| John Baptist LaFargue | |
| Other Names: | J. B. Lafargue, John B. Lafargue |
| Birth Date: | June 1864 |
| Birth Place: | Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Death Date: | After 1937 |
| Occupation: | Educator, school founder, principal, newspaper publisher, newspaper editor |
| Spouse: | Sarah C. B. Mayo |
John Baptist LaFargue (June 1864 – after 1937) was an American educator,[1] school founder, principal, newspaper publisher, and editor in Louisiana.[2]
John Baptist LaFargue was born June 1864 in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. He studied at a school established with support from the Peabody Educational Fund.[3]
LaFargue worked for 14 years to establish the first "colored" newspaper in the area at the Marksville Bulletin office in Marksville, Louisiana. He was a former editor of the National Alliance; and the editor and publisher of the Advance Messenger newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana. He edited The Banner newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana.[4]
LaFargue founded in 1895 the Peabody Industrial School (now Peabody Magnet High School) in Alexandria;[5] [6] and was the school principal for many years.[7] [8] He organized the Colored State Teachers Association in Louisiana in 1901, and was elected Conductor of the Parish Teachers’ Institute for over 20 years.[9] He was state secretary of the CFA.[10]
He married Sarah C. B. Mayo in 1887. She was the daughter of John Mayo, a former representative of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
There is a J. B. Lafargue Special Education Center in Rapides Parish. He will be part of a future PBS documentary by Ken Burns, "Emancipation to Exodus".[11]