EURweb |
LOUISIANA SCHOOL BUS DRIVER ORDERS BLACKS TO THE BACK: Nine black kids were told to give up seats for white students.
*Nine black children attending Red River Elementary School in Coushatta, LA were directed last week to the back of the school bus by a white driver who designated the front seats for white children.
Vickie Welborn of the Shreveport Times writes that the situation has outraged relatives of the black children who have filed a complaint with school officials. Superintendent Kay Easley was to meet with the family members in her office on Thursday morning.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also is considering filing a formal charge with the U.S. Department of Justice, writes Welborn. 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.
"If the smoke is there, then there's probably fire somewhere else," Panell said in a phone interview from New Orleans. "At this point, it is extremely alarming. We fought that battle 50 years ago, and we won. Why is this happening again?"
Easley would not comment much on the allegations Wednesday, saying it is a personnel issue. She acknowledged that she has investigated the claim. And she confirmed that the bus driver did not run her route Wednesday or Thursday.
