Dr. Rachel Emanuel

2010 Louisiana Role Model
The Arts Facet

Dr. Rachel Emanuel, a public relations professional with many years of experience is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana.  Dr. Emanuel earned both her Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in journalism and public relations from Louisiana State University and completed a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Emanuel’s colorful career began in 1992 when she was awarded her first media grant by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities to produce a biographical profile on the late New Orleans civil rights attorney, Alexander Pierre Tureaud, Sr.  Her efforts resulted in a documentary, “Journey for Justice: The A. P. Tureaud Story.”  As a result of this documentary and her other professional and community accomplishments, Dr. Emanuel has received numerous awards and commendations. She is past president of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), and was named PRAL’s 1997 Communicator of the Year for her documentary on A. P. Tureaud. She was also named a 2000 YWCA Woman of Achievement and earned the 2007 YWCA Racial Justice Award for her documentary work.   Additional awards include the Louisiana Press Women’s Association Award of Excellence in Documentary, and the American Association of State and Local History Certificate of Commendation.  Dr. Emanuel serves as a member of the board and past chair of the Baton Rouge Film Commission.  Presently she is serving as Director of Publications and Electronic Media at Southern University Law Center and adjunct professor at Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communications and Southern University Department of Mass Communication. 

In addition, a biography, “A More Noble Cause: A.P. Tureaud and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Louisiana” by Emanuel and A.P. Tureaud, Jr., has been approved for publication by the LSU Press in spring 2011.