Scotlandville, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Scotlandville is a community in northern Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was originally a small, independent rural community that developed along the Mississippi river in northern East Baton Rouge Parish.[1] Only one African-American family lived in the village in 1914 when Southern University and A&M College was relocated to this community. Originally based in New Orleans, the university was designated in 1890 as the state's land grant college for African Americans, when education was segregated in the state.

Gradually Scotlandville became industrialized, beginning with a Standard Oil refinery in 1909, and was a destination of African Americans to urban areas in the Great Migration beginning around World War I. Its growth was stimulated also by construction of railroads along the Mississippi River. While still independent, Scotlandville became the largest majority-black community in the state. In the 20th century, it was incorporated into Baton Rouge.

History

Scotlandville was gradually settled after the United States acquired this territory. It was a rural area farmed after the Civil War by an assortment of European Americans and freedmen. The only African-American family living in the village before the establishment of Southern University in 1914 was that of William "Dreher" Kelly and his wife Priscilla. The area was mostly farmland into the early 20th century, with other black farmers and sharecroppers.[1]

In 1912 the state of Louisiana bought 531 acres in Scotlandville for the construction of the relocated Southern University and A&M College, a historically black college and land grant college. The state legislature wanted it moved from New Orleans to an area with more land. The state later acquired another 372 acres to support the agricultural portion of its curriculum. Southern University was built on Scott's Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

When Standard Oil Company opened a processing plant here in 1909, it attracted many new workers, including rural black migrants from other areas of the state, and immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. It operated for decades, providing good jobs for graduates of Southern University.

After World War II, black veterans such as Acie Belton of Scotlandville organized voter registration drives in order to overcome the disenfranchisement of most African Americans. In 1946 there were only 137 black voters registered in East Baton Rouge Parish. In the next few years, he and others increased the number of black registered voters in the parish to more than 2,000, mostly from Scotlandville. Knowing that engagement in politics was critical, they and other leaders continued with civil rights activities into the 1960s and later. They established the Second Ward Voters League during this early registration movement, and it still is active in evaluating and endorsing candidates.[2]

Government and infrastructure

Today Scotlandville is a community within Baton Rouge and overseen by its government. the East Baton Rouge Parish government.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library operates the Scotlandville Branch Library. The library first opened on July 1, 1974, in a leased property, in a 2,550-square-foot (237 m2) building of a strip-style shopping center controlled by Horatio Thompson. The library temporarily closed on August 20, 2001. It moved into a 17,985-square-foot (1,670.9 m2) stand-alone building and reopened in October 2001.[3]

Jetson Center for Youth (JCY), a former youth prison operated by the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) in a nearby unincorporated area close to Baker, is near Scotlandville and was at one time known by the same name. In January 2014 the residents were relocated to other Office of Juvenile Justice facilities, and JCY was closed.[4] As of 2017 Jetson housed Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) prisoners displaced by flooding as well as the LCIW administration.[5]

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the only airport serving the Baton Rouge area, is located in Scotlandville.

Education

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System manages the public schools from K-12. Scotlandville Magnet High School is located in Scotlandville. Press L. Robinson, a Southern University administrator and professor of chemistry, was the first African American elected to the parish school board in modern times. He served for 22 years, including one term as vice-president and three terms as president.[6]

Southern University and A&M College has been located in Scotlandville since 1914. From a small school of 500 students through 1938, in the post-World War II era, it expanded to 10,000 students by the late 1960s and through the 1990s. From the beginning, the presence of the college stimulated related businesses and encouraged more blacks to settle in the area, including faculty and staff. This became the largest black-majority community in the state before World War II.

The community college for area residents is Baton Rouge Community College, founded in 1995.

Revitalization

From 1914 - 1979, Scotlandville was once a bustling self sufficient Black community with business ranging from several grocery stores, transportation companies, movie theatres, nightlife, professional residents, violence-free entertainment, and experts in building trades of all types. After that era Scotlandville underwent a decline that left the community with dilapidated buildings and blight for over 50 years.

