B. ZIEGLER FOUNDATION OF JENNINGS. CULTURAL CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY THE FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. WE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY MY GREAT GRANDFATHER LEFT NEW ORLEANS. UNCOVERING SECRETS OF LOUISIANA'S DOMESTIC SLAVE TRADE. THE BASICS ARE SIMPLE: YOU NEED A FAST HORSE. HOW HORSE BREEDING IS BOOMING IN LOUISIANA. WE HAD TO MAKE THE U.S. MORE PERFECT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. A CIVIL RIGHTS HERO AND HOW A BATON ROUGE CHURCH LED CHANGE. HI, EVERYONE, I'M ANDRE' MOREAU. WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF "SWI" AT THE MIDWAY POINT OF 2018. . FOR THIS BROADCAST, WE'VE SELECTED FOUR STORIES WE FEEL ARE UNIQUELY LOUISIANA. THE STORIES WE'VE CHOSEN COME WITH A MYRIAD OF EMOTIONS. SOME FORCE US TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT OURSELVES WHILE OTHERS REVEAL UNEXPLORED ASPECTS OF OUR CULTURE. WE HOPE YOU'LL ENJOY THEM AS MUCH AS WE DID. FROM HIGH SCHOOL AMERICAN HISTORY, WE KNOW JAMES MADISON WAS THE FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. . SOMETHING PERHAPS LESSER KNOWN, IS THAT MADISON OWNED ABOUT 100 SLAVES ON HIS PLANTATION 'MONTPELIER' IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. WHEN HE FELL ON HARD TIMES, HE SOLD 16 OF THOSE SLAVES TO A WEALTHY COUSIN, A PLANTATION OWNER IN LOUISIANA. NOW, RESEARCH IS UNCOVERING GENERATIONS OF THEIR DESCENDANTS. THIS ANTEBELLUM HOME AND THE LAND SURROUNDING IT HOLDS SECRETS. . IT'S LOCATED ON BAYOU LATENACHE NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF BACHELOR IN PT. COUPEE PARISH. IN 1834, JAMES MADISON SOLD 16 OF HIS SLAVES TO HIS DISTANT COUSIN, WILLIAM TAYLOR. GENEALOGIST AND HISTORIAN ZANN NELSON IS WORKING TO UNCOVER SOME OF THOSE SECRETS. WILLIAM TAYLOR AT THAT TIME HAD TWO PLANTATIONS IN LOUISIANA. THE WILLIAM TAYLOR HOME, KNOWN THEN AS 'THE BRIERS,' IS ONE OF THOSE TWO PLANTATIONS. BUT, INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE 16 ENSLAVED, SOLD HERE FROM VIRGINIA IS ALMOST NONEXISTENT. NELSON CALLS THEM 'THE LOUISIANA 16.' WE KNEW THE NAME OF ONE OF THE ENSLAVED, A FIRST NAME, HER NAME WAS BETTY, SHE WAS MENTIONED IN A LETTER FROM WILLIAM TAYLOR TO MADISON. BUT ONE NAME, YES, AND JUST A FIRST NAME. YES, BUT NO AGES, NO GENDERS, NO OTHER DATA. WE'RE STANDING HERE GOING, OHHH, TELL US ABOUT IT. BUT I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE STORY IS THAT YOU ALL THROUGH SOME OF THE WORK I'VE DONE, IN CONNECTING WITH SOME OF THE WORK YOU'VE DONE, WE'RE ALL COMING TOGETHER AND LEARNING MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER. LES ANN AND DREW GREZAFFI NOW OWN THE TAYLOR PLANTATION. NELSON BELIEVES IT'S WHERE ANCESTORS OF REV. FAGAN DAVIS, JR. WERE ONCE ENSLAVED. DAVIS PASTORS THIS SMALL CHURCH DOWN THE ROAD. WE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY MY GREAT GRANDFATHER LEFT NEW ORLEANS WHERE HE WAS TRAINED IN THE MINISTRY, IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO COME BACK HERE. WE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY. REV. DAVIS' GREAT GRANDFATHER ED-WARD DAVIS, FOUNDED THE CHURCH IN 1890. THIS IS BILL OF SALE FOR THIS PROPERTY AND LITTLE ZION. ED-WARD DAVIS IS BURIED ALONGSIDE HIS WIFE IN A SMALL CEMETERY NEXT TO THE CHURCH. REV. DAVIS HAD ALWAYS KNOWN THIS. BUT HE NEVER KNEW WHAT CAME BEFORE HIM. UNTIL LAST YEAR. IT JUST SO HAPPENS, CLUES TO THAT CONNECTION CAME, WHEN HIS COUSIN HEARD A PODCAST THAT FEATURED NELSON AND HER RESEARCH. