Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction

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• / , \ . ) 1 !. ~ '" \. '-- ... • .'. ............. ." --. " O h • .' , <;, I . ~ • • J ,- J G -, Courtesy Deloris Thomns. Southcm Foundation MEMB ERS OP THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1868 POPULATION MAP OF 1870 ~ 70%-100% BLACK (10 parishes) 50%-69.9% BI"ACK (23 parishes) 30%-49.9% BLACK (12 parishes) 29.9% and below BLACK (7 pmishes) CADDO CLAIBORNE UNION RAPIDES CAlCAS/£U CAMERON PARISH MAP OF 1870 ~ - -. ~ ..' -' - ~ . ~ . a.,;, :.--' CAESAR C. ANTOINE Courtesy Lilliun landI'}' Dunn PIERRE LANDRY • • P. B. S. PlNCI-I BACK Courtesy Simllel W. Austin Courtesy Utlian LalKlry Dunn T. T. ALLAIN OSCAR J. DUNN Cour1csy president's ofliee, Southem University WILUAM BROWN Cour1esy C. C. Dejoic, Jr. ARTSTlOE OEl OT E Charles Vincent BLACK LEGISLATORS IN LOUISIANA DURING RECONSTRUCTION American History “Charles Vincent’s book is a classic in the field of African American history —one of the ground-breaking works that helped pave the way for the scholarship that would follow.” —John C. Rodrigue, author of Reconstruction in the Cane Fields: From Slavery to Free Labor in Louisiana’s Sugar Parishes, 1862–1880 “Charles Vincent is a widely respected historian whose book remains an important revisionist look at the ways that blacks were not simply pawns or victims during Reconstruction but shaped the terms of emancipation and the agendas of governments in the post–Civil War South.” —Scott P. Marler, University of Memphis When originally published, Charles Vincent’s scholarship shed new light on the achievements of black legislators in the state legislatures in post– Civil War Louisiana—a state where black people were a majority in the state population but a minority in the legislature. Now updated with a new preface, this volume endures as an important work that illustrates the strength of minorities in state government during Reconstruction. Focusing on the work of the black representatives and senators in the Louisiana legislature, it shows that through tireless fighting, they were able to push forward many progressive reforms, such as universal public education and social programs for the less fortunate. charles vincent is a professor of history at Southern University and A&M College. He is the author of A Centennial History of Southern University and A&M College, 1880-1980, and the editor of three volumes of The African American Experience in Louisiana. southern illinois university press 1915 university press drive mail code 6806 carbondale, il 62901 www.siupress.com Cover illustration: Members of the Louisiana constitutional convention, 1868. Courtesy Deloris Thomas, Southern Foundation Printed in the United States of America VINCENT BLACK LEGISLATORS IN LOUISIANA DURING RECONSTRUCTION Southern Illinois University Press isbn 0-8093-2969-7 isbn 978-0-8093-2969-4 vincent cvr mech.indd 1 12/15/10 12:57 PM ...