How it Began...
In 2004 the local NAACP chapter reorganized. Pat became President soon after and then began to get telephone calls from black parents (and some white parents) about the deplorable conditions of a nearly all black elementary school and a local High School in Kentwood.
Upon investigation, she saw that the elementary school was in deplorable condition and the local high school needed a roof. Oddly, the local residents called the basement of the high school, the olympic swimming pool because in Louisiana, basements are a dumb idea - it rains far too much here.
The people 100 years ago who built the school with a basement had no real knowledge of how it would flood.
And now?
After 2 years of motions and orders, and major resistence from the board, the Judge has finally gotten their idea of a desegregation plan - something they were ordered to produce over 45 years ago.
The board admits that only 6 of 38 schools in the district are desegregated and their plan does nothing toward desegregation.
Even now, with their backs against the wall, the school board is blatently thumbing their noses up at a federal judge who will force their hand yet again.
Please visit the Eyes Now Wide Open website for details on this court case.
You won't believe how blatent racism is here in Louisiana.
What happened?
Pat went to the school board with a laundry list of problems. The school board ignored her. Their attorney went so far as to write a letter to the editor in the local newspaper telling the board to ignore her requests.
Pat was reduced to resurrecting a 45 year old desegregation case to try to gain some resolve.
To resurrect the dormant case, she required a test case to prove that the practices of the school board were racist. It wasn't long before a coach's position became available and the school board passed over a qualified black coach for a white coach.
In going to court, she was able to prove there had been no black coach in Tangipahoa Parish. The court sided with Ms. Morris and the black coach was hired.
