The Unsuccessful Struggles of a Black Community to Incorporate

Abstract

Scotlandville is located in East Baton Rouge Parish, about 5 miles north of the central business district of the city of Baton Rouge.' It was, until 1976, an unincorporated area of industrial and suburban development; it was self-contained and isolated both geographically and, to an extent, culturally from the city of Baton Rouge. In 1960, the population of Scotlandville was 18,433, of which 3,676, or 20%, was White and 14,575, or 80%, was Black (U.S. Census, 1960). According to the U.S. Census (1970), the total population of the state of Louisiana was 3,643,180, of which 2,241,298, or 70%, was White, 1,086,839, or 30%, was Black, and 858 persons belonged to other races. The population of Scotlandville in 1970 was 22,557, of which only 1,850, or 8.2%, was White; the rest of the population-numbering 20,677, or 91.8%-was Black (U.S. Census 1970). This means that within one decade, the racial imbalance in Scotlandville intensified by more than 11%-that is to say, there was a 50% decrease in the White population. Scotlandville is culturally distinctive. A study by Modjeski and Masters (1971), made to prepare a report about the extension of Interstate 110 through Scotlandville, revealed that there is a strong