Bagels & Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee

Statewide Jewish History and Culture is Focus of Traveling Exhibit

The story of Jewish immigration to Tennessee and how they embraced the culture they found here is documented in an exhibit which will travel to other museums across the state.
          Bagels & Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee is a joint project of the Tennessee State Museum in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Jewish Community Federation of Greater Chattanooga, Knoxville Jewish Alliance, and Memphis Jewish Federation, with the participation of other Jewish communities around the state. The exhibit’s statewide tour is supported in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
         The exhibit begins with the saga of early Jewish settlers emigrating from Europe, where most faced religious persecution. A few came to upper East Tennessee in the 1770s, and to Middle Tennessee by the 1820s. By 1870, groups in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga had purchased land for cemeteries—a first concern of new Jewish communities—and founded congregations for worship.
         Chronicling the life of Jewish families during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the exhibit focuses on the historic contributions during this period. Stories of interest include the beginnings of one of America’s most respected newspaper empires, which began when 20 year-old Adolph Ochs, son of Julius and Bertha from Knoxville, bought The Chattanooga Times in 1878. In 1896, he added The New York Times to what is still today a family-controlled enterprise.
      Bagels & Barbeque documents the recent influence of the Jewish community in Tennessee. Tennessee has seen an influx from around the nation of Jewish health and music industry professionals, university professors, executives, artists, and their extended families.
     Scholars from across the state of Tennessee provided the research for the exhibit, along with noted authorities on Jewish history from other locations. The exhibition has been organized, designed and produced by the staff of the Tennessee State Museum.
      For more information on Bagels & Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee contact Myers Brown, Curator of Extension Services, at 615-741-2692 or by email at Myers.Brown@state.tn.us.

Future dates are subject to change. Contact the specific institution for more precise information.