Beck Archive Studio

Black baseball players found their home in parks such as Booker T. Washington Park, Brewer's Park, and Baldwin Park. This newsletter tells the stories of finding a place to play America's favorite pastime in the midst of racial discrimination and injustice. 

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The Negro Southern League was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, with managers of baseball teams from all over the South represented, including Knoxville. 

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A.R. Wheeler & Son, once renowned mortuary for African Americans in Knoxville, was established by Arkless R. Wheeler in 1922. 

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Knoxville's foremost photographer who chronicled local Black life during the early 20th century. 

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Dogan-Gaither Motel was Knoxville's first Black-owned motel. Established during the era of segregation, brothers A. D. "Jake" and A. S. "Big Jake" Gaither built this motel for Black travellers so that they would have a place to stay as they came to Knoxville. According to "A Dream Come True: Dogan-Gaither Motor Court" by William G. Nunn, Sr., the two brothers had been humiliated by the lack of places for parents and out-of-town visitors to stay when they visited them at Knoxville College. 

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Published by Webster L. Porter, the East Tennessee News was a mainstay in the Black Knoxville community. 

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Horace H. Hines opened a Taxi Business in Knoxville in 1914. 

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In the 1880s, the Tennessee School for the Deaf refused to accept Black students. Officer James Mason took matters into his own hands and started a school out of his house. 

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Dewey W. Roberts, Sr. championed the fight for equal pay between white and Black educators. From 1933 to 1940, Roberts petitioned the Knoxville Board of Education to equalize the pay scales between teachers. 

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In 1963, Flenor Person became the first Black person to graduate from Fulton High School. 

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While Brown v. Board was ruled in 1954, historian Robert J. Booker says that Knoxville schools were not truly integrated until 1973. So what took Knoxville nearly twenty years to finally desegregate its education system in accordance with federal law?

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Julius Rosenwald's fund helped established Black schools throughout the country, including the Solway School in Blount County. 

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Unbeknownst to many, Knoxville was one of the few cities in the south to begin hiring Black police officers by the end of the Reconstruction era (1867-1877). This was a momentous feat for the city’s Black residents because the department now had members who they could trust to look after the community without racial bias or insensitivity towards their problems. 

Read about Lloyd Bruce, Ernest Scruggs, James Guess, Wilburn Lyons, Tom Nowlin, Frank Robinson, John Singleton, and Charles Redmon. 

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Passionate attorney who advocated for the Civil Rights of Black students in Knoxville. 

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Medical professionals throughout Knoxville advocated for patients and the health of their communities.  Dr. H. M. Green and Dr. J. H. Presnell were integral in creating the Negro Ward at the General Hospital in 1933. 

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If there was ever a man as honorable and high-principled as he was sociable and a classic all-rounder, James G. Beck fit the bill entirely. For much of his life, Beck embodied what it meant to be an upstanding figure and leader of his community and could attest to many accomplishments reflective of his ambition. He took the success of Knoxville’s Black citizens seriously and utilized his credentials to spearhead several organizations and local activities throughout the 20th century in efforts to forward the progress of Black men, women, and children.

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In 1866, James Mason became the first Black taxpayer of Knoxville when he built two houses on West Cumberland Avenue. This historical fact, while it is one of the most important “firsts” of Black Knoxville history, does no justice to the story behind this construction. 

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First Black mail carrier of Knoxville and father figure to children throughout the city. 

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Dr. Walter S. E. Hardy, Sr. and Jr. were two influential Black physicians in the Knoxville area. 

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On September 2, 1876, William F. Yardley did the unimaginable when he entered himself into the race as the Independent candidate for Governor of Tennessee.

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Ascribing to the motto of "Deeds Not Words," the Acacia Rose Circle social group was deeply involved with the Knoxville community. 

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Alfredda Delaney was an educator, activist, and preservationist who treasured her Mechanicsville neighborhood. 

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Ten years after the Great War ended, wives and mothers of fallen soldiers known as The American Gold Star Mothers went overseas to visit the gravesites of men who died abroad. While white women travelled in luxury ocean liners, Black women were placed in commercial steamships, including two Knoxville women. 

