Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble

In the Northeast Louisiana Delta, the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble continues a tradition once practiced throughout the region. Combining both Chrisitan worship and West African ring shout traditions, Easter Rock has its roots in the antebellum South, first practiced by enslaved Africans. Once found thriving down the Mississippi floodplain from East Carroll Parish to Concordia Parish, today it can be witnessed only in Franklin Parish, and only practiced by the “Rockers.” Under the direction of Hattie Addison Burkhalter, the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble continues a tradition passed down over more than five generations, reflecting a uniquely Louisiana sacred service filled with devotion, expression, and symbolism.

Held on Easter Eve, Easter Rock celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Deriving from side-to-side movement of the procession, “rocking” gets its name from the biblical prophet Elijah, who “rocked to the coming of the Lord.” One of the rare women-led African American traditional spiritual rituals, the procession culminates in the Easter Rockers singing in call-and-response, accompanied by the syncopated beat of their feet hitting the wooden floor. Dressed in white clothing and circling around a long table covered in a white cloth—representing the sepulcher of Christ—symbolism imbues the entire ceremony. Done at nighttime, the service is lit by 12 oil lamps that symbolize the 12 Tribes of Israel and features 12 cakes that represent the 12 Disciples of Christ. Eggs in baskets are placed on the table to reference the breaking of the grave in Christ’s resurrection, and red punch symbolizes the Blood of Christ.

For over 60 years, Hattie Addison Burkhalter has served as the leader of the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble, preserving the tradition while teaching family and community members. Learning under the leadership of her grandmother, Burkhalter has been rocking since she was six. “They just, just all of us got together,” she recalls in a 1994 interview. “They put all the children in the middle and the old folks got behind. It [would] be about five in the front, and the rest of them would be behind. … [I] just got there and see what they were doing; I see what my grandma was doing, my auntie was doing, and I just did what she was doing."

Through Burkhalter’s dedication to continue the tradition, the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble represents a multigenerational lineage. Through her instruction and knowledge, the group consists of both community members and family members: from her sister Pearlie Addison Whitten, to daughter Laketa “PK” Addison Levy, and grandchildren LaDejia Addison, Tyreal Addison, Ha’Tia Levy, and Roderick Levy, Jr. While a sacred service, the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble has shared their tradition numerous times throughout Louisiana, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Northeast Louisiana African American Museum, and the 1997 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. In 2021, the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble were awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship, our nation’s highest honor for folk and traditional artists. In 2024, the ensemble participated in an historic collaboration with the Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters, a tradition also rooted in the ring shout; a documentary produced during this week of cultural exchange programs throughout New Orleans was accepted into the 2025 New Orleans Film Festival.