The Brylski Company  |  A Full Service PR Firm
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS
  • Press Releases
  • Contact

WOMEN WHO INTEGRATED NEW ORLEANS’ CORPORATE OFFICES CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS 50 YEARS LATER

10/11/2019

0 Comments

 
REUNION:                 Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1-3 p.m.
WHERE:                     New Orleans
                                    Historic New Orleans Williams Research Center
                                    410 Chartres St.
CONTACT:                Jeanne and Jeff Geoffray (214) 850-4584
                                    [email protected]
MEDIA:                      Heather Harper/the Brylski Company (504) 897-6110 or
                                    (504) 289-0499; [email protected]
 
            In December, 1965, a small vocational school known as the Adult Education Centerwelcomed an integrated class of mostly black underemployed women to begin training to become the first secretaries who would integrate the all-white businesses of New Orleans. 
            The effort caused an uproar at the time. The first pilot program was shut down after neighbors in uptown New Orleans objected to the school’s integrated student population. After the pilot program closed, the founders went looking for a new home. In the process, 60 landlords turned them down. Finally, one brave landlord, James J. Coleman, agreed to rent them a space in a series of converted bars on Exchange Place in the French Quarter. 
            During its period of operation from 1965 to 1972, the school placed 94 percent of its 431 graduates in jobs with salaries above the national average, thus making it one of the most successful programs of its kind in the War on Poverty. 
            The program was not without controversy for teaching English as a second language and for teaching African-American history and culture. The school published the first textbook on teaching English as a second language to native English speakers. It also pioneered teaching African-American makeup and hairstyles to help prepare its students for working in some of the city’s most high profile offices. Last, but not least, the school was a champion of taking a humanistic approach to vocational education. So, in addition to typing and shorthand, the students worked on writing, speaking and communication skills to help strengthen their critical powers and self-image.  
            The school was shut down a second time in 1967 for political reasons. But a group of New Orleans businessmen and leaders rallied to keep the school alive. The school was brought back to life in 1968 as a private / government partnership that was unique in its day and became a model for other such partnerships around the country. The story of the school closing and reopening was the subject of an Emmy Award winning documentary entitled, “The School That Would Not Die” written and narrated by Mel Leavitt. Eventually, the program’s success gained recognition from President Lyndon B. Johnson and a U.S. Senate committee welcomed Dr. Alice Geoffray, the school’s director, and three students to testify in Washington about the reasons why the school was so successful when so many other jobs programs in the War on Poverty failed. The late Congressman Hale Boggs, the father of Cokie Roberts, who recently passed away, was a great supporter of the school.
            Dr. Geoffray documented the successes of her students, many who went on to earn advanced degrees and become prominent New Orleans change agents. These stories are celebrated at the reunion by survivors and their families, as well as used to encourage new generations of success by the award of scholarships to local students. 
 
            See student biographies here: https://www.431exchange.com/our-stories
            Read about the center here: https://www.431exchange.com/history
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Arnie Fielkow
    Assessor Erroll Williams
    Audubon
    Baton Rouge
    Ben Franklin
    Ben Franklin Elementary
    Charters
    Conspiracy Theory
    Eastbank Collaborative
    Eastbank-collaborative
    Einstein
    Geri Baloney
    Gnoccs
    Greater New Orleans Collaborative
    Hynes
    IHSNO
    ISL
    Jeffrey Rouse
    Jfk
    Kenner Discovery
    Laca
    Lake Forest
    Lapcs
    Leesville
    Louisiana Caregivers
    Louisiana Policy Institute For Children
    Lusher
    Mandie Landry
    Morris Jeff
    Nbrpa
    Noise Ordinance
    Noise Ordinance
    Nomma
    Opioid
    Paulette Irons
    Sci High
    SLC GNO
    SLC-GNO
    Smithstag
    Stacy Head
    Stacy Head
    Teacher Fair
    Trineday
    University View Academy
    Warren Easton
    Warren Perrin
    Wilson
    Young Audiences

    RSS Feed

© Brylski Company 2019
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS
  • Press Releases
  • Contact