In a recent building (inaugurated in 2001), the Nashville Public Library has a room that holds the Civil Rights collection and highlights the not so distant history of the city in the Civil Rights Movement:
starting with the beginnings of school desegregation in 1957, following Brown v. Board of Education, the historic Supreme Court ruling of 1954 that stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and therefore unconstitutional;
to the first organized sit ins at a local department store's lunch counter in February of 1960;
rather shocking to see how much violent resistance was offered to peaceful protests, in the sit ins case, or the mere implementation of the law regarding school desegregation
(in some pictures it is very clear who was out to create trouble);
quite impressive to realize how organized the peaceful protesters were, to the point that they had written rules of conduct on the dos and don'ts for all of those participating in sit ins. Those who would not abide by such rules could not participate. Do not strike back nor curse if abused is, to me, the utmost symbol of willingness to fight for a cause you know is right;
finally, Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at Fisk University in April of 1960 where he stated "I came to Nashville not to bring inspiration but to gain inspiration from the great movement that has taken place in this community."
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