By Adrianne Shropshire and Charlane Oliver. The election on November 6 is one of the most important in our lifetimes. And it is clear that those who do not support our communities’ interest also know how important this election is. They are clearly threatened by the power of the Black vote. After the Supreme Court began allowing states to make changes to their voter ID laws without federal oversight, Republicans started doing everything they could to keep people from showing up to the polls. Here in Tennessee, we are determined not to let that happen. From Memphis to Nashville, Black…
Author: Article submitted
NASHVILLE, TN – It’s a tradition around election time for Democratic Party hopefuls to gather at some union hall, taste some cherry tomatoes, salami, and cheese chunks and promise to look out for working men and women once they get elected. The problem is not enough of them get elected. Vonda McDaniel, President of the Nashville Central Labor Council, emceed a working people’s town hall at the Nashville Education Association hall October 25. Unions want to get pro-worker candidates elected across the state. Back in the day, campaign events like the one held last Thursday were well-attended festivities organized by…
NASHVILLE, TN –Construction was scheduled to begin on the State Fairgrounds in early November. But late Friday afternoon, October 27, Chancellor Ellen Hobbes Lyle threw a monkey wrench in that plan and the bulldozers will remain silent at least until the Flea Market vendors have their day in court. “If we prove our case at trial we can hopefully stop the rape of Nashville caused by the MLS Stadium and the giveaway of 10 acres of prime real estate for mixed-use development,” said Save Our Fairgrounds attorney Jim Roberts. It was not a slam dunk for the Flea Market…
NASHVILLE, TN – A federal judge in Memphis has ruled the Memphis police (MPD) must stop spying on people who are politically active and ordered MPD officers undergo training to stop treating them like criminals. The October 26 decision reaffirms a 1978 court ruling that stopped police surveillance and infiltration of activist groups at that time. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued the original case, Kendrick v Chandler, and they filed briefs in the current case, Blanchard v. City of Memphis. Both lawsuits claimed the MPD engaged in dirty tricks that violated 1st Amendment rights. The current case was…
NASHVILLE, TN — Best-selling author and legal scholar Anita Hill will deliver a lecture, “No Longer Silent: Underrepresented Narratives in Sexual Violence,” Sunday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. at Vanderbilt University’s Langford Auditorium. Admission to the event is free; however, a ticket will be required for entry. Tickets for Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff will be available starting Oct. 8 at the Sarratt Box Office. Tickets will open to the general public on Oct. 15. The lecture is being presented by Vanderbilt Student Government’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Committee as part of their biannual conference. Hill is a professor…
NASHVILLE, TN — Sharon Reynolds, President and CEO of DevMar Products, was one of the recipients of the 2018 Women of Color Achievement Awards, selected in partnership by 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, Inc. and the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO). A total of nine women representing a variety of industries—including technology, finance and retail—have been recognized for outstanding professional achievement, as well as for demonstrating exemplary community service. Sponsored by UPS and ActOne Group, the awards event took place on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at the Synovus Bank at Gulch Crossing, 1033 Demonbreun St., in Nashville. Ms. Reynolds started…
NASHVILLE, TN — Both young women come from the same high school, Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet, in Nashville. Diana Makram knows she wants to major in biology and minor in chemistry, and walked out of the Middle Tennessee State University True Blue Tour at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel with an $18,000 Presidential Scholarship. Martina Hannaalla wants to be a physician, following her father’s career path, through the preprofessional route. She has the academic credentials (29 ACT and 4.0 GPA) to receive the same scholarship, plus is eligible to apply and be considered for the University Honors College’s Buchanan…
By Kumar Dharmarajan, MD and Chief Scientific Officer at Clover Health Mid-state Tennessee has a looming health problem: not enough of us are planning to get vaccinated against the flu this winter. Many of us believe that the flu is not much more than fever, chills, and a few days home in bed sipping chicken soup. That perception is wrong; the flu is much more serious than any cold and can be deadly—especially as you get older. Last year, the U.S. experienced the consequences of this misperception—a record 80,000 deaths from the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).…
ATLANTA, GA — Married in 1943, Jamye Coleman and McDonald Williams have dedicated their lives to teaching, civic activism, and the church. Dr. Jamye Coleman William’s teaching career spans almost fifty years, the last fourteen of which she served as the head of the Department of Communication at internationally known Tennessee State University. In 1984, she assumed the editorship of the AME Church Review, the oldest black journal in America, becoming the first woman to be elected as a major officer in the 197-year history of the AME Church. Dr. McDonald Williams taught English at various colleges and universities for…
By Peter White NASHVILLE, TN — A dozen people who want to shutter Tennessee’s four private prisons picketed outside the Renaissance Hotel early Tuesday morning. They were there to shame the Chamber of Commerce for accepting money from CoreCivic, the nation’s second largest private prison operator, and allowing the company to sponsor the Chamber’s 2020 Annual Celebration. The event was a breakfast and awards ceremony followed by a two-hour workshop. Getting into the hotel was a bit tough because a cluster of MNPD officers surrounded the entrance. The Commerce St. sidewalk between 6th and 5th was barricaded with metal crowd…