For many white people, the idea of slavery seems distant. But for African Americans, like Tennessee State University history professor Learotha Williams Jr., it’s much closer. “I’ve always been cognizant of the fact that slavery is only about two grandmas away from me,” Williams says.
Belle Meade Plantation Hires A Black Historian, Giving Voice To Long-Silenced Slaves
Listen Plantations across the South offer tours telling stories about the white families who lived there, but the stories of enslaved African Americans on those lands are often either absent or barely researched. Now, one woman at a historic plantation in Nashville is using her position to uncover and share the experience of slavery.
New Historical Markers Show Where Lynchings Took Place In Davidson County
Listen Two historical markers now stand where lynchings took place in downtown Nashville during the 1800s. They’re the first such markers in the city. They were unveiled as a part of Juneteenth, which commemorates the abolition of slavery.
New Course At Sewanee Examines Its Own History Of Slavery And Racial Injustice
Listen The University of the South has a new course offering, one that the professor says is unlike anything he’s done before: Students at Sewanee will study racial injustice and how their own university played a part in it.
Metro Denies Request To Rename Hadley Park, Despite Link to Slave-Owning Family
Listen The Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation denied a request to consider changing the name of Nashville’s Hadley Park on Tuesday. North Nashville resident Joshua Lipscomb collected more than 500 signatures in an online petition to rename the park after Civil Rights leader Malcolm X. He believes the park is currently named for the […]
Emancipation Proclamation Didn’t Free Tennessee Slaves
Tomorrow marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln’s executive order is commonly thought of as being responsible for freeing America’s slaves, but the truth is more complex, especially in Tennessee.
Fort Negley and the Hope of Freedom
Listen Now: Nashville’s Fort Negley was built for war, and construction began 150 years ago this month. Union officers considered the stone fortress a show of strength and military might. Instead, the fort’s enduring story belongs to the black laborers, both slave and free, who were forced to build it.
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