Diane Nash:

A Revolutionary

Sydni Wright and Ianthe Humphries

Senior Division
Group Website

The Civil Rights Movement is a historical event that is important to both of us

because of our African American descent and the recent turmoil that has risen to the
surface of the media in America. Events such as police brutality, riots, and modern day
sit-ins (die-ins) have affected the lives of many. We wanted to learn more about
connections between the 1960s and the modern day. Considering the wide array of Civil
Rights Activists, Diane Nash stood out because of her young age and background, as well
as her significant impact on the movement. We finally chose Diane Nash because of how
she was a great inspiration for not only her peers in the 1960s but for us today.
We started our research by using Gale U.S. History in Context to find very broad
information about Diane Nash, the Freedom Riders, and the SNCC. We also used Gale
Virtual Reference Library to give us articles at a higher academic level. We also spent
time watching the Freedom Riders movie and taking notes that were helpful towards our
final product. Americas Historical Newspapers was a critical database because it held a
lot of our primary sources: newspapers that were written around major events. To further
progress our knowledge we read two books titled Freedoms Daughters: The Unsung
Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970 and Extraordinary People of
the Civil Rights Movement. Freedoms Daughters was a great resource because it
specifically explored women in the movement, and how they faced different dilemmas
along with having to overcome different barriers. We also got a lot of newspapers from
different state archives, along with special letters from both Diane Nash and her father to
the president that helped us understand how she really felt during all of this. Our research
was very well rounded and thorough because of the reputable sources we used, along
with the work we put into it.

After gathering an abundance of information pertaining to Diane Nash, we felt

that a website would accurately capture her accomplishments. The other options would
not capture her challenges and bravery. We also have video clips as well as newspaper
clippings so a website would be the optimal way to display those two mediums
simultaneously. The website is a way that we could also express our creativity while
simultaneously answering the NHD prompt of leaders and their legacy.
A leader such as Diane Nash was so appropriate for the NHD theme Leaders and
Legacy because of the mark she left on all those she interacted with. The SNCC will
always be remembered as a group who changed the segregation South for the better,
thanks to Nash. Nash was not only a leader, because she founded the SNCC, but because
she fought nonviolently for what she believed in and took a stand, that even encourages
people today. Diane Nashs legacy will forever live on due to her determination to bring a
change for African Americans everywhere.
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