Episode 1: Nashville "We were warriors"

Episode one of the series focuses on the heavily segregated city of Nashville, TN.

Students attending Fisk University and American Baptist didn't have to worry about segregation on campus, but when they ventured into Downtown Nashville, they were met with heavily segregated stores, water fountains, bathrooms, etc. Students knew that action was being taken against segregation and wanted to participate. They were given that chance by a young minister from Ohio, James Lawson. Lawson had spent time in India studying the nonviolent methods of Gandhi and began to teach students nonviolent action in workshops. His workshops attracted some of the brightest students from the surrounding area. Lawson was encouraged to come south by Martin Luther King Jr., who wanted someone who was very influenced by Gandhi and nonviolence. The workshops focused on nonviolent action, and the first step was to desegregate the lunch counters.

Lawson prepared students by insulting them and teaching them to fight the impulse to fight back or run away. The preparation took months and once the preparations were complete, the sit-ins at the lunch counter began. The first sit-in was on a Saturday when they were sure to be noticed. The members of the sit-in were denied service and the dining areas were closed, but the students stayed reading and doing homework. There is no violence and no arrests. The white citizens who read about the story on page 10 reacted with shock and a sense of comedy almost, thinking they are a passing fad.

The third sit-in targeted six restaurants. They were told in advance to be prepared to be beaten and arrested. They had 600 people ready to be arrested and even back-up groups. Once the first group was arrested, the second and third waves would move in. The police were taken aback by the constant filling of seats by the minority. 75 students were arrested, though they were peaceful. This was a victory for the students. At the trials for their civil disobedience, they were told to pay a $50 fine or work in the workhouse. They refused to pay the fee and chose to work instead.

These students inspired the entire African-American community in Nashville to join in their strife. They couldn't stand that well-behaved, well-dressed, students were being so ill treated and beaten. They began to boycott the downtown businesses. Black clergy encouraged their patrons to stay away from the downtown shopping district all together, delivering an economic blow to the businesses.

After the bombing of Attorney Z. Alexander Looby, the students write a letter to the mayor asking for a meeting, and begin a silent march to city hall. They begin with 1500 marchers and along the way, their number doubles. When this march gets to city hall, the mayor was waiting for them. After answering Diane Nash, a student at Fisk University, questions about if he felt it was morally right to discriminate against someone just because of their color or race, Mayor Ben West said that he did not agree and agreed to desegregate the lunch counters. His admittance that discrimination was wrong would put things in motion for the Civil Rights Movement.

Stores told the students privately that they also wanted to desegregate, but chose not to publicize this fact. Instead, they would be served quietly and whites were to simply observe the action happening. The students continued to desegregate other restaurants and stores around the area.


TIMELINE FOR NASHVILLE:

December 1955     Bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama.

September 1959    Rev. James Lawson begins nonviolent action training workshops in Nashville.

February 13, 1960    Nashville students hold first sit-in.

February 27, 1960    Students at lunch counters are assaulted, then arrested.

March 1960    Boycott of Nashville department stores begins.

April 19, 1960    The home of a black lawyer, Z. Alexander Looby, is bombed. After protesters march on city hall, the mayor calls for desegregation of the lunch counters.

May 10, 1960    Lunch counters begin to serve African-Americans.

2010 is the 50th anniversary of the Nashville sit-in movement. Below is a video from Dr. James Haney, Host and Executive Producer of Comments With Dr. James Haney. Dr. Haney interviews two participants of the Nashville sit-ins, who discuss some of their challenges and experiences during that time.






photo courtesy of: aforcemorepowerful.org
video courtesy of: Dr. James Haney via youtube.com