A southwest Louisiana cemetery refused to accept the remains of a recently deceased Black man, citing Jim Crow-era bylaws that permitted such exclusions.
Allen Parish Sheriff's Deputy Darrell Semien, 55, died this week after a brief battle with bladder cancer, and he had hoped to be buried close to his home in Oberlin, about halfway between New Orleans and Houston.
When loved ones of Semien, who was Black, approached Oaklin Springs Baptist Cemetery, they were rebuffed by a representative who said the graveyard was for whites only.
"I just kind of looked at her and she said, 'There's no coloreds allowed,' " widow Karla Semien told KPLC, an NBC affiliate based in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Creig Vizena, president of the Oaklin Springs Cemetery Association, confirmed such language exists, showing KPLC a standard contract which shows that Oaklin Springs allows only for the burial of "white human beings."
Louisiana cemetery refused to accept remains of sheriff's deputy because he was Black (msn.com)
There isn't any segregation in this country, is there.
Allen Parish Sheriff's Deputy Darrell Semien, 55, died this week after a brief battle with bladder cancer, and he had hoped to be buried close to his home in Oberlin, about halfway between New Orleans and Houston.
When loved ones of Semien, who was Black, approached Oaklin Springs Baptist Cemetery, they were rebuffed by a representative who said the graveyard was for whites only.
"I just kind of looked at her and she said, 'There's no coloreds allowed,' " widow Karla Semien told KPLC, an NBC affiliate based in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Creig Vizena, president of the Oaklin Springs Cemetery Association, confirmed such language exists, showing KPLC a standard contract which shows that Oaklin Springs allows only for the burial of "white human beings."
Louisiana cemetery refused to accept remains of sheriff's deputy because he was Black (msn.com)
There isn't any segregation in this country, is there.