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THESE ANCESTORS THAT I DID FIND HERE, PARTICULARLY A WOMAN BY THE NAME OF JENNY COOK AND HER TWIN DAUGHTERS LUCY AND LUCINDA COOK, WHO WE HAVE RECORD OF THEIR BIRTH AND BAPTISM, WE GOT A CALL IN DURING THAT SHOW A LIVE SHOW AND HE SAYS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT MY ANCESTORS. NELSON SAYS JENNY COOK WAS NOT ONE OF THE 16, BUT WAS A HOUSE MAID TO WILLIAM TAYLOR'S WIFE. SHE BELIEVES COOK AND HER DAUGHTER LUCINDA, WERE THE GRANDMOTHER AND MOTHER OF ED-WARD DAVIS. HOW IS IT TO LEARN ABOUT THE PAST OF YOUR FAMILY THAT BRINGS YOU TO THE PRESENT AND MAYBE TIES UP LOOSE ENDS THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BEFORE. EVERY FAMILY HAS THEIR OWN HISTORY AND WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT ZANN IS DOING WITH WHAT WE KNEW THIS HISTORY BRINGS TO LIGHT HOW OUR PEOPLE AND MY FAMILY PARTICULARLY PERSEVERED. THE MAN WAS ASTONISHING IN THIS COMMUNITY AND THAT SHOWS NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE DEALT WITH IF YOU ARE SINCERE AND PERSEVERE YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ALOT AND HIS DESCENDANTS ARE BLESSED BECAUSE OF THAT. NELSON'S BLOG, HISTORY INVESTIGATOR.NET IS WHERE SHE CHRONICLES HER JOURNEY. SHE EXPLAINS HOW NETWORKING, SPEAKING AT CHURCHES AND DIGGING THROUGH RECORDS CAN HELP REVEAL SOME ANSWERS. SHE READ A DIARY KEPT BY WILLIAM TAYLOR AND SAYS IT HAD A WEALTH OF INFORMATION. THEN YOU HAVE TO GET OUT AND WALK, WALK AND FIND CEMETERIES, YOU WALK AND UNDERSTAND COMMUNITIES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS PHYSICALLY TO THE PLANTATIONS, SO IT'S ALL PART OF THE PUZZLE. THERE'S A CONNECTION WITH THE TAYLOR PLANTATION AND THIS CHURCH, I FEEL CERTAIN WHEN WE START LOOKING AT TITLE SEARCHES AND LOOKING AT WHEN THEY BOUGHT THIS LAND THAT IT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY PART OF THE TAYLOR PLANTATION. WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT BRINGING THE PAST TO THE PRESENT AND WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THESE FAMILIES. MOVING FROM VIRGINIA TO LOUISIANA WAS LIKE GOING TO THE MOON, THERE'S NO THOUGHT OF EVER GETTING BACK, NOT IN 1834. THEY WERE LEAVING BEHIND FAMILY PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, YOUNGER TORN FROM FAMILY. YES. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY ETHNIC GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR MAYBE THE WORLD THAT CAN GO FROM BEING THE MOST BRUTAL FORM OF SLAVERY, ENDURE IT, PERSEVERE AND GENERATIONS AFTER THEM ABLE TO SURVIVE AND PROSPER IN THE SAME NATION. NOW WE CAN REACH OUT AND MAYBE GO FROM THERE TO REACH OUT BEYOND TO FIND OUT WHERE OUR FAMILY AND RELATIVES AND HERITAGE LEAD US TO. ZANN NELSON CONTINUES HER WORK CONNECTING FAMILIES TO THE LOUSIANA 16. YOU CAN FOLLOW HER BLOG AT HISTORY.INVESTIGATOR.NET. IT'S BEEN CALLED THE 'MOTHER CHURCH.' AND LIKE A MOTHER LEADS HER CHILDREN, MT. ZION FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN BATON ROUGE HAS BEEN CALLED UPON TO LEAD THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY. WE WERE THERE AS THE CHURCH CELEBRATED ITS 160TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. 