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I know customers are counting on me.

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Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth Ziegler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

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With support from viewers like you and Brigadoon, you know, the part of Louisiana people relate to the Louisiana pecans claim to fame in cuisine and culture.

And now the official state nut when it's over with.

Hey, we had the Bayou Classic and it was a good one and we got a great crowd.

The Bayou Classic celebrates its 50th year as a legendary rivalry and cultural force.

Everything we love about this place is complex and an ancestral recipe for Louisiana Gumbo.

Hi everyone.

I'm Care Sings here.

And I'm Karen LeBlanc.

Much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana, the state we're in.

But first, Louisiana's Parental Leave Act takes effect January 1st after receiving the approval of Governor John Bel Edwards and the State Civil Service Commission.

The paid leave could serve as a bellwether for private industry looking to recruit and retain employees.

Here's how it works.

State workers who have an adoption, a birth or fostering a child are eligible for 240 hours of paid parental leave.

Following that event, the parental leave is independent of the Family Medical Leave Act, sick leave and annual leave.

We are one of less than 15 states that actually have paid parental leave now.

So a huge thing for recruitment and retention because we are in a we're in a space now where workers are looking for employers that are going to be investing in them.

And looking at work life balance and how employers are giving that to them.

And sometimes we don't always have a bunch of salary adjustments to hand out.

So this is another something in our toolkit that can really help with recruiting people and recruiting talent to the area and retaining them.

And what sort of message do you think this sends to the rest of the nation?

I think that it sends that Louisiana is serious about attracting talent and retaining talent and that we're looking for creative and innovative ways to resource our employees.

Now, here's what's making headlines around the state this week.

Governor John Bel Edwards and First Lady Donna Edwards met with Governor elect Jeff Landry and Ms.. Sharon Landry at the Louisiana governor's mansion to discuss the gubernatorial transition and life at the mansion.

Governor elect Landry thanked the current governor and first lady for their willingness to help with a smooth transition.

Calling them, quote, a wealth of knowledge, Federal trial will begin.

And the challenge to Louisiana's state legislative district maps on Monday, November 27th.

The lawsuit filed in March 2022, asserts that the maps deny black residents an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The trial will take place at the Russell B Long Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

If you're watching the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, be on the lookout for the Louisiana celebration, Gator.

This is the celebration.

Gators third year on the New York City parade route.

Cajun fiddler Amanda Shaw from Mandeville and country singer and Alexandria native Alex Smith will be riding aboard the float and performing in this year's parade.

Now in its 97th year.

In a formal announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

Tulane University declared David Harris as its forthcoming athletic director.

The Baton Rouge native is currently serving as athletic director at Northern Iowa and is set to assume his new role on January 3rd.

A press conference introducing Harris is scheduled on Monday.

The appointment comes 45 days after the departure of the previous athletic director, Troy Dannon, who moved to the University of Washington in October after an eight year tenure at Tulane.

Louisiana pecan picking got off to a late start this year due to unseasonable weather, but pecan production is now in full swing.

Just in time for holiday baking and cooking.

Despite the delayed harvest, the Louisiana Bacon had a great year in 2023, becoming the official state nut.

I visited with a third generation pecan grower for a behind the scenes look at the Louisiana state nut and its importance to Louisiana cuisine and culture.

Is there a metaphor behind why you're cooking these pralines?

Is there a message in this?

No.

Ain't no message in this, except fine.

Eating the bacon is a main ingredient in Louisiana's culture and cuisine.

From pralines and pies to culinary creations by famous name chefs.

Okay, now with that, I'm going to add my pecans, right?

I'm going to put my pecans in here.

This year, pecan picking got off to a late start because about a month late, you know, six weeks late, we had a late freeze back into spring.

It kind of bagged the trees up some.

And then we had the bad drought and the heat and that just the backyard just would not fall and it wasn't over.

So how long will the actual picking and processing go on?

Well, the pecan and how they'll go on until probably February, but we process up until May, April or May.

Andre Basra is a third generation pecan grower whose family owned processing plant picks, sorts, cleans and packages.

Pecans shipped out nationwide.

A single tree can produce 200 to £300.

And behind the scenes, it's evident that a lot of work goes into prepping pecans for store shelves and kitchen tables.

Next, the nuts head to machine sorting by size and variety.

They undergo a shell removal process and a computerized eye sorts again for quality.

In the final stage, workers inspect by hand, and now the pecans are ready for packaging and Basra's trademark bags and boxes to ship out to stores, restaurants and other commercial clients.

The discarded pecan shells pouring into this truck are repurposed as a fuel source for paper mills.

Basra pecans processes 5 to £7 million of NGL pecans a year.

