Category Archives: Civil Right Movement

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Former TSU official discusses new book on TSU history, career and urges students, alumni to protect university’s legacy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Discussing his experience during the merger of Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee, a former TSU administrator said April 5 that the historically black university’s continued existence will greatly depend on the strength of its students and alumni. Dr George A. Pruitt, former vice president of Student Affairs, has written a book, “From Protest to President: A Social Justice Journey through the Emergence of Adult Education and the Birth of Distance Learning,” that discusses the merger and his career, including his time at TSU.  He was the guest speaker at a forum on campus, themed, “Prevailing Against All Odds: Sustaining and Preserving TSU’s Rich History.”

Dr. George A. Pruitt is President Emeritus of Thomas Edison State University, where he served for more than 35 years as president. (Photo By Aaron Grayson)

Pruitt, who went on to have a distinguished career in higher education, is president emeritus of Thomas Edison State University. He served as the institution’s president for over 35 years.  

“I have a request of you,” Pruitt said to students in the Cox/Lewis Theater in the TSU Performing Arts Center. “I have been carrying this institution’s torch for a long time. Fred Humphries (former president) carried the torch. Others carried it and they are old and many have retired, and I want this university to still be here. And that’s only going to happen if you all build up that courage to continue the fight. I mean the students, and I absolutely need the alumni.”

Pruitt said, “The state of Tennessee has never, ever cared about Tennessee State University. It only did what it had to because of politics and the law, and you have a lot to say about what the politics and the law is now and will be.”

Chrishonda O’Quinn

Chrishonda O’Quinn, and junior marketing major, and sophomore Teleah Allen, a mass communications major, were among students who listened to Pruitt’s presentation. They accepted his challenge and called on fellow students to unite in moving their institution forward.

“I believe he (Pruitt) is completely correct. As students we need to step up. Being a current student here, I have noted that we are not on one accord like students and faculty were back then,” said O’Quinn, of Chicago. “We need to engage, but before reaching that point, we must fix the culture. When something goes wrong, the first place some of us go is to the media. We need to engage our leaders instead.”

Allen added that Pruitt was very inspiring. “Being here since I was a freshman, I have seen a lot of change, but we need to do more to help our institution grow. Many institutions don’t want to see us succeed. Like he said, it is left with us to make that change,” said Allen, of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Teleah Allen

Following Pruitt’s keynote address, organizers hosted a panel discussion, including former and current TSU professors and staff who were at the institution during the merger. They included Sterling Adams, retired special assistant to Dr. Humphries and professor of mathematics; Barbara Murrell, former vice president and current chair of the Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. Institute; Dr. Al-Haji Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid, retired chair of the African Studies Department at TSU; and Dr. Pruitt.

Dr. Takema Winston, chair of the TSU Department of Communications, and organizing chair of the forum, said bringing Dr. Pruitt as a keynote speaker was part of her goal as chair to help preserve TSU’s rich history by sharing the various experiences of longtime faculty and administrators, to sustain the university’s legacy.

“After recent conversations with Dr. George A. Pruitt regarding his book that talks about his time in leadership at TSU, I believed that this was a great story to share with our students,” Winston said. 

Many former and current TSU administrators and faculty attended the forum with Dr. George A. Pruitt. From left are Barbara Murrell, former Vice President and currently Chairperson of the Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. Institute; Dr. Jacqueline Mitchell, Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies; Dr.  Learotha Williams, Professor of African American and Public History; Dr. Pruitt; Dr. Tameka Winston, Chair of the Department of Communications; Dr. Al-Haji Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid, retired Chair of the African Studies Department; and TSU alumna Sandra Hunt. (Photo by Eric Franzen)

Professor of African American and Public History, Dr. Learotha Williams, who moderated the panel discussion, said Pruitt’s presentation provided a “first-hand” account of one of the most important moments in TSU’s history, “where we were fighting for identity, and to retain our status” as a historically black college.

Also speaking were Sandra Hunt, representing the TSU National Alumni Association; Dr. Samantha Morgan-Curtis, dean of the College of Liberal Arts; and Dr. Jacqueline Mitchell, professor and director of interdisciplinary studies.

Civil Right Movement, FACULTY, Featured, NEWS, Uncategorized

TSU professor, Apple creating app to highlight Nashville’s civil rights history

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – For more than a decade, Tennessee State University history professor Learotha Williams has worked to highlight those unsung heroes of the civil rights movement in North Nashville. Now, with the help of Apple, Inc. and TSU’s National Center for SMART Technology Innovations, Dr. Williams is creating an app to do just that, and more.

