Heritage tourism, historic roadside markers and “just representation” in Tennessee, USA

Abstract

The American landscape is increasingly populated with memorial tourist sites showing a devotion to the past. In the last published statewide study of Tennessee historical roadside markers, Jones (1988) analyzed the 1,170 roadside markers across the state. In his analysis, markers devoted to black history or white women accounted for only 0.7% (n = 8) and 0.8% (n = 9), respectively, of all markers. At the time of this study there were more roadside markers solely dedicated to David Crocket (0.9%, n = 11) than to either of these groups. Additionally, Native American people merely accounted for 3.0% (n = 35), while white men accounted for 11.7% (n = 137) – including 3% dedicated to Klu Klux Klan Founder Nathan Bedford Forrest (Jones, 1988). This particularly visible expression of public history serves primarily to preserve a white, Protestant, male history of the area (Jones, 1988). Using data on the 313 historical roadside markers erected since 1988, we (1) update the analysis of Jones (1988) and (2) discuss the lack of a “just representation” of non-white male history in these markers that has carried forward to 2019. The study is informed by social representation and critical race theory.

Keywords:

• Heritage tourism
• memorial sites
• historical roadside markers
• just representation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Raw data were generated at www.hmdb.org. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Candace Forbes Bright, on request.

Notes

1 While percent change could be calculated to compare Jones’ thematic category shares to our analysis, this would be misleading because Jones’ placed each sign into a single theme, while we found numerous markers fell under more than one category. More specifically, 217 of our 313 markers were coded as two themes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Candace Forbes Bright

Candace Forbes Bright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and faculty affiliate of the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University, with research and teaching interests in applied sociology, social network analysis, social capital, and the presentation of historical race relations. Candace teaches classes on social statistics, data analysis, program evaluation, applied research skills, and research design. Additionally, Candace is a fellow in the Race, Ethnicity, and Social Equity in Tourism (RESET) initiative.

Kelly N. Foster

Kelly N. Foster is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University, with research and teaching interests in research methodology, survey research methods, health disparities, and the impact of technology on medical decision making among vulnerable populations. Kelly teaches classes on research methods, applied sociology, data analysis, survey research methods, and medical sociology. Kelly is on the executive council for the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations.

Andrew Joyner

T. Andrew Joyner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences and Director of the Geoinformatics and Disaster Science (GADS) Lab at East Tennessee State University, with research and teaching interests in geographic information systems and mapping, public health, vector disease modeling, niche modeling, biogeography, climatology, and hazard mitigation planning. Andrew teaches multiple GIS classes (e.g., Advanced GIS, GIS Projects, Ecological Niche Mapping & Modeling, Hazard Mapping) and is the Graduate GIS Certificate Coordinator at ETSU.

Oceane Tanny

Oceane Tanny is a Graduate Student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and research intern at the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University, with research interests in applied sociology, social network analysis, medical sociology, social justice law, and medical law.