KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Black history in Knoxville is woven into buildings, streets, and neighborhoods. It is not limited to museums or textbooks.
At the Bijou Theatre, built in 1909, segregation shaped who could attend and where they could sit. Black patrons were once restricted to a small section of the balcony. Over time, the theater became more accessible to the Black community. It hosted Charleston contests and welcomed Austin High School for commencement ceremonies.
When the all-Black Broadway musical “Shuffle Along” came to Knoxville in the 1920s, the theater opened more seats than usual to Black audiences.
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Chilhowee Park was considered a white park, but the Jacob Building became a hub for Black music performances. Legends like Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Ike and Tina Turner, and Little Richard played to Black audiences there. In a reversal of typical segregation-era seating, white attendees sat in the balcony…