Dr. Learotha Williams

When completed, the app will guide people on a walking tour of key landmarks in the movement, including the cafeteria (now called Elliott Hall) where TSU students were recruited for activism. Along the way, people will be able to hear interviews Williams conducted with civil rights luminaries through his North Nashville Heritage Project, which collects historical information about that part of the city.

“I want to highlight some voices I feel have been marginalized,” says Williams, who is often sought nationally for his historical perspective. “I feel that we don’t get the credit we deserve in terms of the Nashville movement. I will be sharing things that may have been overlooked, or people just didn’t talk about.”

Jasmine Sears, a junior history major from Atlanta with a concentration in teaching, is assisting Williams with historical research for the app. She says she’s excited about the reach the device will provide.

“I think it will serve as a good educational tool for people who can’t sit in the classroom and learn about Nashville and its impact in the civil rights movement,” says Sears. “More people will have access to this information.”

Johnathan Glover, another history major from Atlanta, is also helping Williams with research for the app.

Jasmine Sears

“An app like this is important because not many people know the history of this community around TSU,” says Glover, who is minoring in geography. “And, point blank, people should know their history.”

John Lewis, James Lawson, Bernard Lafayette, and Diane Nash are well known names in the civil rights movement in Nashville. But there are others, like TSU alums Gloria McKissack, Elizabeth McClain, Ernest “Rip” Patton, and Kwame Lillard, who don’t receive the attention they deserve.

“If you can imagine being in a church that’s full of people fired up for the civil rights movement, I want to talk to the people on the back pew,” adds Williams. “The people whose presence was necessary, but oftentimes overlooked.”

Dr. Robin Blackman is senior program executive director for the HBCU C2 Initiative, which is part of the National Center for SMART Technology Innovations. She says the idea of the app stemmed from a conversation she had with Williams about his North Nashville Heritage Project.

“As we talked, I realized it was a great idea for the creation of an app by the Tennessee State University Inaugural HBCU C2 App Development Team,” says Blackman.

The team is a component of the HBCU C2 Grant Initiative, which is a partnership between TSU and Apple. TSU serves as the HBCU C2 national hub for training educators and preparing students by providing multiple pathways and opportunities to acquire essential digital literacies and technological skills of coding and creativity. 

Johnathan Glover

“The selection of the app was easy, given the mutual interest in history surrounding Tennessee State University and the focus of the research to highlight the impact of African American students, people, businesses, and the North Nashville Community on the struggle for civil rights,” says Blackman. “The app will provide a contemporary virtual, historical portrait of the significance and roles of the actors that influenced the life we currently live.”

Marc Aupont, an iOS Engineer with HBCU C2, is leading development of the app, and says he’s looking forward to “celebrating the rich history of North Nashville.”

“If we do our job correctly, we will inform, as well as celebrate, those folks that people may have not known before,” says Aupont. “And give North Nashville their due props.”

Dr. Robbie Melton, vice president of the SMART Technology Center and principal investigator for HBCU C2, says she plans to welcome 12 new historically black colleges and universities to the initiative in general.

“Our goal is to expand HBCU C2 to all our 106 HBCU Institutions,” says Melton. “This initiative is not just about coding, but empowering our HBCUs with the knowledge of digital literacy and technological skills required for today’s digital workplace and for tomorrow’s future technology innovations.”

The app is expected to be completed by May of this year.

To learn more about TSU’s National Center for SMART Technology Innovations, visit https://www.tnstate.edu/hbcuc2/index.html.

For more about the North Nashville Heritage Project, visit https://www.tnstate.edu/nnhp/.

Note: Featured graphic created by Donn Jobe in TSU’s Creative Services

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and eight doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

Alumni, Civil Right Movement, College of Liberal Arts, EVENTS, FACULTY, FEATURED, Featured, NEWS, Uncategorized

TSU students, faculty excited about historical knowledge the Rev. Al Sharpton will bring as Distinguished Guest Lecturer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – It is rare to be able to interact with a living historical figure. But that’s what students and faculty at Tennessee State University experienced on Feb. 3 when the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the nation’s most renowned civil rights leaders and activists, began as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer for the semester.  

Sharpton will be a featured lecturer in the area of political science grounded in social justice. His lectures will be via Zoom each Wednesday through April.  

