2013 marks two significant anniversaries in the life of our nation. America is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which led to the abolition of slavery. 2013 also marks the 50 equality for all citizens. The year 1963 was to that era what 1863 was the Civil War era, marking a turning point when America had to face the terrible reality of injustice heaped upon people of color in th
e U.S. Just as citizens 50 years after the Civil War began to reflect on that terrible conflict which led to the er****on of monuments at various battlefields, so it is that 50 years after the turbulent 1960’s, Shreveport stands with Birmingham, Alabama, Jackson, Mississippi and countless other cities across the South that are taking time to reflect on that period of our nation’s history defined by the struggle of Black Americans for their basic rights as citizens. Shreveport played a significant role in that struggle. Although recorded and told mostly by people of that era, the humbling stories of sacrifice, faith and perseverance that occurred right here in our city are now just beginning to be researched and revisited by contemporary historians. The North Louisiana Civil Rights Coalition, which consists of ministers, community leaders, and civil rights veterans from that era, are planning events throughout the city to commemorate and preserve the events that occurred in Shreveport and their place in the history of the civil rights movement. The 50th anniversary of the height of the Civil Rights struggle for dignity and long before the expression "civil rights" became a popular phrase, and even before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s reputation spread to the world at large, roots of freedom took hold on the banks of the Red River in the segregated city of Shreveport, Louisiana. In the 1950s and 60s, Shreveport, located in the northwest corner of the state, was a hotbed for racial discrimination. The notorious police department and its vigilante Public Safety Commissioner sought ways to publicly brutalize Black citizens. In fact, history records that on Sunday, September 22, 1962 Shreveport police, armed with guns, and mounted on horses, rode into a worship service at the historic Little Union Baptist Church. Citizens gathered for services in memory of the four young girls killed the prior week at the16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Worship leader and former SLCL field Secretary and President of the Shreveport Branch of the NAACP, Rev. Seven stiches were required to close a gash to his head. Just days before, high school students who were participating in a peaceful march from the historic Booker T Washington High School to the historic Little Union Baptist Church were placed in “paddy wagons” and hauled off to jail without breaking any laws. Also active in the movement were dentist C.O. Simpkins and Rev. E. Edward Jones. Rev. Jones, whose children integrated the public school system, rose to become president of the National Baptist Convention of America. Fifty years later, Shreveport is privileged to have some of the brave civil rights stalwarts still living and leading in our community. Shreveport /Northwest Louisiana is also home to other notable civil right activists and legends, including, Dave Dennis, Ms. Mamie Wallace, the late Bernice Smith, the late legendary Eddie Robinson ~ the winning-est coach in college football and the late attorney Johnnie Cochran. Contact info-
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Dr. C.E. McLain
Dr. Angelique Feaster Evans
