"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE FORGOTTEN "SLOW GO" DESEGREGATION POLICIES OF THE PAST

"The only thing worst than being ignorant is being ignorant and not knowing it" -Rev. O'Dell Blanson Once again, I have come across something from the past that many people of the "YOUNGER GENERATION" in Monroe, Louisiana are "CLUELESS" about! The thing that I am referring to began after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the "BROWN vs BOARD of EDUCATION CASE," back in 1954. It seems that many White Politicians and White Citizens resented being told that they had to permit their White Children to attend public schools with Black Children. Therefore, they organized programs and created policies that became known as "SLOW GO," Policies, which were policies designed to slow down, delay, and derail the school desegregation court orders. Well, one of the "SLOW GO" policies that was enacted in Monroe, Louisiana involved Neville High School and Carroll High School. According to a court decree, White Students in the 9th grade at Neville had to complete their entire freshman year of schooling at Carroll, while Black Students in the 9th grade at Carroll had to attend Neville. By the way, this initiated what many people in Monroe referred to as "WHITE FLIGHT!" Meaning that many White Parents decided to withdraw their White Children from public schools and enrolled them into private schools, "WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THERE ARE SO MANY WHITE PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN LOUISIANA TODAY!" Interestingly, some of these "SLOW GO" programs and policies lasted well into the 1970s. In closing, I hope that people will take a closer look at Governor Jeff Landry's La.Gator Scholarship Program and the Neville Charter Proposal and see if there is any resemblance of the former "SLOW GO" programs and policies of the past. Additionally, it will do us well to remember the following statement,"ignorance of the past, excuses us not!"

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : SAM EDWARDS, "A Forgotten Black Pioneer in Monroe 's Bryant's Addition"

So just when did schooling first become compulsory in Louisiana? What a great question! Recently, while performing research at the main library in Monroe, Louisiana, it came to my attention that during the Agricultural Age in America, when many Black People in Monroe, Louisiana were still sharecropping on the farms, public schooling "WASN'T MANDATORY IN MONROE!" However, as the Industrial Age was ushered in, and with children between the ages of 13 - 17 acquiring jobs and working in the factories, many Louisiana city & state officials pushed for laws to mandate compulsory schooling in Monroe as well as other cities in Louisiana. Therefore, in 1910, a law was passed by the Louisiana State Legislature requiring youth between the ages of "7 - 18" to attend private or public schools. Although the law was passed, "it wasn't strictly enforced!" You see, the Industrial Age brought about a change in the labor force and structure in America. While agriculture and farming had been the mainstay, now people were deciding to pursue work in the American factories. At first, the factory owners were excited to hire young workers, but more and more frequently, the young workers were being hurt, and sometimes killed on the job. Also, some of the unemployed adult factory workers felt that the young workers "were taking jobs away from them!" So, little by little, city and state officials felt the pressure to enforce the compulsory schooling law that was passed in 1910. From that point on and to this day, schooling has been strictly enforced in the State of Louisiana. Furthermore, in 2021, Louisiana State Legislators passed into Law, Senate Bill 10, which "MANDATES KINDERGARTEN ATTENDANCE FOR MOST 5 YEAR OLDS IN LOUISIANA!" Finally, let it be noted that the bill was introduced by Senator Cleo Fields. Well, on to this week's Black Pioneer! Sadly, at the time of print, the little information that I can report about Mr. Sam Edwards is the little that I remember about him as I saw him in the "BRYANT'S ADDITION COMMUNITY." Since we both lived on Bethune Street, I would see Mr. Sam almost every other day. One of the things that I remember and admired most about him is that even though he was well past the age of retirement, you almost always saw him either working or pushing his lawn mower up the street, on his way to render service. By the way, Mr. Sam was an early riser. As early as 7:00 am, he would be getting started with his yard mowing marathon. During the summer months, it seemed as if he mowed 8 - 12 yards a day. While I never got or went out of my way to talk to Mr. Sam, I will say that he was definitely a strong pillar of our Black Community! In closing, I can honestly say that I never saw Mr. Sam get upset with anyone in our neighborhood, and I strongly feel that our Black Communities would be much better places to live, if we had more strong Black Men like Mr. Sam Edwards!

