Part of our series on expanding the narrative of Brown v. Board of Education.
This webinar took place on May 17, 2022. 

As part of the work of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund , we are commemorating the 68th anniversary of Brown v. Board on May 17th.

On November 14, 1960, four six-year-old Black girls desegregated the all-white elementary schools in New Orleans—Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost at McDonogh 19 in the Lower Ninth Ward and Ruby Bridges at William Frantz in the Upper Ninth Ward.

In this webinar, three of the “New Orleans Four,” including Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost, join us to share how the former McDonogh 19 School, which closed in 2004 and was heavily damaged during Hurricane Katrina, is coming back to life as the TEP (Tate, Etienne, and Prevost) Center.

Thanks to the Leona Tate Foundation for Change, Inc. and Alembic Community Development, the building’s innovative reuse plan will feature an interpretive exhibit telling the story of school desegregation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to anti-racism training, and affordable senior housing.

Additional Resources

• Before Brown Webinar (Webinar on the 67th anniversary of the BvB decision)
• National Trust Brown v. Board of Education page
• Brown Foundation
• Tate, Etienne, and Prevost Center
• National Trust TEP Center Page
• Article: Ribbon Cutting of the TEP Center