Abstract

In 1955 I took part in Pelican Boys' State, an annual gathering of high school students aimed at promoting understanding of government sponsored by the American Legion. McCarthyism was still rife and indeed growing in the South following the Supreme Court's 1954 decision on school desegregation. In our simulated state government, I was elected to the Pelican Boys' State Senate, and for our final meeting, to be conducted in the Louisiana State Senate Chamber in Baton Rouge, we were asked to debate before the public and press some legislation we might propose. I introduced a measure: that Louisiana desegregate its public schools.