Collection:LPB

Genre: Interview

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

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 1987-02-8

Duration: 00:10:52

Subjects: Jeffers, Ben | Politics | Elections, 1979 | Louisiana secretary of state election, 1979 | Business

Contributors:

• Masingale, Sonya Host
• Jeffers, Ben Interviewee

This segment from the February 8, 1987, episode of the series “Folks” features Sonya Masingale’s interview with Ben Jeffers of Baton Rouge, the first African American to run for statewide office in Louisiana since Reconstruction and a businessman with Coastal Environmental Control, Inc. He discusses: his love for Louisiana; his 1979 campaign for Secretary of State; losing the election; the reasons why no African American has won statewide office; the challenges facing minority businesses; and his company’s involvement in politics.