- Collection:
- Southern Journey Oral History Collection
- Title:
- Louisiana - New Orleans: Lolis Elie Interviewee
- Contributor to Resource:
- Dent, Thomas C.
- Date of Original:
- 1994-03-05
- Subject:
- African Americans
Civil rights
Education
Law
Military life
Race relations
Segregation
Universities and colleges - Location:
- United States, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, New Orleans, 29.95465, -90.07507
- Medium:
- sound recordings
- Type:
- Sound
- Format:
- audio/mpeg
- Description:
- Tom Dent interviews Lolis Elie in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dent asks about the issues of public schooling, specifically mentioning segregation and tracking. He details tracking as a de-facto means of segregation after the early 60s. Elie recalls his early schooling depended on the initiative of teachers instead of tracking. He specifically mentions that Gilbert, his high school, excelled in sports, particularly in competition with White schools. However, he says there was an unspoken understanding that White schools excelled in academics. Elie states the moment he first recognized that his intelligence was equal to, if not higher than, some Whites came when he joined the military. He scored higher then several Whites who had already graduated college, despite the fact that Elie had not attended college and had been out of school for a few years at that point. He said this made several Whites mad. He says the integration of the military was a trailblazing effort in de-segregation. They were also integral in enforcing the de-segregation of schools. Elie muses that the military has a different significance for Whites and Blacks, naming the Tuskegee airmen and stating that ranked officers are respected regardless of race. Dent and Elie discuss the intersection of the military, class, and race, comparing experiences. Elie recalls that most attending Gilbert, his high school, would be considered "working class" or poor. He was well off in comparison because his father was always employed. He recalls it was 18 dollars a month, which was prohibitive for some. Xavier Prep, Elie recalls, faced more de-facto segregation. He says Gilbert was much less "color-conscious." Elie names working for the football team as one for his favorite aspects of Gilbert. He says there was an understanding in the community that Gilbert students would "lift the race to new heights". McDonald 35, for example, was considered less prestigious. Gilbert was, as Elie recalls, respected even by the police and students were rarely, if ever, in trouble with the law. They did use corporal punishment in the form of a paddle specifically for actions "associated with lower class life."
- Metadata URL:
- https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane:54085
- Contributing Institution:
- Amistad Research Center
- Rights:
-
