St. Claude in New Orleans in Orleans Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

William T. Frantz Elementary School

Site of School Desegregation in 1960

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, August 20, 2022

1. William T. Frantz Elementary School Marker

Inscription.

William T. Frantz Elementary School. Site of School Desegregation in 1960. , William T. Frantz Elementary School at 3811 North Galvez Street in New Orleans became a significant site in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. On November 14, 1960, a six-year-old girl walked through its doors and changed the course of history by entering a Deep South public elementary school that had previously been reserved for white students only. The desegregation of New Orleans schools stemmed from efforts by the NAACP and other Civil Rights organizations to end separation of school children by race. Since the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, schools across the Deep South became rigidly segregated. Although they were supposed to be equal in quality to white schools, the black schools received subpar facilities and educational materials. In September 1952, with assistance from attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, New Orleans Attorney A.P. Tureaud initiated a lawsuit on behalf of Earl Benjamin Bush calling for an end to the segregated school system in Orleans Parish., In 1954, the United States Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education case set aside the Plessy decision and ruled that ordered segregated schools were unconstitutional. The high court that public schools be desegregate "with all deliberate speed." In 1956, the US Court of Appeals dismissed multiple attempts by the Louisiana Legislature to thwart integration efforts. In July 1959, Federal Judge J. Skelly Wright ordered the Orleans Parish School Board to integrate its schools. , After a series of aptitude tests, four girls were selected to become the pioneers at McDonogh No. 19 Elementary and William T. Frantz schools in the New Orleans Ninth Ward. With the eyes of the nation focused on New Orleans, U.S. Marshals escorted the girls (Ruby Bridges to William T. Frantz and Leona Tata, Gail Etienne Stripling and Tessie Prevost to McDonogh No. 19) amidst taunts and threats from segregationists. Despite those challenges, the four children successfully completed the school year. Their courage paved the way for more peaceful expansion of integration into other schools in the following years.

William T. Frantz Elementary School at 3811 North Galvez Street in New Orleans became a significant site in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. On November 14, 1960, a six-year-old girl walked through its doors and changed the course of history by entering a Deep South public elementary school that had previously been reserved for white students only. The desegregation of New Orleans schools stemmed from efforts by the NAACP and other Civil Rights organizations to end separation of school children by race. Since the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, schools across the Deep South became rigidly segregated. Although they were supposed to be equal in quality to white schools, the black schools received subpar facilities and educational materials. In September 1952, with assistance from attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, New Orleans Attorney A.P. Tureaud initiated a lawsuit on behalf of Earl Benjamin Bush calling for an end to the segregated school system in Orleans Parish.

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education case

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set aside the Plessy decision and ruled that ordered segregated schools were unconstitutional. The high court that public schools be desegregate "with all deliberate speed." In 1956, the US Court of Appeals dismissed multiple attempts by the Louisiana Legislature to thwart integration efforts. In July 1959, Federal Judge J. Skelly Wright ordered the Orleans Parish School Board to integrate its schools.

After a series of aptitude tests, four girls were selected to become the pioneers at McDonogh No. 19 Elementary and William T. Frantz schools in the New Orleans Ninth Ward. With the eyes of the nation focused on New Orleans, U.S. Marshals escorted the girls (Ruby Bridges to William T. Frantz and Leona Tata, Gail Etienne Stripling and Tessie Prevost to McDonogh No. 19) amidst taunts and threats from segregationists. Despite those challenges, the four children successfully completed the school year. Their courage paved the way for more peaceful expansion of integration into other schools in the following years.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. A significant historical date for this entry is November 14, 1960.

Location. 29° 58.577′ N,

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, August 20, 2022

2. William T. Frantz Elementary School Marker

90° 2.02′ W. Marker is in New Orleans, Louisiana, in Orleans Parish. It is in St. Claude. It is on North Galvez Street west of Alvar Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3811 N Galvez St, New Orleans LA 70117, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Louisiana’s River Parishes.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

on the Gulf Coast,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: On These Grounds On November 14, 1960 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Historic Lower Ninth Ward / Industrial Canal Flood Wall (approx.

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, August 20, 2022

3. William T. Frantz Elementary School Marker

¾ mile away); Mello Residence (approx. 0.8 miles away); Ninth Ward WWI Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); Saint Vincent De Paul Church (approx. 1.1 miles away); Olivier Plantation House (approx. 1.1 miles away); Olivier Plantation House & St. Mary's Orphanage (approx. 1.1 miles away); Cola(r) Residence (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Orleans.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2022, by Cerenitee Clarke of Ellington, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 4,134 times since then and 244 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 20, 2022, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.