All rights reserved. "Others say a massacre occurred in a matter that reportedly lasted between 2 and 6 hours. This event on April 13, 1873 marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the South. Because Jensen had arrived at the scene from Hodgkinson's rear, he had a line on his target: Hodgkinson was 200 feet away but exposed. Be careful as you cross through Woodworth. March Massacre At Pepper Lounge Hosted By ALICIA LOPEZ. Even though Republican nominee Ulysses Grant won, not a single Republican vote was counted in St. Landry Parish. Sort: Homes for You. ALEXANDRIA, La. The majority of the Black soldiers who were present were from Michigan and Indiana, a detail that the Town Talk emphasized several times in a brazen attempt to assign blame to outside agitators and to deflect the citys own culpability. "On weekends there would be upwards of 1,000 or more African-American citizens and soldiers walking on Lee Street enjoying the local businesses in a five-block area," Wynne said. "But everybody, everysoldier, that died that night, is important," he said. With echoes of the bondage Read MoreThe Thibodaux Massacre (November 23, 1887) When they did start reporting the next week, they could only give the information that the Army gave them.". All rights reserved. OLPS . Wynne tells KALB he and the researchers will do everything they can to uncover the truth about what he calls the massacre., African American soldiers from Camps Livingston, Clayborn and Beauregard were there on a Saturday night to enjoy themselves. In 1887, African-American cane workers in Louisiana attempted to . The police never patrolled out there; they couldnt. All rights reserved. Lee Street Riot of 1942 Marker. "We've been doing this for over 10 years," said Freeman. Simpson said he interviewed scores of peopleincluding former policemen, former state troopers and civilians. Depending on whom you ask, before it was effectively abandoned in 1946, it had either been Louisianas third or fourth-most populated city, though it wasnt ever a real city. There probably are relatives still around of the men who were killed. 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 . Holly Oak Cemetery was established around 1923 and according to Mike Wynne, local historian, is the most historic Black cemetery in Central Louisiana. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Perhaps a shot was fired. 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. A University of Southern Mississippi (USM) professor has joined in an effort to resolve questions about the potential existence of a mass grave of African-Americans killed in a 1940s riot in Alexandria, Louisiana by arranging a roundtable panel focused on the issue in the upcoming 38th annual Gulf South Historical Association meeting being held in that city this weekend. They sent Ralph Williams, an award-winning correspondent, to Central Louisiana. (60 of the 90 men who responded were military police officers who had been stationed at nearby training camps). To uncover the truth, four nationally known researchers, including Dr. Douglas Bristol and Dr. David Holt from the University of Mississippi, brought a penetrating radar device to the cemetery Tuesday. Incorporated in 1749 with a history of slave trading, freedom, wars, murder, and death, Alexandria has many haunted, historic locations. The Opelousas massacre also set the stage for future acts of violence and intimidation. According to the oral history of the incident,an unknown number of Blacksoldiers were killed on Jan. 10, 1942. (February 26, 2021) The City of Alexandria announced creation of a historical marker that will be erected at 819 Lee Street, the site of the Lee Street Riot of 1942. . By 5 June, six more warships had entered Alexandria harbour . Nearly forgotten in Alexandria'shistory is a chapter known to only a few thathas been passed down orally for many years. "And the theory behind this is, those larger areas area place where several people could have been buried at once. "I don't know how I got to safety after the riot," a black trainee at Camp Claiborne recalled. Wynne says there is rumored to be anywhere from 20 to 300 bodies. "Getting them out and putting them on the freight trains," he said. (There were subsequent reports the soldier had been accused of assaulting a White woman, though those reports seem to be based on pure speculation. Simpson never heard of thisstory involvingLee Streetuntil he was teaching a session about Central Louisiana and World War II in the mid-1980s. They died, unable to escape the . Williams filed a report alleging the riot had been premeditated and that there were vastly more fatalities than the zero the military had claimed. