CIVIL RIGHTS STAND

NASHVILLE’S CIVIL RIGHTS STAND

Music City didn’t back down from the Civil Rights fight

BY JENNIFER MCKEE

Nashville is an important stop on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail: It set the stage for lunch counter sit-ins, nonviolent protests in which college students, ministers and other activists chose to stay seated at “non-colored” lunch counters despite the racial slurs hurled against them. It all took place in the Fifth Avenue Historic District and its Woolworth Building, now the Woolworth Theatre (see p. 12). 221 5th Ave. N.

Among those who participated in the sit-ins was former U.S. Representative John Lewis, for whom a street is named in downtown Nashville.

You can also learn more about the Nashville sit-ins inside the Civil Rights Room at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library. Take a seat at a symbolic lunch counter, read the Ten Rules of Conduct carried by the protestors during the sit-ins and watch testimonies from those who were part of the Civil Rights movement. A vast number of materials are available. 615 Church St.

The Clark Memorial United Methodist Church was the meeting site for Nashville’s Civil Rights efforts. It was home

ALL IMAGES ©NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS; LOGO COURTESY THE U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIL to workshops on non-violent protests, and in 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the annual meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference there. The church is still active in the Nashville community. 1014 14th Ave. N.

The bombing of civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby’s home in 1960 set off a march of more than 3,000 souls, who walked silently past the Tennessee State Capitol and ended at the Davidson County Courthouse. Nashville Mayor Ben West met with student activist Diane Nash and additional protestors on the steps of the courthouse, and after a heated discussion agreed that the city’s lunch counters should be integrated. This important step toward desegregating Nashville is commemorated with a plaque in front of the courthouse. 1 Public Square

The newest stop on the trail is the National Museum of African American Music, which opened in January 2021. Here, you’ll learn about the impact of Black musicians and executives on the music world, and take an active part in learning about history through the many interactive experiences. The museum’s robust event lineup lets you make an even deeper contribution. 510 Broadway

Also on the trail are Fisk University, the first AfricanAmerican school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and Griggs Hall at the American Baptist College. Both are known for educating leaders who were crucial to the Civil Rights movement.

For more information on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, visit civilrightstrail.com

Opposite page: Protestors gather for the march to the Davidson County Courthouse. This page, clockwise from bottom left: The march comes up the capitol steps; student activist Diane Nash and others meet with Mayor Ben West (second from left); John Lewis leads a protest through Nashville.