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In 1954, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9–0 decision that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," and laws that impose them violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Brown v. Board of Education ruled that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality.
The New Orleans school desegregation crisis was a period of intense public resistance in New Orleans following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The conflict peaked in 1960, when U.S. Circuit Judge J. Skelly Wright ordered that desegregation in New Orleans begin on November 14 of that year.
On November 14, 1960, two New Orleans elementary schools began desegregation. Leona Tate, Tessie Provost, and Gail Etienne, who became known as the McDonogh Three, joined McDonogh 19 Elementary School, while Ruby Bridges joined William Frantz Elementary School. All four 6-year-old girls were met with death threats, racial slurs, and taunts. Widespread boycotts began immediately, and by the end of the day, few white children remained at either school.
On November 16, a race riot broke out in front of a meeting of the Orleans Parish School Board. Following the riot, United States Marshals began accompanying the four girls to their respective schools, while death threats against the children continued. During the next few days, other white parents began returning their children to school.
It took ten more years for the New Orleans public schools to fully integrate. In September 1962, the Catholic schools of Orleans Parish were also integrated.
lyrics
One school for the White
One school for the Black
Until 1959
When four girls said "NO" to that
Ruby and the McDonogh three
Woke up for their first school day
Put on a dress , brushed their teeth
And changed the American way
In the Fall of 1960
In the town of New Orleans
Those six year olds so bravely
Enforced Amendment Fourteen
Every morning they walked to school
Escorted by men in suits
Federal marshals in leather shoes
Protecting those students
People threw stones and fruit
Shouted and called them names
Screamed slurs at those girls
Determined to break their chains
Break their chains
Break their chains
White boys and girls stayed home
Ruby and the McDonogh Three
Attended class all alone
Taught by teachers courageously
Gradually more students enrolled
Slowly America embraced
Freedom for all as our goal
Treated equal no matter our race
No No No No
No matter our race
One school for the White
One school for the Black
Until 1959
When four girls said "NO" to that
Everybody began to see
Their beauty and integrity
Ruby and the McDonogh Three
Opened our hearts, changed history
In the Fall of 1960
In the town of New Orleans
Those six year olds so bravely
Enforced Amendment Fourteen
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