Marker is on Lee Street north of 9th Street, on the right when traveling north. (KALB) - Expert researchers and historians spent Tuesday at Holly Oak Cemetery in Pineville, searching for a rumored mass gravesite. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? 1845-1918. Lee Street Riot of 1942 Marker. Southerners were known as gracious hosts, after all. "This cemetery, in 1942, was an extremely secluded spot," said Wynne. But this was still the Deep South during the Jim Crow Era. I only know one thing and that is, whenever anybody says, Remember Pearl Harbor, I will say, I will remember Lee Street.'. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. In the 55 years between Reconstruction and the Second World War, time may have moved, but in Central Louisiana, almost everything else remained still. Golden Shield. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? Alexandria, La. I dont know how I got to safety after the riot, a Black trainee at Camp Claiborne recalled. Surface changes, soil changes and big tree roots, which look like an interred body, are also organic and surrounded by soil can provide challenges for the radar when used in a cemetery. On June 14, 2017, a gunman walked onto a baseball field at Eugene Simpson Park in Alexandria, Virginia, opening fire on politicians and wounding House GOP Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and four . On September 13, the Republicans held a meeting in the town of Washington, not far from Opelousas, and found streets lined with armed Seymour Knights. Twelve years later, after a White businessman, Oday Lavergne, purchased the majority of the Lee Street corridor, the mural was taken down, though not before Lavergne and an African American consultant named Von Jennings vowed to preserve its message.. He found the message in early September 1868, illustrated with a coffin, a skull and bones, and a dagger dripping with blood. Events happening in Alexandria, Louisiana on Saturday, 27th May 2023 information about Upcoming events in Alexandria like parties, concerts, meets,shows, sports, club, reunion, Performance . Colfax was the scene of the Colfax massacre on Easter, April 13, 1873. 21 lives lost: Uvalde victims were a cross-section of a small, mostly Latino town in South Texas. Today819 Lee St. is just a vacant lot in downtown Alexandria, but back in 1942it was the site the former Ritz Theater, where the trouble began. Use arrow keys to navigate. Alexandria was burned to the ground by the Union, and emancipation upturned the regions economy, which had been largely dependent on slave labor and the slave trade. Image 1 of 15 368 Stovall Rd, Alexandria, LA 71303 . Simpson relates what he had been told by those he interviewed. | READ MORE, Lorraine Boissoneault is a contributing writer to SmithsonianMag.com covering history and archaeology. For a few hours, the team walked through the cemetery with the ground penetrating radar, flaggingareas of interest to uncover answers to the mystery detailed in the letter. By 5 June, six more warships had entered Alexandria harbour . April 7, 2011 contributed by: Michael Stolp-Smith. Just days before the academic year was supposed to end and summer break was to start, teachers and students at Robb Elementary were attacked in their own school. The Caucasian of Alexandria, Louisiana, was founded in April 1874, one year after the infamous Colfax Massacre (or Colfax Riot) in neighboring Grant Parish, a political conflict that resulted in the death of as many as 150 African Americans.Bearing the motto "Truth Crushed to Earth Will Rise Again," the Caucasian reported on the prosecution of the massacre's white participants . Search Alexandria obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. Alexandria, LA (04/10/2023) The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating a traffic collision that occurred last night involving an off-road. Displeased with the way Bentley had portrayed the Democrats, Democrats John Williams, James R. Dickson (who later became a local judge), and constable Sebastian May visited Bentleys schoolhouse to make good on the anonymous threats of the earlier September note. Claiborne, the states first governor, Camp Claiborne was once a sprawling boomtown, hastily built and then quickly forgotten by the U.S. government, part of the Louisiana Maneuvers. Photo: Flickr. This event on April 13, 1873 marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the South. In the case of thevictims of the Lee Street incident, Holt theorized that they could have been shroud burials, meaning they were wrapped in cloth,instead of buried in coffins. He felt there were two areas that absolutelyare worthy of looking further at that are potential mass graves.". The plantation was so large, in fact, that from . "Others say a massacre occurred in a matter that reportedly lasted between 2 and 6 hours. He didn't witness the incident but heard about it and the aftermath. The Alexandra Hospital case. (Berry was introduced to the bar by another well-known legal giant, Camille Gravel, and today, the citys municipal court building is named in honor