Helma B. Constantine

Helma Constantine was a civil rights Pioneer From Jeanerette, Louisiana but moved with her family to Lafayette, Louisiana in search of a better life. Education was the main focus of Helma and felt that higher education should be open to everyone no matter their race or background. Helma always thought it was odd that black students had to travel out of their respected city of Lafayette to obtain a college degree when there is a University in their city. Helma was a pioneer in the local NAACP chapter and voiced this opinion very frequently. Helma alongside the NAACP and attorney A.P Turead fought for the integration of the SLI now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, for her Daughter Clara Dell Constantine so that she can go to school locally without having to travel to nearby Southern University which is an HBCU. Although Ms. Clara Dell didn't finish at SLI due to the backlash of the lawsuit, this still opened the door for black students to still prosper. Helma Constantine knocked down the door that many white institutions had put up for black students and continued to diligently with government officials and church officials years later in Lafayette to promote higher education within the black community.