Through the efforts of their descendants and many people of the Friendly City they founded, Henry and Bessie Tift have made ...

By looking back at your line of influences, you can find the wisdom to navigate moments of indecision and turmoil.

Residents attending Enid Chautauqua on Friday, June 13, 2025, learned about the trials and tribulations of the “Empress of ...

Residents attending Enid Chautauqua on Friday, June 13, 2025, learned about the trials and tribulations of the “Empress of ...

This Friday and Saturday, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center and the Chattanooga Lookouts host this year’s Negro League Appreciation Weekend, in partnership with Food City, as the Lookouts play the ...

Local auto parts manufacturer ITAC has named Bessie Reddock as its June Team Member. Nominated by her supervisor, Tina Hudson ...

It has roots deeply embedded in the Black experience. Blues has long been a powerful expression of the struggles, joys and ...

HBO Tika Sumpter as Lucille, Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith From the moment Queen Latifah's Bessie Smith is in bed with Lucille (Tika Sumpter) under the daytime glow, we're told–no, shown–that the ...

She embodied the meaning of the blues, living the life she sang about. Bessie Smith set the standard for blues singers on how it should be done. Bessie Smith, born on Apr. 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, ...

Bessie Smith was born sometime around July, 1892 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to William Urie, a Baptist preacher, and his wife Laura. Yes, this might sound like the beginnings of a rustic fairy tale ...

And while there were other blues singers in the first half of the 20th century — some who shared her surname — none could be mistaken for Bessie Smith. Not Mamie Smith or Clara or Trixie or ...

Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, was the first African American superstar, an artist that mingled regal dignity with sensuality. We’ll sample her recorded legacy, talk with critics and hear ...