The Bessie Smith Cultural Center may take the lead role in the Bessie Smith Strut.THE STORY SO FAR• On March 29, Littlefield said concerns of crowd safety and potential violence prompted him to tell Friends of the Festival that the Bessie Smith Strut would have to move from M.L. King Boulevard to Riverbend’s site at Ross’s Landing on the Tennessee River.• On Monday, Friends of the Festival board of directors voted not to hold the Strut, or any other type of event, on June 11 at the Riverbend site.• On Tuesday, the mayor issued a memo detailing requirements to be met if the Strut were to be held on M.L. King Boulevard.REQUIREMENTSThe following criteria must be met for the Bessie Smith Strut to take place on M.L. King Boulevard on June 11, according to a letter from Mayor Ron Littlefield to Moses Freeman and Walter Williams of the MLK Merchants Association:• A qualified organization must take responsibility.• The site must be completely fenced or otherwise addressed to control access.• The locations of vendors must be controlled and all those selling food, drink or other items must be properly licensed.Source: City of ChattanoogaBESSIE SMITH’S BIRTHDAYThe Bessie Smith Cultural Center will host a birthday party in honor of Bessie Smith, known as the Empress of the Blues, at 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10.The party will feature a performance by blues artist DieDra Ruff and the Ruff Pro band.Bessie Smith, who grew up in Chattanooga, was born April 15, 1894. She died Sept. 26, 1937.For more information, go to www.bessiesmithcc.org
Time to Strut.
At least in the eyes of Moses Freeman, the self-described point man in the middle of trying to keep the Bessie Smith Strut on M.L. King Boulevard. He said Friday he is “close to 100 percent certain” the Strut will be held this year on June 11.
Representatives from Friends of the Festival, which manages the Strut and Riverbend; the Bessie Smith Cultural Center; and the MLK Merchants Association have agreed to find a way to meet the requirements Mayor Ron Littlefield said are necessary to keep the Strut on M.L. King Boulevard, where it has been since 1982, Freeman said.
“We are making a lot of progress. I honestly believe that by Tuesday, we will put all of the pieces together,” said Freeman, a past president of the Friends of the Festival board of directors, a resident of the MLK neighborhood and a member of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.