Dec. 18, 1961 - Three hundred Negroes and a few whites tried to march on the State Office Building in New Orleans today. They were protesting the mass arrest of anti-segregation demonstrators last week in Baton Rouge. The police arrested 292 of them and broke up the demonstration. The Negroes began their march about 6 p.m., in the midst of rush-hour traffic in downtown New Orleans. The police rushed in all available motorcycle units. One policeman said: “We’re herding them [Negro demonstrators] in like cattle.” Police Chief Joseph Giarrusso said that “every paddy wagon we have was used to bring them in.” Many of the marchers carried schoolbooks. One girl was ushered into a police wagon carrying a rosary in her hands. A few white youths were arrested with the Negroes.