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. "And yet the testimony from the community - people who had been eyewitnesses and such - told an entirely different story - that there were a number of soldiers who were killed.". Instead, their actions sparked a massacre. The U.S. Army was segregated in those days. There were few places in the country that would have looked the other way like Alexandria had in the aftermath of the night of Saturday, Jan. 10th, 1942, when a white military police officer incited a riot that allegedly resulted in at least 10 and as many as 15 Black soldiers killed and dozens more injured outside of a movie theater in the middle of downtown, on a street named in honor of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Only slightly better known is the 1873 Colfax massacre in which an estimated 60 to 150 people were killeda massacre largely following the pattern set by Opelousas. Harris, who taught history at Livingstone College in North Carolina, recalled the mans haunting words in an essay for the Negro History Bulletin; he titled the essay, facetiously, Southern Hospitality.. Golden Shield. The Colfax Massacre has been known as the "Colfax Race Riot" or the "Easter Sunday Massacre.". Compton told Jacksonthat the state police were on rooftops and allegedly shot down on people. It's possible, but it's definitely going to be an uphill battle between the legal action as well as the monetary costs.". Dr. Simpson is a retired professor from Pineville who began researching the incident 25 years ago. In 2003, in preparation for the city museums Heart of Spain exhibit, three local artists painted a mural on the side of a vacant building on Lee, directly across the street from the since-demolished Ritz Theater; the mural had honored prominent African Americans in Central Louisianas history, including David Iles and Louis Berry. alexandria, louisiana massacrehorses for sale in georgia under $500. allegedly fired his gun at a Black soldier leaving the Ritz Theater, attempting to arrest the man for disorderly conduct. Those editorials spurred Democrats to action and instigated violence everywhere, wrote Warmoth in his book War, Politics, and Reconstruction: Stormy Days in Louisiana. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. "And I was convinced that that was not the case.". The Colfax massacre, sometimes referred to as the Colfax riot, occurred on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873, in Colfax, Louisiana, the parish seat of Grant Parish. The Alexandria, Louisiana Lee Street Riot, it generated renewed (albeit temporary) local interest in the subject. But southern, white Democrats were nowhere near willing to concede the power theyd held for decades before the Civil War. 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 Louisiana History Museum is not just dedicated to Alexandria but to all of Louisiana's history. 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. May 26, 2022. The Civil War altered Rapides Parish forever. Some say it was 20 while others think it could be as high as 300. 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. Wynne is an amateur historian and retired law enforcement officer in Alexandria has been pushing to find those answers. PINEVILLE, La. 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. . In central Louisiana, residents and guests enjoy a treasured, peaceful lifestyle. Personally, Wynne says he feels itcould be closer to 20. The entrance to the Forgotten City is marked by a road sign at the intersection of Louisiana Highways 165 and 112, sixteen miles south of Alexandria. The plantation was so large, in fact, that from . Two days after their daughter, Alexandria "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio, was shot and killed in Uvalde, Texas, Kimberly Rubio and her husband are urging elected officials to pass . 9. And just as theyd been ordered to stay away from Glenmora, Black soldiers were told that Alexandria was also now off-limits.. In 1941, the 367th Negro Infantry Regiment (later renamed the 364th) was one of the earliest African-American combat units. Simpson spent several years interviewing witnesses and researching the event, widely believed to be the most significant race riot during WWII, and when he published his findings in 1994 in an essay titled A Tale Untold? "Many say a riot occurred, but others actually say a massacre occurred in a battle that lasted reportedly between 2 and 6 hours," Wynne said. 160 Fox Fire Ln USD 27 Jun 04 75th Anniversary Celebration. The Lee Street Massacre took place on Saturday night, January 10, 1942, in Alexandria, Louisiana. Louisiana History Museum. A small memorial placed at the site of the former Ritz Theater by the late Etta Compton prompted Tyson's story. Were very excited about it. "The overgrown back part of the cemetery and to the back left dates after 1945. Back on January 10, 1942, a riot occurred on Lee Street in Alexandria. All rights reserved. PINEVILLE, La. So, they could be looking for small targets at that point andit could become problematic. Website: Kent Plantation. 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.. The soldiers were all unarmed; the military police and state troopers, however, had an arsenal at their disposal. Halloween is just around the corner, and if you're looking for some spooky fun then you've come to the right place. According to stories told about that night, afterward, a fight spilled over into the streets where the military police allegedly shot several hundred people including soldiers and civilians. Some say it was 20 while others think the number could be as high as 300. It was a tradition she later passed on to the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club as she got older and couldn't do it anymore. Three of them critically.". (KALB) - The Alexandria Police Department is investigating four homicides that occurred in Jan. 2021. Haywood Joiner Sr. was wandering about Lee Street, the bustling artery abutting the Black district of Alexandria, Louisiana. The monument is a reminder of the power of memory and a sacrifice made by those who came before us and the ongoing struggle for a more just and equitable society, the Rev. The story of the incident that unfoldedJan. 