KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Beck Cultural Exchange Center has worked to share the history of Knoxville through a cultural corridor for years. After a $42.6 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the City of Knoxville, this dream is becoming a reality.
The grant, "Reconnecting Knoxville," aims to better connect East Knoxville with other parts of the city. It also aims to right the wrongs of Urban Renewal policies and projects, which has come to be known now as "Urban Removal." The policies led to city leaders seizing and demolishing swaths of Black-owned homes, businesses and infrastructure. It was touted as an effort to eliminate urban blight and substandard housing.
One of the ways the grant plans to address the wrong of Urban Renewal is by using part of the funding on a cultural corridor greenway.
"Pretty much a lot of connectivity out of East Knoxville into different areas of downtown, opportunities for people to be able to get to jobs and other, just, equity to access. To be really honest with you, the cultural corridor piece of it is that added layer, that's going to be about the history of it all," said Gwen McKenzie, the Knoxville District 6 City councilwoman.
If you take a look at some of the potential launch sites of the corridor, they're in the area of town that's known as "The Bottom." But now, after the effects of Urban Renewal, the sites are the home of the new downtown stadium.
"When people come to this community, when people come to a ballgame, when people come to a concert, when people are just walking around, to know and to remember the rich history — that's a part of that community," said Reverend Renee Kesler, the president of the Beck Center. "And I want to honor those who came before us."
Kessler also said the Beck Center was formed because of Urban Renewal policies.
"In fact, when Urban Renewal ended, the people decided, 'We need a place, a place to store all of this rich history, all of our memorabilia, so that everyone will know that this did happen in Knoxville.' Absent of Beck, we don't even know Urban Renewal existed. Our artifacts speak to that," said Rev. Kesler.
McKenzie said that the cultural corridor will tell the story of Knoxville's history in a variety of different forms, such as statues or markers.
" I'd love to see where people can walk with their phones, and be able to scan a QR code at a certain site and be able to read about what happened and what used to be at that particular site," said Councilwoman McKenzie.
She also said the Beck Center has creative control over what the corridor will look like. Kesler said the main goals are to remember the history of Urban Renewal and to honor those who lived through it.
"We want to honor the legacy in the memory of their families who were disenfranchised," said Kesler. "And I just want to say I'm sorry, for many of us who have had family members that had this experience and who have done that. And I want to give you my word, that we're going to do the very best we can to make a difference so that we never repeat what we did before."