Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee enjoyed a reputation as a progressive southern city, though segregation was the law of the land in the 1950s and 1960s. The city’s public school system resisted desegregation until 1957; and restaurants, department stores, and other public accommodations similarly fought against integration. In 1960, sit-in demonstrations exploded in the city, led by local college students, including Diane Nash and John Lewis. The Nashville Student Movement was one of the strongest student-led movements in the nation and was instrumental in the founding of SNCC on Easter Weekend in 1960.
