Charles B. Roussève (1902 - 1993) was a teacher, principal, historian, musician, poet, and writer in New Orleans, Louisiana. The

Amistad Research Center The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is an independent archives and manuscripts repository in the United States that specializes in the history of African Americans and ethnic minorities. It is one of the first institutions of its kind in the United ...

has a collection of his papers.

Early years

He was the oldest of eight children born to Barthelemy and Valentine Mansion Rousseve. Lucien Mansion, a "militant civic worker" and writer during the Civil War and

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

was his great-grandfather. Dominique Foster who served under general

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 was his great-great-grandfather. He graduated valedictorian from Xavier Preparatory School, received an undergraduate degree Straight College, a master's degree in history from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

, and did graduate studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He received an honorary PhD from Xavier University.

Personal life

He married Valerie Theresa Bowie of New Orleans February 2, 1924. She died January 3, 1929. He married teacher and librarian Mildred Celeste Robichaux January 31, 1931 and they had five children together: Charles S. Rousseve, Theresa R. Glass, twins Roland and Ronald Rousseve, and Yolande R. Eugere. He was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and also a member of the Knights of Peter Claver.

Career

Rousseve worked in the New Orleans Public Schools for 45 years, twenty-one of them as a teacher. He was principal of Julius Rosenwald and Johnson Lockett elementary schools, Samuel J. Green and Carter G. Woodson Junior High Schools, and Booker T. Washington Senior High School. He retired from Booker T. High School in 1966. During summers and evenings he taught French, English, and education at Straight, Xavier, and Southern. For his research on African Americans in Louisiana, he wrote to

Horace Mann Bond Horace Mann Bond (November 8, 1904 – December 21, 1972) was an American historian, college administrator, social science researcher and the father of civil-rights leader Julian Bond. He earned a master's and doctorate from University of Ch ...

in 1934. He was a musician, poet, and translator. He was published in ''The Louisiana Weekly'', ''Columbia Magazine'', and in poetry anthologies. His book ''The Negro in Louisiana: Aspects of His History and His Literature'' published in 1937 was the first book-length work published by the Xavier University Press. It was a pioneering work, the first book about black history in the state. He belonged to the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

, New Orleans

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

, Knights of Peter Clavier,

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity, Friends of the Amistad Research Center, B-Sharp Music Club, Orleans Principals Association, High School Principals Association, Louisiana Education Association, and National Education Association. He served on the board of directors of the Amistad Research Center.

Work

*''The Negro in Louisiana: Aspects of His History and His Literature'' (1937)

References

External links

Photograph of him and his wife
1902 births 1993 deaths African-American Catholics Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary {{Improve categories, date=July 2021