NASHVILLE – Chattanooga’s Bessie Smith Cultural Center will get a one-time $40,000 grant in the new Tennessee government budget that begins July 1, the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators announced Monday.
The money is among some $400,000 in grants for African- American museums and sites across Tennessee.
State Rep. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, chairwoman of the Black Caucus, thanked Gov. Bill Haslam for helping procure the funding.
The money “will go a long way toward maintaining and preserving the history of a deserving people,” she said in a news release. “The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is extremely proud to have helped these museums in their quest to inform the public.”
The Bessie Smith Cultural Center is both an African-American museum and event hall.