Knoxville’s Urban Renewal Projects left more than 2,500 families, mostly African American, displaced. Often referred to as Urban Removal or Negro Removal, the Renewal Projects took place between 1959 and 1974 and affected businesses, churches and communities, including recently deceased poet Nikki Giovanni and her family who lost their home during Urban Renewal.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, The Beck Cultural Exchange Center seeks to tell these stories, the history and legacies of Black Knoxvillians, many of whom thrived before the Urban Renewal Projects. Its mission is “to be the place where Black history and culture are preserved, nurtured, taught, & continued.”
Beck Center was established in 1975 and named in honor of James G. and Ethel B. Beck. The center was once the Beck family mansion, built in 1912 after the couple had amassed a fortune through real estate and car sales. James became the first Black postal clerk in Tennessee, and “Ethel served as President of the Tennessee Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, and [she] was Grand Matron of the Tennessee Order of the Eastern Star.” The couple established the colored home for orphans in 1919 with funds from their estate to found the center. On opening day, more than 500 visitors attended.
The nonprofit is “designated by the state as a primary repository of Black history and culture in East Tennessee.” The museum features old newspapers, books, old yearbooks and photos. Beck President Reverand René Kesler says it “Tells the story of Blacks in Knoxville who changed the landscape of the city that people won’t find with an internet search.”
One example is the story of Cal Johnson, Knoxville’s first Black millionaire who was once a slave. He built the horse racetrack, Speedway Circle, which the Wright Brothers would later land the first plane in Knoxville on. The center also features the William Hastie Room. William Hastie was a Knoxville native who became the first African American governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the first African American federal judge in the United States.
Beck Center’s vision is “to be the desired place that people go to learn, discover and experience the rich legacy of African Americans inside a vibrant Cultural Corridor, the Beck Cultural Corridor.” The center features local artists and original artwork. One of the permanent exhibits is “Tree of Life’s Harmonies Triptych” by Alan Jones, a mural project with photos of local families. An archive studio with “50,000 objects documenting over 200 years of local African American history and culture” can also be observed.
Some other rooms at the estate are the Heritage Room, Civil Rights Corner, Pioneer Staircase, a gallery for special events and more. The Beck Center has a gift shop, which also showcases theater chairs and an original reel from the Gem Theater, a theater for Black people that was demolished due to Urban Renewal. The events this past month included a viewing of The Indelible Appalachians (in part with UTK), a hip-hop forum and the Sankofa Legacy Honors, a celebration for those who have “either left a legacy or are currently living one.”
Currently, The Beck Cultural Exchange Center has a new addition as the nonprofit is working to restore Beauford Delaney’s ancestral home. Delaney was a modernist painter of the 1930s and 40s, most known for his work with the Harlem Renaissance and his later works in abstract expressionism. He was one of ten children in a prominent Black family in Knoxville. More information on membership and current events can be found on its website, https://www.beckcenter.net, or by visiting the center at 1927 Dandridge Ave., Knoxville, TN, 37915, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm.
