Saturday, I happened to be shopping in Antique Alley. I have one favorite store that never disappoints me. This time was no different. Tucked in a pile of yearbooks, was a tattered blue book with “Bulldog: 1951” on the cover. I opened it up and lo and behold, it was a very rare yearbook for the Monroe Colored High! You bet I snatched it up and took it home with me! Many of the pages were missing. It isn’t in the best shape. What remains is priceless! Over the next few days, I’ll share some scanned images of some of the pages.
These two images made me pause in astonishment. The upper image is the playground of the school. What is important is in the background. Carroll Auditorium was the site of some of the biggest concerts in Monroe’s history. Can you say, Louis Armstrong? Yep. He played here. Look at those old busses!
The second photo is also important. At first glance, you see several young men in shop class (Industrial Arts). What gave me pause are the signs.”We need better educational facilities” and “Give us better schools”. The Civil Rights movement was about to start. It would be another twenty years or so before schools would be integrated here. African American schools were still an afterthought and were mostly given the leftovers and the bare basics to function. “Give us better schools” indeed.
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 