For more information contact Angie White: 318-464-7683
Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport
Announces Honorees
Invitation-only Event was Held August 27
Shreveport, LA — The Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport has selected 44 individuals to attend, at no charge to them, the first Reconciliation Dinner of Shreveport, which was held August 27 at the Petroleum Club. The Dinner was an invitation-only gathering of 80–100 residents, (each honoree could bring a spouse or someone significant to them). Each individual selected represents someone whose life has been interwoven into the cultural and racial fabric of our city’s growth and history and who represents the spirit of reconciliation.
The first Reconciliation Dinner was held immediately after the Civil War by Chef Nat Fuller, an enslaved person who became free and established a famous restaurant in Charleston, S.C. Chef Fuller invited blacks and whites to sit down over a dinner, in the spirit of reconciliation, and start to talk to each other to move Charleston forward after the war. In 2014 the City of Charleston recreated the unique culinary experience to address modern-day reconciliation issues.
Slow Food North Louisiana is sponsoring the Shreveport event, along with CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier, The Committee of 100, Belden and Pamela Daniels, The Community Foundation, G. Carlton Golden & Rachel Golden, Griggs Enterprises/McDonald’s, The NAACP of North Louisiana, Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral & The Times (joint sponsorship), and Whole Foods Market. In-kind sponsors are Great Raft Brewing, Newt Lynn, Mahaffey Farms, Marilynn’s Place, The Petroleum Club, Rhino Coffee, and Thrifty Liquor.
Chef Hardette Harris, owner of Pure Louisiana Soul food tours and tastings, created the menu. The menu reflects north Louisiana cuisine and local foods and incorporates many of the elements Chef Harris created for the Official Meal of North Louisiana, only the second such state-recognized meal in the United States. Chef Harris will work in concert with Chef Eddie Mars at the Petroleum Club to cook and serve the Reconciliation Dinner.
According to Reconciliation Dinner Selection Committee member Africa Price, Director of Public Relations and Communications for the City of Shreveport, “Reconciliation is important for any community to move forward and experience the richness of us all being better people. As a member of the selection committee, I learned so much about the jewels we have right here in our own community and their body of work to heal and improve the quality of life for so many.”
More than 180 individuals were nominated, and selections were made based on the nominee’s achievements demonstrating ongoing effort toward achieving social (racial) justice and reconciliation. The nominee’s actions must have been results-oriented and have promoted solutions to injustice and inequality. Nominees were not selected solely on the basis of their title or elected office.
In addition to the 44 selected, individuals under the age of 40 who may not yet have had time to build a significant body of work in the social justice arena were invited to submit essays listing their achievements and sharing their version of what a stronger spirit of reconciliation could create for our city. In this “Rising Voices” category, seven individuals were selected to join the group.
More information may be found at www.reconciliationshreveport.com.
Honorees
- Jerome Adkins
- Deborah Allen
- Arthur Anderson
- John Beaird
- Harry Blake
- Willie Bradford
- Willie Burton
- Lynn Cawthorne
- Rosie Chaffold
- Adrienne Critcher
- Jerry Davenport
- Cathie Dodson
- Mary Dumars
- Renee Ellis
- Lamar Goree
- Bart Gould
- Debbie Hollis
- John Hussey
- Chris Jay
- Leslie Jones
- Gregory Kallenberg
- Pastor Calvin Kimble
- Robert Lewis
- Laurie Lyons
- Mack McCarter
- Pastor C.E. McLain
- Alvin Moore
- Barbara Pendleton
- Grace Peterson
- Steve Prator
- Henry Price
- Shirley Roberson
- Maxine Sarpy
- Annette Simmons
- C.O. Simpkins
- Carl Stewart
- Gregory Tarver
- Arthur Thompson
- Robert Trudeau
- Ollie Tyler
- Clay Walker
- Henry Walker
- Mamie Love Wallace
- Matt & Vicky Whitehead
(representing Common Ground)
Rising Voices
- Katie Bickham
- LeVette Fuller
- Emilie Harmeyer
- Kate Pedrotty
- Meghan Shapiro
- Crystalyn Whitaker
- Bryce Williams