Forgotten People

The Forgotten People: Restoring a Missing Segment of Plaquemines Parish History chronicles the little-known but inspiring achievement of African Americans in dismantling institutional racism in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, located at the end of the United States. Rev. Tyronne Edwards, a lifelong resident and spiritual leader of the parish, introduces the reader to people cultivating a spirituality that lifted them from the dehumanization of slavery on more than a dozen plantations. He recounts the state laws enacted by African Americans during the Reconstruction Era that would be considered progressive in this modern day. We meet the community leaders who outwitted and outlasted Judge Leander Perez, a fierce segregationist who reigned over Plaquemines and state politics. We learn the battles waged by African Americans to knock down doors in schools, businesses, and government that were once closed to them. With photographs, interviews, and a penetrating analysis of racism, Rev. Edwards breathes life into the important historical record of African American in Plaquemines Parish who should never be forgotten.