Marie C. Couvent Elementary School

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Marie C. Couvent Elementary was a historic elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana named for Marie Couvent, an African American former slave who married successful African American businessman Bernard Couvent and deeded property for the Institute Catholique.

The school was built in 1940 in Faubourg Marigny and originally named Marigny Elementary School. It was renamed for Marie Couvent and renamed again in 1997 to A. P. Tureaud Elementary School because the Couvents had slaves.[1]

History[edit]

In 1989 Sun Ra performed in front of the school.[2]

In the 1990s a campaign was launched to rename city public schools that venerated slaveholders. Since Couvent and her husband owned slaves, and the school changed its name in 1997 to A. P. Tureaud Elementary School for A.P. Tureaud.[1][3] Manumission may have been illegal during the era they lived so their options to free people may have been limited.

The school closed in 2013.[4][5][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Anderson, Beverly Jacques (6 May 2011). Cherished Memories: Snapshots of Life and Lessons from a 1950S New Orleans Creole Village. iUniverse. ISBN 9781462003198 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Sun Ra Arkestra - Space Chant Medley - 5/5/89 - New Orleans, LA". YouTube.
  3. ^ "Before Lee Circle, New Orleans schools soul-searched their own ties to slavery".
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2018-04-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "A.p. Tureaud Elementary School (Closed 2015) Profile - New Orleans, Louisiana (LA)". www.publicschoolreview.com.
  6. ^ Layton, Lyndsey (28 May 2014). "In New Orleans, traditional public schools close for good" – via www.washingtonpost.com.