A sizable donation from a pair of hometown heroes will help support the mission of St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory, a historic, all-girls Black Catholic high school in New Orleans.
The $50,000 gift from the Michigan-based Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, former president of the University of Detroit Mercy, and his wife, Carol Jupiter Garibaldi, was announced by the school in May. It matches a gift the couple made in December to a similar school in the Crescent City, St. Mary’s Academy.
“We could not wait 10 or 20 years to donate money through our will,” said Jupiter Garibaldi of their most recent donation.
“The need to empower and prepare students is so urgent that if we and others wait to give, Drexel Prep and other institutions that serve our students may not survive.”
The new gift will support student scholarships and campus renovations at the school, established in 1915 as Xavier University Preparatory by St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Xavier Prep was founded to educate Black children in the Uptown neighborhood, where it was intended to replace the original Southern University. The latter school had recently moved out of the city, in part due to racist opposition.
Determined to keep African-American education in the neighborhood, St. Katharine founded Xavier Prep as a co-educational institution, though it became an all-girls school in 1970. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament closed Xavier Prep in 2013, but a coalition of alumni purchased the building and reopened it as Drexel Prep the same year.
Within the Garibaldi and Jupiter families, several members attended Xavier Prep during its co-ed years, including two of Garibaldi’s sisters and Jupiter Garibaldi’s father and uncle. Other notable alumni include the late musician James Booker, the activist and educator Caroline Hunter, and Louisiana Supreme Court justice Piper D. Griffin.
Since its transition to an alumni-run and independently funded model as Drexel Prep, the school has continued its legacy of all-girls education and high academic achievement. This year, its senior class achieved a 99% college acceptance rate and earned nearly $6 million in scholarships, according to school officials.
“These graduates represent the spirit and strength of St. Katharine Drexel Prep,” said principal Latasha LaBostrie Skidmore.
“They are proof of what’s possible when young ladies are supported, challenged, and believed in. The Garibaldis’ incredible generosity ensures more students will have the opportunity to rise and lead.”
The Garibaldi gift comes amid a fundraising push for Drexel Prep, which supported the effort with its annual fundraising gala in April. A goal has been set to raise $500,00 by the end of the year, with donors invited to help “sustain and expand the mission of Drexel Prep for generations to come.”
“With every gift, we move closer to ensuring Prep remains a vibrant, life-changing institution for years to come.”
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
