Tessie Prevost, pioneer of Deep South school desegregation, dies at 69

NEW ORLEANS — Tessie Prevost, a pioneer of school desegregation in the Deep South, has died.

She was one of the first young Black girls who integrated New Orleans public schools after federal courts forced the system to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling that declared segregated schools unconstitutional.

Prevost made history on Nov. 14, 1960, along with Gail Etienne and Leona Tate, known as the McDonogh 3. At age 6, federal marshals escorted them past hostile white crowds to enroll in McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. They were ostracized and formed a tight bond.

"The way we were prepared was not to do anything alone,” Tate recalled Tuesday in an NPR interview. “Whatever we did, we had to do it with the three of us.”

White parents pulled their children out of the school, so for the entire first grade the three African-American girls were alone. They weren’t allowed to eat in the school cafeteria, or use the playground, so they played underneath an internal stairwell.

The historic school is now preserved as the Tate Etienne and Prevost Center, an interpretive space to teach New Orleans’ civil rights history.

A fourth Black student in New Orleans, Ruby Bridges, integrated the all-white William Franz Elementary School the same year.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called Prevost’s passing a profound loss, saying her courage paved the way for greater educational equality in the U.S.

“Her bravery and determination helped dismantle the barriers of segregation, inspiring countless others in the struggle 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 age 69.