African American Heritage Alliance Presents Conference and Celebration, November 4 & 5,

Date: 10/26/2011

The African American Heritage Alliance (AAHA!) presents a unique two-day conference and celebration, Friday and Saturday, November 4th and 5th. The event’s theme, “An Untold Story: Celebrating African American Heritage in East Tennessee,” highlights the amazing contributions and often unknown stories of East Tennessee’s African American ancestors. Thanks to the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission, Humanities Tennessee, We Shall Overcome Fund, East Tennessee Historical Society, and the Community Economic Development Network (CEDnet), the event is FREE and open to the general public.

The AAHA! Conference and Celebration features many noted guest speakers and performers; all activities are at the East Tennessee History Center (ETHC), located at 601 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. For a complete conference schedule, visit http://aahaonline.net. To register for the FREE conference, contact Ethiel Garlington at Knox Heritage at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 865-523-8008.

Internationally known but locally driven, Carpetbag Theater performs excerpts from their original musical play, “Between a Ballad and the Blues” which is based on the life and work of African-American-Appalachian renaissance man, Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong. The play chronicles Armstrong and his musical partners, Carl Martin and Ted Bogan, who together formed one of the most famous string-band groups in the history of American music. The performance is on Friday, November 4th at 7 p.m. in the ETHC auditorium, and all First Friday attendees are welcome.

The weekend offers many opportunities to learn about and be inspired by our region’s African American history. Dr. Robert Booker leads a session covering the legacies of higher education of African Americans in Historically Black Colleges. Dr. Beth Vanlandingham and Stella Gudger speak about the significance of other educational institutions. Both presentations will feature moving oral histories and photographs.

Dr. William Turner, distinguished Professor of Appalachian Studies at Berea College and Regional Ambassador of Berea College, speaks about the unique story of the African American experience in “Appalachia.” Dr. Turner is a descendant of coal miners and shares rich stories of his ancestors and their communities.

Local art enthusiast Allan Jones speaks about African American artists in East Tennessee, and Mr. Jones’s own work will be exhibited during weekend. A panel discussion about African American brick masons in East Tennessee is led by Alverrene Bridgeforth. Awards will be presented to high school students for the Brick Road Youth Photography contest. Dr. George White from the City University of New York leads a session on celebrating emancipation and speaks about “August the 8th, an emancipation date celebrated locally, and other regional emancipation celebrations.

AAHA! works throughout East Tennessee promoting heritage and education by supporting outreach programs that collect oral histories, document historic cemeteries, preserve buildings, and celebrate the contributions and legacy of African Americans. AAHA! is a task force of CEDnet and meets regularly at the Bonner Center at Carson Newman in Jefferson City.

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