Four of Louisiana’s six largest auto insurance companies increase rates for people who have lost a spouse compared with what is charged when they are married. Currently, the Louisiana Department of Insurance allows insurance companies to charge this “widow penalty” even if a customer has an unblemished driving record.
The penalty applies regardless of the surviving spouse’s gender, though Louisiana also allows insurers to use gender as a factor in determining rates, according testimony provided last week to a legislative committee by the state’s chief actuary, Richard Piazza.
“Every driver in Louisiana has to purchase auto insurance, regardless of whether or not their spouse is alive,” said Douglas Heller, a nationally-acclaimed auto insurance expert who has been researching and reporting on the industry for more than twenty years. “The fact that insurance companies charge more to perfectly safe drivers once their husband or wife passes away is both unnecessary and unseemly, and this widow penalty should be prohibited.”
As a part of our ongoing investigative series “Wrecked: How Auto Insurance Takes Louisiana for a Ride,” the Bayou Brief is working with Heller to assemble and analyze data about the industry’s practices and the state’s regulatory framework. His findings on the “widow penalty” are one of many alarming factors that directly contribute to Louisiana’s ranking as one of the most expensive states in the nation for auto insurance.
Using data gathered from company websites, Heller found that customers throughout the state could see their auto insurance rates jump by as much 15% if they report that they are widowed and no longer married. His test subjects were sixty years old, and regardless of gender, they were subject to identical hikes in premiums.
In New Orleans, for example, Progressive charges both widows and widowers $172 more per year to buy its cheapest, bare bones policy. A widow purchasing a standard policy with comprehensive and collision coverage faces a $470 penalty from Progressive for losing her spouse.
Allstate and GoAuto Insurance also penalized widows with premium increases of six percent and nine percent, respectively. Geico charged widows four percent more in New Orleans but charged virtually the same premium to married and widowed drivers in other parts of the state. State Farm and Farm Bureau do not impose a widow penalty.
Figure 1 shows the additional amount that the state’s largest insurers charge widows for the state mandated minimum auto insurance coverage even if they have perfect driving records.
The research determined that for most companies, the rate hikes were consistently imposed on widows throughout the state, except that Geico’s widow penalty only appeared to impact drivers in New Orleans.
Not surprisingly, the penalty was most acute in New Orleans, where overall premiums are highest. But drivers in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport can also expect to face rate hikes when they lose their spouse, depending upon which company insures them, as shown in Figure 2.
In 2017, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed legislation outlawing the auto insurance widow penalty in that state, and the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition estimates that drivers with deceased spouses realized annual savings of nearly seven million dollars. There have been no reports of adverse market impacts in that state, and, in fact, in 2019, the governor is expected to sign legislation prohibiting a widow penalty in homeowner’s insurance pricing as well.
According to Heller, the fact that two large insurers – State Farm and Farm Bureau – do not charge any widow penalty provides clear evidence that a driver’s status of married or widowed is not an important measure of accident risk and not actuarially essential for pricing auto insurance. He noted that in order for companies to charge a lower rate to married drivers the insurers are effectively forcing widows and other unmarried drivers to pay an unwarranted subsidy. Heller surmises that insurance companies see more of an opportunity to sell additional insurance products, like life insurance policies, to married drivers than widows.
“Insurance company executives may have some marketing reason that they want to penalize good drivers for having lost a spouse, but there is no legitimacy to this, and the Department of Insurance or lawmakers should stop it,” he said. “This widow penalty is a reminder that the insurance companies are pretty unscrupulous when it comes to the premiums they charge us for the coverage we are required to buy.”
The second week of this session was another short work week for lawmakers, partly due to an approaching storm system prompting cancellation of Thursday’s scheduled House committee meetings. Additionally, traditionally, neither chamber nor its committees work on Fridays during the early weeks of legislative sessions, and this week it’s Good Friday, marked as the anniversary of Jesus’ crucifixion.
In
the Christian faiths, the entire week from Palm Sunday to Easter –
including Good Friday – is generally referred to as Holy Week.
Louisiana
is proud of its Christian heritage, with the state seal and the state
flag both bearing the heraldic device known as “the pelican in her
piety” – a mother pelican using blood drops from her own chest to
feed her fledglings. The symbol, which has been documented as far
back as medieval illustrated manuscripts from the 13th century, is
generally considered emblematic of Christian charity, or of the
nobility of self-sacrifice.
A Pelican Feeding her Young, illustration in medieval Bestiary, circa 1277, in the UCLA Library collection.
Yet
this week some legislators – from both chambers – seemed notably
lacking in charitable responses to constituent concerns.
Tuesday,
the Senate Judiciary C committee heard testimony on SB 146, authored
by J.P. Morrell (D-New Orleans). It would prohibit jailing domestic
violence or sexual assault victims that refuse to testify against
their abusers. Prosecutors and even defense attorneys presently have
the option to get a “material witness warrant” issued, and hold a
victim in jail to compel her (or his) testimony at a criminal trial.
“Simply
put, you re-traumatize a victim by incarcerating them to make them
testify,” Sen. Morrell explained. “And there have been instances
where a victim gets more jail time waiting for a trial than the
person ultimately convicted gets for the crime.”
Darren
Browder from CourtWatch NOLA provided Orleans Parish figures from
2016, when seven witnesses were jailed: some for a single day, others
for a week or more, and one for 179 days. Charges in those cases
ranged from rape to aggravated assault with a firearm to attempted
second degree murder.
Morgan
Lamandre with STAR – Sexual Trauma Awareness Response – advised
the senate panel that nothing prevents victims incarcerated on a
material witness warrant from being held in the same location as the
perpetrator.
“Additionally,
there’s no ‘right to counsel’ for a victim who does get
jailed,” Lamandre said, “Because they are not charged with a
crime.”
New
Orleans Councilwoman Helena Moreno, who, during her years as a state
representative, was known for her advocacy and legislation on behalf
of domestic violence victims, told committee members it’s time to
end the practice of threatening victims.
“This
practice is now considered to be archaic, unwise, and just plain
wrong,” Moreno said. “As Houston District Attorney Kim Ogg wrote
in a recent editorial for USA Today, ‘In many jurisdictions it is
prohibited, as it is an abuse of prosecutorial discretion and an
affront to the prosecutor’s duty to further the pursuit of
justice’.”
And,
Moreno added, “The recent re-authorization of the federal Violence
Against Women Act actually calls for states to do away with these
policies. Federal funds that go to victim services – in Louisiana,
that’s about $5-million per year – are going to be contingent
upon compliance.”
“Further
victimizing the victims is
barbaric,” Sen. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) agreed, as he
acknowledged his co-authorship of this particular bill.
Detail of “Pioneers” sculpture by Lorado Taft, which flanks the front steps of Louisiana’s Capitol.
But
Sen. Bodi White (R-Central) wasn’t finding much empathy.
“There
are thousands of these cases and we only got data on seven instances,
so how bad can it be?” White asked.
“Those
seven cases were from one year in one parish,” Sen. Morrell
replied.
“Well,
except for one case, it wasn’t more than one day,” White
blustered. “Of course, nobody wants
to
go to jail – I don’t want to go to jail – but it is
just one day. This is a tool our DAs need, because the rapists and
abusers are going to keep doing it again unless we put them in jail.”
“It
is an archaic practice that most DAs – including your own – have
moved past,” Morrell responded, with exaggerated calmness.
“It’s
a tool they need, and a tool that they like!” White insisted.
“They
liked non-unanimous juries, too,” Morrell replied, pointedly. “This
bill is for
victims. It is here at the request of victims’ rights groups.”
“This
bill needs work,” said White, who is not an attorney. He owns a
security guard agency.
Five
of the seven members of the committee were feeling much more
charitable toward victims than Sen. White was, and they prevailed,
voting to advance the measure to the full Senate.
The
bill is presently scheduled for full Senate debate on Monday, April
22.
The
most egregious examples
that the current cadre of lawmakers lack in benevolence came
with the required
public testimony on the proposed budget. Until the present term began
in 2016, public testimony was held over two full legislative days.
Sometimes,
the committee would convene on a Saturday to make it accessible for
more citizens.
This
Appropriations chairman, Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) cut
testimony back to one day, and this session, restricted public
testimony to a half day.
He
scheduled public testimony for this past Wednesday, the same day all
lawmakers
– House and Senate – were scheduled
for their annual
afternoon of required ethics training. That
meant they would only be able to listen to public comments and pleas
for funding for a little over four hours.
Appropriations Committee, Wed., April 17, 2019, during public testimony on budget.
As
this
photo of the hearing
room shows, many of the committee members didn’t even bother to
listen to the public for that much time.
Some
of the committee members who did stick around for the public
comments endeavored to sound compassionate.
Evergreen
Life Services assists 35,000 developmentally and intellectually
disabled state residents, and regional vice president Sharon Gomez
told the House money panel, “We’ve been
operating
in the
red for many years because you’re not fully funding these
programs, which are the lowest cost
option.”
“There
is little we can do today, other
than advise you that our ears and eyes are open to your
difficulties,” said Rep. Rick
Edmonds, (R-Baton Rouge), who is a Baptist minister and the former
vice president of the Louisiana Family Forum.
“43-million dollars
was mentioned. Would that bring you
up to a sufficiently funded level?”
“That
is just the amount needed to restore
rates that were
cut in 2008,” Gomez replied. At
that time they were reduced to what
was appropriate in 2002. That is not
an appropriate rate today. The law
says rates are
to be rebased every three
years, based on appropriations
of legislature. They have not been
rebased since 2008, and that was a reduction.”
“Do
you have this information in written
form that you can share with us?”
Edmonds asked.
“That will be helpful and we’ll all have it use
when we speak next with LDH.”
Edmonds’
mere mention of the Louisiana Department of Health triggered Rep.
Tony Bacala (R-Prairieville), who has denounced that department at
every available opportunity.
“Your
cries have somewhat
been heard,” Bacala told Gomez and
other disabilities advocates seated at the testimony table. “We’re
proposing an increase of
$9-milllion,
but not
the $43
million you’re asking. That’s
because another part of
the health budget is getting
$1-billion.
And, of course, that’s
the part where
we’ve been finding all the difficulties. That’s where people are
cheating the system, using dollars fraudulently that could otherwise
go to you.”
Louisiana citizens with disabilities wait outside Appropriations Committee room. The room could not accommodate all those in wheelchairs that showed up for public testimony on the budget.
A
possible funding increase of $9-million is welcome news, as the
committee has not yet made public how they intend to apportion the
additional $119-million
in revenue recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference last week.
Yet despite the fact that Rep.
Bacala is considered one of the Appropriations Committee’s
“insiders”, disabilities
advocates were reluctant to begin rejoicing at his words, since his
obvious antipathy for the Medicaid program has him persistently
exaggerating the facts. In the case of his statements on Wednesday,
his slant leaned heavily toward blatant untruth.
“We
appropriate broad amounts in categories,” Bacala
said, “We give them a bag – a bank account with a finite amount
of money – and the
Health Department
administration
decides whether you get it, or the person sitting next to you gets
it, or somebody who doesn’t deserve it gets it.”
You’re
missing the point of charity, Rep, Bacala. It’s not about
“deserving”. As the old German proverb says, “Charity sees the
need, not the cause.”
Louisiana’s auto insurance rates rank as one of the most expensive in the nation, right alongside Michigan, a state synonymous with the American car industry. How could the home of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler have auto insurance rates that, according to some estimates, are currently 64% higher than the national average? Are the factors that drive up costs in the Wolverine State the same as those in the Pelican State? Who is responsible?
The problem is not a new one in Louisiana, and for more than two decades, legislators and policy makers have made occasional efforts at addressing the issue without much success.
For the most part, the public explanations are entirely speculative and, in some cases, clearly misguided. Some argue our rates are a function of the weather. Or maybe it’s because of people who sue after they’re in a car accident. Or perhaps it’s because Louisiana is home to a disproportionate number of bad drivers or the fact the state’s surface transportation infrastructure is objectively insufficient.
During the next few weeks, the Bayou Brief will be publishing a first-of-its-kind series of data-intensive reports, “Wrecked: How Auto Insurance Takes Louisiana for a Ride,” in order to unpack the truth about the state’s high rates and to provide a set of common sense solutions that would be most effective in driving down costs down for everyone. The subject, at least at first glance, may seem somewhat dry, but rest assured, the details are often sensational.
Given the renewed interest in Baton Rouge about the subject (Stephen Waguespack, the president of LABI, an influential conservative interest group, suggested that HB 372, a tort reform bill titled “the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2019,” is the “most important bill” in the current legislative session), it is worth asking whether the proposed solutions are a good faith effort to help consumers or if our high auto insurance rates are being used as a smokescreen. If there are, in fact, a set of tort reforms that protects consumers and reduces costs, that would meet the definition of good public policy, but we should be guided by objective data, not simply a list of demands from industry and its lobbyists.
To that end, the Bayou Brief has hired a nationally-acclaimed auto insurance expert- not a lawyer or a political operative- to take a deep dive into the factors that drive up the price of premiums here in Louisiana. That analysis will guide our reporting, though, as a part of this series, we will also track pending legislation and statements by lawmakers related to auto insurance. Are their conclusions backed up by the facts? Are they advocating for good public policy or just good partisan politics? How does the legislation currently being considered actually meet the goal of reducing the price of auto insurance?
And the survey says…
Drivers in Louisiana, like other states, are only required to maintain liability insurance; comprehensive and collision coverage are optional. Notably, the costs of optional liability coverage are the ones proponents of tort reform point to in support of their proposals. According to a 2016 study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the most recently available data, Louisiana actually ranks as the fourth most expensive state in the country for auto insurance. Florida, New Jersey, and New York rank as the first, second, and third most expensive; Michigan is in fifth. While there is no agreed-upon standard to determine state rankings, this data point is particularly useful because it derives from all auto insurance sold, rather than smaller survey samples used in other rankings, and because the liability-only measure more accurately captures the cost of the coverage mandated by state laws.
In recent media coverage and throughout an April 15th meeting of the House Civil Law, references were only made to a survey commissioned by Insure.com, which placed Louisiana as the second most expensive state in the nation, directly under Michigan. That survey looked at the average prices of “full coverage for a single, 40-year-old male who commutes 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage.“ Their “hypothetical driver” has a “clean record and good credit.”
In addition to the survey, Insure.com also included supplementary analysis about each state; this analysis is the most frequently cited justification for many of the reforms currently being considered in the legislature. However, in Louisiana’s case, Insure.com relied entirely on commentary from state Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon, an elected official responsible for regulating the industry and ensuring a “fair and stable marketplace.”
Donelon directed them to an online news article published by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity’s Watchdog.com, which was essentially a press release about a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report on costs of the “tort system.” According to Governing, a nonpartisan publication covering state and local governments, the Franklin Center is “one of the top recipients of money from groups tied to the conservative billionaire Koch brothers;” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of course, is the nation’s most powerful business lobbying group. Small businesses in coastal Louisiana may recall the U.S. Chamber is the same group that opposed claims in the aftermath of BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Regardless of one’s political beliefs, it should seem readily apparent why it is problematic to rely on an elected official responsible for regulating a state’s auto insurance market to explain the real reason auto insurance in his state ranks among the nation’s costliest. Commissioner Donelon, who is campaigning for a fourth consecutive term, has a vested political interest in refuting any notion that the high costs are the result of failures by his office to enforce regulations and protect consumers. Indeed, in online ads, Donelon’s campaign is also claiming he is responsible for “lowering car insurance rates.”
Ultimately, there is little difference in whether Louisiana is ranked as the country’s second or fourth most expensive state for auto insurance; either way, it’s a problem that demands a solution. However, consumers and residents deserve an honest evaluation, and lawmakers should be guided by objective data, not partisan spin.
On Monday, members of the House Civil Law Committee kicked off the debate on auto insurance reform with a lengthy discussion of the bill championed by LABI’s Waguespack, so that is where we begin as well.
On Monday, the state House Civil Law committee recommended a bill that, if signed into law, would significantly weaken accountability for auto insurance companies, according to industry watchdogs and consumer protection experts. HB 372, dubbed the “Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2019” by its authors Rep. Kirk Talbot and State Insurance Commissioner James Donelon, however, does not require any premium reductions whatsoever.
“I see nothing in the bill related to insurance companies or things they need to do,” Rep. Sam Jenkins told the committee, which debated the bill in front of a packed room for nearly two and a half hours before ultimately approving it along party lines.
Rep. Talbot admitted that state actuaries analyzing the potential impact of the bill’s restrictions on consumers’ rights said only that it is “indeterminable” what impact, if any, the changes would have on rates. Despite that acknowledgement, Rep. Talbot haltingly assured that he knew “rates will go down.”
A statue of Ignatius J. Reilly
“I really don’t have the time to discuss the errors of your value judgments.” – Ignatius J. Reilly
Kirk Talbot is a co-owner of Lucky Dogs, the iconic New Orleans hot dog street vendor that gained “immortality” with the publication of John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. Ignatius J. Reilly, the book’s legendary protagonist, worked for a fictionalized version of Talbot’s company.
Rep. Talbot may share Ignatius J. Reilly’s confidence in his own opinions, but during the committee hearing, he did not attempt to reconcile his assertion that auto insurance rates will decrease with the unwillingness of state actuaries to assure savings he had mentioned only a few moments prior.
Following his introductory testimony, the committee heard from Commissioner Donelon and Rich Piazza, who serves as the state’s longtime Chief Actuary and who had been introduced as an “information-only” witness. Piazza, who spent the first eleven years of his career working as an Assistant Actuary at Allstate Insurance, similarly acknowledged there is no existing actuarial data to demonstrate the reforms proposed by Rep. Talbot would reduce consumer costs.
Piazza was also asked about a number of factors Louisiana allows the auto insurance industry to use in determining rates, to which we will return in a subsequent report.
What‘s the evidence that tort reform is necessary to reduce auto insurance in Louisiana?
In short, there is none.
However, as we mentioned in our prefatory report, supplementary analysis provided to Insure.com by Commissioner Donelon references an article titled “Louisiana’s annual tort system costs pegged at more than $4,000 per household” published in a Koch-funded publication, the Louisiana Watchdog. The “tort system” is more commonly known as the American civil justice system.
Lauren Chauvin, LABI.
Lauren Chauvin, a 33 year old lawyer who works as a lobbyist for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, spoke with the online outlet about the findings of the tort system study, a product of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform. “It has to do with laws that are unfavorable toward business and also the culture in the courtroom, so it’s a two-fold problem,” she said. The Chamber’s study, which critics contend is based on a false premise, is largely an exercise in unscientific guesswork. For example, with respect to auto insurance, the Chamber estimates the total costs associated with litigation based on the amount of money the industry collects in premiums, which is pure speculation untethered to any objective findings of fact.
Because auto insurance is so expensive in Louisiana, the Chamber just assumes that litigation against insurance companies is also expensive. However, ironically, if one scratches beneath the surface, they will discover the Chamber’s analysis actually placed Louisiana’s auto insurance “tort system” well within the national average; the state ranks in seventeenth place, and, notably, the report suggests other states pay exponentially more for their “tort system.”
In other words, Commissioner Donelon referenced a report that placed Louisiana as the seventeenth costliest for auto insurance tort claims in order to explain to Insure.com the real reason their survey ranked Louisiana as the second-most expensive state for auto insurance coverage. Something doesn’t add up.
“Louisiana has an unhealthy auto insurance market right now, especially in commercial auto insurance,” Chauvin told the Louisiana Watchdog. “It’s a crisis that we’re dealing with.”
“The problem is the medical expenses from those accidents are through the roof,” she said, though there is no data to support her claim. Then, in the next breath, Chauvin argues for the need for a series of tort reforms, beginning with reducing the jury threshold- that is, the amount of money a plaintiff seeks in damages required to avail themselves to a jury trial, the centerpiece of Rep. Talbot’s bill.
The Donelon Feedback Loop
Proponents of Rep. Talbot’s legislation claim that experts agree the reforms are necessary, but the problem, of course, is that they’re actually quoting themselves and hoping no one calls their bluff.
Though called an “omnibus” bill, HB 372 focuses most of its legislative force on weakening the rights and protections of people injured in car accidents and making other changes related to the post-accident legal system.
The bill, for example, would alter the way injured people’s medical costs are calculated to lower those payments and take away consumers’ rights to sue an at-fault drivers’ insurance company. It does not, on the other hand, limit the rates or pricing practices of auto insurance companies in any way.
Indeed, although the legislation markets itself as an effort to reduce costs for consumers, it is designed, instead, only to protect the industry’s profits and strengthen its ability to avoid paying otherwise legitimate claims.
Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon. Source: Talk Louisiana
In a throwaway provision that Rep. Talbot said he didn’t think was even necessary, the legislation requires insurance companies to submit a rate filing once a year for three years and lower rates if actuarially justified, which, according to experts, will be easy for insurers to ignore given the lackadaisical oversight at the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Among other things, a serious “premium reduction” proposal would provide stronger rules to prevent excessive rates charged by auto insurers and restrict insurers from delaying claim payments, a practice used to net more investment income on premiums. There’s nothing addressing the price-hiking practice of charging some drivers with unblemished driving records thousands of dollars more because they don’t have great credit.
Rep. Talbot’s and Commissioner Donelon’s plan aims to enhance insurance companies’ courtroom position against injured motorists but pays no attention to questions and concerns about insurance company practices. There is no assurance that insurance companies will be held accountable to rules of pricing fairness or claims paying fairness, and there’s certainly nothing requiring that rates will be lowered if this bill is enacted.
This bill only proposes to make injured drivers, passengers, pedestrians and other Louisianans shoulder the entire burden of high rates charged by insurance companies. It should come as no surprise, then, that the insurance industry supports this bill.
HB 372 has only made it one step of the way in the legislative process, so there is still time for lawmakers to turn this around and focus the spotlight where it belongs: on the insurance companies that are charging us obscene auto insurance premiums.
I’m back with a non-Carnival related piece. It is, however, inspired by the theme of this year’s Bacchus parade: Starring Louisiana. It was their best theme in years and got me pondering movies that were set in the Gret Stet of Louisiana. Hence this top 40 list.
I’m a big fan of Vulture’s lists and decided it was high time to do my own. I learned to my chagrin how hard compiling and writing such a list is. This article has taken much longer than expected but it was worth the struggle.
