Section of Houma school named for late educator who broke racial boundaries

More than 100 family members, friends and former colleagues gathered in the mall of Southdown Elementary in Houma to honor a late educator who broke racial boundaries in Terrebonne Parish.

The school's mall area as well as a road on the campus were named Wednesday evening in memory of James Charles, who died May 20, 2020, after a bout with COVID-19. He was 77.

"We weren't able to give him a proper burial, like we'd normally do," his sister Joyce Charles Bolden said, adding that state COVID restrictions at the time prevented such gatherings. "This is like basically the first gathering since his death."

Bolden recalled how Charles got his start as a student in a one-room school in Dularge. It led to a 36-year career as a teacher, principal and administrator in Terrebonne's public schools.

Remembering: James Charles, Terrebonne Parish educator and pioneer, dies at 77

In 1988, he became the first-ever principal of Ellender High. He was the first Black high school principal in the parish. In 1996, Charles was named assistant superintendent and for two years served as interim superintendent. He was the first Black person to hold either title. He retired in 2001.

Charles graduated from Southdown High School in 1960, which served Black students in Terrebonne during a time of racial segregation. He began his career as a math teacher at Southdown in 1969, the year it converted from an all-Black student body to an integrated elementary school.

"He loved children and was always pushing them," Bolden said, adding that more than one former student told her they would not have finished school without Charles' firm insistence.

Former Terrebonne Councilwoman Arlanda Williams, a vice chancellor at Delgado Community College in New Orleans and one of Charles' four daughters, said her father pushed her to further her education. She recently earned a doctorate in public policy from Southern University, her father's alma mater.

"That was one of the last things we were talking about," Williams said. "We would end our calls with, 'So when are you gonna start?' And I started, unfortunately, the Monday after they buried him."

Superintendent Philip Martin, who was set to retire Thursday after 15 years in the post and nearly five decades in the local school system, was a close friend of Charles. At Ellender High, Martin served as one of his assistant principals, a position he held for eight years. When the family said its final goodbyes to Charles, Martin was part of the phone call.

Martin told the crowd of his friend, his characteristics and how the entire school district is better because of Charles' influence. Charles was a role model, and Martin said he often asked himself how his mentor would have addressed issues he faced, both personally and professionally. Charles was a loving, caring and imposing man, Martin said, and he used those traits to the betterment of those around him.

"James always wanted something," Martin said, followed by a long pause. "Never for himself: That was his life, helping people."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Part of Southdown Elementary in Houma named for pioneering educator