amistad research center

The Amistad Research Center is pleased to announce the opening of the papers of Dr. James E. Blackwell, sociologist and educator who specialized in the study of the sociology and economics of the Black community and the desegregation of higher education institutions in the United States. Long-time professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston (1970-1989), Dr. Blackwell focused his research on the structure of inequality within ma

Natalie Midlo was a nurse, wife, and mother who was active in the Temple Sinai Sisterhood and the National Council of Jewish Women. Her involvement with local and national civil rights organizations led to her activism in the areas of civil rights and school desegregation. Midlo was actively involved in the Save Our Schools group, which sought to fight against the demand by some residents to close public schools rather than allow them to integrate. As an activist, Natalie Mid

Sometimes a simple question can lead you down a rabbit hole. That’s the enjoyment of reference, your ability to learn something new while helping a patron in their own research. In this case, someone looking for a speech led to a little-known organization, the New Orleans Improvement League, whose story had a far-reaching impact on the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans. The mid-1950s saw great strides in federal de-segregation, but not everyone agreed with it. For those wh

Preservation work has now been completed on rare home movie footage of Ruby Bridges, thanks to a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. The brief, silent 8mm film was shot by Josie Ritter, who was a teacher at William Franz Elementary School when Ruby became the first black student to integrate it in 1960. The first portion of the film, shot through a window from inside the school, records white protesters picketing outside, carrying signs and Confederate flags

Dorothy Mae (Delavallade) Taylor was an authoritative political figure in New Orleans and Louisiana, whose fiery rhetoric shook the old guard political establishment in the 1970s to the 1990s. Born August 10, 1928 to Charles Henry and Mary Delavallade, Dorothy Taylor was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. Her career in public service began with the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of the Orleans Parish School Board. At that time, school segregation relegated Black children t

The social activism of sisters Oretha Castle Haley and Doris Jean Castle began when they were still young women. They came from a working class family. Born in Tennessee, the young sisters moved to New Orleans with their parents and brother around 1947. The girls’ father, John Castle, took a job as a longshoreman, and their mother, Virgie Castle, found employment as a bartender and waitress at Dooky Chase restaurant, which operated as a hub for civil rights activism in New Or