LOUISIANA CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIL MARKER UNVEILED AT FRIENDSHIP CME CHURCH IN LISBON

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Office of Tourism today unveiled the 12th marker on the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail on Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Friendship CME Church in Lisbon, Louisiana.

“Friendship CME Church is nestled in a small town where one would think not much happens. During the 1960s and early 1970s, plans affecting growth and change in Claiborne Parish were envisioned and strategies developed during sessions of the Claiborne Parish Civic League held at the quiet church,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

According to Evelyn Lewis, Friendship CME Church was the only church in the parish that opened its doors and welcomed local activists. It was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement that took place in Claiborne Parish as well as in north Louisiana. It not only served as a meeting place in the parish, but it also was the place where a Deacons for Defense Chapter was created.

Friendship CME Church is on the National Register for Historic Places, joining the prestigious list in 2016. Its period of significance is 1965-1973 which reflects the years that the Friendship CME Church made its major contributions to the civil rights movement in Claiborne Parish, which began with creation of the Claiborne Parish Civic League and ended with the organization's last major battles with desegregation of local government (police jury), law enforcement, school board, schools, public library and restaurants in the parish.

The Louisiana Civil Rights Trail brings together the events of the 1950s and 1960s that placed the state of Louisiana at the center of the national Civil Rights Movement and narrates the compelling stories and experiences of the people who dedicated themselves and their lives to making civil rights real in Louisiana.

The first series of Louisiana Civil Rights Trail markers were installed in 2021 at Little Union Baptist Church in Shreveport, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans, and the Louisiana Old State Capitol and A.Z. Young Park in Baton Rouge. Last year, additional markers were installed at McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans, the Louisiana Maneuvers & Military Museum in Pineville, and the Robert Hicks house in Bogalusa. In January 2023, the eighth marker along the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail was installed at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. This year marker installations took place at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Pillars of Progress, the Kress Department Store Building in Baton Rouge, and Deacons for Defense Park in Jonesboro.

About the Markers

The Civil Rights Markers are life-sized metal figures that are cut from steel, weigh over 200 pounds and stand over six-feet-tall. The fabrication of the interpretative markers for the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail is being supported in part by an African American Civil Rights grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

The Louisiana Civil Rights Trail

The trail is a cultural tourism product that informs, inspires, and invites visitors to experience and explore Louisiana’s prominent role in the modern movement. The trail reveals inside stories and examines the civil rights era from culture and commerce to desegregation, protests, and confrontations. Two years in the making, the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail was developed with community vision and public submissions from across the state. Twenty-two meetings were held in every region of the state and university scholars and subject matter experts reviewed all submissions. To learn more about the unique and important history of the movement in the State of Louisiana or to nominate a site, a person, or an activity for inclusion, visit LouisianaCivilRightsTrail.com.