“Finding Faith in the Storm: Black Narratives of Perseverance in Southwest Louisiana,” is more than an exhibit. It is the beginning of a mission to preserve Black history in Southwest Louisiana and beyond.

In McNeese State’s Frazar Memorial Library on Joe Dumars Drive, 20 photographs, books and artifacts, like a minster’s robe, are on display. These pieces highlight the history of North Lake Charles’ Travelers Rest Baptist Church while exploring the resilience of Black churches in the face of racism, natural disasters and COVID-19.

The archival exhibit focuses on the Black church experience in Southwest Louisiana, said project coordinator Kimberly F. Monroe, assistant professor of Africana arts and history at Trinity Washington University’s Global Affairs Department.

“The goal of the exhibit was to examine the history of how Black churches like Travelers Rest have survived in small, kind of segregated, Southwest Louisiana,” she said, “but also thinking about the experiences they’ve dealt with over time through natural disasters, losing members, some moments of institutional racism.”

The exhibit is funded by the Crossroads Project: “Black Religious Histories, Communities and Cultures” at Princeton University. Monroe said she applied for the grant. After she received funding, she began working with McNeese to begin the archival process.

Pati Threatt, archivist and special collections librarian at the Frazar Memorial Library, said marginalized communities are traditionally not appropriately represented in archival collections.

“There’s been a real push in the last 30, 40 years to get more collections that don’t document the rich and famous people,” she explained. “They document the normal, everyday people who normally wouldn’t be written into history. We’re always looking to document the entire community, not just one group.”

Monroe said she was inspired to explore “home” after one of her graduate school professors encouraged her. A Lake Charles native, Monroe is quite familiar with the church. Her father is the pastor and the exhibit is dedicated to her mother who passed in 2017.

“When it came time to choose a religious community, this was, of course, the one I had in mind because of how important the Black church is as an institution in my development as a scholar, as a professional, but also just in my spiritual practice.”

Opening the exhibit on Feb. 1 was an intentional act, she said, that provided Southwest Louisiana a moment to reflect on the importance of the Black church in communities. It also provides a moment for patrons to understand the gravity of diverse representation in archival efforts.

“When we think about what’s going on with current executive orders to take away a lot of these identity months and celebrations, I think that we can see from this experience of Traveler’s Rest, but also Black churches and celebrating Black history that there is a further need to develop narratives and stories such as these,” Monroe said.

As a part of the grant, a 20-minute documentary was filmed during the 53rd anniversary of the church last June. It explores more of the church’s history through interviews with five current and former members and the anniversary service celebrations.

The documentary was shown at the exhibit opening, but they are working to find a way to show it again, she said. It will also be highlighted on the Princeton website alongside other Crossroads Projects.

Work to highlight the cultural importance of Black churches has already begun with programs like “The Black Church” featuring scholar Henry Louis Gates on PBS, she noted. She intends for the exhibit will create an inspired ripple that will create waves throughout the state.

“But we are now looking at some of those more localized narratives and stories in small communities like Lake Charles,” she said. “And so we’re hoping that this is something that catches on to other communities across Southwest Louisiana and South Louisiana in general.”

The exhibition will be on display through May.