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To commemorate the importance of the maternal bond, Beck is celebrating Black Matriarchs from Knoxville’s history, including Emma T. Chairs, Ethel B. Beck, Lula Lacey Enloe,  and Roberta M. Childs-Hastie. May the stories of Knoxville’s Black Matriarchs and their invaluable connections with children inspire you as much as they have inspired us. 

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Cora E. Burke was once called the "uncrowned queen of Tennessee" thanks to her community involvement with the Court of Calanthe. 

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Elnora Williams made history as the first Black principal in the Knox County School System in 1977. Her non-binary child, Elandria Williams, found inspiration in Elnora's story and became an activist in their own right. 

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Ethel Benson Beck was one of the most well-known women in Knoxville's Black community. She is best known for starting the Knoxville Colored Orphanage, or Ethel Beck Home, which cared for orphaned children. 

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Juanita Gibbs, "Knoxville's Little Songbird," once traveled to New York City to perform in Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour show. 

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Known as the "Matron of Depot Street," Maggie Lattimore was a mainstay of the Southern Railway Stattion, serving as a concierge and guide for visitors to Knoxville. 

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The "world's greatest gospel singer" performed in front of an audience of 3,000 at the newly constructed Civic Auditoirum in 1961. 

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Margaret Carson was the first historian and archivist at the Beck. Much of our collection of 50,000 objects found their home at Beck thanks to her community involvement. 

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Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni, Jr., is a poet, writer, educator, and activist who is regarded as one of the most renowned American poets in the world. Born to Jones "Gus" Giovanni and Yolande Cornelia Watson, Sr. in Knoxville in 1943, Giovanni attended Austin High School starting in 1958 and is a member of the class of 1961. 

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In the 1800s, becoming a barber was seen as a lower-class trade. For many Black men, however, it was a way to get professional work and eventually move into middle-class society by having a steady income. Though many businesses were segregated up until the mid-20th century, it was not an uncommon sight to see Black barbers cutting the hair of white men. Just as the barbering trade allowed Black men to learn a profitable skill, beauty schools and cosmetology gave Black women the same opportunity. 

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Fashion, as we all know, has constantly changed throughout history due to evolving fads and trends. For Black people who lived in or came through East Tennessee during the late 1800s to the early 20th century, adhering to the ever-changing styles was a vital way to ensure they assimilated with the general population as most trends of the time followed the aesthetic appeals of white society. 

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According to the Colored Department of the East Tennessee Division Fair, their objective each year was to “stimulate an interest among the Negroes in East Tennessee in thrift, agriculture, industry, and education.” Most importantly, Black people were encouraged to have fun. During the brief time they had the park for themselves, Black people of all ages enjoyed parades, watched fireworks, competed in prize-winning contests, ate delicious food and snacks, listened to orations, and put together informative exhibits. 

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The first municipal Christmas tree for Black children was being erected in the park named in his honor, and surely Cal F. Johnson couldn’t help but think about how much had changed in his lifetime – not just in the community at large, but in the celebration of Christmas itself. 

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On December 22, 1944, Christmas came early for many Black children in East Knoxville. That Friday morning, dozens of boys and girls arrived at the corner of Vine Avenue and Central Street to attend a special yule party at the Gem Theatre. 

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To celebrate Valentine's Day, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center shares photos of Black couples from the collection. 

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"A Club for Black Men in Knoxville Working to Make Their Community Better" during the Fraternal Golden Age. 

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The history of Emancipation Day is unique to Knoxville. Although Black citizens in this region weren’t formally emancipated until 1865, they dedicated themselves in seeing that the 8th of August was observed in the same manner as more widely celebrated national holidays upon the turn of the 20th century.

2021 marks 158 years since the events of August 8, 1863. In honor of this breakthrough moment in East Tennessee's Black History, Beck presents an timeline chronicling the highlights of the first 100 years of 8th of August celebrations.  

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Independence from British colonial rule did not mean independence for all who lived in the country. As Frederick Douglass stated in his 1852 speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, although the principles and values of the Founding Fathers were valuable, enslaved people owed no celebration to the founding of the United States built on their pain and suffering. Nearly a decade later, the end of the Civil War in 1865 transformed the holiday into a celebration of emancipation for many Black people across the South. 

