As one of Bossier Parish’s esteemed supervisors of schools for African American children in the mid-20th century, Inez Smith Grisby was especially known for her role as teacher, and teacher supervisor, not only in Bossier Parish, where she worked for over twenty years, but throughout the state. Less known, but as much of an achievement, was Inez Grisby’s role as a student, first in obtaining a rare high school diploma in 1925, because secondary schools for African-American students in Louisiana were few and far between, and then as a recipient of a master’s degree from Louisiana State University (LSU) in the 1950’s when the university was trying unremittingly to maintain its campus as an all-white institution.
Young Inez Smith, who was born in 1905 and hailed from south Louisiana, had the opportunity to attend high school in the New Orleans area. If she had grown up in Bossier, such a diploma would not have been available to her unless she travelled to Central Colored High School in Shreveport. In New Orleans, however, she was able to get her diploma from the “secondary department” of New Orleans University, a historically Black university founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The university had merged with Gilbert Academy, a private college preparatory school that was the first standard high school for African Americans in the nation accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Early 20th-century African American schools, especially in rural areas, were in a catch-22 caused by segregation. You couldn’t have schools for African American students without African American teachers, and you couldn’t have African American teachers without African American schools – especially high schools. With a coveted high school diploma, an African American graduate could quality for a teaching certificate while completing requirements for postsecondary “normal,” or teacher-training, courses during summer institutes for teachers. Thus, Inez was teaching in rural schools soon after receiving her high school diploma, and attending summer institutes at Baton Rouge’s Southern University, a historically black university founded in 1888. She completed a bachelor’s degree from Southern in 1936, and began her supervising career in St. Mary Parish in 1936 – 1937.
Inez became Bossier Parish’s third Jeanes Teacher, or Jeanes Supervisor, in the 1937 – 1938 school session. A Jeanes Supervisor was a multi-faceted position named for the Quaker woman, Anna T. Jeanes, who funded a program to ensure a cadre of educated and professionally trained African American teachers to provide more and better schools for African American children, including secondary schools. In Bossier Parish, the Jeanes Teachers also supervised home demonstration (home economics) work for African-American women, such as teaching food preservation, home management skills, public health, making home visits and organizing homemaker clubs. They also organized community members to raise money to build more or better schools, and raised money for community organizations like the Red Cross or the March of Dimes.
In the 1950’s Inez pursued a Master’s degree from Louisiana State University when graduate and professional degrees (such as law or medicine) were not available at the universities or colleges for African Americans in Louisiana. Beginning in 1950, LSU admitted black students to these programs under court order since the school could not make the argument that “separate but equal” academic accommodations were available elsewhere. These orders meant that LSU admitted African American graduate students almost 15 years before it admitted African American undergraduate students (1964).
The Louisiana Weekly newspaper of New Orleans on Sept 15, 1956, outlined in painstaking detail the LSU Board of Supervisors’ conditions for maintaining social segregation in the face of mandated educational integration. One example (of twenty-one) is that the African American students could be invited to join an academic honor society, but were barred from attending the annual banquet. Religious clubs were also permitted to hold non-segregated religious meetings, but any social functions held by the group had to be segregated. Unfortunately, after completing her master’s degree as a trailblazing student, Inez, who rounded out her career as principal of Butler elementary in Bossier city, had little time to enjoy the benefit of the Master’s degree she earned in 1956. She passed away suddenly in 1959 at age 54.
As History Center curator Randall Palmer wrote in his parting article two weeks ago, here at the History Center we want to ensure that the stories of all who have shaped this parish, such as Inez Smith Grisby, are represented and preserved. By donating, or allowing us to scan or copy photographs, documents, family histories, and other materials, community members can help us build a richer, more inclusive collection that reflects the true diversity of Bossier Parish.
Please visit or contact us at the History Center. We are located at 7204 Hutchison Drive (formerly called 850 City Hall Drive) just across Beckett Street from the old Central Library and History Center in Bossier City, LA. All Bossier Parish Libraries locations will be closed Wednesday, 1/1/2025. Normal operating hours for Bossier Central Library and History Center are M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org
For other local history facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.
Images:
- Picture of Inez Smith Grisby from the Bossier City Colored High/Charlotte A. Mitchell High School Reunion Booklet for Classes 1942-1969, July 6-9, 2000. Walter H. Martin collection, History Center archives.
- New Orleans College (New Orleans University), circa 1920. P. 115. Illustration in book "Methodist Adventures in Negro Education" by Jay S. Stowell; published in New York: The Methodist Book Concern, no date, circa 1921-1922. Accessed via Documenting the American South. University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 14 February 2025 ˂https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/stowell/ill31.html>.
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