Friends and colleagues of the late Betty Chiles Nixon, a civil and women’s rights activist who worked at Vanderbilt University for 17 years, are invited to a public ceremony to dedicate a historical marker in front of her former home on Sept. 3.
The dedication for the marker, which was erected at 1607 18th Ave. S. by the Metro Historical Commission, will begin at 3 p.m.
Nixon led Vanderbilt community relations for many years. The marker pays tribute to her life and legacy.
The marker reads: “Betty Nixon was a trailblazing woman in Nashville politics, an ardent preservationist, and a relentless advocate for the city’s people and neighborhoods. She served on the Metro Council from 1975 to 1987, was the first woman to chair its Budget and Finance Committee, and ran for mayor in 1987 and 1991. Nixon and her first husband, U.S. District Judge John T. Nixon, purchased this 1925 Colonial Revival house in 1971. It was the setting for her campaigns and community activism.”