Ernest Johnson, president of the Louisiana branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called a march for Saturday on the state capitol in response to Republican Gov. Mike Foster’s executive order last month abolishing affirmative action and minority set-aside programs. Foster had also supported a federal court-drawn congressional redistricting plan that eliminates one of the state’s two majority black districts.
The march was expected to draw 20,000 people. We’ve worked hard for a non-violent, peaceful march, and we intend to keep it that way,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, a significantly smaller group of white supremacists–the National Association for the Advancement of White People–planned its own rally at the Old State Capitol. The NAAWP rally was called to support the governor’s actions and will feature as a key speaker David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan leader and founder of the NAAWP.
