Captain John "Jack" Sessums, was born into slavery but later became the first (and only) African American member of the Houston Light Guard.
Sessums was a valued and respected member of the African American community, who, as a member of the Houston Light Guard, mixed with the most prominent and prestigious members of Houston's white society. During his over 50 years with the Guard, Sessums also became a valued and respected person by Houston's white community, both through his service in the Light Guard and by his service as the local baseball team;s cheerleader and mascot, in a time of strict racial separation and racial discrimination that usually prevented those kinds of cross-racial relationships from forming.
Sessums also spread the benefits of his membership in the Houston Light Guard to other African Americans by creating all-black drill companies that marched in parades with the Guard, though not formally part of the Guard.
We found dozens of articles about Sessums, 20-30 relating to his association with the Houston Light Guard and prowess in drills, but 5-6 were about his duties as the baseball team mascot, and about a dozen detailed his service as a trustee of Emancipation Park, the only park in Houston open to use by black Houstonians.
In the Galveston Daily News via Newspapers.com, we found a taste of what Sessums had to put up with as a black man, eVen one associated with an organization as revered as the Houston Light Guard: (
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"GALVESTON DAILY NEWS
20 APR 1886
page 3
"JOHN SESSUM'S COMPANY
John Sessums, drummer to the Houston Light Guard, commands a colored company called the Davis Rifles. Captain John has worried with this company and put it in such shape that he has concluded to put up a prize of $275 for the best drilled colored company in the state. The competitive drill will take place on Emancipation day, and it is almost a certainty that the Davis rifles will keep the purse in the city."
Not bad, right? But 10 years later: (
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"GALVESTON DAILY NEWS
Jan, 26, 1895
page 3
TOWN NOTES
"The Black Pickaninnies," better known as the Packard Zouaves, are drilling every day for the drill at New Orleans, June 11, where they will go to drill against the Hilliard Zouaves of that city for a purse of $100. John Sessums, the captain and financial manager, says they are sure to win the prize."
And From the Houston Post 06 Sep 1912: (
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"John Sessums' Cadets
The last event of the field day was a drill of the hardy cadets by Captain John Sessums, the old Houston Light Guard drummer, "the baseball darky." John has a uniformed company of 20 dusky youngsters and the veteran tactician has drilled them to perfection. The little fellows know the manual at arms as well as any Sergeant given charge of an awkward squad. The company was paraded over the grass covered diamond, halted in front of the stands and put through various evolutions. At every mother's son of them was proud to be there. If the time ever comes when Uncle Sam needs their services, his country may be grateful to old John Sessums for training these boys. This drill was the last event of the day and brought to close a very successful field day."
Yikes!
Thirty years later, news of his death and burial was carried on the international news wires, and reprinted in many other Texas cities because he was a rarity: a black man who was also a respected figure by the white community. Again from newspapers.com, this story from the Amarillo TX Globe News: (
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"NEGRO MEMBER OF LIGHT GUARD IN HONOR GRAVE
Houston organization pays tribute to old drummer
(By International News Services)
HOUSTON, July 26 -- a new made grave in a Negro cemetery here will get careful attention as the years come and go, in memory of "Captain" John Sessums, Negro drummer of the Houston Light Guard.
The old negro, who died recently, was the only drummer the famous Light Guard ever had.
When Sessums was buried, the prominent and wealthy of the city followed the casket to the cemetery.
RACE FORGOTTEN
Williams Staines Jacobs, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, and one of the state's leading ministers, officiated at the funeral services. Race and creed were forgotten as the aged negro was laid to rest.
Sessums became drummer when the Houston Light Guard was organized in 1878. A few years later the company went to New Orleans to compete with crack drill teams from all over the United States. At that time the negro was working as a janitor in the bank.
Determined to go along with his "boys," as he called members of the Guard, Sessums told his employer he "jes' had to go even if the darned ole bank went busted." He went, and lost his job.
A PROUD MEMBER
The young men who formed the Light Guard grew to mature age and the Light Guard Veterans Association was formed. Sessums proudly claim membership in the new organization and beat his drum for them whenever the opportunity offered.
Surrounded by men who had heard him play his drum for nearly half a century, the old negro died at a local hospital for whites while men prominent in the city's commercial and social life choked back their tears.
'Ah'm a black man but a Light Guard," the old fellow proudly whispered a few moments before his death.""
In 1910 Sessums was given the title "Perpetual Drummer" by his friends in the Light Guard. A few years when Sessums was a blind old man, his former Guard comrades covered his living expenses. In 1928 they arranged for him to be cared for in all-white Hermann Hospital, where he died.
The Houston Light Guard Veteran's Association provided a handsome tombstone to Sessums that reads as follows:
"Capt. Jno. SESSUMS
Died July 7, 1928
ONLY DRUMMER OF
HOUSTON LIGHT GUARD
"Faithful Unto Death""
And a modern state historical marker at his grave reads as follows:
"JOHN SESSUMS JR.
(ca 1849-July 7, 1928)
John Sessums, Jr., was the first - and during his lifetime, the only - African American member of the Houston Light Guard. Organized in 1873 as the first uniformed militia company in post-reconstruction Houston, the Houston Light Guard was an all-white, prestigious militia mobilized as needed to restore or maintain peace during crisis periods such as quarantines, labor strikes and political feuds. The guard, known for its dominance in military drill competitions from 1875 through 1889, later became one of the oldest National Guard companies in the state.
Sessums joined the guard during the late 1870s and served for over 50 years as its only drummer. By 1880 he also organized and commanded a drill company called the Davis Rifles. He later led several additional African American drill companies, including the Sheridan Guards, Scurry Rifles, Packard Zouaves and Lawlor Zouaves. Sessums also found time to serve as a mascot for the Houston Heralds baseball team in 1887 and to participate in "Afro-American" fairs and Juneteenth celebrations. Black residents of Houston could always depend on his drill companies to entertain them with their "attractive" maneuvers.
In 1910 former members of the company organized the "Houston Light Guard Veterans Association" and bestowed the title of "Perpetual Drummer" on "Captain" Sessums, who continued to lead drill teams in competition. In 1918, the veterans association voted to provide for his living expenses while he lived with a family in the Fifth Ward. Sessums died in Hermann Hospital - an all-white facility - surrounded by his fellow guardsmen. Almost 2,000 black and white citizens attended his funeral."