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HISTORY + CIVIL RIGHTS
Why Don't Louisiana Public Schools Teach About The 1953 Bus Boycott?
Before the Montgomery bus boycott, Black people in Baton Rouge challenged Jim Crow laws
In Louisiana, public high schools dedicate a small window of time to discuss the Civil Rights Era, typically during Black history month — the year's shortest month. Students are not provided a Black History textbook but instead read excerpts from key speeches. At some point, the teacher usually shows a documentary film. Afterward, there is no comprehension-check activity or test. Students are encouraged to study and write about a Black historical figure and submit a paper. However, this experience seems marginalized within the curricula.
Teaching a nationalized version of the civil rights era that focuses on King Cotton and never Queen Sugar, that ignores figures like Homer Plessy or Charles Deslondes, or events like Opelousas Massacre or the 1878 Colfax Massacre responsible for crippling the reconstruction era deprive Louisiana students of feeling connected to the Black American experience. As a result, students may never learn about the role cities like New Orleans, and Baton Rouge played in pushing the social justice needle forward.
