Biography
Frances Joseph Gaudet (1861-1934) was an uncommon woman of her time – a political and social leader, a missionary at home, a proponent of race consciousness – who was able to bring together forces from diverse segments of society of effect social change in post- Reconstruction New Orleans. She became known throughout the country for her prison reform efforts, her advocacy for a juvenile court system, and her founding of the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School for Black Youth. This school was later administered by the Episcopal Church, which today recognizes Blessed Frances Joseph Gaudet as a saint.
Juvenile Justice & the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Mrs. Gaudet documented the ineffectiveness and ill-effects of incarceration on children, advocating for education and vocational training in lieu of prison and reformatories.
Prison Reform & Access to Justice
Working to improve prison conditions, she decried their privatization and profiteering from prison populations. She pled cases on behalf of those without legal representation.
Education
Mrs. Gaudet focused her educational efforts on the abandoned children most likely to end up in a life of crime, often adopting them.
Partnerships
Mrs. Gaudet won respect and support from diverse sources, linking the powerful to the marginalized.