Shortly after the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved African Americans established and settled Promise Land in Dickson County. They came from farms around Charlotte, Tenn., and from Cumberland Furnace, the nearby ironworks town. Some of the first settlers, like Ed Vanleer and John Nesbitt served with the United States Colored Troops during the war. The town remained independent, and actually flourished through the Jim Crow Era.
Serina Gilbert is a descendant of those original inhabitants, and with the Promise Land Heritage Association, helps keep the stories of this historic community alive. And she is co-author of the book From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land: Stories of a Tennessee Reconstruction Community, which collects many of these tales, handed down through the generations. Her collaborator is esteemed historian and TSU professor Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., who joins her in conversation with Demetria.
Plus, after the interview, an audio story featuring sounds and voices from the annual Promise Land festival — essentially a big family reunion — produced by Banner managing editor Andrea Tudhope, which originally aired on WPLN.
Guests
Credits
- Host: Demetria Kalodimos
- Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope
Subscribe to Banner & Company on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon or iHeart Radio.
Related
Andrea Tudhope is the news editor for the Nashville Banner, where she also oversees the audio wing. An award-winning multimedia journalist, Andrea spent the past decade working in public radio, from reporter to newscaster to editor. As part of the founding leadership team for America Amplified, a national public media community engagement initiative, she launched a national talk show and co-wrote and edited a playbook on community-powered journalism. She came to Nashville to launch WPLN’s first-ever daily show, This Is Nashville, where she was executive producer.
Steve Haruch is the senior producer. An award-winning journalist, editor and producer, he has worked previously at the Nashville Scene and WPLN, and his writing has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to NPR’s Code Switch. He edited the books Greetings From New Nashville: How a Sleepy Southern Town Became ‘It’ City and People Only Die of Love in Movies: Film Writing by Jim Ridley.