I’m still slowly making my way through all of the hidden gems Knoxville has to offer. Since it is Black History Month, I thought it appropriate that my most recent wandering took me to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, where my husband and I were treated to a tour of the Beck House from Kwambe Bullard. After the tour of the Beck Museum, we visited the Exhibit Hall, where Professor Griff of Public Enemy showcased his collection of artifacts that dated back to the transatlantic slave trade up through today’s hip-hop and R&B artists.
The museum is named after Ethel Benson Beck, President of the Knoxville Colored Orphanage that she and her husband, James, established in 1919. Ethel and James made wise financial investments in their lifetime. After their deaths in 1970 and 1969, respectively, $20,000 in funds from their estate and $2,500 from City of Knoxville Mayor Kyle Testerman helped to purchase the Beck home in 1975 to begin the Beck Cultural Exchange Museum.
The tour (self-guided or tour-guided) begins in the Margaret Carson Library, added in 2005 to the original mansion that dates back to 1912. Margaret Carson was an archivist and historian responsible for bringing in many books and records you can now view in the library. Yearbooks from Austin High School and Knoxville College are available with artwork, books and items important to Knoxville’s Black history. The library now also features a section honoring Nikki Giovanni, a well-known poet and American writer born in Knoxville who has been on the faculty of Virginia Tech University since 1987.
In 2007, the museum added The Gallery. The Gallery is an excellent venue for intimate banquets, receptions, retreats and gatherings. The Gallery has rotating exhibits along with featured artwork by local artists and is around 2,000 sq ft. In 2010, the Exhibit Hall and Archive Studio were added to the footprint. The Archive Studio holds over 50,000 items in its expansive space.
From the website: “With over 5,000 square feet of open space, the Exhibit Hall is a great venue for banquets, receptions, retreats and gatherings. Along with feature exhibits, two permanent exhibits are in the Hall. The “Beck Cultural Exchange Center Pioneer’s Timeline,” features historical narratives on pioneers from East Tennessee beginning with Richard Payne, affectionately known as “Uncle Dick.” Payne was the first Black businessman who sold drinking water on city streets beginning in 1845. The “African American Pioneer’s Timeline” features African American greats beginning in Africa and stretches throughout history. The Timeline is an original rendering by local artist Alan Jones who was commissioned to design it for the brick frieze at the University of Tennessee Black Cultural Center, renamed the Frieson Black Cultural Center.”
As Kwambe guided us through the museum, I was amazed by the remarkable artifacts they have collected over the years. The Heritage Room serves as a poignant reflection on the struggles endured by a determined people. It is staged with relics and original artifacts from Africa, the Middle Passage, slavery, the Civil War, and the Jim Crow era. One that drew my attention was a priceless silver-handled cane given to former slave William Andrew Johnson, from President Roosevelt in 1937 upon his visit to the White House. Johnson had been a slave owned by President Andrew Johnson.
There is a room dedicated to William H. Hastie. Hastie was a Knoxville native, the first African American Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the first African American Federal Judge in the United States. There are items from his personal library, a desk that belonged to him, and other items of significance.
The next chapter for the museum is restoring, renovating and turning the Delaney House that sits right next door into a museum they will call the Delaney Museum at Beck. This was the last Knoxville home of the Delaney family, most notably Knoxville-born artist Beauford Delaney. He is among the greatest abstract painters of the 20th century. You can view his work worldwide, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The goal they are striving for is $3.5 million. They have raised $1.2 million and hope to complete the project by May 2025. Executive Director and President of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Rev. Renee Kessler, told Knox News in a recent article highlighting the project that she will not stop until it is completed. The museum will have an artist-in-resident space and rotating art exhibits, and there are plans for a room that will be a replica of Delaney’s Paris apartment where he spent his final years. You can see renderings of the plans and take a virtual tour HERE. They depend on the generosity of donors, no matter how big or small the gift. If you feel inclined, you can donate HERE.
I learned so much on our tour and gained a new appreciation for the history of Knoxville’s black community and the impact of urban renewal all those years ago. The Beck Mansion is much more than a gallery of artifacts. It is a living, evolving entity. It provides a place for reflecting on the past, learning and evolving from historical lessons while also offering recognition and celebration of achievements and contributions while igniting dreams for the future.
