NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans commemorated the 64th anniversary of a pivotal moment in civil rights history with a parade, honoring the courageous actions of four Black six-year-old girls who began the integration of schools in the city, an event marked by hostility and opposition on November 14, 1960.
Federal marshals were required to protect Tessie Prevost Williams, Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Ruby Bridges as they ventured to school amidst a violent crowd of white protesters who hurled insults and rocks at them. On that day, Williams, who passed away in July, entered McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School alongside Tate and Etienne, while Bridges, who gained greater recognition due to a famous Norman Rockwell painting, faced the hostility to integrate William Frantz Elementary.
These four girls are now commonly identified as the New Orleans Four. Diedra Meredith, from the New Orleans Legacy Project, the group organizing the parade, referred to them as “America’s little soldier girls,” highlighting their impact as civil rights trailblazers at such a young age.
Reflecting on that day, Etienne candidly expressed her confusion about the anger directed toward her. “I was just going to school and I felt like if they could get to me they’d want to kill me — and I definitely didn’t know why at 6 years old,” she recounted.
The parade featured lively marching bands making their way through the Central Business District, attracting the attention of restaurant patrons and passersby. Tourists were pleasantly surprised to witness the event unfold before them. Sandy Waugh, a visitor from Chestertown, Maryland, shared her excitement, stating, “We were thrilled to come upon it. It’s so New Orleans.”
Rosie Bell, a social worker visiting from Toronto, Canada, described the parade as a delightful surprise, referring to it as the “cherry on top” of her Thursday morning. “I got so lucky to see this,” Bell said.
For Etienne, this parade represented yet another opportunity to recognize an important milestone that she was too young to fully comprehend at the time. “What we did opened doors for other people, you know, for other students, for other Black students,” she noted. “I didn’t realize it at the time but as I got older I recognized that… They said that we rocked the nation for what we had done, you know? And I like hearing when they say that.”
