His endless contributions left a lasting imprint on Donaldsonville and the rest of The United States. Provided by Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office Joe Gyan The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office has formally denied allegations of racial profiling lodged against it by a Baton Rouge man of Hispanic. He broke down barriers and paved the way for all the Black leaders who would come after him. Landry’s remarkable life is one of triumph and perseverance. Landry was also a methodist minister for 50 years and even managed to work as a private attorney for 12 years. In 1879, he was elected to represent Donaldsonville as State Constitutional Convention delegate. Landry became a State Senator of Louisiana in 1874, where he served one term. Landry also founded New Orleans University, the third Black university in the area, now known as Dillard University.īut that’s not all. He was then elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 1870, he was elected president of the Ascension Parish’s police jury, then was appointed Donaldsonville’s tax collector. According to an article in, Landry also served as Donadsville’s Justice of the Peace and was the superintendent and member of the Ascension Parish school board. Residents elected him mayor in 1868.Īfter serving as mayor for one year, Landry never stopped moving and motivating. With so much momentum, it isn’t surprising that Landry was a notable Donaldsonville community leader. Within his first two years of freedom, Landry built multiple schools, opened a store, and was the first former slave to build his own home.
It was around this time he changed his birth name, Caliste, to Pierre, the name of the free black man he lived with as a child. Landry was freed by the 13th Amendment and then moved to live in the Black community of Donaldsonville.
He also apprenticed under the plantation's head white carpenter. He later partnered with the plantation’s head butler, and together they ran a store where they sold handmade candy and crafts. He was appointed superintendent of the yard and maintained the Briniger’s 35,000 acres. Though Landry was a slave, he had earned unique privileges in leadership roles. Some taught literacy for work purposes such as bookkeeping. Sometimes slave owners with religious motivations taught their own slaves to read the Bible. Plantation schools were informally run by family members and other slaves in pursuit of education. Colombe Bringier, and continued his education on the plantation. Landry was sold to a wealthy sugar planter, Marius St. Landry was later auctioned off for $1,665 when he was only 13 years old.
Landry was sent to live with Pierre and Zaides Bouissiac, a free Black family, and attended school for free children though he was not free. His father, Roseman, was a white laborer. His mother, Marcelite, was an enslaved cook.
Landry was born in 1841 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, a name that predicted his own rise from a slave to The United States' first Black mayor. Born into slavery, Landry worked hard and hustled to greater heights. Pierre Caliste Landry did more in his 80 years than most could accomplish in 10 lifetimes.
Currently, 21 deputies are assigned to the city as part of the contract, which is just under $1 million annually.Pierre Caliste Landry’s honorable legacy left a lasting imprint on Black history. "They're doing it in numbers now we haven't seen before," Webre said.ĪPSO signed a contract in 1985 with the City of Donaldsonville to provide law enforcement services. While the department has seen an increase in "gun play," other crimes have not been on the rise. "These gangs are involved in the drug trade, they're involved with guns, I think they're involved in all types of illegal activity," Webre said. The sheriff also said he will now refer to the groups as gangs. Stimulus money on the streets and parents not being mindful of what their children are doing were other components he mentioned. In answering a question from member of the media in attendance, Webre said some incidents have been connected to the illegal drug trade and social media taunting. In 20, Donaldsonville did not have any homicides, according to the sheriff.