January 12, 2016

Continuing our engagement in the nationwide conversation about racial discrimination and equity, the University of Redlands will welcome Civil Rights Activist and Freedom Rider Diane Nash to campus on January 27, 2016, for a 7 p.m. talk in Memorial Chapel.

Her talk, “The Nonviolent Movement of the 1960s: A Legacy for Today,” is free and open to the public.

In the early 1960s, Diane Nash worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through her involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

She played crucial roles in nonviolent protests including sit-ins against segregation at lunch counters and Freedom Rides that challenged segregation on interstate busses. Nash also played a major role in the 1963 Birmingham Desegregation Campaign and the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Campaign.

King presented Nash with the SCLC’s highest award in 1965. The National Civil Rights Museum honored Nash with the 2008 National Freedom Award for her significant contributions in civil and human rights.

 

Married to Freedom Rider and activist James Bevel, Nash returned to her native Chicago in the late 60s and has continued her work as an activist and educator.