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One part of the history of Juneteenth lies in the question: Where did the people of Galveston go once they were freed? Many formerly enslaved people were forced to stay on the plantations where they labored due to Black Codes that required them to find work. Many people could not leave because they were ill, elderly, or had small children. For those who did leave, the question remained as to where they could find a place to call home.

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Prince Hall Freemasonry, the first Black Masonic Lodge in America, was established September 29, 1784 in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded under the leadership of abolitionist and prominent Black figure, Prince Hall. Knoxville has their own Prince Hall Lodge as well as a chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. 

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Stereographs were most popular as a means of bringing tourist images home. Popular images were of our national parks or international monuments. However, as a form of entertainment, stereographs also had images meant to make the viewer laugh. Oftentimes this took the form of racist caricatures and stereotypes.

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On April 4, 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The death of this civil rights icon was felt throughout the country, including Knoxville. 

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On November 19, 1909, Booker T. Washington and his party of nearly twenty men arrived and were welcomed by a large number of enthusiastic guests. He had breakfast at Knoxville College and was taken to Market Hall where crowds fought off the cold temperatures in order to hear him speak.

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The Beck Cultural Exchange Center was established in 1975 as a result of the Urban Renewal projects that disproportionately affected the Black community. The site of the Center has a unique, complicated history.

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“I believe in individuality, but individuals are, to the mass, like waves to the ocean. The highest order of genius is as dependent as is the lowest. It, like the loftiest waves of the sea, derives its power and greatness from the grandeur and vastness of the ocean of which it forms a part.”

These were the words spoken by Frederick Douglass November 22, 1881 in front of an enthusiastic, interracial crowd inside of what used to be one of Knoxville’s most illustrious opera houses, the Staub Theatre. 

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The Knoxville Chapter of the NAACP was charted August 4, 1919. The organization formed to address racial inequities in the Black community in Knoxville. 

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The construction of the Negro Building was requested by Dr. Henry M. Green, who voiced to the exposition company that the Colored Department desired enough space to house exhibits and welcome visitors at Chilhowee. After raising enough money, the company approved the addition of the building. The Negro Building was later erected on a hill at the north end of the park’s Lake Ottossee.

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After almost two months of “stand ins” at the Tennessee and Bijou Theatres there came some hope of a peaceful settlement by the creation of a committee by Mayor Duncan and local merchants to work out a general desegregation policy for Knoxville in the summer of 1963. 

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On September 22, 1977, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center opened a permanent memorial room to honor the legacy of William H. Hastie, the first Black Governor of the Virgin Islands and the first Black federal judge. 

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As a man who sought to surround himself with the foremost of Black intellectuals and leaders, it is no surprise that W. E. B. Du Bois would become an acquaintance with some of Knoxville’s finest Black citizens. This was made evident during his 1914 trip to Knoxville where he met up with the likes of Knoxville’s foremost men, including William F. Yardley, Charles W. Cansler, Dr. James H. Presnell, and several others. 

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William Andrew Johnson, formerly enslaved, became a fixture in Black Knoxville society. He worked at the Farragut and Andrew Johnson hotels for many years. Perhaps his most well-known story is that of his visit with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937.

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Friendships made in Knoxville College often lasted a lifetime. As students matured and learned valuable life skills both within and outside of the classroom, their bonds with each other would strengthen. 

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In 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the graduating class of Knoxville College. 

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For over fifty years, hundreds of people gathered at the McMillan Memorial Chapel at Knoxville College to attend the annual presentation of George Fredric Handel’s Messiah by the Knoxville College Coleridge-Taylor Chorus. 

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Knoxville College is a historically Black liberal arts college founded in 1875 in Knoxville, Tennessee by the Board of the Freedmen’s Mission of the United Presbyterian Church. 

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The first Knoxville College Homecoming was held to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the College in 1925. According to the 1923 Aurora, it had been a desire of the College to have a “reunion of multitude of graduates, former students, former teachers and workers, and former friends.” The first of these anniversary celebrations took place during the 1924-1925 school year.

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The Aurora, the official school newspaper, was established in 1884 and largely operated by the faculty until the late 1930s. It is a unique publicaton in that modern historians have clear and direct insight into the minds of Knoxville College students during some of the most historically significant moments of local and national history. 

