The African and African American Studies Program presented the first lecture of the fall semester series at the B. Carroll Reece Memorial Museum last Thursday.
Lisa Mullins, a graduate of ETSU, related key ideas from her book, Diane Nash: The Fire of the Civil Rights Movement: a Biography, to the 65 students and faculty present.
The book was written “to bring the work of women leaders, like Diane Nash, to the forefront,” said Mullins.
Published this year by Barnhardt and Ashe Publishing, Inc., her book will be revised into a second edition next year.
Diane Nash is the founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SNCC (pronounced ‘snick’), and a key force in the American Civil Rights Movement.
In her lecture, Mullins discussed how Nash’s actions throughout her life played as grand a role in the history of the Civil Rights Movement as did Rosa Parks or Ella Baker.
She covered many aspects of Diane Nash’s life, but accentuated that Nash remained involved in organizations working for racial justice and reconciliation and with the peace movement. She committed to nonviolence as a way of life.
Mullins’ lecture is the first the three lectures that will be offered this year, according to Dorothy Drinkard-Hawkshawe, director of African and African American studies.
“(This lecture) introduces students to information about the Civil Rights Movement and the role that women, both white and black, played in it,” said Drinkard-Hawkshawe. “The lecture demonstrated how education can empower people to reach unimaginable achievements.”
To find out more about upcoming lectures see the bulletin board and the AFAM newsletter on the first floor of Rogers-Stout Hall, or contact the African and African American studies department.
In the next lecture a judge from Washington, D.C., will be covering the outstanding judges in history, like Clarence Thomas. The date and time for this lecture is still unknown.

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