From: The100MenHall.com
“The 100 Men D.B.A. Hall, a longtime center of African American social life and entertainment, was built in 1922 by the One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association. Over the years the association sponsored many events and also rented the hall to promoters who brought in blues, rhythm & blues, and jazz acts. Local residents have recalled performances by Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Guitar Slim, Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, Ernie K-Doe, Deacon John, Earl King, and numerous others here.
In the decades following the Civil War, African Americans throughout the South formed many fraternal and benevolent organizations in order to collectively increase their social, economic, and political power. The One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association was incorporated in Bay St. Louis in 1894. According to its charter, “the purpose of this Association is to assist its members when sick and bury its dead in a respectable manner and to knit friendship.” The charter stipulated that “the Association may from time to time give entertainments for the purpose of replenishing the treasury.” Despite its name, the association was founded by twelve men, and the nature of its “debates” appears to be lost to time.” In the face of oppression, 12 civic minder African American men organized and created one of the rare still standing gems
of the Mississippi Blues Trail. They did this through community, activism, music, and by intentionally using the Hall to knit friendships A grant was received from the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area to tell the story of this significant landmark through a photography and mural project.
