Perhaps, if you are over the age of 50, you may have heard of the ambiguous old saying,"If you want to hide something from a Negro, put it in a book!" Well, when I was in school, I think the people in Louisiana who were in charge of selecting the content that went into the history books at the schools that I attended, on the Southside of Monroe must have felt that it was "JUST AS EASY TO LEAVE INFORMATION OUT OF SCHOOL HISTORY BOOKS ALL TOGETHER!" Therefore, to help everyone understand just what I'm referring to, I decided to list the name of several prominent Black People who once lived right here in Monroe, Louisiana,"BUT NONE OF THEIR NAMES MADE IT INTO ANY OF THE HISTORY BOOKS AT THE SCHOOLS IN MONROE." Furthermore, I would like to make it clear that these Black Pioneers helped paved the way for Black People living in Monroe today!!! For instance, Richard Barrington, the former slave of Louisiana Senator Solomon W. Downs, who ended up buying the headstone for his former Slave-master's grave, and helped establish the WIsner School that later became Carroll High School ; Anthony Overton Sr., who helped organize one of the first schools in Ouachita Parish for Colored Children, in 1867 ; Anthony Overton ll, who had one of the largest Black-Owned Businesses in Chicago, around 1925 ; Doctors John T. Miller and Joseph C. Roy Jr., who had the Historic Miller-Roy Building built in 1929 ; Gertrude Ammons, who was the first Black supervisor of instruction in the Ouachita Parish School System, in 1931 ; Samuel B. Fuller, who was a well-established Black Businessman,"AND PART OF HIS LIFE STORY WAS INCLUDED IN ONE OF THE ALL-TIME BEST SELLING BOOKS ON SUCCESS TITLED, SUCCESS THROUGH A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE," which was written by Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone ; Mary Ann Cook, who ran her own private school for Colored Children, in Monroe ; Solomon Lee Robinson, who was the father of Monroe Educators B.D. Robinson, Zettie Robinson Beckwith, Mary Frances Robinson Goins, and former Sickle Cell Director Vivian Robinson Hester ; Ibra "January The Tailor" January, one of the leading Negro tailors in Monroe ; William Medlock, who owned a funeral home, and ran a construction company ; Maceio Dunn, who owned and ran his own funeral casket company ; Abraham Bowie Sr., who owned and operated his own restaurant on Desiard Street ; James "SON" Starks, whose Motel was located in the Miller-Roy Building on Desiard Street ; and Dr. Raymond O. Pierce, who owned and operated Pierce Pharmacy on Desiard Street, along with his daughter Arnetta Pierce, who was the first Black Female Pharmacist in Monroe.These are just a few of the many Black Pioneers whose names and accomplishments that I feel should have been included in the books at the schools in Monroe, Louisiana! By the way, I could go on for days about the influential Black People who weren't included in the history books, at the schools in Monroe, but I must move on to this week's Black Pioneer, "Madam M.E.D. Hockenhull!" You know, it's bewildering to think that a Colored Woman such as Madam M.E.D. Hockenhull, who was a Pioneer in the development of hair and beauty products for Colored Women throughout America, and was a Contemporary of such hair and beauty Pioneers as,"MADAM C.J. WALKER AND ANNIE TURNBO MALONE," could be excluded from the history books that were issued to the schools in Monroe, Louisiana! Also, to add insult to injury, not only wasn't her name put in any of the school history books,"BUT RARELY IS HER NAME MENTIONED, DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAMS, AT ANY OF THE SCHOOLS IN LOUISIANA!" With all that said, Madam M.E.D. Hockenhull was welcomed into the world in Como, Mississippi - Panola County, on May 13,1873, to United States Colored Troops Civil War Veteran, Edward Danner Sr. and Louisa B.Danner. Her parents decided to name her, Martha "Mattie" Ella Danner. As for her education, Martha received her early schooling at various schools for Colored Children in Panola County. Although she dropped out of school, Martha had skills and was very creative. She could sew very well, and she even thought about becoming a fashion designer! However, many of her close family and friends influenced her to pursue a teaching career. In case some of you all didn't know, back in the early 1900s, many School Systems in the United States would allow a person to take an examination to become a teacher,"MEANING THAT A COLLEGE DEGREE WAS NOT REQUIRED FOR HER TO GET A JOB AS A TEACHER!" Nevertheless, after teaching in Panola County for a couple of years, Martha met, fell in love with, and married a preacher by the name of Reverend John Gray. From this union, a male child was born, who they named Isaac Gray. As fate would have it, Martha divorced her husband and moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with her son Isac."PLEASE BE SURE AND LOOK OUT FOR NEXT WEEK'S PART-TWO CLIMAX OF OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE ARTICLE, TO DISCOVER SOMETHING ABOUT ISAC THAT MANY BLACK PEOPLE IN MONROE LOUISIANA DO NOT EVEN KNOW!" Now, back to our story. Within two years of divorcing her former husband, Martha was in love again and had found a new love, and his name was Robert Hockenhull. Robert was an astute Businessman, and he was smart to include Martha as his Business Partner. Additionally, Robert decided to adopt Isaac and Isaac adopted the Hockenhull name! "TO BE CONTINUED, PLEASE STAY TUNED!
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