LOUISIANA (CelebrityAccess) – Shreveport, Louisiana’s mayor Andrian Perkins has formally apologized for the racist manner in which the late King of Soul Sam Cooke was treated during a visit to the city some 50 years ago, according to The Associated Press.
The incident took place at a Holiday Inn in 1963 while Cooke was in town to perform at the Municipal Auditorium, reports AP. Cooke, his wife and members of their group were reportedly turned away by the hotel before he and three others were eventually arrested.
Cooke autobiographer Peter Guralnick has stated that the incident helped inspire the singer’s civil rights anthem, “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Mayor Perkins made the public apology Saturday evening at a local music festival, during which Cooke’s daughter Carla was performing. Local media has also reported that Perkins gave her a key to the city in honor of her father.
