More Swamp Thing

Yesterday, Colfax, today, Jena. My current tour of Central Louisiana continues.

After visiting a future project site in Colfax, dinner last night was at a nice Cajun restaurant overlooking a lake outside of Alexandria. Today, I visited the still-flooded job site in Jena, with no solution to the water disposal problem in sight. The day went by pretty much without incident and lunch was at a family-owned restaurant in Jena with my client, the project field manager, and the state regulator.

The state regulator is a Nigerian immigrant, and was the only black man I saw in town today. How much of that was due to mere demographics and how much to other factors I can't say. The White League, the white supremacist group involved in the 1873 Colfax Massacre, may be gone, but they are not yet forgotten in this part of the country. About 50 members of the Mississippi-based white supremacist Nationalist Movement marched here in Jena last January in protest of the previous massive civil rights demonstrations held in support of the so-called "Jena Six," six black high school students accused of beating a white schoolmate.

I wondered how long I could blog from Jena without mentioning the Jena Six. Much has been said about this issue, and all that I can add is that the town itself seems to be a nice, friendly, if predominantly white, place. It's hard to even imagine the reported events even occurring here, although I know that they did. Even though I talk funny to people's ears down here, I've been treated fine, and no one looked twice or blinked an eye as we dined with an actual African at lunch. While the events behind the Jena Six story are unfortunate, one can probably find a better town elsewhere to serve as the model of 21st Century racism in America.

I have to get up early tomorrow morning - Delta's already cancelled my planned flight home, and has instead routed me on a 6:15 am flight to Memphis with an eventual connection to Atlanta. I have to get up in, like, four hours to check out of the hotel, drive to the airport, turn in the rental car, clear security, and board my flight. I don't arrive in Atlanta until about 12:30 pm. Thanks, Delta.

Good night.