Tag: Garry Blanson

By Garry Blanson Today, as people in Monroe, Louisiana visit the Emily P. Robinson Center and the Henrietta W. Johnson Recreational Center, they can’t help but notice that some of the former “noticeable pictures” of individuals such as Emily P.…

By Garry Blanson Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Monroe’s living legend, Frank Taylor. He mentioned that there used to be a white-owned company that employed many African Americans in Monroe. Surprisingly, the company was the Louisville Cooperage…

By Garry Blanson While I was online reminding my Facebook friends that “two Negro neighborhoods” were once established on the land near, around, or maybe even on the land where the “old Holiday Inn” used to be located, it was…

By Garry Blanson “Although some individual public schools in Monroe, Louisiana and Ouachita Parish currently have Black principals and even a Black Monroe City School Superintendent of Education, the majority of the chief administrators who serve on the Louisiana State…

By Garry Blanson Every week, “It’s astonishing how history has a way of repeating itself in Ouachita Parish!” Yes, it seems like every other week there’s another example of how a similar event that happened “over 60 years ago” in…

By Garry Blanson “It’s astonishing how history keeps on repeating itself in Ouachita Parish!” – Garry Blanson. Today, Black citizens in Monroe, Louisiana, who live in the community around Swayze Elementary School are reflecting on the Ouachita Parish School Board’s…

By Garry Blanson Known as “The Ouachita Parish Multi-Purpose Community Action Program” by a White senator named William D. Brown is a story that deserves attention It’s disturbing to me that as we enter the celebration of Black History Month…