Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 1988-04-17

Duration: 00:18:57

Subjects: Politics | Government | Louisiana. Legislature | Louisiana Legislative Session, 1988 | State legislators

Contributors:

• Masingale, Sonya Host
• Jackson, Alphonse Speaker
• Jetson, Raymond Speaker
• Bajoie, Diana Speaker
• Jefferson, William Speaker
• Fields, Cleo Speaker
• Taylor-Holt, Sibal Interviewee
• Hardin, Ed Interviewee

This segment from the April 17, 1988, episode of the series “Folks” features Rob Hinton’s report on a recent leadership conference at Southern University in Baton Rouge called “To Form a More Perfect Union.” It includes highlights of several African American state legislators discussing their biggest areas of concern for the upcoming 1988 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, including State Representative Alphonse Jackson, State Representative Raymond Jetson, State Representative Diana Bajoie, State Senator William Jefferson, and State Senator Cleo Fields. Sonya Masingale also conducts an in-studio interview with Sibal Taylor-Holt, the assistant to the president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, and Ed Hardin, the president of Common Cause Louisiana. They discuss: the work of their organizations; their legislative priorities, including campaign finance reform, the prevailing wage law, cuts to social services, and the state budget deficit; their roles as lobbyists; and how citizens can become involved in the legislative process.