Well, if you grew up in Louisiana, chances are the pecan holds a special place in your heart.

For me, I remember picking pecans with my grandmother out in the backyard and then during the holidays in the kitchen with my mom baking pecan pies.

Now the pecan holds a cultural and an economic significance in the state of Louisiana.

And finally, it's getting its due as the official state nut, Governor John Bel Edwards declared the pecan as the official state nut in a bill proposed in the 2023 legislative session that he signed into law.

Oh, I think it's great.

I mean, you know, we're gonna do it, you know, on a part of Louisiana and people relate to them to the economy.

It pumps money into the communities and stuff.

And if money that turns over a lot and into the culture, I mean, it it's a natural thing.

People, especially in Louisiana, cook a lot with corn growing pecans.

It's about perseverance.

The Bajoran family has been cultivating the nut since 1910, going to battle with Mother Nature over the years.

Mother Nature.

You know, either you get too much rain, not enough rain.

If you get a hurricane, it will does a lot of damage to the trees.

So you suffered a lot of damage in 2008 from her, from Gustaf and Andrew before that, too.

And it it it damaged a lot of trees, a lot of trees in this area.

So most of your trees are wild.

Some are planted.

Yes.

And so the hurricanes came in and where it took a lot of trees out, you know, for everyone to pay it, it really pay off bad over here.

But we recouped you know, we gone and we were all in you know, most of Basra's pecan trees grow naturally.

About a fourth are planted.

Andre says it takes about 12 years for a pecan tree to mature and produce pecans, which is why Basra pecans is still recovering from Hurricane Gustav in 2008, which uprooted so many trees, it left visible clearings in the orchard.

Again, there's just not hurt your manhood to get in and make some pralines.

Sakho As you may have heard, Louisiana began production averages 15 to £17 million of pecans annually, making it one of the top producing states in the nation.

Distinguishing itself with its signature pronunciation of the beloved nut.

So I have a question for you.

Pecan or pecan?

Pecan.

You know what?

I think that the way to tell if you are a Louisianians or not is the way you pronounce Georgia.

They say pecan.

We say if we're going over here.

It was really fascinating.

And there is a lot that goes into pecan processing here at a thought I know.

And like you said, it's really important for the holiday season.

It's really important for baking.

Yeah.

So what's your favorite pecan memory?

Well, in my family, everybody loves pecan candy.

And my aunt makes it every single year.

And I remember the way it smelled and smelled lovely in the kitchen.

So that is my favorite.

Every there is a family member in every Louisiana family.

It's got a amazing pecan recipes.

Yes, she absolutely does.

And gumbo is also something that is linked to the holidays and is very important in Louisiana as families is it's usually the center of everyone's table during the fall and winter season.

But it's more than just a dish.

It's a complex piece of Louisiana's historical legacy that was made possible by years of innovation and creativity.

But what most of us eat today is not the same recipe our ancestors would have eaten around the time of the Louisiana Purchase.

Berry, also a Cajun folklorist, prepares Louisiana's signature dish the way it was originally made by West Africans.

Gumbo is a Louisiana culinary staple, a true testament to the complex interconnection of race, heritage and human ingenuity.

We all approach the recipe differently.

But there's one core ingredient that your grandmother probably insists on a flour based roux.

Anything else may get you laughed out of the kitchen.

But what if I told you?

The way that we make gumbo today is not how the original cooks prepared it.

So the history of gumbo is pretty.

It's mixed up.

I guess it's a bunch of different cultures.

Yeah, it's complicated.

Exactly as complicated as we are.

Exactly as complicated as that is.

As complex as our architecture, our music, our dance, Everything we do, everything we love about this place is complex.

Berry also is a former francophone and folklore professor at Ukelele and an experienced gumbo cook.

He says the dish we've come to enjoy is deeply intertwined with Louisiana's origin story.

It's a complex blend, a fusion of cultures that found themselves here, some coming to colonize a new place, some being brought here by force, some who are already here, and all of those people who found themselves living in the same place.

They interacted in various ways and learn from each other.

But the origin of gumbo starts in West Africa.

The name gumbo is derived from the Angolan word kin gumbo, which means okra.

Okra was the core ingredient to a soup like dish, served with rice and protein.

Some believe it also held spiritual significance in some West African cultures.

When the transatlantic slave trade brought Africans to the new world, they brought okra and rice with them.

It was a way to hold on to their identity in spite of being displaced.

It also was one of the few crops slaves were allowed to grow for themselves.

But why is it that gumbo in the way that we eat it specifically evolved here probably because of the French practice of wanting to do that in winter time and figuring out a way to sew it kept it kept going.

It it prolonged its life.

Berry's family still uses the traditional rulers method the Africans would have used when they came to Louisiana.

