Nash is an American activist for civil and women’s rights. Nash’s work as a civil rights activist is extensive: she was a leader of the Nashville student sit-ins and became a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). No matter the violence she faced, Nash was committed to non-violence as both a political tactic and a guiding life principle. She was a key proponent of the Freedom Rides and is credited with convincing Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak in support of the action in the face of rampant violence. Another non-violent tactic Nash helped popularize came to be known as “Jail, No Bail.” Utilizing the idea that accepting bail would be equal to accepting that immoral arrests were valid, protestors refused bail when arrested for participating in non-violent actions. In 1962, while pregnant with her daughter, Nash faced a two-year sentence for encouraging Black youth in Mississippi to join the Freedom Rides. Just as she had refused bail when arrested for student protests before, Nash refused a plea deal and chose instead to face potential jail time because she felt her actions would help advance the fight for freedom. Ultimately, she was sentenced to four months but served only ten days. Following the Civil Rights Movement, Nash actively protested the Vietnam War utilizing her non-violent strategies. In 2022 Diane Nash was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
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In this multi-part lesson, students will examine the connections between the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (Black Panthers) and the impact of both organizations on civil rights. The first lesson focuses on the history of SNCC.
Learn how students were the driving force behind much of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s through music, interviews, and more.
In this multi-part lesson, students will examine the connections between the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (Black Panthers) and the impact of both organizations on civil rights. The second lesson focuses on the Panthers and a cumulative exhibit creation project.
