12 episodes

Exchange Place is the story of a school whose mission was to train mostly African American women the skills they needed to integrate the secretarial offices of the Deep South between 1965 and ‘72. Those offices were not just segregated, for the most part they were completely off limits to women of color, and many were fighting to insure the workplace would stay that way for years or decades to come. Over the course of the school’s history, it was shut down multiple times and constantly under duress from forces conspiring to defeat it. But, it survived to became one of the most successful programs of its kind in the War On Poverty, lauded on the front pages of national newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and the subject of an Emmy Award winning documentary in 1968 entitled, appropriately, "The School That Would Not Die". The first season of the podcast tells the inspirational biographies of four of the school’s graduates who changed the moral skyline of their city -- how they did it -- and how the school’s teachers and supporters struggled to overcome the massive forces arrayed against them.

Exchange Place: How A Small Struggling School Transformed Civil Rights in New Orleans and the Nation The 431 Exchange

    • History
    • 5.0 • 10 Ratings

Exchange Place is the story of a school whose mission was to train mostly African American women the skills they needed to integrate the secretarial offices of the Deep South between 1965 and ‘72. Those offices were not just segregated, for the most part they were completely off limits to women of color, and many were fighting to insure the workplace would stay that way for years or decades to come. Over the course of the school’s history, it was shut down multiple times and constantly under duress from forces conspiring to defeat it. But, it survived to became one of the most successful programs of its kind in the War On Poverty, lauded on the front pages of national newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and the subject of an Emmy Award winning documentary in 1968 entitled, appropriately, "The School That Would Not Die". The first season of the podcast tells the inspirational biographies of four of the school’s graduates who changed the moral skyline of their city -- how they did it -- and how the school’s teachers and supporters struggled to overcome the massive forces arrayed against them.

    Ep. 12 A Cowardly Lion

    Ep. 12 A Cowardly Lion

    Episode 12. A Cowardly Lion. Season 1 of Exchange Place culminates with the story of a single mom named Alice Geoffray, the first Director of The Adult Education Center. With seven children back home and no administrative experience, Alice courageously stepped into the role of a lifetime as widespread antipathy against educating women of color brewed in the wake of a newly desegregated Deep South.


    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 30 min
    Ep. 11 Ms. Pamela Cole: Working Life

    Ep. 11 Ms. Pamela Cole: Working Life

    Episode 11. Ms. Pamela Cole: Working Life. The musical score of Pam Cole’s teenage years included the mellifluous sound of her sister Carol Cole practicing typing while Pam fell asleep in the adjoining room of their small, shotgun house in New Orleans’ storied 7th Ward. After graduating from the Adult Education Center in 1971, Pam used her typing skills to achieve independence as a secretary in the Virgin Islands, New York, Houston, and Atlanta. In company after company, Pam is the only, or one of the few Black women.


    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Ep. 10 The Cole Sisters: An American Family

    Ep. 10 The Cole Sisters: An American Family

    Episode 10. The Cole Sisters: An American Family. Pam Cole was the youngest of four sisters to graduate from the Adult Education Center between 1965 and 1972. Her sister, Carol Cole, was a graduate of the first class who became one of the first African American secretaries at a major oil company. The AEC played a pivotal role in the life of her family, but the real story of the Cole sisters, and their ideal parents, is a testament to the strength and resiliency of the New Orleans African American community itself.


    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 59 min
    Ep. 9 Hullabaloo

    Ep. 9 Hullabaloo

    Episode 9. Hullabaloo. Scores of landlords turned Father Tim Gibbons and Alice Geoffray down as they searched in vain for a location for the Adult Education Center while steering through uncharted and hostile territory. On top of all those challenges, Gibbons was unexpectedly forced to leave his post in New Orleans for causing a political “Hullabaloo.” In a shocking twist, he nominates Alice, a 41-year-old mother of seven with no administrative experience, and no appetite for political upheaval, to take over the program.
    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 40 min
    Ep. 8 Dr. Sandra O'Neal: After Death Communication

    Ep. 8 Dr. Sandra O'Neal: After Death Communication

    Episode 8. Dr. Sandra O’Neal: After Death Communication. Sandra O’Neal was a star student until her sister fell ill. While her mother tended to her sister full-time, Sandra decided to go to work. From that point on, the distraction of proms and other adolescent events lost their meaning.  In her search for continuing educational opportunities, Sandra met Alice Geoffray, the Director of the Adult Education Center, and they formed a lifelong bond. 
    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 1 hr 1 min
    Ep. 7 Economic Apartheid

    Ep. 7 Economic Apartheid

    Episode 7. Economic Apartheid. The Adult Education Center was the inspiration of Father Timothy Gibbons. But, at every stage, Gibbons was guided by one of New Orleans’ most influential educators and civil rights leaders, Norman Francis, the future President of Xavier University. It was Dr. Francis who encouraged Father Gibbons to focus on a vocational school to train women as secretaries because he believed, if it was training Black women for any other profession, no matter how talented those women were, they would simply be handed a mop and broom by an intransigent business community.


    This is a presentation of The 431 Exchange. We are a non-profit scholarship fund dedicated to adult students seeking to transform their lives through continuing education. We invite you to learn more about us by going to our website www.431exchange.com where you can hear more inspiring stories by signing up for our newsletter. Thanks!

    • 29 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

Raimer4!8 ,

Amazing stories!!

Thanks for this podcast. I love learning about the black experience here in the states and this podcast did not disappoint. Impressed by the former students and hearing about their challenges and impact on their families and communities. Absolutely in love with the music as well.

Trixie6565 ,

A fantastic important story.

Can’t wait for more episodes!

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