Ruby Falls opens exhibit celebrating local Black photographer
A new exhibit celebrating the life and legacy of Black photographer Horace Brazelton is open at Ruby Falls.
Brazelton (1877–1956) was the first African American to open a professional photography studio in Chattanooga.
Brazelton was a nationally recognized, award-winning photographer whose lens captured countless portraits of Black families and individuals, as well as Black church, professional and civic groups, during the era of Jim Crow laws in the South.
Chattanooga historian Stefanie Haire curated the exhibit.
The exhibit is open daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. through Sept. 15 in the historic castle at Ruby Falls. Admission is free.
Support from the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, Picnooga (Chattanooga Historical Society) and Ruby Falls made the exhibit possible.
Additional sponsors include Bessie Smith Cultural Center, the Library of Congress, the African American Cemetery Preservation Fund, the Presbyterian Historical Society, Walden’s Ridge Civic League, Dr. Earnestine Jenkins, River City Company, Emory University, the Chattanooga Public Library and the Southeast Tennessee Development District.