10, 1942on Lee Street begins during the World War II era. The Alexandria, Louisiana Lee Street Riot," it generated renewed (albeit temporary) local interest in the subject. 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. After doing research, Wynne knew they were going to need a ground penetrating radar device to discover whether a mass grave could existat the cemetery. While there is now no question whatsoever that black soldiers from Camp Claiborne were among the primary victims of what was quickly dubbed the Lee Street Riot, Col. Ralph Holiday, a commander at the camp, had initially claimed that none of our boys participated in the unfortunate outbreak. It was a part of a pattern of denials, obfuscation, and brazen lies that would be repeated countless times by the militarys brass, one that the pliant and obsequious local paper, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, was more than willing to report as fact. Massacre marked a transitional event, one where outbreaks of violence began to be based primarily on political grievances. The Alexandria, Louisiana, Lee Street Riot (January 10, 1942).". For the next fewhours, fighting broke out up and down a five to six block corridor -from Lee Street to about4th and 10th Streets. and race riots such as the 1873 Colfax Massacre, in which many white citizens of Rapides Parish took part. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Alexandria, Louisiana on facebook. New Orleans fell to the US Army early, in April 1862. In her later years, Compton handed the annualmemorial wreath-laying traditionto the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club after she was unable to continue. The anonymous letter was sent to William M. Simpson, former Louisiana College history professor and author ofA Tale Untold? On the fateful day of 8 February 1942, the Japanese launched a night invasion into Singapore, sparking the week-long Battle of Singapore. IN THIS UNPRECEDENTED TIME, YOUR SUPPORT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER, James Carvilles Stirring Tribute to Louisiana Gov. Where are they buried? asks Michael Wynne. It is believed many of the black soldiers targeted in the Lee St. violence were stationed at Camp Claiborne. Camp Claiborne, like many things in Louisiana, is buried above ground. 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. "And subsequently, other significant, different places where the bodies might have been disposed of," said Simpson. 21 lives lost: Uvalde victims were a cross-section of a small, mostly Latino town in South Texas. Privacy Statement It was Saturday, January 10, 1942, a little over a month after Pearl . I think well have an answer today as to whether or not this cemetery is the spot where the mass graves are. He cited Tulsa, Okla., and how citizens are now acknowledging the massacre there in 1921 when a white mob, many of them deputized . Lee Street would never again be the same kind of bustling commercial corridor it had been. Like other Black-owned newspapers at the time, the Afro-American, a paper based in Baltimore, was immediately skeptical of the governments version. Some historians believe there was a cover-up by the United States military and researchers are hunting for a possible mass grave. Crittle was 16 years- old in 1942. The city had to budget about $100,000 for the . Henry Clay Warmoth, a Republican, won the race for state governor, but the votes African-Americans cast for those elections cost them. He hopes that schools will have field trips to the site and have someone such as one of the members of the Buffalo Soldierstalk to students about about what happened. And the empty lot was the site of the Ritz Theater. The marker,to be erected at 819 Lee St., was on display at the State of the Community briefing held by Mayor Jeff Hall at the Randolph RiverFront Center last Friday. Secret Democratic organizations were formed, and all armed. On this site occurred the Colfax Riot in which three white men and 150 negroes were slain. "Something that we should all be very proud of.". A memorial to the three white men who died during the Colfax Massacre stands in the town cemetery Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Colfax, La. 1874-1875. Because he had recently moved to Louisiana,he had not but the conversation spurred his interest in the subject. . Louisiana was receiving national attention for the "race war" unfolding there with regular assassinations, massacres, and lynchings. A month after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Black soldiers from Camp Claiborne in central Louisiana went to the town of Alexandria on Saturday January 10, 1942, for some R&R. Most of the soldiers were from the North, and on that night, a Black soldier supposedly stepped in front of a car driven by a white woman. But their error pales in comparison to the governments. But Democratic papersthe only remaining sources of news in the region, as all Republican presses had been burneddownplayed the horrific violence. "They said they were shipping the soldiers out so fast they were shipping them in rough boxes," said Jacob Crittle in a 2018 Town Talk video. . prepac yaletown armoire assembly instructions, botany bay farm shop, enfield opening times,

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