The Iberia African American Historical Society (IAAHS) will present HistoryFEST November 13–15, celebrating the history of African American women of Iberia Parish. This year’s theme is “Celebrating the History of African American Women of Iberia Parish.” Festival presentations and performances will be held at the Sliman Theatre, 129 E. Main St., New Iberia. Admission is free, but registration is requested.
The three-day festival will bring together scholars, artists, local historians, community members, families, and others through presentations, performances, panel discussions, art, literature, genealogy, and community conversation. Programming is organized around three content areas: Art & Literature, Research & Scholarship, and Community & Faith.
Dr. Phebe Hayes, IAAHS founder and president, said “the contributions and lived experiences of African American women of Iberia Parish have not been told and that HistoryFEST aims to center their stories in the community’s historical record.”
HistoryFEST will also invite the community to help preserve this history. Through Share Her Story, IAAHS is collecting names, stories, photographs, and other materials about African American women connected to Iberia Parish. The woman may be living or deceased, a family member, teacher, church member, neighbor, or someone remembered through community stories.
The Elder Oral History Project will invite elder African American women of Iberia Parish to record their stories and reflections during HistoryFEST. Interviews will take place upstairs at the IAAHS Center for Research and Learning at the Shadows Visitor Center. Stories and materials will be preserved in the IAAHS archives for future generations.
Learn more about the festival and its presenters, register, submit a story, or make a donation at iaahs.org.
Schedule of Events:
Friday, November 13 — Art & Literature (5:30 – 8:30 p.m.)
Dr. Hayes will open HistoryFEST. The evening will feature a presentation and art display by Brandon Lewis, executive director of the LEH John Scott/Helis Foundation Art Center; a table reading of a play by the late IAAHS board member Jackie Reedom, directed by playwright Ifa Bayeza; and student artwork inspired by IAAHS research.
Saturday, November 14 — Research & Scholarship (9 a.m. -3:30 p.m.)
A Vendor and Authors Market will take place Saturday in the Doc Voorhies Wing of the Bayou Teche Museum. Vendors and published authors interested in reserving space should email info@iaahsonline.org by Fri., Oct. 23. Published authors may reserve a table at no charge. Space is limited.
Keynote speaker Dr. Ashley Farmer, associate professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and History at the University of Texas at Austin, will discuss Queen Mother Moore. Farmer is the author of the award-winning biography Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore. The book was named a Library Journal Best Book of 2025 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. Moore, a Jeanerette native, was a nationally significant activist whose work addressed Black nationalism, reparations, and racial justice.
Dr. Hayes will present the life of Dr. Emma Wakefield-Paillet, the first woman to graduate from a Louisiana medical school and the first African American woman in the state to earn a medical degree and practice medicine.
Dr. Abigail Cooper, a Brandeis University researcher, will discuss African Americans in Iberia Parish and surrounding communities during and after the Civil War. Her research examines people who sought freedom behind Union lines, life in refugee and contraband camps, and how formerly enslaved people rebuilt families and communities.
Sunday, November 15 — Community & Faith (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
Sunday’s program will explore the institutions, traditions, relationships, and resources that have supported generations of African American families in Iberia Parish. It will include a presentation by Rev. Mary Louise Bashay, the first woman ordained as a Baptist minister in Iberia Parish; a choir performance; and financial literacy sessions for adults and children led by Karen Dugas, owner of Above the Limit LLC.
John Warner Smith, Louisiana’s 2019 Poet Laureate, will read original poetry honoring African American women in recognition of the nation’s 250th anniversary, followed by an audience talkback. His presentation is funded by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ America 250 initiative. HistoryFEST will conclude with a community gumbo luncheon for presenters and attendees.
About the Iberia African American Historical Society:
IAAHS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that researches, teaches, preserves, and commemorates African American history in Iberia Parish and its place in the broader history of the parish and surrounding communities. It was chartered by the state in 2017 and received nonprofit status in 2018.
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