Bright Lights Revealed with Freddi Williams Evans and Dr. Michael White

As part of the ongoing Bright Lights Revealed series, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and The Helis Foundation John Scott Center will highlight recent and past Humanities Awards recipients.

In this conversation, two humanities awardee winners, 2024 Lifetime Contributions to the Humanities awardee Freddi Williams Evans and 2010 Humanist of the Year Dr. Michael White, will share insights into their respective research paths. This will include their sources of inspiration and mentorship, their studying and presenting New Orleans’ African American culture, and an exchange of ideas for current and future work.

About Freddi Williams Evans

Freddi Williams Evans is an author and scholar recognized for her scholarship on Congo Square, a landmark of African and African American culture in New Orleans. In 2017–2018, Evans co-chaired the Committee to Erect Historic Markers on the Slave Trade to Louisiana. She is also the co-author, along with Anna Rita Scott, of the forthcoming Passing It On: The Art of John T. Scott.

About Dr. Michael White

Dr. Michael White is an accomplished, multi-faceted New Orleans-based clarinetist, bandleader, composer, musicologist, jazz historian, and educator widely regarded as one of the leading authorities and culture-bearers of traditional New Orleans jazz music.