Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 1987-02-22

Duration: 00:14:43

Subjects: Affirmative Action | Civil Rights | Employment

Contributors:

• Masingale, Sonya Host
• Berry, Mary Frances Interviewee
• Pourciau, Lester Interviewee
• Perrot, Helen Interviewee

This segment from the February 22, 1987, episode of the series “Folks” features Sonya Masingale’s report on the status of affirmative action in Louisiana. She first interviews Mary Frances Berry, a member of the United States Civil Rights Commission, who discusses the Reagan Administration’s weakened enforcement of civil rights laws. Masingale then conducts an in-studio interview with Lester Pourciau, the director of equal opportunity and affirmative action at LSU, and Helen Perrott, an equal opportunity specialist at the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services. They discuss: affirmative action’s role in providing equal opportunities to women and minorities; the impact of the bad economy on affirmative action; the need for better enforcement of the law; and whether the Equal Rights Amendment would be helpful.