Greene County, TN | Black In Appalachia

Greeneville's

8th of August

Greeneville, Tennessee resident & former slave,

Sam Johnson, has been credited with the creation & spread of the 8th of August Emancipation celebrations. Through his efforts, his hometown holds the distinction of being the origin of these events, still carried on today.

Photographs by Holly Rainey

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East Tennessee PBS, in partnership with the George Clem Multicultural Alliance, hosted

EAST TENNESSEE VOICES: GREENEVILLE'S 8TH OF AUGUST elders forum at historic Jones Memorial AME Zion Church.

Members of Greene County's Black community shared their memories of past 8th of August celebrations, as well as their hopes for racial harmony & brotherhood.

Oral Histories

19:25

Greeneville Community

History Project

The Greeneville Community History project is working with the area's residents to provide a one-stop-shop for the County's Black history & make public& private items freely accessible.

Much of the materials collected were provided by institutions such as Tusculum College, the Greeneville/Greene County History Museum, and the Elmer T. Cox Memorial Library. However, the greatest amount of items were submitted by community members themselves.

Begun in February of 2018, this project now contains several collections and will continue to grow & Improve over time. You can browse the collections here:

Greeneville Pathfinder
Bulls Gap Colored School
Greeneville/Greene County History Museum
Angela Campbell Collection
T. Elmer Cox Genealogical and Historical Library
President Andrew Johnson Library at Tusculum
Negro Women's Civic Club
The Farnsworth Family Personal Papers
Sharon Jefferson Collection
Hamilton Collection

Additional Resources

The George Clem School Wolverines - Greeneville by: Douglass Review
Greene County, TNGenWeb

Greeneville's

8th of August

Greeneville, Tennessee resident & former slave,

Sam Johnson, has been credited with the creation & spread of the 8th of August Emancipation celebrations. Through his efforts, his hometown holds the distinction of being the origin of these events, still carried on today.

Photographs by Holly Rainey

Oral Histories

Gypsy Townsend, Greeneville, TN

Jaque Powell, Greeneville, TN

Mollie Mannuel, Greeneville, TN

Treva Posey-Edmonds, Greeneville, TN

William Edmonds, Greeneville, TN

Willie Anderson, Greeneville, TN

Jerleen Barner Manual, Greeneville, Tennessee

Donald Leroy Ripley, Greeneville Tennessee

Greeneville Community

History Project

The Greeneville Community History project is working with the area's residents to provide a one-stop-shop for the County's Black history & make public& private items freely accessible.

Much of the materials collected were provided by institutions such as Tusculum College, the Greeneville/Greene County History Museum, and the Elmer T. Cox Memorial Library. However, the greatest amount of items were submitted by community members themselves.

Begun in February of 2018, this project now contains several collections and will continue to grow & Improve over time. You can browse the collections here:

Greeneville Pathfinder

Bulls Gap Colored School

Greeneville/Greene County History Museum

Angela Campbell Collection

T. Elmer Cox Genealogical and Historical Library

President Andrew Johnson Library at Tusculum

Negro Women's Civic Club

The Farnsworth Family Personal Papers

Sharon Jefferson Collection

Hamilton Collection

Greeneville's

8th of August

Greeneville, Tennessee resident & former slave,

Sam Johnson, has been credited with the creation & spread of the 8th of August Emancipation celebrations. Through his efforts, his hometown holds the distinction of being the origin of these events, still carried on today.

Photographs by Holly Rainey

Oral Histories

Gypsy Townsend, Greeneville, TN

Jaque Powell, Greeneville, TN

Mollie Mannuel, Greeneville, TN

Treva Posey-Edmonds, Greeneville, TN

Greeneville Community

History Project

The Greeneville Community History project is working with the area's residents to provide a one-stop-shop for the County's Black history & make public& private items freely accessible.

​

Much of the materials collected were provided by institutions such as Tusculum College, the Greeneville/Greene County History Museum, and the Elmer T. Cox Memorial Library. However, the greatest amount of items were submitted by community members themselves.

​

Begun in February of 2018, this project now contains several collections and will continue to grow & Improve over time. You can browse the collections here:

​