Erin Tocknell, who grew up in Nashville some years after the Civil Rights Movement, wrote an excellent piece about the turmoil surrounding the integration of Nashville’s public swimming pools:
It had taken the Parks Board — a public/private governing entity — roughly 48 hours to decide how to handle the juxtaposition of public swimming and the Civil Rights Movement: Every public pool in Nashville was closed that afternoon, all of them drained and winterized by the end of the week. The citywide swim meet scheduled for that Friday was cancelled, 150 trophies for young competitors put in storage. All public swimming pools remained closed until 1963.
Centennial’s never reopened.
Bitter Southerner published the feature article, which is worth a read.
Earlier: Centennial Park to Host Art Show for Black History Month