"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : MADAM M.E.D. HOCKENHULLL "PART - ONE of A TWO SERIES"

                                                                                      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!

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : FORMER PASTORS OF THE FORGOTTEN NEGRO, "BRIGHT OAK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH" OF MONROE, LOUISIANA

                                                                            .                      "The people who had Martin Luther King Jr. killed thought that by killing the DREAMER, they could kill the DREAM,but they couldn't!"                                                                                                                                                       Sometime from 1955 - 1962,"THE PEOPLE IN MONROE, LOUISIANA THAT WERE BEHIND THE DISPLACEMENT OF NEGROES FROM THE OLD NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK, IN MONROE, LOUISIANA THOUGHT THAT THE NEXT GENERATION OF BLACK PEOPLE IN MONROE WOULD NOT FIND OUT ABOUT THE EVIL THAT THEY DID!" What they did caused a good number of Negro families in Monroe, Louisiana to be displaced from their homes. You see,it seems that Negroes in Monroe were told that they had to sell their land to the Louisiana State Highway Department, because of a pending highway project. However, after all was said and done,"MOSTLY ALL THAT WAS BUILT ON THE LAND THAT THEY SOLD WERE WHITE BUSINESSES ; TOWNHOUSES FOR WEALTHY WHITE PEOPLE ; A NEW SCHOOL FOR WHITE STUDENTS, ROBERT E. LEE JR. HIGH SCHOOL ; AND A NEW OUACHITA PARISH LIBRARY THAT WAS FOR WHITES ONLY!" For all of those who don't believe what you just read, all you have to do is ask some of the older adults, Black and White, or you can perform a thorough research. Thankfully, I was able to learn about what happened from one of my old church members, Bernard Menyweather, who had lived in "THE OLD NEGRO NEIGHBORHOOD OF BRIGHT OAK." Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me provide everyone with a brief rundown of the names of a few of The former Pastors of Bright Oak Missionary Baptist Church. Although I wasn't able to find out the year that the church  was founded, I was able to come up with the names of several of the former Pastors of the church. In the late 1940s, Reverend Lewis J. Jacobs was elected Pastor of  Bright Oak Missionary Baptist Church.     Next, there was Reverend Felix Thompson, followed by Reverend William H. Ellis, and lastly, Reverend A. T. Thomas, who was Pastor of The Bright Oak Missionary Baptist Church when it was "OFFICIALLY INCORPORATED," back in 1959! Interestingly, along with Pastor  A.T. Thomas's name,  three Deacons names also appear on the Document to Incorporate the church. The Deacons names were :  James Monroe Menyweather, Tom Beavers, and Charles Tippit. Hopefully, in the coming months, more and more people will come forth with more information on the former Pastors of The Bright Oak Missionary Baptist Church! In closing, I would like for it to be known and recorded that there are probably less than 100 Black People presently living who actually lived in The Old Negro Neighborhood of BRIGHT OAK, one of them is Bernard Menyweather, who currently resides in Monroe, and a Black Lady by the name of Virginia Adams, who currently is living with family members in Texas is an

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : ST. JOSEPH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE"  :                                                                    ST. JOSEPH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA                                                                                          INTERESTING  FACT : "One of the previous Our Rich Black Heritage Black Pioneers, Deacon Bennerson Stamper was a dedicated member of St. Joseph" 

 

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : ST. JOSEPH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA

