African Americans in Nashville

The history of Nashville's largest ethnic community began in 1748 when blacks accompanied white explorers into the Middle Tennessee area and several black families were among the Donelson party that arrived by flatboat in 1780. Fifteen to twenty percent of the earliest black settlers were free persons and, until 1835, they could vote in all elections.

The center of Nashville's free black population was just north of Charlotte in the shadows of Capitol Hill. During the Civil War and Federal occupation of Nashville, the promise of freedom attracted over 8,000 new blacks into town. Thousands of black men joined the Union Army and served in combat. Some two thousand blacks also helped build Fort Negley, Nashville's largest Union Army fortification.

Following the war, Nashville became the center of Tennessee's civil rights movement. Citizenship for former slaves and the right to vote was granted to black men in 1867. The first black man was elected to the Nashville city council in 1868, and the first was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly shortly thereafter.

During Reconstruction Nashville's African-American community grew dramatically, and Nashville developed a reputation as the black Athens of the South because of the number of educational institutions established for African Americans here--including Roger Williams University in 1864, Fisk University in 1867, Meharry Medical College which began as a department of Walden University in 1876, and Tennessee State University, which began as Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School in 1912.

Before 1920, the principal black business district was located along Charlotte Avenue between Fourth and Tenth Avenues North. By the end of World War II, this commercial center shifted to Jefferson Street near the prosperous suburbs of Fisk University and Meharry Medical College.

From the beginning of Nashville's history, African Americans have contributed to the institutions and traditions for which the city is justly recognized--education, business, religion, politics, and music.

National Register Sites associated with African Americans in Nashville include:

American Baptist College. American Baptist College is descended from Roger Williams University, one of the four colleges founded in Nashville for freed slaves. 1800 Baptist World Center Drive. Tours by appointment, no admission fee (262-1369)

Cameron-Trimble Neighborhood. Developed in the 1860s, this is the oldest surviving African-American neighborhood in Nashville. Bounded roughly by 4th Ave. South, Lafayette Street, and the railroad tracks near Brown's Creek

Fisk University. Fisk University began in 1866 as a free school for Nashville African Americans. It claims the first permanent building for the higher education of African Americans in the country. The site includes the Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery (originally the first gymnasium built at any predominantly black college in the U.S., 1889), Jubliee Hall (the first permanent structure on the campus, 1876), Memorial Chapel (1892), and the Administration Building (1902). 1000 17th Ave. North. Open to the public, 9-5. Historic marker.

Greenwood Cemetery. This cemetery was opened in 1888 by Preston Taylor, who founded Greenwood Park (Nashville's first park for blacks), Citizen's Bank (Tennessee's first black owned bank), and the Lea Avenue Christian Church. Many outstanding Nashvillians are buried here. 1428 Elm Hill Pike. Open dawn to dusk.

Hadley Park. Established in 1912, this is the first public park for African-American citizens in the United States.28th Ave. North and Centennial Blvd.

Hubbard House. What remains of the original Meharry Medical campus is this 1920 Colonial Revival home, designed by Moses McKissack III. George Hubbard was dean of the school. 1109 1st Ave. South. Not open to the public.

Meharry Medical College. This college began in 1876 as the first medical school for African Americans in the US. 1005 D.B. Todd Blvd. Tours by appointment, no admission fee (327-6273). Historic marker.

Morris Memorial Building. Built by the National Baptist Convention in 1924, this structure is an example of the design work of McKissack and McKissack, the first architectural firm in the U.S. organized and staffed by African-American architects and draftsmen. Deaderick St. and 4th Ave. North.

Mt. Ararat Cemetery. Established in 1869, this was the first cemetery for African Americans in Nashville. It is now part of Greenwood Cemetery. 800 Elm Hill Pike. Open dawn to dusk.

Tennessee State University. TSU was established by the state legislature in 1912 as an education college for Tennessee's African Americans. The oldest structures on the campus are Harned Hall (1927) and the Women's Building (1931). 3500 John Merritt Blvd. Historic marker.

Historic Markers

Black Churches of Capitol Hill. Six black churches stood in the center of Nashville's prosperous black business district before the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Program - First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill (1848); Gay Street Christian Church (1859); Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1887); St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1898); St. John A.M.E. Church (1863); and Spruce St. Baptist Church (1848). James Robertson Pkwy. and Charlotte Pike.

William Edmondson Home Site. Son of former slave parents, Edmondson worked as a railroad and hospital laborer until 1931, when he began his primitive limestone carvings.1450 14th Ave. South.

Greenwood Park. The first park to serve Nashville's black community, it was developed in 1905 by Preston Taylor. It remained open until 1949.Elm Hill Pike and Spence Lane.

The Harris Music Building. A  c.1876 Italianate home, built by the first black trustee of Fisk University. It became the Fisk University Music Annex in 1927. Phillips St. and 17th Ave. North. 

James Weldon Johnson House. A 1931 Dutch Colonial house built for Mr. Johnson, U.S. Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua, editor of the New York Age and field secretary of the NAACP. His poem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson and is renowned as the Negro National Anthem. 911 D.B. Todd Blvd.

Nashville Blacks in the Civil War. Ft. Negley Blvd. near the Cumberland Museum.

Nashville Sit-Ins. 8th Ave. North and Charlotte Pike.

Pearl High School. Established in 1883 as a grammar school for Negroes on old South Summer Street, the school moved to 16th Ave. North in 1917. Considered one of the leading black academic high schools in America, it moved to the current site in 1936 and was closed in 1983 as a result of court-imposed busing. In 1986 it became the Martin Luther King Magnet School. Jo Johnston and 17th Ave. North.

Roger Williams University. Originally the Nashville Institute, this was the largest of the Baptist schools for African Americans. It occupied the 28-acre campus, which is now the site of the Peabody College for Teachers. 21st Ave. South and Pierce Ave.