Desegregation

      On March 17, 1954, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case ruled racial segregation of children in public schools unconstitutional. However, in many places throughout the South, the separation of schools based on race continued to exist for many years. In Iberia Parish, desegregation of schools did not take place until the 1969-70 academic school year, where all of the schools were desegregated at once. Despite the idea that desegregation would benefit race relations, many African American educators and students soon found themselves at greater disadvantages, such as the demotion of educational leaders and school name changes.

      While some people believed that desegregation would benefit New Iberia’s citizens, the decision did not come without great opposition. African American teachers and students were removed from schools they had taught at and/or attended for many years and were forced into unfamiliar academic settings that were already occupied by white students. Eventually, schools named after prominent Black leaders like Jonas Henderson and A.B. Simon were renamed, stripping away parts of the Black community’s rich history. In retaliation, Black high school students were involved in multiple protest efforts to express their opposition against forced desegregation and name changes within the Iberia Parish school system. Staging marches and sit-downs, African American students who participated in the acts of resistance were dedicated to fighting to preserve their racial identity, which was  acknowledged by African American schools prior to integration.