It was announced at the start of Tuesday night’s Danville City Council meeting that Nate Cunningham, former Danville High School football coach and a member of the “Seven Plaintiffs” that spurred Danville to change to an aldermanic form of government, had passed away.
It was last September that the “Seven Plaintiffs” were honored during a special City Council meeting for their contribution to Danville’s history; filing a lawsuit in 1987 that led to Danville’s governmental change. In addition to Nate Cunningham, the “Seven Plaintiffs” included Bashir Ali, Reverend R. J. Davis, and Wence Cunningham, Jr; along with the late Albert Derrickson, Eugene “Radio” Thompson, and Frank Abram.
Nate Cunningham shares a moment with Danville Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr at last September’s honoring of “The Seven Plaintiffs” during a Danville City Council meeting.
Danville Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr knew Cunningham well as both a young football player, and then later.
AUDIO: He would send me encouraging notes and congratulations, sometimes calling me about city issues. You know he was someone who still gave me advice even as an adult, and I’ll really miss him.
Williams started on Nate Cunningham’s varsity offensive line at DHS for three years, before he graduated in 1996.
