May 16, 2022
2022-05-16T18:00:00
1212 Captain Shreve Drive
Shreveport, LA 71105
MLA Showcase Lectures
Monday, May 16, 2022
IN THE SHADOWS OF BLOODY CADDO: THE SHADY GROVE MASSACRE OF 1868
Presented by Frank Severic
In the fall of 1868, under a looming Presidential election to determine the fate of Reconstruction across a broken nation, Caddo and the surrounding parishes in Northwest Louisiana became synonymous with widespread racial supremacy and vigilante violence. While “Bloody Caddo” would gain notoriety from the frequency of racially and politically motivated murders following the end of the Confederacy, one of the most horrific acts of mob vigilante violence during Reconstruction would silently occur in neighboring Bossier Parish. The Shady Grove Massacre remains a complex story of atrocity as residents began a brief and brutal campaign to instill terror in the hearts of Black Americans and demolish Republican political organization for decades to come.