In 1994, Inez Crutchfield became the first African American woman to win the Athena Award, honoring exceptional women leaders, and was asked how she wanted to be remembered. Her response was true to how many in Nashville knew her to be – a role model who simply wanted to help people.
“The progress we’ve made as a community began prior to 60 years ago; and it’s because of the Inez Crutchfields,” said Davidson County Criminal Clerk Howard Gentry said by phone. “She’s a generation that really put in the work. She’s the last of that generation.”
Crutchfield died Monday morning. She was 99.
A native of Tennessee, Crutchfield grew up in Watertown, near Lebanon. She was raised by her father, Dee Gibbs, a World War I veteran who ran a dry cleaning and tailoring business, and her mother, Bessie, an educator.
While in a class her mother was overseeing, as a then-freshman Inez met senior Carl Crutchfield, her future husband. She later went on to study at Tennessee A&I, now Tennessee State University, alongside her husband upon his return from serving in World War II and after their wedding.
In 1949, while living on TSU’s campus, she met Carrie Gentry, who would become a lifelong, inseparable friend, when the Gentry family moved next door. Where Inez Crutchfield succeeded, the late Carrie Gentry was right there with her.
The Crutchfields had two children, Carlton and Beth, and Howard Gentry was born nine months after Carlton, Howard Gentry said. “I don’t remember meeting them because she’s been in my life for 72 years. She’s been there the whole time,” Gentry said.
Both Inez and Carl dedicated their careers to TSU. Inez spent 37 years teaching in the health and physical education department. Her best friend, Carrie Gentry, was in the same suite.
The impact she had in civil rights in Nashville shaped the futures of her many students. It was in her role at the university that put Crutchfield in a unique position to be in the right place for the 1960 student sit-ins as the Civil Rights Movement reached its peak in Nashville.
In addition to her commitment to educating students in the classroom, she also drove them to meetings organizing the demonstrations. When they were arrested, she brought them food. “I had many a mother I’d put my arms around and hold,” Crutchfield said in a 1998 article in the Tennessean. “They would say, ‘I didn’t send my child here to be in jail.'”
Together, she and Gentry comforted parents, assuring them their child wouldn’t suffer any adverse academic consequences. In 1963, the duo once again made strides when they broke the racial barrier, joining the Davidson County Democratic Party Women’s Club.
Crutchfield later became the first African American woman to serve as Representative for Tennessee on the Democratic National Committee, and the first African American woman to serve as president of the Democratic Women’s Club of Davidson County in 1975. She maintained active political involvement and, in 2008, served as a superdelegate supporting future President Barack Obama.
Long after retirement, Crutchfield continued her life of service. She served on a federal judicial selection committee and offered her time and treasure as a board member of Bethlehem Center and Meharry Medical College, where she helped shepherd the merger between the school and Metro General.
In 2019, she received the Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award for her commitment to community and serving those in need. From humble beginnings in a small town in middle Tennessee to advisor to presidents, Crutchfield’s legacy is one of significant accomplishments, service to others, and the grace of God.
Most importantly, she is remembered as a loving and devoted wife and the most caring mother any child could have. Those who cherish her memory include her children, Carlton Gibbs Crutchfield (Verda) and Maribeth Janet Crutchfield White (Angelo); daughter-in-law Audrey Wright Crutchfield; three grandchildren, Carl Steven (Carlsie), Chase Gibbs Crutchfield (Ashley Guillory), and Chelsea Renee Inez Russell (Loren); and three great-grandchildren Lennox Asher, Davis Maxwell, and Carter Lynette Crutchfield; Aurum Asher Crutchfield; and Kaiden Joel and Colby Gibbs Russell.
Long-time friends include Attorney Aubrey Harwell, Dr. Saletta Holloway, Ms. Juanita Buford, The Honorable Howard Gentry Jr., Dr. Sharon Dixon Gentry, Rev. Edith Kimbrough, Mrs. Clara Elam, and Ms. Marsha Shelton. Viewing will be held Sunday, Sept. 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Lewis and Wright Funeral Directors, 2500 Clarksville Pike, Nashville, TN 37208.
Visitation will take place Monday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church-Capitol Hill, Nelson Merry Street, Nashville, TN 37203. The Ivy Beyond the Wall Ceremony will follow on Monday, Sept. 23, from 11:15 to 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church-Capitol Hill, Nelson Merry Street, Nashville, TN 37203.
The Links Memorial Service will be held Monday, Sept. 23, from 11:30 a.m. to Noon, at First Baptist Church-Capitol Hill, Nelson Merry Street, Nashville, TN 37203. The Celebration of Life will begin Monday, Sept. 23, at Noon, at First Baptist Church-Capitol Hill, Nelson Merry Street, Nashville, TN 37203.
Interment will take place at Greenwood Cemetery, 318 W. Adams Avenue, Lebanon, TN 37087.
