Scotlandville

A rural village that was once the entry point for the slave trade and home to a cotton plantation, Scotlandville became the largest majority African American town in Louisiana. Located in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish, Scotlandville's history is intricately tied to Southern University and A&M College System, the only historically black university system in the United States. Southern University relocated from New Orleans to the bluff of the Mississippi River on the western edge of Scotlandville in 1914. The story of the university and town is a tale of triumph and struggle in the midst of racism, inequality, and oppression. Presented through the theme of firsts in businesses, churches, schools, residential developments, environmental issues, politics, social organizations, and community service, Images of America: Scotlandville focuses on the people who shaped the community economically, politically, socially, and culturally.

Using photographs from institutional and personal collections, Rachel L. Emanuel, Ruby Jean Simms, and Charles Vincent describe the origins, development, and heyday of the vibrant neighborhoods of Scotlandville before the community's incorporation into Baton Rouge. Emanuel is the director of communications and development support for the Southern University Law Center; Simms and Vincent are both professors of history at Southern University.