(light music) (light music continues) (traffic swooshing) (door squeaking) - This was a place to be, over here on Jefferson Street.

Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, that was their home here on Jefferson Street.

You had flower shops, you had grocery stores, you had car dealerships, churches, everything that you would need to sustain a community was on Jefferson Street.

(upbeat music) All of that has changed.

All of that has changed.

And it changed when the interstate came through.

- I-40 took away 600-and-something homes.

It decimated 14, 15, 16 streets.

- A lot of those businesses on Jefferson Street would still be here today, if I-40 didn't come through.

It just kind of taken a toll on what North Nashville could have been.

(upbeat jazz music) (upbeat jazz music continues) - I grew up in East Nashville.

I got into music by way of a friend of mine.

We all used to come over on Jefferson Street, this space here, which is now the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, this was my home.

You're sitting in my den right now.

The front room in there was my living room.

This is where I lived.

This was like a Motown in Detroit, as far as talent was concerned.

The Club Del Morocco is where Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox played.

That was their home here on Jefferson Street.

So you had a flux of people up and down all the time.

- That was a thriving area for Black businesses where you could go get your haircut on Jefferson Street and you can also go to the juke joint.

- I went to Pearl High School.

I graduated the year that the Pearl basketball team won the TSSAA championship, and that was the first year that African Americans were allowed to play in the TSSAA.

My church was in my neighborhood.

To me, everything was right there.

That area of North Nashville is where you really had the economic impact.

You could spend money within your own area.

- I'm Dr. LaDonna Boyd.

I'm the fifth generation President CEO of the R.H. Boyd family of companies, which were founded by my great-great-grandfather, Dr. Richard Henry Boyd in 1896.

So he wanted to give the opportunity later in life for, again, newly freed African Americans who were formerly enslaved, give them the opportunity to have education, become literate, and tell their own story in the context of faith.

The area around Jefferson Street and Boyd House, it was such a crucial and vital area, very vibrant.

Lots of Black businesses, schools, HBCUs.

- It was the place where Black folks gathered safely in a time of tense race relations.

It was our safe place.

It was our community.

- That was the university community there.

When you think about Tennessee State and you think about Fisk University, that was a unanimity and there was that sense of strong economic support, and people had jobs and it made a big difference.

So when I came to Nashville to go to the American Baptist Theological Seminary, my roommate was John Lewis.

We used to stay up half the night arguing and talking about the different conditions that exist related to segregation and discrimination.

Martin Luther King spoke to us as a sit-in, in Nashville.

He said, "I came not to bring inspiration, but I came to gain inspiration."

- North Nashville is a great stage in my mind, upon which one of the most important dramas of the 20th century plays out.

That is the push for civil rights, the push for equality.

All of that takes place in North Nashville.

So we love it for that.

But at the same time, it seems as though it's one of the most neglected and at times despised areas of this city.

- The whole premise behind the interstate highway, all across the nation was to do away with what they considered blighted communities or communities that may have been steeped in poverty.

(light music) - When the Interstate 40 came, they bulldozed right through North Nashville.

Now you have a disconnected community and those businesses lost money and now it doesn't look the same.

- When I-40 came through, the residents weren't notified of this until after the fact.

It's been a problem of mobilization for North Nashville and so other communities have been able to mobilize and have a voice.

And North Nashville, as it has been sectioned off, hasn't had the ability to amplify their voice.

And it has been historically the case that they have been left out of the conversation, until it's far too late to mobilize.

- [Linda] They made plans to take it around Jefferson Street and not informed the community.

- It came right straight through the community, and when it came through, the residents moved out.

When the residents start moving out, the businesses start shutting down and moving out.

- [Beverly] The Interstate Road program has one of the weakest provisions in helping to relocate businesses and people.

- That trauma of running that interstate through that community, that's like taking a blow to a head.

- What that did to the community is it cut off connections, it cut off transit, it cut off literally people's ability to move about in the community.

- So now you're cut off, you create food deserts.

When you take money out of the community, a number of businesses shut down.

As those businesses leave, the money leaves that neighborhood that impacts the school system, and it really has this giant snowball effect.

