Fanfare lecture to focus on Louisiana's Russell Long
Friday, September 26, 2014
by: Rene Abadie
HAMMOND – Russell Long, the late son of Louisiana's famed Gov. Huey P. Long and a U.S. Senator for nearly 40 years, will be the topic of a Southeastern Louisiana University lecture scheduled at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Pottle Auditorium.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Professor of History Michael Martin will discuss his recently published book "Russell Long: A Life in Politics" as part of Southeastern's kickoff of its Fanfare season, a month-long celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Martin, who is the Cheryl Courrege Burguieres Board of Regents Professor of History at ULL, will examine Sen. Long's public life and places it within the context of 20th century Louisiana, Southern and national politics. Russell Long served as a U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until his retirement in 1987. He was chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and considered one of the foremost experts on tax law. Long died in 2003.
Martin is also the director of ULL's Center for Louisiana Studies, a research center that includes the Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore and the Colonial Records Project. Prior to joining the history faculty at ULL, he was a research associate with the Albert Gore, Sr. Biography Project at Middle Tennessee State University.
He holds his bachelor's and master's degrees in history from the University of Southwestern Louisiana – now ULL – and his doctorate from the University of Arkansas.
