Black educators fighting for equal pay in1930s New Orleans spark birth of influential teachers’ union

Black educators in 1930s New Orleans organized for equal pay after salaries were restored only for white teachers during the Great Depression. Their efforts led to the creation of AFT Local 527, which achieved salary equalization in 1943 and aligned with the Civil Rights Movement. Later, the United Teachers of New Orleans union formed in 1972, but union protections declined after Hurricane Katrina.