I begrudgingly left the oasis that was Blythewood for Bogalusa with my final destination being the Mississippi coast at Biloxi. I did have a little bike ride around Amite where I saw this cute house called Newt's Fort and a sign honoring a fireffighter who was a pillar of the community. It made me think of all the men on my mom's side of the family who have served as firefighters in Delaware. Of course, Ellen provided a killer breakfast before I got on the road to Bogalusa.
Why would I go to Bogalusa? Its on the the civil rights trail because of Bob Hicks and Crown Zellerbach (now Potlach). Bob Hicks was one of the civil rights leaders and member of the black union at Crown Zellerbach that was fighting for black's rights at the paper mill. Also a member of the deacons of Defense and Justice, which was one of the few black civil rights organizations that carried weapons. Many of them were WWII and Korean War veterans who armed themselves to protect their families. A march against fear was held at night and through KKK territory to Baton Rouge to signal that these black men were not going to live in fear.
The house next door to Bob Hicks was his first home that the paper plant provided. His mom, Aunt Fannie, subsequently lived there and both homes were havens for civil rights meetings and medical triage centers for those injured during protests. Aunt Fannie was also courageously opened her doors to civil rights workers and often calls came to her house when the white operators did not put calls through to Bob's house.
I arrived at my air BnB in Biloxi without incident and promptly went in search of dinner. My host, Deanna, suggested the Half Shell Oyster restaurant on Lemuse St. And she did not steer me wrong.
I started chatting with a southern gentleman at the bar, and I think he was surprised that as a northerner I didn't take the stand that the north was in the right because they were against slavery. I said I understood it was about the money (isn't it always???!!!). Then he seemed shocked that I had gone to Vicksburg three times and realized that the Confederates held the superior positions but due to fewer men and their supply chain cut off, they could not hold off the Union who had a lot more soldiers they could throw at the battles.
We talked some about the George Floyd murder in the twin cities and I gave him some info that he did not have previously. We agreed that mental healh is a huge issue in the country and that many who are ill are able to purchase guns and have unsupervised visitation with their children which often leads to abuse or death. It affirmed my belief people in our country think more the same than different for the most part, but the media is polarizing us.
Buddha was not allowed on the bed tonight so she improvised and made herself a canopy bed. One of my friends suggested it was a snore shield from me!
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