U.S. Civil Rights Trail - Tennessee Sites
Expiration: Jan 1st 2026
Thanks to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, travelers have connected access to more than 100 locations in 15 states that played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Tennessee has 15 stops along the trail that tell the stories of the brave men and women who brought words to action through peaceful protests and legal actions to secure their American civil rights. You can follow their footsteps through Memphis, to Nashville and end in the quiet but historically significant town of Clinton in East Tennessee to hear the stories of foot soldiers and learn the history of Tennessee’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, earning commemorative keepsakes along the way.
How to Earn Prizes:
Check into 6 locations on your digital passport and receive a custom t-shirt honoring the trail.
Check into all 15 sites and we’ll send you a limited production Tennessee Civil Rights Trail medallion, complete with a premium wooden display case.
Included Venues
See locations on an interactive map.
Beale Street Historic District
Created in 1841, Beale Street is one of the most iconic streets in America. It began as a thriving area for commerce, musicians, Black-owned businesses and was home to Ida B. Wells’ anti-segregationist newspaper. Four locations are significant to the Civil Rights Movement: Historical Daisy, Theatre/Randle Catron Interpretive Center, Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, First Baptist Beale Street Church and Robert R. Church Park.
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Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library
The materials exhibited here capture a time when thousands of African American citizens in Nashville sparked a nonviolent challenge to racial segregation in the city and across the South. The room archives stories with oral histories and firsthand photographs, but also provides a current voice and venue for open dialogue and discovery. Visitors are invited to schedule a guided experience of the space or enjoy a self-led tour.
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Clark Memorial United Methodist Church
Travel to 14th Avenue North in downtown Nashville to discover the church that served as a meeting site for many civil rights efforts. James Lawson hosted nonviolent protest workshops in 1958 at the church and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had the Southern Christian Leadership Conference annual meeting there in 1961.
Clayborn Temple / I AM A MAN Plaza
Clayborn Temple’s ties to the Civil Rights movement reached a pinnacle in 1968 when it became headquarters for the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike. Starting in February 1968, nearly 1,000 sanitation workers marched twice daily from the church to City Hall carrying signs declaring “I AM A MAN.” In the evenings, strikers, their families, and supporters filled the sanctuary for inspirational speeches. Tours are available by appointment. Located next to Clayborn Temple, the I AM A MAN Plaza features a sculpture alongside a wall filled with the names of those who participated and rallied in the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation strikes.
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Clinton 12 Statue at Green McAdoo Cultural Center
Learn the stories of the Clinton 12, the 12 black students who, in August 1956, courageously integrated a public high school in the segregated South for the first time. Step inside a 1950s classroom and see what life was like under “Jim Crow” laws. Follow the chronological story of the school’s desegregation with life-size photographs and narratives. Twelve bronzed statues stand in front of the center, which is free and open to the public.
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Davidson County Courthouse and the Witness Walls
In April of 1960, after the bombing of the home of Z. Alexander Looby, 2,500 protestors marched to the Courthouse. There, they met Mayor Ben West, who conceded that segregation was immoral and the city’s lunch counters should be desegregated. Next to the Courthouse, the Witness Walls tell stories of the events and people who made history. Walk among the walls to see school desegregation, marches, Freedom Rides and more.
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Fisk University
Fisk University, founded in 1866, is the oldest university in Nashville. Students were instrumental in many of the sit-in demonstrations throughout the city. Learn about the university’s history and its famous alumni including Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Thurgood Marshall (the first African American Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court) and U.S. Representative John Lewis. You can also visit the extensive art collection in the Carl Van Vechten Gallery.
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Griggs Hall at the American Baptist College
Griggs Hall, the first building constructed on the campus of American
Baptist College was a seminary for Black students. It became the center for non-violent training and activity in the Nashville area, especially the Nashville sit-in program. Griggs Hall was restored in 2015 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Tours are available by appointment.
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Baptist College was a seminary for Black students. It became the center for non-violent training and activity in the Nashville area, especially the Nashville sit-in program. Griggs Hall was restored in 2015 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Tours are available by appointment.
Mason Temple
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his prophetic “Mountaintop” speech on April 3, 1968, what would be the eve of his assassination. On that night, thousands filled the sanctuary to hear Dr. King as he came to Memphis to support the striking sanitation workers. To inspire the people, he famously said he has “been to the mountaintop” and had “seen the Promised Land.” These prophetic statements were part of Dr. King’s last speech.
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National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
See artifacts and learn the history of the Civil Rights Movement and human rights movements worldwide. The Museum has memorialized the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King lost his life, and also preserved Room 306 where Dr. King stayed the night before his assassination. The Museum is open every day except Tuesdays.
National Museum of African American Music
The nationally acclaimed National Museum of African American Music is the only museum of its kind in the world that celebrates African American contributions to over 50 genres and subgenres of music.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Located on the original site of the Stax Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, the Stax Museum pays special tribute to the artists who recorded there, as well as other American soul legends.
WDIA Radio
WDIA Radio is the first radio station in the country programmed entirely for the African American community. The station aired on June 7, 1947, featuring African American radio personalities and brought awareness to a relatively new market of listeners. The station’s influence and popularity reached 10% of the African American population in the U.S. Music legends such as B.B. King and Rufus Thomas got their start by working at WDIA. Though currently not in use, visit the historic WDIA building in Downtown Memphis, see the WDIA neon marquee, and stand outside the original entrance where this famed station first began broadcasting.
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Withers Collection Museum & Gallery
Born in 1922, Ernest C. Withers, a native Memphian, was an internationally acclaimed photographer recognized for his iconic photographs in Memphis and the broader South during the Civil Rights Movement. He accumulated a collection of an estimated 1.8 million photographs, which the museum has been working to digitize. Some of his most famous shots are those taken during his coverage of the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike in 1968, which culminated in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through the power of photographs and stories, the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery honors Ernest Withers and tells the moving story of Memphis and American history in the Civil Rights Movement.
Photo credit: Julian Harper/Memphis Travel
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Photo credit: Julian Harper/Memphis Travel
Woolworth Theatre
The Woolworth building is a registered historic site as part of downtown Nashville’s Fifth Avenue Historic District. One of the original “five and dime” stores, F. W. Woolworth became the site of some of the first lunch counter sit-ins during the 1960s. Woolworth reopened its doors in 2022 as an 850-capacity venue and will continue to honor the building's history by preserving the storefront and featuring displays with various original pieces.
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