File:Grave of Moise Levy, born in Alsace France, died in Shreveport Louisiana in the 1873 Yellow Fever Epidemic.jpg

English: There was a vibrant Jewish community in Shreveport from its inception in 1839. They were immigrants from Europe mostly, and escaping the anti-Semitism that was prevalent in the 19th century. This man came from Alsace where Jews had been persecuted for 600 years, and emigrated to the freedom of the United States, where Jews were tolerated if not given full rights. The mayor of Shreveport in 1873 was a Jewish man named Samuel Levy, possibly related to Moise Levy.

In 1873, Shreveport was visited by a terrible plague of yellow fever, carried by mosquitoes, although that wasn't known at the time. It started in the fall and did not end until it got cold in November, killing off the mosquitoes, which they called the Blessed Frost (or something close to that). In that few months, over 800 people in Shreveport died, young and old, sparing no class. So many died that they had to be buried in a mass grave in Oakland Cemetery. The commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Yellow Fever Epidemic and opening of a memorial to those dead was held on October 7, 2023. It was in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the death of the last of 5 French priests that were working in other parts of Louisiana who came to help care for the sick, of all faiths, and knew that doing so would likely cause their own deaths. They are currently being proposed as saints of the Catholic Church. I was at the blessing ceremony of the memorial to the Yellow Fever victims placed over the mass grave, the Yellow Fever Mound, which is at the edge of the cemetery, almost to Milam Street, just across from the also historic Municipal Auditorium, where Elvis and others played in the 1950's in the Louisiana Hayride. On that day, October 7, 2023 early in the morning Hamas attacked Israel. Since all faiths that had a congregation in 1873 were invited to the ceremony and to speak about how the epidemic had affected their faith community, my friend Rabbi Jana De Benedetti was present and told me before the ceremony began that Israel had been attacked and was visibly upset. I hadn't heard that news at that time so it was news to me. I asked why she was even there...her people probably needed her. But she felt that despite it being the Sabbath and the end of Sukkot, and the attack on Israel, she felt that she needed to represent B'nai Zion, the only synagogue in Shreveport since Shreveport was incorporated, and tell the story of their involvement in the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. They were there, and at the time the Mayor of Shreveport was a Jew. They died just like everyone else did. Even the Black population was buried in the mound with the others, probably the only equality they had ever enjoyed up to then. Jana's singing of the Kaddish for the dead in the Yellow Fever Mound, not just the Jewish victims but for all was very moving. Following the ceremony I wandered around the cemetery and found many graves that were marked with dates in the fall of 1873, and many of them were European immigrants, born in Ireland, Italy, Germany and so on. I found the Jewish section and they too had graves marked with births in Alsace, Bavaria and other European countries. These people undoubtedly came to escape anti-Semitism in those places, and largely found a better place in the United States. But it really resonated with me the connection of different historical events, and one unfolding on October 7, 2023, the day this picture was taken.

Brian R Smith, October 26, 2023