Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" which translate in English to mean, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". Today his quote is still as true in 2021 as it was in 1849. In Bienville Parish, District G of the Louisiana NAACP State Conference, the Jackson Parish Branch NAACP Vice President, Rose Jackson wrote and submitted the following. On the morning of February 9, 2021, I was informed by a very upset resident of my community who on his way home from work, discovered a racial slur painted on the road. Shortly afterward, I arrived on the scene, and witnessed the words, "NIG--R DRIVE AND TRUMP" spray-painted in the middle of the road. It is approximately eight miles west of Jonesboro, LA. My home is less than one mile from where this horrific act occurred. This is a quiet community where everybody knows each other because they either grew up there and never left or relocated back. I took pictures of the painting, notified the Bienville Parish Sheriff Department, and the police juror of the district. I shared photos of this offensive language on social media because I felt that the public needed to be aware that this is unacceptable. It has generated a great deal of concern and frustration in our community. An officer visited the scene, took pictures, and took a statement from me. The Sheriff's department contacted the Police Jury and instructed it to remove the paint from the road. One day after the incident, the paint was removed. I have not been contacted by the authorities regarding any further actions take on this issue. There have been other issues of property damage in this community reported in the past, such as: spewing mud on mailboxes, destroying church signs, and knocking over trash containers along roadsides. These were all reported to the Sheriff's office. We get very limited police patrolling in the neighborhood. Even though this act was so reprehensible, I was not shocked but mad as hell because I am a woman of a certain age who witnessed and experienced horrific racial acts during the Civil Rights Era. Now this type of ugliness has made its way into my neighborhood, and I will not look the other way. This week, we will lay to rest two great individuals that I personally interacted with and respected so much for their brave acts in the past. One was the last of the Jonesboro Deacons of Defense, who protected the citizens of Jackson Parish from such hate groups as the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups in the 1960's and the other one was the first African American female to integrate Louisiana Tech University, also in the 1960's. We feel that this should be investigated. Help us to spread the word that this will not be tolerated, and it is considered a threat to the residents who live on this road and especially to our Vice President, Rose Jackson, who is an outspoken woman and one who believes in fighting for justice and upholding the rights of all people.