                                                                                          INTERESTING  FACT : "One of the previous Our Rich Black Heritage Black Pioneers, Deacon Bennerson Stamper was a dedicated member of St. Joseph"                                                                                                                        Have you ever bought a used item before? If you have, you probably know how frustrating buying an used item can sometimes get! Well, I have found that even though buying an used item can be frustrating, it can also get your Mind to explore new & different ways of getting things to work. Case in point :  I recently bought a used DVD PLAYER. At first everything  worked just find, then about 8 hours later, while I was watching a copy of my Mother, "Mrs. Jessie Mae Edwards - Phenix Blanson" Funeral on the DVD PLAYER, everything just shutdown, like the U.S. Government has just done!                 Well, my first thought was to take the DVD PLAYER back to where I bought it from. However, then another thought came to me to repurpose it as a vanity mirror. Anyways, as I was  thinking about salvaging the other accessories that came with the DVD PLAYER, I decided to see if I could use the power cord for the DVD PLAYER on one of my other DVD PLAYERS. Surprisingly,         the cord from the DVD PLAYER that wasn't working any longer actually worked on my smaller DVD PLAYER. Next, while I was checking to make sure that everything was working properly on my smaller DVD PLAYER, an idea popped in my head!          The idea that came to me was," if the power  cord for the DVD that stop working powered the smaller DVD PLAYER, maybe the power cord from the smaller DVD PLAYER would power the DVD PLAYER that was no longer working?" So, I went and got the DVD PLAYER that wasn't working and hooked the power cord to it, and plugged the power cord into the electric outlet. Again, to my pleasant surprise, I was stunned to find out that my power cord from my smaller DVD PLAYER ended up powering the computer that wouldn't even come on an hour ago! Therefore, instead of having to repurpose or discard my new used DVD PLAYER, it was back working. All because of me letting my mind do the "W.O.R.K.S.'" and SUPPLY ME WITH THE IDEA TO SWITCH OUT THE POWER CORDS! Now, let's get into the information that I found on The St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church of West Monroe, Louisiana. According to records, "ST. JOSEPH WAS FIRST ORGANIZED IN 1874,"ON COTTON PORT PLANTATION, IN THE OLD ST. CLAIRE SCHOOL HOUSE IN WEST MONROE LOUISIANA," by Rev Hall,     a Local Colored Pastor. Well, along with several other things that stood out about St.Joseph when I was doing my research, is not only that it's  one of the oldest Black Churches in West Monroe, "BUT IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST BLACK CHURCHES IN ALL OF NORTHEAST LOUISIANA!" Also, what amazed me too, was reading about all the different locations the church has had.      You see, Rev. Hall pastored the church for    a number  of years, at the  Old St. Claire School House, before he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Bolden. Next,  Rev. Joseph Bolden pastored the St.Joseph flock at the Old St. Claire School House, up until the School House was destroyed by fire.That's when Rev. Joseph  Bolden and the members of the church relocated the church to the 9th block of Wood Street in West Monroe, in 1878. After pastoring at St Joseph for over 20 years, Rev. Joseph Bolden resigned, to take a position at another church. In 1902, Rev C.B. Collins was elected pastor of St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church. After serving as pastor of the church for 18 years, Rev. Collins also resigned his position. Between the time of Rev. Collins departure and the incorporating of St. Joseph Baptist Church in 1952, several pastors were elected and resigned as pastor of the church. Among the names were : Rev. Oliver Williams, Rev. T.H. Evans, Rev. H.L. Broadnax, Rev. J. H. Houseley, Under Pastor Houseley's  leadership, the members of the church decided to exchanged property with a lady by the name of Mrs. Esby White,"AND THE CHURCH WAS MOVED FROM WOOD and 9TH STREET, TO THE NEW CHURCH  PROPERTY," which was located next to some property owned by Rev. Broadnax,  the previous pastor of the church. Sadly, the  church at the new location received severe fire damage around 1924, but it was totally rebuilt in 1925. In 1946, Pastor Houseley also resigned, and a pastor by the name of Rev. Rankins held the position, until an election could be held. In 1947, Rev. Jesse Allen was elected as pastor of the church,  and he was later succeeded  by Rev. C. D. Simmons, in 1949. Which brings us full circle to 1952, the year when  St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church was incorporated! By the way, it was reported that two Negro financial wizards, Reuben Myles and Alex Fuller, spearheaded the campaign to incorporate the church. Additionally, in November of 1952, soon after the church  had been incorporated, Rev. C.D. Simmons resigned , and was succeeded by a pastor  by the name of Rev. Hudson, who was succeeded by Rev. J.H. Wilbert, in 1955. Please Note ;  it is at this point in our story that we see that even Negro Churches were not sheltered from  "THE HORRIBLE, AGGRESSIVE GOVERNMENT LAND GRABBING TOOL, WHICH IS KNOWN UN-AFFECTIONATELY AS EMINENT DOMAIN!"                   In 1961,  the St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church property and Church Building,"WHICH WAS LOCATED AT 700 COLEMAN AVENUE, IN WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA WAS BOUGHT OUT BY THE LOUISIANA STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT, TO MAKE WAY FOR A PENDING In HIGHWAY PROJECT!" Leading the Pastor and Church Congregation "TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY AT 206 NEW NATCHITOCHES ROAD," IN WEST MONROE LOUISIANA," where the church has been since it was relocated & rebuilt, back in  November of 1962. Interesting, since it took about a year for the new church to be built, services were temporary held at the Tim Tippitt School that was located in West Monroe, until the church was completely in 1962. In closing, I hope that this week's serving of "OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" by Garry O'Dell Blanson has certainly wet your appetites, and hopefully will lead some of you all to going online to learn even more about The St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church of West Monroe, Louisiana,"ONE OF THE OLDEST BLACK CHURCHES IN NORTHEAST LOUISIANA!" 

 

"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!"       

