Richard Sobol Oral History

Richard Sobol (1937-2020) was a leading civil rights attorney who litigated several landmark discrimination cases in state and federal courts across Louisiana, as well as before the US Supreme Court. He discusses being introduced to civil rights issues as a child; participating in civil rights protests as a young attorney in Washington D.C.; and deciding to volunteer for the Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee (LCDC) in Louisiana. He discusses the significance of the Hicks v. Knight case; his work with the New Orleans firm of Collins, Douglas and Elie; and how he learned about discrimination at the Crown Zellerbach paper mill during his first meeting with Robert Hicks. He recalls his decision to move to Louisiana to set up the first LCDC office in New Orleans and discusses his work on Duncan v. Louisiana case which secured the right to a jury trial in all states, and expresses his deep admiration for plaintiff Gary Duncan. He recalls participating in the Bogalusa to Baton Rouge March, and describes the lasting significance of the Crown Zellerbach employment discrimination cases, particularly in regards to employment testing. He discusses the Bogalusa and Washington Parish school desegregation cases, the limits of desegregation under the “Freedom of Choice” plans; and the Hicks v. Weaver public housing discrimination case. He describes his admiration for Judge Frederick Heebe and for Bogalusa civil rights leaders Robert Hicks, Gayle Jenkins and A.Z. Young, and how “there's probably no place in Louisiana, maybe no place in the South” where the civil rights movement saw a similar combination of multiple legal actions in the courts at the same time as ongoing direct action and protests in the streets.