Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Tag: African-American History

  • Famous Performances in Monroe/West Monroe

    Yes, I am on a kick researching what big name stars came here to perform! I have given you a list from the local school gymnasiums/auditoriums. This is a list…

  • Duke Ellington Comes To Monroe.

    As I write this, I am researching the local music venues that were here before the Civic Center. I am limited to newspapers.com, which makes it easy to search through…

  • A Short History of the Miller Roy Building and the Savoy Ballroom

    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…

  • A Story of a Husband’s Devotion to His Wife

    Rest in peace Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. The Chicago Tribune, 2 January 1899, Page 4 HORSE STRAYS WITH AGED NEGRO’S WEALTH HIDDEN IN ITS COLLAR. Charles Sanders Loses $95, the…

  • A Cemetery Puzzle

    The 16th of last month, I lead a beginning genealogy lecture at one of the local libraries. We were having technical difficulties with the projector set up, and IT was…

  • January, The Tailor Ad – 1929

    How about his ad, also from the 1929 phone book. Mr. Ibra B. January needs no introduction. He was the best tailor Monroe has ever seen and was a pioneer…

  • The Negro Motorist Green-Book – 1940

    Lets say you were an African-American living in the United States decades before the Civil Rights movement. You wanted to take your family on vacation out of state, but didn’t…

  • African-American Woman Fishing In Monroe

    Some photos leave you wanting more. This one does for me. It is a photo taken in Monroe circa 1930 of a woman sitting on the bank of a bayou/river…

  • A Proposed New Building For the Monroe Academy

    Wouldn’t this have been a gorgeous building? This was published in the Monroe News Star back in 1913. Professor Foster and the trustees of the Monroe Academy were looking to…

  • Students in Other Parish schools

    Last week, I told you about the Monroe Academy, a Leland University affiliate private school for African-American students at the turn of the last century. Leland had affiliate schools all…