"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE 1980 JUDGE STAGG COURT RULING

 

                                                                                       "You have to Know the Past to Understand the Present" -Carl Sagan                                                                                                             .                In order to better understand why a small klan of White People, The Neville Charter Association,"ARE SO ADAMANT ABOUT PUSHING FOR NEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL TO BECOME A CHARTER SCHOOL, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE YEAR 1931,THE YEAR WHEN NEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL OPENED AS A WHITE ONLY SCHOOL!" Once we visit the past history of Neville High School, we can fully understand why "A SMALL GROUP OF WHITE CITIZENS IN MONROE" would be so concerned about taking a High School, "WHOSE CURRENT STUDENT-BODY IS "APPROXIMATELY 60% BLACK," and making it a Charter School! You see, around 1929, the former old "WHITE ONLY" HIGH School,  "CITY HIGH," was becoming too small to accommodate the amount of White Students attending the school. Therefore, White People decided to have a new school built. By the way, I haven't been able to confirm that this new school opened as "CITY HIGH," but I have reason to suspect that it could of been. Nevertheless, it's a fact that when the school was first built,"NEGRO STUDENTS" were not allowed to attend Neville High School. As a matter of fact, "THE SCHOOL ACTUALLY OPERATED IN MONROE FOR ALMOST FOUR WHOLE DECADES AS A WHITE ONLY HIGH SCHOOL!" These days, some people don't like it when I bring up the racism that Black Students had to endure in Monroe. It's seems as though they can't relate to, or don't want to relate to Black Children being told that they couldn't attend a school, simply because of the color of their skin. However, when I ask them how they would feel if they were discriminated against, because they were White, all of a sudden, they tend to get pretty quiet! With that said, let me inform everyone about the "1980 Judge Stagg Court Order Ruling," that Triggered the last "WHITE EXODUS" at Neville High School. You see, Judge Stagg's ruling included "REZONING" of the high schools in Monroe, however, it didn't take effect until 1981. So in 1981, when Judge Stagg 's Consent Decree went into effect,      it disrupted the lives of many students in Monroe, Black and White! Interesting, it was Judge Stagg 's ruling that sent many new Black Students to Neville High School, and as I eluded to earlier, the departure of many White Students as well. Now, let's fast forward to the year 2024, when The Neville Charter Association presented its proposal to make Neville a Charter School to the Monroe City School Board for approval, under the "GUISES" that they want to avoid  financial bureaucracy, and for Financial & Operational Autonomy, when they really are trying to make Neville High School A Charter School, so they can "CHERRY-PICK" the students they want attending Neville! FURTHERMORE, LITTLE  HAS BEEN MENTIONED PUBLICLY ABOUT THE REZONING OF SEVERAL MONROE CITY SCHOOLS, AND THAT MANY OF THE BLACK STUDENTS NOW ATTENDING NEVILLE WILL HAVE TO ATTEND OTHER SCHOOLS! In closing,I would like to state what everyone in the City of Monroe already knows to be a true fact,"AIN'T NO WAY IN WEST HELL ARE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF WHITE PARENTS LIVING IN MONROE, LOUISIANA GOING TO ENROLL THEIR WHITE CHILDREN AT NEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL,AS LONG AS THE CURRENT PERCENTAGE OF BLACK STUDENTS ATTENDING NEVILLE REMAINS AT 60%!

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE 1969 DESEGREGATION COURT CONSENT DECREE, IN THE HISTORIC JIMMY ANDREWS VS THE CITY OF MONROE, LOUISIANA DESEGREGATION COURT CASE THAT LEAD TO THE INITIAL ENROLLMENT OF BLACK STUDENTS AT "NEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL"

 

