STANLEY NELSON-ONE OF LOUISIANA’S BEST!

Monday, October 27th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

STANLEY NELSON-ONE OF LOUISIANA’S BEST!

A Pulitzer Prize nominee, one of Louisiana’s best and brightest, was honored this week in Baton Rouge at the Old State Capital. His name was Stanley Nelson, and he was a journalistic giant in rooting out the Ku Klux Klan activity in Louisiana.

Here is what best-selling author Greg Iles had to say about his friend Stanley Nelson, who he patterned one of his books after. “The South lost a quiet crusader. Not a fictional super-hero from the cineplex, but a genuine hero, a knight-errant for truth and justice..”

After 60 years, the FBI opened widespread murder investigations into what was left of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan had once held a significant presence statewide throughout the first half of the 20th century. But following the enactment of 1964 Civil Rights Act, the FBI was given the authority to crack down on what used to be unevenly enforced state violations, and Klan activity in the Bayou State slowed to a trickle.

Not so in my old hometown of Ferriday, as well as across the river in Natchez, Mississippi. As many as 20 local black citizens were reportedly killed by the Ku Klux Klan in the 60s, and there were ties to Klan members to one of the busiest houses of ill repute in the South.

Few arrests were made, and a number of cases ended up on the back burner as years went by. But sparked by the dogged reporting of Stanley Nelson with the Concordia Sentinel, whose series of articles on the Klan won him a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize, the FBI began taking a look at what happened just about the time I landed in Ferriday, Louisiana with a new law degree.

In 1964, worldwide attention was focused on the deaths of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered several hundred agents to fan out and investigate all over the state, as well as into Louisiana. The widespread investigation quickly focused on the Silver Dollar Group, an offshoot of the Klan based in Natchez, but terrorizing a number of black males on both sides of the river.

In late December of that year, the KKK burned down a local shoe shop in Ferriday with the owner, Frank Morris, in it at the time. Morris was severely burned, and died a few days later. Why was he targeted? Apparently because he was black, ran a successful business, and had a number of white customers.

Another major fire attributed to the local Klan was the burning of Haney’s Big House, one the best known black music nightclubs in the Deep South. Every black jazz great in New Orleans, from Louis Armstrong to Fats Domino, played at Haney’s. And local cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart were known to sneak into Haney’s by the back door. When white fans started to come to Haney’s, it was quickly burned to the ground.

One of the busiest establishments in lower Concordia was the Morville Lounge, a popular house of ill repute and illegal gambling establishment. Morville was located some 15 miles south of the bridge that connects Natchez and Ferriday, and customers from as far away as Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi usually filled up the parking lot over the levee. The girls of Morville travelled a regular route from Atlanta then Birmingham, on to Jackson, down to Morville and on into New Orleans. That’s how popular this small rural lounge off the beaten path had become. And the local Klan was reportedly active in the running of this red-light stop.

The notorious Jim Leslie murder that took place in Baton Rouge in 1976 had ties to Concordia Parish and the Klan. Leslie ran a successful public relations agency, and had been a key player in the passage of Right to Work legislation at the state capitol in Baton Rouge. He was killed in a motel parking lot a few hours after the legislation was successfully adopted. 

The purported triggerman, Rusty Griffith, was gunned down in a lower Concordia wildlife refuge a few months after the Leslie killing. The Dixie Mafia tied to Shreveport’s top law officer at the time, the Public Safety Commissioner named George D’Artois, supposedly hired Griffith. The assassination money, some $100,000, was allegedly funneled via the local Natchez-Concordia Klan to Griffith and his accomplices. When Griffith got greedy and wanted more money, so the rumors go, he too was gunned down.

When the gang that bumped off Griffith was arrested, yours truly was appointed by the court in Concordia Parish to represent Clay Kimble, one of the ringleaders involved in the Leslie and Griffin murders. So I’m well aware of all the gory details, and where the skeletons are buried. Well, maybe not literally (or at least I’m not sayin’ nothin’).

