/SharingALife_Maria

Sharing a Life, Passing a Torch Maria Hernandez Leatrice Reed got her first job as a kindergarten teacher. She got her job in 1949, the year they decided to put kindergarten in black schools. It’s funny, because there were only three people going to school for nursery school and kindergarten certification, and she was one of them. Her job was something of a surprise to everyone, because she had just made twenty.

The first time she went to a American Federation of Teachers Local 527 union meeting was because her close friend, Inola Ferdinand, took her. She enjoyed the meeting but didn’t say much, because in those days everything you said was recorded and that scared some people away. Another thing that prevented some teachers from joining was the union dues. Teachers only made $227 a month after taxes were taken out. So it’s understandable that some teachers had difficulty paying the $15 a month union dues.

Ms. Leatrice remembers that in those times children who couldn’t read on a certain level at a certain grade were held back as many times as needed to reach the level their supposed to be on.

Ms. Leatrice later married Edward Roberts, who was a very active member of the teachers union. Ms. Leatrice decided to stay home and take care of their son, Edward Reed Roberts. She loved staying home with her child, but she made it clear that nothing in her life was about women being subordinate to men. In fact, women ran almost all of the union in those years.

Ms. Leatrice herself is an example of female union leadership. When she retired, she helped establish the retirees chapter for United Teachers of New Orleans.

“Just because you retire doesn’t mean you stop being an activist.” That’s the reason she founded the retiree chapter. Ms. Leatrice and Mr. Edward struggled their whole lives to get teachers the benefits they deserved through the health and welfare fund. They succeeded, but now everything they worked for is on the brink of getting destroyed as the school system considers cutting the Health and Welfare Fund to balance its budget.

“I’ve done all I can, but before I’m gone I want someone to pass the torch to,” Ms. Leatrice said.

That’s why I went to see her. I wanted to let her know that we students appreciate her and that there are a few of us who would gladly receive the torch and run with it.