By Ashley Benkarski NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville-based Healing Minds and Souls is gearing up for a busy fall as their summer classes drew to a close on August 27. The group will hold a fundraiser, HMS Gives, on September 16, and another round of courses will begin Sept. 17 and end November 5. HMS brings “trauma-informed care to the community through resources, education, and building relationships to develop healthy and holistic communities,” their website states. They’ve been on the ground providing help to fellow Nashvillians of all backgrounds with various programs and services, including classes that educate participants on financial…
Author: Ashley Benkarski
By Ashley Benkarski MURFREESBORO, TN — Gun violence awareness and healing/support group Mothers Over Murder (MOM) is celebrating the creation of its new Murfreesboro chapter with a meet and greet at Patterson Park Community Center on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The event takes place from 5:45 p.m.-8:45 p.m. and is open to the public. It will allow the community to get to know the members in their newly-established local Chapter. A celebration of the life of Terrell Ray, a young father who was murdered in Murfreesboro in the early hours of August 2, 2019 after celebrating his 30th birthday, will take…
By Ashley Benkarski NASHVILLE, TN — The National Newspaper Publisher Association held its 2023 State of the Black Press luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. last Friday, bringing member publishers of the Black press together to commemorate 196 years of truth and trust. NNPA National President and CEO, The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr. was joined by the Honorable Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chair of the January 6 Commission, to assert the critical yet overlooked role the Black press has played throughout its nearly bicentennial life. “Thank God for the Black press,” Dr. Chavis remarked. The NNPA…
Earlier this year WeGo Public Transit began offering its new fare payment system, QuickTicket. With it, riders can get on board using either the QuickTicketTN app or a reloadable card. Users simply create their account on QuickTicket and add money, easing the worry of losing their paper magnetic ticket. Riders simply tap the app or card when boarding. Another advantage of using QuickTicket is fare capping—riders will never pay more than $4 a day/$65 a month, no matter how much they ride, WeGo representatives said, and it’s a money-saving alternative to ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft and saves money…
By Ashley Benkarski MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TN — While Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans nationally, some places in the South can trace their day of freedom to other days. In Clarksville, August 8 is Freedom Day, one that African Americans in Montgomery County have celebrated for some time now. This year, the unveiling of five new historical markers memorializing African American history in the area will be part of the event. “The reason for observing August 8th as opposed to January 1st or even September 22nd—the day Lincoln announced the preliminary Proclamation in 1862—remains speculative,” the Tennessee Historical Society’s…
NASHVILLE, TN—Beloved Nashville singer, ‘”Elvis” actress and playwright Shonka Dukureh, 44, has died unexpectedly, leaving behind two children. She was found unresponsive Thursday morning in the Antioch apartment the three shared, according to Metro Nashville police. Details are still emerging, though authorities do not suspect foul play at this time. Her soulful voice and powerful personality led her to be cast in the recently released “Elvis,” in which she portrayed Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, who first sang the popular ‘Hound Dog’ track Elvis later became known for. The film was Shonka’s first Hollywood project. She was a Charlotte, N.C.…
By Ashley Benkarski JOHNSON CITY, TN — Tina Ford was driving with her boyfriend from Florida to North Carolina for an annual fly-fishing trip when the pair found themselves struck with wanderlust. With some extra time on their hands, they quite literally took the long way to their destination and ended up in East Tennessee. While enjoying one of the many scenic roads buffered on each side with mountains, valleys, and seemingly endless forests, Tina spotted a sign that read “Ford Creek Village” and remarked how funny it would be if she was one of those Fords. Little did she…
By Ashley Benkarski NASHVILLE, TN — Women Who Rock Nashville (WWRN) is holding its gala after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, honoring over 50 influential local women from all walks of life. The event takes place June 11 from 3 p.m.- 10 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt hotel, benefitting A Love of Hope, a transitional house supporting up to 14 women as they navigate from a place of pain and uncertainty to one of prosperity and stability. Honorees are Vice Mayor Brenda Haywood, Sandra Sepulveda, Senator Brenda Gilmore, Metro councilwoman Zulfat Suara, Yolanda Hockett, Angela Taylor, Dr. Annabelle Morgan,…
By Ashley Benkarski NASHVILLE, TN— Local attorney and former MNPS teacher Marcus Shute, Jr. is running for Division VI criminal court judge in Davidson County. A product of Metro’s public school system (he was a student at Meigs and Hume-Fogg), Shute said he never left the community he grew up in, becoming the youngest teacher in Davidson County at just 22 years old. A graduate of Tennessee State University where he majored in political science, Shute said he is passionate about Nashville and its ability to be a model for a working criminal justice system. Throughout his time teaching Spanish…
Robin Kimbrough Hayes, candidate for District V General Sessions Judge, said it’s time Nashville’s bench looks more like the city it serves, reflecting the principles of restoration, compassion, and transparency. Further, Hayes relayed the judicial system isn’t “serving” much but a revolving door into the prison system when it assigns punitive, not transformative, sentences that disproportionately affect the city’s communities of color. However, she affirmed that doesn’t have to mean a lack of justice for victims. Hayes believes punitive justice is often counterproductive and meaningful reform “means increased transparency, honest conversations about racial inequality, addressing convictions related to mental health…