160 YEARS WITH ONE ORGANIZATION LET ALONE BEING A CHURCH IS PHENOMENAL. SANDRA TEMPLE HALL HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF MT. ZION SINCE 1987. SHE CALLS IT 'HOME.' IF HOME IS A REFUGE, THEN MT. ZION HAS SURELY BEEN THAT. THE IDEA OF THE CHURCH WAS BORN IN 1858 FROM TWO MINISTERS, ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE. EIGHT OTHERS JOINED THAT FIRST FLOCK. RECORDS SHOW 11 YEARS LATER THIS PURCHASE OF LAND FOR $275. THE CONTRACT DESCRIBES WHERE THE CHURCH WAS TO BE BUILT... IT BEING A CORNER LOT AND MEASURES 64 FEET FRONT ON EAST BOULEVARD STREET AND 128 ALONG SPAIN STREET. STATE OF LOUISIANA, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE. I CAN JUST IMAGINE THE GROUP OF PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER THE DAYS WHEN THE CHURCH STARTED IT WAS SOME LITTLE WOODEN DEAL, BUILDING AND SLAVES AND FORMER SLAVES GETTING TOGETHER TO BE TOGETHER THAT ONE DAY OF THE WEEK AND SHARE THE WORD OF THE LORD AND STUDYING AND SINGING WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL. AND PRAISE GOD. WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL. THERE ALSO HAD TO BE A WONDERFUL SENSE OF UNITY THAT WAS HAPPENING. THAT KEPT THOSE EARLY CHURCH MEMBERS COMING BACK AND THAT BROUGHT IN MORE AND MORE NEW MEMBERS. THE VISION OF THOSE EARLY CHURCH LEADERS IS A VISION THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. THIS 1885 OFFICIAL MAP OF BATON ROUGE SHOWS 'COLORED CHURCHES OF THE AREA.' ON THE CORNER OF EAST AND SPAIN IS MT. ZION. BY 1896, MT. ZION HAD A NEW CHURCH BUILDING. IT'S HARD TO EVEN FATHOM THAT THIS CHURCH ROSE TO THE LEVEL IT ROSE THROUGH WHAT IT ROSE THROUGH THE OPPOSITION IT ROSE THROUGH. DR. RENE BROWN HAS PASTORED MT. ZION FOR 10 YEARS AND HIS CALLING TO THE PULPIT IS ONE HE BATTLED. HE GREW UP IN NORTHEAST LOUISIANA DELTA COUNTRY AND FARMING WAS IN HIS BLOOD. BIT AS HE SAYS, GOD HAD OTHER PLANS FOR HIM. JUST AS IN 1949, WHEN THE CHURCH FOUND ITSELF UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A NEW, CHARISMATIC VISIONARY. REVEREND T.J. JEMISON. THE 1940'S HAD SEEN THE EXPANDING CHURCH BROADCAST SERVICES ON LOCAL RADIO AND WAS A LIGHT OF HOPE FOR NOT JUST THE CITY, BUT THE ENTIRE STATE. THE THEN NEW REVEREND JEMISON WAS ABOUT TO TAKE MT. ZION TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. BECAUSE HE MADE THE CHURCH A NATIONAL CHURCH HE MADE IT A NATIONAL CHURCH, A BEACON OF LIGHT. IT WAS THE PILLAR IN THE COMMUNITY. IT WAS THE EPITOME OF OTHER CHURCHES PEOPLE CAME HERE TO SEE WHAT HE HAD DONE THEN GO BACK AND DO IT IN OTHER PLACES. REV. JEMISON WAS ABOUT BREAKING DOWN UNFAIR AND CRUEL BARRIERS AND IN 1953, THE PREACHING CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER ORGANIZED THE 1953 BATON ROUGE BUS BOYCOTT. IT WAS THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE STAND BY AFRICAN AMERICANS AGAINST A SOUTHERN CITY'S SEGREGATED BUS SYSTEM. JOHNNIE JONES, NOW 98, WAS THE YOUNG LAWYER REVEREND JEMISON ASKED TO HANDLE THE LANDMARK EFFORT. EVEN THOUGH JONES WAS JUST 15 DAYS OUT OF SOUTHERN LAW SCHOOL, HE BELIEVED