The Acadian-Cajun Connection

by Norman Leger

On a sunny spring day at Fort Bragg, NC, I walked over to the supply office to procure new parts for the radio I was recently forcefully assigned. I met Private First Class Boudreaux, and for the first time in 2 years of southern residence, someone pronounced my name correctly. I stared in shock, and I asked him how he knew how to say my name. His response -- that lots of people in Louisiana are named Leger -- carried me on a search through my family’s history to understand why.

As early as 1605 the first Acadians came to North America. Though it is now Canada, no distinction was made at the time. Food was plentiful and friendships were made between the natives and the maritime (Acadian) French settlers. For over 80 years Acadians enjoyed a relatively quiet life in the new world. During the French and Indian War, over 11,000 Acadians were removed from their land and forced south. A large number of these Acadians started a new life in Louisiana -- they are known as the Cajuns. William Bethea, my neighbor and friend who grew up in the heart of Cajun country, helped me to understand the cultural similarities and differences between the separated families of Acadians and Cajuns.

Many factors of Acadian culture stood the test of time and remain integral parts of Cajun culture. From William’s testimony I learned that the Catholic Church remains the epicenter of Cajun culture. In fact, the jurisdictions (known in most states as counties) of Louisiana are called parishes due to the strong Catholic influence. Attending mass (church) on Sunday when I was young was required. I also attended Catholic school until the sixth grade. Until the early 1900s, Cajun children spoke a variation of Acadian French. However, the Compulsory Education Act forced Cajun children to attend school and learn to speak English. For example, my grandfather was taught English in grade school. Prior to school, Acadian French was the only spoken language in his home. In Cajun culture, family elders are revered and respected. The same is true with my family. My grandfather’s word was law. No decisions were made in my family without concern for how he felt.

Some aspects of Cajun culture did change. These changes can be seen through food and music. Large amounts of spices are added to Cajun meals along with regionally grown meats and vegetables. William invited me to eat some gumbo he made. When he handed me a bowl, all I could focus on was the green chunks of foreign substance at the surface. The green stuff turned out to be okra. After overcoming the visual shock of the dish, I found it quite delicious. The styles of dishes served in Louisiana hold a stark contrast to the dishes served in Acadian Canada where most meals are very bland. With music, the introduction of the accordion excelled Cajun music into its own form. By placing the accordion as the central instrument, zydeco (Cajun) music separated from its northern Acadian roots.

Much of the Acadian-Cajun cultural background stood fast when confronted with separation and time. The items that did change seem to be associated with the Cajun’s new surroundings after the Great Expulsion. The culture insights of William Bethea, my friend, and his childhood surrounded by Cajun culture have helped me learn more about the rich cultural heritage of the American South.

Work Cited

Bethea, William. Personal interview. 6 Feb. 2012.

Note: Norman Leger is pursuing an associate in scirence degree at Sandhills Community College. Although he lives now in Raeford, NC, he grew up in Massachusetts with cultural influences of Acadian French ancestors.

A Time to Remember

by Moneé Bratcher

“Mother was the most important aspect of my life. As far back as I can remember from the first day I was born, my mother was always the center of my life. At the early age of three I noticed that my mother was a loving, caring, and a hard working woman. She loved my father, sisters, brothers, and I,” said my 56-year-old grandmother, Mama as I called her, as she looked me in the eyes reminiscing about her past.

“Moneé, I was taught at a young age to be independent,” said Mama. Either you become independent or you might get lost in the daily family-school shuffle. There were a total of seven children in her family, five girls and two boys. My grandmother was the third child of five and because there was a huge gap between four older siblings and her, she had to learn quickly in order to keep up with them. This might have been her first lesson in becoming independent and developing her personality.

“I remember my mother, my older siblings, and I had to get up early in the fall mornings to catch a truck to go pick cotton in Scotland County. It was cold and rainy on the back of the truck to the cotton farm and we had to use quilts to stay warm,” said Mama. My grandmother said that once they arrived at the cotton field they had to check in at the Masters barn and gather sacks to pick the cotton. The cotton industry was significant in the South during the 1950s because it was large part of the agriculture system.

“As a five-year-old I didn’t think that cotton picking was important. I considered it hard work for my family. We did not receive much money for our daily work on the fields; we were only paid 25 cents per 100 pounds of cotton. Backbreaking work and no money,” said my grandmother in frustration. Today that cotton plantation has become a productive well known winery, Livingston Winery.

From my grandmother’s perspective cotton picking taught her that getting an education is the key to a better life and a way out of the South. However, getting an education in the segregated South was not easy. For example, my grandmother had to attend a segregated school, she received second-hand books from the white schools, and rode one school bus that for all K-12 students. In the late 1960s the southern schools began to integrate in the South. My grandmother integrated at Pine Forest High School with hundreds of other black and white students.

I asked my grandmother if integrating with white students made her feel uncomfortable or was it a challenge. She stated that she didn’t feel uncomfortable, but she knew that it was going to be a challenge to make good grades. “A challenge that I faced in the classrooms of Pine Forest was that a white teacher called on all of the white kids and refused to call on me. I knew that I had the right answer, Moneé, that was the first time I felt the sting of a prejudiced white teacher,” said Mama. Mama, how did you feel when the white students called you “Nigger”? “It didn’t make me feel good because no one wants to be called out of their name, but I didn’t let it destroy me because my mother taught me never to be afraid and to be my own person, and to speak what I feel and think.”

“Throughout my living experiences in the South of my 56 years, I have learned to live and be happy and take life seriously, realistically, and logically. At the end of the day I felt like I have accomplished what I have set out to due. With my educational experience I can now be a customer at the winery on that cotton plantation — and not a cotton picker.”

Work Cited

Ingram, Juanita. Personal interview. 2 Feb. 2012.

Note: Moneé Bratcher, who is from Raeford, NC, is pursuing an associate in arts degree at Sandhills Community College as a SandHoke Early College High School student.