CLARKSVILLE, TN − Who should be honored on a civil rights monument for their contributions leading to equality and better lives for minority members of our community? The Clarksville Arts and Heritage Council wants your help in selecting six additional Clarksvillians to be honored on a civil rights monument slated for Dixon Park.

Several years ago, a committee headed by then City Councilman Richard Garrett selected six Clarksvillians to be featured on a monument to honor Clarksville’s Black leaders and to inspire future leaders. These six are:

  • Dr. Robert Burt, who, with his wife Emma (later added to those honored), opened the first hospital in the city in 1906.
  • Wilma Rudolph, who insisted on the first desegregated parade and public dinner in Clarksville.
  • Hyburnia Williams, who served Montgomery County children as a teacher and administrator for 35 years.
  • Dr. Helen Long, who was one of the first full-time Black students at Austin Peay and fostered integration at APSU and the public schools.
  • Jimmie Garland, who has served as a master-level school board member.
  • Mary (Virginia) Martin Hatcher, who received national recognition as a civil rights trailblazer.

After a strong start, plans for the monument stalled. The Arts and Heritage Council believes in the importance of celebrating Clarksville’s heritage and the accomplishments of its citizens. Therefore in 2023, they decided to restart the project, building on the work of the original committee.

In the course of planning the monument designed by sculptor Roy Butler – who created the women’s suffrage monument on Public Square and the USCT soldier at Fort Defiance – several members of the AHC Board and an ad hoc advisory committee realized the monument has room for additional plaques and that adding plaques actually improves the look of the monument.

Therefore, AHC is asking for nominations to add an additional six honorees. They are looking for leaders who have improved the lives of African Americans in our community through working for equality in health, education, politics, economic opportunities, spiritual life, or service. They plan to honor the original committee’s decision to focus on an equal number of women and men. They are also looking for early leaders who broke through racial barriers.

Final selections will be made by members of the Arts and Heritage board, its ad hoc advisory committee, and Mount Olive Cemetery Preservation Society’s African American Legacy Trail developers.

To nominate an honoree, please email your nomination, along with a short statement explaining your choice, to ahdc@artsandheritage.us by April 4.