The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was made possible by the work of American civil rights activists including former Nashvillian Diane Nash. One of Nash’s many contributions to the fight for racial justice took place in 1960 on the steps of Nashville’s courthouse, where she confronted Mayor Ben West about segregation. Those same steps are now part of what is known as the Diane Nash Plaza. The bill legislating this renaming was penned by Councilmember Nancy VanReece and approved in December by the Metro Council. Nash’s work also garnered the living legend a Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was given to her by President Joe Biden this summer.