In 2020 the Louisiana Office Of Cultural Development Division Of The Arts designated Scotlandville to be a Cultural District for the purpose of revitalizing a community by creating a hub of cultural activity. Efforts made by local builders, developers, activists and creative placemakers have created a movement pushing economic and cultural investment and rallying behind an initiative entitled Buy Back Baton Rouge [7][8]

Scotland Saturdays

A monthly festive market in Scotlandville featuring small local businesses, food, music and lively conversation. The market is headed by Scotlandville community leader historic preservationist Byron Washington.[9]

Helix Aviation Academy

Located adjacent to BTR Airport, the Helix Aviation Academy provides grade school students with exposure related to the field of aviation, with a 10,000 square foot airplane hangar on the campus.[10]

TEDxScotlandville

The first-ever TEDx event in north Baton Rouge organized by award winning filmmakers and former TEDx talkers Queen Muhammad Ali & Hakeem Khaaliq.[11] [12][13] The event was held on Saturday, May 22 2021, at The Waterfront Theatre, Greenwood Community Park on LA 19.

Notable speakers: Mayor President Sharon Weston Broome, Councilwoman Chauna Banks, Rap pioneer Wise Intelligent, Myra Richardson, Denver Terrance (nephew of Denver Smith), Southern University Professor Derrick Warren, and land literacy expert Louis Ali.[14][15]

The event was partnered by Exxon Mobil, Metromorphosis, The City of Baton Rouge, Nation19, BREC, NBRNOW, and Master P's Rap Snacks.

TEDx are independent licensed events similar to TED in presentation.

Housing For Heroes

Housing for Heroes is a low to moderate income multi-unit housing development in the Scotlandville area of Baton Rouge. The development is a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of Baton Rouge and Housing for Heroes, LLC utilizing the American Rescue Plan Act initiated by President Biden. The project was unanimously approved by the Metro City Council and the elected officials of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana on Nov 4th, 2021.[16]

References
  1. Rachel L. Emanuel, Ruby Jean Simms, Charles Vincent, Scotlandville, Arcadia Publishing, 2015, pp.12-13
  2. Emanuel et al., Scotlandville 2015, p. 115
  3. "Scotlandville Branch Library." East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Retrieved on May 14, 2017.
  4. "Jetson Center for Youth’s Residents Re-located to Other OJJ Secure Facilities Last Night" (Archive). Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice. January 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 17, 2015.
  5. "Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women." Louisiana Department of Corrections. Retrieved on June 29, 2017. Archive, Archive #2
  6. Emanuel et al., Scotlandville 2015, p. 119
  7. Danesh, Yousef (1999). "The Unsuccessful Struggles of a Black Community to Incorporate: A Case Study, Scotlandville". Journal of Black Studies. 30 (2): 184–203. ISSN 0021-9347.
  8. Jackson, Donovan. "Group of young entrepreneurs working to revitalize parts of North and South Baton Rouge". https://www.wafb.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  9. R, Kayla; all (2020-01-02). "How Byron Washington is helping revitalize Scotlandville". [225]. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  10. specialist, AMANDA MCELFRESH | Branded content. "Career awareness, rigorous curriculum and hands-on learning to be key tenets at Helix Aviation Academy". The Advocate. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  11. "Team – TEDxScotlandvile". Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  12. Newspaper, The Drum. "With filmmakers' help, Scotlandville steps on to the international TEDx stage". www.thedrumnewspaper.info. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  13. Khaaliq, Queen Muhammad Ali, Hakeem (October 2018), Anthropological Activism, retrieved 2022-04-03
  14. Staff, WAFB. "Mayor Broome announces TEDxScotlandville". https://www.wafb.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  15. "Talkers – TEDxScotlandvile". Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  16. "$6 Million Dollars in ARPA Funds is Set for Housing for Heroes Housing Complex in Scotlandville, a Community Devastated by COVID-19 and Systemic Racism". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  • Emanuel, Rachel L.; Ruby Jean Simms; and Charles Vincent. Scotlandville. Arcadia Publishing, June 1, 2015. ISBN 1439651582, 9781439651582.


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