Nashville Civil Rights Leader and Freedom Rider Kwame Lillard Dies at 81 An organizer of Nashville sit-ins, Lillard led and inspired generations of activists for 60 years Tweet
Photo courtesy of African American Cultural Alliance Nashville
Kwame Lillard, a Freedom Rider who carried the scars, lessons and memories of the civil rights struggle through a life of activism, died Sunday night. He was 81.
One of the few organizers of Nashville’s 1960s sit-ins still living, Lillard also served on the Metro Council from 1991 to 1995. After becoming a civil rights activist when he was still a teenager, Lillard spent 60 years as a leader in the struggle for dignity, equality and freedom for Black Americans and a sage for younger generations taking to the streets.