When I ran for Louisiana State Senator in 1971, Klan activities had moved north towards Franklin Parish. One of my opponents had strong support from the local Klan, and I received my share of threats that I, perhaps foolishly at the time, did not take that seriously. But signs and billboards in support of my campaign rarely lasted the night after they were put up. Fortunately for me, the local white knights were fairly old guys by then, and had little support in the local community.

Now, after 60 years, and thanks to Stanley Nelson, renewed pressure was put on the FBI to aggressively pursue those Klansmen still living who may have been accomplices in these Louisiana murders. Old wounds have opened back up, and many older folks who were there at the time seem to be pleased that some justice may eventually come to some of the families who suffered the loss of loved ones.

A number of Klansmen, particularly in the North Louisiana area, got away with murder. At least up until now. Thanks to Stanley Nelson, a few less got away.

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

 

 

 

THERE’S A MELTDOWN AT LSU AND CHAPEL HILL!

Monday, November 3^rd, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

THERE’S A MELTDOWN AT LSU AND CHAPEL HILL!

I’m getting deluged with calls, texts and emails. What the heck is going on with my two favorite teams in college football? Of course they’re talking about the deluge of criticism taking place at LSU and the University of North Carolina. I have followed both of these college teams for years, but cannot remember so much well-earned criticism.

First come the Tar Heels. I love my alma mater at Chapel Hill. I had the privilege of having an athletic scholarship (basketball and track) at a school  that is, year and in year out, ranked as one of the top public universities in the nation. While at Carolina, I received a great education, competed in track meets all over the world, and dated a number of really pretty coeds.  I couldn’t ask for more. But Carolina is a basketball school. Sure, I attended football games. I went  with my fellow fraternity brothers just for fun. But you never expected a winner there.

I did have high hopes when Mac Brown took over as football coach. He had spent time coaching at LSU and Tulane, and we became good friends when I was Louisiana Secretary of State.  Coach Brown called me when he applied for the North Carolina job and asked me to contact basketball Coach Dean Smith, who ruled the roost and called the shots for all Athletics at Carolina. Coach Brown had a number of winning seasons, but never was in contention for a national championship.

Mack called me a few years later to tell me he was going to the University of Texas. “I love my life at Carolina, but I’ll never win a national championship here. It’s a basketball school. I’ll retire back here, and my kids are going to school here. But I’m going to Texas to win it all.”  He did, winning a national championship for Texas in 2005.

But the powers that be in Chapel Hill did want to win it all. Who, they thought, better than the NFL’s winningest coach? The problem was, Bill Belichick was a has-been. Once quarterback Tom Brady, probably the best that ever was, left Belichick’s team, his program crashed and burned.  He was a bust. A mediocre coach at best. But the Board that governs the University at North Carolina were blinded of his mistakes in later years, and were so hungry for a winner, that they jumped at the chance to get Belichick. It was a huge mistake.

There was more than his poor coaching of football. He was diverted in his attention by his 24 year-old girlfriend. When the Tar Heels had an off-week, he vacationed on the beach rather than developing a closer relationship with his players and their families.

He will never be a winner at North Carolina. He’s over the hill. Now Carolina is doing the same reckless thing that LSU is doing and that’s hoping for a contract buyout.

Then there are the Fighting Tigers. I know LSU football is a way of life for many Louisianans. The athletic director said it best. There are three priorities at LSU. Number one is football, number two is football and number three- football. They had a coach a few years back that won a  national championship with a team that many said was the best football college team ever to play. But he didn’t perform up to expectations the following year, so they ran him off.

LSU stopped at nothing to win it all. Progressive colleges today hire young coaches in their 30s.  But the powers that be in Baton Rouge hired an older coach from a big name school that had done OK, but never won a national championship. What do they pay him? $100 million. What? You’ve got to be kidding!  What Board overseeing any major university, especially one that is ranked mediocre at best, would authorize such an enormous contract that undermines the purpose of what is supposed to be the flagship school?

Now LSU is licking its wounds, has fired the football coach and the athletic director, and is putting on a questionable face in dealing with an untenable situation.

