Creole Boy - Galatas Sr., Herman J.

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Résumé :
It was a joy to grow up in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the sixties and seventies. The Big Easy was always, and still is, an urban community, where people take pride in their neighborhoods, the food they cook, the schools they attend, and the social clubs of which they are members. In addition to those experiences, all New Orleanians can share classic stories about their childhoods, including Mardi Gras events or tales about riding their bikes across the city then stopping at a local corner-grocery store to purchase a po'boy sandwich. I have shared some of my unique experiences that, hopefully, will help the readers of this book reminisce about their past experiences and cherish those memories while sharing them with friends and family.

Biographie:
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, I lived in the Upper and Lower Ninth Wards most of my life. I also lived in the Seventh and Fifteenth Wards for a brief period. Growing up in the Desire Community of the Ninth Ward during the sixties, and being a person of a lighter skin complexion, sometimes presented its challenges. Most of those challenges were literally trying to prove to kids in our community, especially when we lived in the Desire Housing Projects, that I was Negro. The racial designations Black and African American were not politically correct terms during the early sixties. I hated and continually rejected being called White boy and was disturbed every time someone called me that. I hated it to the point that I would get into physical brawls as a small child just because someone called me White boy. One thing I knew, and I knew for sure-I was not White, and I did not want to be characterized as a White person.I attended several different Catholic grammar schools. For kindergarten through second grade, I attended Saint Philip the Apostle, on Clouet Street in the Desire Community of the Ninth Ward. For third grade through the first half of fifth grade, I attended Epiphany Catholic School in the Seventh Ward. I finished the second half of fifth grade back at Saint Philip the Apostle. I then, in the fall of '69, attended Our Lady Star of the Sea, on Saint Roch Street in the Eighth Ward, for sixth, seventh, and half of eighth grades. I was one of the first six Black students to attend Our Lady of the Sea. Then I attended my first public school for the first half of eighth grade-Colton Junior High on Saint Claude Avenue in the Eighth Ward. I finished the second half of eighth grade back at Our Lady Star of the Sea, where I was one of the first three Black students to graduate from that school.I attended three different high schools. My freshman year, 1972-1973, I attended Redemptorist Catholic High School in the Irish Channel. That school had over four hundred students. I was one of the first twelve Black students to attend Redemptorist. Because of the ongoing racial harassment by students at Redemptorist, I transferred to Alcee Fortier High School my sophomore year, 1973-1974.Eleanor McMain Magnet, a new high school, was founded in the fall of '74, so I enrolled there for my junior and senior years before graduating in 1976.Post high school, I attended Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge for three uninterrupted years, 1976 to 1979, and my major was political science. My sister was already attending LSU; therefore, she and I were two of the first 100 -150 Black students to attend LSU.I attended two summer-college sessions-one at the University of New Orleans (UNO), the summer of 1978, and the other at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), the summer of 1979. I changed majors from political science to elementary education and then transferred from LSU to UNO the fall of 1979, remaining there until 1981 without completing my degree.Eventually, thirteen years later, I finished my college education through Concordia University Wisconsin's, extension/center in Metairie, Louisiana, while working full time, married, with two kids, and one daughter before marriage. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Communications in 1994.