The Louisiana Ladies Night Thread (3/5/22)

I put together some slides of aspirational Louisiana women for Women’s History Month for work, so here you go!

Leah Chase, known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” was born in New Orleans and grew up in Madisonville. Chase was the proprietor of New Orleans’ Dooky Chase eatery, which became a gathering spot for the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans. In 2018, Food & Wine named Dooky Chase one of the 40 most important restaurants of the past 40 years. Leah Chase was also an author and television personality, as well as a stalwart supporter of art and music in New Orleans.
Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph, was born in Baton Rouge and spent many years working as a teacher and advocate for the poor in New Orleans. In 1982, she began corresponding with death row inmates at Angola. Her 1993 book Dead Man Walking (later a film) details her experience with these inmates and her belief that the death penalty should be abolished. Prejean is still based in New Orleans and remains an activist against the death penalty in the United States and around the world. She is a recipient of the Pacem in Terris Award, meaning “Peace on Earth.”
Born into a Louisiana Creole family near Cloutierville, Clementine Hunter was a self-taught Black folk artist, a memory painter who documented Black Southern life in the Cane River Valley. Her work began gaining recognition in 1939, and she was the first African-American artist to have a solo exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art. October 1st is Clementine Hunter Day in Louisiana.
Born near St. Francisville, Sarah Towles Reed earned her bachelor’s degree in 1904, her master’s degree in 106, and her law degree in 1925. She was a teacher and labor activist, forming the first teachers’ union in New Orleans and fighting for equitable pay for women teachers and teachers of color.
Born Sarah Breedlove near Delta, Louisiana, Madam C. J. Walker was the first female self-made millionaire in America. Breedlove was the first of her family to be born free, following the Emancipation Proclamation. Orphaned at seven years old, Breedlove worked as a domestic servant and married her first husband at the age of 14. Upon marrying her third husband, Breedlove became known as Madam C.J. Walker. Walker made her fortune developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women. The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company employed primarily women (as many as 20,000), and Walker also mentored other women entrepreneurs, particularly women of color. She devoted herself to activism and philanthropy in addition to her business, and she was the wealthiest African-American woman in the country at the time of her death. In 1912, she said, “”I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there, I was promoted to the washtub. From there, I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there, I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
Bernette Joshua Jackson, from Donaldsonville, is the first African American to serve on the Louisiana Supreme Court and the first woman to be elected to the Civil District Court. She served as Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 2013 to 202o, and she is a member of the National Bar Association Hall of Fame. Her legal career has been dedicated to civil rights and serving the poor, and she also advocates for legal services for those with limited English proficiency.
Anne Rice was born in New Orleans and returned to New Orleans for much of her career as an author of gothic fiction. Most famous for Interview with the Vampire (1976) and the other novels in The Vampire Chronicles, Rice wrote 37 novels (including those written under pseudonyms A. N. Roquelaure and Anne Rampling). Rice’s books have sold over 100 million copies, making her one of the most successful modern American authors.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer who is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, selling an estimated 22 million records. She was the first gospel recording artist to tour Europe, and she sang the national anthem at President Kennedy’s Inaugural Ball. Jackson’s faith fueled her music and her activism; she requested that her audiences be integrated, as they were all brothers and sisters, and she was a significant player in the Civil Rights Movement, acquainted with both Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ralph Abernathy. When she died, Harry Belafonte called her “the most powerful black woman in the United States.”
Reese Witherspoon, born in New Orleans, is an American actress and producer. Witherspoon starred in her first movie (The Man in the Moon) at the age of 15. Since then, she has appeared in over 40 movies and starred in multiple TV shows, including The Morning Show, on which she is also an executive producer. Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress for 2006’s Walk the Line, and she was nominated for the award again in 2015 for Wild. Witherspoon is also active in children’s and women’s rights advocacy, working with the Children’s Defense Fund in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in addition to numerous other charitable endeavors.
Born in Ponchatoula, Irma Thomas is known as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” With 21 individual albums between 1964 and 2014, the Grammy-winning Thomas still performs in New Orleans and the surrounding area, including at Jazz Fest every year, while also performing across the country and internationally. She won a Blues Music Award in 2013 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance at the American Music Honors & Awards in 2018.
Marie “Lindy” Boggs was born in Pointe Coupee Parish and was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. After the death of her husband, Congressman Hale Boggs, Lindy Boggs won his vacated seat and was re-elected seven times, representing Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district until she retired in 1991. She was instrumental in creating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 (insisting that discrimination based on sex or marital status also be added to the list). She was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in 1994 and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (the Vatican) from 1997 to 2001. Her daughter Cokie Roberts was another famous Louisiana woman, a reporter for NPR, PBS, ABC, and more.
Jewish suffragette and philanthropist Ida Weis Friend spent the bulk of her life in New Orleans, advocating for progressive causes and becoming the first woman from Louisiana to serve as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. From raising money for hospitals, to supporting Jewish refugees during WWII, to advocating for ethical businesses, Friend spent her life helping others. She said, “I have always thought citizenship was a privilege that carried with it responsibilities, primarily . . . That ‘we are our brothers’ keepers.’ And therefore we should promote in every way possible the progress and prestige of the community in which we live.”
Born in Lake Charles and raised in Lafayette, Lauren Daigle is a contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. Her first album How Can It Be, released in 2015, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. Her third album, Look Up Child, released in 2018, became the highest-charting Christian album by a woman in over 20 years. Though still early in her career, Daigle has won two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades.
Kate Chopin, author of The Awakening (1899) and other works, moved to New Orleans after her marriage and spent the rest of her life in Louisiana. Her works are usually set in Louisiana (particularly New Orleans, Grand Isle, and Natchitoches), and her characters reflect Louisiana’s diversity. Considered one of our greatest Southern writers and feminist writers, Chopin’s wrote frankly about marriage, female sexuality, and the strengths and struggles of women.
Seimone Augustus, born in Baton Rouge, played basketball for Capitol High School and LSU before being drafted as the #1 pick in the WNBA in 2006. Augustus’s Lady Tigers made three straight Final Four appearances, and Augustus was the first female athlete in LSU history to have her number (33) retired. Augustus is an eight-time WNBA All-Star and led the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA championships. Augustus retired from play in 2021 and joined the LA Sparks coaching staff. She is also a member of the U.S. women’s basketball team, earning three gold medals.