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    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Nashville

    How Nashville Can Preserve and Amplify the City’s African American History 

    Article submittedBy Article submittedJune 15, 2023Updated:June 20, 2023No Comments6 Mins Read
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    The Morris Building Photo courtesy of Historic Nashville Inc.
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    The Metro Human Relations Commission is asking Nashville to purchase the historic Morris Memorial Building to honor and share important Black history.

    By Mulitple Authors

    NASHVILLE, TN — The signatories and partner organizations listed below are endeavoring to realize two long-awaited dreams: the creation of a museum dedicated to Nashville’s African American and civil rights histories and the preservation of the historic Morris Memorial Building. 

    Often referenced and celebrated as fundamental to Nashville’s development into a welcoming, world-class community, the local civil rights movement and the brave individuals who risked everything have not been adequately memorialized. The city must do more to tell the comprehensive story of the movement within the context of Nashville’s African American history. Our community should take every opportunity to show its pride in how this era shaped the future of Nashville and, ultimately, the nation.

    Although information about the important role Black Nashvillians played in the Civil Rights movement is more accessible, stories about their contributions to Music City’s history and development remain elusive or unacknowledged.

    A substantial amount of the city’s infrastructure, policies, and social reforms were shaped by African Americans, either in response to their actions and/or to punish/marginalize them. African American culture has played and continues to play a vital role in Nashville’s story, and it is time to honor and memorialize this history. 

    Support is growing for an African American history museum in Nashville

    The Morris Memorial Building opened in 1926 and was named for Elijah Camp Morris, National Baptist Convention USA Inc.’s first president. Born enslaved in Georgia, Morris studied at Nashville Normal and Theological Institute. This five-story building was designed by the prominent, Black-owned architectural firm of McKissack & McKissack and constructed for the National Baptist Convention, an African American Christian denomination.

    The Morris Memorial building: “This neoclassical building illustrates the work of Moses McKissack. He, with his brother Calvin, founded McKissack & McKissack, a black architectural firm established in 1918 and one of the first organized and staffed by African Americans in the United States.”

    Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board, McKissack & McKissack, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, and Atlanta Insurance Company’s Nashville location were all housed there. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 for its significance in architecture and Black history.

    The Metro Human Relations Commission has made a capital request to purchase and rehabilitate the building to hold a civil rights and African American history museum and Metro offices. In tandem with this, a community campaign is coalescing individuals and organizations that agree it is time to canonize African American presence in Nashville before more of it is lost.

    This initiative is raising awareness and funding to cover the development and short-term viability of the museum. The Community Foundation has initiated a fund and events are being organized for June 17 and July 15 by Rosedale Collective.

    To be clear, the immediate goal is not to decide what exhibits will be in the museum. A committee made up of historians, archivists, and curators is assembling to develop community input processes to be implemented when the funding to create the museum has been raised. The initiative’s focus is providing the optimal environment for the museum to thrive while being accessible and affordable to all.  

    Morris Memorial building

    The signatories look forward to working with organizations, elected officials, government agencies, historians, historically marginalized neighborhoods and communities, academic institutions, houses of worship, and all neighbors who are committed to a just and inclusive Nashville to make this dream a reality. 

    Here is how to take action and share your support

    Let the Mayor (mayor@nashville.gov) and Council Members (councilmembers@nashville.gov) know you support Metro saving the Morris Memorial Building.

    Go to the following link to support fundraising efforts for the museum: www.cfmt.org/civilrightshistory.

    Attend/support the upcoming events on June 17 and July 15. For more info, visit: www.SavetheMorris.org.

    Individual signatories:

    King Hollands

    Aisha White

    Betsy Phillips

    Charles Bone, Sr.

    Charles Robert Bone

    Chief Public Defender Martesha Johnson Moore

    Chris Sanders

    Cindy Politte

    CJ Sentell

    Council Member Angie Henderson

    Council Member Bob Mendes

    Council Member Brandon Taylor

    Council Member Brett Withers

    Council Member Burkley Allen

    Council Member Courtney Johnston

    Council Member Delishia Porterfield

    Council Member Emily Benedict

    Council Member Erin Evans

    Council Member Freddie O’Connell

    Council Member Ginny Welsch

    Council Member Jeff Syracuse

    Council Member Jennifer Gamble

    Council Member John Rutherford

    Council Member Joy Styles

    Council Member Kyontze Toombs

    Council Member Russ Pulley

    Council Member Sandra Sepulveda

    Council Member Sean Parker

    Council Member Sharon Hurt

    Council Member Zulfat Suara

    County Clerk Brenda Wynn

    Courtney Vrablik

    Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry

    Dr. Carole Bucy

    Dr. Gatluak Thach

    Dr. Forrest Harris

    Dr. Learotha Williams

    Dr. Marisa Richmond

    Dr. Phyllis Qualls

    Erica Perry

    Hal Cato

    Hon. Megan Barry

    Hon. Sheila Calloway

    Jamel Campbell Gooch

    Jennifer Oldham

    Jerome Moore

    Jim Gingrich

    John Lasiter

    Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell 

    Matthews, Jr.

    Kaki Friskics- Warren

    Kasar Abdulla

    Keith Caldwell

    Kristen Keely-Dinger

    Maryam Abolfazli

    Matt Wiltshire

    Metro Trustee Erica Gilmore

    Michelle Johnson

    Mike Smith

    Odessa Kelly

    Pastor Aaron Marble

    Pastor Davie Tucker

    Phyllis Hildreth

    Ralph Schulz

    Raquel Barlow

    Renata Soto

    Rep. Bob Freeman

    Rep. Harold Love, Jr.

    Rep. Jason Powell

    Rep. John Ray Clemmons

    Rep. Vincent Dixie

    Rev. Venita Lewis

    Rosetta Miller-Perry

    Sabina Mohyuddin

    Sen. Charlane Oliver

    Sen. Heidi Campbell

    Sen. Jeff Yarbro

    Sharon Kay

    Tasha French Lemley

    Tequila Johnson

    Terry Vo

    Timothy Hughes

    Tom Negri

    Vivian Wilhoite, Davidson 

    County Property Assessor

    Vanessa Lazon

    Wanda Miller-Benson

    Yuri Cunza

    Group signatories

    Nashville Civil Rights Veterans

    American Baptist College

    American Muslim Advisory Council

    AWAKE TN

    Black Nashville Assembly

    Community Foundation

    Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival

    Entrepreneur Latina Leaders of America

    Faith and Culture Center

    Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

    Humanities Tennessee

    Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship

    Metro Arts Nashville

    Metro Human Relations Commission

    Metro Nashville Community 

    Oversight Board

    Mosaic Changemakers

    NAACP Nashville

    Nashville International Center for Empowerment

    Oasis Center

    R.H. Boyd

    Rosedale Collective

    Stand Up Nashville

    The Equity Alliance

    The Nashville Food Project

    Tennessee Tribune, LLC

    TN Equality Project

    TN Justice Center

    TN Latin American Chamber of Commerce

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