This top 40 list reflects my own taste and excludes some interesting and even worthwhile movies. Since snark is my calling card, there are some films included that I do not like. The list is light on plot summaries because I know how people on the internet are about spoilers. I don’t want too many people yelling at me on Twitter or Facebook. If you’re on Reddit, yell away. I won’t hear you.
I’m passing on several noteworthy films that were fleetingly set in Louisiana such as Easy Riderand Green Book. I’m also skipping some fine films that were filmed but not set here such as the Coen Brothers masterpiece Miller’s Crossing as well as Green Book.
I’m bypassing television series set in the Gret Stet of Louisiana because that’s outside my self-imposed remit. At some point, I need to write about David Simon’s Treme and its impact on how recent transplants view New Orleans. I’m also terribly fond of HBO’s gory vampire camp fest, True Blood. As to NCIS: New Orleans I love Scott Bakula and hate the rest of the show. NCIS agents are not action heroes. My Uncle Lou was NCIS and he never once drew his weapon let alone discharged it.
Back to the list, it’s in reverse order and includes my ratings based on the classic 4-star format. None of this 5 star tomfoolery for me. I used Ed and Susan Poole’s Louisiana Film History as my primary source for setting and film location information. That’s right, book research. I filled in the blanks in consultation with Mr. Google. I’ve also hyper-linked some names to their IMDb pages because I realize that not everyone is familiar with such offscreen film greats as with Bernard Hermann, Paul Schrader, or Anthony Mann.
Additionally, I link to previews at the end of each piece. I decided to spare my editor the aggravation of cutting and pasting them. My Krewe du Vieux photo essay was a pain in the ass to process and I didn’t want to put Lamar through that again.
Each entry contains a mini-essay; some concise and others meandering in nature. What’s a little meandering among friends?
One more thing. I’m a tough grader so I expect y’all will disagree with many of the rankings and ratings. It’s meant to provoke argument and discussion. But if you want to yell at me, please see the movie first.
40.Cat People (1982) This cheesy remake of the 1942 Val Lewton psychological thriller starred Natassia Kinksi and Malcolm McDowell. It was directed by Paul Schrader who wrote the screenplays for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull but was still an incoherent mess.
The best thing about this overly literal remake were the shots of the Audubon Zoo before it moved away from cages to compounds.
Cat People is a dog. I can hear it bark at my house upriver from the Zoo.
39.Blaze (1989)I was excited when I heard about this biopic of Earl Long’s late in life fling with exotic dancer Blaze Starr. It was writer-director Ron Shelton’s first movie after Bull Durham. It starred one of my all-time favorite movie stars, Paul Newman. What could possibly go wrong? Everything.
The movie is played strictly for laughs. Newman gets Earl Long all wrong by playing him as a cartoonish buffoon instead of the consequential figure that he was.
RATING: 2 stars.
SETTING: Winnfield, LA, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
FILMED: Winnfield, State Capitol in Red Stick, and the French Quarter.
38. Band Of Angels (1957) is an unimpressive movie with an impressive pedigree. It was based on a book by Robert Penn Warren, directed by Raoul Walsh who directed such Warner Brothers classic as The Roaring Twenties, High Sierra, and White Heat all of which were gritty gangster films. A costume drama such as Band Of Angels was not in Walsh’s wheelhouse. It was set on a plantation in antebellum Louisiana and told the story of a “tragic mulatto” played by Yvonne DeCarlo.
Clark Gable is the male lead. The producers hoped the casting would evoke memories of Gone With The Wind, instead the movie bombed and survives mostly as a curio of pre-Civil Rights revolution racial attitudes.
RATING: 2 stars.
SETTING: Louisiana plantation country.
FILMED: Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation in Geismar, Baton Rouge, Clinton and along the banks of the Big Muddy.
37. Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) is a little movie based on two novels by Alexandria’s own Rebecca Wells. The cast is stellar featuring Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith, and James Garner. But it’s a slight and forgettable film. That’s why this blurb is so short. Perhaps I should call it concise instead.
I just forgot what I wrote…
RATING: 2 stars.
SETTING: Central Louisiana and New York City.
FILMED: North Carolina.
36. The Pelican Brief (1993) Based on the best-selling book by John Grisham, this legal thriller had a lot going for it. There was star power aplenty with Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, and Sam Shepard in the cast. It was directed by Alan J. Pakula of All The President’s Men and Sophie’s Choice fame but it feels flat and lifeless.
Julia Roberts played a Tulane Law School student; my alma mater. It was nothing like that whatsoever, but movies rarely imitate life. It was a big hit at the box office but not very memorable.
RATING: 2 ½ stars.
SETTING: New Orleans.
FILMED: Room 102 of Jones Hall, then the home of Tulane Law School, Igor’s on St. Charles Avenue, the French Quarter and Spanish Plaza. Some of the interior scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.
35.The Big Easy (1987) Dennis Quaid plays an NOPD detective with the wrong accent. It’s straight out of Cajun Country and Remy McSwain is supposed to be a third generation New Orleans cop. They say cher more than anyone who has ever lived in New Orleans.
It’s a pity that the ridiculous accents undermine what is otherwise a decent movie. Leading lady Ellen Barkin and Quaid have sizzling chemistry but New Orleanians cannot get past the accents, cher.
The movie also gave New Orleans a new nickname, which nobody here uses except for recent transplants, cher.
34.Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012) This Gret Stet take on magic realism was highly touted when it was released. I wanted to like it but found it confusing and pretentious. The critics loved it and it was nominated for 4 Oscars including best picture.
The best thing about the movie was an excellent Oscar nominated performance by Quvenzahde Wallis who was 9 years old when the film was made.
This is the rating I expect the most disagreement with. Bring it on, y’all.
RATING: 2 ½ stars.
SETTING: Bathtub, Louisiana. I am not making this up, but the filmmakers did. That’s why I called it Gret Stet magic realism.
33. Interview With The Vampire (1994) Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles are one of my guilty pleasures as a reader. I had high hopes for the film version because it was directed by the great Neil Jordan whose movie The Crying Game was a sensation in 1992, but it was something of a mish-mash.
Tom Cruise’s performance as Lestat took hamming it up to a whole new level. I believe he’s still chewing the scenery somewhere, perhaps at the Church of Scientology’s HQ.
RATING: 2 ½ stars
SETTING: New Orleans, San Francisco, Paris, and London
FILMED: In various locations in South Louisiana including Hahnville, Vacherie, and New Orleans. Many interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios in London.
32.JFK (1991) Oliver Stone’s take on Orleans Parish District Attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation into the Kennedy assassination is beautifully made but heavy-handed and overloaded with every conspiracy theory known to Grassy Knoll obsessives. It’s cinematically exciting but gets so many things wrong: Jim Garrison was a hard-drinking D.A. suspected of being on the take from the Marcello family instead of a noble hero as portrayed by Kevin Costner.
I’m not going into all of Stone’s conclusion jumping because I’m writing a list, not a book. Suffice it to say, a fine cast is wasted in this epic mess. It was nominated for a raft of Oscars including Best Picture and Director but didn’t win any major awards.
RATING: 2 ½ stars.
SETTING: New Orleans, Washington DC, and Angola State Penitentiary.
FILMED: Mostly New Orleans. The prison scenes were filmed at Angola.
31.Girls Trip (2017) I’m not usually a fan of raunchy comedies but this movie is loaded withbig laughs. It’s the sort of movie that defies rigorous analysis but features fine performances by Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish as the girls on the trip.
I can just hear the pitch: The Hangover for black chicks. It works. It’s funny. It made me laugh. What more can you ask from a comedy?
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: Essence Festival New Orleans. French Quarter.
30. Obsession (1976) This thriller was director Brian DePalma’s ode to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. It’s the story of a rich New Orleanian’s creepy obsession with a woman who resembles his long-dead wife.
Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujod excel in the lead roles, but I never confused him with Vertigo star Jimmy Stewart: good actor, not very charismatic.
The score is by Hitchcock’s frequent collaborator Bernard Hermann and is suspenseful and not remotely Naturally N’awlins.
29. Steel Magnolias (1987) Robert Harling adapted his own play about a group of women who bond over beauty parlors and the death of one of the group’s daughters. It was directed by Herbert Ross who specialized in putting plays on the big screen. It’s visually dull but the characters are feisty and fun.
I saw the play at Le Petit Theatre in the French Quarter. I thought it was better than the movie BUT the film version has a deck of aces in the hole, a spectacular cast of actresses: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis. And Dolly Parton brings her big personality and even bigger hair to the proceedings as beauty salon propriextrix, Truvy Jones.
28. Heaven’s Prisoners (1996) I love James Lee Burke’s Dave Robichaux novels. Burke writes crime fiction at its most literate and engaging. This Phil Joaonu directed film is pretty darn good in its own right. Dave is played by a young Alex Baldwin who was too cute at that point to play the alcoholic detective.
In 2009, another Burke-Robichaux book was adapted into a film. In The Electric Mist starred Tommy Lee Jones as Dave and was directed by Bernard Tavernier. This Franco-American production went straight to DVD in the US, which means it’s outside of my remit. It’s a pity: Tommy Lee was better suited to play Dave. It also gets 3 stars. Did you like how I snuck that one into the list? One might even call it importing an import.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: New Orleans and surrounding parishes.
FILMED: Same as above. Some of the movie was shot at Nottoway Plantation.
27. Thunder Bay (1953) Most of the movies James Stewart and Anthony Mann teamed up on were dark and brooding noir Westerns shot in glorious black and white or muted color tones. Thunder Bay was filmed in Technicolor and tells the story of two oil company engineers (Stewart and Dan Dailey) who get into a dispute with some Louisiana shrimpers. The engineers are the heroes of the piece as they represent the forces of progress. Hey, it was released during the Eisenhower administration when what was “good for General Motors” was good for America.
26.The Drowning Pool (1975) is a shamus/private eye flick based on a novel by the great Ross Macdonald. I’ve heard that the story was relocated from Southern California to Louisiana because director Stuart Rosenberg and star Paul Newman had such a good time filming WUSAin the Gret Stet in 1971. The food may have had something to do with it.
The Drowning Pool was something of a sequel as Newman reprised his role as Lew Harper. It’s a swell bit of mid-Seventies crime fiction with strong performances by Newman and his wife,Joanne Woodward. The accents of the locals are a bit too Bama but that’s how movie folk thought we spoke in the pre-Hollywood South era.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: South Louisiana.
FILMED: New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, and Oaklawn Plantation in Franklin.
25.Angel Heart (1986) This bit of voodoo mumbo jumbo is the sort of movie that I ordinarily hate. As I said earlier, I’m not a fan of magic realism on the big screen BUT director Alan Parker (The Commitments, Midnight Express) elevates the material into something compulsively watchable. He even coaxed a good performance out of the usually hyper-hammy Mickey Rourke. And it never hurts to have Robert DeNiro in the cast.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: Louisiana “voodoo” country. I am not making this up.
FILMED: New Orleans, Napoleonville, and Laurel Valley Plantation in Thibodaux.
24. The Skeleton Key (2005) is another scary movie. This time it’s set in a spooky plantation manor house and directed by Iain Softley. Kate Hudson plays a young nurse hired as a caretaker of an elderly and infirm couple (Gena Rowlands and John Hurt.) Horror ensues as Kate makes the fatal mistake of using the skeleton key to enter the attic. Pro tip: Nothing good ever happens in an attic or a basement.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: Spooky South Louisiana.
