Say a Good Word for Slavery: Jack Kershaw, Pt. 3

About this episode

The episode discusses the legal career of Jack Kershaw and his controversial actions related to integration and racism.

In the final part of the story about Jack Kershaw, we'll talk about his legal career. Before he represented MLK's assassin, before he sculpted a gigantic racist statue out of old bathtubs, he got a law degree from a part time night school program at the YMCA so he could do his part to stop integration. Sources: Phillips, Betsy. Dynamite Nashville: the FBI, the KKK, and the bombers beyond their control. Third Man Books 2021. Houston, Benjamin, et al. “‘We Kept the Discussion at an Adult Level’: Jack Kershaw and the Tennessee Federation for Constitutional Government.” Southern Cultures, vol. 20, no. 4, 2014, pp. 72–88. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26217566 Graham, Hugh Davis. “Desegregation in Nashville: The Dynamics of Compliance.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 2, 1966, pp. 135–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42622869 McMillen, Neil R. “Organized Resistance to School Desegregation In Tennessee.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 3, 1971, pp. 315–28. JSTOR,  http://www.jstor.org/stable/42623247 Michael J. Henry, Student Display of the Confederate Flag in Public Schools, 33…

Topics covered

• legal career
• racism
• integration
• desegregation
• historical figures

Keywords

• Jack Kershaw
• MLK
• YMCA
• racist statue
• desegregation
• legal career
• integration
• Tennessee

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: YMCA

Books & works: Dynamite Nashville: the FBI, the KKK, and the bombers beyond their control, ‘We Kept the Discussion at an Adult Level’: Jack Kershaw and the Tennessee Federation for Constitutional Government, Desegregation in Nashville: The Dynamics of Compliance, Organized Resistance to School Desegregation In Tennessee, Student Display of the Confederate Flag in Public Schools, Walking into History: The Beginning of School Desegregation in Nashville

More episodes of Weird Little Guys

• Klan Camp · June 11, 2026 · 49 min
• Outside Agitators · June 4, 2026 · 52 min
• In Loving Memory of Laura & Mike Sullivan · June 4, 2026 · 11 min
• It's One Nazi Rally, Donald, How Much Could It Cost? · May 28, 2026 · 46 min
• Nazis React to the President Saying They Aren't Real · May 21, 2026 · 44 min
• The Southern Poverty Law Center Did Not Plan Unite the Right · May 14, 2026 · 49 min