Both colleges need to review their historic missions of educating their young people with the mission of developing their leaders and their workforce for the future of their states. Right now, both schools are traveling a really a rocky road.

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

 

 

 

NEW ORLEANS GETS A SECOND CHANCE!

Monday, October 20, 2025.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

NEW ORLEANS GETS A SECOND CHANCE!

 

For those who do not live in the deepest of the deep southern states, you may not realize that New Orleans, the Queen city of the South, has been under siege. No, not from hurricanes. The siege has been from within. New Orleans is known as the City that care forgot. But it’s hard to let the good times roll in the Big Easy when the dice keep coming up snake eyes. 

 

The Crescent City has been in a battle for a number of years to stay afloat as it dealt with Major Street crime, inept public leadership, and a dysfunctional criminal justice system. Even federal officials can no longer be trusted. Author James Lee Burke writes about this corruption and dysfunction in his novel Last Car to Elysian Fields. “One of the most beautiful cities in the Western hemisphere was killed three times, and not just by forces of nature.”

 

Many crimes go  unreported out of a sense of frustration that nobody will do anything about it anyway. Drug deals gone bad play a major role in a majority of the killings according to the New Orleans Police Department. The city is a cesspool of illegal drug activity in many neighborhoods, even in broad daylight. Recently, I watched a Tom Cruise movie “Jack Reacher: Never go Back.” It was made in the Crescent City. A local drug dealer tells Cruz: “More  s--t in the streets of New Orleans then they make in Afghanistan.”

 

In the movie “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” Nicolas Cage plays a corrupt New Orleans police officer, and tells a fellow cop to “Shoot him again.” “What for?” says his companion. Cage casually observes: “His soul is still dancing.” You can’t kill enough in New Orleans. It is the murder capital of America with one of the worst murder rates in the world. And the killings continue at an ever-growing frequency.

The system that is supposed to protect the citizens of New Orleans is rife with corruption and incompetence. In too many instances, those who are charged with safeguarding and serving have betrayed their mission to see that the public is protected, and that justice is done. The current Mayor is currently under a federal criminal indictment.

Is there any hope for New Orleans? Actually, yes. A brand new mayor has just been elected and she starts out with a huge mandate. Helena Mareno is a lady of  Spanish decent and a  former state legislator and former head of the New Orleans City Council. She won the race for mayor easily in the first primary. The voters’ message was they had enough of the old and were looking for some new, progressive and highly competent leadership.  Do I think she is able to bring about major reform? Yes, I am cautiously optimistic.

I would offer the new Mayor two pieces of advice. First of all, clean up all the trash. The city has become a waste dump. The last mayor ran off a very competent cleanup guy Sydney Torres IV.  Give him free reign and direction to clean up the city, make it smell better as he did in the French Quarter some years back and get the trash off private property that’s been allowed to pile up for years.  If landowners don’t comply, put a lien on their property.

Secondly, meet with the President. Tell him you will willingly meet him more than halfway and you want to cooperate. Tell him yes, you would like Louisiana soldiers under the direction of the Governor to bring New Orleans National Guard members into the city to work with the New Orleans Police Department. Have it done in a cooperative manner and not have confrontation. The new Mayor is both persuasive and attractive, and has the ability to bring the President around even though she is a Democrat.  

It would be wrong to give up on New Orleans, particularly with the new leadership that will take over soon. The city has always been a special place for me. My first apartment there was in the French Quarter back in 1961 when I was a student at Tulane Law School. I’ve had an apartment off and on there for the past 64 years.  So the Queen City now has the second chance under a dynamic new Mayor. Let’s all wish her well.

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

WE CAN LEARN ABOUT A FULL LIFE FROM OUR FAILURES!

October 13th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

WE CAN LEARN ABOUT A FULL LIFE FROM OUR FAILURES!

Every now and then we reassess our lives. Especially when you get up an age like me. Hey, I’ve had a good life. But there have been my share of bumps in the road.  The key is do we learn from these trials and tribulations and possibly see some light, or do we wallow in self-pity? Do we all have a little Charlie Brown in us?  Who can forget the Peanuts comic strip where character Lucy sums up her friend.

