Brief History
On July 29, 2015, Mrs. Mattie Cantrell, Coordinator of Community & School emailed Roderick J. Glatt Ministries (RJGM) to arrange a meeting. On July 31, 2015, Rev. Roderick J. Glatt met with Mr. Derek Sanborn, School Principal and Mrs. Mattie Cantrell at the school office. Mr. Sanborn, in his first year as principal of the school, was interested in reaching out to the Lillard family for more information on Judge Robert E. Lillard, grandfather of Roderick J. Glatt.
While meeting, Mrs. Cantrell asked if RJGM would be interested in entering into a partnership with the school through the Pencil Foundation. On August 12, 2015, Rev. Glatt met with Ms. Sandra Harris, Director, Elementary Partnerships & Programs with the Pencil Foundation and Mrs. Cantrell at the school office to discuss the potential partnership. On September 10, 2015, the official partnership ceremony took place at Robert E. Lillard Elementary School's cafeteria. The ceremony was attended by Rev. Glatt, Ms. Sandra Harris, Mrs. Mattie Cantrell, Mr. Derek Sanborn, REL Student Ambassadors and one parent. Thus this historic partnership was launched.
Sadly, at a June 2020 Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board Meeting, by a vote of 9 to 0, four public schools in MNPS District 1 were closed and consolidated including Robert E. Lillard Elementary School. Dr. Roderick J. Glatt has convened conversations with MNPS about how to sustain the legacy of his grandfather, Judge Robert E. "Bob" Lillard.
Help a Student
The elementary students who attend Robert E. Lillard School deserve a hand up. During the school year, the following assistance is typically requested:
1. Read aloud to students in a classroom
2. Sponsor an appreciation event
3. Provide hands on help for student assembly
4. Other requests made by school leadership
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
Metro Nashville School Board Weighs Closing 4 Schools
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
May 12, 2020
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
May 17, 2020
Metro School Board Unanimously Vote to Close 4 Schools
Roderick Glatt speaks about plan to close Robert E. Lillard Elementary School
Metro School Board Unanimously Vote to Close 4 Schools
May 19, 2020
Judge Robert E. Lillard
Robert Emmitt Lillard became one of the most influential figures in black politics in the city during the mid-20th century.
Lillard was born in Nashville on March 23, 1907. In 1932, the year he entered Nashville's Kent College of Law, he organized the 15th Ward Colored Voters and Civic Club. After passing the bar exam in 1936, Lillard also drove a firetruck with the Nashville Fire Engine Co. No. 11, on 12th Avenue North and Jefferson Street.
In 1951 Lillard won a seat on the city council and with Z. Alexander Looby became the first black members of Nashville's city council since 1911. During Lillard's campaign, white politicians offered him money and jobs to drop out. He responded that white politicians would have to defeat him; he wouldn't be bribed out of the race.
Lillard served on the council for 20 years. He helped make Cameron Junior High School the city's second high school for blacks and to desegregate the Parthenon in Centennial Park. In 1967 he became the first African-American to serve as vice mayor pro tem. Lillard also became a circuit court judge. Lillard died in 1991.
Source: Sinclaire Sparkman, The Tennessean, Feb. 11, 2015
Posted: September 16, 2021
Very Important Community Meeting
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Design Center School
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Design Center School
The building located at 3200 Kings Lane, Nashville, TN 37218 bears the name of Dr. Glatt's grandfather who worked tirelessly, as a lawer-councilman-judge, to defend the rights of all people but especially the marginalized in Nashville Tennessee. What happens to the future use of this buidling will not only have a lasting impact on the Metro Nashville Public School System (MNPS), District-1 of MNPS, the Whites Creek Cluster, Whites Creek High School of which Dr. Glatt is an alumnus, but will dramatically effect the entire city of Nashville. "The community not the capitalists, the citizens not the corporations should inherit whatever benefits derieved from the use of the Robert E. Lillard Elementrary School building," said Dr. Glatt. Dr. Glatt hopes to see you and hear you there!
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Design Center School
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Design Center School
Closure of Robert E. Lillard Design Center School
(Photo: Dr. Roderick J. Glatt, grandson of Judge Robert E. Lillard, stands in front of the Robert E. Lillard School builiding, May 17, 2020).