The legacy of black history is preserved by a local man

Walter Wren III
African American Funeral Collection

A local genealogist and historian, Dr. Antoinette Harrell, recently saw some of Walter Wren III,  extensive collections of African American funeral programs, church programs, and other historic items. He guards and protects the large container in which the collection is stored. Tangipahoa and St. Helena Parishes can greatly benefit from Wren's collection of African American materials. Harrell spent two hours browsing through the treasure box containing a piece of history. Each program in his collection was carefully examined by her during the evaluation process. 

Harrell received a copy of the duplicate from Wren for preservation at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies.  Nurturing Our Roots appreciates Wren's generosity in sharing his collection. Sadly, African American history would have been lost if not for Wren's and other contributions. Wren's willingness to share his collection with Nurturing Our Roots.

A funeral program for a woman born in 1886 caught the attention of Harrell's trained eye. In his collection, that individual was the oldest born. It was followed by a few in the early 1900s.  He worked at Richardson Funeral Home, Inc. in Amite for many years and some programs were from services he attended and others from his family and friends' funeral services.. 

Harrell received a copy of the duplicate from Wren for preservation at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies.  Nurturing Our Roots is grateful to Wren for sharing his collection with us. Unfortunately, without Wren's and other contributions, African American history would have been forgotten and lost to time. We are grateful for Wren's willingness to share his collection with Nurturing Our Roots and for Harrell's dedication to preserving it for future generations

There is a long history of African American contributions to Louisiana's Southeast Parishes that has been long forgotten and ignored. Wren  understands the importance of researching, preserving, and documenting these contributions.