“You, Charlie Brown, are a foul ball in the line drive of life! You are a miscue!  You are three puts on 18^thgreen!  You are a dropped rod and reel in the lake of life! You are a missed free throw, a shanked nine iron, and a called third strike.”

I sometimes wonder how Lucy would have assessed me. We all have miscues, mistakes we’ve made in the past, and our share of tumblings. But I’ve learned that even though one may suffer brokenness, if you set your mind to it a brighter life can spring from what seemed like despair.

My friend, pastor Max Lucado suggested to me a number of ways that if you break something, some goodness can bring a new beginning. Broken soil gives crops. Broken eggs give life. Broken skies give rain. Broken crayons still color. Broken cocoons give flight. Broken alabaster jars give fragrance. He also suggests that the broken bread of the Eucharist gives Hope.

So how am I doing in my effort to look forward? What can I accomplish at 85 in the coming years when you readers know I am winding down? I do not resume to cram a lot of living in the short period of time I have left. Yes, there’s much I want to do, but at my own pace.  It’s not like I have deadlines to meet outside of this weekly column. But there is a sweetness of life that causes me to return to proficiencies of the past.

I have written extensively, both in short bursts through these weekly columns, as well as longer ramblings in book form. I’ve tried overtime to express my views in a wide range of subjects from marriage to spirituality, to children, issues of value and politics. Yes, there are a number of instabilities that I have ignored. Bob Seger said it best of youth.

Workin’ on mysteries without any clues.

I will continue to write. And expand on my imagination. Hemmingway has a book called “Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy.” Perhaps his title fits me. My boat and I have sailed many seas together. I’ve written about being a soldier of which I’m quite proud. A spy? Maybe not. At least I’m not sayin’. But I will continue to write whatever my talents may be.

At my age, I just need to let go of discovery and relish in pleasures and gratifications of the past. I’m not suggesting that I should slow down, but I hope to relive experiences that I so often have enjoyed.  So that’s my plan. To stay healthy and live a much longer and productive life. I don’t worry about eventually passing away. In fact, I’m not sure we do. Whitman said of old men passing:

          “They are alive and well somewhere, the smallest sprout shows there is

                            really no death, and if ever there was it was, it led to a forward life and

                          does not wait at the end to arrest it.”

 

With my controversial past, a life of highs and lows, and in my twilight years, I’m willing to let the afterlife take care of itself. Sure, I would like to go back, take back and relive so many past decisions and actions. But I’m willing to be judged on the totality of my life. A legacy to leave behind. I’ve told you I’m a sailor. And if the wind does not blow my way, I’ve learned to adjust my sails.

I will visit with you next week in a new column. God bless to all my readers.

Pace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

 

 

COMEY ALLOWED INJUSTICE IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, October 3rd, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

COMEY ALLOWED INJUSTICE IN LOUISIANA!

Former FBI, Director James Comey was indicted last week for lying to Congress. Some say Comey’s indictment was payback for his continuing criticism of President Trump. I’m not sure in reading the facts, but I could tell you from my research that Comey did a huge disservice to a professor at LSU.

Anyone following high profile public issues in Louisiana is certainly aware of how Comey bungled the biggest case he ever handled embroiling a former LSU professor. The incident involved anthrax attacks in the nation’s capital that killed 5 people and infected 17 others, causing the entire U.S. Capitol’s mail system to shut down. Comey headed up the FBI investigation, and his incompetence and recklessness all but destroyed the reputation and health of LSU researcher Steven Hatfill.

It’s a long and convoluted story, but it was obvious to any neutral observer that Hatfill was innocent and the FBI had the wrong man. He was a virologist (one who only studies viruses), and he never even handled anthrax. But congress was screaming about an attack on America and the FBI needed a scapegoat. A few unreliable rumormongers mentioned Hatfill’s name that led Comey and Company to pounce all over the blameless researcher.

