On November 14, 1960, a young Tessie Prevost Williams, alongside fellow 6-year-olds Leona Tate and Gail Etienne, bravely walked into McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School amid hostile crowds.
Prevost Williams’ flag-draped casket will lie in state at Gallier Hall in New Orleans on Friday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Funeral services are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday at Branch Bell Baptist Church in the Lower 9th Ward.
The funeral procession will be accompanied by a traditional jazz brass band.
A final salute will take place at the Tate, Etienne, and Prevost Civil Rights Interpretive Center, formerly the school the girls desegregated.
The center offers a comprehensive walk-through history of their significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.
In recent years, Prevost Williams and Etienne launched the New Orleans Four Legacy Collection , ensuring their history and impact as the New Orleans Four would never be forgotten.
“When we would get together and just talk about the things that happened, those were the good times, even though we would talk about things that weren’t good,” Etienne said .
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter also reflected on her legacy, stating :
“She’ll be sorely missed . But the fight that she took on and the fight that she continued to take on until her death is one of equality, fairness , justice.”
He noted that her life serves as a reminder to never take for granted our freedoms.
“The freedoms we enjoy are not free . They require our involvement , our civic duty. They require us to vote and to hold people accountable,” Carter said.
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