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks to students in virtual lecture. (Submitted photo)

“Not only does the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights icon, know American history and the role African Americans have played to shape that history, he has been an intricate piece of it as well,” said TSU President Glenda Glover. “This will be an amazing opportunity for our students to learn from an individual who comes from the pages of the history books they are reading, and to gain knowledge directly from the source.”  

Sophomore Alexus Dockery

Sharpton, a community leader, politician, and minister, serves as the host of PoliticsNation on MSNBC. With more than 40 years of experience as an advocate, he has held such notable positions as the youth director of New York’s Operation Breadbasket, director of ministers for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and founder of his own broad-based progressive civil rights organization, the National Action Network. 

His activism allowed him to walk among other civil rights icons, like Jesse Jackson and A. Phillip Randolph. He also brought attention to high profile cases in New York, such as the Howard Beach incident in December 1986 in which three African-American men were assaulted in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens by a mob of white men. Later that month, Sharpton led 1,200 demonstrators on a march through the streets of Howard Beach. His role in the case helped propel him to national prominence.

Junior Gelanni Jones

Sophomore Alexus Dockery is a political science major from Memphis, Tennessee. She said it’s only fitting that Sharpton should be at TSU because of the university’s rich history in the fight against racial injustice, such as students’ participation in the Freedom Rides and sit-ins during the civil rights movement. In 2008, the university honored 14 TSU alums who were beaten and arrested during the Freedom Rides with honorary degrees.

“TSU students embody the meaning of call to action, which is demonstrated through our motto, ‘Think. Work. Serve,’” said Dockery. “Rev. Sharpton understands the importance of this, and the importance of HBCUs contributing to society for the advancement of Black people.”  

TSU President Glenda Glover and the Rev. Sharpton at the university’s 2019 Graduate Commencement ceremony. (TSU Media Relations)

Gelanni Jones is a junior majoring in biology at TSU. However, he said Sharpton, because of his historical significance, should appeal to all students, regardless of their major.  

“The statement that he makes by just being himself, is exciting to have at TSU,” said Jones, a Cincinnati, Ohio, resident. “He’s a civil rights icon at an HBCU that I attend.”  

Sharpton is no stranger to TSU. He gave the keynote address last year at the university’s spring graduate commencement ceremony, where he was given an honorary degree in recognition of his body of work and societal impact.  

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and eight doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

Alumni, Cameron High School, Civil Right Movement, EVENTS, Featured, Fletcher Moon, Ida Venson Currie, Ola Hudson, Tamiko Robinson Steele, Tanya Coplen Gray, Uncategorized

New Nashville Civil Rights Documentary Features TSU Alums

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – When Tennessee State University Alum Tanya Coplen Gray approached her high school classmates about producing a short documentary to commemorate their 50th year high school anniversary, Gray had no idea how important the project would become.

“This short film was done as a labor of love.  We did this out of love for one another, and that’s really critical to me, to make sure people understand that is how it got started,” says Gray, who graduated from TSU in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in social work and a minor in sociology. 

Gray, along with her Cameron High School classmates Deborah Majors Bell and Ida Venson Currie, serve as executive producers of  “The Past Is Prologue: The Cameron Class of 1969,” an award-winning documentary that recounts a significant, but largely-forgotten, chapter of Nashville’s civil rights struggle that happened during the late-1960s.

Featured are (l to r)Tanya Coplen Gray, Ola Hudson, Deborah Majors Bell, Ida Venson Currie, Mark Schlicher (Photo Submitted)

The film, which was produced and directed by Nashville filmmaker Mark Schlicher, and co-produced by Lisa Venegas, will air on Nashville Public Television, WNPT Channel 8 Sunday, February 16, at 10:30 p.m., and Wednesday, February 26, at 9:00 p.m..

In spring 1968, during a volatile period for race relations in Nashville and throughout the United States, all-black Cameron high school lost a high-profile basketball tournament game to Stratford, a mostly-white school. A spontaneous protest and scuffles broke out afterward, as many upset Cameron fans believed that the game had been unfairly officiated in favor of Stratford.

In response, school authorities barred Cameron High School from all athletics for an entire year, while Stratford received no sanctions. In response to the punishment, parents, students, and supporters in the community protested, marched in the streets, and enlisted famed civil rights attorney Avon Williams, Jr., to champion their cause in federal court, making it part of his long-running school desegregation lawsuit.

