Louisiana Women in Politics: Oral History Project
Preserving the Past & Inspiring the Future
The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, in partnership with universities across the state of Louisiana, is spearheading an effort to document and preserve the legacies of women pioneers in Louisiana’s political sphere.
Recording women’s first-hand perspectives not only provides a historical record from important public figures on some of Louisiana’s most notable chapters, but also their career reflections and how they navigated governing and legislating in sometimes unwelcoming territory. Their inspirational stories will serve as a resource for both scholars and future generations of women considering careers in politics.
Oral history interviews elicit the human interpretation of the past, complimenting and often complicating historical narratives, while providing a fuller understanding of traditional archival materials such as public records, photographs, diaries, and letters. Moreover, oral history provides an opportunity to document untold or forgotten stories and to credit groups and people that may otherwise go unrecorded. Recording the perspectives of Louisiana Women in Politics will contribute to understanding women’s history in the state and Southern history more broadly.
A link to the archive is coming soon.
Research Partners
This project would not be possible without the tireless work of the students who conduct the interviews and help to expand the LA Women in Politics Oral History Project archive.
Founded in 1991, the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, part of the LSU Libraries Special Collections, is the most comprehensive oral history repository in the state of Louisiana, and one of the largest in the South. The mission is to document, preserve, and make available Louisiana’s diverse culture and history and to engage in outreach, assisting community members in learning about oral history research and in creating unique projects to document underrepresented communities. Topics include university history, Civil Rights, Louisiana politics, military history, architecture, law, grassroots movements, and education. A significant number of the collections are the result of collaborations with community groups, individual scholars and researchers, like-minded organizations, and class projects.
Moumita Roy
Spring 2023 - 2024
Ashlyn Barclay
Fall 2022
Dylan Borel
Summer 2022
Adamaris Chavez
Summer 2022
Lilliana Barahona
Spring 2022
Mariana Fontaiña
Spring 2021 - Fall 2022
Nora Scott
Fall 2022
Jaycee Gill
Fall 2020 - Fall 2021
The Waggonner Center seeks to foster and promote active and responsible civic engagement through an interdisciplinary combination of academic research, innovative curricular initiatives, and community outreach. With its unique institutional design, the Waggonner Center brings together faculty from across Louisiana Tech University who take as their point of departure the intersection of American principles, institutions, and public policy, broadly understood. By working across traditional academic disciplines, the Waggonner Center aims to create an unprecedented academic experience that engages faculty, students, and community stakeholders alike.
Madeleine Adams
Fall 2021 - Spring 2022
Jessica Vergo
Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
Newcomb Institute is a research and experiential learning center at Tulane University with a focus on educating students to achieve gender equity and discover solutions to intractable gender problems of our time. Newcomb provides opportunities for students to experience synergies between curricula, research, and community engagement through close collaboration with faculty, internships, and various grant programs.
Susan Worley
Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Ava Buras
Summer 2023 - Fall 2023
The Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is an independent, interdisciplinary research center and archive engaged in research across a range of topics in public policy. The Blanco Center advances evidence-based public policy to make Louisiana a better place to live and work with core areas of focus in education, poverty and economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, health and healthcare, the coast and environment, and governmental ethics. Learn more at blancocenter.louisiana.edu
There are also partners of this project the Guilbeau Center for Public History and Center for Louisiana Studies from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Laura Hughes
Fall 2021 - Summer 2022
Kathryn M Stanford
Summer 2024 - Present
Established in 1939, McNeese State University is nationally ranked as one of the top
public universities in the United States, is recognized as one of the finest regional
universities in the South and is known as having one of the best returns on investment
for tuition and high average starting salaries for its graduates. Located in Lake
Charles, LA, the university is integrated into the fabric of Southwest Louisiana,
contributing to economic prosperity and quality of life by providing well-prepared
employees. Students at McNeese enjoy an instructor to student ratio of 1:21, and benefit
from $63 million in financial assistance, over 100 market driven academic programs,
and a student-centric culture. Graduates successfully pass licensure exams, and are
accepted into graduate programs including law, medical, physical therapy, and occupational
therapy. Follow McNeese on Facebook @McNeeseStateU, on Twitter @McNeese, Instagram
@McNeese, LinkedIn McNeese State University and YouTube @McNeeseStateU.
Katelynn Adrian
Summer 2023 - Fall 2023
The Department of History at Xavier University of Louisiana develops scholars who are able to analyze complex issues, events, and ideas by mastering analytical thinking, writing, and communication skills. Dedicated to the humanistic study of the past to understand the present better and navigate the future successfully, graduating history majors are well prepared to pursue careers in law, medicine, journalism, business, international relations, government, public history, politics, publishing, research and teaching. An undergraduate degree in history is also excellent preparation for masters or Ph.D. programs in history, area studies, gender studies, or any humanities or social science discipline.
Naomi Winston
Fall 2020 - Spring 2021