Tessie Prevost (center) and 7-year-old Elan Jolie Hebert are led up the steps of McDonogh 19 Elementary School by U.S. Marshal Michael Atkins, as Prevost was escorted in 1960 during a ceremony honoring New Orleans' 61st anniversary in 2021. Prevost was one of the first African-American women to integrate New Orleans' all-white public schools.
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Ted Jackson/AP
NEW ORLEANS — Tessie Prevosta pioneer in school desegregation in the Deep South, has died.
She was one of the first young black girls to integrate New Orleans' public schools after federal courts forced the system to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling. Brown vs. the Education Council ruling that explained segregated schools unconstitutional.
Prevost made history on November 14, 1960, along with Gail Etienne and Leona Tate, known as the McDonogh 3At age six, they were escorted past hostile white crowds by federal police officers to register for McDonogh Primary School 19 in the Lower 9 of New Orleanse Ward. They were left out and formed a close bond.
“The way we were prepared was not to do anything alone,” Tate recalled in an NPR interview Tuesday. “Whatever we did, we had to do it together.”
White parents pulled their children out of school, so the three African-American girls were alone for the entire first grade. They were not allowed to eat in the school cafeteria or use the playground, so they played under an interior staircase.
The historic school has now been preserved as the Tate Etienne and Prevost Centrean informative space to teach the history of civil rights in New Orleans.
A fourth black student in New Orleans, Ruby red bridgesintegrated the all-white William Franz Elementary School that same year.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called Prevost's death a great loss and said her courage paved the way for greater educational equality in the United States.
“Her courage and determination helped break down the barriers of segregation and inspired countless others in the fight for justice and equality,” Cantrell said in a statement“Her legacy is a testament to the power of resilience and the impact a single individual can have on the course of history.”
Prevost died Saturday at the age of 69.
Honorees Tessie Prevost (L), Gail Eitenne and Leona Tate of the New Orleans Four pose before leaving the stage during the 2022 CROWN Awards ceremony on July 3, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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