FILMED: Partially filmed at Bayou Gauche in New Orleans, and Felicity Plantation in Vacherie.
23.The Scoundrel’s Wife (2002) This little sleeper was made by Glen Pitre who made the much-better-known movie that’s #22 on the list. It tells the little-known story of German submarine activity off the Gulf Coast during World War II and features a rare adult performance by child star Tatum O’Neill.
The Scoundrel’s Wife is a must-see movie for history buffs. It’s one of the least seen films on the list and I encourage everyone to check it out.
22. Belizaire The Cajun (1986) is a sweeping historical film filmed in stages by writer-director Glenn Pitre who had difficulty securing financing. It doesn’t matter, it’s a fine piece of work that put stories about Southwest Louisiana on the cinematic map.
Pitre tells the story of Belizaire Breaux (Armand Assante) a village traiteur (healer) who gets caught up in a confrontation between Cajuns and Les Americains. Unlike that ode to progress, Thunder Bay, the locals are the heroes of the piece. Vive les Acadiens.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: Antebellum Southwest Louisiana.
FILMED: Various locations in Cecelia, Henderson, and Lafayette.
21.Jezebel (1938) This Bette Davis-Henry Fonda starrer has all the strengths and weaknesses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It was directed by the great William Wyler and is beautifully shot, staged, and costumed. BUT it’s laced with Lost Cause era racial attitudes and stereotypes, which might make it tough going for those of you who watch less TCM than I do.
Bette’s character, Miss Julie, is a stubborn, selfish Southern belle who disgraces herself by wearing red to a black and white themed society ball. I get the vapors just thinking about it. At the end of the movie, she redeems herself by going to Yellow Fever ridden New Orleans to nurse Henry Fonda. Henry always brought out the best in everyone.
Trivia time: It’s widely believed that Warners produced Jezebel as a consolation prize for Bette’s not being cast as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind. It was a plum role that gained her a second Best Actress Oscar.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: New Orleans and Louisiana plantation country.
FILMED: On the back lot of Warner Brothers Studio in Los Angeles.
20. Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) The hagsplotiation/psycho biddy movie comes to the Gret Stet with this Southern Gothic melodrama. Director Robert Aldrich planned it as a follow-up to his monster hit, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane. It was to re-team Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, but the divas engaged in a series of battles, which Bette won, leading to Joan Crawford’s replacement by another grand dame, Olivia de Havilland. That aspect of the production is depicted in Ryan Murphy’s swell FX series, Feud, with Susan Sarandon as Bette, Jessica Lange as Joan, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia.
The movie itself is almost as much fun as the back story as it involves gaslighting, blackmail, and family betrayal. In addition to the stars, Golden Age actors Joseph Cotten and Mary Astor have juicy roles.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: Baton Rouge and Houmas House Plantation in Burnside, La.
FILMED: Production started at Baton Rouge and Houmas House Plantation but moved to Los Angeles after Joan Crawford was fired.
19. Johnny Angel (1945) is a nifty little film noir involving intrigue on and around the docks of New Orleans. George Raft and Claire Trevor lead a stellar cast though the dizzy twists and turns of this smart and energetic thriller.
18.Dark Waters (1944) I’d never seen this movie until recently. It’s best described as Southern Gothic film noir. The plot of this Andre de Toth helmed movie *may* have inspired Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte as its heroine (Merle Oberon) is being gaslit by some relatives in Bayou County. There’s a rare villainous performance by Thomas Mitchell and he tears into the role like a cat after a can of tuna. It’s a far cry from playing Scarlett’s dad, George Bailey’s uncle, or the cynical reporter in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
Dark Waters is surprisingly enlightened for a film of this era. One of the heroes is Rex Ingramwho plays a dignified black man wrongfully fired by Merle Oberon’s kin. Comic relief is provided by a large, dancing, and eating Cajun family, the Boudreauxs. I’m unsure if Thibodeaux lived nearby but it wouldn’t surprise me none, cher.
RATING: 3 stars.
SETTING: New Orleans and Belleville, Louisiana.
FILMED: On the studio back lot in Los Angeles.
17. Pretty Baby (1978) This was one of the most controversial movies of its era as it featured beaucoup nudity as well as a teenage prostitute played by Brooke Shields. The controversy overlooked the tasteful direction of art house favorite Louis Malle.
Pretty Baby was inspired by the photographs of EJ Bellocq who chronicled life in New Orleans’ red light district, Storyville. Bellocq was portrayed by movie dynast Keith Carradine and Susan Sarandon plays the mother of the youthful hooker.
This movie wasn’t politically correct in its day and isn’t now. What it is is excellent. See it for yourself before yelling at me.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.
SETTING: Storyville District, New Orleans.
FILMED: New Orleans. Bordello shots at the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue.
16.King Creole (1958) was Elvis Presley’s last movie before being inducted into the Army. It remains one of his finest films; much better than anything he did after his discharge. It was one of the few movies Elvis made with a first class director, Michael Curtiz, who won an Oscar for Casablanca. Here’s looking at you, King.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.
SETTING: French Quarter, New Orleans.
FILMED: Partially on location in New Orleans. Some interiors shot on studio back lot in Los Angeles.
15. Eve’s Bayou (1997) This movie was much ballyhooed when it was released. Why? Almost everyone associated with the movie were African-American, which is rare now but even more noteworthy 22 years ago. It was written and directed by Kasi Lemons who proved that Southern Gothic melodrama is not just for white folks.
There’s a shocking crime committed late in the movie but it’s predominantly the story of an offbeat Creole family as seen through the eyes of its youngest child, Eve (Jurnee Smollet.) The family dynamics are fascinating and it’s great to see Samuel L. Jackson as a well-educated rascal, Dr. Louis Batiste. When this doctor pays a house call, there are extras for the women of the town if you catch my drift.
Eve’s Bayou was set during the segregation era and are there are NO white people in the cast, which is refreshing as well as true-to-life.
Music fans should play attention to a scene at the local watering hole: the bartender is played by the late, great Allen Toussaint.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.
SETTING: Small town South Louisiana.
FILMED: Covington, Madisonville, and Napoleonville.
14.Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)I was prepared to hate this movie and declined to see it on the big screen. Repeat after me: magic realism is not my thing. Additionally, it clocks in at 166 minutes.
I was wrong about this aging in reverse fantasy flick. David Fincher is an edgy director and kept the proceedings from getting too corny.
The performances by Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett are excellent but Taraji P. Henson commits highway robbery and steals every scene she’s in. She was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar but along with Pitt, Fincher, and the movie itself did not win. Bummer in reverse, man.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.
SETTING: New Orleans.
FILMED: Donaldsonville, LaPlace, Mandeville, Morgan City, and New Orleans.
13.A Soldier’s Story (1984) During the war against Nazi racism, the United States Army was still racially segregated. This movie tells the story of the murder of an African-American sergeant (Adolph Caesar) in mysterious circumstances. Was it the Ku Klux Klan or someone else? I’m not talking, see the movie to find out. It’s an excellent use of 101 minutes of your life.
12.The Cincinnati Kid (1965) Steve McQueen plays the poker hustler title character in this drama set in the 1930’s. He’s come to New Orleans to make a killing and ends up in a game with Edward G. Robinson. Two of my favorite movie stars in the same cast, what’s not to love?
Norman Jewison, who also directed A Soldier’s Story, keeps the action moving and makes excellent use of the film’s setting. It opens with a jazz funeral at St. Louis Cemetery No.1. It’s New Orleans, doesn’t everyone have a jazz funeral? In the movies and on teevee they do.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars.
SETTING: Smoke filled rooms in New Orleans with an opening scene shot at St. Louis Cemetery No.1.
11. Passion Fish (1992) Welcome to 4 star movie country. Passion Fish tells the story of a paralyzed soap opera star (Mary McDonnell) who returns to an empty family home in Louisiana to hide out and drink herself into a pain-relieving stupor. She mistreats a series of caregivers until a nurse named Chantelle finally gets through to her. This was the role that put Alfre Woodard on the map. There are also terrific performances by David Strathairn and Angela Basset.
Passion Fish was written and directed by the great John Sayles of Lone Star and Eight Men Outfame. He was nominated for an Oscar for best original screen play as was McDonnell for best actress but neither won. They wuz robbed as was Woodard who wasn’t even nominated.
FILMED: Elton, Gueydan, Jennings, Lake Arthur, and Lake Charles.
10.Dead Man Walking (1995) The previous movie was Passion Fish; this was a passion project. This “ripped from the headlines” movie was based on a book by anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean. The term “dead man walking” refers to what’s said when a death row inmate is on their way to execution.
Dead Man Walking was adapted for the big screen by writer-director Tim RobbinsIt’s not exactly light entertainment but it makes a cogent argument against capital punishment and in favor of mercy even when the convicted man is a low life scumbag such as Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn.) Susan Sarandon won the best actress Oscar for her performance as Sister Helen.
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, Baton Rouge, Angola State Penitentiary,
FILMED: Angola, Covington, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
9.The Man In The Moon (1991) This glorious coming-of-age movie was full of firsts and last. It was the film debut of Reese Witherspoon and the final outing for Robert Mulligan. Mulligan was what is known in Hollywood as a hyphenate: a producer, writer and director. As a director, he was best known for To Kill A Mockingbird, Inside Daisy Clover, and Summer of ’42. This is one of his lesser known gems.
The acting is uniformly superb with Sam Waterson and Tess Harper as young Reese’s parents. I recall leaving the movie theatre and saying to my wife, “That girl has something special. We need to remember her name.”
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: Rural Louisiana.
FILMED: Natchitoches, Pratt’s Bridge over Cain River, and Kisatchie National Forest.
ANDIE MACDOWELL
Film ‘SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE ; SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE’ (1989)
Directed By STEVEN SODERBERGH
04 August 1989
TW270 August
Allstar Collection/MIRAMAX
**WARNING** This photograph can only be reproduced by publications in conjunction with the promotion of the above film. For Printed Editorial Use Only, NO online or internet use.
8.Sex Lies and Videotape (1989) is the debut feature film of Steven Soderbergh who has gone on to fame, fortune, and artistic renown including an Oscar as best director for Traffic. In that year, 2001, he was only the second director to be nominated for two pictures, Erin Brockovich, was the other. That puts him in elite company along with King Creole director Michael Curtiz.
Soderbergh set Sex Lies and Videotape in Baton Rouge because it’s where he grew up as an LSU faculty brat. It tells the bizarre and creepy story of a weirdo (James Spader) who films a man (Peter Gallagher) who is having an affair with his wife’s sister. The weirdo eventually befriends the wife who is played by Andie McDowell.
Like Pretty Baby, this movie is not politically correct in our era. Hell, it wasn’t in 1989 either. BUT it’s brilliant and remains my favorite Soderbergh movie. Repeat after me: don’t yell at me until you’ve seen it.
A quick story: My friends Scott and Ian lived on the block where much of the movie was shot. They got to know the cast and crew. They even went drinking with Soderbergh and Spader. Their verdict was that Spader was nothing like the creepy characters he’s played over the years. I’m relieved that he’s not like Allan Shore of The Practice and Boston Legal. That lawyer character was even creepier than the Sex, Lies, and Videotape peeper.
7.Sounder (1972) Director Martin Ritt was known for the liberal, humanitarian stance he took in movies such as The Front and Norma Rae. He was also a New Yorker who made many films set in the South such as The Long, Hot Summer, and Hud. Those two tendencies collided in Sounder.
