The Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society - Nashville Chapter (AAHGS) holds meetings and workshops throughout the year. AAHGS exists to promote scholarly research and provides resources for genealogical and historical investigation, promotion, and preservation.
Meetings are free and open to the public.
Topic: How We Can Help Nashville Heal From Its Legacy of Racial Terror featuring Betsy Phillips
To attend the virtual presentation please register by Friday, February 28.
Think of it: The indignities our ancestors (and elders still living) endured in order to survive through years of Jim Crow segregation. We’ve heard the stories about family members beaten, killed, bombed, run out of town – their circumstances never fully known, or resolved.
The way toward healing the legacy of racial hate and violence is to find out what happened and tell the truth about it, says author Betsy Phillips, author of Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control. Her book, released in July 2024, prompted Metro Nashville police to re-open their investigations into three Civil Rights era bombings that took place here, including the April 19, 1960 bombing of the North Nashville home of Attorney Z. Alexander Looby.
Looby and his wife escaped unharmed from the bombing of their home, but the perpetrators were never arrested. Within hours after the early morning blast, hundreds of Tennessee State University and Fisk University students lined up, three abreast, and marched in silent defiance from Jefferson Street to City Hall downtown.
For information on other valuable AAHGS programs including free, fee-based, and members-only options visit their website AAHGSNashville.org.
