Historian Charles Vincent highlights Reconstruction's overlooked legacy during Shreveport visit

Vincent, the first African American to earn a doctorate in history from Louisiana State University, is in Shreveport this week for a series of lectures centered on Reconstruction and Black political leadership after the Civil War.

His groundbreaking 1976 book, "Black Legislators in Louisiana During Reconstruction," challenged long-held narratives that portrayed Reconstruction-era Black lawmakers as ineffective or corrupt.

"The first books that were written about Reconstruction just hit me with a gut punch because I knew this was not the way these men were," Vincent said. "The teachers and educators I knew were trying to tell me that it was different."

During his visit, Vincent highlighted the story of Moses Sterrett, a Black state representative from Caddo Parish whose leadership during Shreveport's devastating 1873 Yellow Fever epidemic earned praise even from The Shreveport Times.

Vincent noted that the newspaper acknowledged Sterrett's efforts despite the racial attitudes of the era.

"They had to acknowledge Moses Sterrett for what he did because yellow fever had no respect for color or race," Vincent said. "It was taking everybody out."

The epidemic killed roughly one-quarter of Shreveport's population in less than three months. Vincent said Sterrett helped secure support for relief efforts, including allowing Black nurses to work through the Howard Association, while Catholic priests and religious sisters also cared for the sick. Several of those priests are now being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.

"It's difficult to become a hero in any circumstances," Vincent said. "But Sterrett and those nurses are really deserving of our recognition."

The outbreak also led to the creation of Shreveport Charity Hospital in 1876, now Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport. Vincent said Black legislators during Reconstruction played a key role in securing funding for public institutions.

"They wanted to open up public schools, hospitals and benevolent associations," he said. "The Black members of the Legislature really put some money behind making sure that it could survive."

Vincent also discussed how disputed elections and political violence in Louisiana ultimately ended Reconstruction and dismantled many of the gains made by Black citizens.

"Violence was off the charts," he said. "It was a violent attack on people who were doing no more than assembling to try to get the right to vote and to have their concerns addressed."

Nearly 50 years after publishing his landmark book, Vincent continues researching Louisiana's Reconstruction history. He recently completed an article about Henry Demas, a formerly enslaved man who became a state legislator and later a state senator.

Vincent's visit continues Wednesday at Vine Books & Vinyl, 620 Texas St. in downtown Shreveport. The Lunch & Discover program is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.