Diane Nash: Leader in the Student Wing of the Civil Rights Movement

Diane Judith Nash was born on May 15th, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a middle-class catholic area. With both of her parents involved in the war effort, Nash’s grandmother Carrie Bolton was her main caretaker. Bolton would become a very important influence on Nash, as she was committed to making sure her granddaughter understood her worth and value, though they did not talk much of race or racial prejudice. Bolton believed that racial prejudice was taught to younger generations by their elders, and wanted to protect young Diane Nash. This sheltered her though, and the consequences of Bolton’s actions were felt when Nash enrolled in college.

Involvement in SNCC

Nash attended college at Fisk University, in Nashville, Tennessee and it was there that she first encountered the Jim Crow System. The severe racial segregation that she felt prompted her to attend non-violence workshops put on by James Lawson. She got involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and started going to protests.

Nash’s first protests with the SNCC were the sit-ins in local department stores. In 1960, Nash was designated as the student sit-in movement in Nashville, and the wave of lunch-counter sit-ins started in North Carolina became a big part of Diane Nash’s beginnings. February of 1961, Nash participated in a sit-in and was arrested with a few of her peers. The group implemented the ‘jail-no-bail’ tactics, and remained in jail for the extent of their sentence. The SNCC’s work in Nashville made it the first city in the south to desegregate those spaces.

Diane Nash played a critical role in the Freedom Rides, helping sustain them after the violence in Alabama. She coordinated the Nashville Student Movement Ride from Birmingham, Alabama to Jackson Mississippi. All throughout the ride, Nash recruited new members and was in contact with the press, to make sure their efforts were known.

During the rides, she served as a liaison between the movement and the United States Department of Justice. The government was very against this form of protesting, warning that someone could get killed, but Nash told them that they were aware of the risks, but they would not be deterred. The Kennedy administration had tried to offer the movement money to move away from the rides, and onto voter registration, but they declined.

Strife arose between the freedom riders and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when King refused to participate in the Freedom Rides. After the bus burning in Alabama, King flew down to Alabama to discuss with the Congress of Racial Equality, CORE, who had started the rides, whether they should continue. Two groups of students, one lead by Nash, did convince them to continue, but King would not join them like they wanted him to.

Though not maintaining the same kind of high profile as she did during the 60’s, Nash still has a dedication to civil rights. She still takes part in fundraisers and coordinated memorials for civil rights heros, and has kept an eye on the Black lives matter and student protests across the United States. She has devoted her life to pursuits of peace and non-violence, and though has helped in so many ways, she is still humble. Diane Nash is an inspiration to everyone.