In honor and memory of civil rights icon, Ms. Tessie Prevost

We at PISAB were saddened to learn of the homegoing of Ms. Tessie Prevost, one of the New Orleans Four and a lifelong civil rights activist. 

At 6 years old, Ms. Tessie Prevost was one of four Black girls who desegregated New Orleans public schools. Tessie Provost, along with Gail Etienne, Leona Tate, and Ruby Bridges, defied tremendous resistance and violence from the white community as they strove for a better education and equity.

Ms. Provost dedicated her life to education, working at the LSU School of Dentistry. She spoke for decades about her experience, to educate people and to organize for educational equity and voting rights. 

Ms. Provost was also part of the Tate, Etienne & Provost Center (TEP Center), a cultural and interpretive center opened In 2022 by Ms. Leona Tate, one of Ms. Provost’s classmates all those years ago. Ms. Tate purchased the building that once held the school they integrated, McDonogh 19, and created a center to share the history and educate people from around the country about racism and the anti-racist movement. 

In an article published by WDSU, her family is quoted as saying, “I think she’d want to be remembered as someone who fought the good fight. She fought many. But she fought the good fight and did it for other people. I hope that just how she loved her community and never forgot about them. I hope the community never forgets about her. “

We at PISAB send our condolences to her family and friends, and will continue to lift her up as an icon and a powerful figure in the movement for racial justice.  As the African proverb teaches us, “”As long as you speak my name I shall live forever.”  Tessie Prevost reached ahead to pave the way for generations of children, and as guardians of the legacy of McDonogh 19 we will continue to lift her name and legacy. She will be remembered.