- So it literally severed the Black community in half or maybe more than half at that time.

- That interstate really materially and figuratively damaged relationships with the Black community.

- Well, what happened to all those people in North Nashville?

Where did they go?

(soft pensive music) - There's not a lot of land left over here on Jefferson Street for new businesses to come and invest in.

- North Nashville is absolutely booming.

It has every like quality that makes for a great area to be developed.

You're so close to downtown, but land values in North Nashville, the prices are increasing.

Again, kind of going back to supply and demand, and the closer you are into the city, the higher the prices are going to be.

There's a value for not having to drive 30 minutes, an hour to work every day.

- All these places used to be central locations for gathering for community.

We don't have that anymore.

We don't have that one shining place that North Nashville can go to say, "This is my hangout spot.

This is a place for everyone."

- I think a lot of the homes that these families used to live in are gone now or they sold 'em and they put a tall and skinny in inside of it.

It's really hard to explain because they honestly go up, and it is really quick in a matter of weeks.

And that's what took away the neighbor part of things more so than just, you know, somebody coming and buying a house.

They're not buying a home.

- A lot of the land over here is also commercially zoned.

And so when you have commercially zoned land, you can do a short term rental and make double the amount per night than doing like a long-term rental.

- Part of what's happening in Nashville is these out-of-state people are coming here.

Don't know the identity of the neighborhood and they're mismanaging the character and misrepresenting the character of the neighborhood.

And it's damaging.

It's damaging the community.

- It is a historically Black community, a rich, vibrant Black community.

And so when you look at those numbers, the folks who have lived there for decades and families have resided there for decades, have remained in that area.

But the income levels and that income disparity is the new households that are moving into that area.

Businesses will see dollar signs and see the opportunity to cater to folks with more money.

- What used to be affordable in terms of a one bedroom apartment, you can't afford that now on a $50,000 income.

It costs over $80,000 to live in Nashville now.

- There are other areas throughout Germantown and Salemtown, even along Jefferson that are still rent controlled.

But at some point that land is gonna be so valuable that those people, I foresee, will probably be pushed out.

- What you see is North Nashville is a majority renters community.

So people are having a hard time affording that rent, and those landlords are seeing dollars on the table, cash money, and they're pushing people out.

Those tenants that are in those homes now have to leave, but where are they gonna go?

- When I-40 came through, it disrupted the flow of traffic up and down Jefferson Street.

The residents left because of all of the dust and the trucks and the noise and all.

And that's what run the businesses off Jefferson Street, because for about three years you couldn't drive up and down Jefferson Street.

- [Carlos] I think gentrification kind of torn that apart.

You don't even see a lot of kids outside playing in different neighborhoods, 'cause a lot of people are displaced.

- It's unfortunate kind of how things are now with less Black businesses, less Black home ownership, developers coming in, kind of essentially taking the history of the city with them when they're knocking over these buildings that have historic value.

So I think it's important for the city and the Black community now to really speak up and be able to pull resources to make sure that we're preserving as much of that area as possible.

(gentle pensive music) - I came over here with the intent of helping to build Jefferson Streets business corridor up, but I wasn't able to do it by myself.

I'm still working on it though.

I'm still trying to encourage other young entrepreneurs to invest their time and their money in the businesses over here on Jefferson Street.

God just put this on me and said, "Lorenzo, I need you for this."

After I'm gone, if there's not storytellers picking up all of this, then a lot of what I've got is going to be missed.

- Mr. Lorenzo has been a pillar here in the community with him having so much knowledge about Jefferson Street, just being this genuine man that so many people champion and love, but also, you know, taking his time, his blood, sweat and tears and putting together this museum, his own money out of his own pocket most of the time.

And so being able to see somebody who's done it from the ground up gave me inspiration about telling my own stories.

- I've known him since he was a wee young man, you know, and I've watched him grow as a young businessman, and I've been very impressed.

- Our goal is to figure out how we can kind of rebuild.

