MRS. GOLDLEANA'S LEDGER: LOUISIANA LEARNING IN SHREVEPORT'S HOLLYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ON LEDBETTER STREET 1945-1975

This dissertation analyzes the sixty-four (64) page handwritten ledger of Mrs. Goldleana Harris (also known as Mrs. Mosley Abraham Gibbs, 1920–1986), kept between 1944 and 1960. Harris is a Black woman born in Longstreet, Louisiana DeSoto Parish. She lived in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1949–1986. Using a case study approach and close reading analysis of Mrs. Goldleana’s writings, I document a Black woman’s lived experience and the historical significance of Hollywood, a segregated Black neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana and related gathering spaces within the Deep South region of the United States between 1944 and 1960. These spaces include five areas of significant and overlapping importance: The Family House, The School House, The Church House, The Labor (Work) House, & The Play (Leisure) House.