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : REVEREND ISSAC S. DYER, TERIECE C. I. DYER CYRUS, and DYER CHAPEL CME CHURCH of West Monroe, Louisiana

 

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" :                                                                                                                                                                                               UPDATE ON THE INVESTIGATION OF LHSAA PRACTICES & PROCEDURES :              In July of 2025, the Louisiana State Legislature launched a comprehensive study of The Louisiana High School Athletic Association, known as LHSAA, which findings are "DUE BY FEBRUARY 14, 2026," through House Concurrent Resolution 24.                    Now, on to this week's Black Pioneer! Somehow, even with the current Technology such as  A.I., Google, and other online search engines, I could not find A  Single Speck of Information on "Reverend Issac Samuel Dyer, the founder of Dyer Chapel CME  Church that's located in West Monroe, Louisiana." However, I was able to find an interesting obituary on his wife, Teriece C.I. Dyer Cyrus. It seems that Teriece was married to Reverend Issac Samuel Dyer when he founded "The Dyer Chapel CME Church, located in West Monroe, Louisiana, back in 1976!"  Also, she was born on February 17, 1912, in Calhoun, Louisiana to Verge and Nora Green Ivey. The following are several highlights from her "93 Year Journey" on this earth :  *First and foremost  was when Teriece got baptized and united with a church at a early age.   *Graduating from Grambling College with a degree in Education.* Attending Ohio State University & Boston University.  *Becoming a Librarian & Teacher at Jerry S. Moore Elementary School in Minden Louisiana. *Becoming a Librarian & Teacher at Drew Elementary School and Boley Elementary School,  in West Monroe  Louisiana. * When she became "The First Black Director" of the newly created  Ouachita Parish Head Start Program. * When she became a member of The  Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. * When she married  Reverend Issac Samuel Dyer. * When she married William Cyrus. *When she retired from the Public School System to open "The Westside Day Care & Child Development Center" with her daughter Nora, in West Monroe,  Louisiana. Sadly, on Saturday, March 26, 2005, after rendering over "35 years of  dedicated service as a Teacher in the Ouachita Parish School System, and several years of serving her community through her family's Daycare, Teriece C.I. Dyer Cyrus quietly transitioned from this life to be with the Lord! 

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : "THE FORGOTTEN 1960 ATTACKS ON NEGROES IN MONROE, LOUISIANA"

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" -Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. While people are getting past the public assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah, "I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM EVERYONE ABOUT TWO HORRIFIC INCIDENTS THAT WERE PERPETRATED AGAINST UNARMED BLACK CITIZENS IN MONROE, LOUISIANA, BACK IN 1960!" Furthermore, I feel that it's a shame that these two incidents will not be discussed at any of the local schools in Monroe and Ouachita Parish, since Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley would probably label the two incidents as being "CRITICAL RACE THEORY." Now, let me begin with the first "DISTURBING INCIDENT" that took place in March of 1960, "AT A NATION of ISLAM TEMPLE HERE IN MONROE," but before going any further, I would like to say that I couldn't find any information on the reasons why the Monroe Police would carryout such vicious and brutal attacks on defenseless women and children, who weren't harming anyone at the time of the raid. As the story goes, after members of the Monroe Police Department had beaten several Negro women and children, they went after the Local Minister of the Nation of Islam Temple,"MINISTER TROY CADE," who is now known as Abdul Bey Muhammad. By the way, it was reported that the Monroe Police attempted to "LYNCH" Minister Troy Cade with his own "NECK-TIE," by hanging him from "A RAFTER," inside of the Nation of Islam Temple! Now, Ain't That A Biscuit??? Note : After the failed attempted Lynching of Minister Troy Cade, in order to dissuade police from attempting to use "NECK-TIES" to "LYNCH" it's "MALE MEMBERS," The Nation of Islam instituted a new policy, whereby the "MALE MEMBERS" would "SWITCH" from wearing "NECK-TIES" to wearing "BOW-TIES" instead! Although there is much more to the story, including another attempt to kill Minister Troy Cade as well as a lengthy court case, "SIMILAR TO THE REGINALD BROWN COURT CASE THAT HAS COST THE CITY OF MONROE OVER $250,000 DOLLARS, DUE MAINLY TO MAYOR OLIVER ELLIS'S BIG EGO!" Next, there was an incident that occurred in July of 1960, where 5 Negroes were shot, four of them died, and the lone survivor was arrested, while the shooter went free! As the story goes, on July 13, 1960, "APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS AFTER THE MONROE POLICE RAID ON THE NATION of ISLAM TEMPLE IN MONROE, BACK IN MARCH OF 1960,"' Zennie William Fuller, also known as Robert "Shotgun" Fuller,"UNAPOLOGETICALLY SHOT FIVE OF HIS NEGRO EMPLOYEES," killing four on his property on Tichelli Road, near China Grove Baptist Church, located at 201Ockley Dr. in Monroe, near the Garden Park Area. The names of the victims were : Albert Pitts Jr., David Pitts, Alfred Marshall, Earnest McFarland, and Charlie Willis. Of course, Charlie Willis was the lone survivor, who ended up going to jail and prison, because he went to his employer's home to collect his wages. In closing, I would like to add that thanks to Google, I was able to access all of the gruesome details,"INCLUDING A MAP OF WHERE EACH DECEASED BODY WAS RECOVERED!"