport between 1907 and 1943 will be highlighted during the Louisiana Center for the Book's annual Black History Month presentation.
Featuring author and historian Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins, the recorded presentation will debut on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday, February 27, 2025. Her book, Seasons at Lakeside Dairy: Family Stories from a Black-Owned Dairy, Louisiana to California, and Beyond, was published in 2024 by University Press of Mississippi.
“A Black dairy farmer in the post-Reconstruction South was rare, and my mother and her siblings loved to share their memories of this time and place with anyone who showed an interest in listening,” said LeFalle-Collins, who grew up in Los Angeles after her family moved away from the South. “Aside from memoir and storytelling, my book is also a migration tale, as I explore the core sense of longing for environments and communities that bound people together.”
“Family histories like these, which have often gone untold or been forgotten over the years, are an important part of our state's history. Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins has done important work preserving them through her book,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana regularly puts together a fascinating Black History Month program, and this one should be no different.”
During the presentation, LeFalle-Collins will discuss how her book came together after nearly 20 years, and she will read two stories she wrote based on stories she heard in her youth.
“After reading the histories of Black people during the legacy of Reconstruction in the South, the remaining questions of how my grandfather, Angus Bates, could sustain a thriving dairy business in such a racially oppressive post-reconstruction and hostile environment in northwest Louisiana went unanswered,” she said. “I kept asking, ‘How did he do it?’ I can only suggest partial answers, perhaps because my family did not reveal the lineage of some secrets. Some topics were too taboo. Their memories centered on daily life at the dairy.”
“Lizzetta's determination to excavate her family's history and get it told through her book is an inspiration to all who have considered delving into their own personal histories and saving them for posterity, not only for their own families, but for broadening and understanding our shared history,” said Jim Davis, executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book.
Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins is an independent art curator and founding staff curator of visual arts at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Her work has been published in journals including Print Quarterly, Black Renaissance Noire, Journal of American Studies, and Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art.
The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana's rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. For more information, please visit LouisianaBookFestival.org and follow us on Facebook.