Maxine Crump’s upbringing in the small Iberville Parish town of Maringouin not only shaped her early impressions of society at large, but has guided her throughout her storied career.
“There was no school for black people within a 25-mile radius,” she recalls, adding her parents encouraged her to pursue an education in order to capitalize on opportunities they were never afforded. “They saw a desk job as the symbol of advancement, something at the time they had never seen for those who were black.”
She heeded their advice, eventually studying at LSU and then pursuing a more than 20-year career in broadcast journalism.
When she founded the nonprofit Dialogue on Race Louisiana in 2012, her upbringing was also a major influence.
“Living in a racially segregated small town gives the clearest contrast of what is possible in America—and who can’t have it. I decided the education was necessary, and a conversation backed by facts and history would work best to set a new narrative and a vision for change.”
Read the full Executive Spotlight Q&A with Crump. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
What inspired you to help launch Dialogue on Race Louisiana, a nonprofit that works to break down racial divides through honest conversation and education, in 2012?
Living in a small, racially segregated town gives the clearest contrast to what is possible in America—and who can’t have it. I saw my parents and many people like them work as hard as they could to prepare us to have all that was American, and yet as I followed the path they did I saw the race barriers were still there, deeply entrenched in our society—and worst of all, not very visible to most people. The results continued to show up and get confused as a “black people problem,” when it was a systemic problem. I decided the education was necessary and a conversation backed by facts and history would work best to set a new narrative and a vision for change.
