Civil Rights Trail in the works for Louisiana

By Charmaine Jackson
Contributing Writer

Louisiana will soon be among 14 other states in the nation to have a trail marking sites of civil rights significance that connects to the United States Civil Rights Trail.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser was introduced to the Civil Rights Trail years ago at a tourism meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. After discovering Mississippi and Alabama each had a trail, Nungesser proposed the same for Louisiana.

In conjunction with the Louisiana Office of Tourism (LOT), a total of 17 state-wide meetings were held to gather and record stories and memories from those who have personal experience and knowledge of significant events that occurred locally during the Civil Rights Movement.

“There are a lot of people that we need to interview, especially the elderly who feel comfortable telling their stories,” Nungesser said. “We need to interview them before it is too late,” he added.

A historical placard stands in front of William T. Frantz Elementary School commemorating that school’s place in American history when six year old Ruby Bridges became the first Black to desegregate the all-white school in 1960. The site is now home to Akili Academy, a charter school. A statue of Ruby stands in the school’s courtyard, while the classroom she was assigned to has been restored to the way it would have looked when she attended the school.

The meetings helped with “getting valuable input from citizens across the state to identify historic events, physical structures, and locations that helped shape Civil Rights history,” said Betsy Barnes, the director of public affairs for the Office of Billy Nungesser.

Louisiana citizens are requested to submit site nominations for the trail, which can include events, individuals, activities, stories or experiences by December 6, 2019. Submissions can be entered online at LouisianaCivilRightsTrail.com. All information received will determine how the project will move forward.

In addition to the federally funded project Uniquely Louisiana, which is an online portal that provides educational resources about Louisiana, Nungesser wants the trail to serve as an “opportunity to educate and draw tourist[s]” and to unearth a wealth of Louisiana history not included in classroom curriculum.

“I think it tells a painful story that’s never been told. I’ve learned so much that’s never been taught in school. I didn’t know a lot of this stuff that had taken place in Louisiana. It’s going to be a proud day for Louisiana, for the people to be able to tell these stories,” Nungesser stated.

Partnering with local communities and businesses, as well as adding site markers so the trail will be accessible to visitors via the internet, or physically at the trail, will be considered. It will take “a lot of moving parts” to launch this project, Nungesser said.

The stories told will not end on the trail, but will live on at the long-awaited Civil Rights Museum, planned for New Orleans. Nungesser said approximately $800,000 has been secured for this project and sites are being scouted for the museum’s future home.

“Like everything Louisiana does, Louisiana has a history in leading in so many things we do. The trail will be a highlight and something to be proud of,” Nungesser said.

The United States Civil Rights Trail currently has five of the following sites in Louisiana: William Franz Elementary School, attended by Ruby Bridges, the first African American to desegregate the school; the U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, involved with school integration rulings; New Zion Baptist Church, the birthplace of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and the art deco design at the Louisiana State Capitol.

This article originally published in the October 21, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.