                                                                                                                                                                                             "Segregation has, No Place in the American Education System"  -Richard Dawkins                                                                                                                According to reliable sources,"THE MONROE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM IS ACTIVELY DISCUSSING SIGNIFICANT REZONING CHANGES THAT COULD POSSIBLY PAVE THE WAY FOR NEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL TO BECOME A CHARTER SCHOOL!" Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that a couple of weeks ago, there was an article in The Monroe Free Press about how the Neville Charter Association was getting ready to REINTRODUCE their proposal to have Neville High School become a Charter School. You see, as I see it,  it was by CHOICE that "WHITE PARENTS" CHOSE to withdraw  their "WHITE CHILDREN" from public schools and enroll them into PRIVATE SEGREGATED SCHOOLS, IN THE FIRST PLACE! Also, up until the Louisiana State Congress refusal to allocate MILLIONS of DOLLARS in funding for Governor Jeff Landry's  FLAGSHIP PROGRAM, "THE LOUISIANA GATOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM," there was very little discussions about A NEW REZONING PLAN FOR MONROE CITY SCHOOLS. Additionally, the REZONING DISCUSSIONS seem to be mainly centered around transferring Black Students OUT OF SALLIE HUMBLE, LEXINGTON, AND NEVILLE TO MAKE ROOM FOR WHITE STUDENTS, whose parents are having problems paying the HIGH COSTS of sending their children to PRIVATE SEGREGATED SCHOOLS! Furthermore, I feel that Black Parents who have children at Sallie Humble, Lexington, and Neville should be paying close attention to what the Neville Charter Association and other White Organizations are plotting behind close doors!!! With that said, let me inform everyone about The 1969 Court Decree in Monroe Louisiana. Well, let's start with the Desegregation Lawsuit Case that led to the court decree. Back on August 5, 1965, Jimmy Andrews and Tommy Robertson filed a lawsuit against The City of Monroe, the Mayor, and the members of the Monroe City School Board, through their mothers, Ms. Etta Mae Andrews and Ms. Odell Willis, alleging racial segregation and discrimination in the operation of the Monroe City Public Schools. After months of deliberations, Judge Ben C. Dawkins Jr. issued a court order for the Monroe City Schools to desegregate, establishing a plan that mandated an end to bi-racial systems, requiring the city and parish districts to merge plans to integrate students and staff. One of the things that caught my eye is that since Judge Dawkins original court ruling in1969,"HIS CONSENT DECREE HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO AT LEAST TWENTY-TWO MODIFICATIONS," within the last 55 years! Finally, I would like to share this last piece of information,"WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE SMOKING GUN," behind the Neville Charter Association's scheme to make NEVILLE A CHARTER SCHOOL!                  Come to find out,"CHARTER SCHOOLS IN LOUISIANA CAN BYPASS TRADITIONAL DISTRICT MANDATES LIKE THE THE 1969 DESEGREGATION COURT CONSENT DECREE IN MONROE, LOUISIANA," because CHARTER SCHOOLS often operate under different state oversight rules and policies,"WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO SIDESTEP OLDER COURT-ORDERED DESEGREGATION PLANS AND CONSENT DECREES!" In other words, Louisiana Charter Schools are allowed to CLAIM PUBLIC SCHOOL STATUS, even though they are SEGREGATED AS HELL, and receive public funding as well! In closing, I would like to say that it is discouraging to say the least that many of our Black Public Elected Leaders and other Black Representatives in Monroe have decided to remain quiet, instead of speaking out on pertinent issues such as THE NEVILLE CHARTER ASSOCIATION'S  SHAMEFUL ATTEMPT to BYPASS the CURRENT DESEGREGATION LAWS and CONSENT DECREES that have been in place for DECA

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : WHARLEST JACKSON SR., FORMER TREASURER OF THE NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI BRANCH OF THE NAACP

 

