INDReporter

Louisiana's new and awesome historical archive

Two U.S. Marshals escort a young Ruby Bridges after she made history as the first African-American to attend an all-white school, not just in her home state of Louisiana, but in all of the South.

A most valuable resource for seeing into Louisiana’s past is slated for launch next week as LPB President Beth Courtney and Secretary of State Tom Schedler unveil the Louisiana Digital Media Archive.

The project, according to a press release, was a joint effort by Shedler’s office and Louisiana Public Broadcast to preserve and catalogue a video history of Louisiana’s 20th century experience.

With next week’s unveiling, the archive will already contain over 1,500 historical videos. And it won’t stop there, as the archive will continue growing its video collection through the years.

The videos are wide-ranging, and according to the press release:

[I]nclud[e] interviews with Louisiana civil rights heroes, notable political figures, war heroes, artists and literary icons. Many of the clips have been provided through the historic collections of the state’s oldest and most respected news broadcasters including WWL-New Orleans, WBRZ-Baton Rouge; and KLFY-Lafayette.

The archive’s launch is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. at LPB’s Telecommunications Center in Baton Rouge.

Go here for more on the archive.