U.S. Civil Rights Trail in Nashville

American Baptist College, a historically Black college rooted in liberal arts and theological education, played an important role in Nashville’s Civil Rights Movement. Students and faculty participated in the city’s nonviolent sit-ins and desegregation efforts, helping position Nashville at the forefront of the movement across the South. Civil rights leaders, including John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette, James Bevel, and C.T. Vivian, studied or organized here, securing the college’s place on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

Clark Memorial United Methodist Church served as a meeting site for numerous civil rights efforts. In 1958, James Lawson hosted workshops on nonviolent protests at the church, and in 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held the annual meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference there. The church is still active in the Nashville community.

Jubilee Hall, built in 1876, stands as a symbol of Black education and progress in the post-Civil War South. The Fisk Jubilee Singers raised funds for its construction through performances that introduced audiences around the world to Negro spirituals while helping save Fisk University. As the South’s first permanent structure built for the education of Black students, Jubilee Hall earned its place on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail and remains a National Historic Landmark and centerpiece of Fisk University’s campus today.

Jefferson Street Sound Museum is where music, community, and the Civil Rights Movement came together in Nashville. From the 1940s through the 1970s, Jefferson Street was a center of Black creativity and activism, with clubs and churches along the street carrying the music that energized the movement. The Sound Museum offers an intimate look at the musicians and moments that defined Nashville’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, while celebrating the businesses and community leaders who shaped Jefferson Street’s legacy.

Other notable stops along Jefferson Street include: Tennessee State University (TSU), NAACP, Elks Lodge, Citizens Bank, Alkebu-lan, TN Tribune, Matthew Walker, Hadley Park, etc.

The Museum of Christian & Gospel Music highlights the artists, innovators, and traditions that shaped one of America’s most influential musical forms and its powerful role in the fight for civil rights. Through immersive galleries, recordings, and rare artifacts, the museum traces how Gospel music carried stories of hardship, hope, and unwavering faith, becoming a vital force for community, strength, and social change. It honors the musicians whose work inspired activists and helped soundtrack the pursuit of equality.

The Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library offers a powerful space for reflection and learning, showcasing materials that capture the intensity of a pivotal era when thousands of African American citizens led a nonviolent challenge against segregation in the city and across the South. The Votes for Women exhibit highlights another defining moment in the fight for equality, centered on the 19th Amendment, which affirmed that the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of gender, underscoring the broader struggle for civil rights and expanded freedoms in American history.

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in downtown Nashville is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. The museum features galleries spanning various eras of music history, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a specific era and become part of the musical experience. The “One Nation Under a Groove” gallery focuses on key musical influences that took place after World War II. This gallery emphasizes the impact of radio, Black music executives, and growth from R&B through disco, pop, and video.

The Woolworth Theatre is a registered historic site within downtown Nashville’s Fifth Avenue Historic District. Once an iconic “five-and-dime” store, the F. W. Woolworth building became a pivotal location in the Civil Rights Movement, hosting some of Nashville’s earliest lunch counter sit-ins in the 1960s. Visitors can explore the 'Beyond the Counter' historical photo gallery, created in partnership with the Nashville Public Library, which highlights powerful moments from the Civil Rights Movement that took place in downtown Nashville.