Streets & Feets tour shares the stories of Knoxville's original Bottom neighborhood
Retrace the steps and listen to the stories of those of who lived in Knoxville's original Bottom neighborhood centered near the Old City and the extending blocks eastward.
The Bottom community center will present Streets & Feets from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The living exhibit will take participants on a free tour of the original historic Bottom neighborhood via KAT trolley and will be anchored by the stories of elders who lived there decades ago.
A reception will take place after the tour in The Bottom’s backyard at 2340 E Magnolia Ave.
“I can't replace the Bottom (neighborhood). I can't give them back their neighborhood,” Enkeshi El-Amin, the founder of The Bottom community center told Knox News.
“But my goal is to stir up the memory Of the Bottom so that maybe other young people can hear these stories (and) will be moved to action.”
The Streets and Feets exhibit is the result of research El-Amin began when she moved to Knoxville in 2015 to complete her doctorate degree and developed by former residents of the original majority Black neighborhood that was demolished in the 1950s by institutional racism-based urban removal, causing many to be displaced.
The exhibit will also serve as El-Amin’s farewell project. She has accepted assistant professor of sociology position at West Virginia University.
“I have come to not only know Knoxville, but I feel I have been claimed by Knoxville,” El-Amin said in a statement.
“I founded The Bottom, our community space, because I needed it but also because I wanted to give Knoxville, and specifically the Black community in Knoxville what I felt my elders here gave to me in meeting spaces such as Rescue and Restoration and City Council Movement: a safe space. A liberatory space. An action-oriented space. A Black space.”
El-Amin has already left Knoxville, but she will continue to be involved with The Bottom as it continues community work with a new team lead by new executive director Kalil White. Several projects are in the works such as a literary magazine, art exhibits, programs for the youth, and more community outreach.
You can RSVP for the Streets & Feets exhibit and find details at thebottomknox.com/events.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: The Bottom honors original Knoxville neighborhood residents