of both men). Black sugar cane workers, determined to unionize for a living wage, chose to combine their minimal power during the crucial harvest season. Many historians, such as James G. Hollandsworth, George C. Rable, and Gilles Vandal have examined the causes and events of the New Orleans Massacre, but few scholars have attempted to uncover how large-scale political Three whites and an estimated 150 blacks died in the conflict. About The Caucasian (Alexandria, La.) Were definitely finding some evidence of lots of unmarked graves here, says Dr. Holt. An estimated 62-153 Black militia men were murdered while surrendering to a mob of former Confederate soldiers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Thibodaux Massacre took place in Thibodaux, Louisiana on November 23, 1887. For those familiar with my previous reporting about Louisiana College, I should note that Bill Simpson worked at LC before its credibility as an academic institution was effectively destroyed in the aftermath of a hostile takeover by a fringe group of disreputable, corrupt, and anti-intellectual bigots. We're now more of an enlightened people but the light of justice must always be vigilantly maintained.". Today, most of those soldiers and most of the civilians who witnessed the pandemonium are dead; records are missing or were destroyed. During its first two years, the Bayou Brief has become more than a Louisiana news outlet; it is also an online community, which is even more critical as a global pandemic forces us to find new ways to come together. The Lee Street Massacre took place on Saturday night, January 10, 1942, in Alexandria, Louisiana. The bodies were removed, and taken to the site of an old mine, where the executioners did their best to hide the identities of the corpses. He referred to the excavation of bodiesfrom the 1921 Tulsa, Okla., massacre that were recently exhumed from a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery. The four-block area had been hastily cordoned off, and the military commanded Black soldiers to return to their respective bases, either Livington or Claiborne. A small memorial placed at the site of the former Ritz Theater by the late Etta Compton prompted Tyson's story. alexandria, louisiana massacrebissap pour nettoyer l'uterus. "According to many statements given by people who were at the scene of the massacre that night, anywhere between 20 and maybe even 300 bodies could be buried here," said Wynne. C.E. Williams filed a report alleging the riot had been premeditated and that there were vastly more fatalities than the zero the military had claimed. The truth remains elusive and the search will go on to find out if black soldiers training to fight Americas enemies overseas also faced a deadly threat at home. The U.S. Army was segregated in those days, so Black soldiers were stationed at Camp Claiborne while white soldiers were stationed at Camp Livingston and Camp Beauregard. Dr. Bristol is a history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and says it appears the violence started when a black soldier stepped in front of a car driven by a white woman. When they did start reporting the next week, they could only give the information that the Army gave them.". STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE . Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942). We remember driving the abandoned roads of the camp and stopping to shoot BB guns into some of the abandoned warehouses during the late 1950s. Despite the scores of contradictory eyewitness accounts and widespread rumors that morticians and funeral parlors with government contracts had been called to work throughout the late night and early morning, the Town Talk reported the official line: Zero deaths, 28 injured, including a White state trooper who suffered a badly injured hand in wielding a flashlight over the head of a negro.. In 1940, Alexandria had a population of more than 27,000 people, and although nearly half were African American, there were only 17 Black registered voters in the entire city. is in Alexandria, Louisiana, in Rapides Parish. Lorraine Boissoneault Today, Lee Street is a pastiche of empty lots and neglected buildings, with very few prospects for revitalization. "He knows what graveyards look like. That's one more homicide than the . He cited Tulsa, Okla., and how citizens are now acknowledging the massacre therein 1921 when a white mob, many of them deputized and given weapons by city officials, looted and burned businesses in the predominately Black district of Greenwood. Legal Advocate. It is unclear why there had been such a sense of urgency to remove instead of restore the mural, but regardless, it echoes what one discovers at Camp Claiborne. New Orleans fell to the US Army early, in April 1862. "I only know one thing and that is, whenever anybody says, 'Remember Pearl Harbor,' I will say, 'I will remember Lee Street.'". So that was completely alien to them. For the past thirteen years, every Memorial Day, members of the citys chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, one of the largest black biker