African Americans in Tangipahoa & St. Helena Parishes

Book excerpt: Tangipahoa and St. Helena are two of the eight Florida Parishes in southeast Louisiana. In 1810, St. Helena Parish was founded, and Tangipahoa Parish followed in 1869. The historic St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, public school desegregation case predated the US Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Many families in the two parishes are the descendants of former slaves. They endured the harsh treatment of Jim Crow and segregation while remaining connected to the Florida Parishes. Notable Grammy-winning singer Irma Thomas and Collis Temple Jr., the first African American to play varsity basketball at Louisiana State University, call these parishes home. Many African Americans in the parishes are successful and are still working to improve race relations.