Two weeks ago, I highlighted eight Louisianans who have hurt the state’s reputation. After Britney’s embarrassing performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, we need a reminder of some outstanding Louisianans. Fortunately, it was just as difficult to narrow this list down as it was for the other. So the next time someone throws out a negative statistic about Louisiana, remind them of the following Louisianans who have made a positive contribution to our society.
8. Van Cliburn – This internationally renowned pianist from Shreveport was able to win over even a Russian audience at the heart of the Cold War. After his mother taught him how to play the piano, he continued his studies at the Juilliard School and has continued to stun the world with his virtuoso performances. Not one to forget his Louisiana roots, Cliburn performed in front of a sold-out crowd at the Baton Rouge River Center this past year.
7. Geoffrey Beene – Beene was born in Haynesville and thought medical school at Tulane was his calling until, as he was quoted by Style.com to have once said, “Cadavers were the moment of truth.” Beene rose to prominence in the fashion world as he pushed for designers to take credit for their art. Style.com called Beene “the mercurial designer who was committed to elevating the standards of American design.”
6. Louis Armstrong – He went from being one of New Orleans’ favorite trumpeters to becoming one of the world’s most easily recognizable musicians. Duke Ellington in The New York Times called Armstrong “the epitome of jazz, and [he] always will be. He is what I call an American standard, an American original.” Armstrong refused to perform in New Orleans until 1965 when segregation was on its way out, according to The New York Times. Armstrong’s music crossed all divides, whether racial or ethnic, and his music is still enjoyed by audiences worldwide.
5. Cokie Roberts – Roberts has celebrated a long and successful career as a broadcast journalist after her prominent upbringing as the daughter of Hale and Lindy Boggs. She is a political commentator for ABC News, a senior news analyst for National Public Radio and the author of two best-selling books. According to NPR, Roberts has won many awards, including an Emmy and the highest honor in public radio, the Edward R. Murrow Award. She also broke ground by becoming the first broadcast journalist to win the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for coverage of Congress.
4. Warrick Dunn – Michael Vick may be giving the Atlanta Falcons a bad name, but another Falcon is positively contributing to his community. Dunn was a football star at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge in the early 1990s when his mother, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty his senior year. His mother, who was a single parent, was “never able to realize the American dream of owning her own home,” according to the Warrick Dunn Foundation Web site. In honor of his mother, Dunn created the “Homes for the Holidays” program in 1997 to help other single mothers and their families. To date, the program has helped “60 single mothers and more than 140 children in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, and Tampa, Fla.,” according to the site.
3. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré – A Lakeland native, Honoré had been in charge of handling Army crises halfway around the world until Hurricane Katrina. He was brought in a few days after the major disaster to help get the rescue effort on the right track after the local, state and federal responses were so heavily criticized. Honoré was able to sympathize with people, telling CNN, “These are families that are just waiting to get out of here. They are frustrated; I would be, too. I get frustrated at the cash register counter when the paper runs out.” Many political leaders during Katrina made mistakes, but as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, Honoré helped restore the state’s reputation.
2. Ellen DeGeneres – This comedienne hasn’t forgotten where she’s from, and that was made all the more evident in the aftermath of Katrina. DeGeneres has enjoyed a long and successful career, even after she admitted her homosexuality in 1997. Bob Newhart told Time magazine, “DeGeneres is the bravest and most honest female comedian I have ever seen work because she publicly announced she’s gay. That revelation could have ended her career, as she had to be aware, but she also knew she had to be honest.” Long respected for her work, DeGeneres used her celebrity power to raise awareness about the problems facing her hometown of Metairie and the surrounding area after Katrina by featuring hurricane survivors on her Emmy Award-winning syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
1. Patrick Taylor – Although Taylor is not a native of Louisiana, he has arguably made the largest impact on the state’s future. A 1959 University graduate, Taylor saw it fit to use his money for good when he promised in 1988 to pay for the college education of a group of underprivileged middle schoolers in New Orleans, if they made good grades. According to the College of Engineering’s Hall of Distinction, this promise developed into Taylor pushing for Louisiana and more than a dozen other states to pass “Taylor Plan” laws, now known as TOPS in Louisiana. Without Taylor’s vision and generosity, many of us would not be attending the University. Because of him, the state’s educational system finally has one shining achievement.
—–Contact Laura Bratcher at [email protected]