The history of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation

50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of New Orleans Public Schools
November 14th, 1960-2010

On November 14th, 2010, the 50th Anniversary of the Integration of the public elementary schools in New Orleans, with the generous support of citizens from all around the United States, a marker was placed in the 5900 block of Saint Claude Avenue across the street from the McDonough # 19 elementary school, in the ninth ward, one of two schools that were desegregated on that day in 1960.

In September of 1952, Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and legendary attorney A.P. Tureaud, initiated a suit calling for the end of the segregated school system in Orleans Parish. The ceremony took place at approximately 9:00 am, the exact time the children were escorted into the school by federal marshals. The marker was placed at 5909 Saint Claude Avenue across the street from McDonogh #19 Elementary School.

At the ceremony was Gail Etienne, Leona Tate, and Tessie Prevost, the Marshals who escorted them into the school in 1960, and A.P. Tureaud Jr., Damon Hewitt of the Legal Defense Fund other distinguished guests.

PLESSY DAY 2011


Celebrating the work of Homer Plessy and the Citizens’ Committee

New Orleans, LA – The Crescent City Peace Alliance, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation invite you to Plessy Day 2011, on Tuesday, June 7 at 6PM.

We will begin the celebration in NOCCA’s parking lot (2800 Chartres Street) with a live performance by Carl LeBlanc and Jonathan Bloom. Guests will then be welcomed into NOCCA’s Ellis Marsalis Jazz Studio for a reading and short talk by A.P. Tureaud Jr. and Dr. Rachel Emanuel, co-authors of A More Noble Cause. Together they tell the remarkable story of one civil rights lawyer’s lifelong fight for racial justice in Jim Crow Louisiana. The book will be available for purchase from The Community Book Center. Light fare will be provided by Marriott New Orleans.

The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, The Crescent City Peace Alliance and the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation joined together for A Celebration of Progress: Homer Plessy Day 2010. Carl LeBlanc and the Big Easy Street Team opened the event with a secondline from the site of Homer Plessy’s arrest at the corner of Press and Royal Streets to NOCCA’s campus. They performed “His Last Parade”, an original composition written by Carl Leblanc and the only tune written in honor of Homer Plessy.

The centerpiece of the celebration was a performance by NOCCA's drama division entitled SE-PA-RATE, Plessy v. Ferguson. The play is an original work exploring segregation from 1890 to 2010. This evolving performance piece was created by NOCCA faculty member Silas Cooper and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.

Remembrance and Reconciliation
January 24, 2010
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site

The Foundation’s founding members (pictured at left) were invited to speak at the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas. Cheryl Brown-Henderson of the Brown Foundation hosted the event. Keith Weldon Medley delivered an impressive presentation on the history of the case. The historical significance of the building and the warmth of the crowd left an impression on us that words cannot describe. The people of Topeka, Kansas touched our hearts by timing the event so that we could watch our New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. On the big screen in the lobby of the hotel, Plessy, Ferguson, Brown, and Medley cheered the Saints on to victory.

June 7th, 2009. The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation sponsored the first second line for Homer Plessy Day. On this occasion, musician Carl LeBlanc performed “His Last Parade,” a tune written in honor of Homer Plessy, and The New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts’ (NOCCA) summer dance class performed “The Appeal” in honor the Citizens’ Committee. The event marked a memorable marriage of history and the arts.

July 9th, 2009. The Foundation’s Letters of Incorporation were signed at Café Reconcile. The Hon. William Guste III (notary) signed the Letters of Incorporation together with three of the founding members: Keith M. Plessy, Phoebe Ferguson, and Keith Weldon Medley. The fourth founding member is Brenda Square (Archivist, Amistad Research Center).

September 25th, 2009. Founding members of the Foundation were invited to speak at the 52nd Anniversary of Central High National Historic Site in Little Rock, AK. Superintendent Robin White of the National Park Service (NPS) hosted the event, which was co-sponsored by the NPS, Philander Smith College, and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. The year during which the historic events known as the Little Rock Integration Crisis occurred coincided with the birth of two of Foundation’s founding members: Keith M. Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson were both born in 1957. On this occasion, Keith Weldon Medley gave a PowerPoint presentation, and Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson each contributed concluding comments. At the end of the symposium, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebee proclaimed September 25th “Little Rock Nine Day."

November 18th, 2009. A ceremony was held at the Cabildo to honor Homer Adolph Plessy. Plessy’s repaired tombstone, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, is preserved in a glass case now permanently displayed in the Sala Capitular of the Cabildo in Jackson Square. Speakers included Dr. Lawrence Powell, Keith Weldon Medley, Greg Osborne, and Father Jerome Ledoux. Sam Rykels of the Louisiana State Museum, Robert Florence of Friends of Our Cemeteries, and the Law Library of the Louisiana State Supreme Court arranged the event. Co-MC’s were Keith M. Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson. Music was performed by John Boutte and Carl LeBlanc.

Plessy and Ferguson unveil plaque today marking their ancestors' actions
by Katy Reckdahl of The Times-Picayune, February 11, 2009

Today, Plessy versus Ferguson becomes Plessy and Ferguson, when descendants of opposing parties in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court segregation case stand together to unveil a plaque at the former site of the Press Street Railroad Yards. READ ARTICLE >>