I may not care for magic realism, but I have a weakness for coming of age movies. Sounder tells the story of young black man who was the son of sharecroppers during the Great Depression. He’s forced to grow up in a hurry after his father is jailed for stealing food to feed the family.
Ritt’s movies were always characterized by excellent acting and Sounder is no exception. It provided great roles for Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield and brought these two players to the attention of mainstream movie goers. Both were nominated for acting Oscars.
Another quick personal story: Al Bankston was an old friend of the family. He was the most liberal Baptist pastor I’ve ever heard of. He was theatrically inclined and played a racist cop in Sounder. And they say irony is dead: don’t believe it.
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: Rural Louisiana.
FILMED: Mostly in East Feliciana and St. Helena Parishes.
6. Suddenly Last Summer (1959) is one of those movies people either love or hate. I’m firmly in the first camp. It’s another weird family drama with tales of forbidden sexuality, violence, and even cannibalism.
Suddenly Last Summer was based on a play by Tennessee Williams and he received screenwriting credit along with Gore Vidal. Vidal maintained in his memoir, Palimpsest, that Williams didn’t help write the script, but producer Sam Spiegel used the playwright’s name as Oscar bait. It did not work.
The cast of the movie is as good as it gets: Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Montgomery Clift starred; both women were nominated for best actress Oscars.
Warning: if you don’t care for movies that put the talk into talkies this may not be for you.
Another quick note. First Draft readers know that Gore Vidal is the writer who has influenced me the most. I’m thrilled to have a pretext to write about him at the Bayou Brief.
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: Garden District, New Orleans. Tennessee Williams set the play at the Bultman Mansion/Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue.
5.All The King’s Men (1949) won the Oscar as best picture of 1949. It’s based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, so the producers knew they had something special on their hands. They delivered a stone-cold film classic.
All The King’s Men tells the story of a Huey Long style populist, Willie Stark, who rises to power and sells out his ideals along the way. It’s based on the Kingfish but Willie Stark is a much less sympathetic character than the real Huey. For example, Huey may have neglected his family, but he certainly didn’t scapegoat his son. Russell Long would, of course, serve as the senator from Louisiana for six terms.
The acting is stellar. Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge won Oscars but future film noir star John Ireland’s performance as Jack Burden is the heart and soul of the picture. He was nominated and lost as was director Robert Rossen. The Oscars getting things wrong is nothing new, y’all.
There was a remake of All The King’s Men released in 2006. Despite a cast including Sean Penn, Jude Law, and Kate Winslett, it’s a 2 star stinker. It’s strictly for people who refuse to watch black and white movies.
4. Panic In The Streets (1950) Speaking of glorious black and white, director Elia Kazan shot this movie on location in New Orleans. Kazan was one of the first Hollywood directors to insist on verisimilitude. And he nailed with this film noir gem.
Panic In The Streets tells the story of a public health crisis in New Orleans. A contagious disease is spreading down on the docks and a Navy doctor (Richard Widmark) is determined to stop it by tracking down the source of this malicious malady. The source is movie bad guy Jack Palance in his big screen debut. After seeing this, you’ll know why he was typecast as a villain.
3.Down By Law (1986) is a quirky independent film set in New Orleans. It was one of the movies that established quirky independent director Jim Jarmusch as an artist to be reckoned with.
Down By Law features the misadventures of three misfits who have stumbled into a life of comic crime and meet in the Orleans Parish Prison. It was shot in black and white so it looks gritty but it’s one of the funniest movies on this list. I chuckle just thinking of the antics of Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni as the madcap misfits. It’s interesting casting all-around: two avant garde musicians, and an Italian comedian.
This movie inspired a catch phrase in my house. The American characters try to teach the Italian guy the expression, “good egg.” In Benigni’s hands it became, WE ARE A GOOD EGG. We say it to this day.
2.12 Years A Slave (2013) It was a tough choosing which movie would top the list. 12 Years A Slave *is* a great movie that won a raft of Oscars including best picture BUT like Schindler’s List, it’s a great movie that I don’t want to see a second time. And I’ve seen many of the top 40 more than once.
The fact that 12 Years A Slave is too painful to see more than once is a mark of its quality. (Hell, I just compared Steve McQueen’s film to Spielberg’s masterpiece.) It tells the true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) a freedman who was sold down the river into slavery. He spends 12 years in hell, which in this case was in Louisiana.
You may be aware that there’s connection between the Bayou Brief and this great film. Our publisher Lamar White, Jr’s aunt was instrumental in publishing Northrup’s memoirs. I’ll let Lamar tell the story in his own words:
‘When I was in the fourth grade, along with my autographed textbook, Aunt Sue also gave me the first of many copies of the book 12 Years a Slave, and perhaps knowing that it was heavy reading for an elementary school student, she spoiled it and told me the story in her own words. Sue, a history professor, spent most of her career researching and editing 12 Years a Slave. Her name appears in bold block letters at the top of the book’s cover; the author’s name, Solomon Northup, appears in bolder letters below.
Sue loved telling Solomon Northup’s story. She knew it was riveting and important, and after first encountering the book when she was only twelve years old, she spent the next seventy-eight years of her life chasing it down. Sue’s children affectionately refer to Solomon as their “brother,” which seems appropriate. After all, they grew up with him’
That beats the hell out my stories about Scott, Ian, and Al. That’s all right, Lamar is one of those people who pops up at important moments and becomes part of the story.
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: Slave country, South Louisiana.
FILMED: New Orleans, Magnolia Plantation, Felicity Plantation, and Destrehan.
1.A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) The play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1948. Because of its New Orleans setting, Tennessee Williams has become an adopted native son in a city that doesn’t easily open its arms to transplants. In his case, he gave the city a literary, theatrical, and cinematic masterpiece to call its own. No wonder everyone is so eager to claim him.
The original film version of A Streetcar Named Desire was a heavily edited and toned-downversion of the groundbreaking play. It didn’t matter. It was still strong stuff for its day. Elia Kazan directed both the play and film, which is one reason it’s so powerful. Kazan knew how to convey the essence of Williams’ vision with a mixture of nuance and bluster.
Marlon Brando’s performance as poetic lout Stanley Kowalski influenced, for both good and ill, a generation of actors. He didn’t win the Oscar but castmates Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter did.
RATING: 4 stars.
SETTING: French Quarter and Marigny, New Orleans.
FILMED: A mixture of Hollywood studio interiors and location shots in New Orleans.
We’ve come to the end of this top 40 list. I hope you enjoyed taking this long journey throughLouisiana’s cinematic history as much as I enjoyed writing it. In either case, we should close with a quote from Streetcar’s Blanche DuBois, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Replace strangers with readers and you have my credo as a writer. Thanks, y’all.
It’s a little over a week until the NFL Draft, although probably a day longer for the Saints, who don’t have a first-round pick after last year’s big trade. While they could always make another big move, it’s more likely, I think, that they try to find a few pieces to plug some roster depth with the handful of picks they do have. (Lacking a third- or fourth-round pick, it would be hard to make a big impact unless they traded away even more future picks.)
The roster is pretty stacked, though, so there isn’t a need for one big move here. Just plugging and improving some depth at a few positions would be a solid outcome given the picks they have. So let’s look at some offensive positions, and some guys that, just as a Saints fan, I’ve been keeping my eye on:
Running Back
Latavius Murray is the new backup to Alvin Kamara, but there’s opportunity behind him. The team drafted Boston Scott last year in hopes he would fill that role, but they weren’t able to keep him on the 53-man roster and the Eagles snatched him from the practice squad.
Given the presence of Kamara, it’s hard to imagine they’ll use their second-round pick on a running back. (If they do, Darrell Henderson of Memphis is an intriguing option, with his ability to break big games and his usefulness as a receiver.) More likely is that they’ll use a later-round selection on a running back– with five picks starting in the late fifth, they have opportunity to roll the dice on a few players. One name I’ve been hearing a lot is Alexander Mattison of Boise State. Mattison isn’t a major athlete with breakaway speed, but he’s got the kind of vision and patience that make for a quality running back, and good balance and ability to break tackles. He might be available in that range, and could be a good option for a long-term between-the-tackles guy to back up Kamara.
I posted an obviously exceptional run by Alexander Mattison last night. In addition to the flash, there’s real substance to his game. Here’s one example of his excellent vision and patience. pic.twitter.com/20J2mwpSxW
Honestly, if Cameron Meredith is healthy and the young receivers (Keith Kirkwood, Austin Carr, and especially Tre’Quan Smith) take a step forward, this unit could go from what was a liability outside of Michael Thomas (with Ted Ginn missing ten games last year) to a real strength. It’s not necessarily a priority position.
That said, a couple of names are intriguing with the Saints pick at 62. Probably most intriguing of all is Hakeem Butler, whom the Saints hosted on a pre-draft visit, although he’s unlikely to last that long. Butler has enormous size and very good speed, and is considered by some observers to be a Calvin Johnson-lite player. He had his issues with the finer points of route running and breaking certain coverages, but the idea is that his physical talent at the catch point and his ability to get downfield at his size and speed will overwhelm those concerns in the areas where he wins.
Another intriguing name is Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (pictured in the header). He’s probably more like a third-round pick and might be a little bit of a reach at 62, but he’s got a prospect profile that reminds me a bit of last year’s selection Tre’Quan Smith, someone who uses size and hands and ball awareness to win on deep catches. Other options include Notre Dame’s Miles Boykin, Ohio State’s Parris Campbell, or possibly Missouri’s Emanuel Hall, a major athlete who was a huge big-play threat there. (Hall and Campbell were official pre-draft visits.)
Tight End
The best tight ends in the class are Iowa’s duo of Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson, and it’s unlikely either one makes it to New Orleans’ pick. Next up are two intriguing options, Irv Smith Jr. of Alabama and Jace Sternberger of Texas A&M. (Yes, Irv Smith Jr. is the son of that Irv Smith, the Saints’ first-round pick and tight end from 1993-97.) Sternberger is more of a seam receiver (like Jimmy Graham was), whereas Smith is a more complete all-around tight end while still being a good receiver. Either one would be very helpful to the team’s rotation.
As far as later options go, San Diego State’s Kahale Warring, Ole Miss’ Dawson Knox, and LSU’s Foster Moreau are all potential options if they remain on the board that long, and all were underutilized in college and could have better pro careers. (Warring and Knox were pre-draft visits, and the Saints attended LSU’s pro day seeming to have an eye on Moreau.)
With the signing of Jared Cook, this position is less of an immediate need, but the Saints probably want to develop a quality long-term starter at the position anyway. Don’t be surprised if the team’s second-round pick goes here.
Offensive Line
The Saints compensated for Max Unger’s retirement by signing Nick Easton as the new starter, but the team could still use some young depth to develop for the future. With rumors the team might be open to trading Andrus Peat (whose contract expires after this season), the interior line in particular is a worry. While several interior players will likely be first round picks– including Dalton Risner, whose position is uncertain but who was another pre-draft visitor of the Saints– the best interior lineman likely to be available when New Orleans picks is probably Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy (a center) or perhaps Boston College’s Chris Lindstrom (primarily a guard). If the Saints want to draft a tackle for the long term at 62– which seems unlikely given how few picks they have and that they have two younger starters entrenched– Ole Miss’ Greg Little and West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste are potential options.
