In 1874 in Coushatta, Louisiana, whites assassinated white officeholders and massacred black citizens in an attempt to delegitimize the Reconstruction government. Coushatta was the home of the White League. "The purpose of the White League," Edgerton wrote, "is [the] extermination of the carpet bag element. Nothing more nor less."
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Today Coushatta still has some overcoming to do, it seems:
COUSHATTA -- Nine black children attending Red River Elementary School were directed last week to the back of the school bus by a white driver who designated the front seats for white children.
The situation has outraged relatives of the black children who have filed a complaint with school officials.
Superintendent Kay Easley will meet with the family members in her office this morning.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also is considering filing a formal charge with the U.S. Department of Justice. NAACP District Vice President James Panell, of Shreveport, said he would apprise Justice attorneys of the situation this week. He's considering asking for an investigation into the bus incident and other aspects of the school system's operations, including pupil-teacher ratio as it relates to the numbers of white and black children, along with a breakdown of the numbers of black and white teachers employed.
(snip)
Easley (snip) confirmed that the bus driver did not run her route Wednesday, nor would she today.
(snip)
After Richmond and Williams [parents of the nine] filed complaints with the School Board, Transportation Supervisor Jerry Carlisle asked [bus driver] Davis to make seat assignments for her passengers, Sessoms said.
"But she still assigned the black children to the back of the bus," she added.
(snip)
A new solution reached Monday by School Board officials has a black bus driver driving across town to pick up the nine black children.