"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : LAY A "YELLOW MARKER" FOR THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF "BRIGHT OAK," WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN MONROE, LOUISIANA

                                                                                                       Before I inform everyone about "THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD of BRIGHT OAK," I would like to see if anyone has ever heard of "A POSSIBLE COLORED COMMUNITY" that I came across online, during my researching hours. As I was researching about Black People who once lived in Monroe, I came across some information about "A POSSIBLE FORMER COLORED COMMUNITY, WHERE COLORED PEOPLE WERE REPORTED TO HAVE LIVED IN MONROE, FOLLOWING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR." Well, the Colored Community was known as "LAND O' HUDSON, or LAND ON HUDSON." Although, I haven't been able to "CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT" this Colored Community actually existed or the exact location of it, the online information stated that the Bright Oak Community included a prominent group of Colored People, and that most of the members of the community consisted of "FORMER COLORED SLAVES!" Also, it was reported that the total number of Colored People in Monroe grew rapidly to well over 10,000, by the early 1900s. By the way, it seems that due to several factors in Monroe, many of the Colored Members of Land O' Hudson Community were forced to relocate to other Colored Communities, especially locations on the East and Southside of Monroe

Henceforth, I Am requesting that anyone who may have any information or know anyone with any information about the possibility of this being true, please contact myself, Rev. Roosevelt Wright Jr., or Joslyn Wright, at The Monroe Free Press.             Now, let me "share a little something, something" about "THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD of BRIGHT OAK!"     Strangely enough, up until last year, I had never even heard a single word about,"THE "FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK!" I believe that it was at The Carver-McDonald Library in Monroe, Louisiana, "where a local Artist by the name of Bernard Menyweather was hosting his art exhibit." As he was telling us about his life in Monroe, he paused and let out a nice smile, as he started to talk about "THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK." Bernard talked about how there use to be a small pond where people would fish, and he talked about how the Ice Man would come through the neighborhood delivering huge blocks of ice, similar to how the Milkman would deliver milk, eggs, and butter to our Black Communities. Also, he talked about when they first got electricity installed in their homes. Wow, before Bernard Menyweather knew it, he had given us about 15 - 20 minutes of details about "THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK!" After hearing Bernard Menyweather express his fond memories of Bright Oak, I asked myself,"WHY ISN'T THERE A PUBLIC MARKER, I MEAN NOT EVEN A MARKER OF ANY KIND FOR THE FORMER NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK?" Well, I won't even try and go into the various reasons as to why there's not a marker, I'll just say this, "If a public  marker could be placed near Carroll High School for the Monroe Monarchs Baseball Team,"THEN SURELY A PUBLIC MARKER CAN BE PLACED AT THE SITE  OF THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK!' In closing, it is my hope that more and more Black and White Citizens in Monroe, Louisiana would come together and make sure that "WE LAY A YELLOW MARKER FOR THE  FORGOTTEN NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN MONROE, LOUISIANA!"