The History of Black Civil Rights in Lafayette Parish, 1800-1970

Rick Swanson, JD, PhD, and head of the Political Science Department will present a talk on "The History of Black Civil Rights in Lafayette Parish, 1800-1970," at the Lafayette Main Public Library, 301 West Congress Street, 2nd Floor Meeting Room. The presentation is scheduled for Monday, May 1st, at 6:00 p.m., and it is free and open to the public.

Relying mostly on primary historical sources, this presentation provides a more complete story of local civil rights history. Topics include slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, voting discrimination, Jim Crow, segregation, the Lost Cause movement, desegregation, and the lingering social and economic effects of this past. The presentation ends with a message of hope for continuing to move Lafayette Parish toward greater racial unity and justice.