And I think having mentors like Mr. Lorenzo, having historians and Black-owned businesses that have stood the test of time over 60 years and just been continuing to build those things on Jefferson Street, I think it gives us hope for the next generation, but it also gives us the attitude to say, "Hey, we need to buy back into our community."

- Our focus has to be on supporting the businesses that are there and helping to support that growth and helping to create opportunities for those businesses with each other.

We can connect those back into the community even more, into the North Nashville community.

That way you're getting folks in that neighborhood who are supporting those businesses.

- The Nashville Black Market focuses on empowering Black-owned businesses and curating spaces for them to translate their products and services to the masses.

We have about 70 Black-owned businesses that we house every month and these businesses make up upward to $50,000 in the night as a collective.

- Yes sir, (indistinct) the Nashville Black Market.

Celebrate Black business.

- Got so many, so many events coming up for this year to support Black-owned businesses, but also to celebrate the culture.

It's not too many places in Nashville where we can come together, have a good time, have fun and peace, safety, family friendly.

So this is one of those nights, this is one of those events.

- There are little pockets of hope in North Nashville.

And so you see Buchanan Street that is now starting to pop up as a little Jefferson Street.

So it has that nostalgic feeling of a lot of Black-owned businesses that are more contemporary businesses.

- Buchanan Street is becoming this really great vibrant district.

When Slim-Husky's announced that they would be on Buchanan Street, they have inspired Black developers and investors to come back to the community, and they are the next generation of Black Wall Street.

- We want to maintain history and legacy, because it is a crucial part of essentially the quilt that makes the Nashville and the Tennessee story so important.

And I think it's important to preserve that for future generations.

So I want my kids and grandkids to be able to visit historic sites and learn.

- So many things have came through here, whether it is been civil rights, whether it's been affirmative justice, whether it's been Black-owned businesses, whether it's been musicians, you name it, it has been amongst Jefferson Street.

But being able to figure out what's the next building block for Nashville, especially for Jefferson Street.

- I think it's gonna be young people.

Coretta Scott King said that freedom is won in every generation.

And I don't think that statement was restricted to one particular race.

Freedom is won in every generation.

So to me it's incumbent upon your generation to look and see what needs to be done, what wrongs need to be righted.

I think we all need to work together.

- We must look at each other as brothers and sisters 'cause that's who we are.

And we must be able to learn to love one another.

- The torch is being passed to you.

And the question is, what are you gonna do with it?

Are you going to fight to make this a better place?

Whether we talking about Nashville, the state of Tennessee, the United States of America, or the world, what are you gonna do to make it better?

- Senate Bill 234 had received constitutional charges declared passed.

Motion reconsider goes to state.

Congratulations.

(Senate applauds) - 150 Black-owned businesses and spreaded to Dolly, y'all.

Make some noise for that.

Okay.

(airy music) - And whereas it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Council honor Lorenzo Washington and recognize his efforts and contributions to preserve the legacies of North Nashville and historic Jefferson Street community and Davidson County.

Lorenzo, we love you.

(crowd cheers) Thank you.

(airy music continues) - Man, this is what they say, Mr. Lorenzo.

(both laughing) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) ♪ Like a tree standing in a hurricane ♪ ♪ You can't knock me down with a little rain ♪ ♪ In the rolling thunder, you can hear my name ♪ ♪ Like a natural wonder, I'm built to stay ♪ ♪ I never fall on shaky ground ♪ ♪ Too strong and tall to cut me down ♪ ♪ I'm still here ♪ ♪ Made it through the mud and tears ♪ ♪ Here ♪ ♪ Tried to make me disappear ♪ ♪ Counted me out for all these years ♪ ♪ Whom shall I fear ♪ ♪ I'm still here ♪ ♪ Rooted in the truth I speak ♪ ♪ Here ♪ ♪ Like the spirits that carry me ♪ ♪ Birthed by the struggle, sharp as a spear ♪ ♪ So whom shall I fear ♪ ♪ I'm still here ♪ ♪ Made it through the mud and tears ♪ ♪ Here ♪ ♪ Tried to make me disappear ♪ ♪ I'm still stayin' ♪ (Rissi sings indistinctly) ♪ Here ♪ (light music)