“I’m interested in the intersection of race and place.”
If there is any sentence that encapsulates the work and spirit of Dr. Enkeshi El-Amin, founding director of The Bottom, that is it.
Of the two roads leading into that intersection, the one marked “race” is fairly straightforward. Dr. El-Amin is Black. The road marked “place,” however, is winding and has had stops in several locations: Guyana, South America, and the Caribbean, where she grew up; Atlanta; Syracuse, New York; and eventually Knoxville. She accurately describes herself as “a child of the diaspora.”
She ended up in Knoxville because the University of Tennessee is one of the few institutions that offers a program in environmental sociology. Her experience upon relocating was unlike anything that she’d felt before.
“I knew the South to some extent, so much as Atlanta is the South. I lived there when I moved to the States, but this [Knoxville] didn’t feel like the South that I knew.”
She elaborated further: “I didn’t see a lot of Black folks. In my neighborhood, even on the TV in the news. I didn’t see a lot of Black folks in political offices and things like that. So I was really trying to understand: What was this place? And I was seeing all of these disparities, and people weren’t talking about them.”
She attempted to pinpoint Knoxville’s particular intersection of race and place, and the search led her to the book “Blacks in Appalachia” by William H. Turner and Edward J. Cabbell. By delving into it and other texts, she noticed a pattern. In Appalachia, all other narratives were ignored save for those told from a poor, white perspective. Such was the case even in areas like Knoxville which boast a relatively large Black population.
The proliferation of this narrative created a stereotype that still haunts white residents of the area. However, she noted that it had a different effect on Black residents. They felt invisible … displaced.
Not only were Knoxville Blacks an invisible part of larger Appalachia, but urban renewal also seemed to continuously envelop the few spaces that belonged to them locally. There existed a void. Geographically, yes, but also in the very heart of the Black community.
The Bottom is Dr. Enkeshi El-Amin’s attempt to fill that void. Located physically at the intersection of Randolph and Depot in East Knoxville, The Bottom arguably exists at the point where being Black meets being in Knoxville – a physical representation of the more esoteric academic space that she calls home. She hopes that, soon, all of Knoxville’s Black community will be able to call it home, too.
The name comes from many sources. Per Dr. El-Amin’s research, “the Bottoms” is what the first Black neighborhood lost to urban renewal in Knoxville was called. That term was a generic one, used to describe lowlands near bodies of water because they were at the first level or “bottom” of the water table. Black communities were often relegated to housing in these areas because the land often flooded and was considered undesirable.
Like any good origin story, there’s also a bit of serendipity in the name. Before moving into its own space, the business existed on the lowest floor of a shared building. El-Amin regularly found herself telling people to go to “the bottom” when giving directions. From that same office, she looked out of a window one day and realized that she was across the street from the same historic “Bottom” neighborhood that she was researching. The rest is history.
Their mission is to “build community, celebrate culture and engage the creativity of Black people through curated events, ongoing projects, shared resources and physical space.” The goals of the various programs at The Bottom are education, inspiration and creating a safe space for Knoxville’s Black community.
Some of those programs include:
Sew it/Sell it: Sew it/Sell it is a summer camp-style program in which children ages 12-16 learn how to sew and how to sell their creations online. Through the program, students design a product and conceptualize a micro-business around it. The program began in the summer of 2019 right after El-Amin graduated from UT. She had the initial idea and reached out to Marcus Hall (of Marc Nelson Denim) for help in bringing it to life. He ended up allowing the program to use space in his building rent-free for its first six months, and it has become one of their most popular courses.
Community Podcast Studio: This program relates to Dr. El-Amin’s work as the co-host of the “Black in Appalachia” podcast. The Bottom is in the process of creating a dedicated space for Black creatives in the Knoxville area who are interested in podcasting. While she was undertaking a 20-week course on the ins and outs of podcast production at the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) in Boston, the idea originated. She noticed that, aside from not knowing what to do, many creators of color didn’t have the environment or equipment necessary to break into the world of podcasting. So she became determined to share her training and create a space in Knoxville that could help remove those impediments. Once complete, this studio will do just that.
Bookshop: The Bottom features an independent bookshop that also includes space for writers, artists, activists, and almost any other type of bohemian you can think of. Their collection features Black-affirming and Black-empowering literature. It also is an excellent source for anyone looking to support Black authors. They also have an online book shop, a book club that meets regularly and a monthly book subscription service.
Community Fellowship: This program collaborates with the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Division of Diversity and Engagement. An incoming Black junior faculty (non-tenure and tenure track) or professional staff member per semester partners with the organization on a public-facing research project. The project must either document or advance the local Black community and has the dual purpose of connecting the Fellow to the community in which they now live.
Other events, all of which were created to provide access to gather and advocate for Black lives in Appalachia, include: Brown Girls Brunch; Maggie Lee’s FishFry; a Beauford Delaney film screening; Kwanzaa Open Night, UnMuted: Oral History project; and the Zora Neale Hurston Read-In.
The pandemic has placed some limits on what The Bottom has been able to accomplish thus far. However, it has also made abundantly clear why such an organization is needed, especially in Knoxville. In the days to come, their work will prove only to be increasingly vital.
The work of creating a space in Knoxville where Black people feel welcomed, encouraged and seen … where Black creatives are inspired and Black voices amplified. The slow and deliberate work of filling a void and changing it into a welcoming place … a Black place.
“The Bottom is a Black place.”
To find out how you can support this organization, visit: https://www.thebottomknox.com/support-us
All links: https://linktr.ee/TheBottom
gibson@blanknews.com
Thanks Brandon. My time in Knoxville, two trips were mostly limited to the University the first trip and the Beck cultural Center, my second. Your article gives me a little more perspective on the Black – White configuration. From my admittedly scant travels there.to explain to readers, I am a Composer who has had operas performed by Marble City Opera, the last one being ShadowLight, about the great Africa American Artist who was born in Knoxville. Thanks again.