Shreveport, LA — The Spring Street Historical Museum hosted a Jewish Heritage Panel on October 6, 2022, that featured members of LSU Shreveport’s faculty and Rabbi Dr. Jana De Benedetti of B’nai Zion Congregation.
Dr. Cheryl White, Professor of History at LSU Shreveport and the Director of Academic Initiatives and Museum Studies with the Spring Street Museum, opened the event by sharing the museum’s mission. “When [the museum] was acquired as an academic unit of the university, we really shifted our focus toward trying to tell some of the undertold stories of Shreveport. This is a way of engaging our students. We wanted to tell the stories that really had not been told before. That’s why we selected the Jewish heritage of Shreveport as our kickoff point.”
Dr. White was joined by the following panelists during this event: Dr. Alexander Mikaberidze, Professor of History at LSU Shreveport; Rabbi Dr. Jana De Benedetti of B’Nai Zion Congregation; and Dr. Helen Wise, Professor of Sociology at LSU Shreveport. Together, the four presenters discussed the heritage of the Jewish community in Shreveport. Attendees were also encouraged to view two new exhibits at the Spring Street Museum that contain photographs, menorahs, and other items depicting the history of Jewish-owned businesses in Shreveport.
The Jewish Heritage exhibit will be available through the month of November. The next exhibit underway at the museum will be centered around Black History Month in February 2023. Visit the Spring Street Museum’s website for more information.
