A.R. Wheeler & Son funeral home was the largest in East Tennessee, established in 1922 into the 1940s, met its demise through Urban Renewal aka Urban Removal. KNOXVILLE, TN (February 2021) – A.R. Wheeler & Son was once a distinguished mortuary for African Americans in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was established by Arkless R. Wheeler…
By Dr. Franklin Tate, Esquire, ETE contributor, is a Knoxville College graduate and serves on the Board of Trustees. To correspond with Dr. Tate by email, click here. February 1, 2021 KNOXVILLE, TN – ‘The Hill’ is located at the heart of Knoxville College, a historically black college/university (HBCU) in Knoxville, TN. It is thought to be…
By Dr. Franklin Tate Patricia Williams contributed KNOXVILLE, TN (September 2020) – Exactly 100 years ago, the first worldwide pandemic outbreak– detected two years earlier in 1918 — finally subsided. Tennesseans experienced their share of suffering and death. Knoxville College began educating freed slaves and freedmen as the Civil War ended, and by 1875, had grown into a college for Blacks; although some Whites always attended since its…
(December 2020) – This is the first year for Tennesseans to officially commemorate December 1st as Rosa Parks Day. Legislation sponsored by Tennessee Senator Raumesh Akbari and Representative Karen Camper was signed into law last year (2019). In Tennessee Rosa Parks Day will be celebrated on December 1st, the day she was arrested on a public…
Charlotta Spears Bass was born on February 14, 1874, in Sumpter, SC; graduated high school in Providence, RI. She was an educator, journalist, newspaper publisher-editor, and political activist. She is the first African-American woman to own and operate a newspaper in the United States, the California Eagle from 1912 until 1951. In 1952 she became…
Nineteen years after the attacks of 9/11, some American veterans of the war in Afghanistan wrestle with the idea that Pres. Trump’s pull-out of U.S. troops was born out of a deal struck, with the enemy, more than 2,400 of their brothers and sisters were sent home maimed, traumatized, and died fighting for. KABUL,…
The world is reeling from the loss of iconic actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday, August 28, after fighting a 4 year battle with colon cancer. Boseman died at home surrounded by his family. Worldwide (August 30, 2020) – A statement posted on his official Twitter account read: “It is with immeasurable grief…
First issued in 1976, the State of Black America® is one of the most highly-anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership around racial equality in America across economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation. Each annual edition contains penetrating commentary and insightful analysis from recognized authorities and leading figures in politics, the corporate…
One of the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, John Lewis continued to fight for people’s rights since joining Congress in 1987. NATIONWIDE (July 20, 2020) – Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) was often referred to as “one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced.” John…
Statement from Cup Foods owner Mahmoud Abumayyaleh affirms that George Floyd did not resist arrest and that they tried to stop police from murdering him. Brooklyn Park, MN (May 31, 2020) – “Cup Foods would like to extend its deepest condolences to George Floyd’s family, friends and the South Minneapolis community that we know and love….
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has charged Gregory McMichael, 64, a former police officer, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, with murder and aggravated assault in the Feb. 23, shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. The local Georgia Glynn County prosecutors initially refused to charge the pair, who was one of its own, until a video…
WASHINGTON, (May 7, 2020) – Before the arrest, of the McMichael clan, Vanita Gupta, president, and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights issued a statement on the shootings of Ahmaud Arbery and Sean Reed as follows: “On behalf of the Gupta“We are devastated and outraged by the horrific killings of Ahmaud…
OP-ED (The day – April 4, 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died in Memphis was Maya Angelou’s 40th birthday. That intersection was observed recently by social change advocate John Burl Smith, a former Memphis Invader, as he reflected on the 52nd commemoration of Dr. King’s assassination. He and fellow Memphis Invaders met with…
With the interruption and closures of non-essential businesses Beck Cultural Exchange Center offers this tribute to Knoxville’s Women’s History Month. KNOXVILLE, TN (March 31, 2020) – Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. National celebrations began in March 1981 as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 the month of…
OAK RIDGE, TN (March 2020) – The community encouraged to visit a special exhibit “Secret Growth” at the American Museum of Science and Energy. It tells the story of some of the contributions of African-Americans to the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project. African Americans were essential to the construction of the Secret City, although they were…
International Women’s History Month: Hidden History in Oak Ridge, TN By Rose Weaver Lila Smith, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission holds a B.S.Degree in Mathematics from Lemoyne College and an M.S. degree in Physics from Howard University. Her professional career includes Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Florida A&M University and LeMoyne-Owen College; Scientific…
By Patricia Williams Today March 10th is Harriet Tubman Day, a National holiday signed into law on March 9, 1990, by President George HW Bush. This is the date of her death. Born into slavery her birthdate is unknown. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland between the years of 1820-1822. She was named Araminta…
AMERICAN HISTORY THAT TIME JORDAN ANDERSON SENT HIS “LETTER FROM A FREEDMAN TO HIS OLD MASTER” By Karl Smallwood June 22, 2016 – During the 19th century, there were many freed slaves that went on to lead extremely noteworthy lives despite all the adversity they faced in their lifetime, such as the world-famous Frederick Douglass,…
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed America’s wealthiest black neighborhood. The city was never the same. American History – In 1921, Tulsa had the wealthiest black neighborhood in the country. On Sundays, women wore satin dresses and diamonds, while men wore silk shirts and gold chains. In Greenwood, writes historian James S. Hirsch, “Teachers lived in…
The Art of Delaney: Redeeming, Reconciling & Healing Monday, 6:30 pm, Feb 24. 2020, at The Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville. TICKET PRICE: $10 ADULT | $5 STUDENTS (K-12). Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster (fees apply) or Bijou Tickets can be purchased at the Tennessee Theatre box office located at 224 Clinch Avenue on the side of…
The 75th anniversary of World War II’s D-Day was recognized on June 6, 2019. Over 2,000 black soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy on that day. NATION-WIDE (June 2019) – One of them was SSgt. Waverly Bernard “Woody” Woodson, Jr., who left his studies at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania to enlist in the Army….
By Josh Flory Knoxville, TN (January 2020) – His musical talent brought Dexter Murphy to Knoxville and earned him acclaim, but Murphy’s second act — as an educator — was recognized during celebrations of the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Murphy, the principal of Maynard Elementary School, received the Education Award during an…
The contributions of black people to America’s history across various fields have, over the years, been largely forgotten and this is also evident in the spirits industry. The story of how Jack Daniel began his distillery through the help of an enslaved African-American, Nearest Green, recently came to light. Jack Daniel was apprenticed in…
Washington, DC (January 2020) — Popular American philanthropist and entrepreneur Jay Cameron has launched the Black History Before Slavery campaign initiative with the aim of shining the light on the vast history of the African diaspora before the Arab and European slave trades. The new campaign tour which will be spearheaded by Maximum Impact Success Academies and Maximum Impact…
The women’s suffrage movement had many heroines who bravely fought for the rights of women in the United States. As the nation celebrates the 170th anniversary of the first major convention for women’s rights at Seneca Falls and the 98th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote — how…