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Nashville HBCU’s Launch Sit insIV. Poetry by Jacqueline Asamoah Poetry by McKenzie Reid Poetry by Keith Thomas
Nashville HBCU’s launch sit-ins
On February 13, 1960: The first large-scale sit-ins take place in Nashville as more than one hundred protesters from four local historically black colleges converge on downtown lunch counters.
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Several men attempt to drag a nonviolent student sit-in demonstrator from his stool at the lunch counter in the upstairs section of Woolworth’s on Fifth Avenue North. February 27, 1960. Photo by Vic Cooley. Nashville Banner Archives, Nashville Public Library, Special Collections. Courtesy of We Shall Overcome: Press Photographs of Nashville in the Civil Rights Era.
Victory Fight
By Jacqueline Asamoah
A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything You got that right, brother Malcolm
Privilege is snatched from our grasp like death laying its icy hands down your spine.
Dawn, day, dusk, night, dawn repeat Diners, trains, buses, schools, diners repeat An endless cycle of “Whites Only”
The lights go off we see black The ships sail north we see black The farms are growing weed we see black But when do we really see black?
How much longer is this going to be okay? How much longer will we be trampled on? No more! Your skin is not a bin Your skin is not a sin
Brothers and sisters arise Brothers and sisters stand tall Know your worth Know, you are as American as they come
We get in, we sit We get served, we sit Rosa did it Claudette did it
The first large-scale organized sit-in took place in Nashville on February 13, 1960, whenmore than one hundred protesters from four local historically black colleges converged ondowntown lunch counters, including McLellan’s (seen here). Photo by Bill Goodman. Nashville Banner Archives, Nashville Public Library, Special Collections. We Shall Overcome: Press Photographs of Nashville in the Civil Rights Era
We can and we will We will because we stand as one, Brothers and sisters, this is your chance to be free Segregation must end, this is your victory fight!
Poet’s Note: As an HBCU attendee, many times I see students stand up and defend their rights, so I actually wanted to take the standpoint of a student leader calling her fellowschoolmates to take action and partake in the sit-ins.
88 Days
by Mckenzie Reid
“Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders.”- Diane Nash February 13,1960 Through May 10,1960 Mark the days our kin Fought for a win. Fought for freedom With no violence Or no riots. Verbally and physically attacked Threatened to move away and out back. Constrained and detained. Eyes of anger and hate Pierced their chestnut skin as they took their throne to sit in. 88 days to make a change 88 days of protest and pain and they would be damned if they left without Stamping their name. Letting it be known They fought the great fight and sat in for their freedom and equal rights.
Jean Wynona Fleming, a Fisk University student, behind bars in a Nashville city jail afterher arrest at a downtown Moon-McGrath drugstore lunch counter. Photo by Jimmy Ellis. Courtesy of The Tennessean and We Shall Overcome: Press Photographs of Nashville in the Civil Rights Era.
Poet’s Note: I decided to title my poem “88 days” because that is how long students protested for their equal rights and desegregation inNashville diners. Within those 88days, the protestors experienced trials and tribulations to fight for their rights.
Fight Back Keith Thomas
We tried to be civil.
We stay calm to the best of our ability.
The word Nigger is so sharp it feels like its cutting skin deep to my heart.
We no longer settle for the disrespect.
It is our time to stand up and fight back.
John Lewis,O.D. Hunt, and Dennis Gregory Foote arrested during the Nashville Student Movement, undated, crmvet.org
Even if means going to jail, getting slaughtered in the middle of the street while everyone watches.
They don’t understand what it feels like to be hated because of skin.
“You dumb ass Nigger you better mind your elders or else”.
“Don’t look at me with those ugly big Nigger eyes and pink juicy Nigger lips”.
They are so quick to shame us then turn and expect us to respect them.
To them we are just property To them a table and a black person are equal.
Enslave us to the point that we are dying of thirst and hunger.
Our mouths dry as dirt from lack of water.
Our bellies in aching pain, lacking food
We still stand strong and wait until our time to fight back.
Some use physical force such as beating a racist cracker to the white meat.
Others use protest, marches and sit-ins to make a statement.
They were’nt ready for us to fight back.
They really thought we were gonna just lay down.
We got too much pride and love for our culture to just be walked on.
Just know our bite is more powerful than our bark.
John Lewis mugshot
Poet’s Note: I capitalize theword Nigger not to say that it is ok,but to say that the word was used to break us down.We clearly overcame that word and stand strong.
