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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 73
BY REPRESENTATIVE THIERRY
A RESOLUTION
To express the condolences of the House of Representatives upon the death of noted
Opelousas civil rights leader, educator, and pastor, Rev. Charles E. Bryant, Ph.D.
WHEREAS, Rev. Charles E. Bryant, Ph.D., the youngest of seven children, was born
in 1932, and although he lost his parents at an early age, he graduated as an honor student
from J.S. Clark High School, served honorably in the United States Air Force, and earned
undergraduate, graduate, and law degrees at Southern University; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant was predeceased by his loving wife of fifty-
three years, Betty Tolbert Bryant; to this union one daughter, Monaceita Maria Bryant, was
born; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant pastored Little Zion Baptist Church for over
eighteen years; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant is remembered as a dynamic and trail-
blazing educator who taught English and speech at the former Washington High School and
served for four years in the position of associate assistant state superintendent of education
and in later years as Southern University's director of mentoring programs and as an
associate professor in the graduate school, helping to give countless African-American
students from St. Landry Parish and beyond the opportunity to receive an advanced
education; and
WHEREAS, perhaps Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant's greatest legacy is his activism in
the struggle for civil rights during the 1960s, in which he helped to found and lead the
St. Landry Chapter of the NAACP, was jailed more than forty times in attempts to integrate
lunch counters and schools, led boycotts and sit-ins, all the while using his acknowledged
gift of calmly speaking truth to power; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 73
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WHEREAS, during those turbulent times, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant never let fear
stop him or let tension show in dealings with the local White Citizens Council, always
recognizing the humanity of all people and maintaining the commitment to break down
racial barriers rather than to further divide the citizenry; and
WHEREAS, once integration had been achieved, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant served
as director of Displaced Educators, an organization seeking to assure that black educators
would find a home in the new education system; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant passed away on March 1, 2014, at the age
of eighty-one, leaving behind a legacy of accomplishment, dignity, and integrity exemplified
by the song, "My Living Shall Not Be in Vain".
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express its condolences to the family of Rev. Dr.
Charles E. Bryant upon his death.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the family of Rev. Dr. Charles E. Bryant.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES