Legacy of Black activist Elandria Williams honored with reading room at The Bottom

The Bottom, Knoxville’s Black-affirming community center, bookshop and multiuse center, recently added another use to its offerings when staff, family and friends gathered for the opening celebration of the Elandria Williams Reading and Research Room.

The room is inspired and guided by the work of Williams, who died in 2020 at the age of 41. Affectionately known as “E” or “Ms. E,” she was an organizer, activist and leader whose work focused on African American and LGBTQ+ history, art and culture in the Appalachian region.

A longtime member of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, Williams was a formidable UU leader for decades, beginning with Young Religious Unitarian Universalists and eventually with the Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network. In 2007, she was the recipient of the UU's Outstanding Antiracist Activist & Leadership Award. She was also a founding member of the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective in 2015 and served as co-moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 2018-2020.

Williams worked for 11 years on the education team at the Highlander Research and Education Center. She is fondly remembered for her energy, love, compassion and dedication to her work.

At the opening celebration, a crowd gathered downstairs in the spacious front room to hear Knoxville’s former poet laureate, Rhea Carmon, read selections from Black authors, including her own poetry. Carmon is an award-winning wordsmith and nationally acclaimed motivational poet also known as “RheaSunshine.” She included a selection from Nikki Giovanni, the world-famous American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator who was born in Knoxville. “Nikki Giovanni is the reason I write poetry,” Carmon said.

The Bottom’s executive director Kalil White took the group upstairs to view the newly opened room, which is airy and bright with a street view onto Magnolia Avenue. She said, “it’s a labor of love for our team. We wanted to really capture Elandria’s legacy in this space with the collection we have here.”

It includes access to a collection of literature that documents the Black experience in Knoxville and the surrounding Appalachian areas, and also showcases literature surrounding religion, cultural arts, gender identity, and socioeconomics.

The sign over the entrance was designed and made by Ty Murray, The Bottom’s director of art and communications. Colorful original art adorns one wall, and a photograph of Williams is prominent in the room.

“The art reflects what Elandria worked hard for,” said White. There are also printers and computers offered for public use.

White hopes that Knoxvillians will feel welcome to use the space for their own research. “We’re letting the Knoxville community know that this space is available to them to learn more about the other communities for which Elandria worked to uplift their stories. To really redefine the way we look at research outside of the academic spaces in our community is the main purpose of this room.”

Visit thebottomknox.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville Black activist Elandria Williams memorialized at The Bottom