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A resolution recognizing February 2026 as Black History Month in Nashville and Davidson County.
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WHEREAS, Black History Month is celebrated each February and recognizes the legacy of Black Americans whose collective power to overcome, lead, and build great works has expanded the meaning and practice of American democracy and helped the United States of America to become a more fair and just society; and
WHEREAS, the United States was established upon the profound but simple idea that all people are created equally and should be treated as such. However, America has fallen short of this idea on occasion; and
WHEREAS, in 1925, a Black American scholar, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, launched an effort to focus awareness on the immeasurable contributions of Black Americans to American society that, in 1976, became Black History Month, a month-long celebration every February of the contributions of Black Americans to this country; and
WHEREAS, Black History Month provides for the celebration and recognition of Black leaders, inventors, artists, musicians, educators, entrepreneurs, professionals, workers, organizers, activists, and creators on a national level including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Fannie Lou Hamer, Nikki Giovani, Belle Hookes, Shirley Chilsolm, Marsha P. Johnson, George Washington Carver, Lewis Latimer, Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, Jackie Robinson, Billie Holiday, and many more; and
WHEREAS, the event allows for the celebration of those locally who have contributed to the rich history of our community in Nashville and Davidson County; and
WHEREAS, Black Americans enslaved and free made-up 20 percent of Fort Nashborough's settlers in 1779. From these early years through the Civil War, a growing Black community in Nashville, led by a small group of Black elites, quietly built the foundations of a future society, developing schools, churches, and businesses; and
WHEREAS, from August to December 1862, over 2,700 Black Americans, predominately escaped slaves known as "contrabands" built Fort Negley, the largest inland stone fortification constructed during the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, Nashville is home to four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”)- American Baptist College, Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University. Nashville was also home to a fifth HBCU, the former Central Tennessee College later known as Walden University; and
WHEREAS, in 1905, the prestigious McKissack & McKissack architecture firm was founded in Nashville by brothers Moses and Calvin McKissack. The firm designed iconic buildings in Nashville including the Carnegie Library at Fisk University, the Morris Memorial Building, Pearl High School and later built buildings across the country including the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The firm is the oldest minority-owned architecture firm in the United States; and
WHEREAS, in 1951, Z. Alexander Looby and Robert E. Lillard were the first Black members of the Nashville City Council since 1911, when Solomon P. Harris was elected to the Nashville City Council. After being sworn into office, Looby and Lillard focused on legislation and policies to do away with Jim Crow laws and introduced bills to desegregate public spaces; and
WHEREAS, Z. Alexander Looby and Robert E. Lillard were instrumental in building the coalition that formed the Metropolitan Government and Nashville and Davidson County Council as we know it today; and
WHEREAS, Nashville was a center for the Civil Rights Movement. Individuals including James Lawson, John Lewis, Diane Nash, C.T. Vivian, Bernard Lafayette, James Bevel, William Harbour, James Zwerg, Kelly Miller Smith, and many others participated in sit-ins, organized and participated in many Freedom Rides across the southern United States; and
WHEREAS, from the 1940s to the 1960s, Jefferson Street was one of America’s best-known districts of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues. It attracted Black musicians like Duke Ellington, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, and even Jimi Hendrix to play clubs including Del Morocco, Club Baron, and Club Steal-Away; and
WHEREAS, Nashville is also home to the National Museum of African American Music, which officially opened in January 2021, and is the only museum of its kind dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of Black music in America; and
WHEREAS, currently, Black officials represent one-quarter of the 40-member Metro Council, which is described as the most diverse in the city's history. In June 2025, the Black Caucus was revived with 11 members; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper for the Metropolitan Council to recognize the important role and enormous contributions of the Black community to Nashville and Davidson County on the occasion of Black History Month.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan County Council hereby goes on record as recognizing February 2026 as Black History Month in Nashville and Davidson County.
Section 2. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.