Ephriam David Tyler: Shreveport civil rights poet born in 1884

SHREVEPORT, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – When Ephriam David Tyler died in 1969 at age 85, he had written and published his way through three works of poetry that showed what it felt like to be a Black man in Shreveport during the late 1800s and early- to mid-1900s.

Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long even named Tyler (briefly) the Poel Laureate of the State of Louisiana. A book of poetry containing 90 of Tyler’s poems was distributed to American soldiers during WWII.

And for a while, he was also known as Shreveport’s Poet Laureate.

Tyler’s poetry is scattered throughout this article.

The Pastor’s Visit

Last Sunday when the pastor came by, my momma killed a rooster.
The preacher cleaned the chicken plate, he ate just like he used to.
My mamma past the chicken till she almost scraped the pot.
Some dumplings and a chicken foot was everything I got.

Yet despite Tyler’s great success as a poet, it’s difficult today to find the work of this almost forgotten man.

Here is a small portion of Tyler’s story, though he and his poetry deserve, at the very least, a section in a Shreveport history book.

Ephriam David Tyler

Ephriam David Tyler was born in Grand Cane on Jan. 10, 1884, less than two decades after the end of the American Civil War.

For more than 50 years, Tyler wrote about life in Grand Cane, the Allendale and Lakeside neighborhoods in Shreveport, and other adventures he captured in prose.

He also wrote about Shreveport’s Texas and Milam Streets.

Tyler’s poems often encourage others, particularly those of his race. Using a pencil as his weapon, he fought for justice during the civil rights movement.

He married Emily Barney on June 20, 1926.

The Black Man’s Plea for Justice

Hear me, statesman,
I am pleading to defend
The black man’s cause.
Will you give me the protection
to outline your laws?
Will your lawyers plead my cases
in your courts?
Am I not a citizen?

I pay dear for transportation
over all your railroad track.
I come up to every requirement
and I will always pay my tax.
And when I don’t fill in blanks correctly,
will you kindly teach me how?
Ruling power of this nation,
will you give me justice now?
I prepared your wedding supper
and I dug your father’s grave.
I did everything you asked me

Throughout his life Tyler spent countless hours reciting his poetry for kids young and old. He also spoke to groups large and small, famous politicians, and the media. His life’s work included three books of poetry: Poems of Everyday Life, Poems of Today , and Tyler’s Poems .

In his obituary, we learn that the Founder of Coleman College, O. L. Coleman, and many of the college’s faculty members knew of Tyler’s poetry and encourage Tyler to develop his talent.

Color Does Not Make The Man

I am glad to meet a person who is glad he is black,
Who is conscious of his color, and appreciates the fact.
I am glad to meet all people, when they strictly understand.
That character makes the person, color does not make the man.

Tyler was a Christian and his first name, Ephriam, was taken from the Bible. Ephriam means “fruitful.”

Biblically speaking, Ephriam was the son of Joseph and Asenath. He became the founder of one of Israel’s twelve tribes.

Ephriam David Tyler, the namesake of Ephriam in the Old Testament, became a deacon at Evergreen Baptist Church and a member of Israel Lodge No. 138. And by the time he died in 1969, he had secured a small place in the American South’s civil rights movement.

The year before his death, Tyler was honored at Booker T. Washington High School in Shreveport with “A Tribute To Tyler.” The actor Ossie Davis read Tyler’s poems aloud at the event, which was presented by CAP-CAB.

Ossie Davis, actor and civil rights activist, was in Shreveport filming “Slaves,” a movie directed by Herbert J. Biberman and starring Stephen Boyd and Dionne Warwick. It was released in May 1972.

Tyler was known as the “Rustic Poet.” Today original copies of his books sell for upwards of $900 if you can find a copy that someone will consider selling.

In his 2003 book The Black Student’s Guide to Graduate and Professional School Success , author Vernon L. Farmer stated that Tyler “encouraged Black people in many of his poems to rise to their perspective positions in society and to carry on in spite of racism.”

Tyler’s death

Ephriam D. Tyler died in July 1969 and was buried on Thurs., July 3, 1969. On the program for his funeral, which was held at Evergreen Baptist Church, a simple scripture spoke: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

One of Tyler’s poems was written in his funerary program.

The End

When the end shall come, my eyes to close,
The sleep of death shall be my last repose,
When I shall pass away as all men must

And this old flesh returns to mother’s dust,

This humble soul which liveth now in me,
Shall pass with God into eternity.

When these dear friends who love me now shall cease,
And enter into God’s eternal peace,

Though history may not record one page,

About my having lived within this age,
Perhaps no marble stone shall mark the place
Of him who loved children of his race,

For Men may soon forget me if they will,
But may my little poems linger still,
And may some future child arrive to quote,

Some simple line which Ephriam Tyler wrote.

Ephriam David Tyler died at his home at 2010 Logan Street on Mon., June 30, 1969. He is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Shreveport.

In November 2008, the oldest man in America, George Rene Francis, 112, quoted from Ephriam David Tyler’s poem The Black Man’s Plea for Justice as he waited for the presidential election results to roll in and Barack Obama to become the nation’s first-ever Black president. His recitation was recorded by the press almost fifty years after Tyler’s death.

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