Oretha Castle-Haley
Photo: Black Source Media
Country: United States
Location: New Orleans
About
Oretha Castle Haley (1939-1987) was an African-American civil rights and women's rights activist. She was one of the founders of the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), where she later became president of the chapter from 1961-1964. In 1960, she was one (and the only woman) of four activists arrested by police for sitting-in a segregated Woolworths. Refusing to leave until they were served, Haley and her fellow activists were arrested. Their arrest sparked the landmark case, Lombard, et al v. Louisiana, which was a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case during the civil rights movement. They were charged and convicted of violating the Louisiana Criminal Mischief Statute, which makes it a crime to refuse to leave a place of business after being ordered to do so by the person in charge of the premises. Throughout her time with CORE, she participated in numerous sit-ins, boycotts, and demonstrations, including a 1963 protest at New Orleans City Hall. At that protest, she refused to leave the building and because of her refusal, she was carried out of the building in a chair and subsequently arrested. In 1964, she became CORE's field director of all of Louisiana. In 1966, she challenged the New Orleans Recreation Department by pushing them to desegregate public parks. In her later years of activism, she would be critical in founding the New Orleans Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and was the deputy director at Charity Hospital. In these capacities, she challenged racialized health disparities which disproportionatly impacted the Black community in New Orleans. On October 10, 1987, Haley passed away after a long bout with ovarian cancer. In 1989, what was originally known as Dryades Street became Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, in honor of the civil rights pioneer.
Sources
Frystak, Shannon "Oretha Castle Haley." In https://64parishes.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010–. Article published July 22, 2011. https://64parishes.org/entry/oretha-castle-haley
https://blacksourcemedia.com/tribute-to-oretha-castle-haley/