Diane Nash

Diane Nash is a courageous social justice leader who played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement and continues to inspire justice movements worldwide. Born in 1938, she chaired the Nashville Student Movement, leading a successful sit-in campaign to desegregate lunch counters in 1960. Nash co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and coordinated Freedom Rides and voting rights campaigns. Despite facing threats and violence, she fearlessly stood up for justice, even signing her last will before embarking on a dangerous Freedom Ride. Nash also played a significant role in Birmingham student protests and the Selma to Montgomery March. She later fought against the Vietnam War and advocated for housing rights and the poor. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Ms. Nash the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The park area in front of the Metro Nashville Courthouse, where she confronted Mayor West in 1960, is now the Diane Nash Plaza.

Sources:
Biography.com
Smithsonian
Wikipedia