Blues Empress in Black Chattanooga: Bessie Smith and the Emerging Urban South »

Michelle R. Scott is an assistant professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The cultural and industrial reconstruction of the South, explored through a major figure in early black music.

Introduction Uncovering the Life of a Blues Woman 1

1 Beyond the Contraband Camps: Black Chattanooga from the Civil War to 1880 11

2 "The Freest Town on the Map": Black Migration to New South Chattanooga 35

3 The Empress's Playground: Bessie Smith and Black Childhood in the Urban South 55

4 Life on "Big Ninth" Street: The Emerging Blues Culture in Chattanooga 81

5 An Empress in Vaudeville: Bessie Smith on the Theater Circuit 113

Epilogue: A Blues Woman's Legacy 135

Notes 139

Bibliography 173

Index 193