Ceasar C. Antoine (1836 - 1921)
A famous philosopher once said, the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts. Immersing myself in the lives of pioneer black lawyers this month has reminded me of the best in our Black past. I am uplifted in spirit. I am always annoyed when some can only write about the evils and horrors in our racial past. Maybe, these writers got up on the wrong side of the bed? How warped, and distorted, must one’s vision be to recount evil after evil in every paragraph on social media?
I am not that person. So, this evening, walk with me as we peer into the movie reel of a pioneer black lawyer, another life of enterprise, adversity, triumph over adversity, grit and loss and all the rest. A real life tonight, neither hero nor victim but a life lived in full measure.
Pour yourself a drink, turn on the world of The Twilight Zone in the background, and sample humanity down in New Orleans and Shreveport. I present to you, Ceasar C. Antoine.
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Born free in 1836 in a slave state, Ceasar Antoine was the son of enterprising parents. More black children should be children of enterprising dads and moms. Parents are the first example for any young child. What is a good life well-lived? What is the purpose and meaning of life? I give thanks my ancestors who mattered gave me the gift of Black Enterprise magazine, internal locus of control, faith in the family African Methodist Episcopal church, a childhood road that bore my family’s name. Gratitude runs in my veins.
And so it was with Antoine.
Did you know that Antoine’s father had been a member of Louisiana’s Corps d’Afrique? That Antoine’s dad fought alongside Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812? Father brought a proud military mindset to his duty as a father. Antoine’s mother? Well, she was born in the West Indies (a check in her favor). She worked as a mid-wife and purchased her freedom. Antoine was doubly blessed with strong, positive role models in his family.
His parents with aforethought educated Antoine in the New Orleans’ private schools for free black children. Private school was the way to go during these times. The parents did not wait for the state of Louisiana to open up public education for children. The parents were self-reliant.
After completing his education, Antoine worked as a barber. Barbering was a relatively lucrative occupation for free blacks in the antebellum South.
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The 1860s
During the Civil War, Antoine rose to the moral moment of his generation and time. He raised a military unit of men and served as Captain in Company I, 7th Louisiana Infantry.
As the War drew to a close, Antoine pivoted to the the public square. He served as a member of the January 1865 Louisiana black convention that demanded the right to vote for black people. The times called for a black newspaper and Antoine filled the demand, serving as associate editor of the New Orleans Black Republican.
Later in 1865, Antoine moved to Shreveport where he entered the grocery business. Antoine honed his business skills and became a prosperous businessman.
Antoine remained engaged in civic life. He represented Caddo Parish in the Constitutional Convention of 1868 and was subsequently elected to the State Senate where he served from 1868 to 1872.
The 1870s
Antoine owned $2,000 of real estate and no personal property, according to the 1870 U.S. Census. He fell in with the up and coming State Senator P.B.S. Pinchback. Pinchback was the wheeler dealer in Louisiana politics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._B._S._PinchbackThe friendship and alignment of mutual interests resulted in the two state senators becoming proprietors of the New Orleans Louisianian and co-owners of a cotton factorage and brokerage business.
It was said that Antoine and Pinchback were worth $60,000 to $75,000 in the early 1870s. Query whether their financial success was aided by Pinchback’s ascent to the Governor’s chair. Pinchback served as Acting Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873. Antoine indulged in his taste for expensive race horses and ownership of a small plantation.
The horizons seemed bright for Antoine as his friend and business associate, Pinchback, served as Acting Governor. The voters elected Antoine Lieutenant Governor in 1872. He served until 1876. He briefly served as Acting Governor of Louisiana, like his friend Pinchback.
Around this time, Antoine graduated from Straight University Law School. He could now add “lawyer” to his resume alongside Lieutenant Governor, business owner, newspaper editor, and plantation owner. I am not sure how he found the time but Antoine was also appointed to the Caddo Parish school board in 1875.
When did Antoine’s life turn course? I would peg the year as 1876. In 1876, Antoine was defeated in his re election campaign for Lieutenant Governor. His good friend, Pinchback, was holed up in Washington, D.C. battling for both a U.S. Senate and U.S. Representative seat at the same time! Yes, Pinchback was an uncommon man.
Without Pinchback back home in Louisiana and wounded from his own statewide defeat, Antoine fell upon hard times. And the descent was rapid.
In 1878, Antoine’s wife begged President Rutherford B. Haynes for some position for her husband, as they had “not a nickel in the house.”
The 1880s
Antoine attempted to land on his feet with a new position as President of the Cosmopolitan Insurance Association but he never regained his flush days of the early 1870s.
The 1890s
Antoine did leave a lasting legacy in American history. Pinchback had left Louisiana for a black upper class lifestyle in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Antoine became involved in a final great act of civic duty.
In his position as Vice-President of a New Orleans Citizens Committee, Antoine decided to fight the growing scourge of Jim Crow segregation in New Orleans. Antoine and his group found a plaintiff who agreed to violate the train segregation ordinance and challenge the measure in court. The group recruited a white-appearing octoroon named Homer Plessy. Plessy was arrested for violation of the segregation law. Antoine supported Plessy in his litigation all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sadly, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 against Plessy and Jim Crow segregation received the official blessing of the Court. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
In the 1890s, Antoine filed for an invalid pension from the federal government due to pleurisy contracted in the Army during the Civil War. I do not know whether his pension request was granted,
Antoine remained active in Republican politics and attended the 1896 Republican National Convention. Meanwhile, his old running buddy was the toast of Washington. D.C:
“Wealthy from his positions and settlement on the Senate seat, (Pinchback) had a large mansion built off Fourteenth Street near the Chinese embassy….The Pinchback family was part of the mixed-race elite in Washington; people in the group had generally been free before the Civil War and often were educated and had acquired property. The Washington Post covered Pinchback's housewarming reception and his many high-ranking guests.”
Conclusion: Life never tells us the whens or whys. Two men who grew wealthy together in the early 1870s and governed Louisiana ever so briefly would grow apart later in life. The universe always has a grand plan, however. Antoine and Pinchback would pass away in the same year, 1921.
Ceasar C. Antoine (1836 - 1921)
Another great story. I find it interesting that the people you write about look for ways to proseper themselves, continually educated themselves, and were involved in serving in their local, state and federal government, albeit not always for honorable reasons. Again, black history is more than just the regurgitation of the struggles and horror, it's about perseverance and success in spite of the struggle.
You need to publish these. I keep thinking of the things I’m learning. For instance, I did not know there were free blacks in the South before the Civil War. If I did, it certainly wasn’t something I remember from school. We did learn about slavery, as well as successful blacks, but as is typical of a pre college education, we didn’t delve too deeply into anything. Just memorize some names and dates, mostly. I keep thinking about how wonderful it would have been to learn about the people in your essays when I was in school, even though I’m certainly enjoying reading about them now.