The National Trust recently announced that John Warner Smith has accepted the position of executive director of the Shadows-on-the-Teche Trust Stewardship Site. Smith recently talked with this reporter about his vision for the Shadows going forward.

“I’m excited to begin my tenure at the Shadows,” says Smith. “There are new enhancements we will be putting in place for our reopening date, May 6. Our visitors’ experiences will shift from tours of the house, to more programming focused on telling the full story of the Shadows – highlighting not only the owners but also the enslaved people who worked at the plantation. We intend to invite local residents to become engaged, rediscovering this National Trust for Historic Preservation site.”

Smith is a seasoned executive who has worked in the non-profit, government, art and culture, and banking sectors. He is a strong advocate for public education. “We seek to enlighten and educate our guests, as well as evoke a spirit of empathy and understanding of the history of the Shadows and our community,” he explains. “This is the same crown jewel of New Iberia, but we want to bridge the gaps that may exist between people by having discussions with visitors; themes of conversation that will provide a more interactive experience.”

After serving as Louisiana’s Secretary of Labor, he became the founding chief executive officer of Education’s Next Horizon, a statewide non-profit organization that focused on framing the debate for comprehensive, system-wide PreK-12 education reform and connecting education, business, and community leaders as a force supporting school improvement.

Most recently, Smith has served as the education policy director for the Urban League Louisiana. In this role he was responsible for leading the Urban League’s statewide education equity initiative, including planning and facilitating equity research and engaging community partners to advance equity in large school districts of Louisiana.

Smith was also the State Poet Laureate of Louisiana from 2019-2021. He is the first African American male to serve in this position. In this role, he served as the state’s ambassador to encourage residents to explore and engage with poetry. In November 2019, Smith memorialized a violent racial incident in the state’s history, the ousting of black professionals from New Iberia, by appearing at a historical symposium and debuting a new poem about the events. The poem was read at a public program hosted by the Iberia African American Historical Society. 

John Warner Smith is no stranger to Iberia Parish. He is a native of Louisiana and has close family members who live in New Iberia. Smith’s father hailed from Loreauville, and he also has aunts, uncles and cousins nearby. “Yes, I  have close ties to this area,” says Smith. “I lived in Lafayette for a number of years, and when Phebe Hayes approached me to write the commemorative poem about events in New Iberia, I did my research, read up on history and wrote the poem. Phebe had it printed up on brochures for the Iberia African American Historical Society.”

It was also Dr. Hayes who encouraged Smith to apply for the Shadows director position when it became available. “Phebe called me and told me of this position,” he recalls. “At first, I thought it was a longshot for me. I was working for the Urban League at the time, it was fulfilling work improving schools throughout the state. As I read further into the job description, it was almost like a voice calling deep inside me urging me to consider it. It occurred to me that this may be an opportunity that I should think deeply about. It appealed to my love of history, of writing, of poetry, of the area. I realized that this gives me a chance to teach history in a different sort of way, a new calling for my life.” 

The Shadows on the Teche will reopen to the public on May 6, and the community welcomes a new era of enhanced visitor experiences under the guidance of John Warner Smith.■