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We honored Doris Raye Jennings Brewer & her twin Doris Faye Jennings Alston who tried to enroll in the white school in Hearne, TX in 1947. The Black school was a WWII barracks for German prisoners of war held up by old tires. Thurgood Marshall represented the Jennings. #BrownvBd
Our final honoree today was Leona Tate. In 1960 she & two other Black girls (age 6)desegregated McDonough School 19. Every white parent withdrew their children from the school. The three girls (who remain friends) attended the school as the only pupils for 2 years. #BrownvBoard
Today the Leona Tate Foundation in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward owns the old McDonough School 19 bldg which they are turning into a civil rights museum. Learn more about the Leona Tate Foundation here https://www.leonatatefoundation.org/ .
We honored one of my personal heroes - Elizabeth Eckford of the Little Rock 9. I cannot express what it meant to me to present her with our Pioneer of Justice Award & hear her share her experiences. We owe her a great debt. #BrownvBoard
Yesterday Ms. Eckford described herself as the “improbable” face of Little Rock. But the ordeal she suffered outside the school on the first day showed the snarling, mad, hatred of violent white supremacy. And the courage - the raw courage - of a young Black girl. #BrownvBoard
One of the most moving moments yesterday was when Elizabeth Eckford said her favorire class at Central High that yr was Speech class. Why? Because it was the only class in which no one said anything mean to her and the white students treated her like one of them. #BrownvBoard
Doris Raye Jennings Brewer who, with her twin sister Doris Faye & parents went to register at the white school in Hearne, TX in 1947 only to be turned back. She’d never told her daughter (pictured also) the story. So many of these women never spoke of their heroism. #BrownvBoard
When Leona Tate at 6 years old arrived at the McDonough 19 school in New Orleans and saw the crowds, she thought they must be there for a parade. They were protesters. W/i days every white parent removed their children from the school. #BrownvBoard
Now the Leona Tate Foundation owns the McDonough 19 building and is turning it into a civil rights museum. Learn more here https://www.leonatatefoundation.org/
One of the BEST moments during yesterday’s event was introducing these ladies - who each faced the daunting role of “integrator” as young girls in different states - to one another.
