James A. Herod family attends ground breaking ceremony

Three family members of Pastor James A. Herod traveled from California to Abbeville to attend a special groundbreaking ceremony for the James A. Herod Cultural Center located on the old James A. Herod High School grounds.
Attending were Yvette Herod Alexander, Lynne Herod DeVerges and Scott Elliott Herod.
James A. Herod was their great grandfather and was also someone who they never met. They heard stories about their great grandfather, who was a former preacher who lived in Abbeville, La. But what they did not realize was that he was considered the father of African American education in Abbeville.
In the early 1900s, James A. Herod arrived as a pastor at St. Mary Congregational Church in Abbeville, and he used his church to begin teaching African American children in Abbeville.
Over time, he and his wife began expanding their teaching into Vermilion Parish.
In 1955, seven years after Rev. Herod died, the first and last African American high school was built on Martin Luther King Drive and named after Rev. Herod.
African American students from all over Vermilion Parish attended James Herod High School. Later in the early 1970s, James Herod High school was closed due to the public-school systems’ desegregation in Louisiana. Eventually, the school was closed permanently. In 1991 the old East Abbeville Elementary School located at 120 Odea Street was renamed after the honorable Rev. James A. Herod.
“I never knew Rev. Herod, but I heard about him. I heard a lot about him from my grandfather (Rev. James A. Herod’s son),” said Lynne.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Lynne said the stories she heard about James A. Herod were about him being a pastor and not many stories about him being a great educator from Abbeville.
“I heard he was a man of great faith and bringing people in the community together,” she said. “I did not know how strong he was in the educational field. They never talked about him as the educator. They talked about him as the pastor and as a civil rights activist. That is how they spoke about him.”
Over the last year, after being contacted by Pastor Walter August, Lynne said she learned about James A. Herod’s dedication to Abbeville’s education. One of Herod’s sons, James A. Herod II, was born in Abbeville but moved to Los Angeles and started a new life. James A. Herod II is Lynne’s father. Other children from James A. Herod Sr. followed their brother and moved to Los Angeles.
This was her first trip to Abbeville. Pastor August invited the family to attend the groundbreaking ceremony this past Friday.
Lynne said there would be more family members attending the grand opening when the cultural center is completed. She counted at least 40 members who may attend.
“This is great what Pastor August and Abbeville are doing to honor my great grandfather,” said Lynne.