Later in the draft, Wisconsin has three linemen regarded as draft-worthy– David Edwards, Michael Dieter, and Beau Benzschawel. The Saints have done well picking from Ohio State recently, and Michael Jordan and Isaiah Prince are also options.
Quarterback
I saved this for last because I don’t think they’ll do anything here; it sure seems like there’s an unspoken plan to keep Teddy Bridgewater around as Drew Brees’ heir apparent, and without a first-round pick it’s hard to find a franchise quarterback anyway. That said, I think Will Grier of West Virginia has been underrated in the process, and should be available at 62 even though I’d bet he’ll have a better career than at least one guy taken before him. Boise State’s Brett Rypien is a day-three guy who has the skills that could allow him to outperform his draft position long term.
NEXT TIME: Same article, but on the defensive side of the ball.
What does it say when a retired sheriff, now legislator, brings a bill to get official state highway signs branding a village in his district as a “Speed Trap”?
That’s
what HB 457, authored by Rep. Frank Howard (R-Many) would do for the
Natchitoches Parish community of Robeline.
“Robeline
is
a speed trap,” Rep. Howard told the House Transportation Committee
Monday. “Now, I don’t judge whether the tickets they give out are
valid or not. I just know they’re really aggressive at giving them
out. I constantly get complaints about it from the tourism people in
Natchitoches, Sabine, and Vernon parishes.”
“I
hear about it, too,” said Rep.Terry Brown (I-Colfax). “We invite
people to come and spend money in our state, and this is an
embarassment! I was in the airport in Chicago, and a couple, hearing
I was from Louisiana, asked me if it was ‘safe’ to travel through
Robeline, because they had read about it on the internet.”
Nodding
in agreement, Howard responded, “They’ve got a population of
170-some people, yet
they
collected more than half-a-million dollars last
year
from traffic fines!”
Located where LA-120 crosses LA-6 — the main highway leading from I-49 to Toledo Bend lake — Robeline gets a substantial amount of logging and gas-drilling commercial traffic, along with a steady stream of RVs and SUVs pulling trailers and boats.
“You’ve
tried to work with town officials on this?” asked Rep. Ed Larvadain
(D-Alexandria).
“Of
course,” Howard replied. “They’ll come and say ‘Oh, we’re
going to try and clean this up.’ They’ve promised that for six
years now, that I
know of. With this bill, then, we’re going to try and help them
clean it up!.”
“I
get where you’re coming from,” Lavardain said, with a chuckle
in response “Over in Rapides Parish, I have to deal with the
‘kingdom of Woodworth’.”
Billboard put up in 2016, along US-165 south of Alexandria.
Although
the towns of Woodworth, Washington, Fenton, Golden Meadow, and Krotz
Springs are frequently mentioned as being some of the state’s most
notorious speed traps, this
bill is for signage for Robeline
alone.
The village’s distinction
as a leader for the title of “State Speed Trap Champion” has been
documented for more than a dozen years.
In
2006, the Legislature requested a performance audit of Louisiana’s
municipalities, to “study excessive speed limit enforcement.”
That
report,
dated June 6, 2007, showed the Franklin Parish village of Baskin as
generating the largest percentage of its
total revenue from traffic fines – 87.41%. Robeline was number two
then,
at 85.73%. They’ve retained those rankings, until the most recently
ended fiscal year. For FY 2018, which ended last June 30th,
Robeline surged ahead of Baskin, collecting a
total of $569,319
in fines. As the annual financial statement shows, that’s an
increase of $267,000 in traffic fines over the previous year.
Indeed,
that’s confirmed by the village’s annual financial reports, on
file with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. In fiscal year 2018,
Robeline received $569,319 in “fines”, an increase of $267,000
over the previous year, and constituted 84.46% of Robeline’s FY
2018 total revenue. It’s the equivalent of $3271.94 for each man,
woman and child residing in Robeline.
Baskin
still collected a higher percentage of revenue from fines in FY 2018
– 86.65% – but the total amount was only $360,235, or the per
capita (population 254, versus Robeline’s 174) equivalent of just
$1418.24.
Maybe
Robeline’s
surge in the total dollar amount of fines collected last year can be
attributed to the village’s two newest police cars – a pair of
2017 Dodge Chargers they
are leasing. That’s
noted in the latest financial statement as the village’s only major
expense, other than the salary of the mayor, and the salary of the
police chief.
Screenshot of Village of Robeline official Facebook page. Photo is what is left of the town’s abandoned school.
Both
of those officials came to the
capitol to testify
on HB
457,
and neither seemed to consider the ticketing or fines to be in any
way problematic. However, neither could – or would – give
accurate, current numbers for tickets written, or the revenue those
tickets generate.
“In
2016, DOTD says our average traffic count was 7411 vehicles per day,
but we wrote just 1127 citations total, for the entire year,”
Robeline Police Chief Gordon O’Con testified. “Those weren’t
all speeding violations, in fact, very few were. We don’t issue
tickets for less than 12 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
We give more tickets for expired stickers, expired license plates,
not wearing a seatbelt.”
In
2009, in an effort to limit or reduce “speed traps”, state
lawmakers passed a law requiring local law enforcement hand over to
the state Highway Safety Commission, any and all fines extracted
from speeding tickets issued
for driving less than ten miles an hour over the posted speed limit.
It appears Robeline’s officers, endeavoring to avoid that problem,
offer speeding motorists “a break”, writing the ticket for a
seatbelt violation, instead.
Rep.
Harvey LeBas (D-Ville Platte) had some questions for Robeline’s
officials.
“You
said how many tickets were written in 2016 – 1127? And that
generated over a half-million dollars for the village?”
“Not
in 2016. That may have been the total revenue last year, including
taxes, sewers, business licenses. I’m not sure of the actual
number,” Mayor Bobby Behan said.
“Rep.
Howard also said the revenue you get from traffic citations is close
to 90-percent of Robeline’s total income?” LeBas asked, to
verify.
“That’s
skewed. No more than 75-percent of village income is from traffic
citations,” the
mayor insisted, folding his arms and leaning back from the witness
table.
“Not
in 2016,” Chief O’Con agreed. “That year, the fine for one of
our tickets averaged $264. Now it’s $327.”
Stock photo (courtesy: Flickr) of well-identified speeding checkpoint. This is NOT a photo of or from Robeline.
“Your
village is incorporated, so what’s your sales tax rate, and your
property tax rate?” Rep. Johnny Guinn (R-Jennings) asked the mayor.
“I’m
unsure,” Mayor Behan said. “Our only businesses are a dollar
store and a gas station. We have no industry in Robeline.”
“Sounds
to me like you have a pretty good industry with these tickets,”
Rep. Guinn retorted.
“How
many officers do you have, with your population of 174 people?”
Rep. Terry Brown inquired.
“One
full-time and five part-time,” Chief O’Con answered.
“Is
there a lot of crime in Robeline?” Brown asked.
“No,
sir.”
“Why
do you need six officers?” Brown wondered.
“They
have other jobs,” Chief O’Con said.
“Let’s
stay on the topic of the bill – the proposed signage,” acting
committee chairman Terry Landry (D-New Iberia) interrupted.
John
Gallagher with the Louisiana Municipal Association spoke in
opposition to the bill, saying, “We
think signage branding
any location a ‘speed trap’ is problematic.
It is
unfair, and
reflects
negatively on the work
police do.”
Landry,
a former Louisiana State Police Commander, agreed with the LMA
spokesman.
“I
would offer an amendment, to change the sign wording from ‘Speed
TRAP’
to ‘Zone’,”
Landry suggested.
“I
guess I can accept that,” Howard, the bill’s author replied. “I’m
not asking them to reduce or stop their ticketing practices. I don’t
care how many tickets they write, although $569-thousand dollars
worth last year is a substantial chunk of change. I just want
drivers warned that they’re
entering an area that aggressively enforces speed limits.”
With
that amendment, the bill advances to the House floor for debate,
though its fate there is quite uncertain.
In
2014, HB 961 by Rep. Steve Pylant (R-Winnsboro) – the retired
sheriff of Franklin Parish, whose district includes the notorious
speed-enforcing Village of Baskin – also made it to the House
floor. It would have required “speed trap” signage be posted at
the borders leading into communities that “derive more than
fifty-percent of income from traffic citations”. It
failed to pass, 47-52 with Rep. Terry Landry leading the opposing
arguments. He said then that such
labeling cast aspersions on all
police work.
Update 04/15/2019 11:30AM CT: Holden Matthews was charged with three counts of committing a hate crime.
A 39-year-old North Dakota woman who claims to know Holden Matthews, the suspect accused of burning down three historic African American churches in Louisiana’s St. Landry Parish, says he was known among contributors to the since-deleted Facebook group “President Trump’s Dank Meme Stash” as a “hate-filled” and outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and white supremacist Richard Spencer who posted about wanting to “kill libtards” and “having a race war.”
The woman, whose identity the Bayou Brief has confirmed, is friends on Facebook with Matthews, and like him, she is a practicing pagan and a self-professed fan of “black metal” music. She made a series of comments on her personal Facebook page only a day after the Louisiana state fire marshal suggested Matthews may have been influenced to carry out the three arsons by “black metal.” We have reached out to the woman for comment and, at the time of publication, she has yet to respond to the request. As a result and in consideration of the ongoing investigation, we have decided to withhold disclosing her name.
In addition to her claims, the Bayou Brief can independently confirm that, on at least one occasion, Matthews’ Facebook is listed as liking a June 2018 post asking people to “Hit the like button if you love separating children from their families.” The post appeared on the satirical “Donald J Trump” page, which is followed by nearly 620,000 people.
Holden Matthews is listed as one of 1.1K people who agreed.
Authorities have still yet to charge Matthews, the son of a sheriff’s deputy, with a hate crime.
In the aftermath of his arrest, CNN uncovered a Facebook account Matthews operated under the pseudonym “Noctis Matthews.” Their reporting was independently verified by reporters at The Advocate, who located a series of posts Matthews wrote about paganism and mythology, including one in which he criticized “brainwashed” Baptists and wished African Americans “would look into ancient beliefs of pre-Christian Africa.”
The Bayou Brief is the first to publicly report allegations leveled by a person acquainted by Matthews that he expressed explicitly racist and violent opinions. Until now, media coverage has largely focused on his writings about religion and music, though many have also been highly critical of the reluctance by investigators to assert Matthews had been motivated by racial antipathy.
The characterization was backed up by another woman who claims to remember Matthews from his posts on the “first PTDMS,” a reference to the defunct Facebook group “President Trump’s Dank Meme Stash.” There were several iterations of the group, the most recent of which was shuttered in November of 2018. The content posted on the “first PTDMS” appears to have been permanently removed or deleted (we can confirm it did exist), and the latest page, which had nearly 5,000 likes before shutting down, is closed only to members.
According to the North Dakota woman, Matthews, who is listed as a registered Democrat, was known as an outspoken advocate of the alt-right. There is no evidence Matthews ever voted or shared his political opinions outside of Facebook. On his Noctis Matthews page, he uploaded a photograph of himself dressed in a juggalo costume in with the caption “Better Red Than Dead,” a Cold War-era slogan that refers to a preference for nuclear destruction over communism.
Holden Matthews dressed as a Juggalo.
