We will continue to update this article as more information becomes available. Two others from Ferriday Dantreze Scott, 24, and Deandra Griggs, who will be 23 in April are each charged with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. [citation needed], Ferriday is located in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Adams County, Mississippi. According to police, the man shot his girlfriend and then shot himself. UPDATE: Ferriday man charged with murder in Sunday afternoon fatal Failure to solve Ku Klux Klan-linked murder prompts anger, 47 years on They were identified as 65-year-old Mark Clark and 49-year-old Donna R. Clark, both of Ferriday. [6] Ferriday Police officer William Howell Harp Jr. alleged that Morris was a bootlegger and sold narcotics. . We expect more arrests to be made in relation to this case. No one was ever arrested for the killing. . He was also named 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year. One of the men who was attacked, Michael Clurman, told the Concordia Sentinel in 2007 that his co-worker, Mel Atcheson of Iowa, was beaten and kicked in the face by a white man on the streets of Ferriday in July 1965. One night in January 1966 as Whatley slept, his first cousin and fellow Deacon, Joe Davis, fell asleep during his shift to guard the Whatley home. Louisiana journalist pursuing KKK killers across time - USA Today Dec 16, 2020. Concordia Parish authorities investigating suspected murder-suicide, West Monroe man arrested after allegedly raping adopted daughter, Monroe duo arrested for alleged sex trafficking of minor, 10-year-old shot during argument, Marion man arrested, 2 Winnfield residents arrested following death of 3 year old, One lucky winner in Arkansas is about to become $2.338M richer, La. [2] Scarborough, while under investigation for both Jackson's and Morris's murders, denied any involvement, stating that "every time something happens to a Negro it is immediately blamed on white people. IE 11 is not supported. Once their mission was complete, members quietly returned to their modest lives. Copyright 2019 WLBT. Harp and colleagues also found a "slightly scorched" suitcase filled with fourteen and a half pints of bourbon. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) activity was exceptionally high during the Civil Rights era. He told the FBI in 1965 that though he was not a member, Deacons had sought his advice and counsel. Whatley said it was important for Deacons and activists to demand change in lawful yet effectiveways during the civil rights era, and he said that still holds true for the nationwide protests against police abuses today. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Lets do it intellectually not forcefully, Whatley said. FERRIDAY, La. Police say it happened on Johnson Street around 5 p.m. [2] The FBI investigators believed that Morris knew his attackers, but was unwilling to divulge their identities. These men had long been outraged by one horrid memory - the 1964 arson murder of Ferriday shoe shop owner Frank Morris. This business serviced both black and white customers. "[6][pageneeded], Ferriday locals thought highly of Morris, who was a community-centric man who gave many young black men their first paying job; Morris also hosted a radio gospel program. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Natchez pastry chef Molly Manning Robertson in bake off for last spot in Spring Baking Championship finale, VIDEO: Funeral procession for long-time sheriff Tommy Ferrell passes by Adams County Sheriffs Office, Calm, focused and ready: The role of an ER nurse, A Team Sport: Emergency medicine, first-responders share common goal of saving lives, 2023, Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper. He was able to escape the shop but sustained burns on 100% of his body. Nelson is a member of the Civil Rights Cold Case Project, a group of journalists, filmmakers, law schools and other organizations created in 2008 by Paperny Films in Canada and the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, Calif. With the help of FBI documents Nelson received through Freedom of Information requests and from the Syracuse College of Law Cold Case Justice Initiative, and extensive interviews with those who knew Morris or about the case, he was able to piece together the story, ultimately naming a person suspected of being involved: Arthur Leonard Spencer, 71, of Rayville, La. [2], The FBI reopened the Frank Morris investigation in 2007, as part of the Civil Rights Era Cold Case Initiative. For years, David Whatley has wondered how men can be so motivated by hate. Carl Ray Thompson, then 26, spotted his cousin's two-toned. Frank Morris (in the apron and visor) is seen standing in front of his shoe shop in Ferriday, La., in the 1950s. [4] Multiple disappearances and murders in the Natchez, Mississippi, area were connected to both the KKK and the SDG. 21-year-old Louisiana man confesses to killing his parents and three in Lewis raced outside with a shotgun. David Whatley, the first black student to integrate Ferriday High in 1966, returned from tortuous days at school only to face just as many threats outside his home. The group was largely found in Mississippi and Louisiana, and was named for their practice of identifying themselves by carrying a silver dollar. More history:Woman works to preserve Bogalusa home turned headquarters of civil rights group. Two WHARBOM informants also reported information regarding the murder of Morris, and the FBI reopened the Morris investigation in August 1967. That was not the only time Whatley helped an imprisoned black man in Ferriday. The single-engine Air Tractor 502 crashed around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday along Louisiana 425, about five miles south of Sicily Island, according to a news release from the Northeast Louisiana. Soon, Lewis was back in his Ferriday home and reunited with his wife and children. Frank Morris's mother, Charlotte, died shortly after his birth. The group killed an African American man, Frank Morris, by arson in Ferriday, Louisiana, and is suspected in two car bombings of NAACP leaders in Natchez, Mississippi, George Metcalfe and Wharlest Jackson. We would make it known that we were alert and we were awake, and they would flee, Whatley said. [2] The FBI had received information that local law enforcement officials had been involved. Deacons for Defense and Justice in Ferriday, Louisiana took a stand (KTVE/KARD) On Wednesday September 15, officers with the Ferriday Police Department arrested 19-year-old Denzel Washington for 2nd Degree Murder. So far no charges have been filed. The Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office (CPSO) is leading the investigation into the shooting at 106 Gremillion Street. CPSO investigates two shooting deaths on Lake St. John NATCHEZ, Miss. David Whatley, who was a CORE member himself while a student at Ferriday High School, confirmed in a recent interview that the Ferriday Deacons were armed. Born in Jonesboro before spreading most notably to Bogalusa, Homer and Ferriday, the Deacons main purpose was to fight fire with fire and to protect their communities. During the 1960s, the area was a strictly segregated society. A preliminary FBI investigation began immediately after the arson; its goal was to "determine if any federal laws had been violated, specifically whether Morris had been involved in voter registration or other civil rights activities and whether any subjects had connections to any racist organizations. Lewis decided that if two visiting white men like Atcheson and Clurman were willing to take a beating in the name of civil rights in Ferriday, it was time for him to take a stand, too, and in August 1965, Lewis got involved with the CORE-sponsored Ferriday Freedom Movement. "We don't really know what the motive is," Ard said. Sons of Klansmen tied to Louisiana murder haunted by sins of their fathers. According to the sheriff's office, it happened on June 23, 2019, in the. Two charged with murder after Natchez Teacher of the Year killed in La. [2] The informant, fearing for his life, did not share this information with the FBI until two years after the arson. The group is also suspected in the disappearance and murder of an African American employee of the Shamrock Motel, Joseph Edwards. Theriot said he used a handgun stolen from his father, Keith Theriot, and that it was the weapon recovered after he was arrested, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said at a news conference Tuesday. There have been allegations of witness intimidation, evidence tampering, and involvement by local law enforcement. Who Killed Frank Morris? - Nieman Reports
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