AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS IN LOUISANA
Currently, I’m working on a website that tells a part of American History that really needs to be told.
It really, really needs to be told.
Why?
I think it gets to the root of a lot of things that affect the country nowadays.
But it also tells the story of my parents and grandparents. If you are in your 30s like me and your parents grew up in Louisiana, it will also tell their story. Heck, if your parents grew up in the south, it might tell your story.
On, African American High Schools in Louisiana Before 1970,
I’m telling the stories of 200+ high schools. Nowadays only a few of those high schools exist. Most discontinued after desegregation passed Louisiana in 1970. If they still exist, they exist as Community Centers, and Elementary or Junior High Schools. A few are now in the National Register of Historic Places. A great majority of them were neglected or were destroyed after school systems statewide desegregated in 1970.
On this site, we are crowdsourcing the histories of those African American High Schools in Louisiana. Alumni from about 100 of those schools have passed on yearbooks or other mementos from their times in high school. We are interviewing principals and coaches from that period to get their perspectives on what happened during that time. Here is an interview from Dr. Henry Yale Harris, Principal of Second Ward High School in Edgard, Louisiana.
The information is very difficult to find on the internet. The existence of some of the schools can only be seen with the announcement of a reuion or a “hollow” MAPQUEST indication of the school’s existence. Some of the entries have “phone numbers”. These phone numbers lead to the schools that are now elementary or junior high schools. The phone numbers may also lead to nowhere.
Most of the history has been passed down by word of mouth. The problem with word of mouth history is that it might change from person to person. Everyone has played telephone before.
We are also searching for information about the Louisiana Interscholastic Association Literary Organization (LIALO). This organization was the conference all the African American Schools played under until the decision of St. Augustine v. Louisiana High Schools Activities Association (LHSAA).
Most of the information about the LIALO, is about champions holding their 50 year reunions. This is a shame, because the LIALO had its share of future professional athletes and hall of famers. One high school senior, Kirk Clayton tied a 100 yard dash high school record held by Jesse Owens. Someone has to tell these stories. With the alumni in their upper 60s–90s and passing away, there are fewer and fewer people remaining each year to tell the stories.
I’ll post updates about the development of the site here. There is a lot of work to do.
I also encourage other alumni from other states to post information about their high schools. Its American History.
When people discuss segregation in history class, most of it is just merely, black people went to one school and white people went to another….then Brown v. Board of Education. Most people don’t think about the fact that some African Americans didn’t have a practical access to high school education until the 1950s and what went into integrating high schools. Heck, Louisiana still has an integration fight going on..This site touches this.
