Nashville, Tennessee - Paperback

by Tommie Morton-Young (Author)

From Nashville's earliest days as a pioneer town in Middle Tennessee, it would be nothing without its African American community.

Like many cities of the Antebellum South, Nashville was built by enslaved people, as African Americans built the first successful water system, maintained the streets, cultivated crops, and bred livestock. For years, Nashville was considered one of the wealthiest Southern cities, but after the Civil War, it struggled to regain that status while its newly freed Black citizens struggled to survive the South's Reconstruction and subsequent Jim Crow laws. As the Civil Rights era brought long-needed reforms, the Black community of Nashville has persevered through their determination, spiritual strength, and the unique leadership fostered by the visionary city they call home.

Author Biography

In Nashville, Tennessee, author, professor, and historian Tommie Morton-Young has compiled a historical celebration that touches upon the different elements of everyday life in the city's African-American community. Whether a native or a newcomer to country music's capital city, readers will find this unique volume a wonderful visual history of Nashville's black experience.