Events in History
Pair of twins Helen and Ellen from Knoxville, TN started this charity to feed the hungry and underprivileged
Love Kitchen
American Media Executive , actress, talk show host, and philanthropist , who had the highest rated television program of it's kind in history. Dubbed "Queen of All Media" she was North America's first African American billionaire
Oprah Winfrey
Named Most Admired Woman in 2018, 2019, the 44th first lady of the United States
Michelle Obama
2017 Winner of the Voice from Knoxville, TN
Chris Blue
This movement, was a decades long struggle from 1954-1968 by African Americans to end legalized racial discrimination in the United States
Civil Rights Movement
Author of "Roots" and "The Autobiography of Malcolm X, " this gentleman lived on a farm outside Knoxville TN during the later years of his life
Alex Haley
Prominent neurosurgeon, now Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he was selected by the Library of Congress in 2000 as one of it's "Living Legends"
Ben Carson
First African American Secretary of State , serving under President George Bush from 2001-2005
Colin Powell
American Professional Boxer and activist nicknamed "The Greatest", he is widely regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century
Muhammad Ali
This proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1st , 1863, declared that all persons held as slaves are free.
Emancipation Proclamation
Knoxville Civil Rights Attorney who was prominent in the Supreme Court decision to end legal racial segregation in Public Schools
Carl Cowan
Prominent African American Scientist in early 1900s who developed hundreds of products using peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans.
George Washington Carver
American Poet , writer, singer, and civil rights activist who mentored Oprah Winfrey
Mya Angelou
First African American to play in Major League Baseball in 1947
Jackie Robinson
Founded in 1909, this organization was developed to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race based discrimination
NAACP-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
First African American to serve as mayor of city of Knoxville
Daniel Brown
First African American millionaire in Knoxville, born a slave, built his business on saloons, real estate, and racetrack
Cal Johnson
American Abolitionist who completed 13 missions to rescue slaves through the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman
Name the American drama film that documented the true life story of African American female mathematicians who calculated flight trajectories for NASA
Hidden Figures
Civil Rights Activist who refused to surrender her seat on a bus in Montgomery AL in 1955. Often referred to as the "First Lady of Civil Rights"
Rosa Parks
Name this museum in Knoxville established to preserve African American History and Culture
Beck Cultural Exchange Center
First African American woman to earn a doctorate degree from MIT, she led research to develop caller ID and call waiting while working at ATT in 1970's
Shirley Ann Jackson
American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr.
World Famous Tennis player who holds 39 Grand Slam Titles and 23 major Singles Titles , the most by any man or woman in the Open Era
Serena Williams