Reverend Harry Blake from his official Facebook page. Rev. Blake died on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
Governor John Bel Edwards offered condolences on Thursday
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A leader in the civil rights movement in north Louisiana, who put his life on the line in the fight for racial equality, has died after possibly being exposed to the coronavirus.
Dr. Harry Blake, pastor emeritus at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Shreveport, died Wednesday. He was 85.
Blake’s daughter, Monica Blake Mickle, wrote on Facebook that her father was ill after being exposed to the virus but had been getting better, the Times reported. She said tests results on whether he actually had COVID-19 have not been confirmed.
Gov. John Bel Edwards offered condolences on Thursday to Blake’s family during his daily press conference regarding the impact of the virus on the state.
“He was an iconic leader of the civil rights movement,” Edwards said of Blake. “He endured many hardships during his life but never wavered in his faith nor in his work toward equality and justice for all people The state of Louisiana is forever grateful to Dr. Blake.”
Blake joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1960. While a student at Bishop College in Texas, he was inspired by a speech he heard by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In October of that year, as he drove home from the SCLC’s annual convention in Shreveport, a gunman tried to kill him, firing bullets into Blake’s car window, Blake recalled during an oral history project for the Library of Congress.
He also recalled being beaten by several police officers during a memorial service at Little Union Baptist Church in Shreveport to honor the four girls killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in early September 1963. Blake required stitches for cuts to his scalp as a result.
Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins called Blake “a man of God who lived with great purpose.″
“Harry Blake was beaten and jailed, but he never wavered in his commitment to God or his fellow man,″ Perkins wrote in a post on Twitter.
Blake held high-ranking positions in both the Louisiana Baptist State Convention where he was president and the National Baptist Convention where he was general secretary.
This announcement was posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, April 8th
For immediate release:
April 8, 2020Reverend Harry Blake Family Statement
The Passing of Dr. Harry Blake
Pastor Emeritus of Mt. Canaan Baptist ChurchDr. Harry Blake, 85, Pastor Emeritus of the historic Mt. Canaan Baptist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana and Interim Pastor of St. Rest Baptist Church, also in Shreveport, passed tonight after a brief illness. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
Reverend Harry Blake served the Mt. Canaan Baptist Church for more 52 years. Pastor Blake was a recognized icon in the Civil Rights movement that led to justice and equality for many.
The family is appreciative of the outpouring of support that has come for the local community and from across the nation. During this critical time, The Blake family requests private time as they, together, mourn the passing of their father, brother, grandfather, and uncle.
No media interviews will be granted. No telephone calls or electronic inquiries to the family will be accepted at this time. The family will issue statements on future arrangements.
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