Jefferson Street Sound Museum urges visitors to learn about Nashville's music heritage
Jefferson Street was once known as the "Black Wall Street" of Nashville.
The historically African American corridor in North Nashville was filled with businesses and clubs with some of the most famous performers of the 20th century including Nat King Cole, Tina and Ike Turner, and Jimi Hendrix coming to Music City on the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit."
As the South was moving on from Jim Crow laws mandating legalized racial segregation, a new challenge emerged for the community. In the 1960s, Interstate 40 was being built and it rammed right through the neighborhoods, essentially causing the decimation of this historic area.
One person who has worked to preserve the area's history and heritage is Lorenzo Washington, founder and curator of the Jefferson Street Sound Museum. He turned his house into a center for reflecting upon and understanding what happened and why the history matters more than ever amid the present challenge of rising home prices and displacement.
On Episode 389 of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Washington and museum Vice President Karen Coffee spoke about their mission and their programming in February for Black History Month 2024, which includes exhibits by local artists.
Things to do: How to celebrate Black History Month in Nashville: Our picks for the culture
The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and by appointment on Tuesdays through Thursdays. The address is 2004 Jefferson Street, Nashville, TN 37208.
Washington is urging more people to visit and encourages tour buses to take visitors so they can learn about the history and expand the programming.
The museum was featured in the documentary "Exit 207," which focused on the history of Jefferson Street.
The Tennessee Voices video podcast launched in March 2020 to engage thinkers, leaders and doers across the state of Volunteers State in conversation about the issues of the day. The discussions promote, encourage and model civil discourse in alignment with The Tennessean's Civility Tennessee initiative.
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters.. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at [email protected] or tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Learn about Jefferson Street's musical heritage
