From WHITE to BLACK

Iris Duplantier Rideau's story is one of rags to riches-of accomplishing the nearly impossible by a Black woman born into a poor Creole family in New Orleans. Stung by the ugly hatred of racism around her, Iris learned how to "pass for white" at an early age. Surviving horrifying and humiliating events that would have stopped most people only made Iris more and more determined to succeed. Not content to stay in her low-paying job in a sewing factory, Iris took night classes to further her educat