Nashville Plan Schools/Hattie Cotton

In Brown v. Topeka (1954) and Brown II (1955) the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools nationwide to end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed.” Nashville failed to comply, resulting in the Kelley v. Board of Education case (1955) and the 1957 enactment of a grade-per-year plan starting at the first grade. In 1963, the Maxwell v. Davidson County (1960) case was merged with the Kelley case. In 1998, the court deemed the Metro school system to be desegregated.

Named for beloved Nashville educator Hattie R. Cotton (1859-1926), the original Hattie Cotton Elementary School was built in 1950 to serve the white population west of Gallatin Pike. Local architects Marr and Holman designed the modern building. On Sept. 9, 1957, the school was desegregated by an African American first grader. At 12:33 a.m. Sept. 10, the school was dynamited and sustained extensive damage. It re-opened within a week. The bombing culprits remain unidentified.