                                                                                               "Before Black People Die, We Multiply"            -Garry Blanson                                                                                                                                     It saddens me dearly when I think about all of the Black People who were killed at the hands of Police in America; those who were innocent, and those who were guilty, "BUT SHOULD NOT OF BEEN MURDERED BY VIGILANTE JUSTICE!"          On You-Tube, there is a video from 1969 of Civil Rights Activist/Actress Ruby Dee reading off a long list of the names of Black People who were killed by Police in America.You know what's even sadder than the Police killing Black People? What is even sadder is how so many of the guilty Policemen and Policewomen are allowed to escape punishment! By the  way, two of the most hideous incidents of Police killing Black People occurred right by here in Northeast Louisiana! The first incident that  I remember was the murder of "RONALD GREEN" by White Louisiana State Police Officers. Strangely enough, if it had not been for a LEAKED VIDEO of the "HORRIBLE BEAT DOWN" that "RONALD GREEN" received from the State Police Officers,    "WE WOULD NOT KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BRUTAL WAY THAT RONALD GREEN DIED!"The second incident is the murder of my cousin,"WILLIAM HENDERSON," by White Monroe Police Officers. Yes, my cousin put himself in a bad situation, but I know that he didn't deserve to be executed by a firing squad of White Monroe Police Officers! These are just two on the many recorded times that Black People lives have been wrongfully taken by Police."WELL, THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT IT ALL IS THAT THEY CAN'T KILL US ALL!" Nevertheless, on to this week's Black Pioneer, Wharlest Jackson Sr.! Wharlest Jackson Sr. was born in 1929, the same year as previous "OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE BLACK PIONEERS," Martin Luther King Jr. and Pythina "Pye" Brown. Similar to many other Black Pioneers, there's no information online about Wharlest early life. As a matter of fact, the only information that I was able to find centered around his job and the bombing of his vehicle, which brought about his untimely death!     However, his oldest son praised Wharlest as being a good fisherman, hunter, and family provider. In addition to his being a fine sportsman, Wharlest was noted as being a fearless Civil Rights Activist.            By the way, at the time of his death, he held the position as treasurer for the Natchez Chapter of the NAACP. Additionally, Wharlest was employed at The Armstrong Rubber and Tire Company in Natchez, Mississippi. About week or so before Wharlest was killed, he received a promotion as well as a raise in pay at his job, which didn't sit well with the White workers at his job. You see, two other White workers had applied for the position, but Wharlest, a Negro was chosen for the position instead! Furthermore, it is rumored that two members of the local KLU KLUX KLAN had attached a bombing device under the frame of Wharlest vehicle, below the driver's seat.On the night of February 27, 1967, after working a full shift, and putting in a couple of hours of overtime, Wharlest exited the building of The Armstrong Rubber and Tire Company, got in his vehicle, and drove off. Wharlest was only a couple blocks away from his home when the bomb exploded, blowing off the roof of his vehicle, and thrusting Wharlest body from his vehicle! When his oldest son, Wharlest Jackson Jr. heard the loud blast from the yard of the Jackson home, he got on his bike and rode toward the sound of the blast. Once Wharlest Jr. made it to the site, he found his father's disfigured body lying in the street! Following a local investigation, and several FBI investigations, the case was closed, without anyone ever being arrested at all! On that dreadful day when Wharlest Jackson Sr. died, he left behind a wife and four children, which substantiates my quote at the beginning of this week's article,"BEFORE BLACK PEOPLE DIE, WE MULTIPLY!" 

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : BURG JONES," The Colored Man Who Once Owned Multiple Properties On Burg Jones Lane As Well As The Land Where Berg Jones Lane Elementary School Was Built in Monroe, Louisiana"

 

                                                                                                                                                                    If you were to ask most Black People in Monroe, Louisiana just who is Berg Jones Lane Elementary School named for, many of them would probably say that the school's name came from the name of the street. However, this answer leads us to the question,"WHERE DID THE STREET GET IT'S NAME FROM?" To the surprise of many Black People in Monroe,"BOTH THE STREET AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL IS NAMED FOR A COLORED MAN BY THE NAME OF BURG JONES!" As a matter of fact, current Monroe City Councilman Verbon Muhammad said that during the years when he served as a Monroe City School Board Member, he repeatedly tried to get the spelling of Berg Jones Lane Elementary changed to coinside with the spelling of the name of the street, and Mr. Burg Jones name. Also, according to reliable sources, the spelling of the school's name should have been spelled,"BURG JONES LANE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL," not Berg Jones Lane Elementary School! By the way, as I was researching online, I found an article from 2020, "BY A MONROE NEWSTAR REPORTER NAMED BONNIE BOLDEN," who was also curious as to why the name is misspelled! In her article, Bonnie said that she even went to the extent of getting Brent Vidrine's secretary, "LAURA JACOBS" to go back and look up the year when Berg Jones Lane Elementary School was built, to try and see if she could find any information as to why the name of the school was misspelled. However, she wasn't able to find a reason for the blatant error! I guess that this  incident is similar to how people get their names misspelled on their "BIRTH CERTIFICATES." Oh well, on to this week's Black Pioneer, Burg Jones! Although I couldn't find any information online about Burg's early life or education, it was reported that as early as 1897, Burg Jones  was purchasing land in Monroe. Also, an online article stated that between 1883 and 1946,"THERE WERE MORE THAN 20 SEPARATE PROPERTY ACQUISITION TRANSACTIONS LISTED UNDER THE NAME OF BURG JONES!" Furthermore, "THANKS TO THE 1976 BI-CENTENNIAL REPORT THAT B.D. ROBINSON AND THE BLACK BI-CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE PUBLISHED IN 1976, I was able to learn that Burg Jones was a part of a collection of prominent Colored People living in Monroe, Louisiana, in the early 1900s.You see, as a Businessman, Burg realize that owning land was just as important as getting an Education! Again, according to the report, he was a strong believer in God, and he believed in participating in local civic activities that impacted the lives of Colored Citizens in Monroe. Interestingly enough, sometime before or after his death, Burg Jones Road was rename Burg Jones Lane. One last thing,"IN THE 1976 BI-CENTENNIAL REPORT," two of Burg Jones descendants , were mentioned. One of them was Herbert Sullivan Brice, and Herbert's grandfather, Albert Jones Brice was the other. In closing, I would like to say,"I wish that Black People in Monroe would unite and organize NEW BLACK ORGANIZATIONS, NEW BLACK COMMITTEES, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY NEW PASSIONATE BLACK LEADERS THAT TRULY CARE ABOUT OUR BLACK CAUSE, EVEN IF THEY RECEIVE LITTLE MONEY, PUBLICITY, or APPLA

