Block, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect, rollback
57,799
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − Line 22:
Line 21: − + − + Line 35:
Line 34: − Dr. Pendleton was appointed by then [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to the Louisiana State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, an investigative body formed through the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which had been signed into law by President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and guided to Senate passage by then Majority Leader Johnson. Pendleton served on the committee for more than a decade. Pendleton was also active in the Shreveport branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] and organized the NAACP Youth Council.+
no edit summary
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name=Louis Christopher Pendleton<br>
| name=Louis Christopher Pendleton<br>
(Louisiana civil rights activist)
(Louisiana civil rights activist)
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry}}
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry}}
'''Louis Christopher Pendleton''' (October 13, 1931 – January 14, 2007) was an [[African-American]] [[dentist]], [[business]]man, and civic leader in [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], who organized the [[civil rights]] movement in his city through the formation of the group "Blacks United for Lasting Leadership," which lobbied on behalf of racial justice.
'''Louis Christopher Pendleton''' (October 13, 1931 – January 14, 2007) was an [[African-American]] [[dentist]], [[business]]man, and civic leader in [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], who organized the [[civil rights]] movement in his city through the formation of the group "Blacks United for Lasting Leadership," which lobbied on behalf of what it considered racial justice.
==Background==
==Background==
Pendleton was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] in Ouachita Parish, to Joseph Anthony Pendleton, Sr., and the former Velda Leola Long. He was educated in the [[Segregation|segregated]] public schools in Monroe. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the predominantly black Dillard University in [[New Orleans]]. Thereafter, he entered the school of dentistry at Meharry Medical College in [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], which most black dentists in the American South then attended. He received the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.<ref name=obit>Pendleton obituary, ''The Shreveport Times,'' January 18, 2019.}}</ref>
Pendleton was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] in Ouachita Parish, to Joseph Anthony Pendleton, Sr., and the former Velda Leola Long. He was educated in the [[Segregation|segregated]] public schools in Monroe. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the predominantly black Dillard University in [[New Orleans]]. Thereafter, he entered the school of dentistry at Meharry Medical College in [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], which most black dentists in the American South then attended. He received the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.<ref name=obit>Pendleton obituary, ''The Shreveport Times,'' January 18, 2019.</ref>
In November 1956, Pendleton entered the [[U.S. Air Force]] with the rank of captain. He served for six years. He resigned his commission as a dental officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He and his wife, the former Barbara Chocolate (also born 1931), a Shreveport native, then took over the former dental practice of the civil rights activist, Cuthbert Ormond "C. O." Simpkins, Sr., who left Shreveport when his life was threatened. Pendleton maintained the dental practice for forty-seven years. The Pendletons were married for fifty-two years and had two children, both doctors. Dr. Simpkins returned to Shreveport in 1988 and ran unsuccessfully for [[mayor]] in 1990. He was defeated in the [[general election]] by the white [[Republican Party|Republican]] Hazel Fain Beard, a city council member and businesswoman from southwestern Shreveport. Thereafter, Simpkins served a term from 1992 to 1996 in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
In November 1956, Pendleton entered the [[U.S. Air Force]] with the rank of captain. He served for six years. He resigned his commission as a dental officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He and his wife, the former Barbara Chocolate (also born 1931), a Shreveport native, then took over the former dental practice of the civil rights activist, Cuthbert Ormond "C. O." Simpkins, Sr., who left Shreveport when his life was threatened. Pendleton maintained the dental practice for forty-seven years. The Pendletons were married for fifty-two years and had two children, both doctors. Dr. Simpkins returned to Shreveport in 1988 and ran unsuccessfully for [[mayor]] in 1990. He was defeated in the [[general election]] by the white [[Republican Party|Republican]] Hazel Fain Beard, a city council member and businesswoman from southwestern Shreveport. Thereafter, Simpkins served a term from 1992 to 1996 in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
With the late [[attorney]] Hilary Huckaby, III, Pendleton worked to establish BULL, which sued in federal court to abolish the former city commission form of municipal government. Under the five-member commission system, the council members were elected at-large. At the time, Shreveport was majority white—it became majority black in the 2000 [[census]] -- and no blacks won any of the commission positions. When an executive mayor and legislative council system was adopted in 1978, blacks began to win seats on the seven-member single-member-district council and later dominated the mayor's office as well.
With the late [[attorney]] Hilary Huckaby, III, Pendleton worked to establish BULL, which sued in federal court to abolish the former city commission form of municipal government. Under the five-member commission system, the council members were elected at-large. At the time, Shreveport was majority white—it became majority black in the 2000 [[census]] -- and no blacks won any of the commission positions. When an executive mayor and legislative council system was adopted in 1978, blacks began to win seats on the seven-member single-member-district council and later dominated the mayor's office as well.
[[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] appointed Pendleton to the Louisiana State Advisory Committee, an entity of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, an investigative body formed through the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which had been signed into law by President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and guided to Senate passage by then Majority Leader Johnson. Pendleton served on the committee for more than a decade. Pendleton was also active in the Shreveport branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] and organized the NAACP Youth Council.
Pendleton was the founder of a Shreveport-area committee which lobbied for the employment of African Americans in the broadcasting industry. Pendleton was the first president of the Caddo Community Action Agency, the anti-poverty program created through the Johnson administration's [[Great Society]]. Pendleton worked with such black leaders as Alphonse J. Jackson (1927-2014), a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the educator Dr. Jesse Nealand Stone, Jr. (1924-2001), to promote civil rights activities.
Pendleton was the founder of a Shreveport-area committee which lobbied for the employment of African Americans in the broadcasting industry. Pendleton was the first president of the Caddo Community Action Agency, the anti-poverty program created through the Johnson administration's [[Great Society]]. Pendleton worked with such black leaders as Alphonse J. Jackson (1927-2014), a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the educator Dr. Jesse Nealand Stone, Jr. (1924-2001), to promote civil rights activities.