The Deacons

Bogalusa, Louisiana is home to a forgotten chapter of civil-rights history that is still very much alive.

2017 / Eric Eddings / Pat Walters / Undone, USA

Bogalusa, Louisiana is home to a forgotten chapter of civil-rights history that is still very much alive.

In 1965, a group of Black men in Louisiana - the Deacons for Defense and Justice - protected their homes & families by taking up arms against the Klan. Now, a daughter of the Deacons has started a museum in their honor... but not everyone in town wants this story told.

And that's why Eric Eddings produced The Deacons for Undone - a podcast from Gimlet Media, hosted by Pat Walters - all about revisiting moments in time that we thought were over, but were actually the beginning of something else.

Eric is not a newcomer to Bogalusa - he grew up spending summers there. How did Eric's relationship to the town impact his storytelling? And vice versa? Find out in our Behind-the-Scenes interview.


The Deacons was reported and produced by Eric Eddings and Pat Walters, along with Julia DeWitt and Emanuele Berry, fact-checked by Michelle Harris, and mixed & scored by Bobby Lord. Additional music by Nate Sandberg of Plied Sound.

Undone 's senior producer is Larissa Anderson & the show is edited by Alan Burdick and Caitlin Kenney.


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