Barely a month after blacks and whites in New Orleans banded together to defeat former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in the Louisiana Governor's race, the city's newfound unity has been shattered by a controversial antidiscrimination law. For more than a century, many of the elite Mardi Gras krewes, which organize colorful carnival balls and parades, have been white, all-male organizations. But in a unanimous decision last week, the city council ruled that any krewe that bars blacks, Jews or women could not only lose its parade permit but also face criminal penalties.
The law, proposed by city councilor Dorothy...
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