notables | RACHEL DANGERMOND
Rachel and Constantin aka Tin ©JeanineConsoli
All Are Welcome Here By Teresa Otto | Photography courtesy of Teresa Otto and Jeanine Consoli
Rachel Dangermond continues community outreach and support with her 100 WOMEN DBA in Bay St. Louis. Ann Madden’s mural reads “Old Town Bay St. Louis, All Are Welcome Here.” Just a half-mile away stands the 100 Men Hall, a landmark on the Mississippi Blues Trail from the days of segregation. When Rachel Dangermond toured the 100 Men Hall in 2018, she knew in that moment that she intended to buy the Hall and move in there with her son. Dangermond and the subsequent nonprofit 100 WOMEN DBA that she helped form aim to make both the hall and Bay St. Louis places where all are welcome. The 100 Men Hall is nearly 100 years old. Twelve African American men formed the 100 Members Debating Benevolent Association in 1894 and their bylaws stated as follows: “the purpose of this Association is to assist its members when sick and bury its dead in a respectable manner and to 24 DeSoto
knit friendship.” Their meeting hall, called the 100 Men Hall, became a place for Bay St. Louis’ Black community to gather for life’s celebrations. “The 100 Men Hall tells a more nuanced story than what you will hear about Mississippi in this country,” Dangermond says. “It is a testament to the resilience and selfreliance the African American community had (in order) to create a place of civic activism and community joy in the midst of this country’s dark times of Jim Crow and segregation.” The hall itself has proven resilient. Hurricanes Camille, Katrina, and Zeta battered the building, but it survived. Over the years, the Hall hosted everything from weddings to bingo games. Most notably, it was a music and entertainment venue along the Chitlin Circuit — a series of Black-owned juke joints,
