EPISODE · May 30, 2026 · 12 MIN
Why is a Nashville middle school named after a racist segregationist?
from Curious Nashville · host Nashville Public Radio
J.T. Moore Middle School in Nashville is named after John Trotwood Moore, an author and prominent landowner. He was also openly racist, a proponent of lynching, and an apologist for the "Old South". This sparked a question to Curious Nashville:Please help us understand why schools in Metro are named after people with such heinous records and what can be done to correct this.The answer, in part, has ties to the state's Tennessee Heritage Protection Act. (You may recall this prior episode: Why is it so hard to alter Confederate monuments in Tennessee?)Today, WPLN Education Reporter Camellia Burris hears from Larry Woods, a parent of former J.T. Moore students (he's also a civil rights attorney and professor of criminal justice at Tennessee State University) and fellow TSU professor and Davidson County Historian Learotha Williams.
What this episode covers
J.T. Moore Middle School in Nashville is named after John Trotwood Moore, an author and prominent landowner. He was also openly racist, a proponent of lynching, and an apologist for the "Old South". This sparked a question to Curious Nashville: Please help us understand why schools in Metro are named after people with such heinous records and what can be done to correct this. The answer, in part, has ties to the state's Tennessee Heritage Protection Act. (You may recall this prior episode: Why is it so hard to alter Confederate monuments in Tennessee?) Today, WPLN Education Reporter Camellia Burris hears from Larry Woods, a parent of former J.T. Moore students (he's also a civil rights attorney and professor of criminal justice at Tennessee State University) and fellow TSU professor and Davidson County Historian Learotha Williams.
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Why is a Nashville middle school named after a racist segregationist?
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