Yesterday, I was honored to speak at the unveiling of a historical marker for the Savoy Ballroom at the Miller Roy Building. I was asked if I was going to post the speech here in my blog. I thought that was a good idea, so here it is.
I would first like to thank Mr. Doyle Jeter and the members of the Northeast Louisiana Music Trail for their kind invitation to speak here today. Thanks also to those who have championed this building’s preservation through the years, such as Mr. Ben Marshall, State Representative Mike Echols, and Rev. Roosevelt Wright.
The Miller Roy building got its name from the two doctors who commissioned its construction. We don’t know very much about Dr. John Tildon Miller. We do know he was a local physician. Dr. Joseph Clabert Roy, Sr. was a graduate of Straight College and Howard University College of Dentistry. Both forward-thinking men saw a great need in the late 1920’s for a place where the African American community could do business unimpeded by the racism of those days. African Americans were not allowed to walk into the front door of most businesses and there was no place for black entertainers to perform. The two doctors sought to rectify that.
In 1929, at the start of the Great Depression, Dr. Miller and Dr. Roy hired an African American contractor named John Alfred Beckwith. Dr. Roy’s son J.C. Jr. laid the first brick, and the founder of Sunshine Dairy, Browder Alfonso Willis, laid the second brick. The total cost to build this structure was $60,000 ($1,041,393 in today’s money).
Immediately, African American business entrepreneurs sought a safe space at the Miller-Roy to begin their businesses. The first African American pharmacy in Monroe, Pierce’s Pharmacy, had its start here. Later, it moved across the street to its own building, with the first African American female pharmacist, Arnetta Pierce. Other buildings were built around the Miller Roy and the area was a bustling African American business district.
The bottom two floors of the Miller Roy housed doctors, insurance agents, beauticians and barber shops, cafes and even a pool room. One of the earliest African American newspapers, the Monroe Broadcast, was housed here. Much later, the Monroe Free Press found a home here too.
In succeeding years, it housed the offices of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and C.O.R.E during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Vocational training was also offered. Men such as Ibra January (“January the Tailor”) and Lucius White, opened tailoring schools here.
The crown on the top of the building was the Savoy Ballroom, named after the famous Harlem club.
It was here at the Savoy, where the community gathered for entertainment. It was the only place in northeast Louisiana that was big enough to hold performances for a large black audience. Local civic groups and social clubs used the space for their meetings. The XYZ Club used the Savoy as a place to hold their Mardi Gras balls after their parades in the 1930’s. These were the first Mardi Gras parades ever in Monroe. It was stated in the News-Star that one ball was so large that the crowds spilled into the streets below. Speakers were placed in the windows of the Savoy so revelers could hear the music going on in the ballroom! Local big bands performed at dances here such as Ben Burton and Oliver Green with their orchestras. One unnamed band I found discussed in the newspaper, came in from Natchez, which makes me wonder if it was the famous Bud Scott and his band!
We are here today, though, because of the national level of talent that has performed inside the Savoy. The venue was a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, said to be a place where African American performers could get a hot meal, and a place to sleep. Performers knew they would be treated fairly at these places. Legend states stars such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and his orchestra, Turner Bradshaw, Lena Horne, the Andy Kirk Band, Ethel Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and countless others played inside these walls. We will never know the full list of amazing performers who played here.
Occasionally, the white newspapers would have ads for performances at the Savoy, sometimes stating, “Special seating for whites.” ” Fatha” Earl Hines, performed with Louis Armstrong, Budd Johnson, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, and Jack Teagarden during his career. He performed at the Savoy in 1939. He was the finest jazz pianist of his time.
1943 was a big year for the Savoy. Blues singer Walter Brown performed and sang his big hit, “Confessin’ the Blues.” The International Sweethearts of Rhythm came here. They were the first integrated all girls’ band. Their backgrounds included African American, Hawaiian, Mexican, Chinese, and Native American heritage. They traveled to Paris and occupied Germany after WWII.
One of the bigger names to stop at the Savoy in 1943 was Louis Jordan. He was one of the leading innovators and practitioners of “jump blues,” jazz, and boogie woogie. In 1987, after Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown, and Ray Charles cited him as an influence, Jordan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influencer. He is considered to have laid the foundation of Rhythm and Blues. I highly encourage you all to go listen to his song “Caldonia” and you will see where Little Richard got his style!
By the middle of the 1940s, Carroll’s Gymnasium at Monroe Colored High School had become the new and bigger place to perform, and the Savoy fell out of style. By the end of its life, the Savoy was serving as a vocational school for tailors.
With the ending of segregation and the rapid growth of Monroe, the Miller Roy fell into disuse. By 2010, there were plans for its demolition. All that was left was the shell. By the efforts of a group of highly motivated citizens, the building was put on the National Register of Historic Places and was saved to become what you see here. Let us never forget the importance of the Miller Roy building and the Savoy Ballroom to northeast Louisiana’s rich history and culture. May it stand for generations to come.
Lora Peppers
Savoy Ballroom Marker Dedication
Northeast Louisiana Music Trail
October 12, 2023
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