Juggalos are fans of the Insane Clown Posse, a “horrorcore” hip hop duo. The subculture of fans is split between nonviolent juggalos, who have earned headlines through their charitable work, and violent juggalos, who have been associated with several murders, shootings, and assaults. Anti-communist propaganda is not a notable part of the juggalo subculture, however.
Taken together, this severely undermines the theory that Matthews was motivated by any specific musical genre or religious intolerance- but not racial antipathy. They also call into further question the reluctance to apply Louisiana’s hate crimes statute, which allows for enhanced sentences against individuals who target victims based on their race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
Two years ago, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the state passed a controversial “Blue Lives Matter” law, which allows prosecutors to apply the hate crimes statute when a victim is someone “known to be or perceived to be” a police officer. Critics believed the addition trivialized the definition of a hate crime, which has been interpreted by courts to be available only to those targeted because of an immutable characteristic, not because of their job. Moreover, there were (and still are) tools prosecutors could use to enhance potential sentences against those who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.
Some have suggested the delay in Matthews’ case is common in potential hate crimes, pointing to Dylann Roof, the mass murderer and white supremacist who assassinated nine African Americans at a Charleston church in 2015. However, in Roof’s case, there was no state hate crimes statute in South Carolina; as a result, he became the first-ever person to be sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. At the time, no one argued Roof had committed a hate crime. In fact, many believed he should have been charged with domestic terrorism as well.
In Matthew’s case, however, the criticism is not merely about the delay. There are legitimate concerns about investigators publicly lending credibility to a bizarre “black metal” motive.
If Holden Matthews had targeted his own father, that would have met the new definition of a hate crime, yet for some reason, investigators said they needed to determine whether a radicalized young man who burned down three black churches could have been influenced by music instead.
Almost immediately after authorities had apprehended 21-year-old Holden Matthews of Leonville, Louisiana for allegedly burning down three historic, African American churches in rural St. Landry Parish, they suggested to the public the young man may have been brainwashed by Norwegian “black metal” music, an esoteric sub-genre of heavy metal that had been popular in pockets of Europe among neo-nazis and self-proclaimed satanists nearly 26 years ago.
In a nationally televised press conference held the morning after Matthews’ arrest, Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning told the media the suspect appeared to have been influenced by the music, suggesting that this could be an explanation about his motive. By then, however, the media had been aware of Matthews’ activity on social media, including a Facebook profile in which he claimed to be the lead singer of a band that, at the time of his arrest, had a total of six likes online. More importantly, though, Browning seemed to believe that racist music causes racism instead of the obvious explanation: Racists listen to racist music.
Louisiana’s hate crimes statute not only provides enhanced sentences for simple and aggravated arson committed by an individual who selects their victim “because of (their) actual or perceived race, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry,” it also allows for prosecutors to tack on a charge when a person communicates false information about a planned arson.
Holden Matthews struggled as a musician.
If there is a legitimate reason to believe Matthews did not intentionally burn down those three churches because of their place in the African American community, it has not yet been disclosed to the public.
What has been revealed, however, is that Holden Matthews wrote on Facebook specifically about his disgust with black Baptist churches. In a thread about “afrikan spirituality,” Matthews, writing under a pseudonym, said he could not “stand all these baptists around here, bunch of brainwashed people trying to find happiness in a religion that was forced on their ancestors just as it was on mine.” He subsequently elaborated on his belief that “blacks people” should instead adopt the beliefs held by those in pre-colonial Africa.
On social media, Matthews expressed a generalized preoccupation with Norse mythology, and some have suggested that his “faith” in an esoteric paganism was more of a factor than any racial antipathy he may have harbored. But this obscures the fact that groups like the Ku Klux Klan have been appropriating and distorting pagan rituals, symbols, and mythology since the early 19th century.
Even if one were to suspend all disbelief and assert Matthews was motivated by religious hatred and not racial antipathy, that’s still a hate crime.
Thus far, Matthews has been charged with three counts of simple arson of a religious building, which carry a maximum sentence of fifteen years behind bars. If prosecutors ultimately decide to add three counts of hate crimes, his sentence could be doubled to thirty years.
Holden Matthews, 21, was taken into custody by the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Department on April 10, 2019.
Just as we should be outraged and repulsed by those who seek to terrorize the institution of the black church, we must also guard against anyone who would attempt to obfuscate or excuse racial hatred.
In the past three days, the arrest of Holden Matthews has received coverage in every major national news publication and network and cable news channel, and much of the coverage has exposed the resurgent acceptability of white supremacy and the ways in which the Trump presidency has provided validation to people like David Duke.
Make no mistake: Matthews exclusively destroyed historic, African American churches. This was not intended to merely send a message against Christianity, and it’s unlikely that Matthews’ distorted understanding of pagan mythology was ever anything other than a manifestation of social alienation. No, this was about sending a message to black people.
Yesterday, a white conservative blogger in Baton Rouge, after expressing his frustration with “the usual racially-charged controversy we’re all so tired of enduring,” sought to reframe these burnings as an attack against Christianity by “hostile cultural forces,” even suggesting that white supremacist Dylann Roof’s mass murder of nine African Americans at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. in Charleston, South Carolina was really just an example of anti-Christian brutality.
A day before, a Republican Louisiana state senator criticized the governor for not also condemning murderers when he denounced the destruction of the three churches.
The impulse to deflect from confronting the realities of racial violence and hatred is not because any of these critics feel vulnerable as a result of attacks on their Christian faith; it’s because their support of Donald Trump requires “alternative facts” in order to explain away people like Holden Matthews.
It’s far easier to blame the music than it is to face the music.
This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
BATON ROUGE, La. — A few weeks after Stewart Lockett made local headlines for becoming the first black student body president at Louisiana State University in nearly 30 years, the 21-year-old settled into his new office and began looking through the files that previous presidents had left behind.
He found old notes of inspiration and campaign buttons that promised to “Unite LSU” and “Put Students First.” He dug through the bottom drawer and pulled out a student government flyer from five years earlier. The brochure showed the 100 or so young people who’d served that semester. Lockett reached for a different flyer, then another. Every year, in every photo, nearly every student was white.
For years, LSU was the state’s whitest public university, but Lockett could feel things changing. Even as flagships elsewhere have grown less diverse, LSU has made slight, but important gains. Last fall, after the university’s admissions team worked to craft a more intentional recruiting plan, officials say they enrolled the most diverse freshman class in LSU’s nearly 160-year history. Though minority students here report high rates of discrimination, a growing number of African-Americans and Latinos are staying at the flagship for all four years.
In mid-January, as Lockett returned to the office for his final college semester, he fished out the old campaign flyers, and compared them to the photo he now uses as his computer background. His student government is about half-white, with a mix of black, Latino and Asian students rounding out the team.
Stewart Lockett (right, grey shirt) leads a meeting of the student government executive team in late January. His team is the most diverse student government the university has ever had. Casey Parks/The Hechinger Report
“I’m not going to lie,” Lockett said, his eyes squinting as he grinned. “It’s pretty cool. It’s been a huge shift, and we’re really proud of it.”
Still, the university is far whiter than the state it serves, according to a Hechinger Report analysis of the most recent national data. In 2016, 44 percent of Louisiana’s high school graduates were black. But that fall, black students made up just 13 percent of LSU’s freshman class. At 31-points, the gap is one of the three widest in the nation, tied with the University of South Carolina for second place, behind Ole Miss, with a 39-point gap.Updated data for all 50 states, showing the disparities between African-American and Latino high school graduates and African-American and Latino freshman enrollment at flagship universities, can be seen here.
Although the numbers look bad, Louisiana is actually improving while neighboring states regress. Flagship universities in Alabamaand Missouri, for example, are enrolling fewer African-American students and face a widening gap between the percentage of black students graduating high school and the percentage entering state colleges.
LSU President F. King Alexander believes these universities are charting their own demise. Children of color make up the majority of public school students under age 18, and their share of the population will only grow, even as the total number of college students is projected to drop by 15 percent over the next decade. At the same time, state budget cuts mean public institutions must rely more heavily on revenue from tuition and fees than on taxpayer dollars. State data shows LSU’s undergraduate enrollment has declined each of the last three years to 25,235 last fall.
“If we don’t pay attention to demographic trends, many of our institutions are going to be left out in the cold for decades,” Alexander said. To remain financially viable in the long term, he knows his school has to enroll a greater number of students who look like Lockett.
Long before Lockett knew where he’d go to college, he knew what he wanted to study.
“I was really good in physics,” he said. “My friends would get annoyed because I would do really well in the class. My teacher specifically made the class hard, and she told my mom, ‘He should definitely look into something in the STEM majors.’”
Lockett researched science and technology fields his sophomore year and decided on bioengineering, a discipline that combines science and math to study living things. LSU was one of only three schools in Louisiana that offered the major.
Like other flagships across the country, LSU is, by many standards, the best public school in the state. It has the state’s largest university endowment and the highest graduation rate for both black and white students. Its football, baseball and basketball teams are perennial contenders, and its faculty includes internationally renowned researchers.
The university was just an hour and a half away from Lockett’s home in New Iberia, a midsized Cajun town that is roughly half black and half white. But Lockett said his guidance counselors never encouraged him to apply to LSU. Instead, he said, they gave him brochures for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a nearby institution whose population is a fifth African-American, and they told him about Xavier University, a historically black school in New Orleans, “because I was premed, and I was black.”
Lockett knew Xavier was ranked first in the nation for the number of African-Americans it sent to medical school, but he didn’t want to be “the typical student.” He wanted to meet people from different backgrounds, pursuing other majors, so he ignored his counselors’ advice and decided to visit LSU and Tulane University.
He admired Tulane’s reputation — the New Orleans private school is the highest-ranked Louisiana university on U.S. News and World Report’s list — but he didn’t feel at home when he toured in 2014. Tulane didn’t seem as connected to the Louisiana community, he said, and the student body appeared overwhelmingly white. Only 9 percent of the university’s 8,290 undergraduates that year were black — roughly 750 students. The freshman class was only 3 percent black.
Lockett had grown up hearing about LSU. His mother attended for a year in the late 1970s before deciding the university wasn’t right for her. She transferred to Southern University, a historically black university on the other side of Baton Rouge, where she met Lockett’s father and earned a degree in marketing. But Lockett’s older brother had enrolled at LSU in 2010, liked the school, and was close to finishing his bachelor’s in electrical engineering when Lockett visited in the spring of 2014.
A tour guide walked Lockett past the university’s 175-foot clock tower, and took him to visit Mike, the live tiger that serves as LSU’s mascot. Lockett had never seen anything quite like the school’s 2,000-acre campus, but what impressed him most were the students. Everyone seemed to be smiling. LSU was far whiter than Lockett’s hometown, but the flagship felt blacker than Tulane, he thought. At LSU, he’d be one of 3,000 black undergraduate students — part of “a community within a community.”
Black students have been applying for enrollment here since at least 1938, when the Supreme Court ruled in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada that states that did not provide graduate programs for African-Americans must admit black students into white schools. Dozens of young black people tried to enroll in LSU’s law, medical and undergraduate programs, but administrators successfully blocked their entry, relying on the “separate but equal” doctrine, a precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson, a Louisiana case. Over time, after African-Americans successfully gained entry to flagships elsewhere, LSU administrators relented and, under court order, allowed a handful of black students to enroll.
