[1] After graduating from Hyde Park High School in Chicago, Nash went to Washington, D.C., to attend Howard University, a historically black college (HBCU).

Nash recounted her experience at the Tennessee State Fair when she had to use the "Colored Women" restroom, signifying the first time she had ever seen and been impacted by segregation signage.

Nash said in a PBS Tavis Smiley interview, "My mother ended up going to fundraisers [in Chicago that sent money to] students in the South and, [she even went] to an elevated train bus station one day at 6:00 a.m. to hand out leaflets protesting the war.

[1] While in India, James Lawson had studied Mahatma Gandhi's techniques of nonviolent direct action and passive resistance used in his political movement.

Although originally a reluctant participant in nonviolence, Nash emerged as a leader due to her well-spoken, composed manner when speaking to the authorities and to the press.

Lawson's workshops included simulations in order to prepare the students to handle verbal and physical harassment that they would ultimately face during the sit-ins.

[6] Though protests would continue in Nashville and across the South, Nash and three other students were first successfully served at the Post House Restaurant on March 17, 1960.

In February 1961, Nash served jail time in solidarity with the "Rock Hill Nine"[12] — nine students imprisoned after a lunch counter sit-in.

Chosen as spokesperson, Nash said to the judge, "We feel that if we pay these fines we would be contributing to and supporting the injustice and immoral practices that have been performed in the arrest and conviction of the defendants.

"[13] When Nash asked Nashville's mayor, Ben West, on the steps of City Hall, "Do you feel it is wrong to discriminate against a person solely on the basis of their race or color?

[16] In spring 1960, nearly two hundred students involved with the nationwide sit-in movement arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina, for an organizing conference.

[6][7] Martin Luther King envisioned a simple SCLC student league, but Baker herself advised the youth to remain autonomous and follow their own principles.

[7] The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee would go on to be involved with some of the most important campaigns of the civil rights era, adding a fresh and active youth voice to the movement.

In early 1961, Nash and ten fellow students were put under arrest in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for protesting segregation.

In 1962, although she was four months pregnant with her daughter Sherri, she faced a two-year prison sentence in Mississippi for contributing to the delinquency of minors whom she had encouraged to become Freedom Riders and ride on the buses.

She would also split from SNCC in 1965 when their directives changed under Stokley Carmichael's leadership, taking particular issue with the organization's departure from the founding pillar of nonviolence.

[12] Nash took over responsibility for the Freedom Rides and worked to recruit Riders, act as media spokesperson, and garner the support the government and other Movement leaders.

[6] As the violence escalated and bus drivers began to refuse service to the Riders due to the dangers, Attorney General Robert Kennedy became involved and worked to keep the Rides going.

They knew their phone line had been tapped by local police, so they worked out a set of coded messages related to, of all things, poultry.

On May 20, 1961, the Riders left Birmingham for Montgomery with the promise of protection from the federal government, including police escorts and planes flying overhead.

After about 40 miles, all signs of protection disappeared, and the Riders were subjected to a violent, angry mob armed with makeshift weapons such as pipes and bricks.

[26] Nash was present at the First Baptist Church that night and is credited with playing a key role in getting King to come and speak in support of the Freedom Riders.

King preached to the crowd inside the church while teargas seeped in from outside, telling them that they would "remain calm" and "continue to stand up for what we know is right.

[27] Shocked by the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young girls, Nash and James Bevel committed to raising a nonviolent army in Alabama.

[28] Together with SCLC, Nash and Bevel eventually implemented the Selma to Montgomery marches, a series of protests for voting rights in Alabama in early 1965.

[33] After the Civil Rights Movement, Nash moved back to Chicago, where she worked in the fields of education and real estate, continuing as an advocate and championing causes such as fair housing and antiwar efforts.

[5] In 2013, Nash expressed her support for Barack Obama, while also sharing her misgivings about his continuing involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While encouraged by the positive implications associated with electing the first Black president of the United States, Nash still believes that the true changes in American society will come from its citizens, not government officials.

Nash, who has dedicated her life to pursuits of peace and nonviolence, declared that Bush "stands for just the opposite: For violence and war and stolen elections, and his administration…had people tortured.

"[34] Decades after she played a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement, Nash remains committed to the principles of nonviolence that have guided her throughout her life.