Cora Ledet

The House That Jack Built: : Reflections from a Family of the Civil Rights Movement Cora Ledet

Publisher Marketing: "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and as immortal." Albert Pike I can vividly recall the feeling of rage that surged through my entire body as I reviewed the criticism/comments of a final paper that I had submitted for a Louisiana History course that I took as an undergraduate. In big bold letters scribbled across the top of my paper she wrote, "You had better learn the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing before you jeopardize your education." The assignment was to utilize only the book sources that had been provided to write a paper about the Civil Rights Movement in Louisiana. It was a topic that I knew of all too well, as I had listened to memories of the movement as we stood over my grandparent's graves every year for as far back as I could remember. She had underlined everything I knew to be true. Today, I would almost understand her speculation but at that time their story had never been written. My family did an astounding job of making sure we, as second and third generations to Jack and Willie Mae Allums, understood what our grand/great-grandparents did to promote social justice in Minden, Louisiana. Each of us knows of the passion, the pain, and the pride that my family took in being at the forefront of a movement that changed the face of the south. They made sure we knew where we came from so we could have an easier time choosing where to go. My family has a legacy that's worth being told...over and over and over again. Akwete C. Noble, Ph. D., LMFT Contributor Bio:  Ledet, Cora CORA ALLUMS LEDET's love of words and creative expression has led her to her first published endeavors. In addition to her novel, Zeda in the Morning, her works include The House That Jack Built: Reflections From a Family of the Civil Rights Movement, an account of her parents' and family's involvement in civil rights in Louisiana, and poetry: Incognito, Black Cat, I Remember, and The Comfort of Home. Cora is a graduate of Grambling State University, and she has done further studies in art design at the University of St. Thomas. She is an accomplished artist whose artistic productions have been displayed in art galleries in Houston, Texas, where she lives.