Dorothy Mae DeLavallade Taylor: First Black Woman to Serve in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Dorothy Mae DeLavallade Taylor was the first African-American woman to serve in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
As president of the PTA during a time when segregation was still the norm in Orleans Parish Schools, Taylor demanded that the Orleans Parish School Board provide supplies for black schools equal to those given to white schools.
Taylor’s activism continued following the desegregation of the school system as she led efforts to desegregate the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) and to help black citizens register to vote.
A federal judge declared that Taylor’s attempt to regulate membership policies of the krewes violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Taylor died in New Orleans eight days after her 72nd birthday.
