A Sleepy Town Awakens: The Civil Rights Movement in the Town of Plaquemine 1963

"When we catch Farmer, we're going to lynch him." On a warm night in Plaquemine, Louisiana, September 1, 1963, two young black girls heard State Troopers utter these words. What was later coined "Plaquemine Riot of 1963" was the civil rights demonstration, march, protest, brick/bottle throwing, State Troopers on horseback with cattle prods, tear gas and fire hoses unleashed on all concerned. Plymouth Rock Baptist Church was ground zero for the Civil Rights struggle, activism, and voter registration in the United States.

A Sleepy Town Awakens brings the battle for the end of segregation laws and institution of integration. It was between the Local Civil Rights Leaders, CORE leaders, NAACP leaders against the Town of Plaquemine, Mayor, Town Council, Chief of Police, Iberville Parish Police Jury, and Iberville Parish School Board. All the parties used every tool available to achieve its goals, from boycotts, marches, demonstrations, pickets to Restraining Orders, Town and Parish Ordinances, and Law Enforcement supplied with horses, tear gas and cattle prods.

A Sleepy Town Awakens captures events which brought national attention to Plaquemine, Louisiana. From the voter registration drive, the Letter seeking integration, marches on the Courthouse, City Hall, sit-ins in cafes, restaurants, theatres, churches and the Plaquemine Ferry, to the September 1, 1963 Plaquemine March where James Farmer was secreted out of Plaquemine in a coffin in a hearse. There were Trials on the demonstrators. There were hearings for Federal and State Restraining Orders. There was a High School Lunchroom Boycott, which led to an uprising and riot by the Students on the Teachers, Principal and School Board. A consequence of these events led to the election of a 31-year-old former State Trooper Sheriff of Iberville Parish, defeating a 4-term incumbent and President of the National Sheriff's Association.

A Sleepy Town Awakens provides a glimpse into the passion, intensity, and determination of the people and institutions. It gives the segregated culture of a small South Louisiana town, which was considered liberal by Southern Standards, and how the African American community pushed, shoved and yelled for change. In the short term, the African American community did not achieve its goals. The African American's direct action for civil rights did raise the community's awareness of the injustice of the segregation culture. It also led to the City of Hammond forming a Bi-Racial Committee and led to the State Police being more disciplined and efficient in later nonviolent protest. Ultimately, the passage of the Federal Civil Rights Laws brought the achievement of all of the goals sought by the African American community without fanfare or violence. Yet in achieving its goals, some African American benefits were lost. A Sleepy Town Awakens shows these goals did not come without sacrifice, cost and perseverance.