The African American Moviegoing Experience in Knoxville's Segregated Era

Civil Rights leader and noted historian Robert J. Booker delves into the history of the African American moviegoing experience in Knoxville, Tennessee, in a conversation with Knoxville History Project Executive Director Jack Neely. Booker discusses the city’s segregated Black theaters from the early 1900s to the 1960s, as well as his experiences at the Bijou Theatre, where African Americans were required to view movies from the balcony.

The program coincided with the Museum of East Tennessee History's exhibition, "Lights! Camera! East Tennessee!" on view from November 19, 2022, to July 4, 2023.