So just what evidence of Hatfill’s guilt did Comey have on the quiet LSU academic? Ah, don’t sell Comey short. After all he had heard of a couple of guys out in California that had trained bloodhounds to supposedly “sniff out” anthrax. Now remember, if you sniff the stuff, it kills you, but that minor fact did not deter Comey. He sicked the bloodhounds on Hatfill and announced to congress that one of LSU’s best and brightest was the guilty party. The dog handlers were later found by a California court to be quite unreliable, with the judged stating that the prosecution’s dog handler was “as biased as any witnesses that this court has ever seen.”

But Comey persisted. When he was asked by a skeptical Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz if he was sure that Hatfill was the perpetrator, Comey replied that he was “absolutely certain” they weren’t making a mistake.

Seven years later, Hatfill was exonerated and the FBI paid him $5.85 million because of Comey’s unjust prosecution. But he did not have the decency to apologize and acknowledge his serous blunder. Comey’s sidekick, current special prosecutor Robert Mueller was just as graceless and unprofessional as Comey. When asked about the false charges against Hatfill, Mueller would only say: “I do not apologize for any aspect of the investigation.” He added that it would be erroneous “to say there were mistakes.”

LSU also has a black eye from the Comey investigation. LSU hired him as the associate director of its new program designed to train firefighters and other emergency personnel to respond to terrorist acts and natural disasters. But when FBI began its investigation, Hatfill was fired without even given a hearing. This too brought shame on the state’s flagship.

Comey did his best to destroy a decent and innocent LSU professor. He has proven to be manipulative, incompetent and calculating. So whether he’s convicted as charged, the former FBI has proven to be both incompetence and vindictive. The best we can say about him is, “good riddance,” whether he is convicted or not. His false charges against a decent LSU professor will go down in history, that’s not only wrong, but patently un-American.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. 

 

NEED TO BUY GUN INSURANCE?

 

Monday, September 29th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 NEED TO BUY GUN INSURANCE?

There is a big push now by insurance companies sell you insurance in case you shoot somebody. Not that far affect it if you look at all the shootings taking place in the news.  So have you purchased your gun insurance yet?

 In case you shoot someone, there are insurance policies available to cover any liabilities you might face, pay for your bail if you are accused of a crime, cover your attorney fees, and even pay for any psychological therapy you might need. 

So if you are going to fire away, nice to know that you are financially covered, right?

Legislation has been introduced in a number of states that would make gun insurance mandatory for all gun owners. New York, Hawaii, Washington, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts would require government-mandated firearms insurance.

In fact, the National Rifle Association offers scaled down coverage called Carry Guard right now in all 50 states. The organization’s website states rather dramatically that: “There is a whole team of lawyers attached to every bullet that leaves the barrel of your weapon. If the suspect goes down, even if you’re justified in shooting, we guarantee you the world is going to come crashing down on you.”

Should every gun owner be required to buy liability insurance? After all, if you drive a car, you are required by every state in the U.S. to have liability insurance. So, if drivers have to have auto insurance, why shouldn’t gun owners have to have gun owner’s insurance?

First of all, courts nationwide have determined that driving is a privilege. And not a (Second Amendment) right as defended by gun owners. A driver is generally on a public highway, built with taxpayer funds, and the “rules of the road” require liability insurance.

It should be pointed out that a driver is not required to have either a driver’s license or insurance if the vehicle is driven on private property. I taught my kids and assorted nieces and nephews to drive at our family camp in rural Louisiana, where they could practice on dirt roads. No license or insurance necessary.

The cost of such proposed gun liability insurance would not come cheap. New York is presently considering in their legislature a proposal to require every gun owner to have a minimum of $1 million in liability coverage. I would estimate that a gun owner is looking at a minimum of $2,000 a year to pay for such insurance. The insurance premium could be significantly more for someone living in the inner city. Such a cost would price the ownership of a gun outside the reach of the average citizen.

Unless the activity to be insured is considered a privilege, there is no requirement or a “right” to insure any object or undertaking. I do not have to insure my house, but it just makes good financial sense to do so. There is no requirement that an individual have life insurance. One makes such a choice to protect their loved ones when they die.

