School desegregation was part of the broader Civil Rights movement, which focused on ending racial discrimination and acquiring equal rights under the law. Historians have discussed the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on New Orleans public schools in terms of white backlash, white flight, and resistance from local parishes. In addition, historians have discussed how public-school integration impacted the New Orleans Four (the first-graders Gail Etienne, Ruby Bridges, Leona Tate, and Tessie Prevost, who were the first Black students to enter previously segregated schools) and white teachers. Most of these studies focus on the social and political impact on New Orleans. Few studies, however, have analyzed the material impact of desegregation on the lives of Black students. That is what this project uncovers.

This project aims to analyze the impact of desegregation on Black students in New Orleans public schools between 1950 and 1980. By analyzing data and visualizing it using Digital History tools, this project highlights the inequities that characterized Black and white public schools and examines how desegregation changed students’ material realities over time. The project’s findings suggest that although desegregation addressed some racial inequities in New Orleans public schools, other aspects of Black education were completely ignored. The number of Black students in New Orleans public schools increased following integration, but the quality of their educational experiences did not necessarily improve. Meanwhile, New Orleans witnessed increased Black student enrollment and access to school supplies in public schools. However, equal access to educational support and the issue of overcrowding in elementary classrooms saw no substantial changes.