Dillard Dinner En Bleu Souvenir Booklet

Dillard University

Friday, The Eighteenth of October Two Thousand Nineteen at SIX THIRTY O’CLOCK IN THE EVENING

Hotel Peter and Paul 2317 Burgundy St, New Orleans, LA 70117

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N LARD U IVERSITY DIL

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2019

Dillard University President Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Yolanda W. Page Vice President Division for Institutional Advancement Dr. Marc A. Barnes Endowed Chair & Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture Zella Palmer Director of Development Kimberly Woodard Director of Alumni Relations Adrian Guy Anderson

Dinner en Bleu

Celebrating Dillard University’s 150th Anniversary 2019 Founders’ Day Weekend Master of Ceremonies Warren Bell, Jr. Our Distinguished Honorees John & Donna Cummings Sybil Haydel Morial Linda Green A Special Tribute for Leah Chase “The Queen of Creole Cuisine”: 1923-2019 IN MEMORIAM: Leah Chase Dr. Rudy Joseph Lombard Arthur James Robinson “Mr. Okra” Dillard University Ray Charles Program 2601 Gentilly Blvd. PSB Rm. 112 New Orleans, LA. 70122 To support the Dillard University Ray Charles Program visit: http://bit.ly/DURayCharlesProgram

Programme Entertainment…………………………………….Erica Falls

Dillard University Presents MENU

Opening…………………………………………...Warren Bell, Jr., Master of Ceremonies Welcome…………………………………………...Zella Palmer

Endowed Chair & Director

Dillard University Ray Charles Program 2019 Recognitions……………………………….John & Donna Cummings

Founders & Proprietors Whitney Plantation

2019 Donor & Humanitarian Award

Sybil Haydel Morial 2019 Cultural Bearer Award

Author, Former City of New New Orleans First Lady

Linda Green “Yakamein Lady” New Orleans Celebrity Chef

2019 Cultural Bearer Award Tribute to Leah Chase…………………………Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough President’s Flame Award Dillard University President

Ray Charles Program Students………………………Lauren Rhodes & Deauan McClaine

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail Signature Pinwheels Stuffed Mushroom Caps Hummus with Toast points Charcuterie Tray

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo of the Diaspora Spirited Garden Salad

Grilled Salmon with Vegetable Relish Baked Chicken Shrimp Creole Fresh Sautéed Green Beans Collard and Mustard Greens Medley Roasted New Potatoes Lima Beans with Coconut Milk

Dinner……………………………………………………..La Belle Galerie Closing Remarks………………………………………. Dr. Marc A. Barnes Chair, 150th Sesquicentennial Committee

Assorted Cakes and Pies

Dr. Kimbrough Dear Dinner en Bleu Guests:

D

illard University has celebrated its 150 year anniversary in a first class manner. From the unique branding opportunities throughout the city, to an hour documentary produced by WDSU chronicling our history, to an anniversary gala that featured Patti LaBelle, we have presented Dillard University in the manner in which it deserves. As custodians of the university, our job is not simply to preserve the university, but to find ways to innovate.

The Ray Charles Program is one of those opportunities. Dating back to 2004 when Ray Charles donated to the university, over the past few years the program has picked up momentum. Under the leadership of Zella Palmer, the program has carved a niche in the New Orleans culinary landscape. The program has hosted world renowned chefs to discuss the history and traditions of their brand of cooking. We have tapped Dillard faculty, staff and students to demonstrate some of their culinary traditions to campus. We have worked to offer a continuing education course for people who want to learn how to manage their restaurant and catering businesses.

And this spring we will begin to offer a minor in food studies.

This dinner tonight celebrates that work as well as provides resources to continue the work of the Ray Charles program. While we are completing this year-long celebration, we are already setting the stage for the next chapter in the history of Dillard University.

Thank you for being part of this experience tonight.

Sincerely,

Walter M. Kimbrough, Ph.D. President

Marc A. Barnes

Dear Friends and Supporters of Dillard University:

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s we continue our celebration of Dillard University's sesquicentennial, I am reminded of the incredible impact the institution has had on the cultural economy of New Orleans for many years. A large part of that is the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture here at Dillard. This Dinner en Bleu event is a celebration of the wonderful cuisine for which we all know and love in our city and what we teach and study at Dillard. We are delighted to have you with us.

The Ray Charles program in African American Material Culture was conceived by the late legendary artist in 2003. While visiting Dillard's campus, he shared his concern that our community would lose its culture of exquisite and unique cuisine. He believed that the younger generations were becoming "microwave families" and they would not sustain one of the main components of New Orleans' culture.

He challenged Dillard to create a program that was designed to teach future generations about New Orleans cuisine and how to preserve it.