Currie, who secured a bachelor’s degree in English Education from TSU in 1974, says former Cameron Principal O.R. Jackson, marshaled the school’s faculty and staff to find ways for Cameron High School seniors to enjoy their final year in spite of the punishment.

L TO R: Mark Schlicher, student extras, and Shelena Walden at Cameron High School (Photo Submitted)

“He knew we were not going to be coming to the stadium on Friday night for football games. We were not going to be going to the gym in the afternoon for pep rallies prior to the games. So he brought the vision to the teachers, ‘Let’s do something for this senior class because they are hurting in certain areas,’” says Currie, a retired commercial insurance product developer and healthcare manager. “Mr. Jackson made sure we had our pep rally’s on Friday afternoons, even if we didn’t have a game to attend. He also orchestrated our senior class trip to Washington, D.C. during spring break, which served as yet another memorable diversion to the suspension.”

Bell, a graduate of the Metropolitan School of Practical Nursing at Vanderbilt Hospital and a retired licensed practical nurse, says in spite of the security and assurance they received from parents and community members, the unfair punishment left a lasting impression on their class.

“At the time, we were all young. We had no idea what a big deal this was. We lived in a neighborhood where we had a lot of black support, like our parents and our teachers,” says Bell. “Once this happened, that’s when I really found out that I was considered a second class citizen.”

Schlicher says the documentary, which was funded in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission THRIVE program, needs to be viewed by a broad audience because of its historical significance.

Featured are (front row, l to r) Aaron Finley, Fletcher Moon, Tamiko Robinson Steele, Shawn Whitsell (back row, l to r) Co-Producer Lisa Venegas, Mark Schlicher, Shanika Gillespie, camera operator Keevan Guy at Seay-Hubbard UMC upstairs meeting room. (Photo Submitted)

“It was an honor to be able to do the 25 or so interviews that were done with class members and with teachers, to learn the story and share it in a way that honored the struggle and the triumph that the Class of ’69 went through and the place they have in the civil rights struggle in Nashville,” says Schlicher, whose work as director or cinematographer has been shown nationally on PBS, the Smithsonian Channel, Lifetime, and TBN.

After receiving rave reviews from classmates following the film’s initial viewing, and subsequently winning “Best of Tennessee” at the 2019 International Black Film Festival, the group realized the film could serve a larger purpose.

“We want to put this documentary in every public library and to be able to hand it to school systems,” says Gray, a retired licensed clinical social worker.

They believe the documentary will spark important conversations about education, policy, neighborhoods and equity, as well as bring awareness.

Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Enoch Fuzz agrees. He plans to air the film at Kingdom Café, located at 2610 Jefferson Street, on February 1, at 8:00 a.m. during One Nashville, a breakfast gathering he initiated two years ago to bring people with resources, information and awareness together to help progressive projects like “The Past Is Prologue” succeed.

Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Enoch Fuzz (Photo Submitted)

“I was very touched by the story that these people told, and I know that it could benefit some of the people in Nashville. There are some good people in Nashville who want to understand race relations,” says Fuzz.

He says One Nashville gatherings, which are held every month on first and third Saturdays, have attracted leaders from throughout the city including the mayor, vice mayor, secretary of state, public defender and city council members.  He says some attendees are looking for meaningful projects to support, while others come seeking assistance.

“I was having people call me everyday with different needs, and I said these people need to meet one another. So rather than me meeting with everybody differently everyday, I came up with the concept of getting everyone in the same room,” says Fuzz.  “One Nashville gets people from all over the community in the same room.”

Mary Jackson Owens, the Cameron alum who told Fuzz about the project, hopes the film can garner financial support, so young people can learn about this almost forgotten moment in Nashville’s civil rights struggle.

“It hasn’t been talked about in 50 years. It’s time to have a conversation about it, and tell people about the history,” she says. “A lot of our children don’t know anything about being in an all-black school and the loyalty that we have for Cameron.”

“The Past Is Prologue: The Cameron Class of 1969,” also features TSU alum Ola Hudson and TSU Associate Professor and Head Reference Librarian Fletcher F. Moon.  Hudson, who graduated from TSU with a bachelor’s  degree in Vocational Home Economics in 1951 and a master’s degree in 1953, taught at Cameron High School from 1955 until 1971.  Moon, who portrayed his father, Rev. J.L. Moon, in the documentary, has worked at TSU for 36 years. 

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State UniversityFounded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.