‘Sugar King of Louisiana’ is topic of Oct. 22 meeting of Natchez Historical Society

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Oct 10, 2024 | 4:47 PM

Peter M. Wolf is the author of "The Sugar King: Leon Godchaux: A New Orleans Legend, His Creole Slave, and His Jewish Roots." (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Peter M. Wolf, a respected author and biographer, said he looks forward to speaking about Leon Godchaux, the “Sugar King of Louisiana,” at the Tuesday, October 22 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. Wolf’s presentation is part of a lecture series that is funded by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council through funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“I’m delighted to have been invited to talk about my book in Natchez,” Wolf said. “I understand the Natchez Historical Society is filled with experts and I’m pleased to have an opportunity to have a talk with them.”

Wolf is the author of “The Sugar King: Leon Godchaux: A New Orleans Legend, His Creole Slave, and His Jewish Roots” (Xlibris, 2022). He is the great-great-grandson of Godchaux. His presentation is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St. The program will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m., followed by Wolf’s presentation at 6 p.m.

Wolf’s book tells the compelling story of Godchaux, who arrived in New Orleans in 1837 as a “penniless, illiterate, Jewish 13-year-old from France.” Although he had hopes and dreams, he never learned to read or write in English or French. However, by the end of his life, Godchaux became the owner of 14 plantations and the largest sugar producer in the region, as well as the top taxpayer in the state, which earned him the name, “Sugar King of Louisiana,” according to Wolf’s website.

Wolf said that Godchaux refused to enter the sugar business until the end of slavery.

Two Black men played vital roles in Godchaux’s success. Joachim Tassen, who was enslaved, and Norbert Rillieux, who was a free man of color and inventor, made significant contributions to Godchaux’s work.

Wolf is a fifth generation native of New Orleans. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Master of Arts from Tulane University, and a doctoral degree from New York University. His research has taken him to Paris as a Fulbright scholar and to Rome as a visiting artist and scholar at the American Academy in Rome. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Tulane University School of Architecture, and as a trustee of the Louisiana Landmarks Society.

Wolf’s book on Godchaux has received rave reviews from noted scholars and historians. Henry Lewis Gates Jr. wrote, “Peter Wolf’s The Sugar King is an absorbing ancestral journey.” Lawrence N. Powell noted “There are eye-openers in nearly every chapter.”

Wolf is a prolific writer. His other books include “My New Orleans, Gone Away, A Memoir of Loss and Renewal” (Delphinium Books Inc., 2013); “Land Use and Abuse in America: A Call to Action” (Xlibris, 2010); “Hot Towns: The Future of the Fastest Growing Communities in America” (Rutgers University Press, 1999); and “Land in America: Its Value, Use and Control” (Pantheon Books, 1981).

For more information on the October 22 presentation, call 281-731-4433 or 601-492-3004 or send email to info@natchezhistoricalsociety.org

 

Honoring the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Wednesday, October 9, 2024, page 4A)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top of the Morning

 Honoring the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice

 By Roscoe Barnes III

Thanks to Visit Mississippi and the Mississippi Humanities Council, a group of Black men who bravely confronted the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s, will be honored with a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker.

The group of which I’m speaking is the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice, the paramilitary organization that provided armed protection for civil rights workers and the Black community against the Klan and other White supremacy groups.

The Deacons will be honored on Saturday, November 9. They will be recognized in a special ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church at 228 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St. The ceremony will be followed by the unveiling of the marker at 319 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St., the site that was home to Donnan's Barbershop, the meeting place for the Deacons.

This event is free to the public. It is organized by the Natchez Civil Rights Trail Committee.

Speakers will include Dr. Akinyele Umoja, author of “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement” (NYU Press, 2013); Willie Carter, owner of Donnan's Barbershop; Alderwoman Felicia Bridgewater-Irving, Ward 4; Rev. Dr. Robert James, president of the Mississippi NAACP; Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, president of the Natchez NAACP; John Travis Spann, program and outreach officer for Mississippi Humanities Council; and Mayor Dan Gibson.

The Mississippi Freedom Trail markers are approved by Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council. The markers serve to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.

 As for the significance of the Deacons, you should know that the Natchez Deacons played a critical role in the success of the Civil Rights Movement in Natchez and throughout Mississippi. Their compelling history is presented in Dr. Lance Hill’s book, “The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement” (UNC Press, 2004) and Dr. Akinyele Umoja’s book, “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement (NYU Press, 2013).

Stanley Nelson, author of “Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi River in the 1960s" (LSU Press, 2016), said it best when he commented on the courage of the Deacons: “After police repeatedly refused to shield activists from physical attacks by Klansmen and segregationists, the Natchez Deacons arose to provide that vital protection. They never provoked a fight, but if activists were attacked, armed Deacons fiercely defended them.”

The Natchez Deacons organized in September 1965, following the attempted assassination of Natchez NAACP President George Metcalfe, whose car was bombed by the Klan on August 27, 1965. Metcalfe survived the bombing, but he suffered serious injuries.

James “Big Jack” Jackson, a barber, served as the founding president of the Natchez Deacons. They met at Donnan’s Barbershop, where he worked. In addition to Jackson, the original members included James Stokes, Otis Fleming, Richard “Dip” Lewis, Hugh Ransom, and Leroy Clay. Clifford M. Boxley, aka Ser Seshsh Ab Heter, assisted them with fundraising in California and in acquiring firearms. He later joined the organization.

The Deacons assisted with rallies and marches, and they helped to enforce the boycott of White-owned businesses. The boycott and other forms of protest led to Natchez city officials conceding to a list of demands presented by the Natchez NAACP.

As we reflect on the contributions of the Natchez Deacons, we would do well to remember the assessment of Dr. Umoja. He noted: “As they began to assist the establishment of other paramilitary affiliates across the state, the Natchez group helped form the Mississippi Deacons for Defense and Justice....Without a doubt, the Deacons made the Natchez and Mississippi movements more effective.”

For more information on the November 9 unveiling ceremony, call 601-492-3004.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager for Visit Natchez.

Willie Carter invites the public to join him in honoring the Natchez Deacons for Defense and Justice!

A Mississippi Freedom Trail marker that pays tribute to the Natchez Deacons will be unveiled Saturday, November 9.

In the attached photo, Willie Carter stands in front of the two-story building that once served as the command post for the Natchez Deacons. Carter is the owner of the building, which is located at 319 N. Dr. M.L. King St. It will be the site of Natchez’s second Mississippi Freedom Trail marker. The marker will be unveiled Saturday, November 9. The unveiling ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church at 228 North Dr. M.L. King Jr. St. After the ceremony, everyone is invited to walk across the street to see the new marker.
 
Natchez’s first Freedom Trail marker recognized the NAACP Headquarters at 9 St. Catherine St., which is now the Dr. John Banks House. It was unveiled in April 2023.
 
The Mississippi Freedom Trail markers are approved by Visit Mississippi and the Mississippi Humanities Council. The markers serve to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.