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : PYTHINA "PYE" BROWN.

 "The Education of The Negro has become the Perfect device for Control(by the American Government) from Without" Carter G. Woodson                                                                                                                                      What if I told you that the "VERY  SYSTEM" that Black People in Monroe, Louisiana have come to think of as the "GREAT EQUALIZER" that was supposed  to "LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD" is the very same "SYSTEM" that has been used as a device to Control and Oppress Black People from without for "OVER 150 YEARS?"                Well, Garry Blanson, please don't keep everyone in suspense, tell us what Institution you're referring to! Ok, since you all are curious to know, the "GREAT SYSTEM" is non-other than "THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM!" Before I go any further, let me speak on the Carter G. Woodson's quote about how the Education of The Negro is a perfect device for Control of the Negro from without.                         You see,"CONTRARY TO WHAT MOST BLACK PEOPLE IN MONROE HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED TO THINK AND BELIEVE,"Carter G. Woodson believed that The AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM was not designed to EMPOWER BLACK PEOPLE, BUT TO OPPRESS THEM!" How might this be done you ask, "BY CONTROLLING HOW BLACK PEOPLE THINK, OF COURSE!". Additionally, in his great "NEGRO CLASSIC" book,"THE MISEDUCATION OF THE NEGRO,"  Carter G. Woodson said,"WHEN YOU CONTROL A MAN'S THINKING, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HIS ACTIONS, BECAUSE WHEN YOU DETERMINE WHAT A MAN SHALL THINK, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CONCERN YOURSELF ABOUT WHAT HE WILL DO!"  Thus, by controlling how Black People think, "YOU RETARD THEIR POWER TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES," and this is one of the main reasons why I feel that "SCHOOLING," which is MASQUERADED and PARADED throughout our Black Communities in Monroe as "TRUE EDUCATION," continues to hinder the progress and advancement of our Black Communities in Monroe, Louisiana! Therefore, I certainly have to agree with Carter G. Woodson's assertion about The American Education System being a perfect device for Control from without. Now, on to this week's Black Pioneer,Pythina "Pye" Brown! In 1929,        the same year that Martin Luther King Jr. was born, about 9 miles out of Shreveport, Louisiana, in a rural town known as Blanchard, the Brown family welcomed their little baby girl, Pythina "Pye" Brown, into the world! When it came time for Pye to attend school, her father insisted that she attend a city school in Shreveport, which meant that Pye could attend school in Shreveport during the week, and return to her home in Blanchard on the weekends.During her time in school there was a popular saying,"Don't bend the Child to fit the book,Bend the book to fit the Child!"Oh how I wish that the Board of Education Members, Principals, and School  Teachers of today would embrace the sentiment of that Old Adage!                  So through the week, this little country girl would travel all the way to Shreveport to attend Mt. Zion Elementary School, but on the weekends she would return home to be with her parents. When people would ask Pye what she wanted to be when she grew up,"SHE WOULD ALWAYS TELL THEM THAT SHE WAS GOING TO BE A SCHOOL TEACHER!" As a matter of fact, from the very first time she learned about school, she knew that she wanted to be a School Teacher! Interesting, when Pye graduated from High School, she became the first member, on both sides of her family to actually graduate from High School.             By the way, Pye's father had always heard that Grambling College was the place to attend if a Black Student wanted to attain a teaching degree.Therefore, he was going to have her attend Grambling, and get her Teaching Degree, however, Pye had plans of her own! Without telling her father she went and applied to become a teacher in the Lake Charles School System. For some reason or another, her contract from the Lake Charles School System was delayed in the mail to the point that she almost took a teaching job in Caddo Parish, which she really was against doing. Days before she was to become a Teacher in Caddo Parish, something told her to check the mail one last time, and it was a good thing that she did,"FOR  INCLUDED IN THE MAIL FOR HER FAMILY WAS THE TEACHER'S CONTRACT THAT  SHE HAD BEEN EXPECTING!"             A couple of weeks later, Pye began her teaching career at The First Ward Colored School in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she ended up teaching for 17 years. Furthermore, to this day Pythina "Pye" Brown is remembered as A Black Trailblazer and Heroine in the City of Lake Charles, Louisiana!

