A group of 85 civil rights activists in Oak Ridge was nominated for the American Nuclear Society’s first Social Responsibility in the Nuclear Community Award.
This new civil rights award was launched by the ANS last winter.
The nomination was made on July 30th by Martin McBride, co-chair of the 65th Celebration Committee. He nominated the “Oak Ridge-85” on behalf of the committee.
The nomination package contained letters of confirmation from: Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge; Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch; Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and D. Ray Smith, Oak Ridge City historian and commissioner of the Tennessee Historical Commission.
In 1955, 85 Oak Ridge students became the first black students to attend a separate public school anywhere in the southeastern United States, the McBride press release said.
“Tennessee is very proud of these 85 great Tennesseeers and the important role the Department of Energy played in this civil rights achievement,” said McNally, confirming the committee’s nomination.
“We are building on the legacy of those who have left … It is my pleasure to support the joint nomination of Oak Ridge 85 students and the Secretary of Energy for the American Nuclear Society 2021 Social Responsibility in the Nuclear Community Award,” said Zacharia upon release.
The nomination was also accompanied by a congratulatory letter from Jeffrey J. Lyash, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority, to the City of Oak Ridge in celebration of the first desegregation in public schools in the Southeast.
“The Tennessee 85 students showed courage in integrating Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High School. The impact of their actions has been profound and has provided talented Americans with more opportunities to join the TVA workforce, “Lyash said in his letter quoted in the press release.
If that nomination is selected for the award, the committee asked for the award money to be transferred to the TN-85 Student Endowment Fund, a scholarship fund run by the Scarboro Alumni Association, a nonprofit.
“I am honored to write in support of these courageous personalities who have played such an important role in our nation’s history and who deserve such recognition for their courage and steadfastness in the most difficult of circumstances,” Gooch said in the press release .
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