Juneteenth listening recs from This Is Nashville

This Is Nashville is observing the national holiday to mark the Emancipation Proclamation reaching all enslaved people, but we don’t want to leave you wanting. So consider these episodes for deep and informative listening.

When Willie Sims, aka Big Fella, hosted the first Juneteenth615 celebration last year, he was told it was probably the most “Black feet” that had assembled at Fort Negley since enslaved people were forced to build the Union fort in 1862.

This year’s celebration includes reenactments, music and a fireworks display. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. Details here.

As he’s done throughout his career as an artist and entertainer, Big Fella is the chief dot connector at the heart of the event. In this profile interview, he talks about his life — his early years, how he came to Nashville and what living here means to him.

Profile: Big Fella

Just before the Civil War, nearly a third of all Davidson County residents were enslaved. These are the people who helped enrich the city’s wealthiest families, and not just from their labor. Slavery itself was a big business here.

Nashville was a key hub in the slave trade. In this episode, we explore how this dark legacy echoes in our city, and what we still don’t know — including a trip to Hill’s Island on the Cumberland River.

Nashville’s role in the slave trade

While Fort Negley may be the perfect place to host a Juneteenth gathering, the site was neglected for decades. Union occupation through much of the Civil War was symbol of embarrassment for the Confederates who led the state. Fort Negley made Nashville one of the Union’s most fortified cities, second only to Washington, D.C.

After Emancipation, the U.S. Colored Troops who defended Fort Negley settled right at the base of the hill. The Bass Street neighborhood was a thriving area until it was destroyed in the 1950s and ’60s to make way for Interstate 65.

Former Bass Street residents and their descendants have fought to reclaim the narrative of the neighborhood and preserve its past.

Preserving Fort Negley’s past while planning for its future

More than 6,000 African Americans are buried in the Nashville City Cemetery, adjacent to Fort Negley. Most died in the years leading up to and during the Civil War. The Nashville City Cemetery Association created a program to honor them, and in this episode we learn about the work to elevate those stories.

Elevating local African American history

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