Before Lockett, only two African-Americans had ever led the student body. The first, Kerry Pourciau, attended LSU with white supremacist David Duke. Pourciau took office in 1972, two years before the U.S. Department of Justice sued Louisiana, accusing the state of operating separate higher education systems for black and white students, a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
State education officials eventually agreed to diversify the flagship and send more money to Louisiana’s historically black colleges, but U.S. District Judge Charles Schwartz, Jr. twice found that Louisiana’s universities had remained segregated.
By the time Alexander became president in 2013, four decades had passed since the federal government sued to diversify LSU. Still, black students made up less than 11 percent of LSU’s student body.
Flagship universities across the country have struggled to diversify their ranks. For the third year in a row, a Hechinger Report analysis of national data has found more than a third of U.S. states with at least a 10-point gap between the percentage of their public high school graduates who are African-American and the percentage of their flagships’ freshman class who are African-American.
Alexander believed that many flagships were “moving in the wrong direction.” Since 2010, more than a third of state flagship universities have posted declines in the percentage of African-American freshman they enrolled. In Mississippi, the number of black freshmen declined by more than 100 students and 6 percentage points between 2010 and 2016. Ole Miss did add black freshmen in 2015, but black enrollment at both the universities of Alabama and Missouri have continued to fall.
“Universities need to quit worrying about U.S. News and prestige and start worrying about their mission,” Alexander said. “I’ve got way too many of my colleagues that are chasing things that mean nothing. They end up reducing opportunities that they are supposed to be providing for their state.”
Louisiana and its crown jewel university have had particular challenges in enrolling black students. The state has the lowest rate of black college graduates in the country; only 15percent of the state’s African-American adults have a bachelor’s. And its universities remain largely segregated: Nearly half of Louisiana’s black college students attend an HBCU. The only predominantly white college whose population in the fall of 2017 was at least a quarter black was Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
LSU long remained the state’s whitest school, in part because admissions requirements eliminated most black students from consideration. Since 2001, when standardized test standards were first imposed at the flagship, LSU has rejected any applicant who earned less than a 22 on the ACT. The average score for black students in Louisiana last year was 17.3.
The university is also one of the most expensive in a state where one in three African-Americans live below the federal poverty line. Only 20 percent of LSU undergraduates use Pell Grants — compared to 37 percent of the state’s overall undergraduate population.
Statewide budget cuts have forced college administrators to find other sources of money; since the Great Recession, tuition has risen at a higher rate in Louisiana than in any other state. A year at the flagship now costs $28,600 a year — $844 more than the annual median income for black families in Louisiana.
Almost as soon as Alexander arrived in 2013, he began pushing the university to do better. He’d worked the previous eight years as president of California State University-Long Beach, an institution where the population was less than 20 percent white, and he’d grown up hearing stories about how his grandfather helped desegregate Kentucky schools in the 1960s. Alexander believed diversifying was the right, moral move. He also saw a financial imperative. The state has cut its contribution to LSU in half since the recession. Nationwide, Alexander believed, the only real gains in enrollment were going to come from underrepresented communities.
Early in his tenure, Alexander worked on a summit addressing black male achievement, joined the 100 Black Men civic organization and began serving as the faculty liaison to the university’s branch of the NAACP. After only four black students rushed a fraternity or sorority in the fall of 2013, Alexander urged Greek leaders to “be forward thinking.”
The number of black and Latino students creeped up in the years after Alexander took over. When Lockett enrolled in 2015, his was the first undergraduate class with at least 3,000 black students — a total that comprised 12.15 percent of the student body.
But the university’s overall enrollment, which has jumped up and down over the last decade, began to decline the next year. Alexander believed the university could push harder and, in 2017, when he went looking for a new chief enrollment officer for undergraduate admissions, Alexander chose Jose Aviles, a Latino who had been the first in his family to attend college.
Enrollment dropped by more than 700 students between 2016 and 2017, and when Aviles arrived on campus that fall, he said he found “great anxiety” about the numbers. University officials longed to add ethnic minorities and other students from low-income and rural backgrounds, Aviles said, but LSU’s admissions team had the same problem he’d seen at other institutions. They didn’t know “how to do the work of diversity.”
As part of its desegregation lawsuit, the federal government required LSU to submit proof of its minority-recruiting efforts for 20 years. University officials submitted as evidence ads they’d placed in newspapers and on radio stations. They hired ‘other-race’ liaisons and sent generic form letters to black students who’d performed well on the ACT.
But Aviles had learned in five years of diversifying campuses in New York and Delaware that brochures are not enough.
“You can’t just set up a table,” Aviles said. “It’s about making relationships, being visible in some of these rural communities or in New Orleans, communities that are really going to need a significant presence from our end in order to provide students that clear understanding of not just that we want them but that there is a picture of success for them here.”
In the past, Aviles said, LSU’s admissions team had skipped schools with low performance measures. Recruiters rarely made trips to the state’s far reaches, to schools where few, if any, students might be considering the state flagship. Over time, fewer and fewer students came to LSU from Caddo, Ouachita and East Baton Rouge parishes — all of which have significant black populations.
“We have to roll up our sleeves and get into these schools,” Aviles said. Traveling to distant parts of the state might be more expensive, he said, but he argued it will cost the state more if young people there don’t earn degrees and can’t join the middle class workforce.
Last year, as LSU’s admissions team worked to craft a more intentional recruiting plan, the university decided to try something that many other flagships already do. Instead of eliminating students who scored too low on the ACT, admissions officers evaluated students using what’s known as “holistic admissions.” In that type of review, university staff consider recommendations, essays and other information to decide whether a student might do well at LSU, even if the student performed poorly on a standardized test.
“We deepened what we understand as merit, who deserves the opportunity to participate,” Aviles said. “If you’re just selecting students on board scores, those things alone are not enough to determine whether a student can be successful on your campus or not. Resilience or grit, students who are going to get up every day no matter how many times they are knocked down, you can look for that.”
At 31-points, the gap between black high school graduates and black freshmen at the flagship university is one of the three widest in the nation, tied with the University of South Carolina and behind the 39-point gap at Ole Miss.
Some schools, including the University of Florida, haven’t made any meaningful diversity gains since adopting holistic reviews, and some researchers have found the practice is more likely to benefit poor white students than Latinos or African-Americans. In Texas, where the flagship won a Supreme Court decision that allowed it to continue using race as part of its holistic process, huge gaps remain between the number of high school graduates who are black or Latino and the number of those students admitted.
But Aviles and Alexander said the new policy, coupled with expanded scholarship offerings and a push to recruit in neglected communities, is paying off at their school. Among the 5,809 freshmen LSU enrolled last fall, 433 were admitted by exception. A third of those were from low-income families, and more than half came from rural districts. The number of black students in the freshman class jumped from 587 to 889 from 2017 to this fall, a 51 percent increase. The number of Latinos rose, too, from 313 to 421, a 35 percent gain.
Getting more black and Latino students on campus was important progress, Aviles said, but if university officials want to retain minority students, Aviles believes they have to show that opportunities exist here for Latinos and African-Americans. Students need to believe they can rush any fraternity, run for homecoming queen or serve on the student government.
Stewart Lockett is LSU’s third black student body president; the first served almost 50 years ago. “It’s definitely a pressure because I want to leave a good legacy,” Lockett said. “I want other students, not only black students, but all students to see a black student is just as capable in a leadership position.” Casey Parks/The Hechinger Report
When older students began asking Lockett to run for student body president, many did so, he said, because they thought his win “would be great for campus.”
Lockett “wasn’t just the best black candidate,” said Drake Boudreaux, a 2017 graduate who helped recruit Lockett. “He was the best candidate overall in his class. He’s really charismatic and super passionate. You can tell when he’s talking to people that he cares about them.”
But Boudreaux, who is white, and others recognized the potential impact of Lockett’s win. “He had this diversity factor that I think a lot of people at the university were really yearning for,” Boudreaux said. “It made him even more of an attractive candidate. He brought a whole slew of unique experiences that made him refreshing.”
Lockett came from a small town and wasn’t “obnoxiously wealthy,” Boudreaux said. Most past presidents have been in fraternities or sororities; Lockett isn’t. Even his bioengineering major made him diverse: Many students come to school politics from the humanities departments.
Still, Lockett knows what his victory meant in a state that fought to keep students like him out of LSU. He receives dozens of Facebook messages each month from strangers who say they are proud of his win. He’s heard from alumni who survived years of racism on campus and from others who, like his mother, transferred out to pursue a degree at a more welcoming college.
He understands why black parents pull him aside after panels or school tours to ask for “the real story.” They want their children to feel safe. They want to know if LSU is a different university than the one that existed when they were young.
Lockett tells them “straight up.” He has loved his time at the flagship, but he knows other students haven’t had the same experience. In a campus climate survey conducted Lockett’s sophomore year, a quarter of the black respondents said they did not feel “part of the family” at the university, and another third said they didn’t feel part of the community. The majority of black employees and students said they had sometimes felt uncomfortable on campus because of comments about their race. Nearly half of the Latino students and employees reported discomfort due to race-related comments.
One Friday early this semester, Lockett stepped outside his office to talk to the dozen black and Latino students planning multicultural events and new legislation aimed at better serving the university’s minorities.
Two of the students — Lauren Roach and Priscilla Velazquez — said they had joined student government in part because of Lockett’s election. The women now lead the organization’s diversity committee, but both said they’d initially felt alone at LSU.
Roach, a junior studying digital advertising, grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland — “where African-Americans were always in the majority,” she said. She’d fallen in love with LSU because of its award-winning gymnastics program and its Manship School of Mass Communication, but she’d been surprised to find so few black students when she arrived.
“I didn’t feel like I belonged here,” she said.
Velazquez, a junior kinesiology major from the outskirts of Dallas, told Roach she’d also struggled to adjust after leaving a majority Latino high school for a predominantly white university.
“When I came here my freshman year, I didn’t have a community,” she said. “I’m Mexican, and until this past summer, I didn’t have a professor who looked like me. I felt like you were either white or you were black, there was no in between.”
Stewart Lockett (center) and other student government leaders meet in late January with a reporter for The Daily Reveille, an LSU-student newspaper, to talk about their hopes for a new library. The 60-year-old Middleton Library has suffered water damage from a leak. Casey Parks/The Hechinger Report
Lockett will graduate in May, but he hopes to use his final months on campus working so future students don’t feel what Roach and Velazquez did their freshman years.
As lunch neared, Lockett headed to meet with a reporter from the student paper. The interview turned toward Lockett’s push for a new building to replace the 60-year-old Middleton Library, which has suffered water damage from a leak.
“I’m very serious about academics,” Lockett said. “So it’s a little personal for me.”
Lockett didn’t bring it up during the interview, but the library is named after Troy Middleton, a former university president who once bragged that LSU had done more to promote segregation than any other Louisiana institution. Across the street, tucked into a folder labeled ‘Negro problem,’ are dozens of letters Middleton sent, promising community members he would keep black students out. Hundreds had applied, hoping to study law and accounting, but Middleton maintained hope that the state’s flagship would remain segregated.
“I do not want Negro students at LSU,” Middleton wrote to a Shreveport admiral in 1956.
Eventually, Lockett told the student reporter, he hopes the library will be demolished and replaced with something nicer, a building with collaborative space, where everyone feels welcome.
This story about diversity on college campuses was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter. Meredith Kolodner contributed to this report.The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.
