RISE Chattanooga
Investing in Culture
Critically located at the beginning and end of a cultural revolution is the act of artistic preservation. An unmet need in preserving local and regional arts inspired Jazzanooga to become a source of cultural understanding within the greater Chattanooga area that successfully revitalizes and sustains arts initiatives, both old and new.
BIG NINE/MLK WALKING TOUR
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The MLK community reflects over 100 years of African American history and commerce in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Since 1994, the community has been listed on the National Register as an area of great historical significance.
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Once known as the “Big Nine,” MLK Boulevard (formerly Ninth Street) is the only remaining cohesive area historically associated with Chattanooga African Americans.
The walking tour of the MLK Neighborhood features the cultural and music history, historic buildings and public art that makes the neighborhood pop!
The tour will last about 1 to 1 1/2 hours and will include breaks to talk about points of interest.
THE GRIOT PROJECT
The Griot Project is an ongoing oral history project of Jazzanooga that seeks to explore the Downtown MLK District that is, and the MLK District that was, from the words of the community that lived and frequent the district.
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The project aims is to actively collect a broad range of stories from our diverse community members so that future
generations may better understand and appreciate
the history of this great district.
Beginning in 2014, Jazzanooga created the MLK Banner Project, which installed biographical banners that highlighted African American artists and performers original to Chattanooga and critical to the cultural movement along the boulevard.
BIG NINE LEGACY BANNER PROJECT
