The Civil Rights Movement in Knoxville, Tennessee: An Understudied Local Movement | A Brown Bag Lecture with Michael Blum, Ph.D.

Knoxville’s civil rights movement is an important, yet often understudied, part of the city’s history. Michael, Blum, adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina Upstate, seeks to remedy this. His talk will provide historical background, explain how the civil rights movement in Knoxville unfolded, and analyze its place in American history. This program will be of interest to local history buffs, as well as students of the civil rights movement and African American history. Blum holds a masters in history from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in history from the University of Memphis, and was the recipient of the 2015 McClung Awards presented by the East Tennessee Historical Society for the best article in the Journal of East Tennessee History for that year.

The program is sponsored by the Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel & Crematory and is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824.