THEIR CASE WOULD PREVAIL BECAUSE HE TRUSTED IN THE LAW OF THE LAND. WE HAD TO MAKE THE UNITED STATES MORE PERFECT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. THAT'S WHAT I WAS DOING. IN THE COURSE OF TWO WEEKS, THE BATON ROUGE CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ORDINANCE THAT REFORMED THE BUS COMPANY SEGREGATIONIST SEATING POLICY. IT SERVED AS A BLUEPRINT FOR THE MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, BUS BOYCOTT AND ROSA PARKS TWO YEARS LATER. THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, JONES ENDURED IN DIGNITIES. ITCHES LOOKING AT THE PRESENT AND PREDICTING WHAT THE DAY MIGHT BE. I WAS ALWAYS INTERESTED, WHICH CHANGE COULD BE MADE AND WHAT CHANGE, WHAT ROLE I SHOULD PLAY. IN 1954, MT.ZION MOVED INTO PRESENT DAY BUILDING WHICH WAS FIRST OF ITS KIND. THE ARCHITECT, LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEGEND A ACE TOWN. HALL BELIEVES WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT MT.ZION ITS HEART NOTICE NEVER SKIPPED A BEAT. YOU DON'T SEE PEOPLE AND GROUPS OF PEOPLE BEING TOGETHER AND STAYING TOGETHER THAT LONG. THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT OR GO SOME PLACE ELSE. BUT FOR THEM TO CONTINUE TO SHARE THEIR LIVES WAS WONDERFUL. WHAT JONES TAKES HEART IN SHOWS WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE HAS SEEN IN HIS NEARLY 100 YEARS. I APPRECIATE MORE, I CAN WALK THE STREET TODAY WHICH THAT WOULD BE CALLED -- BEING CALLED A DEROGATORY NAME. ONLY TIME I WAS PACK TINGS LAW, MY NAME WASN'T JOHNNY, SOMEBODY WOULD SAY THERE GOES THE N. LAWYER. YOU CANNOT BE SO FOCUSED ON YOUR HISTORY THAT YOU FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO EXIST IN THE FUTURE AND IF YOU LEAVE THESE GENERATIONS TO THEMSELVES THAT ARE OUT HERE RIGHT NOW YOU WON'T HAVE A CHURCH NOR WILL YOU HAVE THESE GENERATIONS SO YOU TAKE THE BEST FROM THE PAST WITH A VIEW TOWARD THE FUTURE. LOUISIANA SPORTS FANS LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR TEAMS' SUCCESS STORIES, SO WE WERE SURPRISED TO LEARN EARLIER THIS YEAR ABOUT A SPORT THAT CAJUNS IN PARTICULAR EXCEL AT, BUT HAVEN'T GOTTEN A LOT OF ATTENTION FOR -- HORSE RACING. KELLY WORKED ON THIS STORY. THAT'S RIGHT, AND IT'S NOT JUST THE JOCKEYS THAT ARE WORLD RENOWN. THE HORSE BREEDING BUSINESS IS A BILLION DOLLAR A YEAR INDUSTRY THAT GENERATES MILLIONS IN TAXES AND EMPLOYS THOUSANDS OF WORKERS. THAT'S PART OF THE BEAUTY OF THIS BUSINESS AND THE INDUSTRY IS THAT THERE ARE SO, SO MANY VARIABLES, REALLY PRETTY COMPLEX. THE BASICS ARE SIMPLE: YOU NEED A FAST HORSE. VAL MURRELL CALLS HORSE RACING A THINKING MAN'S GAME. THERE ARE STATS TO ANALYZE, PEDIGREES TO EXAMINE, ODDS TO CONSIDER. MURRELL AND HIS FAMILY RUN THE STATE'S PREMIER THOROUGHBRED FARM, CLEAR CREEK STUD IN FOLSOM, LOUISIANA. YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE A RUNNER IS GOING TO COME FROM. THERE'S NUMBERS AND LUCK. WHEN EVERYTHING COMES TOGETHER IN SOME SITUATIONS WILL COME TOGETHER AND INDIVIDUAL IS SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT SPENDING A GAZILLION DOLLARS TO GET THERE, BUT THEY MADE IT. IF YOU'RE NEW TO HORSE RACING YOU MIGHT NEED A TRANSLATOR TO HELP YOU OUT. WARREN HARANG IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOUISIANA THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION. THERE ARE AT LEAST SIX DIFFERENT WORDS FOR WHAT A LAYPERSON MIGHT JUST REFER TO AS A HORSE. WHEN A BOY HORSE IS BORN, IT'S CALLED A COLT, UNTIL IT'S 5 YEARS OLD, THEN IT'S A HORSE. WHEN IT'S RETIRED TO BREEDING, THEN IT'S A STALLION. A FEMALE IS A FILLY UNTIL SHE'S 5 YEARS OLD. THAT'S CONSIDERED A MARE AFTER FIVE. AND ON THE RACETRACK SHE'S IDENTIFIED AS A FILLY UNTIL SHE'S FIVE. AND NORMALLY WHEN YOU BREED 'EM, A MARE, OR A FEMALE, SHE BECOMES A BROADMARE WHEN SHE'S IN FOAL. AND YOU MIGHT KNOW WHAT A HORSE SHOE IS, BUT HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A FARRIER? A FARRIER IS A PERSON WHO IS VERY TALENTED. HE TRIMS HORSES FEET AND HE SHOES HORSES. THAT IS A GREAT ART BECAUSE THERE ARE NO TWO HORSES THE SAME AND LAST TIME I CHECKED THERE ARE FOUR FEET ON EACH HORSE AND VERY SELDOM DO YOU HAVE TWO OF THE SAME ON ALL FOUR FEET. SO THEY HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT, EVALUATE IT AND TRIM AND SHOE ACCORDINGLY. IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LANGUAGE IN THE HORSE BUSINESS, JUST LIKE IT IS IN THE OIL AND GAS BUSINESS OR PROBABLY THE SUGAR CANE BUSINESS OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT YOU AND I ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH ON A DAILY BASIS. TOM EARLY IS RETIRED FROM A 38-YEAR CAREER WITH THE ASSOCIATION, WHICH REGULATES HORSES. ANOTHER WORD TO KNOW — PARIMUTUAL. A PARIMUTUEL TRACK IS WHERE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY BETTING AGAINST EACH OTHER. THE SIMPLEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT IS ALL OF THE MONEY BET ON THE LOSERS IS DIVIDED UP AMONG THE WINNERS, SO YOU'RE NOT BETTING AGAINST THE TRACK, YOU'RE BETTING AGAINST YOUR FELLOW BETTORS. THERE'RE FOUR PARI-MUTUEL TRACKS IN LOUISIANA. THE FAIR GROUNDS IN NEW ORLEANS. DELTA DOWNS IN VINTON. LOUISIANA DOWNS IN SHREVEPORT, AND EVANGELINE. AND A PARIMUTUEL TRACK MEANS THAT'S WHERE YOU BET, THAT'S WHERE YOU WAGER. ON RACING DAYS, THERE'S AT LEAST THREE “LOUISIANA BRED” RACES OFFERED. LIVE IN LOUISIANA AND CAN ONLY BE BRED WITH OUT-OF-STATE HORSES EVERY OTHER YEAR. AND ONE OF OUR OWN IS RACING WITH THE CREAM OF THE CROP THIS YEAR. GIVEMEAMINIT IS RUNNING IN THE LOUISIANA DERBY AND HE'S RUNNING IN GRADE I COMPANY IN OTHER STATES AND HE'S BEEN A VERY NICE HORSE. AND HOPEFULLY HE DOES WELL IN THE LOUISIANA DERBY. GIVEMEAMINIT IS “BY” — FATHERED BY — THE MOST FAMOUS LIVING LOUISIANA HORSE, STAR GUITAR. HE LIVES AT CLEAR CREEK STUD AND THE BAR AT THE FAIR GROUNDS IS NAMED AFTER HIM. ONE FINAL TERM SOUNDS BAD, BUT IS ACTUALLY PRETTY EXCITING. “BREAKING A MAIDEN.” WINNING YOUR FIRST RACE. AND YOU ARE A MAIDEN UNTIL YOU WIN THAT FIRST RACE NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE. JUST AS RACING SEASON IS GETTING GEARED UP WITH QUALIFYING EVENTS THAT EARN HORSES POINTS ON THE ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY, BREEDERS ARE IN THEIR BUSY SEASON AS WELL. WE HAVE ABOUT 65 FOALS ON THE GROUND AT THIS POINT. WE HAVE ABOUT 65 MORE TO GO. AT THE SAME TIME YOU'RE FOALING YOU'RE ALSO BREEDING THEM. BREEDERS ARE LOOKING FOR A MAGIC COMBINATION OF SPEED AND STAMINA. THERE'S WHAT THEY CALL SPEED HORSES, THAT GENERALLY ARE CONSIDERED SIX