SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — Shreveport’s mayor has apologized for the racist way the late singer Sam Cooke was treated during a visit to the city.
Cooke was in town in 1963 to perform at the Municipal Auditorium.
He had a reservation at a Holiday Inn but he, his wife and others were turned away.
Cooke and members of the group were arrested
KSLA reports Cooke and three others in his group were eventually arrested.
The station says author Peter Guralnick, who authored a biography of Cooke, wrote that the incident helped inspire Cooke’s civil rights anthem, “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Mayor Andrian Perkins apologized Saturday night during a music festival to Cooke, who died in 1964, and his family. Cooke’s daughter Carla performed at the festival.
Local media report Perkins also gave her a key to the city in honor of her father.