gEtienne24@nul.org
Speaker Bio
Gail Etienne is an American civil rights pioneer and advocate who made history on November 14, 1960, alongside Tessie Prevost, Leona Tate, and Ruby Bridges (The New Orleans Four) as the first African Americans to desegregate formerly whites-only public elementary schools in the Deep South. At T.J. Semmes Elementary School in New Orleans, Etienne was stuck in the stomach by a white student wielding a baseball bat. While she experienced severe physical and emotional bullying, Etienne and her cohorts helped galvanize the New Orleans Resistance Movement and inspired the Children’s Crusade of 1963. At age 69, Etienne partnered with Prevost to create New Orleans Four LLC. The duo is collaborating on various projects, including a children's book titled "The New Orleans Four Go To School" with author Wendy J. Powell and a coffee table photobook, "When The Glory Comes" with photographer Peter G. Forest.