Bayou Dilemma

Contributions by Janet Allured Craig E. Colten Marcus Cox Pearson Cross John Bel Edwards Adam Fairclough Keith Finley Samuel C. Hyde Jr. John Lopez and Robert Mann <p/> In the fall of 2022 a diverse group of scholars including scientists historians political scientists geographers and journalists along with Governor John Bel Edwards gathered to present views on the challenges that define life in Louisiana. Born out of the symposium <i>Bayou Dilemma: Louisiana in Crisis and Change </i>is an unprecedented compilation that examines the social political environmental and economic hurdles pervasive to the Gulf South and especially the Bayou State. <p/> The essays collected in the volume illuminate pressing problems confronting Louisiana and its surrounding environs as well as some of the least known and most frequently misunderstood issues that have affected the state in the past. Topics include the problems of flood control unequal treatment for African Americans and women political corruption endemic violence and partisan applications of justice as well as the crisis of coastal erosion the dilemma of special interests shaping legislation and the corresponding drain of talent from the state to regions offering improved opportunities. The anthology is a provocative and essential guide that reveals how such trials emerged how they were overcome or managed and how they continue to shape the Gulf South's regional identity. Concentrating on the future well-being of the state and its occupants the volume suggests fresh pathways for addressing these lingering concerns.