BATON ROUGE – Officials on Monday unveiled a new signpost in a park in the capital honoring the civil rights movement’s first and longest march.
The march from Bogalusa to Baton Rouge began on August 10, 1967 and stretched 105 miles in southeastern Louisiana. Often known as the “105 Mile Gauntlet”, the demonstration was led by activist AZ Young with Robert “Bob” Hicks and Gayle Jenkins.
Despite resistance from law enforcement at the time, the march grew from 25 to 600 people over the course of their journey. It ended 10 days later with a rally on the steps of the State Capitol where Young presented a list of complaints made to Governor John McKeithen regarding discrimination in the workplace and the election of 10 African Americans to run for office in Bogalusa were.
Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Office of Tourism officially unveiled the marker Monday at AZ Young Park in Baton Rouge and added it to the historic Louisiana Civil Rights Trail, which details the events that put Louisiana at the center of the civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s Years. The state unveiled the first three markings for the trail in the spring.
The markers presented so far include …
–Bogalusa to Baton Rouge March where civil rights activist AZ Young led the march from Bogalusa to Baton Rouge with Robert “Bob” Hicks and Gayle Jenkins. Young planned to take a list of complaints to Governor John McKeithen on the steps of the State Capitol. Referred to as the “105-mile glove”, the demonstrators faced considerable resistance on their way. By the time the protesters reached the State Capitol, their number had grown from 25 to 600, under the protection of National Guards and police. In his speech on the steps of the state capital, Young voiced complaints about employment and discrimination and called for the election of ten blacks to run for local office in Bogalusa. The demonstrators’ efforts were ultimately successful and resulted in better recruitment and electoral practices.
–The Baton Rouge bus boycott was a historic effort by black residents seeking fair treatment from the local bus company. They made up 80% of the passengers on the city buses, but had to stand in the back of the bus, even if there were seats in the “only white” area of the bus. The old state capital was a major boycott site when drivers gathered under oak trees to find free transportation to work. It also had wider implications for the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by the freeride system developed in Baton Rouge and used it as a model for the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.
–Little Union Baptist Church was the epicenter of civil rights activity in Shreveport. Under the dynamic leadership of Reverend Claude Clifford McClain, community members planned to resolve civil rights issues peacefully, planned shop boycotts to protest the hiring practices of downtown businesses, and conducted voter registrations. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his final public appearance and delivered an inspiring speech from the pulpit.
–Dooky Chases Restaurant New Orleans became famous as a place where people of all races could get together and discuss strategies for the civil rights movement. The iconic civil rights activists Oretha Castle Haley, AP Tureaud, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. all gathered in the upstairs dining room. Leah Chase, cook and co-owner with her husband Dooky, famously said: “I like to think that we changed the course of America over a bowl of gumbo.”
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