Brick Church Middle Renamed Richard H. Dinkins Middle School

Brick Church Middle School has a new name recognizing a late judge and champion for civil rights in Nashville. The Metro Nashville Public Schools board unanimously approved the renaming of the school — now called Richard H. Dinkins Middle School — at Tuesday’s meeting, where several members of Dinkins’ family were present. 

Dinkins died in 2023 and is remembered as a legal expert, serving as the first Black judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 2008 to 2022. Dinkins also served on the Davidson County Chancery Court and worked as a lawyer for more than 20 years, most notably serving as a lead attorney for a Nashville schools desegregation case. He was also the cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and for the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 

“He was a very special jurist,” said MNPS school board chair Freda Player at Tuesday’s meeting, addressing Dinkins’ children in the audience. “What he did for the desegregation of Metro schools — we would not be here today if it wasn’t for your father. The long and tedious and historic nature of his work and probably innovative nature of the work too, I think it’s very important that we mark that.”

Ian Dinkins, the late judge’s son, thanked the school board for honoring his father, who spent much of his career advocating for equality in schools. 

Four MNPS Schools Receive Federal Magnet Funding

Grants awarded by Magnet Schools Assistance Program to enhance academics, promote desegregation

“Education was something that was really important to my dad, and he truly believed that was at the core of a strong community, strong city and a strong family as well,” Dinkins said. 

In 2023, the Judge Dinkins Educational Center launched to provide vocational training for teenagers. 

Brick Church rejoined MNPS this school year after operating as a charter school through the state’s Achievement School District. In October, it was one of four MNPS schools to receive federal funding to boost academics and reduce segregation. With an 80 percent Black student population, it is now an early college magnet school, providing students a pathway to White Creek High School’s early college program, where they can gain up to 60 college credits before graduating.