Rethinking the Colfax Riot (2023)
Louisiana: The State We're In
Details
Collection:LPB
Genre: Newsmagazine
Place Covered: Colfax, Grant Parish, Louisiana
Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority
Date Issued: 2023-04-07
Duration: 00:06:07
Subjects: African Americans | Colfax Massacre, 1873 | History
Contributors:
- St. Cyr, Kara Host
- Hamilton, Avery Interviewee
- Woods, Dean Interviewee
Description
This segment from the April 7, 2023, episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” features Kara St. Cyr’s report on the efforts to rename the Colfax Riot to the Colfax Massacre. St. Cyr reports that the Colfax Massacre, an eruption of racial violence during Reconstruction, took place on April 13, 1873, and resulted in the deaths of between 60 and 150 African Americans. She interviews Avery Hamilton, a descendant of a Colfax Massacre victim, and Dean Woods, a descendant of a Colfax Massacre perpetrator, who discuss their efforts to change the way people view the incident and to memorialize the victims.