Lost history: Descendant of Black-owned dairy highlighted in La. Center for Books presentation

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The story of a Black-owned dairy that operated in post-reconstruction Shreveport for over 30 years is part of the Louisiana Center for the Book’s annual Black History Month presentation.

“A Black dairy farmer in the post-Reconstruction South was rare, and my mother and her siblings loved to share their memories of this time and place with anyone who showed an interest in listening,” said LeFalle-Collins, who grew up in Los Angeles after her family moved away from the South. “Aside from memoir and storytelling, my book is also a migration tale, as I explore the core sense of longing for environments and communities that bound people together.”

Author and historian Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins, a descendant of the dairy farmers who wrote Seasons at Lakeside Dairy: Family Stories from a Black-Owned Dairy, Louisiana to California, and Beyond, was published in 2024 by the University Press of Mississippi.

The recorded presentation will debut on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday, February 27. LeFalle-Collins will share how her book came together after nearly 20 years of research and read two stories she wrote based on stories she heard during her upbringing.

“After reading the histories of Black people during the legacy of Reconstruction in the South, the remaining questions of how my grandfather, Angus Bates, could sustain a thriving dairy business in such a racially oppressive post-reconstruction and hostile environment in northwest Louisiana went unanswered,” she said. “I kept asking, ‘How did he do it?’ I can only suggest partial answers, perhaps because my family did not reveal the lineage of some secrets. Some topics were too taboo. Their memories centered on daily life at the dairy.”

Lizetta LeFalle-Collins is an independent art curator and founding staff curator of visual arts at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, with works published in Print Quarterly, Black Renaissance Noire, Journal of American Studies, and Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art.

The Louisiana Center for the Book was established in 1994 to stimulate public interest in reading, books, literacy, and celebrating Louisiana’s rich heritage. Visit LouisianaBookFestival.org or follow them on Facebook for the latest news and announcements.