Earl of Louisiana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Earl of Louisiana - Essay Example In the fight for justice and the Civil Rights movement, Earl Long’s activism and support for Blacks is synonymous with the struggles of the NAACP and other Black right activists. Earl Long was gifted with political insight. He is remembered for the steps he took in ensuring the voting process becomes more smooth and accessible to the African-Americans. The legislature opposed political franchise for the Negros, but Long called on to the African-American community to unite in the name of common cause. He urged them to show full participation in the elections despite the resistance they were facing from the higher authorities. There were about 150,000 Negros registered as voters in contrast to 850,000 whites. Negros compromised about 24 percent of the state and the discrepancy between this and their 15 percent state-wide registration is reflective of the obstacles that they faced in getting themselves registered (Liebling, 205). Backed with the supporters of Hey Long, Earl Long saw the potential in having the Blacks on his side. Making this as major a part of his political campaign, Long stood up for the rights of the blacks and secured a vast majority of vote s from the black community. Earl Long was a staunch believer of equal rights for everyone, and was not racially prejudiced and biased in advancing the rights of the Whites only. Besides the reformative measures Long took to provide Negros with voting rights, Negros gained significantly from his measures in education to increase the literacy level of the Blacks in the state. He held true to the belief that illiteracy was a major impediment to the progress of a state. He was of the viewpoint that there should be no discrepancy in the provision of education and other benefits between the whites and the blacks. During his tenure, he saw to the construction of over a hundred public schools, fourteen trade schools and an increase in the ratio of employment of black school teachers. This