Ola Prejean, right, president of Move the Mindset, unveils a historical marker memorializing lynching victims Louis Senegal and Antoine Domingue on Saturday at the Carencro Welcome Center during a dedication ceremony.  Staff Photo by Brad Kemp

One side of the historical marker is seen Saturday during the historical marker dedication ceremony memorializing lynching victims Louis Senegal and Antoine Domingue at the Carencro Welcome Center.  Staff Photo by Brad Kemp

Editors Note: The Greene County Democrat is reprinting this story from the Acadiana Advocate, Lafayette, Louisiana because it is about the work of the ‘Move the Mindset’ organization to recognize the Black people, who were victims of lynching in the Jim Crow South. This work is being done in cooperation with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) of Montgomery, Alabama. Ola Prejean, President of Move the Mindset is the widow of Fredrick Prejean, brother of Carol Prejean Zippert, Co-Publisher.
By Angeline Matthews, Contributing Writer, Acadiana Advocate,
March 30, 2025
On Saturday, Move the Mindset, a civil rights organization dedicated to promoting racial and social justice, held a ceremony for the installation of a historical marker honoring the lives of two Black men who died by lynching in 1896 and 1906. The marker recognizes the unjust destiny faced by Antoine Domingue and Louis Senegal and offers details about the history of lynching in America. 

Domingue, described as peaceable, was attacked and killed on Nov. 24, 1906, by “whitecappers,” bands of poor White farmers who saw Black farmers as economic competition. According to historical accounts, they monitored Carencro roads, waiting for Black travelers to fall into their traps. Local law enforcement was aware of the crimes they committed but never intervened, according to accounts. 

Domingue and two other Black men were making their way home when they were attacked. The two other men escaped, but Domingue was beaten repeatedly. Knocked off his buggy, he fled to his home to retrieve a gun. He returned to the scene and was shot and hanged.

Six White men were arrested and charged, causing other Whites to protest the arrests. After each man was released on $300 bond, the case dissipated.

On March 24, 1896, Louis Senegal, also referred to as Louis Sinclair in some records, was accused of assaulting Louise Martin, a White woman. While awaiting trial in jail, a mob of 500 masked White men overpowered the guard watching Senegal and “the prisoner was no doubt lynched, but no trace of him can be found anywhere,” according to an archive of The Times-Democrat, a New Orleans-based newspaper. 

Neither Domingue not Senegal’s murderers faced prison time or other legal repercussions for their actions. 

This is why almost 130 years after the murders, Ola Prejean, president of Move the Mindset, believes a marker honoring the two men is long overdue. An installation ceremony took place in the Carencro Welcome Center, a quaint building already filled with rich history ,that now holds two jars of soil honoring Domingue and Senegal. Carencro is a small rural town, five miles west of Lafayette, Louisiana.

With a much larger audience than expected on Saturday, people poured outside the doors of the welcome center, onto the lawn and into the street. As the lyrics of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” played, the sun shone, and the rain was delayed. 

“For the marker to be officially unveiled, I don’t have words,” Prejean said. “My late husband started this organization, and even though he’s not physically here to see it, I know he’s here.” 

This historical marker installation is part of an ongoing effort to commemorate victims of racial violence and encourage conversations about justice and racial reconciliation led by the Equal Justice Initiative,
Based in Montgomery, Alabama. EJI has a memorial in Montgomery to the more than 4,000 Black people lynched in the South, during the Jim Crow period. They are also promoting memorials in the places where the lynchings occurred.

“It’s necessary to acknowledge history to move forward,” said Stepanie Wylie, an EJI staff attorney. “Facing what happened openly and honestly is an important step towards reconciliation because we can’t move forward without this history. It also represents a commitment that this kind of violence is not forgotten and to ensure it never happens again.” 

A part of the ceremony was recognizing submissions to the “Reflections on What the History of Racial Injustice in Lafayette Parish and America Means to Me” literary contest, encouraging Carencro students to express their feelings on the past and future of equality. 

In third place was Israel Rhodes, a 10th grade student who wrote an essay titled, “Understanding Racial Injustice.” His essay tackled religion’s role in permitting slavery, with Bible passages being misunderstood to condone the mistreatment of Africans. He noted how discrimination shows itself in resources, education and opportunities. 

TyRiana Williams, second-place winner and a senior at Carencro High, wrote a poem about being from Lafayette but knowing its dark history with racial injustice. She ends her poem with “for justice must rise like the morning sun until every name is remembered as one,” a reminder to listeners that the effort to honor those who died unjustly is never over. 

Alexandra Alfred, a Carencro High senior, won first place with her powerful piece highlighting Black stereotypes and how they morph one’s sense of self-worth. She mentions cornrows, a popular hairstyle once used to help slaves escape plantations and streets named after slave masters that never wanted to see Black people prosper. 

“My mom encouraged me to do the competition, and at the same time in U.S history class we talked about lynching,” Williams said. “I wanted people to know that it isn’t all about us getting discriminated against; we’re more than that.” 

After students read their pieces, Prejean removed the cloth covering the marker, revealing a bright, blue monument with distinct gold lettering. 
“I think it’s important for the community to be able to say, ‘It’s OK for us to learn about our past.’ We don’t need to keep it buried,” Prejean said. “It heals people when we bring these topics to light.”