More than 60 years ago, four young Black girls in Louisiana, known as the New Orleans Four, made history by integrating schools in New Orleans, enduring resistance and creating a lasting impact on civil rights.
Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost walked up 18 steps to McDonogh 19 Elementary School on Nov. 14, 1960, guided by U.S. marshals and Ruby Bridges, who simultaneously integrated Frantz Elementary.
“I had no clue at all what I was doing, or what I was about to do,” said Tate.
The integration was met with backlash, as large crowds protested outside the schools.
Tate recalled thinking it was a parade outside the school.
“I knew a parade passed on the street, and that’s what I was looking for, and I want to know why I had to go to school on Mardi Gras, and no one else got to watch the parade. My mom explained to me that it wasn’t the case.”
Dr. Raynard Sanders says these six-year-olds impacted not only Louisiana but the nation.
“Those four little girls met resistance that was unseen on national television,” said Sanders. “The nation began to see four little girls. They began to see it a bit differently, and all of this aggression and then saying they were gonna take their kids outta school singing 2,4,6,8 we don’t want to integrate.”
The resistance was immediate. White parents pulled their children from the school, leaving the girls as the only students.
“It was a class full of students when we got in there, but by the end of the day, they were all gone,” Tate said.
The girls had to stay close, play in stairwells, and endure covered classroom windows.
“We had to endure a lot for it to work, because if we gave up, it wouldn’t have happened,” Tate said.
Today, Gail Etienne lives in Oklahoma City, Tessie Prevost passed away in 2024, Ruby Bridges continues her advocacy through the Ruby Bridges Foundation, and Leona Tate has purchased McDonogh 19, the school where she made history.
The building now serves as an exhibit named after Tate, Prevost, and Etienne, offering visitors a glimpse into the challenges the girls faced.
“I want all students to come here and walk in our shoes, and experience what we went through, because they think it happened so long ago it doesn’t matter anymore, but it does,” Tate said.
Reflecting on the legacy of the New Orleans Four, Tate said their contribution to civil rights is “priceless, unending.”
READ MORE:New Orleans Four remembered for their historic impact to American history
