Mural painted by school students in New Iberia, Louisiana.
Last Friday, in a small town in rural Louisiana, the state’s 16th Judicial District Court rescheduled a preliminary hearing to address procedural matters in a lawsuit described in nine double-spaced pages.
Ho hum, not usually the beginning of a great story, right?
But this lawsuit could trigger something historic. It was filed last year by the Carrier family against the Schwing, Duhe and Romero families. The lawsuit alleges these families, along with Texaco and Chevron, have stolen oil and gas resources from the Carrier’s farmland continuously for more than 100 years. The Carrier land is just outside of New Iberia, Louisiana, where the plaintiffs and the defendants live in very different parts of town.
Apparently, the Carriers’ experience or some variation of it is not uncommon among black farming families in rural Louisiana. In 2017, I talked to several who reported that, at some point over the past 100 years, the family was swindled out of its farmland or the mineral resources beneath it. Were they going to do anything about it, I would ask. The response was always some variation of a sigh or a chuckle. Two professors from the University of Louisiana — one who specializes in civil rights and the other a Louisiana historian — acknowledged the problem but said that, like much of black history in Louisiana, the subject hasn’t been studied, written about, or addressed in law.
Bayou outside of New Iberia
If you are asking yourself why the Carriers waited 100 years to file a lawsuit to address an injustice that must have been obvious from the beginning, you probably haven’t spent a lot of time in rural Louisiana. Over those past 100 years, Jim Crow, lynchings, and a weird prevailing social compact might prevent a black family from suing a white family or an oil company. If you are black and you are lucky enough to find a lawyer willing and able to file your lawsuit, you might lose your job, or worse. In the mid-50s, the Carrier farmhouse mysteriously caught fire one night while the family slept, shortly after a member of the Carrier family suggested he understood what was happening on his land. Even in 2019, the lawsuit has created extraordinary stress and fear for some members of the Carrier family.
The Carriers’ courageous lawsuit could create a path for other families to assert their property rights in Louisiana. It provided me with the inspiration for a book. In the meantime, you can read more about the Carriers’ case and the historic town of New Iberia. But you probably won’t read about it in the Louisiana papers.
https://kimmie53.com/2018/02/21/da-berrys-invisible-40/#more-8963
http://theind.com/article-12451-the-ugly-secret-at-little-bayou.html
Camino Milagro 
Yay Kim! I really enjoy your writing.
I enjoy your comments!
Yes, Jim Crow is still alive and up to his same old tricks in parts of the USA. Thanks for reporting on this and wishing you all the best with your novel!
Thanks Henry!
This is similar to what happened to the Osage Indian tribe in Oklahoma in the 20’s and 30’s. They were initially able to benefit from oil drilled on their land, but many were then called incompetent and assigned white “guardians” who managed their finances. Osage Indians were mysteriously poisoned, shot, or otherwise eliminated. Their houses were burned or blown up. Law enforcement was weak and uninterested in perusing the perpetrators. Corruption flowed through the professionals in the community – doctors, sheriffs, accountants, bankers, business men and lawyers all worked together to cover up the plot to steal from the Osage, even within mixed marriage families. And, as in your story, it is not widely known, reported on or discussed outside the minority community. This is America.
Yes glad you added this. It is an old story with many variations that has been overlooked by the powerful.
Under Federal Mining Law, it is entirely legal to mine for oil, diamonds, water, or other wealth underneath another person’s property with “slant drilling” and horizontal drilling. It isn’t fair, and it is not just, but that’s the law.
Hi Charles, I don’t know the extent to which slant drilling is an issue in this case, if it is at all. It seems federal mineral law does not apply in Louisiana and that slant drilling is not lawful there without a lease or other agreement with the land owner, who holds a right to drill the oil on his or her own land — referred to as “mineral servitude” . https://www.theuslaw.com/basic-mineral-law-for-louisiana-landowners/ Over the years, the defendants in the Carrier case filed documents with the Parish, claiming the royalties from the resource on Carrier land. For example, one document stated the beneficiary had purchased the Carrier land and another stated that royalties would go to an “agent” of the Carriers whom the Carriers had in fact never met or authorized as an agent. It’s a complex set of facts over 100 years! Seems things are going well with your work on SONGS!!!
Hello. I am a part of the Carrier family you are speaking of in your article and there’s something I need to clear up with you. In your second paragraph, you stated and I quote that the Carrier family is “black and poor.” First of all, where did you get your facts? Yes, we are of the beautiful “African American” descent but we are definitely not poor. That comment is very offensive to us. You state “black” as if it should have a negative connotation to it and it definitely should not. Also, we have a published author in our “black” family that could write a novel about our own family history involving this matter. Thank you!
Hello Rekeisha, I replied to you privately shortly about your comments here, but never heard back. I apologize if I offended you in any way. I personally do not think there is any shame associated with income at any level. Your relative Robby Carrier Bethel and I, together, have just published the book about the truth of what happened on the family’s land. The book is titled Burden of Truth and I will send you a copy if you will let me know your address. My email is klmalcolm@gmail.com.
Hello Kim. My father was born and raised in New Iberia but moved to California after WWII. 4 of his other sibblngs remained and I spent a few summers in New Iberia with aunt. On her deathbed she told me about land that was stolen from her mother (Celina Bourda Bastien) by the oil company. “Follow dat earl!” was her dying command but I never knew what to do with that information or where to go. And i surely no idea that this was a common situation!
Hi Lisa. Incredible. I want to share something with you. Can you send me an email? Klmalcolm at gmail.
Kim- Wow! A great read so far & a story that needed to be told! I can’t wait to buy the book! Thanks for writing this! Claire from Cornville
Hi Claire! Thanks for your comment and I hope you have a wonderful new life in Mexico!
My Mother’s family well was poisoned and Her Mother and brother succumbed after drinking the water. My Mother was a baby, so did not drink the water and together with Her father, survived. But the land was swindled/taken from them. It was done for the oil on their land. This was in Welsh, Louisiana.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your family’s story. This is so tragic and so much a part of our history. Sadly, it is continuing. If you are interested in reading more about the Carrier family, we wrote a book called Burden of Truth (by Robby Carrier Bethel). It’s available on Amazon. Take care