Juniors Learn About the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville
Zoe Bauer
In a two-day program while the freshmen and sophomores were away on retreats, the junior class learned firsthand about the roles that Nashville and USN played in the Civil Rights Movement.
First we visited the Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library, where the librarians gave us a background on the movement in Nashville, from the Easter Boycotts to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech at Fisk University. Afterwards, we watched a film about desegregation and looked at images from the movement. While giving us a thorough background in the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, it was also a lead-up to the final event of the week: a panel discussion about desegregation in Nashville and at USN.
Dr. Durnan set the Friday afternoon discussion off with an introduction of the three panelists: Heber Rogers, a Peabody Demonstration School/USN faculty member who taught for decades, including through USN’s desegregation; Flo Kidd, a teacher and former USN parent who went to Fisk during the Civil Rights era and participated in the lunch counter sit-ins; and King Hollands, an Edgehill area native who was one of the students to desegregate Father Ryan and who protested as well.
In addition, it turned out that Cassandra Teague-Walker ‘67, the first African-American person to graduate PDS/USN, was in the audience, so she talked about her experience, too. All of the speakers described how different the times were and how much better things are today, but also about how much there still is to do in terms of racial equality.
This week, the juniors came to appreciate that their city and their school were not just insignificant sideshows compared to other cities such as Little Rock or Montgomery. Nashville was important, and the protesters and speakers and organizers were able to bring about a lasting change in our city and our schools.
All of us in the audience last Friday learned that, as Ms. Teague-Walker told us, “Change is possible. You can change the world.”
Congratulations to Gold Key Award recipients Alder Brandon '27, Cleo Gauthier '24, Caroline Keiper '25, Eliza Nichols '25, and Kati Tong '25 for their critical essay, flash fiction, and science fiction works.
The Middle School Quiz Bowl team competed in the Spring Forward XV Middle School Academic Challenge and had standout performances, ranking third, fourth, and seventh, and Liam Mooney '28 having the highest score of all competitors at the challenge.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.