Tessie Prevost, middle, and 7-year-old Elan Jolie Hebert are escorted by U.S. Marshal Michael Atkins up the steps of McDonogh 19 Elementary Faculty as Prevost was escorted in 1960, throughout a New Orleans 61st anniversary ceremony in 2021. Prevost was one of many first African-American girls who built-in the all-white public colleges in New Orleans. Ted Jackson/AP conceal caption
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Ted Jackson/AP
NEW ORLEANS — Tessie Prevost, a pioneer of college desegregation within the Deep South, has died.
She was one of many first younger Black ladies who built-in New Orleans public colleges after federal courts compelled the system to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court docket’s 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Schooling ruling that declared segregated colleges unconstitutional.
Prevost made historical past on Nov. 14, 1960, together with Gail Etienne and Leona Tate, referred to as the McDonough 3. At age 6, federal marshals escorted them previous hostile white crowds to enroll in McDonough 19 Elementary Faculty in New Orleans’ Decrease 9th Ward. They had been ostracized and fashioned a good bond.
“The best way we had been ready was to not do something alone,” Tate recalled Tuesday in an NPR interview. “No matter we did, we needed to do it with the three of us.”
White dad and mom pulled their kids out of the varsity, so for your complete first grade the three African-American ladies had been alone. They weren’t allowed to eat within the faculty cafeteria, or use the playground, in order that they performed beneath an inner stairwell.
The historic faculty is now preserved because the Tate Etienne and Prevost Middle, an interpretive house to show New Orleans’ civil rights historical past.
A fourth Black pupil in New Orleans, Ruby Bridges, built-in the all-white William Franz Elementary Faculty the identical yr.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell referred to as Prevost’s passing a profound loss, saying her braveness paved the way in which for better academic equality within the U.S.
“Her bravery and willpower helped dismantle the obstacles of segregation, inspiring numerous others within the wrestle for justice and equality,” Cantrell stated in an announcement. “Her legacy is a testomony to the ability of resilience and the impression a single particular person can have on the course of historical past.”
Prevost died Saturday at age 69.
Honorees Tessie Prevost (left), Gail Eitenne and Leona Tate of the New Orleans 4 pose earlier than leaving the stage in the course of the 2022 CROWN Awards ceremony on July 3, 2022 in New Orleans, La. Peter Forest/Getty Photos conceal caption
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Peter Forest/Getty Photos
