"Stagger Lee" pencil sketch by Vincent Sammy © 2016
The year is 1865 in Centerville, Texas a few months prior to African Americans in the area receiving word that they have been emancipated and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln.
In a one room dwelling with an earthen foundation that serves as slave quarters, a baby boy has arrived. He is named Lee Shelton and would later be known by various corruptions of a nickname that has endured to inspire various archetypes and countless musical toasts for generations to come.
Post Reconstruction St. Louis, Missouri is a hotbed of political activity considering the fact that African American men have the right to vote due to the passage of The 15th Amendment in 1870 which states that voting rights could not be “denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
White politicians, both Democrat and Republican are vying for the increasingly substantial Black vote and will stop at nothing to achieve positions of power. Several Black political organizations or "400 Clubs" have galvanized their constituency to support the chosen candidate, albeit the hollow promises made by these candidates will likely never materialize.
In this particular episode of American history, Lee Shelton has made his way to St. Louis and finds himself Captain of a "400 Club" among the many occupations he has created for himself given the still oppressive treatment of African Americans. The order of the day is "survival of the fittest by hook or crook".
Contemporaries of this era and geography include the great Ragtime pianist Scott Joplin and Madam C. J. Walker, the multifaceted entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political/social activist along with brothel owner Madame Babe Connors and the infamous “Mama Lou" Fontaine whose stories are not so coincidentally intertwined with the endeavors of Stagga' Lee.
Events that unfold on Christmas evening in 1895 at the Bill Curtis Saloon with Lee playing an integral role, have become fodder for the creation of what came to be known as "Urban Legend". Many eyewitness accounts and second hand accounts have flourished since.
Stagga' Lee's Goodtime is an embellished depiction of the aforementioned events based on historical documentation from national, state and municipal archives along with information gathered from the comprehensive book and companion guide "Stagolee Shot Billy" published by Cecil Brown
U.S. Copyright Registration Number: PAu 4-153-435
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