Thomy Lafon, beloved African-American Republican philanthropist

Grand Old Partisan honors Thomy Lafon, born in New Orleans, December 28th 1810. This son of a white Frenchman and a free black woman was considered a personne de couleur libres. Starting with nothing, he invested in real estate and dry goods with great success. By eve of secession, it made him one of the city's wealthiest men.

Lafon secretly donated to the American Anti-Slavery Society. During the Civil War, he prominently supported the Unionist state government established by the Lincoln administration. To secure voting rights for African-Americans, he co-founded the Friends of Universal Suffrage and bankrolled the South's first black-owned newspaper.

Peace restored, Lafon joined the Radical Republican Club. Throughout Reconstruction and the rest of his life, he stayed active with the Louisiana GOP. He financially backed the Plessy v. Ferguson plaintiff. He also established an orphanage and a home for the elderly poor as well as supported hospitals, convents and schools. His will distributed a fortune to various charities.

"To the glory of his memory and the enrichment of society the 'wealthy old colored man' gave with love and affection several major gifts and numerous minor ones to care for the poor of all races."

Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com. 

Here is a YouTube Video about this article.

Here is a TikTok Video about this article.

Here is an Instagram Video about this article.

Here is my Substack about this article.

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.


Each day, his YouTube videos and TikTok videos and Rumble videos and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Your book is a national treasure. I'm always recommending it."

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Democrats enacted their black codes to oppress African-Americans

Image
Grand Old Partisan denounce Democrat devilry. November 22nd 1865, the Democrat-controlled legislature of Mississippi passed the nation's first  black codes . These were laws that Democrats of the post-Civil War South enacted to impose near-slavery on African-Americans. According to these Democrat laws, African-Americans could not:  • vote  • serve on juries  • testify against white people  • own guns  • travel without permission  • assemble for political purposes  • own farmland  • be outdoors at night  • change jobs without permission Democrats decreed that all African-Americans had to:  •sign annual labor contracts with white masters  • be deferential to all white people  • be apprenticed (in practice, enslaved) to white masters until adulthood  • work only in agriculture and a few other occupations Fortunately, after winning a two-thirds majority in Congress, Republicans swept a...
Read more

John Wesley Cromwell – DC Republican Educator and Scholar

Image
Grand Old Partisan honors John Wesley Cromwell, born into slavery, September 5th 1846. Years after the Civil War focused on working for the American Missionary Association in Virginia. He was delegate at two Republican state conventions as well as a constitutional convention. Following this came law studies at Howard University. Recognizing his talent, the Ulysses Grant administration named Cromwell to various positions and the Chester Arthur selected him to represent Washington DC at the New Orleans World’s Fair. He became the first Black attorney to practice before the Interstate Commerce Commission. It was in scholarship that Cromwell won renown. Publications such as People’s Advocate , Washington Record and Journal of Negro History benefited from his scholarship. He also served as principal at four high schools in the capital. Here is a YouTube Video about this article. Here is a TikTok Video about this article. Here is a  Rumbl...
Read more

Ronald Reagan celebrating Alf Landon's 100th Birthday

Image
Grand Old Partisan  spotlights a meeting of two Republican heroes. September 6th 1987, Ronald Reagan visited the home of Alf Landon for his 100th birthday. The former Kansas Governor was the GOP's 1936 presidential nominee. "Today we celebrate – I know it will actually be in just a few days – but we're celebrating Alf Landon's first century, half the life of our nation since the framing of the Constitution." "In a hundred years, Alf Landon has chased many dreams and caught most of them. Along the way, he's found time to stand for the American values of liberty, democracy, and opportunity. And no one is more the living soul of Kansas, which to me means quiet strength and the simple decency of all America, than Alf Landon." "When it was out of fashion, you warned of the dangers of too much government and too much government spending. So this is my birthday message: It is that all Americans are thankful for what ...
Read more