Fisk/Meharry in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Nashville Sit-Ins

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 2, 2022

1. Nashville Sit-Ins Marker

Inscription. Beginning in late 1959, a group of Nashville college students from Fisk University, Tennessee A&I, Meharry Medical College and American Baptist Theological Seminary, along with local religious leaders, began to discuss a mass collective action against state and local ordinances known as "Jim Crow laws." On February 13, 1960, 124 black students marched into downtown department stores, and quietly sat down at segregated lunch counters. The action grew, and black students held sit-ins at every lunch counter in downtown Nashville. Demonstrators were met with intimidation and violence from white segregationists, were arrested for "trespassing" and served time in jail. The sit-in protestors were joined by Nashville's black community in a boycott of downtown merchants.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is February 13, 1960.

Location. 36° 10.238′ N, 86° 48.106′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Fisk/Meharry. It is on Jefferson Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or

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near this postal address: 1411 Jefferson St, Nashville TN 37208, 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: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection at Fisk University/The Civil Rights March (here, next to this marker); Dr. Matthew Walker Sr. (within shouting distance of this marker); John Wesley Frierson (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech at Fisk University (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. D.B. Todd, Jr. (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kossie Gardner Sr. (about 400 feet away); Fisk University Athletics (about 500 feet away); Jefferson Street's Rich History (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 2, 2022

2. Nashville Sit-Ins Marker

of all markers in Nashville.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 304 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 3, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.