New civil rights path marker to honor A.Z. Younger Park, spot of Louisiana’s first march | Information

From the left, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, and Sean Ardoin, a two-time Grammy nominee who is a relative of Amédé Ardoin (March 11, 1898 – November 3, 1942), get ready for a pre-planting ceremony two lemon trees in the AZ Young Park of Baton Rouge to commemorate the cultural and musical contributions of Amédé Ardoin, Thursday March 12, 2020. Ardoin created the framework for the development of Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music in the early 1900s. The ceremony near the State Capitol added recognition to Ardoin, whose statue by sculptor Russell Whiting was placed outside the St. Landry Parish Welcome Center in 2018. Ardoin’s death at the age of 44 from racially motivated beating sparked his family’s efforts to keep his music and legacy alive. Combining Ardoin’s signature high voice and accordion, Ardoin’s dance tunes and sad ballads are now Zydeco standards and he was one of the first Cajun artists to record his music. He was known to always have a lemon with him that he used to soothe his vocal cords. its current managing director Herman Fuselier, former four-time State Senator Donald Cravins, two-time mayor of Opelousas, and his wife Patricia Cravins, co-founder of the “Bring Amédé Home” fundraising campaign. Lemon trees were donated by Saxon Becnel and Sons Citrus Nursery in Belle Chasse.