NASHVILLE — Frankie Mae Keeling-Henry, a former Tennessee State University student, educator and one of Nashville’s last remaining Freedom Riders who participated in the city’s historic lunch-counter sit-ins, has died. She was 85.
Keeling-Henry died Saturday, May 2, 2026. She is survived by her son, Lamont Henry, as well as other relatives and friends.
As a young college student, Keeling-Henry joined demonstrations alongside civil rights leaders including Diane Nash and John Lewis.
In 1960, while a freshman at Tennessee State University, Keeling-Henry became involved in one of Nashville’s lunch-counter sit-ins after unexpectedly finding herself in the middle of the demonstration.
During the protest, a white woman extinguished a cigarette on Keeling-Henry’s arm and attempted to set her poncho on fire. Despite the attack, she did not retaliate. She and other demonstrators were later arrested by police as they left the diner.
In the years that followed, Keeling-Henry dedicated her life to education, spending decades teaching students, including some who were descendants of individuals who had once opposed her during the civil rights movement.
