Salemtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Fehr School
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School Desegration in Nashville "Nashville Plan" Schools
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 12, 2022
1. Fehr School Marker
Fehr School. Named for local merchant and former school board member Rudolph Fehr, and designed by architects Dougherty and Gardner, Fehr School opened in 1924. On Sept. 9, 1957, Fehr became one of the first schools in Nashville to desegregate, admitting four African American first graders, who attended despite a hostile atmosphere. Some 200 protestors surrounded the school, and it received bomb threats prior to Hattie Cotton School being firebombed shortly after midnight on Sept. 10.
School Desegration in Nashville "Nashville Plan" Schools. In Brown v. Topeka (1954) and Brown II (1955) the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools nationwide to end racial segregation "with all deliberate speed." Nashville failed to comply. resulting in the Kelley v. Board of Education case (1955) and the 1957 enactment of a grade-per-year plan starting at the first grade. In 1963, the Maxwell v. Davidson County (1960) case was merged with the Kelley case. In 1998, the court deemed the Metro school system to be desegregated.
Erected 2020 by the Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. (Marker Number
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee, The Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 9, 1957.
Location. 36° 10.919′ N, 86° 47.536′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Salemtown. It is on 5th Avenue North south of Garfield Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1624 5th Ave N, 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: Fountain of Youth
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 12, 2022
2. School Desegration in Nashville "Nashville Plan" Schools side of the marker
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 4, 2020
3. Fehr School side of the marker
Photographed by Duane Marsteller, April 4, 2020
4. Former Fehr School entrance
Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,743 times since then and 82 times this year. Last updated on April 5, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. Photos: 1. submitted on March 12, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2. submitted on April 5, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 3, 4. submitted on April 7, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
