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About 60 people, including family, friends, members of the community and local politicians, gathered Saturday at the dedication of the Rev. Lloyd Wallace Community Center in Raceland.
“Reverend Wallace’s vision is one that looked to the future,” said Lafourche Parish president Charlotte Randolph, who opened the ceremony. “We want this place to be for our children. This building is an opportunity, a blank slate. The building brings the opportunity for evolution and adaptation.
“The elderly can come here and get a good meal. Students can come here for tutoring. This center will serve a variety of people who will help mold this building.”
Wallace, a native and resident of Thibodaux, was the first black person to register to vote in Lafourche Parish, established the Lafourche Parish chapter of the NAACP in the 1950s and was the first black director of the Lafourche Parish Community Action Agency. Wallace was also the first to establish summer recreational activities for the black residents of Raceland.
The reverend also contributed to education in the parish by serving as the first and only principal of Kent Hadley Elementary and Junior High School and as one of the first supervisors of schools in the parish.
In addition to contributions to education in the parish, Wallace also founded the Lafourche Parish Community Housing Development with Rev. Louis Clark, and Clark was at the dedication to recognize the late community leader.
“This center is a long time coming, and it’s here now,” said Clark, who gave the invocation and conducted the blessing of the building. “One thing comes to mind when someone passes – closure. Sometimes getting closure is hard to do when there are so many things around that remind us of someone. There are some closures that I don’t want. I want to keep people in mind.”
Clark introduced Thibodaux councilwoman Constance Johnson, who spearheaded the plan to build the community center.
“This is a profound moment in Lafourche Parish,” Johnson said. “This is a legacy. Reverend Wallace is woven into this parish and this city. This moment, this day in history, will live on through the children and all others after them. This is a structure where many can come and go and learn and participate.
“Reverend Wallace was a man of greatness. I thank God for the dedication to a dream I felt deep down inside. Rev. Wallace’s contributions made a difference.”
The center, located at 3603 La. Highway 308, was funded by a Louisiana Community Development Block Grant and Lafourche Parish Government. Lafourche Parish Government also donated the land for the center. The center is home to Raceland Head Start and will also be used to host community programs when Head Start is not in session.
Wallace passed away in 2005, but several of his children and grandchildren, including some who reside in Florida, New York and California, also addressed the crowd.
“When I think of my father, he told us how to live,” said Wallace’s daughter Jacqueline Malcolm. “Just as important, we watched him live every day with God at the helm. He believed a community is responsible for its own well-being, and that is evident in his work.”
According to Malcolm, her father became involved with community activism after returning from serving in the U.S. Army.
“He was not pleased in his community,” Malcolm said. “People were having difficulty registering to vote. It didn’t matter that he was the first (black man to register to vote in the parish) and might have been the only one. He urged people to register to vote.
“He was a very strong man. He showed that in how he expressed his love and compassion for others.”
“My daddy was hard on me, probably harder on me than anyone else,” said Wallace’s son Lloyd Wallace II. “At the time, I didn’t appreciate it, but now I do. I grew from that.
“If there is one thing I remember about my daddy, it’s the way he treated my mother. I can’t think of anything else to say that’s more important than the way you treat your wife.”
Rev. Wallace’s grandson Brooks Wallace cited several passages from Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount.
“There are not many things my grandfather did selfishly,” Wallace said. “Everything he did was for others, family, the church and community. Let your work speak for you.”
“My grandpa would truly appreciate everyone being here,” said Phillip Malcolm III. “I am here because of the tremendous work of my grandfather. His work is going beyond the parish. People are doing things because of the Rev. Lloyd Wallace.
“My grandpa would stop and feed anybody on the side of the road. He saw the need and met it. This community center will make a difference.”
Thibodaux councilwoman Constance Johnson, left, Rev. Louis Clark and Jacqueline Malcolm, daughter of the late Rev. Lloyd Wallace, view a plaque that will be placed at the Rev. Lloyd Wallace Community Center in Raceland. The center is home to Raceland Head Start and will also be used to host community programs when Head Start is not in session.
