Several students and teachers were arrested, including then-student Rev. H. Calvin Austin, who was charged with inciting a riot, unlawful assembly, and disturbing the peace. After spending 45 days in jail, Austin was expelled and banned from attending public school in Caddo Parish and surrounding areas.
Austin was forced to complete his senior year in New Orleans. In 2005, then-Caddo Parish Schools Superintendent Ollie Tyler presented Austin with a diploma from Booker T. Washington.
Now pastor of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport, Austin, 75, said the apologies were “long overdue.”
“A burden’s been lifted though,” he said. “The apology is well received. It says to me that whenever we try to do right, evil is always present. What I did was right but wrong in the eyes of the law. Now the city says ‘We’re sorry.’ That speaks volumes.”
Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor sponsored the resolutions.
“I wanted to make sure our history was not erased,” Taylor said. “I want people to understand what that day meant and the day after. If we’re to move forward, it was incumbent to apologize as a city for those inhumane events.”
McLain welcomed the gestures.
“It’s a good end, a good reconciliation,” said McLain. “When you see a house of worship desecrated, the impact is very strong. The apologies help close that chapter and provides a sense of healing.”
Sharon Johnson, president of the Booker T. Washington High School Alumnae Foundation, said although the students involved in the 1963 protests have moved on, the official acknowledgement of what they went through was beneficial.
“It’s never too late to say you’re sorry,” Johnson said. “It serves to heal old wounds. It’s been said you can’t move forward until you shut the door on your past. This recognition that the city did not act in the best interest of humanity at that time gives me a new respect for the city and city officials. And although you can’t really right a wrong, you can apologize for your actions and heal the wounds.”
Johnson said several people were moved to tears as the resolutions were read in the council meeting.
“Some are still carrying wounds from that incident,” she said.
This article originally appeared on APNews.com.
