I made civil rights history at six years old
In November 1960 Leona Tate became one of four little girls selected to desegregate schools in New OrleansΒ. Her role had been largely forgotten, until recently.
Aged six, Leona Tate was on the frontline of the fight for racial equality. On 14 November 1960 she was escorted by her mother and US law enforcement officers to McDonogh 19 Elementary School becoming one of the first African American children in New Orleans to attend formerly all-white schools.
Leona was then moved on to desegregate other all-white schools in the city . The ultimate aim was to make integration widespread but there was severe opposition. Along the way, Leona faced overt and cruel racism. Traumatised by these experiences in childhood she hid from her past. It would take a natural disaster and a new President to give Leona the motivation to speak out.
Archive from WSB Newsfilm Collection, University of Georgia Libraries
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Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Tommy Dixon and Andrea Kennedy
(Photo: Leona Tate escorted by US federal marshals . Credit: Getty Images)
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