Extended in 2024, the African American Legacy Trail in Clarksville, Tennessee, now includes over 40 stops highlighting impacts Black people in the local community have made throughout the city and the world.
Nearly a decade ago, historian Shana Thornton created the trail after seeing a brochure on Clarksville’s African American history. That initial spark came to her in 2016, and the trail was established in 2019.
Now, Clarksville visitors and locals alike can explore the city through the lens of African American culture and contributions. By downloading the Visit Clarksville app, people can access a trail guide and navigation to most of the honorary sites. Brochures are available at Tennessee State Welcome Centers and 25 Jefferson Street.
The trail memorializes featured African Americans through indoor and outdoor statues, exhibits, named city institutions, recognized community sites, and more. Significant figures include Clarksville-born Dr. Clarence Cameron White, a composer and violinist who helped found the National Association of Negro Musicians; Wilma Rudolph, the first African American female Olympic gold medalist sprinter, whose October 1960 homecoming parade was Clarksville’s first integrated public event; and Jimi Hendrix, the legendary musician whose career had deep roots in Clarksville.
What Else Should Travelers Know About The African American Legacy Trail In Clarksville?
When Thornton, who is white, became aware that Clarksville didn’t have a publication highlighting the city’s African American leaders, she knew she wanted to “collaborate with other historians, writers, and graphic designers,” per Visit Clarksville.
While researching an exhibit for the local Customs House Museum & Cultural Center” Thornton learned about Black changemakers Dr. Robert T. Burt and his wife, Emma Williams Burt.
“[The couple] opened the first hospital in Clarksville in 1906. The Home Infirmary was intended to be a hospital for African Americans during the Jim Crow era, but white doctors also worked there, and Dr. Burt also treated white patients. I knew there was more to the history and leadership of Dr. Burt,” said Thornton.
