Executive Director

Avon Rollins, Sr

Executive Director, Beck Cultural Exchange Center

Avon Rollins Sr – Beck Cultural Exchange Center

Avon William Rollins, Sr. is Director and CEO of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Inc.
Mr. Rollins is also President and CEO of Knoxville-based Rollins & Associates, Inc., a
management consulting firm specializing in economic development and labor relations. He
is on the board of the East Tennessee Cancer Society and is an advocate for proactive healthcare.

Retired in December 1994 from TVA as Manager of Minority Resources Development, Mr. Rollins directed TVA’s investments in the minority community. He subsequently leveraged these funds to generate over $30 million from federal, state, and foundation sources.

Avon Rollins has a long history of leadership in developing successful economic and financial initiatives which have benefited African Americans. He was founder of Magnolia Federal Savings and Loan; former Chair of the Knoxville Communications Cooperation, the first black-owned cable radio and television station in America. He is an alumnus member of The University of Tennessee’s Chancellor’s Associates and the President’s Round Table, Knoxville College. He also serves as an adjunct professor to historically black colleges through the National Urban League’s Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP). Mr. Rollins has
also served as a member of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus Braintrust.

As one of the co-founders of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) he was also associated with the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. As a result of his civil rights activities across the south, he has been incarcerated approximately 31 times. He has assisted in creating more than 20 grassroots community development organizations minority leadership programs in more than 10 cities in the southeastern United States.

Executive Director – Avon Rollins Sr

Due to his commitment to the struggle for human betterment, Avon Rollins has received accolades and recognition from various national, state and local organizations including the National Business League and the Booker T. Washington Foundation. The National Civil Rights Museum of Memphis in cooperation with the East Tennessee Minority Professional Association dedicated their annual Heritage Award in honor of him. He has twice received the Minority Business Advocate Award presented by the U.S. Department
of Commerce. In 1993, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators presented Avon Rollins with their “National Builders Award.” In 1994, the National Association of Human Rights Workers dedicated its annual conference to him.

Avon Rollins’ efforts and commitments to human rights have been described in over 12 books covering the history of the Civil Rights movement and the struggle for Minority Economic Development in this country. The 94th Session of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee honored Avon Rollins for his many accomplishments which have also been recorded in the U.S. Congressional records.