Monday, I found that the Library of Congress had the records of the N.A.A.C.P., including local level chapters. After consulting with my boss about it, she wrote them inquiring how to get copies of the Monroe documents. The next morning (yesterday) they were in her e-mail! We will be looking into getting the microfilm for our collection, but I was blown away by the first thing I found!
It seems Mr. N.S. Pierce wrote the organization on Dec. 6, 1925 to inquire how to join, and information on how to organize a local chapter. he was told he needed fifty charter members. Mr. Pierce gave the names of Louis Tillman and Lester and Aaron Jackson as persons who might be interested in helping locally. After a couple of letters asking if they needed anything else, it appears the matter was dropped. Then on April 22, 1926, Mr. S.B. Smith asked for materials on the organization that he could pass out and start organizing. Materials were sent. Sixty-three members gave $1 each to start a chapter in 1927. On Dec. 12, 1927 their application for charter was approved. The names of those sixty-three men and women are incredible. They are doctors, morticians, railroad workers, beauticians and even a housewife. See how many names you can recognize!
| Name | Occupation | Notes |
| J.M. Rowland | Plasterer | President |
| W.F. Sherman | Stockman I.C.R.R. | Vice-President |
| J. Leo Hardy | Insurance | Secretary |
| A.L. Brunner | Merchant | Treasurer |
| Dr. S.D. Hill | Physician | |
| Alex Johnson | Minister | |
| L.A. Jackson | Insurance | |
| Dr. John T. Miller | Physician | |
| John H. Hodge | Mechanic/Carpenter | |
| Chas. I. Ross | Insurance | |
| Anderson Surry | Advance Boiler Maker M.P.R.R. | |
| C.H. Myers | Mechanic M.P.R.R. | |
| Rev. B.R. Jackson | Minister M.E. Church | |
| Jessie Goins | Merchant | |
| James S. Washington | Locomotive Fireman I.C. R.R. | |
| P.J. Thompson | Merchant Ice Man | |
| Kelso Graham | Cotton Sampler/Carpenter | |
| Southard Raimey | Grocer | |
| Geo. Wright | Machinist Helper I.C.R.R. | |
| John W. Brooks | Fireman Cotton Mill | |
| Foster m. Brooks | Merchant | |
| Mrs. C.H. Myers | Hair Dresser | |
| W.M. Jackson | Insurance Agent | |
| Walter Claggett | Cook | |
| S.C. Lamothe | Undertaker | |
| W.D. Wright | Insurance Agent | |
| Geo. W. Chatman | Insurance | |
| Geo. W. Haston | Brakeman A.L. & M. R.R. | |
| John A. Beckwith | Contractor | |
| Mrs. A.L. Brunner | Former Teacher | |
| Outtz, R.W. | Brakeman M.P.R.R. | |
| Raymond O. Pierce | Pharmacist | |
| David Hodge | Insurance Agent | |
| W.W. Brown | Insurance | |
| Chas. Colvin | Proprietor Cig. & Billiard Hall | |
| Dr. J.C. Roy | Dentist | |
| Dr. J.B. Thompson | D.D.S. [Dentist] | |
| Dr. G. McClanahan | Physician | |
| J.E. Reid | Druggist | |
| C.W. White | Transfer Man | |
| G.H. Washington | Jeweler | |
| Willis B. Young | Proprietor Barber Shop | |
| R.L. Pierce | Clerk | |
| Joe Duncan | Barber | |
| B.D. Loper | Barber | |
| Dave Price | Barber | |
| Henry Williams | Undertaker | |
| A.C. Thompson | Barber | |
| I.B. January | Tailor | |
| (Mrs.) L.E. Lamothe | Embalmer | |
| Rev. L.E. Craig | Minister C.M.E. Church | |
| H.O. Brown | Chef Cook | |
| Chas. Basking | Chauffeur | |
| Wm. Medlock | Contractor | |
| Chris Roggerson | Switchman | |
| R.H. Burns | Hotel Proprietor | |
| Mrs. M.G. Miller | House Wife | |
| John Carter | Brakeman | |
| Joseph Hobson | Brakeman | |
| L.O. Rodgers | Merchant | |
| Wilber N. Reid | Clerk | |
| Wyley White | Farmer | |
| John W. West | Grocer |
Just to add a note. I am still going through the papers and I am just incredibly shocked at the amount of history I am seeing and I am not all the way through it. There are membership lists, correspondence with Thurgood Marshall (!!!!), copies of programs held… a keyhole light on race relations in the 20’s and 30’s. I am REALLY impressed with a man that keeps being mentioned over and over in the papers as being brave and one of the real movers and shapers of that early movement, Mr. C. H. Myers, mentioned above as one of the charter members. He later became Chapter president. I can find NO mention of him (his first name was Charles) in any of the books about our African-American history. I don’t even know when he passed away or where he is buried! I wanna know more about this man!
I am having a medical procedure tomorrow, so won’t be posting until next week so I can recover. Be safe, wear your mask, and I’ll be back Monday!
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 
thank you for this. good luck with your procedure. Take the time to heal.
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