Monuments and Men: How Black Tennesseans Leveraged The Tennessee Centennial Exposition to Organize The Negro Department, Raise the Negro Building, and Demonstrate their Enterprising Acumen
Dr. Crystal A. deGregory
Join us for a free virtual talk on Thursday, June 16, at 6 PM Central. This Virtual Symposium is open to the public.
Register on Zoom here.
Inspired by the new temporary exhibition Looking Back - 125 Years After the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, Dr. Crystal A. deGregory will speak on the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and the work of 19th century African Americans in Tennessee.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM:
Nestled in Centennial Park on the eastern bank of Lake Watauga, the Tennessee Centennial Exposition's Negro Building once stood as a mark of Black achievement and as a weapon of white New South propaganda. In her talk, Dr. deGregory will chronicle the raising of the picturesque building—and the organization of The Negro Department that powered it. She contends that the event's white planners hoped to leverage the exposition to reassert white southern sovereignty over the region's race matters. But Black Nashvillians, she argues, had different ideas. They were determined, despite white opposition, to display their enterprising acumen. This talk is the story of the Black men and women behind the Negro Building as a monumental achievement.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Crystal A. deGregory, Ph.D.
A historian and storyteller whose research interests include black higher education and college student activism, DR. CRYSTAL A. deGREGORY is a research fellow at Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Historic Preservation in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She is the founder and editor of two digital storytelling projects, HBCUstory and Dorian and Beyond, the story of Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas.
Among deGregory’s most recent publishing is the op-ed “How the Black Colleges Beyoncé Honors in Homecoming Have Played a Vital Role in American History” for TIME, and a film review of Stanley Nelson’s Tell Them We Are Rising in the American Historical Review. A gifted orator and sought-after commentator, Dr. deGregory offers a wide range of expertise on multiple topics including race, women and girls, history, culture, education, and of course, HBCUs. Known for her collaborative advocacy and entrepreneurial leadership, Dr. deGregory’s words have appeared in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today, The Tennessean, Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, and the Los Angeles Times, and she has presented to audiences at TEDx, SXSWedu, the Southern Festival of Books, the Nashville Public Library, Nashville Public Television, The New School, Harvard, Howard, Tennessee State, and Vanderbilt universities.
A proud native of The Bahamas and a Phi Beta Kappa alumna of the historic Fisk University, she also earned Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in history from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Education from Tennessee State University. Among her myriad professional and civic affiliations is membership with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS:
Centennial Park Conservancy
Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation
NEXT SYMPOSIA:
July — The Odyssey & Ancient Identity— details coming soon
August 23 at 6 PM: 20 Years of Gold on Athena — in person! RSVP coming soon
September 19 at 6 PM: Pandora & Polychromy on the Base of Athena