Black descendants of racial violence in Southeast Louisiana told WDSU as painful that history is, learning their place in the legacies of ancestors who showed such resilience has enriched their lives with pride and perspective.“We just want our family and other families to know there is light at the end of the tunnel…We can get information, and we can give reverence to our ancestors,” said Wiletta Ferdinand, a New Orleans educator and great-great-great-great granddaughter of 1887 Thibodaux Massacre survivor Jack Conrad. That’s why she and others want more discovery efforts and acknowledgment from the State of Louisiana for that massacre and the 1868 St. Bernard Massacre. The massacres shaped the communities where the bloodshed occurred, according to authors of books on both events, despite efforts to bury the past with the bodies. Word from the state’s top leader suggests there may be hope for more recognition. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office said the administration recently learned about the two massacres. "The governor is supportive of efforts to learn from the sad mistakes of our past so that we can avoid them in the future and ensure that no people are robbed of their life, their rights or their dignity because of the color of their skin,” Edwards’ office said in a statement sent by spokeswoman Christina Stephens. John DeSantis, author of book, "The Thibodaux Massacre: Racial Violence and the 1887 Sugar Cane Labor Strike," said he hopes the state will invest in more research and work to confirm if bodies of the massacre victims are buried at a certain site in Thibodaux where oral history suggest they are. Ferdinand said she hopes a marker could someday tell the story at that site in Back-A-Town and honor the victims. Chris Dier, an award-winning Benjamin Franklin High School history teacher from St. Bernard parish who authored the book, "The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields," has pointed to the lack of historical markers at that site. He said the only physical evidence is a reference to the massacre in an inaccurate headstone inscription at a nearby grave. The Louisiana Tourism Development Commission selects locations for the Louisiana Historical Marker Program, state statute says. The commission falls under the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, led by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. The markers must commemorate “facts, persons, events and places prominently identified with the history of the nation, state or region” that occurred more than 50 years ago, according to program guidelines provided by Nungesser’s office.Anyone can apply for a marker, which are all privately funded and cost between $2,000 and $2,800. The language on the marker must be approved by the LSU Department of History. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development installs and maintains the markers. Jack Conrad Thibodaux Massacre Foundation has been set up at Capitol One Bank in New Orleans, for those who would like to donate, Ferdinand said. She said those who would like to help can also email her at jackconrad1887@gmail.com. In both Thibodaux and St. Bernard Parish, victims of the violence have been commemorated in recent years at local Catholics churches. Thibodaux-Houma Diocese Bishop Shelton Fabre presided over a mass in 2017 honoring the Thibodaux Massacre victims. Fabre, who is Black and chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said learning about the region’s dark past of racial violence can instruct the future. “With that knowledge, we might be better able to make decisions in the future that will not repeat past mistakes or past prejudices. And I say and repeating past mistakes, I mean, not respecting human life and human dignity. Because I think that is what is at the very basis of all of this. It is a lack of respect for human life and human dignity,” Fabre said. “We have to know what brings us to this point, again, not to wallow in it, but just to say here is what happened in the past, from a place of humility, we must come to this dialogue to seek greater understanding with one another and then go forward.”DeSantis suggested Louisiana put together a commission to further research study both massacres. "The state needs to tell this story. The state needs to acknowledge it. And that is the only way in these communities, I believe, that spiritual reparation can occur," he said.