Juneteenth may be celebrated later this month, but two years before June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston learned of their freedom – Black men in Union blue claimed and won their freedom on the banks of the Mississippi River … Continue reading →
Tickets are now available for the African Ancestral Celebration commemorating Milliken’s Bend, to be held in Tallulah, Louisiana, June 7-9, 2019. I am honored to be asked to participate in this event as the keynote speaker on Saturday. Full details, … Continue reading →
One of the last acts of David Batey was to sketch this spectacular image of the fighting at Milliken’s Bend, and send it home to his family. Batey was a private in Company C, 17th Texas Infantry (Allan’s regiment) … Continue reading →
On this anniversary of the battle at Milliken’s Bend, I wanted to highlight the Hermione House in Tallulah, Louisiana, about 30 minutes west of Vicksburg off of Interstate 20. A small but impressive museum, the Hermione (pronounced “Her-mee-on”) House is owned and … Continue reading →
Freedom for the slaves was short-lived. Hundreds of whites in Louisiana would see to that. Just as assertively, former slaves continued to fight for justice and secure their hard-won rights, often losing their lives in the struggle. Racial violence was … Continue reading →