"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : KATIE TAYLOR FLOOD

Have You all heard about "THE SECRET?" No, I 'm not talking about the book and hit movie by Rhonda Byrne! The secret that I Am referring to is about,"SIXTEEN SECTION LANDS!" When I talk about Sixteen Section Lands being a secret, I mean that many people don't know about something that has been around for decades! As a matter of fact, in August 2024, it was reported that the Ouachita Parish School Board distributed "$291,184" from timber sales on "SIXTEEN SECTION LANDS" in Ouachita Parish, and the revenue was split among eight elementary schools, with each receiving $36,398. Initially, I found out about Sixteen Section Lands when I found out that in the early 1900s,"A NEGRO BY THE NAME OF CHARLIE BALLARD WAS ALLOWED TO MAKE A LEASE-PURCHASE ON LAND IN OUACHITA PARISH THAT WAS KNOWN AS SIXTEEN SECTION LAND." Also, the land later became the subdivision known as Pine Bayou. Additionally, I learned that the practice of State Governments designating land as Sixteen Section Land was "INSTITUTED FOR THE SOLE-PURPOSE OF HELPING LOUISIANA TOWNSHIPS ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS." THEREFORE, SIXTEEN SECTION LANDS IS ESSENTIALLY LAND THAT HAS BEEN PLACED IN A TRUST BY THE STATE AND IS MANAGED BY THE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. In closing, I would like to think that something as huge as this would be passed down to not only the students, but to the teachers,educators, and every school faculty member, at every public school in Louisiana! Well, on to this week's Black Pioneer, Katie Taylor Flood. In 1884, Katie Taylor was born to Rubin & Porcitia Taylor, in Monroe, Louisiana. Since farming was still the mainstay for most Negroes in the late 1800s, Katie only attended school 2 to 3 months out of the year. To my pleasant surprise, I learned that Katie's first official school teacher was non-other than "MARY ANN COOK," a local Colored School Teacher, who ran her own local Private School, in Monroe, Louisiana for over 40 years! By the way, her father, saved up enough money to buy a piece of land on Louisville Avenue in Monroe that was located across from the Twin City Shopping Center. As a matter of fact, much of the land around where the old Twin City Mall & old K-MART Store used to be located on Louisville Avenue is said to have been "OWNED BY BLACK PEOPLE IN MONROE!" Well, while I couldn't find out when they were married, I did find out that Katie married a Colored Businessman by the name of Willie Flood. Thanks to some of Willie's shrewd business investments, Katie was able to take care of herself, after he had passed away. Finally, Katie was a faithful, long time member of First Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe, where she progressed from bench member, to Deaconess, to Chairperson of the Mother's Board. The last bit of information that I found on Katie Taylor Flood listed her as "BEING 91 YEARS YOUNG!"