Black WPA Worker Robbed in Amite, Louisiana in 1938 by Four White Men

On Christmas eve night, four white men in Ward 5 forced a small, old type automobile in the ditch, entered the vehicle, and stabbed and cut the throat of an elderly black man named Eli, who was on his way to Amite after visiting relatives in Loranger. Earlier, he had cashed a WPA check at Loranger, and was apparently seen by the men. "Though badly slashed, he escaped into the woods and hid under some thick brush as the four men searched for him. They came so close to him at one point he could hear one say, "Well, he can't live--I'm sure he's cut to death." The men returned to the car and stripped it of the battery, tires, and anything else they could remove. The incident occurred not far from the spot where J. Holland, another black man was murdered a few years ago for the change in his pockets. He too, was followed by white men, but, in the attack, his head was totally severed. The latest victim had his wounds dressed in Amite by a doctor who said they were serious but not necessarily fatal. Arrest are expected in the case.


Source: New-Digest
Fri., Dec 30, 1938, Vol.7. No 30
Amite Genealogy Library
Published by Yvonne Lewis Day