The Music Center, 251 Keith St, Cleveland, TN 37311, US

HistoryLocated in an area once dubbed as the city's black enterprise zone, (the famed 9th Street District) now known as M.L. King Boulevard, the museum's original goal was to present the many contributions African Americans made to the development of Chattanooga. The rise in the number of African American Museums during the 1960's paralleled the growth in African American studies throughout the nation. Both visions were attempts to compensate for the failure of the American education system to provide adequate inclusion and contributions of African Americans in American history and culture. In 1996, a newly renovated facility became the new home of the Chattanooga African American Museum and the Bessie Smith Hall. Located at 200 E. M. L. King Boulevard, the facility was established to pay homage to the late