So, So Pretty ~ Mardi Gras Indian Queens of New Orleans
By Queen Cherice Harrison Nelson and Karen Celestan
(anticipated release – Spring 2014)
Freedom’s Dance: The Second Line in New Orleans
Photos by Eric Waters
Narrative by Karen Celestan
(projected release: Fall 2014)
Freedom’s Dance will provide an intimate look at the famed Second Line in New Orleans, focusing solely on the SAPC tradition, which rituals date back to the 1700s in New Orleans, when slaves first arrived at the port. This book will be filled with images from the lens of photographer Eric Waters (approximately 200 photos – including black-and-white, color, spot color and topaz). Waters, using visuals from the early 1970s to the present, showcases the pageantry of working-class people celebrating life through a dynamic display that engages even the most reserved observer.
The book will feature supporting essays from several writers, including musician and scholar Dr. Michael White, arts consultant James Borders, Joyce Jackson, PhD (professor, Louisiana State University), Kalamu ya Salaam, Freddi Evans (author of Congo Square) and artist Charles Siler. Foreword by Robert Farris Thompson, PhD, professor emeritus, Yale University.
This project is supported by a grant from