FURLOUGH SPRINTERS LIKE, AND THERE ARE HORSES WHO ARE DISTANCE HORSES THAT ARE GOING TO RUN AT LEAST A MILE OR PREFERABLY THE CLASSIC DISTANCE LIKE THE DERBY AND SUCH THAT ARE A MILE AND A QUARTER OR BETTER, AND UTOPIA IS TO HAVE THE ONES WITH THE SPEED THAT'LL CARRY IT THOSE DISTANCES. THAT'S NOT EASY TO FIND. HARANG, EARLY AND MURRELL AGREE THAT THEY'RE ALL IN THE BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR THE ANIMALS. THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND THAT FEELING IF YOU'RE NEW TO HORSES? A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT IS TO GO TO THE RACES. NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF THE LOUISIANA HORSES, JOCKEYS OR TRAINERS MADE HIGHLINES IN THE TRIPLE CROWN RACES THIS YEAR, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT TIME. THERE SURE IS, THANKS FOR THAT, APPRECIATE IT. WE'VE STOPPED IN AT THE WEST BATON ROUGE MUSEUM A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS YEAR FOR LESSONS ON OUR REGIONAL HISTORY. JEREMIAH ARIES, A LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER, TAUGHT US THAT LOUISIANA COWBOYS LOOK A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THOSE MORE INGRAINED IN MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE. ARIES' PHOTOS CAPTURE A COMMON PASTIME FOUND IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA, THE TRAIL RIDE, WHICH HAS ITS ROOTS IN CREOLE RANCHING CULTURE. TRAIL RIDES ARE A CELEBRATION OF FAMILY AND FUN, ALL SET TO THE BACKDROP OF ZYDECO MUSIC, OFTEN WITH LIVE BANDS. LET'S TAKE A LOOK. ♪♪ I WAS ON MY MOTORCYCLE ON HIGHWAY 77 AND IT'S A SMALL TWO-LANE ROAD, I WAS OUT THERE ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND COMING DOWN THE ROAD WERE PROBABLY 50 OR 60 PEOPLE ON HORSE BACK. I HAPPENED TO HAVE THE CAMERA WITH ME. A GENTLEMAN NAMED HENRY WHO WAS AT THE END. RIDE AND WAS A FLAG MAN, KEEPING EVERYBODY IN CHECK, CAUGHT ME WITH MY CAMERA HE WAVED ME OVER ENCOURAGING ME TO JOIN THEM. SO, I TURNED AROUND MY MOTORCYCLE AND RODE WITH THEM, MADE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS. I ASKED IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO JOIN THEM ON ANOTHER RIDE THEY SAID, YES. INITIALLY I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD END UP DOING FOR FOUR AND A HALF YEARS. THE MORE TIME THAT I SPENT WITH HIM I REALIZED THERE WAS SO MUCH HERE. FAMILY WAS SUCH A BIG PART OF THE EVENT THAT PEOPLE WOULD BRING THEIR WIVES, THEIR CHILDREN AND I SAW KIDS LEARNING HOW TO RIDE HORSES FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE. IT'S REALLY A CELEBRATION. IT'S SUCH A FUN ACTIVITY TO BE A PART OF AS OF. IS THERE'S MUSIC, THERE'S FOOD. ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS SO COMPELLED TO MAKE THE WORK IS THAT I HAVE OF -- ONCE I BECAME INTERESTED IN IT, I FOUND THAT THERE WAS SO LITTLE OUT THERE IN THE WORLD THAT TOLD ME ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CULTURE THAT I WAS SEEING. THE ORIGINS OF THE TRAIL RIDES ARE REALLY AN OUT GROWTH OF THE EQUESTRIAN CULTURE THAT HAS BEEN A PART OF SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FOR CENTURIES. SEEING SOMEBODY ON A HORSE, IT'S KIND OF MYTH I CAN AMERICAN FIGURE. USUALLY WE ASSOCIATE THAT WITH WESTERNS, THEY'RE RIDING, MAYBE