And he made a very generous donation to the university to begin this work. Since then, the Ray Charles Foundation has provided grants to keep the program strong. Under the leadership of Director Zella Palmer, the program has become a national model for material culture.

This evening's event not only celebrates the creative work of the Ray Charles Program, but it also raises money to help sustain its efforts. We are forever grateful to Mr. Ray Charles and Mr. Joe Adams who saw the university through the first years of this program and to Ms. Valerie Ervin, under whose leadership the Foundation continues to support this important work. And we are grateful to all of you who came out to support this event.

To make a great evening even greater, we celebrate the legacy of world renowned Chef, Mrs. Leah Chase who served as an advisor to the Ray Charles Program from its inception. We thank the Chase family for allowing us to celebrate her as well. We know that we could not have done this without all of the tremendous support we have received throughout the years .. Let's enjoy a great night.

Sincerely, Marc A. Barnes, Ph.D. Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dillard University

Zella Palmer Dear Friends & Supporters of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program, Since 2014, when I assumed the role as Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture, I hit the ground running making sure that we built the infrastructure, programming and academic curriculum to build a stellar program. Ray Charles, the legendary musician believed that African-American material culture has value and deserves to be preserved and shared.

From 2014-2019, we launched a cooking demo and lecture series, Restaurant & Catering Management (continuing education course), Life after Dillard: Dining Etiquette (student workshop), HBCU Material Culture conference and our NEW Food Studies minor that will launch in 2020. We couldn’t have launched these amazing programs and courses without the support of Valerie Ervin, Ray Charles Foundation; Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough; Dillard University President, Dr. Marc Barnes; Dillard University, Vice-President of Institutional Advancement; Dr. Yolanda W. Page, Vice-President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Eartha Johnson, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the many students, faculty, staff, generous donors, supporters and volunteers.

Tonight, this dinner honors one of our greatest supporters, the late “Queen of Creole Cuisine”, Leah Chase. Leah Chase was a dear friend of Ray Charles. Her advice, wisdom and support in developing the Ray Charles Program for years to come was priceless. While we look towards the future of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture, we ask for your support and generosity.

Dillard University and New Orleans is blessed to have a program that October 18, 2019 grooms Dillard Dear Friendsstudents & Supporters of the Dillard University to University findRay Charles Program, Since 2014, when I assumed the role as Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in career and entrepreneurship African-American Material Culture, I hit the ground running making sure that we built the infrastructure, programming and academic curriculum to build a stellar program. Ray Charles, the legendary musician believed that opportunities aculture growing African-American in material has value and deserves to be preserved and shared.

From 2014-2019, we launched a cooking demo and lecture series, Restaurant & Catering Management (continuing cultural economy. education course), Life after Dillard: Dining Etiquette (student workshop), HBCU Material Culture conference and our NEW Food Studies minor that will launch in 2020. We couldn’t have launched these amazing programs and

without the support of Valerie Ervin, Ray Charles Foundation; Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough; Dillard Thankcourses you for attending University President, Dr. Marc Barnes; Dillard University, Vice-President of Institutional Advancement; Dr. Yolanda W. Page, Vice-President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Eartha Johnson, Dean of the College of Arts and Dinner enandBleu tonight Sciences the many students, faculty, staff, generous donors, supporters and volunteers.

Tonight, this dinner honors one of andChase Happy Dillardour greatest supporters, the late “Queen of Creole Cuisine”, Leah Chase. Leah was a dear friend of Ray Charles. Her advice, wisdom and support in developing the Ray Charles Program for years to come was priceless. While we look towards the future of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in University 150th African-American Material Culture, we ask for your support and generosity. Dillard University and New Orleans is blessed to have a program that grooms Dillard University students to find career and entrepreneurship opportunities Anniversary! in a growing cultural economy.

Thank you for attending Dinner en Bleu tonight and Happy Dillard University 150th Anniversary!

Sincerely, Sincerely,

Zella Palmer Director and Chair Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture

Zella Palmer Director and Chair Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture

Erica Falls Entertainment

Warren Bell, Jr. Master of Ceremonies

Our Mission The mission of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture is to research, document, disseminate, preserve, and celebrate African-American culture and foodways in New Orleans and the South.

About the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture In 2003, Ray Charles awarded Dillard University $1 million to establish a program in African-American Material Culture with a concentration in the study of African-American foodways and material culture in the South. This gift established the first professorship and program of its kind in African-American Material Culture at any American university or HBCU. Ray Charles’ vision to preserve the culinary traditions and culture of African-Americans in New Orleans and the South would help to create an institution at Dillard University for generations to come. In 2019, Dillard University Ray Charles Program launched a Restaurant & Catering Management Course and in 2020, a Food Studies Minor. The Ray Charles Program invites students, faculty, and the community to participate in its cooking demos, public talks and Life After Dillard: Dining Etiquette Course.

