A Louisiana Town Expels All of Its Black Doctors in a Prescription for the Status Quo

In the Spring of 1944, the town of New Iberia, Louisiana, threatened, beat, and expelled key leaders of the town’s black community – leaders who had recently formed a new NAACP branch and were in danger of getting, by some accounts, the “upper hand.” Among the expelled were the town’s only black physicians, and their removal left the town without a black doctor – or strong black community leadership – until the civil rights movement.

Southern Hollows went on the road to New Iberia for the 75th Anniversary Memorial of the events, and recorded a live episode as part of the weekend of history. Listen to the episode, Doctors' Orders, here:

Listen to the new poem written and read by John Warner Smith, Louisiana's Poet Laureate.  

Louisiana's Poet Laureate, John Warner Smith, wrote a poem "Sermon of the Dreamers," in memory of the expelled doctors, and debuted it live at the event. Listen to the powerful piece for yourself: 

​If you are moved by the poem, we recommend Smith's 2018 book Muhammad’s Mountain, the first-ever book-length collection of poetry on the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. It's 45 poems that trace the entire spectrum of outward events and inner forces that made Ali one of the most recognized figures in the world. It's a wonderful read.

Learn more about Muhammad's Mountain here.

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A weekend of storytelling.

The weekend of remembrance and storytelling was organized by the Iberia African American Historical Society and funded by a 2019 Rebirth Grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. 

Louisiana civil rights historian Adam Fairclough spoke, and Louisiana artist Paul Shexnayder unveiled a painting he created for the commemoration. And more than a dozen descendants of the expelled leaders told stories and shared memories about their ancestors.

A story for future generations.

The Iberia African American historical Society also worked with the state to erect a historical marker to the doctors. It was unveiled by the doctors' descendants.

Get this book.

Hailed as one of the best treatments of the civil rights movement, Race and Democracy by Adam Fariclough is also one of the most comprehensive and detailed studies of the movement at the state level. This far-reaching and dramatic narrative ranges from the founding of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP in 1915 to the beginning of Edwin Edwards’s first term as governor in 1972. In his new preface Adam Fairclough brings the narrative up to date, demonstrating the persistence of racial inequalities and the continuing importance of race as a factor in politics.

Get your copy of Race and Democracy here.

​This episode would not be possible without his research.

Now, the credits:

Host/Producer:
Stinson Liles

Sound Design/Audio Engineer:
Justin Newton
 
Theme Music:
"Cold Sober" by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music: 
Kevin Macleod
Kai Engel

Sources: 

Fairclough, Adam. Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana 1915-1972. University of Georgia Press, 1995.

"Four Negro Leaders Charge Flogging in Race Turmoil," Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1944.

"Louisiana Leaders Victims of Hitlerites," Birmingham Weekly Review, July 1, 1944.

"The Branch that Came Back," The Crisis, January, 1969.

Ward, Thomas. Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press, 2010.
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Thanks once again to the event's organizers: