By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) – A coalition of organizations led by some of the most powerful Black women in America this week called for the immediate vote on the confirmation of civil rights lawyer Kristen Clarke, President Joseph Biden’s nominee for the position of assistant attorney general for civil rights. Nominated five months ago, Clarke, a graduate of Harvard and Columbia University Law School, was interviewed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing April 14. But she has yet to receive a vote on whether to send her nomination before the full Senate. Black leaders across the nation fear the…
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NASHVILLE (TN TRIBUNE) – The 112th Tennessee General Assembly appropriated a historic one-time additional contribution of $250 million to the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) State and Higher Education plan. The largest single contribution in the history of TCRS, this appropriation will further bolster the pension and help lower future recurring contributions. TCRS has been consistently recognized as one of the best-funded public pensions in the nation, due largely to every Governor budgeting and every General Assembly appropriating sufficient money to fund the pension based on the requirements set by the actuary and TCRS Board of Trustees. The Tennessee Consolidated Retirement…
WASHINGTON – Last night Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) released the following statement after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced he will opt Tennesseans out of expanded unemployment benefits: “Why would Gov. Lee take $300 a week from unemployed Tennesseans? To force them to go back to work, even if they are sick, they have no child care, or there are no jobs for them? “I voted to give Tennesseans this help during the pandemic, but Gov. Lee is taking it away. Is that how he would want to be treated? Is he obeying the Golden Rule? What would Jesus do?” The American Rescue Plan…
Dear State Senator Brian Kelsey, You don’t know me, but since you are pretending that you know my work, I feel like I should respond. I am a Critical Race Theory scholar, a steadfast educator, a sports researcher, a youth development expert, and most importantly I am a mother. My daughter, who is soon to be seven years old, is already being taught, in an age-appropriate manner, about cause and effect, culture, and history. And she cannot be taught those subjects in a manner that is divorced from race. Because she has brown skin and we are likely the descendents…
Nashville, TN (TN Tribune)—Tuesday afternoon, Bill Lee made the reckless and irresponsible decision to cut unemployment benefits. Prior to COVID-19, Lee had the chance to pass laws to protect our economy and refused to meet the moment. His decision to leave Tennessee vulnerable, led to unemployment reaching an all-time high across both rural and urban parts of the state. More than 200,000 Tennesseans have lost their jobs in the past 6 months alone, and Lee has decided to further cripple Tennesseans. Why? Because Bill Lee is not interested in serving Tennessee families. Lee has one goal: advance the interests of…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 11, 2021) – Members of the Metropolitan Minority Caucus issued the following statement in opposition to the 4 Good Government’s proposal to make revisions to our City Charter. The Nashville Davidson County Minority Caucus expresses their vehement opposition to the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act (NTPA) referendum proposal that was before the Election Commission. The proposal intentionally harms our teachers, Metro employees, and first responders would result in deep cuts to public education funding and is fiscally irresponsible in addition to being blatantly unconstitutional. The proposal is also undemocratic on its face as it allows a small number of voters…
The following statement is attributable to: Susan R. Bailey, M.D. President, American Medical Association “The recommendation approved today by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) supporting the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in individuals age 12-15 years of age brings us one critical step closer to our nation’s goal of achieving widespread vaccination among the U.S. population. This recommendation follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s action earlier this week to authorize the vaccine for use in this population. We know that adolescents 12 years of age and up are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and…
Staff Report NASHVILLE, TN — An very unpopular Tennessee state lawmaker Republican Rep. Justin Lafferty, drew criticism for defending a Constitutional provision that determined how enslaved Black people would be regarded by law, saying that it was intended to end slavery rather than uphold it. Lafferty, while debating a bill that would ban critical race theory in schools, argued that the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787, was actually an attempt to move away from what came to be known as the “peculiar institution.” Lafferty called it “a direct effort to ensure that Southern states never got the population necessary to continue the practice of slavery everywhere else in the…
WASHINGTON, DC — Pandemic-fueled inequities have surfaced in the small business community. Just from February to April 2020 alone, over 400k, or 41%, of Black-owned businesses were permanently closed, relative to just 17% of white-owned businesses. With recovery on the horizon, small business leaders expressed to the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC) that holistic relief is needed to get back to work at a more sustainable capacity and pace. At the top of their list was the need to remove barriers to vaccine education and access for their employees, community, and families. The USBC has joined forces with Uber to address a…
NASHVILLE, TN — Jimmy Eldridge, a former State Representative from legislative district 73 has been appointed to the Tennessee State Election Commission to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Jimmy Wallace. “It is an incredible honor to serve on the State Election Commission, and I appreciate the trust our General Assembly has placed in me with this opportunity,” said Commissioner Eldridge. “I will serve the citizens of our state in this position to the best of my ability and with the utmost integrity.” Eldridge will join the bi-partisan seven-member commission. The Commission is responsible for appointing local election…