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civil rights movement

First Black student to graduate during Southern integration dies at 85

By Marianna Bacallao

September 23, 2025

Bobby Cain a made history as the first Black student to graduate from an integrated high school in the South. He died in Nashville on Monday at the age of 85.

Filed Under: History, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights, civil rights movement, Clinton 12, East Tennessee, integration, Tennessee State University

What to know about the release of federal documents related to MLK’s assassination

By Adrian Sainz, AP

July 22, 2025

Federal records related to the investigation into the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. have been released. Their release Monday follows the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Filed Under: History, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights movement, FBI, Martin Luther King

‘Good Trouble’ rally in deep-red Sumner County protests Trump, honors late John Lewis

By Rose Gilbert

July 17, 2025

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This week’s “Good Trouble” rallies are inspired by John Lewis’s legacy of non-violent collective action during the Civil Rights Movement.

Filed Under: Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights, civil rights movement, Donald Trump, John Lewis, NAACP

Nashville police uncover new details in Civil Rights bombing cold case

By Marianna Bacallao

June 20, 2025

Black leaders march down Jefferson Street in 1960.

MNPD’s nearly year-long investigation into bombings by the KKK points to the identity of a possible suspect in the attack on Z. Alexander Looby’s home.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, History, Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: betsy phillips, civil rights, civil rights movement, Freddie O'Connell, Metro Nashville Police Department, MNPD, Z. Alexander Looby

Fire at historic Black church in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say

By Adrian Sainz, AP

May 22, 2025

Investigators in Tennessee say a fire that severely damaged a historic Black church that served as the headquarters for a 1968 sanitation workers’ strike which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis was intentionally set.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, History, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights movement, Clayborn Temple, Martin Luther King, memphis

NashVillager Podcast: Honoring Charles Kimbrough

By Nina Cardona

March 7, 2025

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How do you honor a life dedicated to furthering human rights? Plus, the local news for March 7, 2025.

Filed Under: History, NashVillager Podcast, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights, civil rights movement

NashVillager Podcast: The fight for a Civil Rights institution

By Nina Cardona

August 16, 2024

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How did the Highlander School impact the push for landmark social changes in America? Plus the local news for August 16, 2024.

Filed Under: History, NashVillager Podcast, WPLN News Tagged With: civil rights, civil rights movement

Why Nashville’s Civil Rights era bombings have never been solved

By Marianna Bacallao

July 16, 2024

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During the Civil Rights era, white supremacists bombed Nashville three times, attacking a school, a Jewish Community Center and the home of civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby. Those bombers were never caught.

Filed Under: History, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: Author, Author Interview, authors, betsy phillips, civil rights, civil rights movement, Freddie O'Connell, Nashville authors, Z. Alexander Looby

Nashville mayor asks MNPD to reopen unsolved Civil Rights-era bombings

By Marianna Bacallao

July 15, 2024

A series of unsolved bombings in Nashville during the Civil Rights era may be reopened. Mayor Freddie O’Connell called on Nashville’s police chief to devote resources to answering who was behind the attacks.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, History, Metro, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: betsy phillips, civil rights, civil rights movement, Freddie O'Connell, Z. Alexander Looby

The Rev. James Lawson Jr. has died at 95, civil rights leader’s family says

By Christopher Weber, AP, Travis Loller, APandAdrian Sainz, AP

June 10, 2024

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The Rev. James Lawson Jr., has died. His family said Monday that Lawson died peacefully on Sunday.

Filed Under: History, WPLN News Tagged With: Associated Press, civil rights, civil rights movement, James Lawson, obituary

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