During 2014, I reported on North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement, a faith-based organizing effort that is becoming a national model. The movement is spearheaded by the state NAACP with broad support from churches and issue-based organizations, including women’s, immigrant, environmental, LGBT, and labor groups. Most of the articles were published online by The American Prospect, illustrated by […]
The Gutbucket King
By Barry Yeoman
He stood at the kitchen window waiting. He had memorized everything around him: the pine walls, bare of wallpaper or even paint; the wardrobe where his widowed mother kept her churn for making buttermilk; the stove fueled by the firewood he cut each morning; the two coolers, one for dairy and the other for cakes and pies. He had branded them into his memory, these artifacts of a life that, after today, would no longer be his.
The Death and Life of Detroit
Neighborhood groups are bringing the blighted city back, one block at a time. Will City Hall stand in their way? Originally published in The American Prospect. A SHIVERING KNOT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS stands outside Motor City Java House as John George unlocks the front door. It’s 15 degrees in Detroit on a February morning, and […]
Wealth for Everyone
Immigrants in Durham, N.C. had become easy targets for robbers. The community’s response: start its own wildly successful credit union. Originally published by One Nation Indivisible. NOT LONG AFTER HE ARRIVED in Durham, North Carolina in 1996, Marcelino Varela learned a lesson that would prove valuable in his adopted city: Always be ready to sprint. He […]
A Moveable Feast
America’s Creole migration brought a whole new flavor to California. Originally published in American Way, in conjunction with the documentary Zydeco Nation. Photos by John Noltner. AT 4:00 ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON, the cars start turning onto Embarcadero Way. The street in Palo Alto, Calif., has all the charm you’d expect from a Silicon Valley business […]
Zydeco Nation: Resources and Credits
Resources This list was created in 2012. It was updated in 2024. Visiting Northern California The Bay Area zydeco scene welcomes visitors and has several events each week. You can download the monthly calendars at http://calendar10.tripod.com/. Good reads The definitive book about the Bay Area’s Louisiana music scene is Cajun and Zydeco Dance Music in Northern California by Mark […]
Zydeco Nation
The French Creoles of South Louisiana are a rural people whose roots contain a blend of African, French, and other ancestries. During the era of legalized segregation, they developed close-knit communities and a vibrant musical culture. Then, starting in World War II, many Creoles started looking west in search of greater opportunity and freedom, and […]
Zydeco Nation: Meet the Musicians
Andre Thierry The 32-year-old star of the West Coast zydeco scene, Andre Thierry has deep roots in the culture. His parents and grandparents were all part of the migration of Louisiana Creoles to Northern California. Thierry spent much of his childhood living with his maternal grandparents, Houston and Lena Pitre, who organized the famous dances […]
Zydeco Nation: Photos
One of the best things about producing Zydeco Nation was the chance to collaborate with John Noltner, a Minnesota-based photographer whose work has been published in numerous national magazines. Noltner is also the creator of A Peace of My Mind, a multimedia arts project. His work exhibits regularly across the country, and he leads lectures […]
Zydeco Nation: Meet the Dancers
Betty LeBlanc The daughter of a laborer, Betty LeBlanc grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Sundays were devoted to three things: church, food, and dancing. “Church was No. 1,” she recalls—and afterward her neighbors would host outdoor meals at their homes. “I remember dancing,” she says. “My mom used to tell me, ‘Come on in […]
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