Chattanooga Times Free Press

John Lewis and civil rights leaders speak at site of ’60s Nashville sit-ins

- BY ADAM TAMBURIN USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE

Participan­ts in the sit-ins that desegregat­ed Nashville lunch counters in 1960 returned to the site of the protests Monday to celebrate their history and urge a new generation to carry the tenets of the civil rights movement forward.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, one of the most recognizab­le faces of the movement, headlined the event organized by Lipscomb University’s Fred D. Gray Institute for Law, Justice & Society. Some of the city’s top leaders, including Mayor Megan Barry, were said to be on hand while Lewis and others described a through line that connects the lessons of the 1960s to the challenges of 2017.

Lewis, speaking over a live video feed from his Washington, D.C., office, trumpeted the progress made against racism, saying the American South had been improved by the “non-violent revolution” of the civil rights movement.

“Our country is a better country, our region is a better region,” he said. “We’ve come a distance, we’ve made a lot of progress.”

He left the students there with a simple charge: “Keep us moving.”

“Register to vote. Run for office. Speak up and speak out,” Lewis said. “I believe we can get it right.”

The location of the event, the site of the new Woolworth on Fifth Avenue and restaurant, brought extra resonance to the evening. It was the building that once housed a department store lunch counter where Lewis and his peers led the historic sit-ins.

“I grew up sitting on those lunch counter stools,” Lewis said.

“Our country is a better country, our region is a better region. We’ve come a distance, we’ve made a lot of progress.” — U.S. REP. JOHN LEWIS

The audience erupted into cheers several times throughout as Lewis and others described their persistenc­e in the face of discrimina­tion, violence and arrest.

The Lipscomb institute, named after lawyer Fred Gray who represente­d Lewis and other civil rights pioneers, encourages students to promote social justice and diversity through government and legal work.

Gray told the students in attendance there was still much work to do to combat racism and inequality.

“You have a tremendous opportunit­y,” Gray said. “Don’t stop. Keep going. …

“The struggle continues.”

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintw­eets.

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