Author: Clint Confehr

By Clint Confehr NASHVILLE, TN — Prayers of gratitude, appreciation and thanks in giving are revealed by this city’s response to a pastor’s appeal for continued support for those in need. “So thankful to be able to help this project,” a contributor said when giving to ‘Nourish The Heart,’ a fundraising campaign honoring the Rev. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of the Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. Nourish The Heart is funding a ‘Food Pharmacy’ administered by the Nashville General Hospital Foundation. Fuzz has advocated distribution of food to hungry people and patients on special diets since before the March tornado and COVID-19. …

By Clint Confehr COLUMBIA, TN — One of the granddaughters of a Nashville F.W. Woolworth’s lunch-counter sit-in protester was elected to the city council here on Nov. 3. “She was doing that victory dance with me,” DaVena Harrison said about her spiritual connection with Annie McGill Hardison, a revered Civil Rights activist here who died in July at 81. Thirty miles south, Pulaski Aldermen Randy Massey was re-elected to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen with the most votes, 1,345, in a six-candidate contest for three seats. Incumbent Ricky Keith continues with 992 votes. Giles County Commissioner Larry Worsham won…

By Clint Confehr NASHVILLE, TN — A U.S. military veteran is coordinating a working group of nearly 20 veterans with examples of racism in the Veterans Administration. Retired military medic Clyde Poag of Nashville chaired the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service’s African American Veterans Working Group at the Veterans Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. As such, Poag testified to a congressional committee about discrimination in the VA. “The vet center program I was in has many complaints including one settled for $3 million” as a result of litigation, Poag said, citing Vasser vs McDonald. VA employee Vivian Vasser’s…

By Clint Confehr NASHVILLE, TN — The Links Inc. chapter here has hosted a virtual panel discussion on COVID-19 vaccines and the African American community. Details on a well-known fact — African Americans suffer a disproportionately higher percentage of the infections from the unique coronavirus — were discussed, as well as answers to frequent questions such as who will receive vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All, of that and more will be reported here and in the print edition of The Tennessee Tribune print edition starting Thursday, Nov. 12. The Links-hosted discussion led-off with Dr. Cherae…

By Clint Confehr NASHVILLE, TN — Several years after World War II, a woman volunteered to serve her county as an election poll worker and was surprised that she got paid. Imagine her surprise now. Some voters “test” county poll workers on their enforcement of rules such as the prohibition against candidate campaign paraphernalia within a 100-foot boundary of where Americans vote, Davidson County poll official Robert W. Catlin reports. One voter presented himself to vote wearing a T-shirt with words saying “Trump Likes Russia” on the front, but written in Cyrillic letters, Catlin said. Cyrillic is like the Greek…

By Clint Confehr EDGEHILL, TN — Voters want good jobs, health care, and pensions, an AFL-CIO Executive Council member told demonstrators Oct. 22 near Belmont University before the presidential debate. “We are in the heart of a red state,” said Vonda McDaniel, president of the Nashville/Middle Tennessee Central Labor Council. “Tennesseans have different opinions on moral issues, but we can agree that we want jobs with family-sustaining wages … jobs that provide health care and a dignified pension.” Nearby, “Democrats for Life” is what Harriett Bradley’s sign said. Another woman wore what seemed to be pajamas with a repeating pattern…

By Clint Confehr U.S. Senate candidate Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis — an environmental justice activist and surprise Democratic nominee — has announced she’s in a tight race with Bill Hagerty, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan. Meanwhile, three of six candidates running for three at-large seats on Pulaski’s city board are Black. That line-up isn’t surprising where everybody knows the klan started there. If you’re from Pulaski, regardless of race, “They will accept you as one of their own,” explained Andrea Poynter, one of seven African Americans running in five ward races for Columbia City Council. Originally from Philadelphia, but…

Vonda McDaniel, president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville/Middle Tennessee, led a march to the intersection of Wedgwood and Magnolia to join demonstrators near Belmont University before the presidential debate. Photo by Clint Confehr By Clint Confehr EDGEHILL, TN — Jobs, good pay, health care and pensions are what voters want, the Nashville/Middle Tennessee Central Labor Council president told demonstrators near Belmont University before the Presidential Debate began Thursday. “We are in the heart of a red state,” said Vonda McDaniel who came up the ranks as a rubber and steel workers union member. “Tennesseans have different opinions on…

By Clint Confehr SHELBYVILLE, TN — Biden-Harris voters out-numbered those for Trump-Pence on Saturday at a rally prompted by Ku Klux Klan calling cards left here recently at a vandalized sign for Democrats. “If you’re here, we assume you’re against hate,” Stephanie Isaacs, a founder of Shelbyville Loves, announced from the steps of the Bedford County Courthouse starting the rally at noon Oct. 17. “The KKK can’t thrive here,” Isaacs said. Estimates of how many people attended the rally ranged from at least 50 to as many as 150-200. If there were 120 — as indicated by Bedford County Democratic…

By Clint Confehr SHELBYVILLE, TN — Biden-Harris campaign signs were damaged here recently and Ku Klux Klan calling cards were left on at least one front lawn where a sign was broken. In response, there’s a “love and fellowship” party on the Public Square starting at noon Saturday. The Oct. 17 event is being presented by Shelbyville Loves, a local community group formed to oppose hate in the wake of violence in Charlotte, N.C. and at the October 2017 white supremacists’ parade in Shelbyville. “Boo to Hate” was what “Loves” said three years ago. This year it’s “Y’all Means All”…