New Orleans, Louisiana Feb 18, 2022 (Issuewire.com) - Ora Mae Lewis Martin was one of the most effective desegregation journalists of the 1930’s and 1940’s. She earned recognition for her poignant published articles and short stories at a time when most African American people had little to no voice in the political landscape of the Jim Crow South. As a New Orleans native, Ora’s life was touched by the very few political and religious leaders of her time including the outspoken US Senator and former Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long and his brother Governor Earl K. Long. In her novel Action Words: Journey of a Journalist, Ora’s granddaughter, Shaune Bordere, captures the spirit of liberation and justice that Huey P. Long fought so hard to realize during his lifetime. Shaune has set out to send a message of hope and humanity with the dramatic literary discourse on race and courage that depicts her prolific grandmother in much the same way as the new fine art painting Interracial Harmony in the South, Vol 1. portrays Ora as a phenomenal leader in American history. Ora wrote for the Sepia Socialite newspaper, The New Orleans Item, The Times-Picayune, The Louisiana Weekly, The Pittsburgh Courier, the Xavier Herald, Our Sunday Visitor, and her February 1939 article Interracial Harmony in the South commemorating the desegregation of Louisiana from October 17th through 20th 1938 by New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel was published by The Preservation of the Faith journal.
Ora was known for her work with Dr. Cater G. Woodson and Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie through her writing and conciliator negotiations that brought an end to the segregation of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1954 and its deeply divided parochial schools in 1962 by Archbishop Joseph Rummel. Yet, Shaune Bordere’s novel sheds new light on Ora’s early work with Governor Earl K. Long after the assassination of Senator Huey P. Long in September 1935. Ora was truly remarkable and gifted as a leader who demonstrated to the world how to cast down Jim Crow signs in segregated buses and in seating in a powerful way. For Shaune, the sacrifices made by her inspirational grandmother and her grandfather Lawrence J. Martin, Sr. paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement that began sixteen years later in 1954. Shaune’s novel reveals a story that will be told in a dramatic television series and the painting depicts the victory that will be dramatized in a major movie. Yet, Ora Mae Lewis Martin’s legacy is a living work that can be witnessed each day in the City of New Orleans and in the State of Louisiana in its rich culture and way of life enjoyed by millions of people today.
Action Words: Journey of a Journalist the novel is available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Limited edition acrylic on canvas prints of Interracial Harmony in the South, Vol. 1 are available on Ora Mae Lewis Martin’s official website OraMLewis.com.
Media Contact
Ora Mae Lewis Martin contact@oramlewis.com (504) 298-9275 3436 Magazine Street, Unit #: 7189 http://www.OraMLewis.com
