Diane Nash
Diane Judith Nash (born May 15, 1938) is an American civil rights activist, and a leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement.
Diane Nash | |
|---|---|
Nash in 2014 | |
| Born | Diane Judith Nash May 15, 1938 |
| Education | Howard University Fisk University (BA) |
| Organization | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee |
| Television | Eyes on the Prize A Force More Powerful Freedom Riders |
| Movement | Civil Rights Movement |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022) Freedom Award |
Nash's campaigns were among the most successful of the era. Her efforts included the first successful civil rights campaign to integrate lunch counters (Nashville); the Freedom Riders, who desegregated interstate travel; co-founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); and co-initiating the Alabama Voting Rights Project and working on the Selma Voting Rights Movement. This helped gain Congressional passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorized the federal government to oversee and enforce state practices to ensure that African Americans and other minorities were not prevented from registering and voting.
In July 2022, Nash was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.