NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches, people across the country and in Middle Tennessee will gather to honor the civil rights leader's life and legacy.
In Nashville, a free self-guided tour offers people an up-close look at locations that helped change the course of history during the civil rights movement.
Nashville's Civil Rights Movement: A Walking and Driving Tour was created by organizations including Historic Nashville, Middle Tennessee State University, and Tennessee Preservation Trust, guides visitors to nearly 30 locations that played key roles in the civil rights movement in Nashville.
An accompanying pamphlet provides pictures and information about each site's historical significance.
"We can preserve these places, not just for a single day or a month, not just to celebrate them for a day or a month here or there. It's to preserve these things in perpetuity, so that generations to come can enjoy these sites and learn our history and our complicated history,” said Darden Copeland, a board member for Historic Nashville.
Copeland emphasized the importance of maintaining these historical sites for future generations.
One prominent stop is the former Woolworth's location downtown, where a window display tells the story of lunch counter sit-ins.
Woolworth's was among many downtown retailers where African American students held sit-ins as nonviolent protests in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
"There are still civil rights leaders that are here today that remember these places that were here physically to participate in that," Copeland said.
The tour includes the Arcade downtown, where desegregation demonstrations were held.
Other significant stops feature the old YMCA and YWCA, which protesters picketed in 1961, and the Hermitage Hotel, where, according to the tour, civil rights leaders negotiated for integration of both guests and workers.
The tour also details the pivotal meeting between students and lawmakers on the courthouse steps, marking another crucial moment in Nashville's civil rights history.
In addition to the stops on the tour, Historic Nashville leaders also recommended a trip to the plaza at the Jefferson Street Gateway to Heritage.
The tour is a walking, and driving tour, and is self guided.
Here is a link to the tour pamphlet.
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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