This month marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of St. Augustine High School, the first Catholic high school in New Orleans opened for Black male students.
Built at a cost of $359,000, the school was dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 26, 1951. Located at 2600 London Ave. (later renamed A.P. Tureaud Avenue), St. Augustine was founded by the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, better known as the Josephite Fathers and Brothers.
Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel, who blessed the campus at the dedication ceremony, said the school “was the first step toward the culmination of a challenge to advance the glory of God by safeguarding the spiritual, intellectual and moral welfare of our youth.” New Orleans Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison celebrated its opening but admitted “New Orleans has a long way to go for its Negroes,” according to the next day’s Times-Picayune. “We have a lot of ground to make up. Schools, high schools and playgrounds have been mighty late in coming. Everything we can do should be done as soon as possible.”…