GOING AGAINST THE SUNSET AND THEY'RE WHITE. THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE GROWN UP TO THINK OF AS THE COWBOY CULTURE. HERE WE ARE IN THIS VERY UNIQUE PLACE IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. I LIKE TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THAT VIEW TO ENCOMPASS A BROADER SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, REALIZE THAT THESE TRAIL RIDERS ARE A PART OF THIS ORIGINAL EQUESTRIAN CULTURE THAT, AT LEAST A QUARTER IF NOT MORE OF THOSE ORIGINAL COWBOYS, WERE PEOPLE OF COLOR. AND HERE'S A REAL CONTINUATION OF THAT HISTORY BEING ACTIVE ON THE STREETS OF LOUISIANA EVERY WEEK. A BIG PART OF IT FOR ME IS TRYING TO COMPOSE WITHIN THE FRAME OF THE CAMERA A MANNER IN WHICH IS GOING TO DESCRIBE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THE WORLD THAT I'M WITNESSING. JUST IN ORDER TO DO THAT TECHNICALLY I'M USING A WIDE-ANGLE LEARNS WHICH ENABLES ME TO GET CLOSE TO THE ACTION AND YET REVEAL A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THE PERIPHERY. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS PHOTOGRAPH BEHIND ME, I'M ON A TRAILER WITH THEM, I LOVE THAT THERE'S AGAIN SORT OF MULTI-GENERATIONAL REPRESENTATION HERE OF THE KIDS, YOUNG GIRL WITH A LASSO IN HAND RIDE CAN JUST BEHIND THE TRAILER ON HORSE BACK IS A GENTLEMAN WHO IS EMBRACING A YOUNG BOY ON THE SADDLE. TEACHING HIM TO RIDE SO YOU SEE HIM IN THE BACKGROUND. THE WIDE ANGLE LENS ENABLED ME TO BE CLOSE, INTIMATE WITH THE SUBJECT AND YET STILL REVEAL A LOT OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORLD. WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHS, I'M LOOKING FOR MOMENTS THAT MIGHT BE BOTH INTIMATE AND AT THE SAME TIME DESCRIPTIVE OF THE LARGER THEME THAT IS UNFOLDING. BUT I'M ALSO TRYING TO CAPTURE THE LANDSCAPE IN A WAY THAT CAN DESCRIBE THIS PLACE. AND SO MANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE REALLY DESCRIPTIVE OF THE KIND OF LANDSCAPE MUCH SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. WE SEE SUGAR CANE FIELDS, WE SEE WATER, WE SEE BAYOU. THE RIDES HAPPEN ON A WEEKLY BASIS, SO I TRY TO SEND EVERYBODY A DIGITAL FILE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE WEEK FOLLOWING THE RIDE. AND THEN THE NEXT TIME I AM ABLE TO ATTEND A RIDE I'LL BRING A PHOTOGRAPH AND LOOK FOR THE PEOPLE THAT I PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, THE PEOPLE HAVE REPRESENTATION AND REPRESENTATION OF THEMSELVES IN A WAY THAT SIGNIFIES POWER AND RESPECT. FOR ME I HOPE THAT THE PHOTOGRAPHS CONVEY THAT. I FEEL THAT THEY DO. AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A POINT OF RECOGNITION WHEN I'M ABLE TO SHARE THAT WITH THE SUBJECTS. YOU CAN SEE MORE OF ARIE IS WORKS IN A NEW BOOK RIDERS,” SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED THIS FALL BY UL PRESS. THAT IS OUR SHOW EVERYONE. REMEMBER YOU CAN WATCH LPB ON BAND. YOU CAN CATCH LPB NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHOWS AND OTHER LOUISIANA PROGRAMS YOU HAVE COME ENJOY OVER THE YEARS. AND PLEASE FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM. FOR EVERYONE AT LOUISIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING, I'M ANDRE' MOREAU, THANKS FOR WATCHING. UNTIL NEXT TIME, THAT'S "THE STATE WE'RE IN."
