Nsombi Lambright-Haynes was a journalism student at Tougaloo College from 1990-1994. She was all set to jump into the professional world of storytelling. However, the intimate knowledge she learned about the Civil Rights Movement at Tougaloo created a strong desire to continue the work, and eventually, it superseded her initial career plans. She has gone on helping to fight for the rights of others ever since, including voting rights, redistricting, and criminal justice and civil rights cases. Lambright-Haynes is the Executive Director of One Voice, a nonprofit organization that aims to ensure an equal voice for traditionally silenced communities.

Tougaloo remains a sanctuary where strategies are devised and implemented to make positive change. During the tumultuous 1960s, conversations were held about ending segregation and improving race relations. That very same chapel that Lambright-Hayes spoke of, Tougaloo’s Woodworth Chapel, hosted many state and national leaders of the movement, including Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The college also opened its campus to the Freedom Riders and other Civil Rights workers, demonstrating courage and support for the movement.

Its students have been setting precedents for decades. In 1961, a group of nine Tougaloo students participated in sit-ins at segregated public institutions, including the Jackson Public Library, sparking protests and arrests. The students and their historic arrests are known as the Tougaloo Nine.

Tougaloo’s history demonstrates its commitment to social change and its central role in shaping the struggle for equality in Mississippi and beyond. The college is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its historical importance.

“That type of political education early on, definitely shaped what I thought about the world, and definitely what I thought about organizing and changing the world,” Lambright-Haynes said.