{"id":76,"date":"2016-02-29T21:23:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T21:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atlasfamily.org\/dev16\/?p=76"},"modified":"2019-01-15T17:13:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T23:13:19","slug":"rev-francis-joseph-atlas-sr-b-1905-d-1999","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.atlasfamily.org\/dev16-rewrite\/rev-francis-joseph-atlas-sr-b-1905-d-1999\/","title":{"rendered":"Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr., B. 1905, D. 1999"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr.’s Civil Rights Struggle in Northeastern Louisiana<\/h2>\n
\"Rev<\/a>
Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas, Sr., great grandson of King Atlas, Sr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rev. Francis Joseph Atlas Sr.<\/a> was born January 2, 1905 in Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, LA to <\/span>Susie (Lee) Atlas and Louis Balfour Atlas, Sr.<\/a>\u00a0The grandson of slaves, Joseph or Bud (what\u00a0family called him) was the sixth of eleven children. He\u00a0attended Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University)<\/a> and received a certificate in Plastery in 1931. Rev. Atlas\u00a0was a farmer and the only one of his siblings to live permanently in their home town. On December 30, 1925 he married\u00a0<\/span>Willie Mae (Gibson) Atlas<\/a>\u00a0in Lake Providence\u00a0and they had\u00a012 children. He was also the maternal uncle of <\/span>The Thompson Sisters<\/a> from the New Orleans chapter of the <\/span>Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).<\/a><\/p>\n

For as long as he could remember, he was denied the right to register to vote even though as a land owner he was made to pay poll taxes. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“In 1948, he and several other blacks organized the “Voters League” in Lake Providence, Louisiana. This represented an organized attempt to exercise their right to vote. It was only the beginning of what was to be a struggle that lasted for nearly two decades.” (1)<\/p>\n

Rev. Atlas,\u00a0along with a group of other African Americans in the area, decided to challenge East Carroll Parish\u00a0Registrar of Voters Cecil Manning<\/a> after repeated attempts to register. The group eventually filed a suit and two witnesses were chosen to testify in front of the United States Commission on Civil Rights on September 27, 1960<\/a>\u00a0in New Orleans; Rev. John H. Scott<\/a> and Rev. Atlas.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Almost immediately there was a backlash of unprecedented proportions. This organized conspiracy was designed to threaten, intimidate and coerce Reverend Atlas and other blacks in East Carroll Parish, for the purpose of discouraging them to vote. Various threatening, intimidating and coercive acts were recorded and reported.” (2)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rev. Scott was shot at<\/a> at while driving. Crosses were burned in their yards. Rev. Atlas had to travel nearly 100 miles to get his farm products processed. (see Exhibit Z)<\/a><\/p>\n

“A lawsuit was filed<\/a> by the United States Department of Justice, Commission on Civil Rights, on behalf of Reverend Atlas and other black citizens. After several days of litigation, the court issued an injunction enjoining the defendants, their agents, employees and representatives from any other engagement in this organized conspiracy. In 1962 Reverend Atlas along with twenty one other black citizens of East Carroll Parish were escorted by federal marshals to the federal district offices in Monroe, Louisiana. There they registered as voters. That same year, those 22 citizens became the first black voters in East Carroll Parish.” (3)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eventually, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against area businessmen regarding economic coercion and won. In July 1962, after\u00a0nearly\u00a0two years,\u00a0the group was\u00a0registered to vote by a federal judge. It took Rev. Atlas\u00a0years to recover from the economic damage that was done<\/a>,\u00a0but he never lost his home or land. Rev. Atlas eventually was voted the head of the parish school board and served several terms in this position. He\u00a0died on October 13, 1999 in Oak Grove, West Carroll, Louisiana. He was 94 years old.\u00a0[\/column]<\/p>\n

News Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n