On Saturday evening, November 14, 1903, around 7:00 pm, the Chicago-bound express train of the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) plowed into the rear cars of the local McComb accommodation train as it sat boarding passengers at the Kentwood station. The McComb train usually pulled off on the siding track when it stopped, but it remained on the main track that night. Passenger load had been heavy from New Orleans and the train was running behind schedule. The Chicago express, running on schedule behind the McComb train, was accurately named as it traveled at high speed and made very few stops between New Orleans and its destination. The circumstances were primed for a disaster.

The resulting horrific wreck ended the lives of thirty-two African American railroad workers and injured another thirty-seven. Also killed were an African American woman, said to be the sister of one of the workers, and a white passenger, with three additional white passengers injured. Of those killed outright, an estimated twenty-three were so badly burned that they could not be identified, and they were buried in a mass grave on the grounds of Oak Grove A.M.E. Church. Since 2019, I have worked intermittently on this project with fellow historian and teacher, Ann Trappey; a committee of church members was formed in 2021. Together with the assistance of USM Geography professor Dr. David Holt, we have identified the location of the grave and are now moving forward with plans for a memorial and historical markers.