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : DR. CUTHBERT ORMOND SIMPKINS - A Founding Member The Southern Christian Leadership Conference

                                                                                                         Candidly, I would like to state for the record that I feel that the efforts of the NEVILLE CHARTER ASSOCIATION to make Neville High School a Charter School is NOTHING MORE THAN A BLATANT and COVERT ATTEMPT TO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BLACK STUDENTS AT NEVILLE! You see, since the current student population at NEVILLE is approximately 61% Black,  many White Parents aren't enrolling their White Children at the school, even though they currently live in the Neville School Zone. Well, I feel that this matter goes all the way back to the 1965  Andrews vs The City of Monroe "DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT" that was filed, back in 1965, which paved the way for the "VERY FIRST" Black Students to attend Neville High School! Strangely enough, it was the decision handed down in The Andrew Ms vs The City of Monroe Court Case court that lead to the "WHITE FLIGHT" Era at Neville High School. Almost immediately after the court's ruling in the case, many of the White Parents failed to enroll their White Children at Neville, and begin sending their White Children to "SEGREGATED ACADEMIES," which are now known as Private Schools.By the way, currently the White Student Population at Neville is approximately 36%, which makes me suspect that I am right on point about my accusations about The Neville Charter Association's INTENTIONS TO LOWER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BLACK STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL, BY MAKING NEVILLE A CHARTER SCHOOL! Now that I have said what I said, on to this week's Black Pioneer, Dr. Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins! Cuthbert  was born on January 13, 1925, in Mansfield, Louisiana. While I didn't find any information about his early childhood Education, I did find out that Cuthbert once studied at Wiley College, and that he had graduated from Tennessee State University, with a degree in Dentistry. Additionally, he received his Doctorate of Dentistry Degree from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, which was located in Nashville, Tennessee. Also, during World War ll, he served in the United States Air Force. Upon returning home to the United States from the war, Cuthbert decided to establish his Dentistry Clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana. While working  and living in Shreveport, he couldn't help but notice the excessive racism that plagued the city. Therefore, not being one to just sit idly by, like a spectator, at a football game, he decided that he had to join in the fight for The Civil Rights of The Negro in Shreveport, Louisiana! At a local Civil Rights meeting, he learned that Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was thinking about starting a group to combat the racism going on in the South.Through a mutual connection, he was able to meet with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and received more information about the group. On January 10, 1957, Cuthbert, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a few others, founded The Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Several other interesting facts about Cuthbert included : his home was bombed by The KLU KLUX KLAN in the early1960s ; he moved to New York after the bombing incident, and stayed there for 26 years ; he returned  to Shreveport Louisiana in the early 1990s and won a seat in the House of Representatives, representing  Districts 4, from 1992 - 1996 ; and before he died, he and his wife donated land for the construction of a Community Clinic to serve Black Citizens in Shreveport. Yes, people  in the South are still talking about Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins and his outstanding contributions to The Civil Rights efforts in Shreveport, Louisiana! Well, it was certainly a sad day on December 4, 2019, when Black People in Shreveport got the news that their beloved Champion for Civil Rights, "Dr.Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins," had transitioned from earth to glory!               Lastly, in 2020, the City Officials of Mansfield, Louisiana honored Cuthbert, by officially renaming their Post Office after h

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : ZELMA C. WYCHE, Affectionately Known As "Mr. Civil Rights of Louisiana," by the Negro Citizens of Tallulah, Louisiana

