As part of the ACSblog’s 2015 Constitution Day Symposium, Victorien Wu wrote a blog post regarding LDF’s efforts to vindicate the fundamental right to vote of Black voters in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution hold the promise of equal political citizenship for Black voters. Yet, this commitment remains unfulfilled in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, where, in 2008, a white sitting judge of the parish court, Judge Timothy Ellender of the 32nd Judicial District Court (“32nd JDC”), was reelected to a six-year term without having to face opposition, even after he was suspended by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2004 for attending a Halloween party wearing blackface, an orange prison jumpsuit, handcuffs, and an afro wig in an apparent parody of Black criminal defendants who appeared before him.
Click here to read the full article and to learn more about this case.