About the Ray Charles Foundation The Ray Charles Foundation is dedicated to providing support in the area of hearing disorders and the empowerment of young people through education by offering support to educational institutions and non-profit education programs.

Ray Charles said: “The inability to hear is a handicap; not the inability to see.” The vision of The Ray Charles Foundation is to instill in the youth of America that “there is no challenge too great one cannot overcome.”

Thanks to the late music legend, Ray Charles, Valerie Ervin, President of the Ray Charles Foundation, and the late Joe Adams, Ray Charles’s Manager, Dillard University continues to deliver on Ray Charles’s vision for the Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture. As such, Dillard University recognizes the contributions made by the Ray Charles Foundation, and we are grateful for their sponsorship of the 2019 Dinner en Bleu dining experience to celebrate Dillard University’s 150th anniversary.

2019 Donor & Humanitarian Award John & Donna Cummings Whitney Plantation

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ohn J. Cummings, III is a New Orleans native and graduate of Loyola University School of Law. He is the Husband, of Donna S. Cummings, father of eight children, and the grandfather of five.

Cummings practiced law in New Orleans for more than 50 years, specializing in class actions and mass tort litigation, and had offices in Seattle, Philadelphia and New Orleans.

Cummings continues to practice law at present, but has focused for the past dozen years on the re-development of the Whitney Plantation as a Memorial and Site of Memory. The Whitney Plantation opened to the public on December 7, 2014 and has hosted more than 1 million visitors.

Donna S. Cummings is a trial lawyer; She has been, married to John Cummings for the last 35 years. Donna and John are partners in their law firm and manage operations for the Whitney Plantation. Donna is a graduate of Loyola Law School and will take on the role of Board Chair of the Whitney Plantation Museum in 2020. The Whitney Plantation will be donated by the Cummings family to a new tax-free foundation.

Linda Green 2019 Cultural Bearer Award

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s. Linda Green “The Yakamein Lady” is a beloved New Orleans icon. For more than 20 years, Ms. Linda has delighted taste buds with her delectable yakamein and other classic New Orleans dishes. Ms. Linda dishes are favorites at local second lines, Thursday night concerts at the Ogden Museum, and many local festivals. Some of those festivals include: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Essence Festival, Louisiana Seafood Festival, French Quarter Festival, Creole Tomato Festival, Treme Gumbo Fest and Po Boy Festival.

In 2012, Ms. Linda gained international recognition as the winner of the Food Network channel’s “Chopped Pride of New Orleans” show. Ms. Green has appeared on numerous television shows, such as The History Channel, United Taste of America Food Network Channel, Louisiana Cooking Magazine, Garden and Gun, Offbeat, Gambit, Where Y’at, New Orleans Magazine, AAA Southern Traveler, and many more.

Ms. Linda has also won numerous awards for her cooking. Some of those awards include: The ”People’s Choice Award”atAward” at the 2013 Treme Gumbo Festival. “Best Non-Traditional Dish” at the 2014 Sushi Festival, “Best Traditional Po Boy” at the 2017 Po Boy Festival and “Best Overall Wing” at the 2019 Wing Wars. Additionally, in 2018 Ms. Green won the State Farm Dream Achiever Award and in 2019 was awarded a proclamation from the New Orleans Mayor’s Office.

Sybil Haydel Morial

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2019 Cultural Bearer Award

ybil Haydel Morial was born in New Orleans and grew up under the rigid segregation of the laws of the South.

She attended Xavier University in New Orleans for two years, then transferred to Boston University. There she received both her bBachelor’s and mMaster’s degrees and was soon working as a classroom teacher, first in Newton, Massachusetts, then Baltimore, Maryland. Later she would join the staff of New Orleans’ Dunn School in the Desire Housing Development. .

After the United States Supreme Court rendered its unanimous decision outlawing segregation in public schools, Sybil decided to return to the South to participate in the changes that were certain to come. When she was denied membership in the League of Women Voters, she founded the Louisiana League of Good Government dedicated to voter education and voter registration in the Black community.

After thirteen years of teaching, she made a career change and served as an Associate Dean and Associate Vice President at Xavier University, a position she would hold for 28 years. During her tenure at Xavier, she became executive producer of “A House Divided,” documenting the desegregation of the New Orleans Public Schools. The veteran actor James Earl Jones served as narrator for the film.

When New Orleans hosted the Louisiana World Exposition in 1984, she initiated and then led the creation of the Afro-American Pavilion. “I’ve Known Rivers” presented the myriad contributions of African Americans to American culture and civilization.

