What’s at Stake? A Conversation on Culture and the Changing Coast

If you live in South Louisiana, you know our world is changing. On March 9, join 64 Parishes and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities for a candid, virtual conversation on how extreme weather and coastal land loss are affecting culture, community, and tradition across South Louisiana.  

 Maybe your neighbors—shrimpers for generations—have moved inland. Maybe you’ve asked yourself whether to stay put for yet another hurricane season. Or maybe you’ve seen friends and family dig in and renew their commitment to preserving the delicate cultural roots they’ve nurtured for decades.  

At 64 Parishes we are dedicated to exploring the existential questions faced by communities across South Louisiana: How has the cultural fabric of our communities shifted due to environmental changes? What are the consequences of those shifts? When people move away, what happens to the cultural traditions and sense of community among those left behind? What happens when culture migrates to new places? 

The program will be introduced by former Louisiana State Senator and Mayor of Lake Charles Willie Mount and moderated by author and southwest Louisiana native Megan Poole. Panelists will include Joy Banner, community activist and director of communications at Whitney Plantation in Edgard; Jonathan Foret, executive director of South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center in Houma; Eli Langley, a cultural preservationist and member of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; and Keagan Lejeune, folklorist and professor of English at McNeese State University.