Clarksville, TN – Clarksville, Tennessee, proudly showcases the rich and enduring legacy of African American culture, a vital thread in the city’s history. Established in 2019 and expanded in 2024, the African American Legacy Trail now features more than 40 stops, honoring the people and places that have shaped medicine, business, government, music, art, culture, education, and more.
The local impact of these individuals is evident in the names that grace the city’s historic markers, highways, schools, event venues, statues, and exhibits. Their achievements are celebrated every day of the year, reminding us of the strength and spirit that have shaped our city.
Trail Founder Shana Thornton’s vision for the project began almost 10 years ago. “I became inspired to create a brochure about Clarksville’s African American history around 2016, but I had been studying that history since collaboratively writing the permanent exhibition ‘Becoming Clarksville: Legacies of Leadership’ at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center,” she explained. “That exhibit opened in 2013, and while researching it, I learned about Dr. Robert T. Burt and his wife, Emma Williams Burt, who 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. When I discovered that there wasn’t a publication that offered a history of African American leaders in Clarksville and/or who were from Clarksville, I wanted to collaborate with other historians, writers, and graphic designers to create a publication.”
In addition to Dr. Burt, some highlights along the trail include:
Dr. Clarence Cameron White (1880-1960) was one of the most exceptional composers and violinists of the early twentieth century. Born in Clarksville, White attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied in London and Paris. He also helped found the National Association of Negro Musicians in 1919. A Tennessee Historical Commission marker is located at the intersection of Main and Second Streets in downtown Clarksville.
Steve Wylie (1911-1993) began his baseball career in the late 1920s. In 1944, he entered the Negro Leagues, playing alongside legends like Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. A local baseball field in North Clarksville in the Heritage Park Sports Complex is dedicated to Wylie, and a Tennessee Historical Marker is located at 751 N. Second St.
Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994) became the first African American female sprinter to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. In 1960 at the Rome games, she won three gold medals and was deemed “The Tornado, the fastest woman on earth.” Her homecoming parade in October 1960 was Clarksville’s first integrated public event. Tributes in the community include the Wilma Rudolph Event Center and memorial statue, Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, an exhibit at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, and her gravesite.
Rev. Wilbur N. Daniel (1918-1999) was the first African American admitted to study at Austin Peay State University, graduating in 1957. He went on to earn a Doctor of Divinity and was president of the Chicago NAACP. He also ran as a Republican candidate for Congress. The African American Cultural Center at Austin Peay State University bears his name and opened in 1991.
Marvin Posey, Jr. (1964-1999) was a fine arts painter whose works have been displayed in exhibits from New York to San Francisco. His first professional art exhibition was in Korea where he was stationed in the U.S. Army. Influenced by jazz music, he painted in the Cubist style and designed an original tie for President Bill Clinton. Outside of private collections, his work can be seen at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center and the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center.
Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) began his legendary career in Clarksville. While serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell, he created a rhythm ‘n’ blues band, the King Kasuals, playing in and around Clarksville, then moved to Nashville. Hendrix returned to Clarksville as late as 1963 to purchase a guitar. A Tennessee Music Pathways marker is located on North Third Street by Downtown Commons across from the former Newt’s Record Shop.
Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center was originally a defensive Confederate fort at the confluence of the Cumberland and Red Rivers. African American men, ordered into service by the Confederate Army, began constructing the fort in 1861. The Union Army occupied the fort in 1862, and the area became a safe haven for people trying to escape enslavement, as well as those who were newly freed. The United States Colored Troops (USCT) established its headquarters nearby, recruiting more than 20,000 black soldiers. The USCT of Clarksville is now permanently memorialized with a statue at the Center.
Affricanna Town was established near Dunbar Cave as a refuge for self-liberated enslaved African Americans following the US Army’s capture of Clarksville in 1862. By the end of 1864, the camp swelled to more than 4,000 people and remained active until at least 1867.
The Legacy Trail and various people and entities associated with it have won multiple awards.
- Kathryn Boyer, student designer of the logo and the first edition brochure, won scholarships to Austin Peay State University (APSU), a Clarksville Montgomery County School System’s (CMCSS) student award, and the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA) Ovation Award for Arts.
- Local Historian Jerome Parchman, an early collaborator on the project, won Black Clarksville’s Black Excellence Award in 2022.
- Thorncraft Publishing (Thornton’s publishing company) was awarded the Ovation Award – Business Category from CECA in 2020.
- Thornton was awarded the Violet Award for Service from Delta Sigma Theta in 2019 and the Virginia Martin Hatcher Award for Service from the City of Clarksville in 2023.
- Terry Morris, Thornton’s husband and Trail Director, won the Best in Black Educational Impact Award in 2024.
African American Legacy Trail Brochures are available at Visit Clarksville, 25 Jefferson Street, and all Tennessee State Welcome Centers. The Visit Clarksville mobile app also includes a trail guide and navigation for most of the trail stops.
About Visit Clarksville
Visit Clarksville is the destination marketing organization for Clarksville-Montgomery County. Established in 1969 by a private act of the state legislature, its mission is to positively influence tourism in the area by promoting tourist attractions, hosting conventions and group tours, and engaging in large-scale marketing efforts.
Visit Clarksville is funded by a portion of the county’s lodging tax. The economic impact of tourism spending in Montgomery County during 2023 was $385.6 million.
