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Museum object · signs

Sign from segregated Nashville bus number 351

ca. 1950

Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

In 1960, students planned, coordinated and implemented protests against segregation in public facilities by orchestrating bus boycotts, picket lines and sit-ins. The protests forced the City of Nashville to integrate later that year, but sit-ins and demonstrations continued well into the 1960s in order to ensure compliance. Residue on the surface shows that the sign remained in place, pasted over by a different one. A metal bus sign with a stenciled black paint in black that reads: [THIS PART OF BUS FOR / COLORED RACE].

Catalog date
ca. 1950
Recorded places
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
Recorded subjects
African American; American South; Segregation; Transportation

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-20

Catalog reference: 2008.3

Collection: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

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