NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn today called for removing negative consequences for schools and educators associated with student assessments for the 2020-2021 school year. Student assessments will be conducted as planned. “Given the unprecedented disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic and extended time away from the classroom has had on Tennessee’s students, my Administration will work with the General Assembly to bring forward a solution for this school year that alleviates any burdens associated with educator evaluations and school accountability metrics,” said Gov. Lee. “Accountability remains incredibly important for the education of Tennessee’s students,…
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Nashville–St. Louis entrepreneur Jason Wilson and videographer David Kirkman have released a short video documentary featuring Black-owned Nashville businesses inspired by the Pharrell Williams and Jay Z song, “Entrepreneur.” The documentary titled “Entrepreneur: Nashville Edition,” features the song while spotlighting nine Black businesses in vignettes. Business owners featured in the film include: Jason Ridgel of Guidance Whiskey, Christopher Jones of Willie B’s, Clarence Darkwa of Dash Scooters, Will Radford of Local Distro and many others. Each business owner is shown in their natural environment, along with their name, business and a description of what they do. Their social media handles…
By Kalyn Womack Sen. Kamala Harris handled the interjections of Mike Pence during the VP debate with grace. A skill many women have learned in order to handle situations with entitled white men. The history of patriarchy and the normalization of white men in power has silenced the voice and watered down the authority of women. Harris was the prime example and showed everyone on national television. During the VP debate Thursday Oct. 7, Kamala Harris had to repeatedly put her foot down as Vice President Pence interrupted her as she spoke to interject his response. She would kindly and…
On Wednesday, Oct. 21st MTSU’s Center for Popular Music is releasing “Jimi Hendrix: A-Z,” an exclusive virtual discussion of the guitar legend, on its website, http://mtsu.edu/popmusic, at noon Central. MTSU’s Dr. Mike Alleyne of the Department of Recording Industry and MTSU public history doctoral student Katie Rainge-Briggs, who also works with the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, have a thoroughly fascinating conversation about the young guitarist who soared through the music world like a comet for only four years before his light was extinguished. It’s free and available to the public anytime after the noon release.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A historically black college in Durham has announced the death of its president. Just three months after his appointment as Saint Augustine’s University’s 12th president, Dr. Irving McPhail has died, the college announced late Thursday night. Media reports said the death was a result of COVID-19. The following is a statement from the Saint Augustine’s University Board of Trustees: It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of the 12th President of Saint Augustine’s University, Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail. President McPhail began his tenure on July 15, 2020. In the short time he was the…
By Dr. Ron Daniels Madame Speaker, with a Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives and one of the most consequential elections in the history of this nation slated to occur in a few weeks, it’s time to send a powerful sign to Black voters that Black Lives Matter by passing HR-40 now! 2020 marks thirty-one years since the late Congressman John Conyers first introduced HR-40 as a bill to establish a Commission to Study Slavery, Jim Crow Laws and other post-emancipation discriminatory policies in the U.S. to determine whether reparations for African Americans were warranted. Congressman Conyers was moved to…
By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) — Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House minority leader who lost a razor-thin race for governor in 2018, voted on Thursday (Oct. 15), driving her ballot to a local drop box. Jeanine Abrams McLean, a former biologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who now helps her sister run the census advocacy group Fair Count, also took advantage of Georgia’s early voting, wearing her “Come to Your Census” T-shirt to her polling place in Tucker. In an interview with Religion News Service, Stacey Abrams called it a coincidence that the siblings had cast…
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ Americans who own stocks are pulling further away from those who don’t, as Wall Street roars back to record heights while much of the economy struggles. And Black households are much more likely to be in that not-as-fortunate group that isn’t in the stock market. Only 33.5% of Black households owned stocks in 2019, according to data released recently by the Federal Reserve. Among white households, nearly 61% did so. Hispanic and other minority households also are less likely than white families to own stock. Many reasons are behind the…
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ More than 20% of Tennessee’s Black adults cannot vote due to a felony conviction, while an estimated 8% of the state’s overall adult population is disenfranchised, according to a newly released report. The report, compiled by nonprofit The Sentencing Project, was recently made public ahead of Election Day, Nov. 3. Overall, the percentage of disenfranchised people in the U.S. has dropped in recent years, but disenfranchisement rates vary wildly state to state _ particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. “As of 2020, an estimated 5.17 million people are disenfranchised due to…
By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period law for abortions is unconstitutional because it serves no legitimate purpose while placing a substantial burden on women who seek abortions in Tennessee. Tennessee’s 2015 law requires women to make two trips to an abortion clinic, first for mandatory counseling and then for the abortion at least 48 hours later. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Bernard Freidman found that the state could not show that the law furthers its purported goals. “Women’s mental and emotional health is not benefited…