Calvin J. Roach, a hero of the Cajun pride movement but a man largely unknown to most in Acadiana, even those of Cajun descent, has died. The World War II veteran, who spent a successful career as a mechanical engineer, sued his former employer, Dresser Industries, in federal court three decades ago and in so doing won Cajuns federal discrimination protection. Ten days shy of his 85th birthday, Roach passed away Wednesday night.
The Roach family was originally known by the French name Roche but adopted an Anglicized name — not uncommon in early 20th century Acadiana when mainstreaming the Cajun population was a focus of the political and educational culture. Calvin Roach was born in Rayne on April 5, 1925. He worked the cotton fields when not attending school, graduating from Rayne High in 1941. Following a stint as a gunner in the U.S. Navy from 1942-1946, Roach returned to Acadiana and obtained a mechanical engineering degree in 1951 from South Louisiana Institute, now UL.
His career brought him to Massachusetts, California and elsewhere as he rose to supervisory positions with several major American aerospace, energy and defense companies. While employed by Dresser in Alexandria in 1979 as the corporation’s manager of industrial engineering, Roach was dispatched to south-central Pennsylvania to investigate the malfunction at the now-infamous Three Mile Island nuclear plant, for which Dresser manufactured parts. Roach’s report found that Dresser lacked proper quality control, a conclusion that inflamed his employer and led to Roach being branded a “whistle blower” and a “coonass.” Soon after, Roach was fired by Dresser.
The latter slur prompted Roach to file suit against Dresser for ethnic discrimination. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, but not before U.S. District Court Judge Edwin Hunter ruled in 1980 that federal law protects Cajuns from discrimination.
CODOFIL President Warren A. Perrin says, “Today we honor Mr. Roach for his fortitude in protecting our cultural rights.”
[Editor’s Note: Historian Shane Bernard takes exception with our account of the impetus for Roach’s lawsuit against Dresser Industries. Bernard reviewed transcripts from the Roach v. Dresser trial in 1980, and tells The Independent that the Three Mile Island anecdote recounted above, which we got from CODOFIL, is never mentioned in the trial. Rather, says Bernard, it was Dresser management’s repeated use of “coonass” in front of Roach while investigating a theft at the company that prompted Roach’s lawsuit.]
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JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
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JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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