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The Lee Street Massacre

The Lee Street Massacre, also known as the Lee Street Riot, is a historically overlooked event which occurred on January 10,1942 in Alexandria, Louisiana. Many details of this event are still unknown as law enforcement officials as well as the army have tried to hide these wrong doings. On this day an unknown number of unarmed black soldiers, estimated to be between 10 and 30 were killed by white police officers during a battle that lasted somewhere from two to six hours. Not only were many killed, but numerous other soldiers and civilians were wounded as 60-90 local and state police officers responded to an “unrest” with blind shooting into the crowd and gas bombs.

What started this incident is not entirely known but two narratives exist to explain what transpired before the event. The first is that a black soldier was accused of approaching a white woman; police were called to the scene and began arresting this man, when other soldiers around him began protesting this treatment a riot broke out resulting in the many deaths. This incident was then covered up by local officials as well as the army as typical of the Jim Crow era. The other narrative traces the riot back to a crowd reaction following the unnecessary beating of black soldier by a white military police officer in front of the Ritz Theatre. Military, city, and state police were summoned to the area and violence ensued.

The incident involved multiple law enforcement officers: around sixty white military police officers, along with thirty white local and state police. White civilians engaged in the riot as well. About three thousand African-Americans, soldiers from the Army’s 367th regiment and civilians, were unarmed and on Lee Street that night. Firearms and tear gas were used by the police against the unarmed black soldiers and civilians, but they fought back using “bricks, rocks, and sticks.” The two-hour long fight ended at 10:00 pm that evening, where the area was cordoned off.

The Lee Street Massacre was certainly not an isolated event. Racial tensions amongst white and black soldiers were evident even before the war, with protests from white soldiers about inducting black men into the army and their military presence in the deep south. Multiple instances of racial violence towards black military troops previously occurred in the South, often leading to casualties. In Prescott, Arkansas, state troopers attacked black soldiers. A more extreme case in Fort Benning, Georgia, left one black soldier dead. It was evident white men disliked African-American participation in the army. Not only did black men face racial discrimination in their daily lives and from their white peers, they were looked down upon by many in the black community who believed this war should not be fought by black soldiers.

After news spread about the riot, the aftermath of the incident proved to be very controversial. Police officials refused to give information regarding the riot and officers involved were unwilling to collaborate with the press to give interviews. The Alexandria Daily Town Talk newspaper reported that twenty-eight black soldiers were wounded. Only two were identified. Local civilians rumored that there were numerous casualties that night and had suspicions of a coverup, to which the newspaper denied and claimed army officials were telling the truth when a spokesman “twice denied there were any deaths”. At this point the incident sparked nationwide attention especially within black communities. Black reporters and newspapers were skeptical over the army’s claims and called for an open investigation, pointing out that white military and local police officers were often racist and had covered up similar incidents before. Other newspapers, such as the Louisiana Weekly, believe that white military police saw this as an opportunity to assault and kill black people to maintain their racial dominance in the south. Shortly after the incident, the Army’s 367th, many of the soldiers on leave that night had been a part of that regiment, was broken up in March 1942.

At the time, Alexandria, LA. was a thriving African American community and Lee Street was a popular destination for black soldiers when they were on leave from local military bases. The area included churches, eating establishments, grocery stores, entertainment venues, a sporting arena, an Army-YMCA-USA building and the Ritz Theatre, explains a recent marker erected to remember the massacre. In recent years, the massacre is also remembered by members of the city’s chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, one of the largest black biker organizations in the country. Every Memorial Day they drive into town and place a wreath in honor of all the men that lose their lives that day. Today, Lee Street is rundown and vacant with empty lots and neglected buildings. The Ritz Theatre was demolished in the 1970s as were many other buildings on the street.

For decades the Lee Street Massacre was covered up by both local and army officials. It wasn’t until 2021 that a land marker was erected in memorial by the town. This land marker now sits at 819 Lee Street, the former site of the Ritz Theatre. It was first unveiled to the public at the Mayor’s February State of the Community at the Randolph Riverfront Center. Others have also worked to memorialize what happened that night as well. In 2003, three local artists painted a mural directly across from where the Ritz Theatre once stood, honoring Black Americans from Central Louisiana.