Building A Black Appalachian Metropolis: Black Women’s Activism And Labor In Knoxville, Tennessee

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the multifaceted roles of Black women in East Tennessee during and immediately after the First World War, spotlighting their profound impact on both local and regional politics and social structures. Positioned uniquely at the intersection of racial uplift and self-determination ideologies in the Black Belt South, these women leveraged a combination of labor and activism to reshape Black political and social thought. Through an intensive examination of archival, biographical, and historical sources, the study reveals how notable figures such as Mrs. Cora Burke, Lillian Cansler, and other race leaders navigated the complexities of the New South’s Jim Crow landscape. Their efforts not only bridged the gap between local challenges and global aspirations but also propelled them into leadership roles in movements such as women’s suffrage and the New Negro Movement. This essay underscores the essential yet often overlooked contributions of Black women from a myriad of different class backgrounds in East Tennessee, presenting them not only as participants in established movements but as architects of new frameworks of resistance and empowerment within the early twentieth-century American South.