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE FORMER COLORED INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION - Today known as Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association

If you were to ask most Black College football fans in Monroe, Louisiana if they were fimilar with The "S.W.A.C. Sports Conference," many of them will say that they have heard of it. However, if you were to ask them what's the "OLDEST BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS CONFERENCE IN AMERICA," few of them would know the name of the conference! Well, to be honest, I just recently found out myself. During my visit to a book fair in Monroe, Louisiana,I found and purchased a book titled, "The Young Negro in America 1960 - 1980" that use to be the property of the Library at the old Richwood High School, written by a Black Man by the name of Samuel D. Proctor. The book led me to what I found out is actually the "OLDEST BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS CONFERENCE IN THE UNITED STATES!" The name of the conference is " THE CENTRAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION." Up until 1950, it was known as the "COLORED INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION." The conference was founded on the campus of "Booker T. Washington's Alma Mater, Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, which is now Hampton University, in 1912." The Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association was originally formed to organize and facilitate athletic competitions between Colored Colleges and Universities. Some of the original Colored Universities included Howard University, Hampton Institute, Lincoln University, Virginia Union University, and Shaw University. Many of the Colored Universities offered Colored Student-athletes the opportunity to compete in football and basketball as well as baseball. As a matter of fact, "many of the baseball players went on to play in the famous Negro Baseball League!" Today, the conference is composed of 12 Historically Black Colleges and Universities spanning the East Coast, from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Interestingly, the conference plays host to 14 annual Championships. "Additionally, the conference is nationally known for its annual CIAA Basketball Tournament,which is held in late February and early March." Furthermore, the Central Intercollegiate is affiliated with the NCAA at the Division ll Level, whose member institutions has nothing but Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By the way, it's current conference members include Shaw University, Lincoln University, Virginia Union University, Bowie State University, and Bluefield State University, along with several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In closing, based on the past history and success of Colored, Negro, and Black Interscholastic & Intercollegiate Athletic Associations, "the African-Americans of the 21st Century may just want to see about starting our Own Athletic Associations, just as Our Colored, Negro, and Black Ancestors once did!"

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : THE FORGOTTEN "L.A.I.L.O." NEGRO ORGANIZATION - Part 2 of a 2 Part Series

"In order to preserve the HERITAGE, MEMORY, and LEGACY of a VITAL, HISTORIC, GROUND-BREAKING FORMER NEGRO ORGANIZATION, you must keep your head to the plow and stay on course with your mission" -unknown As stated in my last article, the L.A.I.L.O. Negro Organization ended up merging with the LHSAA in 1970. However, a couple of years prior to the merger, in 1964 and 1965, St. Augustine High School in New Orleans Louisiana, which at the time was a predominantly Black school, had applied to join the LHSAA. Both times the LHSAA changed its policy on accepting new schools, and rejected St. Augustine's applications! After being denied membership, St. Augustine decided to sue the LHSAA to gain membership into the organization. Two of the main arguments in St. Augustine's case against the LHSAA was that the LHSAA benefited from public funds and public property, "just as they do to this very day," and that the LHSAA had systematically denied predominantly Black schools from joining the LHSAA. In 1967, judge Frederick J.R. Heebe ruled in favor of St. Augustine, and his ruling was upheld by the courts in 1968. Not only did the ruling stipulate for the LHSAA to accept St. Augustine as a new member school, it prohibited the LHSAA from further discrimination against predominantly Black schools in Louisiana. Furthermore, the ruling led to the eventual merger of the L.A.I.L.O. with the LHSAA, in 1970. Today, with the help of people like Dr. Kirk Clayton, a teacher in California and a 1965 graduate of Scotlandville High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and myself, efforts continue to inform the citizens of Louisiana about "L.A.I.L.O.," the former Negro Organization that helped bring out the best in Negro Students, and helped Negroes to see that they were well capable of funding & running their own Interscholastic Athletic & Literary Organization! By the way, some of the schools that were members of L.A.I.L.O. included : Richwood High(Monroe), Carroll High(Monroe), Combs-McIntyre(Oak Grove), St. Augustine(New Orleans ), Booker T. Washington(Shreveport), Webster High(Minden), Alma Brown(Oberlin), Rosenwald High(Port Allen), and Jonas B. Henderson(New Iberia) just to name a few.