Have you ever looked around and saw the best in everyone and everything?
Louis Toliver Jr did.
However, he felt powerless to the injustices he faced and witnessed everyday. Growing up in Swartz, LA until 2002, an African-American with a Creole background, Louis suffered racial abuse and ridicule from both black and white peers. Raised gifted and talented from 5th - 12th grade, Louis’s high school English teacher took notice both to Louis’s depression and artistic abilities. Louis discovered creative writing, encouraged by his English teacher to use writing as an outlet of expression for his struggles. It wasn’t until a decade later that Louis would find a real purpose to write.
2012
Louis was working on his Ph.D in creative writing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2012. He just finished serving as co-editor of ULL’s creative writing journal, The Southwestern Review, with Amber J. Lucik, who was also his roommate. The two were the first to not only design, but also market the university journal, building community. Louis had an idea of not rejecting submissions, but creating a blog that would feature writings that weren’t chosen for the journal. This way, no one would be rejected and everyone’s work could be seen. It became a very popular idea! Louis posted writers and where they were from (mostly in Acadiana Louisiana). But, it would be a shocking national crisis that pushed Louis to put his education to use and use his experiences to start a movement.
On December 29th, 2012, Louis Toliver Jr. made the first post on Louisiana Words, called "The Louisiana Social Pledge." Two weeks prior, The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Connecticut had occurred. It was a mass shooting leaving twenty children between 6 -7 years old and six adults dead. In short, "The Louisiana Social Pledge" was a plea for society to choose creativity over violence and to also to communicate to each other better. There has never been such an artistic expression to let out the angst and turmoil of the times with violence and the abuse of social media. Louis learned and understood: the more emotions we let out and don't hold in, less likely we are to be violent.
2013
Louisiana Words gained popularity over the winter of 2013. Louis recruited friends, graduate school peers, writers from The Southwestern Review, and top students from the English courses he taught at ULL. At the beginning of Spring 2013, a huge opportunity was given to Louis that would magnify the focus on Louisiana Words and push its message across the state. Acadiana LGBTQ community members reached out to Louis to become the first president of a pride organization in Lafayette.
Louis was in his 4th year towards his Ph.D in Creative Writing. Feeling uninspired and his interests ignored by his dissertation committee at ULL’s English department, Louis wasn’t doing well in school. Louis saw pride as an opportunity to bring people together and put his education to use as a writer. However, Louis did not identify with LGBTQ culture, but he saw the positive places the community could go. This would also be a formal beginning to Louis’s writing career. In March 2013, Louis accepted the invitation to run for president of the first LGBTQ pride and won unanimously against his opponent. Then Louis won 2nd place for Louisiana Words at the graduate showcase at ULL in April 2013. Louis was receiving validation outside the educational realm which he needed to keep going forward.
Louisiana Words became the platform that launched the Acadiana Pride Festival in May 2013. Louisiana Words: The Series was created by Louis Toliver Jr, now president of the Acadiana Pride Festival, and his friend, Ted A. Richard, now Vice President, who also had been participating in Louisiana Words prior. Ted became a key player in the logistics of having Louisiana Words turned into a show for Acadiana Pride Festival. Ted warned Louis early on that Louisiana Words would have to be tamed to get the family friendly LGBTQ message across to the statewide community. Instead of the first Louisiana Words show being about why Louisiaana Words was created, it was centered around the cause of Acadiana Pride Festival and raising money.
Local photographer/writer, James Leland Ludeau III, surfaced and sought to get behind the Louisiana Words movement. He shared ideas that influenced the series, but he was not interested in Louisiana Words: The Series being tied to socio-politics when the blog showcased the freedom of voice. Disappointed that pride overshadowed Louisiana Words: The Series, James separated himself from Louisiana Words after the first show and created Words of Acadiana, rivaling Louisiana Words.
Louis faced a conflict between Louis, the creator of Louisiana Words, and Louis, the 1st Acadiana Pride Festival president. Louisiana Words and Acadiana Pride Festival became synonymous with each other. He realized that if Louisiana Words fully embraced Acadiana Pride Festival he would be alienating people.
August 2013, Louis and James reconciled differences. Louisiana Words: The Series was refocused from around Acadiana Pride Festival to focusing on Louisiana writers of all kinds races and cultures. Louis asked James to be the new co-host of Louisiana Words. The series was now built on Louis and James as regular people, not Louis as the pride president. Hundreds of people performed at the series.
James joining Louisiana Words and being the creator of Words of Acadiana was an appreciated move by audiences who weren’t interested in Acadiana Pride Festival, but liked Louisiana Words. James submitted the second highest amount of contributions on Louisiana Words with a little over 100 poems and stories. James became a fan favorite for his rebellious nature. Louis only mentioned Acadiana Pride Festival at the end of each show in support of the freedom of expression. The series became fun for the all of the community. Louisiana Words: The Series ended in March 2014 as platform of expression linked to the Acadiana Pride Festival. The series had been held in over 10 different venues from May 2013 - March 2014.
2014
At the end of March 2014, the Acadiana Pride Festival debuted and ended. Louis did not run for re-election for President. Ted became the 2015 Acadiana Pride President. Louis was happy to give the pressure of the platform away. Louis separated Louisiana Words from the organization and kept Louisiana Words going. It maintained popularity throughout 2014, and over 10 writers each had contributed 10 - 50 poems and stories. Eventually, Louis moved from Lafayette, LA to Austin in May 2014. Ted created Acadiana Words as a replacement with James as the host, but it lacked enthusiasm as was short lived. James continued Words of Acadiana.
From May 2014 - December 2014, Louis focused the attention of Louisiana Words as an exotic brand of Louisiana writers meant to be showcased in Austin, Texas.
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