News

Knoxville, Tenn. - Aug. 18, 2020. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote nationally, the East Tennessee Historical Society announces the opening of a new feature exhibition in the Museum of East Tennessee History’s Streetscape entitled Marching to Victory: East Tennessee’s Role in Votes for Women. The exhibition, which will run from August 18, 2020 through November 2020, tells the story of Tennessee’s history in politics and civic engagement and showcases how Tennessee became the “Perfect 36th” state needed to secure national ratification of the 19thAmendment to the U.S. Constitution. This...

Retiring Executive Director Cherel Henderson (left) and Dr. A. Warren Dockter, ETHS's New President and CEO (right)

Executive Director Cherel Bolin Henderson has announced her plans to retire from the East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) effective December 31, 2020, reported ETHS Board Chairman Jerome Melson. Cherel, a Jefferson County native, joined the ETHS staff in 1987, was promoted to associate director in 1995, and became executive director in 2003. Over the past 17 years under Cherel's leadership, ETHS has continued to thrive and grow.

Cherel's many achievements are noteworthy. She is the...

PROGRAM: Knoxville's 1919 Race Riot: An Eyewitness Account

DATE: 12:00 p.m., Thursday, March 12, 2020

LOCATION: East Tennessee History Center601 South Gay Street Knoxville, TN 37902

ADMISSION: FREE

(Knoxville, TN) In a Brown Bag lecture at noon on Thursday, March 12, author Marilyn Mascaro will share and discuss the recorded testimony of her grandfather who was an eyewitness to the Race Riot of 1919 in Knoxville.

On August 30, 1919, a sense of foreboding hung over the city as word spread of an unruly mob forming with the intent...