Refractions with Harper P Gentry

Cherice Harrison-Nelson serves as the Maroon Queen of the Guardians of the Flame Maroon Society carries forward a lifelong commitment to culture, education, and community.

I know her as Queen Reesie, though she also answers to Miss Nelson, and many of the children she’s mentored call her Mommy Queen. Each name reflects a different role she plays in the community—as a teacher, mentor, cultural bearer, and leader.

After her father, Donald Harrison Sr., became an ancestor in 1998, Queen Reesie transformed her grief into action by helping establish the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame.

The Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame was created not only to honor her father, but to make sure that children could learn directly from the culture bearers in their own community. Harrison-Nelson continues the tradition of father bringing Mardi Gras Indians into local schools to teach children about their history, artistry, and traditions.

In this video, her kids drummed in support of Cherice’s portrayal of a character she created—the Plague Doctor.

We filmed this video on June 19, 2026, in observance of Juneteenth —Queen Reesie’s kids drummed in support of the character she created—the Plague Doctor. A crowd gathered outside the Cabildo telling the story of Jean Saint Malo and the generations who struggled for freedom. The Dirge of Saint Malo was read by Givonna Joseph

I admire our Queen not only as a culture bearer but as a performer for her unwavering commitment in preserving and sharing African American, Afro-Indigenous, and New Orleans cultural history.

Her mother, or as I call her “Ma,” appears in the video, holds a special place in my heart. Ma serves as a reminder that culture is passed on from one generation to the next through family, storytelling, and community.

Whether performing, or serving as an educator, curator, artist, or Maroon Queen, Cherice Harrison-Nelson continues to be a positive force in the lives of not only children, but for many of us adults who continue to learn from her as well.

One of the greatest shows I've ever witnessed was a celebration of the life of Allen Toussaint at the Orpheum Theater. On November 2015, New Orleans honoured the great Allen Toussaint with performances by John Boutte, Irma Thomas, Bob Skaggs, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Trombone Shorty, and many more. I was fortunate to be there with my camera, and these photographs are from that unforgettable day.

How We Can Use Our Creativity to Make the World a Better Place

Refractions with Harper P. Gentry

Why are we drawn ro Jeff Buckley nearly thirty years after his death?

It’s more than the music.

Jeff approached creativity—with child like wonderment with a strict discipline, Jeff was vulnerabile , with a hunger for perfection. In a culture that often rewards certainty, Jeff remained a student of the process.

In this second episode of my series on Jeff Buckley, I look at Memphis—the city that that was the setting for the final chapter of his life. Memphis wasn’t just where he died, but the place he was living, writing, exploring new ideas, and trying to discover where his music was taking him.

Together with Jessica Snyder of Mystery Dream Boy, we talk about Memphis, the mythology, and the reality of those final months. We explore why Jeff’s work continues to resonate across different generations, and why artists today still find inspiration in his commitment to authenticity, collaboration, and creative growth.

This conversation isn’t about an ending.

It’s about a creative life still unfolding through the music, the images, the archives, and the people who continue to find meaning in his work.

I hope you’ll join us.

Listen to the latest episode of Refractions with Harper P. Gentry.

Some artists never really leave us.Not just through the music, but through the photographs, the feeling, and the memories attached to them.

On this episode of Refractions with Harper P. Gentry, I talk with Jessica Snyder, curator of @mysterydreamboy, about Jeff Buckley, Merri Cyr, and the relationship between music, image, and memory in a time before social media.

We talk about why his work still connects with people today, and how certain artists continue to find new generations long after they’re gone. #RefractionsPodcast

Reba Rambo — on songwriting, voice, and being an artist

In this episode of Refractions, singer and songwriter Reba Rambo reflects on a life shaped by music—on finding her voice, writing songs that endure, and what it means to remain a true artist over time.

Featuring a tribute written by songwriter King Rio Nevada:

“Lady, sing to me of rainbow painted skiesand Joseph coats of multi-coloured leaves—let your words become a wall around my heart,and let your voice become a place of peace.”

Some voices are like home—a place we return to.

Photographs are more than what is seen through our eyes—they have a way of telling a story. When I met Bethany Bultman, our friendship felt like I was stepping into something that had already been in motion for a long time. Penny Weaver felt the same way.

In this episode, we talk about photographers who shaped their way of seeing—Eve Arnold and the way she met people where they were, Herman Leonard and those deep shadows and smoke-filled rooms, Henri Cartier-Bresson, a “pioneering photographer who captured life’s fleeting moments with precision and intuition, defining what he called ‘the decisive moment,’ and the instinct to catch something just as it’s about to disappear.”

Bethany talks about what it was like to be a muse, and Penny talks about capturing Bresson and Harper Lee, and that moment when she paid attention and noticed what’s right in front of her and did not turn away.

This episode isn’t just about photography. It’s about preserving legacy.

—Harper P. Gentry

Bay St. Louis—where a kind of Southern Gothic lingers along the Gulf, shaped by memory and resilience—is home to The Mockingbird Café, a place that feels like the living room of the community. Inspired in name and spirit by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the café offers refuge, conversation, and connection.

In the years following Hurricane Katrina, three women—Allison Wonderland Schwabaker, Sandy Maggio, and Ann Dwiddie Madden—helped shape that spirit into something lasting. What began as a simple idea grew into Dolly Should and Frida Fest, where creativity became a way to rebuild, to gather, and to remember who we are to one another.

This episode reflects on how a town, a café, and a few determined voices turned celebration into community—and community into something enduring.