“Students Are [Not] Slaves”: 1960s Student Power Debates in Tennessee

Abstract

This article examines 1960s student power debates at Tennessee universities. It makes three main arguments. First, student protests overin loco parentisrestrictions fit into an emerging student demand for autonomy more broadly, even in a politically and culturally conservative state like Tennessee. Second, these student power debates complicate the 1960s movements declension narrative, since Tennessee student activism peaked in 1970. Third, though black and white students both demanded greater personal autonomy, continued racial inequities on and off Tennessee campuses rendered their experiences distinct.