No better time for talk

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E.D. White program gets boost from Cenac
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Judge says Louisiana oil suits can move forward
November 15, 2016

It is always a sensitive matter when race figures into the equation, because of the important dialogue that we in this nation have yet to seriously make happen.


The dialogue can happen, however, in bits and pieces, in our own backyards, and this is some of what happened Sunday at the Le Bijou Theater at Nicholls State University.

Those of you who read this newspaper regularly know that a book has just been released which deals with a sensitive aspect of local history. “The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike” was an attempt by yours truly to lift the veil from an unfortunate incident in our past, in order for us to have a brighter future.

For the first time, black voices from the time are heard, telling the story in their own words, from documents never before seen in this context, of what happened on Nov. 23, 1887, when a vigilante mob, according to one observer “shot every black person in sight.”


We still don’t know how many people died, but have verified the names of eight people. The histories of some were explored. This led to the unprecedented telling.

The roots of this incident were not racial in nature. The whole thing started off as a labor dispute. Unhealed wounds from the Civil War added the unfortunate element of race to the discussion at that time, which is what makes this different, say, from labor-related violence in coal country.

So there at the launch event for the book were people white and black who wanted to know more about the past, and the true story of what happened, and they came together in this auditorium.


There was Beryl Amedee, the State Representative, whose own family has roots as sugar laborers, some of whom might have been strikers as well, had they entered the industry a little earlier than they did. Beryl spoke of the shared history between her family and the families of some victims of the massacre.

She discussed points of commonality rather than points of division, and the people listened. Councilwoman Constance Johnson from the Thibodaux City County was there, and she spoke of the need for change that still exists in our communities, but neither pointed any fingers, and tried to create no perception of villains, but an acknowledgement, shared by the representative, that the past must be recognized.

One of the most moving speeches was from Sylvester Jackson, who lives in Thibodaux and is the great-grandson of Jack Conrad. Conrad, once a slave, joined the federal army in 1862, fighting for Lincoln. He was lost to history, Jack Conrad was, until certain files were discovered that led to material in this book.


Sylvester Jackson carried on the tradition set by Jack Conrad, by serving his country as a career man in the US Air Force. Such a dignified and graceful man as Sylvester you have never seen.

But there he was Sunday, speaking from his heart of connection made through a book with an ancestor he was unfamiliar with originally. He and other descendants of Jack Conrad wore red ribbons announcing themselves to be such.

The day was one of remembrance and of pride, and that it should have been on a Veterans Day weekend was pleasant kismet.


There will be more discussion of this incident in weeks and months to come, probably years, as the history uncovered for the book becomes a stepping stone for future explorations, for more confronting of uncomfortable truths.

Some people say it is wrong to pull the scab off the past it had so well concealed. They ask why it is necessary to “re-hash” the history. My reply is that it must be so because this incident has never been “hashed” to begin with. Just glossed over.

I am proud and pleased that the story is finally being told in a context leading to understanding by all people. I am proud and pleased that it all began with an article that ran in this newspaper.


And I am hopeful that where it leads – if everyone participates and helps out – will be a better place. The civil and respectful discussions that took place between people Sunday are an indication to me, certainly, that this is not only possible but shall come to place.

And it couldn’t be happening a better time. •