State rep under fire after talking 'good, bad and ugly' of slavery Garofalo’s bill would prohibit the teaching that the United States or Louisiana is “systematically racist or sexist." Author: Paul Murphy / Eyewitness News Published: 6:53 PM CDT April 29, 2021 Updated: 6:54 PM CDT April 29, 2021 NEW ORLEANS — State Representative Ray Garofalo is under fire for comments he made in a House committee meeting this week when he talked about slavery in an exchange with New Orleans State Representative Stephanie Hilferty. She pressed the Republican lawmaker from Chalmette to explain how his bill that would ban the teaching of systemic racism known as “critical race theory” would work practically in the classroom.