They trained for months in church basements. Then 124 students changed Nashville in one Saturday afternoon.

Flickr/amerune

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The Nashville Sit-In of February 13, 1960

On February 13, 1960, 124 students began the Nashville sit-in campaign that lasted until May 10. Most participants were Black students from local colleges who challenged racial segregation at downtown lunch counters.

The Nashville Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council organized these protests. Students planned to sit at whites-only lunch counters and ask for service. Their actions made Nashville the first major Southern city to desegregate public facilities.

Flickr/ufcw770

James Lawson’s Nonviolent Workshops

Reverend James Lawson taught students how to protest without fighting back. He learned peaceful protest methods in India while studying Gandhi’s approach to resisting unfair treatment…

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