organizations in the country, place a wreath in honor of the men who lost their lives on Lee Street. We believe in providing readers with robust, research-intensive, fact-based reporting and commentary about Louisiana, the land, and her people, at no charge and with no intrusions from advertisements. Cenla Historian Michael Wynne tells KALB he and many others believe a number of African American soldiers were killed that night and buried in a mass grave thats now home to Holly Oak Cemetery. In erecting the marker, Wynne said the citizens of Alexandria are committing to becoming better people and telling"our children and our children's children of this tragedy., "It has been a long road to get to this point," said Wynne. There is one bit of folklore that continues to persist: the story of what a small group of Black soldiers had attempted to do once they returned to base. Where they had never lived in segregation or the social etiquette that went along with how to negotiate interactions with whites. The Colfax Massacre occurred on April 13, 1873. And according to ananonymous letter, their bodies were buried in a mass grave at Holly Oak Cemetery in Pineville. This year, the city of Alexandria, Louisiana installed a historical marker commemorating a confrontation between African American soldiers and white military police during World War II. The City of Alexandria will be placing a historic marker along Lee St. at the site of the 1941 violence. In her later years, Compton handed the annualmemorial wreath-laying traditionto the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club after she was unable to continue. Some say it was 20 while others think it could be as high as 300. Personally, Wynne says he feels itcould be closer to 20. George Marshall, Omar Bradley, George Patton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all spent time at the camp, though it is unclear whether any of them knew a kid from Frth, Germany who trained there named Henry Kissinger or a 23-year-old Black kid from Pasadena who seemed to be a natural athlete. With the approach of the presidential elections in November, the tension only increased. Historians are searching for a long-buried secret. Over the summer, armed white men harassed black families, shot at them outside of Opelousas (the largest city in St. Landry Parish), and killed men, women and children with impunity. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. All rights reserved. The police never patrolled out there; they couldnt. I think well have an answer today as to whether or not this cemetery is the spot where the mass graves are. "And the theory behind this is, those larger areas area place where several people could have been buried at once. If anything, the vengeance visited upon the Negro population was greater, as blacks were no longer protected by any consideration of their monetary value.. Browse Alexandria area obituaries on Legacy.com. It was a nightmare, total hell. Previous photo. As one scholar noted, Blacks lived so far away from the main facilities it seemed to have no physical connection at all with the camp itself. Browse 254 alexandria louisiana photos and images available, or search for albany georgia or jonesboro arkansas to find more great photos and pictures. The primary difference was that in 1942, unlike 1877, the regions White establishment welcomed the federal government. And then, according to this witness, once that happened, he says, quote, 'All hell broke loose.'". . I think that would bring a degree of closure, says Dr. Simpson. In order to catch the bus, a Black soldier had to walk five miles to get to the closest station. The Caucasian of Alexandria, Louisiana, was founded in April 1874, one year after the infamous Colfax Massacre (or Colfax Riot) in neighboring Grant Parish, a political conflict that resulted in the death of as many as 150 African Americans.Bearing the motto "Truth Crushed to Earth Will Rise Again," the Caucasian reported on the prosecution . Everyone should be reminded that in 1942 the famed Louisiana Maneuvers was happening all around central Louisiana, Wynne told those at the briefing. The vigilante groups were so widespread that they often included nearly every white man in the region. The bloodshed continued for two weeks, with African-American families killed in their homes, shot in public, and chased down by vigilante groups. 1874-1875. So, we've got a relatively small window for burial time .. if this cemetery was used.". The story of the incident that unfoldedJan. 