Nashville street where John Lewis led sit-ins now bears his name
“This isn’t just a Nashville story, and it’s not just a Tennessee story. It’s an American story. It’s a reminder of what is possible in America.”
– VANDERBILT LAW PROFESSOR SAMAR ALI
NASHVILLE — On Nov. 10, 1960, employees at a restaurant on Fifth Avenue used water hoses, wet brooms and a fumigation machine to try and drive John Lewis away from the lunch counter.
He stayed put, clasping a white handkerchief over his mouth as acrid clouds of bug spray filled the room.
When police and angry critics closed in during another sit-in at the Walgreens on Fifth Avenue, Lewis sat and wrote a sermon.
Lewis became the face of a yearlong movement to desegregate the lunch counters in downtown Nashville, which refused to serve Black customers. He returned again and again with throngs of college students, using nonviolent protests to demand respect and racial equity.
As he and his friends worked, Fifth Avenue became emblematic of the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South.
Now the historic street at the heart of the city bears his name.
The Metro Council voted in November to change it to Rep. John Lewis Way. New signs went up through the center of town — from the intersection at Jefferson Street to the intersection at Oak Street.
“This is a space that represents a young man who was only here for a little while, but he had a tremendous impact on the city,” said Learotha Williams, a historian at Tennessee State University.
“For me, that strip becomes a stage, if you will, where one of the greatest dramas in the city’s history transpired,” Williams added. “I’m hopeful that [the street’s new name] will drive some of our younger folks to ask more questions about that period, to ask better questions about that period.”
A convergence of civil rights icons, celebrities and dignitaries will meet this weekend on Rep. John Lewis Way to honor the man who helped shape generations of activism in the United States and beyond.
On the one-year anniversary of Lewis’ death, they will march into the city, tracing his early path from North Nashville to the fabled stretch of downtown that formed the backdrop of dramatic protests.
The celebration will culminate at the Ryman Auditorium, where civil rights icon the Rev. James Lawson, the man who trained Lewis in nonviolent civil disobedience, will speak.
Former Vice President Al Gore, country music singer Darius Rucker and historian Jon Meacham will also be part of the lineup for the high-wattage event.
Vanderbilt Law professor Samar Ali, who helped plan the celebration, said the street will be lined with banners carrying Lewis’ own words from a speech shortly before he died when he urged the next generation of activists and leaders to “be bold,” “be courageous” and “speak out.”
Lewis only spent a few years in Nashville as a student at American Baptist College and Fisk University. But the lessons he learned alongside Lawson, Diane Nash and other luminaries of the movement carried him into history.
From Nashville, Lewis went on to participate in the Freedom Rides, to speak at the March on Washington, to cross the bridge at Selma and to enter the halls of power in Congress. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his work.
Ali said she wanted the celebration of Rep. John Lewis Way to inspire others to carry Lewis’ spirit of unity and purpose forward.
“This isn’t just a Nashville story, and it’s not juvst a Tennessee story. It’s an American story,” Ali said. “It’s a reminder of what is possible in America.”
State Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, will be the grand marshal of the march, which will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Rep. John Lewis Way and Jefferson Street. She said Lewis’ work is directly linked with the Black Lives Matter movement and contemporary protests that brought thousands of people to downtown Nashville in 2020 demanding racial justice.
The new street signs in front of the old downtown storefronts are a testament to Lewis’ success, she said. They give her hope more progress is possible.
Lewis “was beat down, but he still had enough courage and cared about the rights of all people,” Gilmore said. “If Congressman Lewis can overcome all these barriers in front of him, then these young people can as well.”