Ernestine Jessie Covington Dent (May 19, 1904 – March 10, 2001) was an American pianist, music educator, and community leader.

[6][9] After graduating from Oberlin,[10] she pursued further studies on scholarships at the Juilliard Musical Foundation,[11][12] where she worked with James Friskin and Olga Samaroff.

As official hostess at Dillard University, she welcomed into her home prominent guests, including Martin Luther King Jr., Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

[17] Dent was a founding member of the Flint-Goodridge Hospital Women's Auxiliary[18] as well as the New Orleans chapter of the historically black sorority Delta Sigma Theta.

[19][20][9] She was credited for inspiring the creation of the Ebony Fashion Fair,[17] a touring event that raised funds for college scholarships and other charities.

Composer and Howard University music professor Camille Nickerson played the organ at the ceremony, and Manet Harrison Fowler was a soprano soloist; biologist Samuel M. Nabrit stood as Dent's best man.