Downtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Avon N. Williams, Jr.

1921-1994

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, January 2, 2023

1. Avon N. Williams, Jr. Marker

Inscription. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Avon N. Williams, Jr., was an attorney, statewide civil rights leader, politician, educator, and a founder of the Davidson County Independent Political Council and the Tennessee Voters Council. In 1950, as a cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he and attorneys Z. Alexander Looby and Carl Cowan filed and successfully litigated McSwain v. Board of Anderson County, Tennessee, the first public school desegregation case in the state.
(Continued on other side)

(Continued from other side) Assisting in every school desegregation case statewide except Shelby County, he was counsel for the plaintiff intervenors in the Tennessee State University / University of Tennessee at Nashville merger suit. In 1979, under federal court order, UTN merged with TSU. Williams was elected to the state legislature in 1968, becoming the first African-American state senator from Nashville to serve as a member of the Tennessee General Assembly. He represented the 19th district for more than 20 years, serving as a member of the 86th through the 96th General Assembly of Tennessee.

Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3A 180.)

Topics and series. This historical marker

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is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Government & Politics. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1950.

Location. 36° 9.816′ N, 86° 47.221′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Downtown. It is on Charlotte Avenue just west of YMCA Way, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 901 Charlotte Ave, Nashville TN 37203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Black Churches of Capitol Hill (within shouting distance of this marker); Nashville Sit-Ins (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Rev. Nelson G. Merry (about 700 feet away); Welcome to Frankie Pierce Park (about 800 feet away); Woman Suffrage Wins as Tennessee Ratifies (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mrs. John Hill Eakin - Mrs. Robert F. Weakley (approx. 0.2 miles away); Edwin W. Craig (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tennessee Tower (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 28, 2020

2. Avon N. Williams, Jr. Marker

Avon N. Williams, Jr. Marker reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 20, 2020

3. Avon N. Williams, Jr. Marker reverse

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 28, 2020

4. Avon N. Williams, Jr. Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 741 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 22, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2. submitted on April 2, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on June 23, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 4. submitted on April 2, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.