Opelousas Massacre: 150–300 Black People Killed in Louisiana

On September 28, 1868, in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, white Democrats attacked a Republican political meeting, launching a massacre that lasted several days. Estimates of Black deaths range from 150 to over 300, making it one of the deadliest massacres of the Reconstruction era. The violence was specifically designed to suppress Black voter turnout: in the subsequent November election, the parish reported zero Republican votes despite having thousands of registered Black voters. No perpetrators were prosecuted. The massacre was part of a coordinated Democratic strategy to 'redeem' Louisiana through terror.