Tennessee’s Republican-dominant House has spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to study or dispense money for reparations for slavery. The move marked a rare defeat on a GOP-backed proposal initially introduced nearly one year ago.
What an elusive island on the Cumberland tells us about Nashville’s first big business — buying and selling enslaved people
You wouldn’t know by looking at it today, but Hill’s Island has an important story to tell about Nashville’s role in the trade of enslaved people.
Nashville’s role in the slave trade
In 1860, more than 30% of Davidson County’s roughly 47,000 residents were enslaved. That’s nearly 15,000 people. As significant as those numbers are, they underlie another, equally unsettling truth: Nashville was a key location in the sale of enslaved people.
Exploring the living history of Promise Land, Tennessee
Promise Land was established and settled by formerly enslaved people near Charlotte, Tenn., during Reconstruction.