Civil rights veteran Diane Nash to receive Medal of Freedom
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Happy July Fourth weekend, Tennessean subscribers. This is news editor Liz Schubauer.
Our long holiday weekend kicked off with some fitting news when it was announced Friday afternoon that Nashville civil rights veteran Diane Nash will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom this week.
The Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest honor for civilians.
Nash attended Fisk University in 1959 and became involved with the nonviolent movement in Nashville. She went on to lead sit-ins at lunch counters across the city, help found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and coordinate freedom rides to Alabama.
"There is no more revered name in Nashville than Diane Nash," U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper said Friday. "She is a hero, a living legend, and I can't think of anyone who deserved this honor more."
Alabama lawyer Fred Gray, who attended school in Nashville and later led some of the most pivotal legal cases of the civil rights movement, will also receive the honor.
As you make your plans to celebrate independence, freedom and American heroes tomorrow, The Tennessean has you covered.
We've rounded up everything you need to know about the downtown fireworks, as well as other fireworks displays around the region.
"Country music and summer time in America ... that's the trifecta," Old Dominion frontman Matthew Ramsey told tThe Tennessean ahead of the band's headlining slot at Nashville's July Fourth celebration. "We're just so proud to be part of it."
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Civil rights veteran Diane Nash to receive Medal of Freedom
