Studio Releasing Park

New Orleans, LA — March 29, 2026 — Studio Releasing, the award-winning motion picture production and distribution company, celebrates what would have been the 108^th birthday of early desegregation Journalist Ora Mae Lewis & proudly announces the forthcoming production of their highly anticipated historic drama Faith Journey of a Journalist, with BAFTA Award winning Director Sean McNamara.

Studio Releasing commemorates Ora Mae Lewis’ monumental desegregation of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana in October 1938 by Archbishop Joseph Rummel with her February 1939 Preservation of the Faith article Interracial Harmony in the South. Ora Mae Lewis was the first person to ever successfully desegregate a major Southern city.

"Interracial Harmony in the South"

Written By Ora Mae Lewis

Published by Preservation of the Faith

Volume XII, Number 1

February 1939

In New Orleans, during the Eighth National Eucharistic Congress, the world saw the power of the Catholic Church to make reality of the doctrine she teaches. The world saw men of all colors, in the presence of Jesus, forget their hatreds. Saw the feeling of peace prevail not only within the immediate presence of the Holy Eucharist, but throughout the city. Segregation screens in cars and buses seemed to disappear in thin air. The "colors" clamored any and everywhere for seats.

Prejudiced laws regarding the Auditorium and City Park were ignored, With Christ the King to behold, no man was too black to sit next to. One glimpse of Jesus, a triumphant King, was enough to melt the heart of the coldest. The Congress infused in the minds and souls of men the realization that the simple doctrine which Christ taught is above all other doctrines. In a patchwork of colors, the final procession climaxed the Congress with a mass of humanity marching nearly the entire length of the City to City Park. There in the presence of the Eucharistic King nearly a million souls with lighted candles and bowed heads regretted the closing.

Friday, after the Congress was over, the entire city suffered from a dull dreariness, as if something vital was missing. Remarks to that effect were made by pedestrians on the street as well as passengers on cars and buses. Segregation screens were seen out of place and often put under benches or kicked down the aisle by white and black alike. Gloriously the Congress proved that the voice of the Church is heard by the faithful, regardless of how its demands may be contrary to their self-made laws and traditions. The Congress gave segregation a severe blow in a peaceful way. America and the rest of the world will never forget it. What happened in New Orleans can happen again. Not only happen but take permanent root in the South.

It wasn't "waiting" that made the Congress a success, but "acting." It was acting, making arrangements that gave all people equal opportunity to share the blessings of the Congress and of the Church that did it. When it became known by all that the Negro was not a stepchild of the Catholic Church, the details of equality took care of themselves. The Negro wisely accepted the opportunity by appearing in thousands at every ceremony hushing the least protest. If Catholic Action, exemplified by the Congress, were applied to everyday conditions of segregation, signs "for colored people only" would soon disappear. Surely, after the Congress, they should be forbidden in a Catholic Church.

Arguments about civic segregation laws are exaggerations, even false. No segregation law of state or country applies to private property under which all Church property is classified. White Catholic America must face the test of choosing between Christ and their unreasonable prejudice against the Black man. By the last drop of blood that Jesus shed on the cross, it is the sacred duty of Catholics to make that choice. To shrink that duty is the same as denying the truth of the words God spoke..."Thou shalt love the Lord thy God...And thy neighbor as thyself. Upon these commandments hang all the law...And there shall be one shepherd and one fold." Then only will the words of the President of the International Catholic Trust Society, spoken on the second night of the Congress come true. "Never will we escape the cruelty of war until we are willing to accept the truth of Christian ideals! Never will we escape the misery of economic depression until we accept social justice for all people regardless of race, color or creed!"

About Studio Releasing

Studio Releasing, LLC is an award-winning motion picture production and distribution company dedicated to producing original films and media that advance human understanding, historical truth, and artistic excellence. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, Studio Releasing continues to champion stories that shape culture, illuminate history, and empower new voices in global cinema.

For more information, visit StudioReleasing.com or explore the new platform at StudioReleasingPark.com.

Studio Releasing, LLC
Website: https://StudioReleasingPark.com
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana