A. P. Tureaud facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexander Pierre Tureaud Sr.
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| Born | February 26, 1899 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
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| Died | January 22, 1972 (aged 72) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Howard University |
| Occupation | Attorney; Civil rights activist |
| Political party | Republican-turned-Democratic (1944) |
| Children | A. P. Tureaud Jr. |
Alexander Pierre "A. P." Tureaud Sr. (born February 26, 1899 – died January 22, 1972) was an important African-American attorney. He led the legal team for the NAACP in New Orleans. This was during the very important Civil Rights Movement.
With help from lawyers like Thurgood Marshall, A. P. Tureaud filed a big lawsuit. This lawsuit successfully ended unfair Jim Crow segregation in New Orleans. His work helped open the doors for the first two elementary schools in the Deep South to welcome all students, no matter their race.
Contents
A Champion for Civil Rights
What Were Jim Crow Laws?
Jim Crow laws were unfair rules. They came from a Supreme Court decision that said black and white people could use separate public places. The court said these places could be "separate but equal."
This ruling was called Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). It allowed states in the American South to make laws that treated people differently. These laws limited what citizens could do. They also limited their civil rights based on their race.
Louis Berry was another civil rights lawyer. He was the first African American allowed to practice law in Louisiana after Tureaud. Berry hoped to join Tureaud's law firm. But Tureaud could not afford another lawyer at that time.
Important Court Victories
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court changed its mind. It overturned the Plessy ruling. This new decision was called Brown v. Board of Education. It said that separate schools were unfair. It also said they must be desegregated quickly.
After this, A. P. Tureaud and the NAACP started lawsuits. These lawsuits eventually made the Orleans Parish School System desegregate. This meant schools had to allow all students to attend together.
Tureaud also filed a lawsuit in 1953 for his son, A. P. Tureaud Jr. He sued the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors. He wanted the university to desegregate. Because of this, his son became the first black student at LSU.
His Legacy Lives On
A. P. Tureaud passed away in New Orleans in 1972. He was almost 73 years old. His work changed many lives.
Personal Life
Tureaud was a Catholic. He was a member of St Augustine Church. He also belonged to the Knights of Peter Claver.
Honors
There is a statue of A. P. Tureaud. It is at the beginning of A.P. Tureaud Street in New Orleans.
