Blacks in Louisiana Politics | Folks

This segment from the February 18, 1990, episode of the series “Folks” features Sonya Masingale’s report on the history of blacks in Louisiana politics from Reconstruction to the present. She interviews Dr. Charles Vincent, a visiting history professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, who discusses: Reconstruction politics; Oscar James Dunn, Louisiana’s first black lieutenant governor; PBS Pinchback, Louisiana’s first black governor; the impact of the first black politicians in Louisiana; and the Great Exodus of black politicians from the South due to white supremacist groups. Masingale also interviews Dr. Huey Perry, a political science professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, who discusses: Governor Earl K. Long’s role in increasing the number of registered black voters; the symbolism of Dutch Morial’s 1967 election as the first black member of the Louisiana Legislature since Reconstruction; the role of the Louisiana Black Legislative Caucus in maximizing the influence of African Americans on the legislative process; the involvement of African Americans in the political process; and his view of the future of blacks in politics. Masingale also interviews State Representative Charles Jones, who discusses the political power of the black community in Louisiana.

This segment from the February 18, 1990, episode of the series “Folks” features Sonya Masingale presenting highlights of the “Born by the River” exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art. It features the work of African American photographers Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick depicting the black longshoremen working along the wharfs of the Mississippi River and the sugar cane workers in south Louisiana.