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James R. "Jimmy" Domengeaux (January 6, 1907- April 11, 1988) was a Lafayette attorney, U.S. representative, and Cajun cultural activist who is best remembered for his efforts to preserve the French language in his native Louisiana. Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Lafayette is a City in and the Parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America

Domengeaux was born in Lafayette to J. Rudolph Domengeaux and the former Marthe Mouton. He attended Mount Carmel Academy and Cathedral High School in Lafayette. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then "Southwestern Louisiana Institute"). History Timeline 1898 - State approved the creation of an "industrial institute and academy He also studied in New Orleans at both Loyola University and Tulane University, from which he graduated with his law degree in 1931. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Loyola University New Orleans is a private, Co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans. Tulane University is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was admitted to the bar that same year and launched his law practice in Lafayette. In 1962, Domengeaux was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. He was senior member of Domengeaux and Wright (1931-1984). Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The firm maintained offices in Lafayette, New Orleans, Hammond, the seat of Tangipahoa Parish, and Opelousas, the seat of St. Landry Parish in south central Louisiana. Hammond is the largest City in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. Tangipahoa Parish is a Parish located in the US state of Louisiana. Opelousas is a city in and the Parish seat of St Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. St Landry Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Landry is a Parish located in the U

He was a member, briefly, of the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1940, until he was elected as as Democrat to the U. Leadership of the House List of Speakers of the Louisiana House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. S. House. He first served from 1941-1944, when he resigned to join the armed forces. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was a private in the Combat Engineers until he received a medical discharge. Thereafter, he was elected to fill the vacancy in the 78th Congress caused by his own resignation. He hence served again from 1944-1949. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Domengeaux did not seek reelection to Congress in 1948; instead he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a race ultimately won by Russell B. Long, son of the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr. He was succeeded in the House by the freshman state Senator Edwin Edward Willis of St. Martinville, the seat of St. Martin Parish. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Russell Billiu Long ( November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American politician who served in the United States Senate Huey Pierce Long Jr ( August 30, 1893 September 10, 1935) nicknamed The Kingfish, was an American Politician Edwin Edward Willis ( October 2, 1904 -- October 24, 1972) was an American Politician and Attorney from the St Martinville is a city in and the Parish seat of St Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. St Martin Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Martin is a Parish located in the U He returned to the private practice of law in 1949.

In 1968, however, he accepted an appointment from Louisiana Governor John Julian McKeithen, his fellow Democrat, to preside over a new state-charted organization called the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, commonly known by the acronym CODOFIL. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. John Julian McKeithen ( May 28, 1918 June 4, 1999) a Democrat from the tiny Town of Columbia, the seat The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana or CODOFIL — known in French as le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane and

As president of CODOFIL, Domengeaux spearheaded a statewide effort to introduce French education in public classrooms from elementary through high school levels. He did so largely by recruiting teachers from France, Belgium, Quebec, and other French-speaking regions and nations around the world. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Such recruitment placed Domengeaux at odds with the educational establishment, which preferred the hiring of local teachers.

This effort represented a major shift for Louisiana's educational system, which for decades had punished Cajun children for speaking French in school — a practice that more than any other factor had dramatically reduced the number of native French speakers in the state. [1]

In 1976, Domengeaux arranged for the French President Giscard d'Estaing to visit Lafayette. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (born 2 February 1926 is a French centre - right politician who was President of the French

In the 1980s Domengeaux embraced a new, highly successful teaching method: French Immersion, which required children to be taught a variety of subjects in French for 60 percent of the school day. French immersion is a form of Bilingual education in which a child who does not speak French as his or her first language receives instruction in school in French This method replaced the previous, less successful method of teaching French in only thirty-minute daily increments. In addition to advancing French education, Domengeaux used CODOFIL as a watchdog organization that defended Cajuns from perceived affronts. For example, Domengeaux crusaded against use of the word "coonass," which he considered an ethnic slur against the Cajun people; and he condemned such Cajun humorists as the popular Justin Wilson, who was born not in Acadiana but in Tangipahoa Parish, one of the "Florida Parishes" east of Baton Rouge and had a background of involvement in conservative politics. Coonass, or Coon-ass, is an Epithet used in reference to a person of Cajun ethnicity Justin Wilson (born 31 July, 1978 in Sheffield) is a British racing driver from England who currently competes in the IndyCar Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) (L'Acadiane is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined

A charismatic public figure, Domengeaux was often at odds with detractors, who criticized his reliance on international teachers as well as his emphasis on continental French to the exclusion of Cajun French.

For his efforts to save the French language in Louisiana, Domengeaux received an honorary doctorate from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, the Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government, and the Order of the Crown from Belgium, among numerous other citations. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, Coeducational Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was first created in the year 1897 On November 11, 1986, coinciding with Veterans Day, Lafayette Mayor William Dudley "Dud" Lastrapes and Governor Edwin Washington Edwards proclaimed "Jimmy Domengeaux Day". Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military Veterans. William Dudley "Dud" Lastrapes Jr (born November 30, 1929) is a Lafayette, Businessman, who was the first Republican Edwin Washington Edwards (born August 7, 1927) served as the Democratic Governor of Louisiana for four non-consecutive terms (1972–1980 1984–1988 The University of Louisiana at Lafayette created an "Eminent Scholar Chair in Foreign Languages" in Domengeaux's honor.

The organization over which Domengeaux presided for the last two decades of his life, CODOFIL, continues to coordinate French education in Louisiana; and in his honor CODOFIL's supporting foundation offers a scholarship known as the Bourse James Domengeaux (James Domengeaux Scholarship).

Domengeaux was married to the former Eleanor St. Julien (1921-2004); they had no children. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " They are buried in St. John's Cemetery in Lafayette.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003), p. xx, xxii-xxiii, 18-19, 33-34, 83.

References

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