This Year in Culture

One thing I learned in 2010: Not even the BP oil spill could rub out Louisiana'ssoul

I miss the people of Louisiana. They are fresh.
Photo by Katie Oxford
I miss the colors of Louisiana. Variations, it seems, of a thousand greens.Growing from the ground up, covering tin roofs, rounding corners…creepy crawlythings that are able to find the smallest crease and thrive.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Red trawler boats, worn and peeling, yet still bright in color, like the smilingface of a bearded old man.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Not the oil, or the bigger crime, the poison used to disperse it, not evenpolitics could destroy what makes Louisiana so special.
Photo by Katie Oxford
The people of Louisiana are as connected to place as the marsh is to the Gulf.
Photo by Katie Oxford
They are funny in both humorous and odd ways.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Their culture is not one of hurry.
Photo by Katie Oxford
It’s a culture of present time and unforgotten courtesy.
Photo by Katie Oxford
Giving a greeting or yielding to someone comes naturally to these folks.
Photo by Katie Oxford
“Let’s hope,” our answer this time next year is indeed…“a good one.”
Photo by Katie Oxford

When our editor popped the question, "What things struck you in 2010?” I don’t know which part of me went to Louisiana first — my head or my heart.

The Gulf Oil disaster indeed struck many, and much. The environmental effects will continue to play out for who knows how long, or how deep. The life span of the legal mess . . . I barely have the stomach to bring up.

But there’s one thing the tragedy confirmed. Not the oil, or the bigger crime — the poison used to disperse it, not even politics could destroy what makes Louisiana so special. Something large companies (clearly not BP) don’t seem to have: Soul.

Soul was born in Louisiana. It grew up after Hurricane Katrina, matured even more after the oil spill, maybe.

Even oil-stained, soul is alive and well. It lives in the little people. And I can’t wait to see some of them when I return in January.

I spoke with a few on Thanksgiving Day and we visited as though I’d just left their house and some belonging behind. I did.

One thing seems unchanged and constant. The people of Louisiana are as connected to place as the marsh is to the Gulf. They are a living testimony of the power of place. As someone who shares in this sense, I find this, not the oil, most memorable.

I miss the colors of Louisiana. Variations, it seems, of a thousand greens. Growing from the ground up, covering tin roofs, rounding corners . . . creepy crawly things that are able to find the smallest crease and thrive. How beautiful a nature is this?

Red trawler boats, worn and peeling, yet still bright in color, like the smiling face of a bearded old man. The boats, like “face,” as a friend once wrote, “is all about character.”

I miss the vast sky with marsh that invites you to walk forth forever. Roll in it like a dog in cow manure. Sing.

I miss the people, too. They're fresh. They're funny in both humorous and odd ways, funny "haha" and funny peculiar. Their culture is not one of hurry. It’s a culture of present time and unforgotten courtesy. Giving a greeting or yielding to someone whether friend or stranger, in the grocery store or along the banks of the bayou, comes naturally to these folks.

I once pointed out to a cab driver in New Orleans, “You know, you ask someone for directions here and they’re happy as clams to help you.” The cab driver, sitting with a bible in the seat next to him, laughed instantly. “Oh yea!” he said, “we help people!” Indeed they do.

Perhaps now they, along with the rest of us, will just as willingly help their place — that one-of-a-kind environment that connects to our precious Gulf of Mexico and therefore, to us and millions of others.

John Lennon pops a great question, too, in his song, “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” and it speaks to me every year.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun

Let’s hope, as he did, that our answer this time next year is indeed “a good one.”

Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of articles CultureMap will be running this last week of 2010 on The Year in Culture. The stories in this series will focus on a key point or two, something that struck our reporting team about the year rather than rote Top 10 lists or bests of.

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”