10, 1942on Lee Street begins during the World War II era. There were several reasons the federal government selected Central Louisiana as the staging grounds for the largest-ever military exercise in the nations history: The regions mild climate meant training could be year-round; the area had been used before, during WWI, and it helped that the newly-established Kisatchie National Forest meant the federal government already owned a ton of land. Property values skyrocketed as a result. Event starts on Friday, 17 November 2023 and happening at 160 Fox Fire Ln, Alexandria, LA. Rhodes remembers stories from her grandmother about Saturday nights on Lee St. in Alexandria. Cookie Policy . The people generally are well satisfied with the result of the St. Landry riot, only they regret that the Carpet-Baggers escaped, wrote Daniel Dennet, editor of the Democratic Franklin Planters Banner. "Local Black citizens, the local chapter of the NAACP, and others, they were convinced from the get-go that more happened than what the Army was saying," he said. Editors of Democratic newspapers repeatedly warned of dire consequences if the Republican party continued winning victories at the polls. "And our city hasn't always been so enlightened.". I truly dont believe this is a loss, Jennings told the Town Talk. The Town Talk reported that 30 gas bombs were used that night by the Alexandria Police Department to quell the disturbance among the reported 3,000 African-Americans present," he said. Itis now only a vacant lot. Today, outside of Central Louisiana, what transpired that night in Alexandria, in a part of town that was called Little Harlem, has been either completely forgotten or entirely misremembered. Three white men also died during the . Nearly forgotten in Alexandria'shistory is a chapter known to only a few thathas been passed down orally for many years. They paved miles and miles of new roads, installed underground sewerage systems, and laid gas and electricity lines. With Louisiana passing a new state constitution in April 1868 that included male enfranchisement and access to state schools regardless of color, Bentley had reason to feel optimistic about the states future. Founded in 1926, this zoo is one of Alexandria's prime tourist attractions. St. The violent crime rate in Alexandria, Louisiana, of 968 incidents per 100,000 people is among the highest in the United States. COLFAX, La. But southern, white Democrats were nowhere near willing to concede the power theyd held for decades before the Civil War. Erected on June 14, 1951, the sign's bold white letters announced that a civil disturbance claimed the lives of "three white men and 150 negroes." The Read More Read More Lee Street would never again be the same kind of bustling commercial corridor it had been. It is believed many of the black soldiers targeted in the Lee St. violence were stationed at Camp Claiborne. But Democratic papersthe only remaining sources of news in the region, as all Republican presses had been burneddownplayed the horrific violence. Yet for all that it was the deadliest instance of racial violence during the Reconstruction period, the Opleousas massacre is little remembered today. and race riots such as the 1873 Colfax Massacre, in which many white citizens of Rapides Parish took part. January 10, 1942, in Alexandria, Louisiana. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area (population 153,922) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes. The Caucasian. Those who oversaw the election felt fully convinced that no man on that day could have voted any other than the democratic ticket and not been killed inside of 24 hours thereafter.. Back on January 10, 1942, a riot occurred on Lee Street in Alexandria. An anonymous letter about a violent incident nearly 80years ago in Alexandriais the impetus for a renewed effort to discover what happened during and after an incidentonLee Street in 1942. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942).". Haywood Joiner Sr. was wandering about Lee Street, the bustling artery abutting the Black district of Alexandria, Louisiana. After delays due to Hurricanes Laura and Delta, Bristol, Holt, Ian Stewart, a USM graduate student, and Hayden Malloch, an Auburn University graduate student, came to Pineville in late October tosurvey 10 spots at the cemetery that Wynneidentified beforethe team's arrival. 5716 Skye St, Alexandria, LA 71303. Historian Mike Wynne talks about an alleged mass grave that could contain the bodies of African-American soldiers from the 1942 Lee Street Riots. By about 11 o'clock, the fighting was over.". "And subsequently, other significant, different places where the bodies might have been disposed of," said Simpson. : "About 7 o'clock, a disorderly Black soldier was arrested by two white MPs - attempted arrest. So read the note found on the schoolhouse door by its intended recipient: Emerson Bentley, a white school teacher. Freeman said he is grateful to the City of Alexandria for erecting the marker but the Buffalo Soldiers will still continue their work. He is the founder and publisher of the Bayou Brief and a contributing writer for the Daily Beast. It was an ugly scene. But the soldiers, both Black and white, would frequent Alexandria during their off-duty hours. With the help of tens of thousands of black citizens who finally had the right to vote, Republicans handily won local and state elections that spring. "It took months and months to get this arranged, but this is actually the easy part," said Wynne of getting Holt and his team here. Im hoping and praying that we can find out the truth to this great American mystery..
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