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We Shall Not Be Moved: The 50th Anniversary of Tennessee's Civil Rights Sit-Ins
History Revisited
Though the sit-ins began in Greensboro, N.C., Nashville played a major role in their emergence as a national source of protest against segregation. With students from Fisk University, Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State University) and American Baptist Theological Seminary under the guidance of dynamic leaders such as Kelly Miller Smith and James Lawson, these young people endured insults, hostilities, violence and often police harassment as they sought to integrate restaurants and businesses in downtown Nashville. Their actions played a major role in the dismantling of state-sanctioned segregation, and their contributions are now being celebrated in an extraordinary exhibit. We Shall Not Be Moved: The 50th Anniversary of Tennessee's Civil Rights Sit-Ins includes a wealth of items and memorabilia from that period, among them the stools of lunch counters from which students were forcibly removed. An eight-minute film has been created from original footage of news reports in 1960. There are also reminders via exhibits from such stores as the old W.T. Grant's of the shameful treatment black citizens received in establishments where they couldn't try on items and were regarded as interlopers rather than paying customers. In addition, there are scenes of protests in other cities such as Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. The exhibit may bring back painful memories of a none-too-distant past, but it also serves as a reminder of the many positive changes that have occurred since.-
Tennessee State Museum
- 505 Deaderick St., Nashville Downtown TN 37243
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615-741-2692
- tnmuseum.org
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