431 Exchange honors graduates who broke corporate barriers in the Deep South

Forty-three hundred dollars is not the number that defines the legacy of the Adult Education Center in New Orleans. Instead, the figure 431 stands out. That is the total count of women who graduated from the vocational school located at Exchange Place in the French Quarter. The institution operated for seven years, from 1965 to 1972, and closed its doors after that final cohort left.

The center opened one year after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. Its creation was inspired by Father Timothy Gibbons, a Catholic priest who needed skilled educators to run the program. He hired Alice Geoffray, a teacher who had recently won a national classroom teacher award. Geoffray was not a civil rights activist at the time. Her son, Jeff Geoffray, noted that she was a seasoned professional trying to support her family. She taught typewriting and shorthand for seven years, preparing students to enter offices that had previously excluded Black women.

In mid-May, a group of these graduates returned to the site for a reunion. Raphael Morgan was among them. She enrolled in 1970 after finishing high school because she could not afford college. She paid $40 for books. The curriculum included shorthand, typing, and job interviewing skills. Morgan recalled that before the training, she was repeatedly rejected for office jobs because she lacked those specific skills. She described the experience as having a door slammed in her face. Her mother, who had done domestic work, felt the weight of not being able to afford a college education for her daughter.

Morgan completed her training in 1971. She later earned a teaching degree from the University of New Orleans and worked for the Orleans Parish School Board and as an insurance adjuster. Jeff Geoffray said his mother remained in contact with many of her students. He stated that she did not have blind faith in them but believed in their talent. He listed several companies where his mother’s students became the first African American secretaries in the Deep South. These employers included Shell, Standard Oil, Pan-American Life, and city hall.

The school site is now the focus of a nonprofit organization called 431 Exchange. Jeff Geoffray and his sister Jeanne run the group. The name references the number of graduates and the location on Exchange Place. The organization advocates for equal and affordable access to education and provides scholarships to adults pursuing higher learning. The story of the school and the nonprofit’s work will be the subject of a PBS documentary. Morgan said she looks forward to the world seeing their experience when the film is released. The documentary is expected to be available in 2027.