405. John DeSantis on the Thibodaux Massacre

405. As part of our Black History Month emphasis, Jeffrey Barrois from Good Morning Comrade joins us to interview John DeSantis about his book, The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike. On November 23, 1887, white vigilantes gunned down unarmed black laborers and their families during a spree lasting more than two hours. The violence erupted due to strikes on Louisiana sugar cane plantations. Fear, rumor and white supremacist ideals clashed with an unprecedented labor action to create an epic tragedy. A future member of the U.S. House of Representatives was among the leaders of a mob that routed black men from houses and forced them to a stretch of railroad track, ordering them to run for their lives before gunning them down. According to a witness, the guns firing in the black neighborhoods sounded like a battle. Author and award-winning reporter John DeSantis uses correspondence, interviews and federal records to detail this harrowing true story.

1. This week in Louisiana history. February 20, 1811. President Madison signed bill providing for Louisiana'a statehood.
2. This week in New Orleans history. On February 20, 1995, Director Gilbert Adler was preparing to film Tales From The Crypt (Bordello of Blood) (formerly DEAD EASY) in New Orleans. Starring Dennis Miller, Chris Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, and Corey Feldman (among other lesser known names) the trailer says "The bloodsucking beauties who ply their trade in this "gorehouse" offer their clients the night of their lives..."
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site
   Head south of Baton Rouge for a look into Louisiana’s shipping history.
   Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site in Louisiana
   Visit the historic shipping lock at Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site.
   Bayou Plaquemine’s history as an inland shipping route goes back to long before Louisiana was a state. Native Americans used the waterway that joins the Mississippi River with the Atchafalaya Basin, long before Europeans came onto the scene. When those French and Spanish explorers finally entered the Baton Rouge area, they too, used the bayou for moving goods and people. Bayou Plaquemine was a natural choice for constructing a series of shipping locks in 1909, when business was booming on the Mississippi River and boats needed to get into and out of the nation’s interior. Plaquemine Lock was an unrivaled engineering marvel, capable of raising ships 51 feet — a world record at the time.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Funk Dat Brass Band on Royal Street.

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