If it were two kids from New York, would the story be “New York teenagers do x?”
The reason the framing rubs me the wrong way is because it feeds a narrative that people from New Orleans (regardless of race) are somehow novel for doing something fancy. I was born in New Orleans so I have some slight offense at the implication that the geography is somehow notable. It’s like “oh wow, even people from some Southern flyover city can do some smart stuff too.”
However what is interesting about this story is the girls go to St Mary’s which is a catholic school created for black people during the segregation era founded by an the second oldest order of American black nuns just after the Civil War. The history of the school is fascinating.
Imagine if more kids had the opportunity to go to high quality private schools but can’t due to financial constraints (St Mary’s costs about $9k per year which is a lot of money for those in Louisiana.)
These girls can write their own ticket now — I hope they end up staying in math and do something extraordinary with their lives.
The reason the framing rubs me the wrong way is because it feeds a narrative that people from New Orleans (regardless of race) are somehow novel for doing something fancy. I was born in New Orleans so I have some slight offense at the implication that the geography is somehow notable. It’s like “oh wow, even people from some Southern flyover city can do some smart stuff too.”
However what is interesting about this story is the girls go to St Mary’s which is a catholic school created for black people during the segregation era founded by an the second oldest order of American black nuns just after the Civil War. The history of the school is fascinating.
Imagine if more kids had the opportunity to go to high quality private schools but can’t due to financial constraints (St Mary’s costs about $9k per year which is a lot of money for those in Louisiana.)
These girls can write their own ticket now — I hope they end up staying in math and do something extraordinary with their lives.