Visions & Voices: The Civil Rights Movement in Nashville and Tennessee, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Nashville Sit-in Movement February 8, 2010

Nashville was a principal training ground for some of the nation’s most influential leaders in the civil rights movement, many of whom were schooled in the techniques of nonviolent protest. Along with the Nashville community, a group of young Nashville college students organized the Nashville sit-ins, city marches, and an effective downtown store boycott that led to the desegregation of public accommodations in the city. The Nashville protests came to serve as models for later protests throughout the South, and its leaders went on to make pivotal contributions to the success of the civil rights movement, including the Freedom Rides of 1961, the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Student Organizing Committee, historic protests in Selma, Alabama, and the 1963 March on Washington.

Opening reception to correspond with the February 13, 2010 program from Special Collections for 50th anniversary of Nashville Sit-ins and African American history month.

Official Website: http://www.library.nashville.gov