Upcoming walking tours offer local African American culture, history and more

The Department of History and the Africana Studies Program partner with RISE Chattanooga and the People’s History of Chattanooga Project to offer five walking tours this fall at no cost to members of the UTC community.

Three RISE tours will take place on Saturday mornings highlighting the rich history and culture of the MLK neighborhood and community, with the opportunity to join virtually.

Two People’s History tours will be offered during the week and focus on white supremacy and anti-racist resistance in Chattanooga.

Have questions about the upcoming tours? Direct them to Michael-D-Thompson@utc.edu.

RISE MLK Walking Tours

The MLK community reflects over 100 years of African American history and commerce in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since 1994, the community has been listed on the National Register as an area of great historical significance.

Once known as the “Big Nine,” MLK Boulevard (formerly Ninth Street) is the only remaining cohesive area historically associated with Chattanooga African Americans.

Join us for a walking tour of the MLK Neighborhood featuring the cultural and music history, historic buildings and public art that makes the neighborhood pop! The tour will last about one to one-and-a-half hours and will include breaks to talk about points of interest.

People’s History of Chattanooga Walking Tours

The People’s History of Chattanooga tour focuses on white supremacy and anti-racist resistance in Chattanooga. This 1-and-a-half to two-hour tour covers topics including:

• Antebellum Chattanooga and slavery
• Civil War and abolition
• Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow
• White supremacist reaction
• The bus boycott of 1905
• The local civil rights movement
• 1971 race riots
• KKK shooting on Ninth Street