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Physicians, chemists, activists, educators, and attorneys started their careers at Knoxville College. Although this list is not exhaustive, this a sample of what some of Knoxville College's finest have been able to achieve thanks to the garnet and blue. 

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The founding of Lonsdale began as a land development project in 1890 when William Ragsdale enlisted 100 Knoxville businessmen to turn his family’s 240-acre farm into a neighborhood community. To ensure that his family’s name would not be erased, the community was named after Ragsdale’s parents: Lonas and Dale Ragsdale.

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Black people who lived and worked in the Mechanicsville neighborhood managed to cultivate a prominent community for themselves. Before the annexation of 1883 and industrial boom, some of the neighborhood’s early growth could be attributed to three milestones that occurred in 1875 and were especially beneficial to the local Black community: the building of Fairview School, the organization of the Clinton Chapel Church, and the opening of Knoxville College. Each event had a great impact on the eventual branding of Mechanicsville as Knoxville’s “premier Black community.”

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Understanding Black history and culture means understanding the places and spaces where people grew up and formed communities, such as their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, several predominantly Black neighborhoods were targeted and forever changed by a federal program known as Urban Renewal, which seemingly sought to remove blight and slum from urban areas. Three neighborhoods were directly affected: The Bottom, Mountain View, and Morningside. Of these three, one was completely demolished: The Bottom. 

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In many ways, Chilhowee Park was a symbol of the city's progess and instilled great pride amongst the citizens of East Knoxville. For Black citizens however, it stood as a symbol of exclusion, reminding them of the socioeconomic barriers inflicted upon them due to their race and reinforced the prejudiced idea that they were only worthy when serving under white people.

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This week's newsletter celebrates several parks, recreation centers, and pools named after other prominent members of Knoxville's Black community, including Payne Ave. Recreation Center, Cal Johnson Recreation Center, Ed Cothren Pool, Carl A. Cowan Park, Dr. Walter Hardy Memorial Park, Alex Haley Heritage Square, William H. Hastie Natural Area, and more. 

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Cal F. Johnson Park was established September 21, 1922.  Named in honor of one of the most successful Black men in Knoxville's history, Cal F. Johson Park was the first park to bear the namesake of a local member of the city's Black community.

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On August 30, 1919, Knoxville was plunged into two days of racial violence that targeted the Black community. 

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A city exploded when Maurice Mays was accused of murdering Bertie Lindsey, resulting in two days of racial violence as the white community terrorized the Black population of Knoxville. This is a comparative timeline of the first trial of Maurice Mays and a killer who is suspected to have possibly been behind the murder of Bertie Lindsey. 

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From the moment the jury read the verdict on the first rushed trial, Maurice Mays and his legal defense team sought to overturn the decision. Mays knew he was innocent, and was confident that if they were given more time, and perhaps more funding, they could build a case so foolproof even the most disbelieving juror could see his innocence. 

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While people were excited as they came together for a day of sports, dancing, and music, there was an undeniable tension in the air. The Black community of Knoxville was still freshly wounded from the events almost one year ago, when Knoxville faced one of its worst episodes of racial violence during the Red Summer of 1919. 

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During Maurice Mays’ trial for the murder of Bertie Lindsey, thirteen women came forward with stories of their own assaults by the hands of a man known as the Night Marauder, a serial killer who terrorized Knox and Blount counties from 1919 to 1926. 

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When the jury passed down the verdict of guilty onto Maurice Mays for the second time, his defense team again tried to postpone his execution so they could prove his innocence. A bill of exceptions was introduced to challenge the excluded victim testimony. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People finally stepped in, publishing an article in The Crisis detailing crimes committed against women in Knoxville that provided reasonable doubt of Mays’ guilt. 

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Rev. Richard E. Anderson was the leader of the East Vine Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was forced to move as part of Urban Removal.  That church is now Emmanuel United Presbyterian Church. 

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Leader. Icon. Visionary. Champion. 

These are just a few of the terms used to describe Reverend William T. Crutcher, a man whose impact on Knoxville was felt over three generations and continues to be seen today. 

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