The traveling exhibit, "Bagels & Barbecue: The Jewish Experience
in Tennessee," is jointly sponsored by the Tennessee State
Museum with the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle
Tennessee, Jewish Community Federation of Greater Chattanooga,
Knoxville Jewish Alliance, Memphis Jewish Federation, and other
state Jewish communities. It begins with the saga of early
Jewish settlers emigrating from Europe, where most faced
religious persecution. A few came to upper East Tennessee in the
1770s and to Middle Tennessee by the 1820s. By 1870, groups in
Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga had purchased
land for cemeteries — a first concern of new Jewish
communities—and founded congregations for worship. Chronicling
the life of Jewish families during the Civil War and
Reconstruction, the exhibit focuses on the historic
contributions during this period. Stories of interest include
the beginnings of one of America’s most respected newspaper
empires, which began when 20-year-old Adolph Ochs, son of Julius
and