NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The White House announced Friday that President Joe Biden would award Nashville Civil Rights leader Diane Nash with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Nash, now 84, was an integral part of the lunch counter sit-ins for and the Freedom Rides to desegregate. She was also chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She was even arrested for her participation in the Freedom Rides but was able to avoid a sentence.
Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr., who described her as the “driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters," White House officials said.
"This is a proud day for Nashville," Mayor John Cooper said.
The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022.
