Exploration 7: Miguel Radilla

This video was really eye opening because it showed you an important moment in history where students that took a non-violent approach stood up for racial injustices that plagued certain parts of the country. The most important thing I took from the video was that even in a time where racial injustices were prevalent in the South, such as segregation, these norms were accepted because nobody had ever questioned the status quo of this normality. Once the students questioned the status quo, which were the racial injustices, that’s when everything became tumultuous in Nashville, as with the freedom rides. This is important in today’s age because the video shows us the importance of young individuals having a voice and a say. Diane Nash was the forefront of this non-violent movement in Nashville and I feel that its unfortunate that this was my first time of hearing about her because was she was apart of something that shifted a drastic change in Nashville as well in an era of The Civil Rights Movement. An important part of the video was the question that Diane Nash asked Mayor Ben West. “Do you feel that it’s morally wrong to discriminate a person based upon their color.” In which mayor West answered, “I could not agree that it’s morally right.”  One of the tactics that stood out for me was the boycotting of businesses in downtown Nashville from black buyers. This put businesses in a tough predicament because once it hurts the wallet of businesses it begins a trickle effect of changing the customs that were in place before.