First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill and Avon Williams Jr.

Later on we’re going to meet some other Black business leaders, but before we leave the downtown area, I want to introduce you to some important figures connected to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. So, we’re going to stop at the current First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill. This church was established 25 years BEFORE the Civil War… in 1835! To learn more about the church, take our Civil Rights driving tour.

Here at the corner of Dr. MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks Blvd, the location of this church represents a significant crossroads—where faith meets the fight for social and moral justice. So, let me introduce you to two important civil rights crusaders. 

The Reverend Kelly Miller Smith Sr. was pastor here from 1951 to 1984. Born in Mississippi, he moved to Nashville in 1938 to attend Tennessee State University. He continued his studies at Morehouse College and Howard Divinity School. Reverend Smith returned to Nashville and joined other Black parents to challenge local efforts to ignore the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Their case led to the gradual desegregation of Nashville’s public schools.

Known as a “social gospel minister,” Smith was the local NAACP president and founded the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference (NCLC). He organized early nonviolent protests, like the sit-ins, and was instrumental in training students and other activists, like John Lewis. Today, Smith’s legacy is honored through Vanderbilt’s Kelly Miller Smith Institute and a minority-owned housing project named for him. For more information, visit the Kelly Miller Smith Foundation webpage.

Now, turn around and look across the parking lot to the concrete, modernist building. This is the Tennessee State University Avon Williams Campus. Williams was also pivotal during the Civil Rights movement, but not from the pulpit. Rather, his leadership was fighting for justice in the courtroom. You’ll see his name across the top of the building. 

Williams was an attorney who graduated from Boston University Law School in 1948. He moved to Nashville to work with another prominent African American attorney named Z. Alexander Looby. You’ll learn more about Looby’s legacy on another stop. 

Williams knew that lawyers were needed to represent and defend students arrested during sit-ins, and he was willing to accept the risks, which included threats and violence. Williams was also the lawyer for Rev. Kelly Miller Smith in the fight for school desegregation. Another prominent case was Geier v. Blanton, which merged UT-Nashville with Tennessee State University in 1972. To learn more about the Geier case, take our Downtown Schools and Education tour.

Williams served as a state senator from 1968 to 1990, where he continued to advocate for local HBCUs and African American history in public schools. The Avon Williams Campus stands as a tribute to his dedication to equality and equal justice in Nashville. Before we leave, take a turn and look around. Here in this place, Smith and Williams answered the call of leadership and stood up for others. Let’s lean in to their example.

Directions: From the church, return to Nelson Merry. Stay straight and cross over Rev. Kelly M. Smith Ave. On your right you will see Frankie Pierce Park and a historical marker for Nelson Merry. There is not public parking for the park; however, you can go through the tunnel to the Capitol View complex where there is street parking and a parking deck within walking distance to Frankie Pierce Park.