For America 250, “Echoes Of Chattanooga’s Past” On WUTC

The Exchange: Our Rights And The Story Of America 250

Dr. Claudia Kramer [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/44fceab/2147483647/strip/false/crop/662x649+0+0/resize/539x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd4%2Fa8%2Fc54e5bf1475c84f801154926ede7%2Fdr-claudia-kramer.jpeg]Dr. Claudia Kramer(UTC) As this nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, we’re hearing the words of the Declaration of Independence. Among them: the rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What do those rights mean? How were they applied then? How are they applied now? One view from Dr. Claudia Kramer, the Scott L. Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise at the Gary W. Rollins College of Business here on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She now writes a monthly column for Business Trend, the email newsletter from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dwight Birdwell, A Cherokee Recipient Of The Medal Of Honor

Dwight Birdwell at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4267082/2147483647/strip/false/crop/870x912+0+0/resize/504x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd1%2F48%2Fb2a4c852484e9c128412c27b9f45%2Fdwight-birdwell-at-mohhc-vince-butler.jpg]Dwight Birdwell at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga.(Vince Butler / Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center) Four years ago, Dwight Birdwell received the Medal of Honor - this nation’s highest military award for valor - for his actions nearly six decades ago as a U.S. Army soldier during the Vietnam War. Last year, the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center here in Chattanooga opened an exhibit on Birdwell - a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and one of only five Cherkoee recipients of the Medal of Honor. This year, during the first week of June, Dwight Birdwell - now in his late seventies - came to Chattanooga for the Spirit of Service Dinner at the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, as part of its celebration of America 250. Before the dinner, I spoke with Dwight Birdwell at the Center.

For America 250, “Echoes Of Chattanooga’s Past” On WUTC

Peggy Douglas [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/691739f/2147483647/strip/false/crop/500x512+0+0/resize/500x512!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F37%2F8b%2F2c37f60544ea9cf620aa687fc85c%2Fpeggy-douglas.jpg]Peggy Douglas(Southern Exposure Productions) For this year’s commemoration of America 250, we’re bringing you poetic monologues crafted from oral histories of Chattanoogans born in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Interviews for the oral histories - archived at The Chattanooga Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department - were conducted by Norman Bradley, former editor of The Chattanooga Times, and his team. Playwright Dr. Peggy Douglas of Southern Exposure Productions wrote the monologues.

Counting Down To America 250 In Downtown Chattanooga

Fireworks on the Fourth of July 2025 in Chattanooga. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c805f1b/2147483647/strip/false/crop/678x648+0+0/resize/552x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F43%2Fd4%2Fc923501a4b86a7ad92553ff313f1%2Fcha-4th-of-july-fireworks-2025-picsart-aiimageenhancer.jpg]Fireworks on the Fourth of July 2025 in Chattanooga.(Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors) (Aired Thu 6/25/26) Next weekend, the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary - its semiquincentennial. This weekend, the City of Chattanooga launches a series of community events for America 250 around the downtown riverfront that will culminate on Saturday, July 4th. Carmen Elliott is senior director - and Monica Kinsey is deputy administrator - of the City’s Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy. The schedule for Chattanooga’s America 250 Celebration Series. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b4f0902/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/422x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbb%2Ffb%2Fccac7e9b454ead6da919d8567729%2Fcha-america-250-celebration-series.jpg]The schedule for Chattanooga’s America 250 Celebration Series.(Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors)

Now At The 109 Gallery In Chickamauga: “Life / Death”

Banner for “Life / Death” at The 109 Gallery. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/68ae806/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1324x1154+0+0/resize/606x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F40%2Fb6%2F7328bb86466a95c27b6f7fa33e23%2Flife-death.jpg](The 109 Gallery) (Aired Thu 6/25/26) How do we reflect on life - and death - through art? Adam Romano and Kaleb Knowles are two painters who explore that question through their exhibition - “Life / Death” - at The 109 Gallery at 109 Gordon St. in Chickamauga. The opening reception for the exhibition at the gallery is Saturday, and the exhibition will be on display through July 25th. I spoke with Adam and Kaleb.