What Happened
In October 1867, Louisiana's governor appointed Monroe Baker mayor of St. Martinville, making him one of the earliest African American mayors in the country — possibly the first. He served into early 1868. This happened during Reconstruction, the brief window after the Civil War when Black men in the South held political office, voted, and built institutions — before Jim Crow dismantled it all. Sources don't all agree on the exact day, so this post says October 1867 on purpose.
Why It Still Matters
Reconstruction is one of the most important and most deliberately buried chapters in American history. For a few years, Black men governed cities, served in Congress, and built schools. Monroe Baker was part of that moment. The fact that most Americans have never heard his name tells you everything about who gets remembered and who gets erased — and why it matters that we do this work of remembering.
The exact date is lost to history. The fact of what he did is not.
Around the Kitchen Table
Who was the first Black elected official you ever voted for? Do you remember where you were, what it felt like to mark that ballot? And do you think about the people who came before — the Monroe Bakers who held office for a few years before the door was slammed shut again — when you cast your vote today?
Today on Grown Folks Bizness
History and Health Minute. Reconstruction-era stress and the long aftermath of its collapse shaped Black health in ways we're still living with. Today we're talking about what it costs a community to have power taken away — and what it takes to reclaim it.
Sources
Chicago Defender · Wikipedia · Louisiana Secretary of State
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