Separate But Equal . . . . Problems

Got a phone call tonight from Mrs. Noella Bostick, my 8th Grade Louisiana History teacher more years ago than I care to remember. The problem she wanted to discuss with me sounded very familiar. She was working with the Board of the Sheppard Street Cemetery -- the largest black cemetery in Minden -- and was hoping to find information about who were the earliest burials in the cemetery and perhaps a little about those people. As I've indicated before, in the written sources of local history, black residents are essentially non-existent prior to the 1970s. So, I had to tell her I really had no information and no real sources to consult. The cemetery association has the records of land ownership and dedication. I told her I will be on the lookout for any tidbits I can find, but I'm not hopeful.

The point of this title is the problems she described are so similar to the problems we have with the Minden Cemetery. Missing records and the biggest problem -- lost graves either from the land "settling" or from the terrible damage of the 1933 tornado. While I was considering that I realized another sad legacy from the years of segregation. By duplicating facilities, whatever problems were inherent in those facilities were also duplicated. A "double trouble" of sorts. We can't change history, but I can certainly wish our forefathers had used a little more wisdom in their choices.