Committee reports bill to name Shreveport stretches for civil-rights leaders Dr. Harry Blake and Virginia Evans

The House Transportation Committee on March 17 reported House Bill 129, which would name a segment of Louisiana Highway 173 as the Dr. Harry Blake Sr. Memorial Highway and, by amendment, designate a portion of Louisiana Highway 3194 in Shreveport as the Virginia Green Evans Memorial Highway.

Committee staff member Mr. Odom summarized the amendment packet, telling the members that the set identified as font 1595 includes one substantive amendment and three technical edits; amendment two inserts the separate designation for the portion of Highway 3194 between Linear Street and Lagarde Street in Shreveport. "These amendments are in your folders and available online," Mr. Odom said while reading the amendment details.

Sponsor Representative Walters described Dr. Blake’s civil-rights leadership in Shreveport and recounted his work with the NAACP and the local community. "He was an intricate part of the civil rights era," Walters said, adding that Dr. Blake survived an assassination attempt while driving along Highway 1. Walters also summarized Virginia Evans’s advocacy for the Martin Luther King community and efforts to expand children’s access to libraries and basic necessities.

Representative Walters moved to report the bill with the amendment set; the chair asked for objections and, receiving none, the committee reported House Bill 129 with amendments.

Next steps: the committee reported the bill to the larger legislative body with the adopted amendments; no formal roll-call vote or further scheduling details were recorded in the committee transcript.