We are North Nashville: The Podcast

We Are North Nashville: The Podcast is about the lives of elders who call North Nashville home, in their own words. It's about the ways the elders have kept joy alive in their neighborhood in spite of all the challenges it has faced. It's about the history that newcomers to the city don't always know, or even think to ask about. It's about walking the streets and still seeing the way people held this place together, even when city planners set about ripping it apart. Join us for a discussion with executive producer Andrea Tudhope and North Nashville community members about the history of North Nashville and the contemporary efforts to build and maintain a thriving, joyful neighborhood that teems with life and promise. Joining Tudhope will be Melvin Gill, elder, architect and TSU alumnus; Barbara Jean Watson, one of first students to integrate Nashville schools (Jones Elementary); M. Simone Boyd, artist and project lead; and Tranae Chatman, curator of social history at the Tennessee State Museum and current president of the Inter-Museum Council of Nashville (ICON).

Panelist

M. Simone Boyd (We Are North Nashville project lead) dreams of a day when her neighborhood will be free from violence, and as an artist, writer and community organizer she is working towards that day. Her advocacy efforts have helped secure more than $15 million dollars of infrastructure investments for her neighborhood. Visit her online at msimoneboyd.com.
Melvin Gill (featured elder) came to Nashville in the 1960s to attend TSU. On campus and at clubs up and down Jefferson Street, he saw Nina Simone, Herbie Mann, Johnny Mathis and other top performers of the era. With training from Rev. James Lawson, he participated in the sit-in movement and lunch counter protests in downtown Nashville. He is the owner and principal of Melvin Gill Architects.
Andrea Tudhope (podcast executive producer) is an award-winning multimedia journalist who spent a decade working in public radio, from reporter to newscaster to editor. As part of the founding leadership team for America Amplified, a national public media community engagement initiative, she launched a national talk show and co-wrote and edited a playbook on community-powered journalism. In Nashville, she launched WPLN’s first-ever daily show, This Is Nashville, in 2022, and the Nashville Banner and its podcast Banner & Company in 2024.
Barbara Jean Watson (featured elder) made history as one of the “Nashville Sixteen” when she, at 6 years old, enrolled at the previously all-white Jones School in North Nashville. She and her family faced constant threats of violence as a result, and one night their back yard was firebombed. The family home became a hub of activity for the NAACP and SNCC.
Tranae Chatman is the Curator of Social History at the Tennessee State Museum and president of the Inter-Museum Council of Nashville (Icon).

This Lunch and Learn event is in-person in the Museum’s Digital Learning Center at 12:00. No RSVPs are required to attend this free event. It will also be livestreamed on the Museum’s website at TNMuseum.org/Videos. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Boxed lunches made by Apple Spice Nashville are available for purchase for $12.24 to enjoy during the event. The lunches will include a sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Lunch orders must be placed by noon on February 18, 2024. Please order your boxed lunch on the ticket registration page.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa Parks Blvd, nashville, United States