He was more than happy to show me.

First, you start with okra.

That's your new roux.

Okra is seasoned and mixed with other vegetables before being cooked almost to the point of burning the ingredients in the pot.

While that's cooking, you move on to the rest of your ingredient list.

Walk me through What are we doing?

First, we're going to cut up our chicken.

Make sure you keep the bones.

You can use it to make bone broth.

But the meat is put in another pot to brown, just like our okra.

The chicken will be used in place of our roux mixture.

So is that part of the tradition?

Was to let it brown?

Yeah.

The browning is what makes the brown stock the brown, you know, the broth.

Yeah, the broth.

So not a roux.

A broth.

Right.

Next we move on to the Holy Trinity, as Cajuns call it, which means bell peppers, onions and celery.

Now, keep in mind, this part is a slight break with tradition.

We don't fully know what vegetables Africans would have used because celery and bell peppers weren't available in America yet.

So whenever the West Africans were here and they mixed their recipes and their practices with the French and Native American culture, forget they brought rice to and the rice, correct.

I guess what was the timeline of all of this happening?

Is there even an estimate?

They first started settling Louisiana early 18th century and through the the the 1700s and into the 1800s, that's when all of that was was happening.

The the French were already here.

Spaniards came in.

African slaves were brought in.

It was during this time period that the rule we're familiar with today was introduced.

All right.

The French wanted to eat gumbo year round, but okra only grows in the summer in America.

So the French added butter, flour and oil to thicken the soup.

When okra was out of season, it was a process differed.

The result was pretty similar.

The key, the bottom line, the basis for gumbo is that caramelization?

Yes.

And however you can achieve that, that's that's what that's what everything else derived from.

When you chicken is cooked and the veggies are caramelized, you can add your okra and bone broth to the same pot.

You can add the chicken to let it simmer for a bit.

And then it's time for the final step.

The rice.

Before I took a bite, I had my doubts.

I've never eaten gumbo without a roux, but I have to say it tastes as good as any bowl I've ever eaten.

Right?

Yeah.

But what makes this bowl so special is the history behind it.

Our ancestors brought their recipes to the new world and created a culinary legacy.

So rich it became a Louisiana staple.

Ansel says the recipe he prepared would be very close to what Louisianians would be eating in the late 1700s, early 1800s, give or take a few spices.

Gumbo is very important.

It is very important to my family.

You will get in trouble if you mess it up before the holidays.

Shame here it was chicken and undoing sausage.

That was our go to gumbo.

We eat seafood and just pray for me because this year I'm supposed to be making the gumbo.

Well, good luck with that.

You better save me some.

I will.

Well, for many football fans across Louisiana, the Bayou Classic is part of their Thanksgiving Day tradition.

After the holiday meal, many pack up and head to New Orleans for a weekend of football, music and festivities.

This year, the Bayou Classic celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Half a century of what's nicknamed the sibling rivalry between Grambling State University and Southern University.

I sought out some of the legendary characters, plus college presidents, to explore why the Bayou Classic is a cultural force on and off the football field.

On Thanksgiving Day, these families prepare a turkey while packing up the ice chest in fan gear for the annual Bayou Classic, the weekend following Thanksgiving.

More than 250,000 fans descend on New Orleans for events leading up to the showdown at the Superdome between the Grambling Tigers and the Southern Jaguars.

This is an event that builds starting actually from the end of the event the year before.

The Bayou Classic is one of the greatest rivalries in college football.

I would say the granddaddy of monologue when you talk about classic.

I think is important.

I think it's something that is needed, especially from Louisiana.

But for black college as a whole, from a cultural standpoint.

On game day, the Bayou Classic airs on national television, reaching an estimated 4 to 5 million viewers with an attendance in the Superdome of upwards of 70,000 fans.

They have estimated approximately a $50 million economic impact to the greater New Orleans area.

And that's significant.

It has a remarkable financial benefit to the city of New Orleans and obviously to the universities.

I always believe that you could play the southern ground and could play in any car, pasture or anyplace else in the state of Louisiana, and that as many people as could find their way there would actually come to see us play.

The crossover between students, coaches and family members makes the Bayou Classic a sibling rivalry.

This is, you know, one of the greatest rivalries in college football.

But not only that, it is what I think is probably more of a sibling rivalry.

It's a family affair.

And then just I'm just just as though my family is entwined within remnant of an issue that many other Southern families and one family.

It's a family reunion because all of us have had.

I went to Grambling.

I have people that go some people go to some people.

They go to Grambling.

Grambling State President Rick Gallo attended the Bayou Classic as a child, played in the game as a member of the Marching band and now sits in the stands as head of the university.

