In Southern Black communities, stories aren't simply passed down from one generation to the next, they serve as maps with markers for the future. That truth was evident in The Bottom, a neighborhood in East Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite its demolition in the 1950s due to urban renewal and systemic racism, its legacy lived on.
Curated by Good Black Art and grounded in the research of Dr. Enkeshi El-Amin, a local sociologist specializing in race, place, and Black communities, The Bottom: Stories from the Neighborhood delved into life in the neighborhood beyond its destruction. While the exhibition centered Knoxville's narrative, it resonated with Black, Brown, Indigenous, and underprivileged communities across different times and places, presenting both familiar and imaginative interpretations through a dialogue of folklore and futurism, drawn from oral histories of former residents and archival sources.
The exhibition also featured work by Knoxville natives and renowned artists Beauford and Joseph Delaney, as well as former Bottom resident Ruth Cobb. The Bottom: Stories from the Neighborhood was on view for the summer of 2024 at the University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery.