                                                                                                        Some People in Monroe, Louisiana would  love to try and correct me when they hear me talk of The City of Monroe as being "TWO DISTINCT CITIES!" First, you have the White City of Monroe, then you have The Black City of Monroe. It's no surprise that "WHITE MONROE" always seems to end up with "A MUCH LARGER SHARE" of the City, State, and Federal grants, contracts, funds, and other benefits that come down the turnpike, while "BLACK MONROE" always has to "SETTLE" and "ACCEPT" the "LEFTOVER CRUMBS!" You see, one of the "WEIRDEST THINGS" about the current circumstances in Monroe is that when Mayor Oliver Ellis first announced that he was going to be running for Mayor of Monroe,"HE REPORTEDLY STATED IN AN INTERVIEW WITH A KNOE NEWS REPORTER THAT ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS HE WAS RUNNING FOR MAYOR WAS BECAUSE MANY MONROE RESIDENTS FELT LIKE THE CITY OF MONROE IS A DIVIDED COMMUNITY," AND THAT HE QUOTE,''WANTED TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER OVER THINGS THEY HAVE IN COMMON, SO THEY COULD BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND ADDRESS RACE RELATIONS & DIVISION." What Mayor Oliver Ellis said back then is hunky-dory, mighty-fine,"BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT HE DID NOT EVEN COME CLOSE TO FULFILLING HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISE TO UNITE THE BLACK AND WHITE CITIZENS OF MONROE! Additionally, all of the recent ridiculous stunts, just within the last 10 months, such as when The Mayor decided to waste "OVER $200,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS" of valuable taxpayers money, on the Reginal Brown Case ;  when he deliberately went out of his way to undermine The Monroe City Council's authority to select The Monroe City Fire Marshal, by involving State Senator Cathey and Governor Jeff Landry ; and just recently, when he persuaded Monroe City Councilman, Doug Harvey to "LEAD A PUSHBACK CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE I-20 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT'S  APPROVAL of A $4.5 MILLION DEAL THAT WOULD ALLOW A BLACK INVESTOR TO BENEFIT FROM I-20 CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSIONS," ALL RUN CONTRARY TO MAYOR ELLIS'S CAMPAIGN PROMISE!!! All I can say is that I can certainly understand why some of the "LEADING CITIZENS" of Monroe, Louisiana  have decided to initiate "A RECALL ON MAYOR OLIVER ELLIS!" Enough about all that, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer, Zelma C. Wyche! Zelma was born on January 24, 1918, in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana. Living  in rural town in the early 1909s didn't allow for most young Negro Children to attend school, as a matter of fact, you were considered very fortunate if you could attend school for one month out of the year, let alone nine months! Therefore, most of Zelma 's education came by way of the farm. By the way, in his early Twenties, Zelma became a Barber by trade, but later played a very important role in fighting for  the rights of Negroes in Tallulah as well as fighting for  this country, when he enlisted in the Army, during WWll. After returning home from the war, he went back to his trade, as a Barber, and continuing to fight for the Civil Rights of Negroes in Tallulah. During The many protests that Zelma participated in. he was only arrested 6 times.The most serious arrest happen when he hit a White Doctor at a Truck stop on Highway 80, in Tallulah. Although Zelma was sentenced to serve 4 months in jail, he only served 34 of the days. One day, while cutting hair in his Barber Shop, Zelma got the inclination to run for Police Chief of Tallulah. However, once he qualified to run for election, WHITE POLITICIANS in Tallulah held the election as a "SPECIAL ELECTION," rather than as a regular election,"A POLITICAL TACTIC THAT'S STILL BEING USED AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE TO THIS VERY DAY," which confused most of the Negro Voters in Tallulah. Once Zelma found out about what had been done, he sued for another election to be held. Thankfully, he won his lawsuit, and he also won the next election for Police Chief, and on June 26, 1969, Zelma was sworn in and took his position as "The Newly Elected Police Chief of Tallulah, Louisiana!" Interestingly, his tenure  as Police lasted all the way up until June 30, 1978. Finally, in 1985, for a "SWAN SONG," Zelma  decided to throw this hat in the Race to become the next Mayor of the town of Tallulah. Surprisingly, he ended up receiving almost 56 percent of the votes, in winning the election, and he officially took office in 1986. On September 24, 1999, Zelma C. Wyche, "Mr. Civil Rights of Louisiana," Long-term Police Chief and former Mayor of the town of Tallulah, went home to ever be with the Lord! How Did I come across all this information you ask? Well, it's simple, I read it online, of course!