History is often written by those who survive, but on February 26, at 6 p.m., the city of Chattanooga will pause to listen to the voices that were silenced. The Bessie Smith Cultural Center, located at 200 East Martin Luther King Boulevard, has announced an evening of remembrance titled “Unveiling The Past: Chattanooga Lynchings.”
This event, which is free to the public with registration required at https://www.bessiesmithcc.org/event-details/unveiling-the-past-chattanooga-lynchings-black-history-month-2026/form, aims to confront the somber reality of racial terror lynchings that occurred in Hamilton County between 1877 and 1950, ensuring that the names of the victims are etched into the city’s collective memory.
The evening will begin on the lawn of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center with the formal unveiling of a new historical marker. This monument stands as a tribute to lives lost and a public affirmation of the community’s commitment to historical honesty. As a representative for the center stated, the initiative is about more than just a marker; it is about affirming a deep-seated commitment to the truth.
Following the ceremony, guests will gather for a reception and a fireside chat with local historians.
Central to the evening’s discussion is the 1906 lynching of Ed Johnson, a case that remains a cornerstone of American legal history. Johnson, a Black man wrongly accused of assault, was abducted from the Hamilton County Jail by a white mob and hanged from the Walnut Street Bridge. This act of violence occurred despite a stay of execution granted by Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan–a defiance of federal law that led to the landmark case United States v. Shipp.
This remains the only criminal trial ever held by the U.S. Supreme Court, in which Sheriff Joseph F. Shipp was found guilty of contempt for failing to protect a prisoner. Johnson’s final words, “God bless you all, I am an innocent man,” continue to haunt the city’s history. In 2000, Johnson’s conviction was formally overturned, and in 2021, a permanent memorial was dedicated to him and his pioneering attorneys, Noah Parden and Styles Hutchins.
While the Johnson case gained national notoriety, the event will also shed light on other documented victims of racial violence in the area. Community members and historians, in collaboration with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), have documented at least four known lynchings in the region, including those of Alfred Blount, Charles Brown, and Charles Williams.
The upcoming fireside chat will allow experts to discuss the social impact of these tragedies and the ongoing work to preserve these vital stories for future generations.
Community members interested in attending or seeking more information can reach the Bessie Smith Cultural Center at (423) 266-8658.