Reconstruction era hero honored with historic marker
28th May 2024 · 0 Comments
By C.C. Campbell-Rock
Contributing Writer
Over 100 townspeople, elected officials, citizens, and media, a testament to the community’s deep respect for Reverend Arthur Tasker, gathered for a momentous dedication ceremony on May 16, 2024. They were privileged to hear about Reverend Tasker’s remarkable achievements and witness the unveiling of a historic marker, a symbol of their shared history and reverence, in Kiwanis Park in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The marker, a poignant reminder of Reverend Tasker’s legacy, is placed at his final resting place.
Sponsored by the City of Ponchatoula and Untold History Foundation, LLC, Reverend Vera Roscoe, 90, Tasker’s third great-granddaughter, and her daughter, Deborah Banks, his fourth great-granddaughter. Reverend Roscoe accepted a Proclamation honoring her great-grandfather from the City of Ponchatoula, presented by Ponchatoula outgoing Mayor Robert “Bob” Zabbia.
City Councilwoman Rosalind McKay-Batiste and Dr. Antoinette Harrell, the founder of Untold History Foundation, LLC, and the Rev. Arthur Tasker Committee Chairperson, led a dedicated committee that tirelessly worked for 18 months. Their efforts culminated in the historic unveiling, a moment that unearthed the town’s rich history, known for its annual Strawberry Festival.
Reverend Roscoe told the gathering, “I am so honored to be here. God has a way. When he puts his hand in it, nobody can change it.”
“These markers are not just symbols, they are storytellers. They remind us of the individuals who paved the way for future generations, fostering a deep sense of pride and awareness in our residents,” says Carla Tate, executive director of Tangipahoa Tourism. The marker dedicated to Reverend Arthur Tasker is a testament to his significant contributions and a beacon of respect and reverence for our community.
“The legacy that Reverend Arthur Tasker left was of such profound importance to the community that it demanded to be historically documented,” said Harrell, underscoring the gravity of her mission to unearth his legacy. In an era where some states are attempting to erase history, these historical markers stand as powerful tools to educate African American youth and the broader community. This marker, the first of many to come, is a testament to Reverend Tasker’s indelible mark on our history.
Harrell was born in New Orleans, but her family moved back to Amite in Tangipahoa Parish, where her parents were born when she was an infant.
“That’s why I have such an intense interest in documenting the “history of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Great Migration. Genealogy is the tool that can help us better understand and learn about the history of African Americans.
Reverend Arthur Tasker, a man of mystery and courage, was born into the “peculiar” institution of slavery in Virginia or Maryland between 1829 and 1835. The enigma of how he came to live near Ponchatoula before the War Between the States adds an intriguing layer to his already fascinating story.
Tasker’s journey from enslavement to land ownership, the establishment of an African Methodist Episcopal Church and school, and his role as the first African American mayor of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, during the Reconstruction era are testaments to his remarkable resilience and the transformative power of that period in American history.
Reverend Tasker accomplished the seemingly impossible when a few, Rev. Tasker included, freedmen risked their lives to assume leadership positions in the state of Louisiana, which heavily supported the Confederacy.
Local historian Jim Perrin said, “Tasker says he was enslaved on McCarroll’s land.” However, no record exists that Tasker, who could read and write, was documented as a slave on the McCarroll family land.
Merial Banks, Reverend Tasker’s 2nd great-granddaughter, documented her grandfather’s rise to power: “Tasker served as mayor of the town upon the appointment of the town’s Aldermen. H. Turnage, Marshall and M. Biegel, Levi Arnold, and F. Axtman served as aldermen. Tasker was an adept leader. His petition for donating some of the town’s land to the “Colored Church was approved on September 13, 1873.”
According to the historic site document, “The town sold half of the square on which the Colored Citizens Church stands” on August 16, 1873, to a church minister for $25. Arthur Tasker asked the town to take this action through a petition he signed. The petition was approved by the Board of Alderman and Mayor E.J. White, Sr.”
Tasker, the visionary behind Tasker Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, which he founded in 1967, took office as Ponchatoula’s mayor on September 3, 1873. His term, which lasted until January 6, 1874, was a testament to his leadership and the changing dynamics of the post-Civil War South. No records exist that tell of Reverend Tasker’s death date.
“Tasker may have served more than one term,” Dr. Antoinette Harrell, long-time genealogist, historian, documentarian, and author, told The Louisiana Weekly.
There is a park named for Rev. Tasker in Ponchatoula, Tasker’s Park, but it’s not Kiwanis Park, where the original school, his home, and his burial site are located.
Harrell, who lives in Tangipahoa Parish, and her company, Untold History, LLC, are on a mission to document and illuminate the untold histories of the brave African American men and women who made significant contributions to the four parishes in southeast Louisiana, including East Feliciana, West Feliciana, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parishes.
This article originally published in the May 27, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
