This Day in History

Sept. 28, 1868: Opelousas Massacre

Time Periods: Reconstruction Period: 1865 - 1876

Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Reconstruction

On Sept. 28, 1868, one of the worst outbreaks of violence during Reconstruction took place in Opelousas, Louisiana.

The event started with three local members of the KKK-like Knights of the White Camelia beating teacher and newspaper editor Emerson Bentley — while he was teaching class — because he had promoted voter registration and education for all.

After some African Americans came to his rescue, armed white mobs roamed the countryside in a murderous rampage, killing more than 150 people, mostly African Americans.

These violent acts became known as the Opelousas Massacre.

Learn more from BlackPast.org and from The Deadliest Massacre in Reconstruction-Era Louisiana Happened 150 Years Ago in the Smithsonian Magazine.

Find lessons on the history of the fight for voting rights and on Reconstruction below.

Learn more in the Zinn Education Project national report, “Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction,” and find teaching resources on Reconstruction below.

Related Resources

Teaching Activities (Free)

Reconstructing the South: A Role Play

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
This role play engages students in thinking about what freedpeople needed in order to achieve — and sustain — real freedom following the Civil War. It's followed by a chapter from the book Freedom's Unfinished Revolution.

protester holding up signs reading "Economic Justice" and "Reparations Now!"

Teaching Activities (Free)

Repair: Students Design a Reparations Bill

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this activity, students take on the role of activist-experts to improve upon a Congressional bill for reparations for Black people. They talk back to Congress’ flimsy legislation and design a more robust alternative.

Teaching Activities (Free)

Who Gets to Vote? Teaching About the Struggle for Voting Rights in the United States

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. 2020.
Unit with three lessons on voting rights, including the history of the struggle against voter suppression in the United States.

Black Power During Reconstruction | Zinn Education Project

If We Knew Our History

The Other ’68: Black Power During Reconstruction

From the urban rebellions to the salute at the Olympics, commemorations of 1968 — a pivotal year of Black Power — are popular every year. Yet there is another anniversary of Black Power that merits our attention — 1868 during Reconstruction.

Make Reconstruction Visible | Zinn Education Project

News

Make Reconstruction History Visible

The Make Reconstruction History Visible project is an opportunity for students and teachers to identify and advocate for public recognition of Reconstruction history in their community and the significant accomplishments made by newly freed people and their white allies. As part of the Teach Reconstruction campaign, this project helps students learn about this vital era in U.S. history while also playing an active role in giving visibility to an era that has been hidden or misrepresented for too long.