- Louis Pendleton
Louis Christopher Pendleton (
October 13 ,1931 -January 14 ,2007 ) was anAfrican American dentist ,businessman , and civic leader inShreveport, Louisiana , who organized thecivil rights movement in his city through the formation of theinterest group known as "Blacks United for Lasting Leadership", which successfully lobbied for racial justice.Early years, education, military
Pendleton was born in Monroe, the seat of
Ouachita Parish , to Joseph Anthony Pendleton, Sr., and the former Velda Leola Long. He was educated in the segregated publicschool s in Monroe. He received hisbachelor of arts degree from the predominantly blackDillard University inNew Orleans . Thereafter, he entered theMeharry Medical College School of Dentistry inNashville, Tennessee , which most black dentists in theAmerican South then attended. He received theDoctor of Dental Surgery degree.In November 1956, Pendleton entered the
U.S. Air Force with the rank ofcaptain . He served for six years. He resigned his commission as a dental officer with the rank oflieutenant 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, Dr.C. O. Simpkins , 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 formayor in 1990. He was defeated in thegeneral election by the white Republican Hazel F. Beard (born 1930), a city council member and businesswoman from southwestern Shreveport.Civil rights activism
In the early 1970s, Pendleton and other black leaders in Shreveport filed suits to establish single-member districts on the Caddo Parish
School Board and the Caddo Parish Police Jury (the parish governing body, renamed the Caddo Parish Commission in 1984). As a result, blacks soon gained representation on both public bodies.Pendleton and the late Shreveport
attorney Hilary Huckaby, III, formed BULL, which sued in federal court to abolish the former 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 2000census -- 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.Dr. Pendleton was appointed by the late
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to the Louisiana State Advisory Committee to theUnited States Commission on Civil Rights , an investigative body formed through theCivil Rights Act of 1957 and guided to passage by then Senate Majority Leader Johnson. Pendleton served on the committee for more than adecade . Pendleton was also active in the Shreveport branch of theNational 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 also the first president of the CaddoCommunity Action Agency, the anti-poverty program created through the Johnson administration'sGreat Society . Pendleton worked with such black leaders as Alphonse Jackson, Sr., a former Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the late Dr. Jesse Stone to promote civil rights activities.The Pendleton-Jackson alliance did not happen without effort. Jackson defeated Pendleton for the Democratic nomination for the District 2 seat in the Louisiana legislature in a hotly-contested runoff primary held on
December 18 ,1971 . Pendleton in fact sued Jackson in a failed attempt either to reverse the results or to gain a new election.Pendleton was a loyal Democrat. In 2004, he donated $500 to the presidential primary campaign of
U.S. Senator John F. Kerry ofMassachusetts and another $500 to the Democratic National Committee.Civic leadership
Dr. Pendleton did not confine his activities to civil rights. He was also involved in the quality of life,
education ,health ,business ,culture , andhousing of his community. His civic work also had the effect of expanding the opportunities for African Americans in northwest Louisiana.Pendleton received a plethora of awards: foremost among his accolades were the Liberty Bell award by the Shreveport Bar Association in 1988 and the Business Leader of the Year award from the Shreveport
Chamber of Commerce in 1990. In 1991, Dr. and Mrs. Pendleton jointly received the Brotherhood, Sisterhood Humanitarian award presented from theNational Conference of Christians and Jews (renamed theNational Conference for Community and Justice ). That same year, he was inducted into the Junior Achievement of the North Louisiana Business Hall of Fame.Pendleton's affiliations included the Pelican State Dental Association, the Northwest Louisiana Dental Society, the National Dental Association, and American Dental Association. He also served on the
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge ) Board of Supervisors, the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, the Shreveport Housing Authority, and the Loyola University Foundation of Shreveport. He was also a member of the board of directors of theLouisiana State University at Shreveport Foundation, the Louisiana State Fair (held each autumn in Shreveport), and the Louisiana StateTourism Commission.Pendleton was
Catholic and a member of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, where he served in a variety of positions. He was also a lifetime member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity.Pendleton's death
Pendleton died in the Schumpert Medical Center in Shreveport. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Joseph Edward Pendleton, Jr.; his in-laws, Leroy Chocolate (1908-1993) and Gennie V. Chocolate. Survivors included his wife; his daughter, Dr. Karen M'Liss Pendleton (born 1958); his son, Dr. Scott Edward Pendleton (born 1961) and Scott’s wife Mona Pendleton of
Phoenix, Arizona ; a sister, Harriet Pendleton Scott ofNew York City , who is married toNew York State Supreme Court JusticeClifford Scott ; two grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.At Pendleton's request and in his memory the dental office located at 1514 Gary Street in the heart of the predominantly black Lakeside-Allendale section of Shreveport will remain open under Dr. David Reed, who relocated to Shreveport from New Orleans following
Hurricane Katrina . A foundation will be established atJ.P. Morgan Chase Bank in Pendleton's memory to assist aspiring science students. The family requested memorials to the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, theVirginia K. Shehee Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, and the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier. Services were held at Pendleton's church onJanuary 20 , 2007. Interment was in Forest Park West Cemetery, 4000 Meriwether Road, under direction of Winnfield Funeral Home of Shreveport.References
http://www.legacy.com/shreveporttimes/Obituaries.asp?Page=SEARCHRESULTS
https://www.fastcase.com/Yahoo/Start.aspx?C=8548aa2293b7ee06af9a00474afdcf5a64dc0c5eff1e272a&D=0cc3d89e091edf7fa6780bbe8adf3a89833b060a9d1118ed&AffiliateConst=Yahoo
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=5941266
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070119/OPINION0106/701200325/1007
www.fundrace.org/neighbors.php?addr=&search=Search+by+Location&type=loc&zip=71103 - 12k
66.23.131.98/archive/1991/sep/cities.txt - 25k
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