On April 16, 1962, Archbishop Joseph Rummel of New Orleans excommunicated three prominent white segregationists for their ongoing resistance to the desegregation of Catholic schools. The individuals—Leander Perez, Judge George W. Jackson, and businessman Jackson Ricau—publicly defied Rummel’s directive to integrate parochial schools in New Orleans. Rummel had spent years advocating for racial justice within the Church, and this bold disciplinary act signaled a firm stand against institutional racism. The excommunications drew national attention and marked one of the most significant religious condemnations of segregation in U.S. history.
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