Monroe Colored High School Class of 1929

You can see Professor M.J. Foster in front in the black cap and gown. The school building was fairly new. One of the ladies in this class is Mrs. Ollie Mae Burns, a pioneer trailblazer in the library field. A branch of the Ouachita Parish Public Library is named for her.

Odalie Richardson McDonald: OPPL’s first African American Librarian

I have always LOVED this picture: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-arc%3A18 . It shows the moment Ms. Odalie Richardson (later McDonald) receives the keys to the Carver Branch Library from B.D. Robinson. The African American community had fought hard for this moment. I always thought Mrs. McDonald looks so REGAL here! What brought this picture to mind was an … Continue reading Odalie Richardson McDonald: OPPL’s first African American Librarian →

A Proposed New Building For the Monroe Academy

Wouldn't this have been a gorgeous building? This was published in the Monroe News Star back in 1913. Professor Foster and the trustees of the Monroe Academy were looking to expand the school space and the following conceptual drawing was made. It never happened to my knowledge. Ten years later, Monroe Colored High School would … Continue reading A Proposed New Building For the Monroe Academy →

Students in Other Parish schools

Last week, I told you about the Monroe Academy, a Leland University affiliate private school for African-American students at the turn of the last century. Leland had affiliate schools all over Louisiana in the 1890s and 1900s and some Ouachita Parish students were sent to these other schools! If the student lived in the western … Continue reading Students in Other Parish schools →

Students and Faculty of the North Louisiana Industrial Institute

The bulletin for Leland University I found these lists of students in, can be seen on the Internet Archives here : https://archive.org/details/bulletin189798191011lela/page/n121/mode/2up?q=%22Monroe%2C+LA%22 . I also found them digitized on the Hathi Trust page and on the Worldcat database. I transcribed from each brochure the list of students, which added up to around 2,300 names! What … Continue reading Students and Faculty of the North Louisiana Industrial Institute →

Monroe’s Ties to a Lost Black University

I am just recently hearing about a private school for African-Americans that was here in the 1890's and the early 1900's. To call out my own biases, I thought that Wisner Colored High School was the only school for African Americans during this time period. I knew of at least one small private school, but … Continue reading Monroe’s Ties to a Lost Black University →

Dedication Page, 1951

This page was another jaw dropper! Looking out from this page is probably one of the biggest names in Ouachita Parish educational history. Professor M.J. Foster. WOW! Mrs. H.W. Johnson is Mrs. Henrietta Windham Johnson, whom a community center on Berg Jones Lane is named for. She taught for fifty years. That means she was … Continue reading Dedication Page, 1951 →