Bravely moving forward: 'Small Shoes, Great Strides' looks at three Black girls that took the first steps to end segregation in New Orleans schools

Nov. 7—A single sentence tips off readers to a powerful story: "Three little girls in ankle socks and Sunday shoes made history just by going to school."

It's an invitation in the text of a new book about a lesser-known event in the Civil Rights era. The events are at the heart of the book, "Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality."

The book is about Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne, 6-year-old girls who walked into the front door of a public school to attend first grade.

The book is packed with drama and history because the girls — Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne — are Black and they were being escorted by three U.S. Marshals into McDonogh No. 19 Public School in New Orleans' Ninth Ward.

The time of day was 9:15 a.m. and the date was Nov. 14, 1960. Leona, Tessie and Gail were the first Black students to integrate a previously all-white public school in the city and, indeed, in the state of Louisiana since segregation was imposed in 1877.

Add to the drama, a crowd of angry white people opposed to school integration, heckling the girls as they entered the school.

The book is aimed at upper elementary grades and up. All the way up to adults.

The author is Vaunda Micheaux Nelson of Rio Rancho.

Nelson first learned about Leona, Tessie and Gail from Jim Dunn, president emeritus of the United States Marshals Museum Foundation. Dunn knew of Nelson's interest in black history and in under-told stories. He told her about the girls and their close connection to the Marshals Service.

"I wanted to have the girls' stories told," Nelson said in a phone interview.

Nelson accomplished that goal, and then some.

The book looks at this school desegregation story from different angles. It gives readers a peek at the girls' home life, at their relationship with the three protective white U.S. Marshals who picked them up at home, took them to school, and brought them home, and at the girls' unusual school environment, including their warming relationship with the kind, caring white teacher.

The girls' first year at McDonogh 19 was strange. When they took their seats in Miss Florence Meyers' classroom, white students began leaving. The whole school.

That means the three girls were the only students remaining. Nonetheless, their teacher made sure the girls felt welcome. To help protect them, brown paper covered the classroom windows, recess was held inside, and water fountains were turned off for fear of poisoning.

Nelson's writing style and the inclusion of related civil rights issues will appeal to adult readers.

For example, one paragraph is about the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision of Brown v. Board of Education. The high court's ruling struck down racial segregation in public schools. Related to that is a full page at the back of the book with an overview of school desegregation in New Orleans.

The book's text notes that a fourth Black girl, Ruby Bridges, integrated another previously all-white New Orleans school, William Frantz Elementary, 10 minutes after Leona, Tessie and Gail entered McDonogh 19. The four girls were collectively referred to as the New Orleans Four.

Bridges' history-making enrollment has been the subject of a handful of books for young readers. Nelson believes "Small Shoes, Great Strides" is the first book focused on what the other three girls accomplished.

"I admire Ruby and her contributions, but these girls needed to be recognized, too. I wanted to set the record straight," said Nelson, a retired Rio Rancho children's librarian and author of many books for young readers. "I wanted to find out about (them) and I want other people to know about (them), too."

Several other subjects related to the story elements in the text are explored at the back of the book. One page is devoted to the iconic Norman Rockwell 1964 painting of a symbolic black girl being escorted to school by U.S. Marshals. A page and a half contains more biographical information of Leona, Tessie and Gail based on Nelson's recent interviews with them. And there's a half-page about the U.S. Marshals Service.

Nelson said she admires the bravery of the girls' parents and respects the job that the marshals have done and still do.

She thinks her own knowledge of history, especially Black history, is lacking. "Part of this (wanting to know more) is the librarian in me," she said.

Her book has a glossary, selected bibliography and several websites offering more information for readers.

One website cited is tepcenter.org, which is the Tate Etienne Prevost Center, an educational and exhibit space dedicated to the history of New Orleans school desegregation, civil rights and restorative justice. The center is in a portion of the building that had been McDonogh 19.