The Rev. Paul W. Turner

In August 1956, Clinton became the first Tennessee state-funded public school to desegregate. After segregationists intimidated 12 African American pupils at Clinton High School and they refused to return to classes, the Reverend Paul W. Turner, pastor of Clinton's First Baptist Church, met with the pupils on December 4, 1956, and, with two other men from Clinton, escorted six African American students to Clinton High School. Segregationists beat Turner as he walked away. Turner's courageous walk enabled Bobby Cain, one of the Clinton 12, to become the first African American to graduate from Clinton High School on May 17, 1957.

Clinton, Tennessee · United States