W.E.B. DuBois Statue, Fisk Memorial Bell, and DuBois Hall

Perhaps Fisk’s most famous graduate, William Edward Burghardt DuBois enrolled at the university in 1885. He was born in Massachusetts, and so his move to Nashville brought DuBois into the Jim Crow South, which opened his eyes to the cruel world of strict racial segregation. During summer breaks, DuBois taught in rural Black schools outside Nashville—the beginning of a long career in education and activism. After graduating from Fisk, DuBois continued his education at Harvard University, where he was the first African American to earn a PhD. An educator, historian, sociologist, author, and journalist, he became one of the leading activists for civil rights in the early 20th century. DuBois was fundamentally opposed to the philosophy that Black Americans should rely only on hard work and patience to gain equality. Instead, he advocated for political action through the expansion of a Black professional class, which he called the “Talented Tenth.”

DuBois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP, which became the nation’s foremost Black organization. DuBois was also the founder and editor of The Crisis, the NAACP’s monthly magazine. DuBois was also an advocate of Pan-Africanism, an ideology that condemned colonialism and sought to dismantle oppressive systems. At the end of his life, DuBois became a citizen of Ghana, and he died there in 1963, just one day before the historic March on Washington.

As you leave the statue and continue walking up the sidewalk toward Jackson Street, look up to see the Fisk Memorial Bell. First displayed at the Nashville Centennial, the bell was presented to the university in 1880 and the brick enclosure was completed in 1927. On the right side of the bell is DuBois Hall, constructed in 1966 by Godwin and Beckett Architects of Atlanta. Named after W.E.B. DuBois, this building was a dormitory for women. Today, DuBois Hall is a classroom building and also hosts Jazzy 88 WFSK, the college’s radio station.

Before we move on to the next stop, look past DuBois Hall to see the back side of the Henderson A. Johnson Memorial Gymnasium. Constructed in 1950, it was designed by McKissack and McKissack—Nashville’s leading African American architectural firm. It replaced the Victorian gymnasium that is now the Van Vechten Art Gallery. It is named for Henderson A. “Tubby” Johnson, an outstanding student-athlete who was considered one of the best college halfbacks in the country in the 1910s. Here’s a popular Fisk cheer from the early 1900s: 

“Tubby Johnson was a football man -um, um, um, um

Born with a football in his hand, um, um, um, um

Fisk is better, better, Fisk is better now!”

Johnson returned to his alma mater in the 1920s as a coach, teacher, and Dean of Men. Johnson died in 1954, and the gymnasium was named in his memory. He was inducted into the Fisk Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. It was in this gymnasium that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to a crowd of 4,000 in April 1960. His speech was in response to the bombing of civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby’s home, which we’ll talk more about later in the tour. 

Now we’ll have what we call a “walking stop” as we exit the Fisk campus and make our way to Meharry Medical College. From Jackson Street, turn RIGHT and listen as you walk toward the corner of Jackson and D.B. Todd Blvd. Stop when you reach the corner and look across the street and to your left to see these next stops: the homes of James Weldon Johnson, Arna Wendell Bontemps, Elmer Imes, and Nella Larsen. We will not walk down D.B. Todd to see these homes, but feel free to walk on your own or drive past them after the tour.