North Nashville, Tenn.’s famed Jefferson Street was once a booming hub for the city’s Black middle class. During the Jim Crow era, Jefferson Street was known for its thriving business and entertainment districts that were supported by key institutions, including four historically Black colleges and universities (Tennessee State University, Fisk University, Meharry College, and the American Baptist College). Like Tulsa, Okla.’s Black Wall Street, Jefferson Street provided an area in which residents could deposit checks in Black-owned banks, shop at Black-owned stores, and dine at Black-owned restaurants. It was also a central hub of the burgeoning Nashville music scene, with music legends such as Etta James and Jimi Hendrix performing in the clubs that lined the street.
USA – To restore North Nashville’s Black middle class, local policymakers should pursue reparations (Andre M. Perry and Anthony Barr, ,Brookings)
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