BY NICQUEL TERRY ELLIS, CNN News Washington D.C.– The US Capitol Police has appointed a Black woman as its acting police chief after the former head resigned in the fallout from the agency’s inadequate response to pro-Trump rioters who staged an insurrection at the Capitol last week. Yogananda Pittman, who previously served as an assistant chief, will be the first woman and first Black person to head the Capitol Police, according to Morgan State University, the historically black school that Pittman graduated from in 1999. CNN reached out to Capitol police and has not been able to independently confirm this. Pittman…
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Amazon announced a $1 million donation to the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM). The gift will sponsor several initiatives at the museum, including “A Soundtrack for All: Amazon STEAM Days,” which will sponsor local schools’ field trips to the museum. Amazon hopes to foster a collaborative musical learning environment through a co-written curriculum and other initiatives that involve the greater community. “We are excited and grateful that Amazon has embraced the Nashville community and is committed to expanding opportunities and access for our students,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, director of Metro Nashville Public Schools. “Understanding…
Nashville, TENN — Parnassus Books recently announced a virtual conversation with Eric E. Brown, Jr. author of Weekend Reflections, and writer/filmmaker Molly Secours. The virtual event will take place on the Parnassus Books Facebook page (facebook.com/parnassusbooks1) Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 6:00pm CST. Weekend Reflections is a graphic memoir that shows the journey of a black man becoming a vulnerable and courageous human being through words and pictures. The book travels through Blackness, relationships, religion, culture, and Hip Hop to fully-paint life against the colorless assumptions made by a first glance. Weekend Reflections is a stream of consciousness with out-loud…
WASHINGTON — Today, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies commends U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) for hiring Lauren Marshall as legislative director in his personal office. Marshall is one of three current Black legislative directors in the U.S. Senate. Jasmine Dimitriou (Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)) and Ariel Marshall (Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)) are the other two. Prior to her new position, Marshall served as an intern for Senator Warner (May 2011-Aug. 2011), and in various roles for the Senator including Legislative Correspondent (Feb. 2014-July 2016), Legislative Aide (July 2016-June 2017), Legislative Assistant (June 2017-Mar. 2019), and Senior Policy…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. January 11, 2021 – The Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) has announced a new initiative to ensure no doses of COVID-19 vaccine are wasted. The “Standby List” will begin its operations Tuesday, January 12. MPHD offers COVID-19 vaccines by appointment to those who fall into the current vaccination phase most weekdays from 8am to 2:30pm at the clinic in the Five Points neighborhood in East Nashville. To ensure no doses are wasted at the clinic each day, MPHD will be introducing the Standby List to distribute any remaining doses of vaccine at the end of each day. Each…
Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune) – A Tennessee man who had expressed pro-Trump views and was accused by online researchers of carrying plastic hand restraints in the U.S. Senate during the Capitol riot Wednesday, has been arrested. The Nashville man, Eric Munchel, 30, was being held in a Nashville jail Sunday on a federal warrant, online records show. An FBI spokesperson, Samantha Shero, confirmed the arrest. The federal prosecutor’s office in Washington is handling the case. “Photos depicting his presence show a person who appears to be Munchel carrying plastic restraints, an item in a holster on his right hip, and…
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Religious repression and the intimidation of people of faith will be the subject of the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program. Host Gina Logue’s interview with Emily Baran, interim chair of the Department of History, will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org. Baran participated in a videoconference hearing by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Sept. 16. The topic was religious freedom in Russia and central Asia. She focused on the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses…
January 7, 2021 (Nashville, TN) – TNDP Chair Mary Mancini released the following statement in response to the violent attack on the United States Capitol: “Yesterday, a violent right-wing mob, on behalf of, and urged on by, a sitting president unleashed a shameful coup attempt by attacking the United States Capitol. Today, in the clear light of day, we know why it happened and can lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of complicit Republican politicians like Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, who refused to hold a lawless President Trump accountable for his increasingly anti-American words and deeds, Senators Marsha…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors in Tennessee said Friday that FBI agents have searched the homes and offices of several state lawmakers. U.S. Attorney’s Office of Middle Tennessee spokesman David Boling confirmed the searches included the homes of former GOP House Speaker Glen Casada, state Rep. Robin Smith and Casada’s former chief of staff, Cade Cothren. The office of Republican Rep. Todd Warner also was searched, according to House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Boling declined to provide any further information regarding the nature of the searches and how many lawmakers were involved. A spokesman for the FBI referred all questions…
Nashville, TN — SBA Tennessee District kicked off the 2021 service year by opening applications to the first cohort of their Business Development Academy. As a result of many conversations and consultations with small business owners during the pandemic, Tennessee District Office developed the Business Development Academy to ensure that small business owners would Get Ready, Be Ready, and Stay Ready now more than ever. SBA’s vision will bridge the gap for small business owners building and operating without a solid foundation while trying to pursue federal government contact opportunities. All qualified applicants should apply online at https://sbabdacohorta.eventbrite.com. “Our team continues…