The Opelousas Massacre in St. Landry Parish, La., has baffled
historians over the years. From varying accounts, hundreds of Blacks were
reportedly killed, because of their desire to join a local political group that
included racist White Democrats. The Seymour
Knights violently drove potential Black voters away from the Democratic Party, prompting White
Republican reporter Emerson Bentley
to write that Blacks should remain loyal to the Republican Party in local paper
The Progress.
A school teacher by day, Bentley was beaten
by a group of Whites as a result of his article, which some in the town saw as
an affront to the powers that be. Black Republicans, looking to defend and find
Bentley, gathered to confront the Knights and other Democrats with both sides
armed for war.
It isn’t said who struck
first, but it is known that the White Democrats had the numbers and weapons
advantage. On this date in 1868, the groups squared off in town in the early
morning.
As the battles raged on well in to the
afternoon and evening hours, several Blacks were caught, shot, and some later
executed for the uprising. The White militia forces drove the resistance in to
neighboring swamps and captured or killed the opposition on sight, in most
cases.
Twelve leaders of the Black Republicans
who were seized were lynched the following day, which sparked a round of
anti-Black violence and sentiment throughout the region. In the end, an
estimated 150 to 300 Blacks were killed as a result of the race riot and an
accurate number has yet to be determined even after years of research. Whites
were also killed, with the numbers varying between 30 to 50 in most reports.
Although
hard numbers cannot be confirmed, what is universally recognized is that Black
lives were lost on that day as a result of voter and racial oppression.
As tensions rose in the South for decades
after the massacre, the lack of justice and information about the standoff
shows that care must be taken to preserve the African-American legacy for
future generations.
Deut 18:18- I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him.
Deut 18:19- And it shall
come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall
speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.
Deut 18:20- But the prophet, which shall presume to speak
a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak
in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
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