Louisiana History of Racism Resolution

Sharon Weston Broome is Mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2001, she was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives when she proposed a resolution to encourage teaching students about the history of scientific racism. The resolution highlighted Darwin’s views on race as well as how his views had been exploited by other scientists such as Ernst Haeckel to promote racism. The resolution also encouraged teaching students more recent scientific findings supporting racial equality. Broome’s resolution provoked a firestorm, with supporters of Darwin’s theory accusing her of trying to unfairly malign Charles Darwin. The resolution ultimately passed—but only after all references to Darwin and Haeckel were deleted.