I love your story.

Your connection to Grambling started as a child going to the Grambling game.

So the Bayou Classic is literally in your blood.

Tell me about that.

Yeah, no, it's some of my earliest memories of Bayou Classic, actually dates back to the old Tulane Stadium.

So even before it moved to the Superdome, I can recall going there as a child.

It's been a part of my life from from the very, pretty much from the very beginning.

Festivities kick off Friday night with the legendary battle of the bands at the New Orleans Superdome.

So for the battle of the bands that the Griggs and Ray Hutchinson started it many years ago and now today, the battle of it is huge.

When you talk about some people just go to the battle or even go to the game, you know, because they know that is all about the band and they get an experience like never before.

The two schools marching, you know, all of the energy and it's the musicianship that's so important.

It's a huge experience and it's one that's really indescribable.

Dr. Nicole Roebuck, director of bands at Grambling State University, had no idea, as a child fan of the band, it would be her destiny as a little girl to age about four or five.

I just watch the Grammies, that universe, the World Bank, Tigo Marching Band.

My Uncle Joe actually was assistant director of bands in the eighties.

I had no clue at that time that little girls sitting at the bottom of the ladder would one day climb to the top of the ladder and lead the world.

Tiger More to me.

The Bayou Classic also has an altruistic side, raising funds for scholarships with balls and banquets attended by famous names.

The gala really honors our dignitaries, folks that have donated to the school.

We always have a great musical artists.

Chaka Khan was amazing last year at the Foundation gala, and now we have Maxwell this year going to have an even bigger venue and we have what's called the Mystic Challenge, where students from both universities were actually from Grambling Southern, as well as Xavier and Dillard participate.

And it's a competition on business ideas that have incorporated technology into into those ideas.

So it is it's more than a football game, I can assure you.

Doug Williams, former NFL quarterback who played for Grambling in the first Bayou Classic, recounts the origins of the game.

We was fortunate, you know, Southern Ingram Be honest with you two to have a hit in Robinson and a college game Nicholson bag being used as I.D.

and Coach Robinson and they had a vision and that vision worked out well.

You know, they saw a lot of the how five schools who had big rivalries big games and crowd and everything like that.

And Grambling and Sun had been playing each other home at home.

All I have ever wanted to do was to give something back to our society.

All I want to do is stand for something that's good for the American youth.

Doug returns to the Bayou Classic as a fan in the stands for its 50th year.

You know, we look at a life and you got to see it gotten bigger.

Number one, because you got a Peabody.

You know, in 74, we didn't have a television.

We just had, you know, what was there.

And the people who's writing about it and things like that.

But now you get a chance to see it.

If you can't make it to the body class, you get a chance to see it.

Alvin Washington heads a House Divided.

Exactly.

I have family members who are Grammy knights and family members who are Southern Knights.

We generally get together with our school colors on.

So the family members who went to Grambling, they have their grandmom and stuff on in the family members who went to Southern, they have their southern stuff on.

Alvin starts football fandom early in his household.

And, you know, I've been trying to influence the grandkids, so I've been buying them grandma and stuff.

And I have a granddaughter who's about six months old now, so I already got her one of those outfits with Grambling State University stuff on there.

Over the past 50 years, the Bayou Classic has morphed into much more than a football game between two rivalries.

It's a cultural phenomenon and a beloved and celebrated tradition.

When you have the number of people who've been coming to the Bayou Classic, when you can put 85,000 people into the stadium and the demand that we have for tickets, if we had 100,000 seats, we could sell 100,000 seats at the Bayou Classic.

This year is going to be one for the record books.

It's going to be epic.

And when it's all said and done, you know, Grambling and Southern will both, you know, be the beneficiaries of having this one of a kind event.

This is going to be a great weekend, again, of 50 years of this game, nationally televised, bringing much attention to two programs that need to be seeing this shared experience in one place, in this fabulous event, I think means a lot, not just to the Jaguar Nation, but I think also the Tiger Nation, too.

It's nothing like being a part of as a player and then as a coach and neither spectator man.

I I've seen all phases of it and at the end of the day, it's still the same competitive mentality that you're going to have on the field, off the field, what have you.

But when it's over with, hey, we had the Bayou Classic and it was a good one and we got a great crowd.

Well, after the show, I want a bowl of gumbo and a pecan pie and some Rawlings.

Yes.

And don't forget about football.

We all want to sit around the television and watch football.

Yes.

With our fan gear on.

Yes.

Awesome.

Well, that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything, APB, any time, wherever you are with our LPI app.

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And please like us on Facebook X and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

We hope you had a happy and safe Thanksgiving and that your day was filled with great food and fun memories.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together.

Together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.