After her house flooded during Hurricane Katrina, Sybil wrote her memoir, Witness to Change: From Jim Crow to Political Empowerment.” She continues to be involved in the New Orleans’ community as well as other organizations. Presently, she has served on the boards of Liberty Bank and Trust, WLAE-TV, the Amistad Research Center, and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp for young people. In addition, she is involved in Faith in Action, which is active in cities all over the United States as well as Rwanda, El Salvador and Haiti.

Sybil’s late husband, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, achieved many “firsts” in his career: first African American to graduate from LSU Law School, first African American Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, first African American Juvenile Court Judge, first African American Judge in the Louisiana Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit and the first African American Mayor of New Orleans. Sybil was involved in all of his campaigns.

Today their five children: Julie, Marc, Jacques, Cheri and Monique, continue the Morial tradition of service in their personal and professional lives.

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nown as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” Leah Chase has fed Quincy Jones, Jesse Jackson, Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall, James Baldwin, Ray Charles, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and countless others as Executive Chef of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant — one of the best-known and most culturally significant restaurants in New Orleans. Leah Chase recently served as the inspiration for Princess Tiana in Disney's Princess and the Frog.

Born on January 6, 1923 in New Orleans, Chase was one of 14 children. She was raised in the small town of Madisonville, LA. There were no high schools for black children, so after sixth grade, Chase moved to New Orleans to live with an aunt.

After completing high school, Chase had a colorful work history including managing two amateur boxers and becoming the first woman to mark the racehorse board for a local bookie.

Her favorite job, though, was waiting tables in the French Quarter. It was here that she developed her love for food and feeding others.

In 1946, she married local musician Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr., whose father had opened a street corner stand selling lottery tickets and his wife’s homemade po’boy sandwiches. Eventually, Leah and Dooky Jr. took over the business, which by then had become a sit-down restaurant and a favorite local gathering place.

In a town deeply divided by segregation, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant was one of the only public places in New Orleans where mixed race groups could meet to discuss strategy for the local Civil Rights Movement. Although such gatherings were illegal through most of the 1960s, Dooky Chase’s was so popular; it would have caused a public uproar if local law enforcement had interrupted the meetings. Black voter registration campaign organizers, the NAACP, back door political meetings and countless others often found a home at Dooky Chase’s,

Leah Chase

2019 President’s Flame Award In Tribute to Leah Chase 1923-2019

Chase was a patron of black art and her collection — displayed on the walls of her restaurant — was at one time considered New Orleans’ best collection of African American art. , She served on the board of the New Orleans Museum of Fine Arts and even testified before Congress to lobby for greater funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. She participated in countless political campaigns and used her culinary talents and celebrity to raise money for a myriad of charities and services. Her cookbooks, including The Dooky Chase Cookbook, And Still I Cook, and Leah Chase: Listen, I Say Like This, are popular and have received great praise among her most famous colleagues.

Chase received many awards, including multiple awards from the NAACP, the New Orleans Times-Picayune 1997 Loving Cup Award, the Weiss Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and the Outstanding Woman Award from the National Council of Negro Women. Chase was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2010. The National Restaurant Association honored Chef Chase in 2012 with the Faces of Diversity American Dream Award. Mrs. Chase is also a member of the Distinguished Restaurants of North America, DiRōna, Hall of Fame. She was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Foodways Alliance in 2000. Chase received honorary degrees from Tulane University, Dillard University, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Madonna College, Loyola University New Orleans, and Johnson & Wales University. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana named a permanent gallery in Chase’s honor in 2009. In 2015, the National Basketball Retired Players Association honored Mrs. Chase with the inaugural Darryl Dawkins Big Heart Award. Mrs. Chase received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation. She also serves on many boards, including the Arts Council of New Orleans, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Urban League. She was a member of the Women of The Storm and the International Women’s Forum. She had four children, sixteen grandchildren and twentyeight great-grandchildren.

Many were attracted to her warmth and mastery of culinary arts. Ray Charles sang about her, and National and International Presidents sought her out, but in all her ability to excite the palates of Leaders she remained steadfast in her ministry to all until her passing on June 1, 2019.

pecial Thanks

Felicia Boucree Michelle Matthew Elionder Harmon Adrian Guy Anderson Nezrene James Linda Nash Lauren Fox Dat Le Sylvia Brown Sydni Raymond Geralyn Love Taylor Plummer (Graphic Designer) Joseph Moretti Tanya Dillon Shannon Glapion Trudy Jackson Candace Waters Sabree Hill Darren Jones LaDrienna Howze Andrew Logan Michelle Bonds Sherice Campbell Epiphany Franklin

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS The Ray Charles Foundation New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Hotel Peter & Paul Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits Heritage Link Brands Go Park Valet La Belle Galerie

Sponsors

Special Thanks to Our 2019 Dinner en Bleu Planning Committee

Give to the Dillard University Ray Charles Program African-American Material Culture http://bit.ly/DURayCharlesProgram