For University mass communication associate professor Jinx Broussard, becoming the first African-American graduate in journalism at the University was difficult. Stepping foot on campus just three years after the first African-American undergraduates had enrolled at the University, Broussard knew the atmosphere could be hostile.
In a time when the Ku Klux Klan was still responsible for murdering blacks in rural Louisiana, racial tension ran high throughout the state. Although Broussard did not always feel welcome at the University, she was not one to retreat from a challenge.
“The mere fact that I was black and came from a black high school didn’t deter me from coming [to LSU],” she said.
In the late summer of 1967, she set off for Baton Rouge with only one dress and had to hitchhike to campus. And yet, she was committed to being successful, regardless of the difficulties ahead of her. Four years after arriving on campus, Broussard graduated in 1971.
Forty-seven years later, Broussard has achieved that success. After a career in journalism and public relations, she has returned to her alma mater as a professor. Broussard has counseled numerous students on their paths to careers in mass communication and has published two books in her field.
From an early age, Broussard knew she wanted to be a journalist. She reminisces about watching the NBC Nightly News with her parents. Those nightly broadcasts convinced her of her career aspirations. She says she also knew the best place for her to pursue that career path was LSU.
“LSU had journalism, and Southern didn’t,” Broussard said.
Broussard knew being on a campus where she wasn’t welcome would be hard. Her first day at the University, she remembers clutching her rosary and praying that she was not the only black student on campus. Luckily, she quickly found a support system in four other black female students who she calls “her best friends [still] today.”
While living in the dorms, Broussard was also good friends with the white girls, but she stresses that was only “in the dorm.” If she saw the same girls on campus, they would not acknowledge her. She said she and her friends “soon learned that this was how it [was].” As they dealt with the racism, they “learned to take strength from each other” and focused on their goals.
Broussard also experienced racism in the classroom. If she sat down in a row in class, the white students on that row would get up and move. Professors would overlook her hand if she wanted to give an answer. As she explained, “I had nerve,” and would politely call their attention to allow her to participate.
Broussard found a home in the journalism school. Calling the school her “salvation,” she said professors there were supportive, helping her obtain scholarships for her final two years of school.
In 1990, she was named to the Manship School of Mass Communication Hall of Fame.
Not all of Broussard’s friends had positive experiences, however. In other departments, professors’ racism manifested itself through giving black students grades lower than they deserved. To this day, one of Broussard’s friends refuses to donate money to the University because of her experience as an undergraduate.
Even for Broussard, the decision to return to the University was difficult. She spent more than 20 years at Dillard University in New Orleans as director of University Relations and an adjunct professor. At Dillard, a historically black university, Broussard believed she had “a role to play” in inspiring fellow African-American students with her experiences. Broussard says she had a strong “loyalty” to the school.
John Hamilton, former dean of the Manship School, began recruiting Broussard for his faculty in 2001. Hamilton recognized a lack of gender and racial diversity in faculty positions. He felt Broussard would be a solid addition, but he also knew she had a commitment to Dillard.
Originally, Hamilton said he suggested Broussard work part-time at both Dillard and LSU. And she did, working as an affiliate faculty member while remaining at Dillard. By 2006, Hamilton was able to convince her to join the University full-time. He calls her an “extraordinary human being” and “model faculty member.”
For her part, Broussard attributes the school with giving her the opportunity to publish two books. The first, “Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Four Pioneering Black Women Journalists,” was published in 2004. This past July, she published her second book with the LSU Press entitled, “African-American Foreign Correspondents: A History.”
The genesis of the latter publication was Hamilton suggesting Broussard do some research about John “Rover” Jordan, a black foreign correspondent. In finding information about him, Broussard uncovered research about multiple other African-American foreign correspondents’ work. She quickly decided a book was needed to tell their stories.
Broussard notes changes on the University campus since her days as a student – an increase in student diversity among students, student-athletes, and faculty, especially.