Cenla icons from past and present honored at African American Culture & Heritage Center

People packed a Rapides Parish Library branch Saturday for the grand opening of the Central Louisiana African American Culture & Heritage Center and the unveiling of 13 portraits of local icons stretching across generations.

LaKeisha Henton, manager of the Martin Luther King Jr. branch, was overwhelmed as she looked at the crowd that packed the Broadway Avenue building.

Henton said she thought all during the week of what to say during Saturday's event, "but nothing I could have thought of could wow me more than seeing all the faces in here today," she said.

As Henton continued to speak, she had to pause because of the emotions before being reassured by the crowd.

"We are truly our ancestors' wildest dreams," Henton said, adding that they had gathered to honor the past and inspire the future.

The center is "the physical manifestation of our commitment to the retention, preservation and celebration of the history and culture of our community," according to a welcome in the event's program from Director Celise Reech-Harper.

Thirteen portraits of prominent African-Americans who made a mark on the community were unveiled. Some of those honored or their families were in attendance.

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Six artists painted the portraits. One of them, Fannietta Johnson, helped artist Morris Taft Thomas, who helped plan the center, present them to the audience.

The portraits, and their artists, are:

• Arna Wendell Bontemps, an Alexandria native who became part of the Harlem Renaissance. He was an author, historian and archivist. His poetry won prizes and he later became head librarian and director of university relations at Fisk University in Nashville, developing its African American collection. He died at 70 in 1973. His portrait was painted by Johnson.

• Natalie Desselle-Reid was an Alexandria native who graduated from Peabody Magnet High School and became a successful actress. She started with an episode of "Family Matters" and went on to appear in films like "Set It Off" and "BAPS." She died in 2020, aged 53, after fighting colon cancer. Her portrait was painted by Kylen Guilbeaux.

• David Faxton Iles attended the Peabody Training School in 1918 and returned to Alexandria in 1934 to teach at the new Peabody High School. He eventually became principal and stayed in that position 35 years, transforming the school from a training school to an academic one. His portrait was painted by Dr. Clarence Talley Sr.

• John Baptist "J.B." Lafargue, who became an editor and newspaper publisher, was born to an enslaved woman and a white man. Adopted by the Lafarge family in Avoyelles Parish, he founded what became Peabody Magnet High School. His portrait was painted by Guildbeaux.

• Col. Katrina E. Lloyd, a Peabody Magnet and Grambling State University graduate, is only the second Black woman to hold the rank of colonel in the Louisiana National Guard. An Alexandria native, she is the first African American and woman to serve as the state surgeon-Army and commander of the 61st Troop Command. Her portrait was painted by Guilbeaux.

• Oliver "Ollie" Overton, a current Rapides Parish Police Jury member, is an Alexandria native. A Peabody High School graduate, Overton serves and has served on local and national committees. His portrait was painted by Joseph Anthony Pearson.

• Juan Pierre, a graduate of Alexandria Senior High School, played for more than 14 seasons on Major League Baseball teams. He stole 614 bases over the course of his career, which saw him play with the Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. He retired in 2015. His portrait was painted by Guilbeaux.

• James Jordan Prestage Jr., PhD, was a biologist and educator who grew up in Alexandria. He graduated from Peabody High and later taught at Southern University, where he had attended before being drafted into the U.S. Navy during World War II. He led the creation of Southern's Department of Computer Science. His portrait was painted by Guilbeaux.

• Jewel Limar Prestage, PhD, was an educator and author who grew up in Alexandria and later married James Jordan Prestage Jr. The two met while attending Southern. Prestage was the first person to research the involvement of Black women in politics. She co-wrote a book on the subject, "A Portrait of Marginality." She was the founder of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists in 2002. Her portrait was painted by Edward Barnes.

• Larry Douglas Smith was an Alexandria native, the first African American to serve as president of the Louisiana Council of Criminal Justice and as warden of the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center. He was appointed to help provide resources to New Orleans residents left stranded after Hurricane Katrina. He retired from the pastorate at Rose of Sharon Baptist Church in Alexandria in 2020, then becoming pastor emeritus. His portrait was painted by Guilbeaux.

• Clarence Talley Jr., PhD, is a Peabody High graduate and current professor of art at Prairie View A&M University. He is a Fulbright-Hays Scholar to Africa and a Phelps-Stoke Fellow to the Caribbean. He also is an author and has had his art displayed, most recently, in group shows in India and China. His portrait was painted by his daughter, Crystal Ann Talley.

• Amos Wesley Jr., an artist, educator and pastor, left Alexandria when he was 6 following the death of his father. When World War II broke out, he volunteered for the U.S. Army and was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps at Tuskegee, Ala. He later became chief inspector for the 99th Fighter Squadron, responsible for deciding which planes flew and which didn't. Over 400 combat and escort missions, the squadron never lost a bomber. After the war, he founded Wesley's Automotive Repairs and became the first Black Rapides Parish Sheriff's deputy. His portrait was painted by Pearson.

• Dr. Romel Christopher Wrenn, a cardiologist and author, moved to Alexandria when he was 13. He graduated from Bolton High School in 1971, returning to Alexandria after a stint in the U.S. Army. He worked in private practice at the Freedman Clinic of Internal Medicine, but later moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, to become medical director of Porter Heart and Vascular Center. His portrait was painted by Barnes.

A portrait of Iles was given by Peabody Magnet Principal Dennis Stewart so it can be displayed inside the school, which is next to the library.

Stewart said the past always will be remembered, but what is done now sets the tone for the future.

"She is sitting over there, nice and beautiful," he said, pointing toward Peabody Magnet. "And every day we go in there, we have an opportunity, each day, by God, to make our present students great in moving forward because our way has been paved."

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Central Louisiana African American Culture & Heritage Center opens