“Gateway to Freedom,” ending Saturday, April 30, at the Chattanooga African American Museum inside Bessie Smith Cultural Center, focuses on African-American involvement in the Civil War, including U.S. Colored Troops stationed in Chattanooga. Visitors will learn that East Tennessee’s efforts toward abolition of slavery were some of the earliest in the nation. This region produced the first abolitionist newspaper and saw the formation of underground networks to help slaves escape to freedom.Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will present its final program in a series coinciding with the run of “Gateway to Freedom” at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Saturday, April 30.
“Your Old Father Abe Lincoln Is Dead and Damned: The Memphis Riots of 1866” explores how tensions were still brewing across the war-torn landscape of the former Confederacy even a year after President Lincoln was assassinated and the last Rebel forces had surrendered.
On May 1, 1866, in Tennessee, emotions boiled over into three days of turmoil known as the Memphis Riots or the Memphis Massacres, an episode that is now largely forgotten. Though on paper the formerly enslaved were free, the struggle to maintain that freedom would continue long after the guns of war fell silent.
The 45-minute program starts at 11 a.m. at Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E. M.L. King Blvd. Admission is free.
“Gateway to Freedom” ends Saturday at the Chattanooga African American Museum inside the BSCC. The exhibit focuses on African-American involvement in the Civil War, including U.S. Colored Troops stationed in Chattanooga and their lasting legacy.