NASHVILLE — Just months after opening its doors in downtown Nashville, the Museum of Christian & Gospel Music is gaining attention for highlighting an often-overlooked part of Civil Rights history — the role gospel music played in fueling and sustaining the movement.
The museum, which opened in October 2025, was recently designated as a site on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. While the designation was announced earlier this year, museum leaders say the attraction itself offers visitors a new opportunity to experience the intersection of music, faith and social justice through immersive exhibits and storytelling.
“There are more intersections between Gospel Music and the Civil Rights Movement than you can imagine,” said Museum Executive Director Steve Gilreath. “Music fueled the protesters, defined the moral structure of the effort and gave a national voice to the struggle. The Trail is powerful to follow through the museum, which we call the Soundtrack To The Movement.”
The Museum of Christian & Gospel Music joins the Jefferson Street Sound Museum as two of Tennessee’s newest additions to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, bringing the state’s total to 17 recognized sites.
The downtown Nashville museum features exhibits exploring how gospel artists and spiritual music inspired hope and unity during the fight for equality. Among the featured stories are the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who began performing spirituals in 1871 while breaking racial barriers, and Mahalia Jackson, whose voice became closely tied to major moments in the movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery march.
The museum also highlights the contributions of Mattie Moss Clark, whose choir arrangements were featured at NAACP Freedom Fund events in Detroit.
Museum officials describe the attraction as a family destination combining innovative technology, live experiences, personal artifacts and iconic recordings to preserve the legacy of Christian and gospel music.
