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A resolution honoring the life of Dr. Ernest "Rip" Patton.
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WHEREAS, Ernest "Rip" Patton was born in 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, from a young age, Patton observed the harsh effects of racial segregation in his neighborhood and vowed to be an agent of change; and
WHEREAS, Patton attended Pearl High School and began his studies at Tennessee State University (then Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial University) in 1960, where he studied music. However, he soon became involved in the Nashville branch of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and studied under Rev. James Lawson; and
WHEREAS, Patton participated in the Nashville student movement through sit-ins, stand-ins, and boycotts. Patton, along with other students, participated in the Nashville nonviolent, direct action campaign; and
WHEREAS, he was one of 3,000 students who marched to the Nashville courthouse in a silent protest to confront Mayor Ben West, and helped to successfully integrate downtown lunch counters by the end of 1960; and
WHEREAS, as a twenty-one-year-old student, Patton traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to provide assistance to the Freedom Riders. Patton officially joined the Freedom Riders on May 24, 1961, in the Greyhound bus traveling from Nashville to Jackson, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Patton was arrested on this Freedom Ride to Jackson. Patton, along with three hundred other African Americans, were taken to Mississippi State Penitentiary; and
WHEREAS, because of his participation in the Freedom Rides, Patton was one of fourteen students expelled from Tennessee State University. He never finished his degree, but worked various jobs including as a jazz musician and a long distance truck driver; and
WHEREAS, he served as a member of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He also was a member of The Nashville Quartet, whose music now belongs to the Smithsonian Folkways collection; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Tennessee State University granted ...
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