Miriam Latter
Miriam Latter was born in Houston, Texas, in 1951. She grew up in Shreveport and New Orleans, graduating from Fortier High School. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Steven Latter; they own Tujague's Restaurant in New Orleans and have three children. Latter serves as President of Congregation Gates of Prayer, the reform synagogue in Metairie, New Orleans.
Miriam discusses her childhood growing up in Shreveport and New Orleans, meeting her husband, raising her family in Metairie, and running Tujague's Restaurant, one of the oldest restaurants in the French Quarter. She talks about her involvement and leadership role in the Jewish community as president of the Congregation Gates of Prayer. Miriam describes her experience during Hurricane Katrina. Metairie flooded from the pumps being abandoned during the storm, and the Latters lost furniture and had to replace their floors. Miriam also talks about the importance of the first community-wide prayer service at Touro Synagogue for Rosh Hashanah, which included Jewish first responders, the National Guard, doctors, nurses who came to help, and the Jewish residents who had returned home. For Yom Kippur, the three Reform congregations (Gates of Prayer, Touro Synagogue, and Temple Sinai) met at Gates of Prayer, and they had over five hundred people in attendance. They set up folding chairs because the synagogue sustained a million dollars worth of flood damage. Miriam reflects on this event, explaining, "It was just an unbelievable feeling, that … we're back!"