Wesley Harris, historian at the Claiborne Parish Library and a writer for the Lincoln Parish Journal, is the latest recipient of the Max Bradbury Award for the best article published annually in North Louisiana History, the journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association.
Harris’s article, “William R. Meadows: Slave, Soldier, Symbol” was published in the Summer-Fall 2021 issue of North Louisiana History.
Meadows was a Claiborne Parish slave who somehow reached Boston and joined the Fifth Massachusetts Colored Cavalry. After the war, he returned to Claiborne Parish and farmed and became politically active. One of the first African Americans in north Louisiana elected to any position, he served as a delegate to the 1868 state constitutional convention. He was assassinated in his front yard because of his political activities.
After retiring from a 43-year career in law enforcement, Harris joined the Claiborne Parish Library staff in 2020. Since then, he has written or edited five books on north Louisiana history. He has written frequently for the Lincoln Parish Journal since last summer.
The Bradbury Award for the year’s best article was established in memory of Max V. Bradbury, the association’s editor from 1958-1969. Under his tenure, he edited a fledgling newsletter with a few short historical pieces to a newsletter filled with enough articles to publish a journal that laid the groundwork for the North Louisiana History journal. The association established the Max Bradbury Award following his death in 1974.
Harris accepted the award at the association’s annual spring meeting where he was also voted onto NLHA’s board of directors.