 Many people have general liability insurance coverage on any activity that might subject them to a lawsuit. That would include protection against a lawsuit involving a gun accident. But purchasing such insurance is not mandatory. It’s a choice.

With so much interest in gun safety, numerous ideas will be floated in an effort to regulate gun ownership. Certainly there are some people who should not be in the possession of a gun. But to others living in crime-infested areas, and in the face of violent criminal threats, your weapon and your wits may be all you have to protect yourself.

There are no easy answers here. But it’s unrealistic to think that gun fatalities will decline simply by making gun insurance mandatory.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and at www.jimbrownla.com.

 

 

 

 

WALKER PERCY’S IMPACT ON LOUISIANA!

September 22ed, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WALKER PERCY’S IMPACT ON LOUISIANA!

Many readers who love Louisiana literature will gather this weekend in St. Francisville to celebrate the live and works of novelist Walker Percy. He was, to me, a literary icon who spent most of his life in Louisiana. Many consider him to be America’s most significant Catholic writer. And he was passionate about Louisiana. So passionate that he took the time to give me some good advice about what he considered to be the insidious politics in the Bayou State.

I first heard about Dr. Percy (he was a psychiatrist by training) back in 1961 when I was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina. I was writing a weekly column for the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. Percy was a Carolina graduate, and had also written regular columns for the Tar Heel back in the late 1930s. His first novel, The Moviegoer, had just won the National Book award, and there was a lot of buzz about him in Chapel Hill.

One of the amusing stories that circulated around the English Department at Carolina was about Percy taking his freshman English placement test. He had just read Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury,” and wrote his entire essay in one long paragraph without punctuation. He was promptly placed into a class for slow learners and was told that he needed a lot of help to pass English composition.

The Moviegoer was set in New Orleans, a place I had never visited. Percy’s descriptions of the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and the streets of the Crescent City were enchanting to me, and one of the reasons I decided to attend Tulane Law School. One of my courses in constitutional law was taught by Professor Billups Percy, Dr. Percy’s brother. His uncle, Will Percy, had written an important history titled “Lanterns on the Levee,” a memorial to the South of his youth and young manhood, where he describes life in the Mississippi Delta. The introduction was written by Walker Percy.

I went on to read all of Percy’ novels. His main characters are “seekers” who struggle with an existential crisis in their lives. They habitually search for God with varying success, and often look for some form of redemption. He writes how he personally found redemption in the Catholic Church.

I had never met Dr. Percy until receiving a phone call in 1987. At the time, I was serving as Secretary of State, and was running for governor. I had written a 180-page plan I called The Brown Papers; my vision of how Louisiana could prosper in future years. Few people read it. One spring day, my secretary buzzed that I had a phone call from someone named Walker Percy. I assumed it was someone with the same name.

When I returned the call, Dr. Percy told me he was some obscure writer from Covington, and he was impressed with my plan. Would I have time, if I were in the area, to come by for coffee and a chat? Would I have time? I drive over to his home the next afternoon. We talked late into the evening sharing ideas about what Louisiana could be with all its natural resources and creative talent.

He told me what he had repeatedly written in a number of publications. “What happened? Louisiana is a state richer in mineral resources, the top gas producer in the country, possessed of the largest port, endowed with a natural wealth, which in its use might have been expected to yield manifold benefits for its people. But its marshes have been plundered and polluted, one of the highest cancer rates in the county and the loss of fifty square miles of wetlands yearly.” He went on to lament that Louisiana should be much more than what he decried as “a slightly sleazy playground for tourists and conventioneers.”

He said he was still optimistic about the state’s future, that he was in my corner politically, and to call on him at any time. We visited on one other occasion in Covington, and exchanged a number of phone calls up until his death in 1990.

In one conversation before his death, he told me he didn’t consider himself to be a southern novelist, and did not want to be compared to William Faulkner. He felt that Faulkner had this tragic sense of history, and that Percy wrote about the new South. And he was deeply concerned about the state’s future. He was right on the money in so many things he wrote and said. Walker Percy would have been a pretty darn good Louisiana governor.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.