By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Miracle House of God Non-Denominational Church hosted a Pastor’s Installation and Appreciation for Prophetess Venita D. Lewis, Pastor, on July 13 at the Fairfield Baptist Church in Goodlettsville. Miracle House of God founder and described Anointed Prophetess Venita D. Lewis said that she was both excited and humbled to be installed and celebrated last Saturday. Lewis said the church’s establishment came after she had been ignoring a feeling of being called on by her faith to work as a pastor and prophetess. Now, she said she can no longer ignore this call. …
Author: Logan Langlois
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The work of a children’s book author plays an invisible yet monumental role in shaping the minds of children, often beginning shortly after they exit the womb and first begin to experience the world around them. The role of children’s stories can be underappreciated until times such as July’s National Black Family Month, during which the things that become staples of family learning and bonding such as story time are brought to the forefront. LaTasha Reynolds knows this role firsthand, since publishing her first book Bryla’s Amazing Imagination: Bryla Visits the Moon, featuring Black…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Southern Movement Committee (SMC) celebrates encouraging news, as Metro Budget Chair Delishia Porterfield allocated $1 million to SMC’s proposed Varsity Spending Plan in her substitute budget that went into effect July 1. Arts and Culture Director Mike Floss said the Varsity Plan is designed to reinvest Nashville’s tax dollars into community centers and public schools along North and East Nashville. He said the plan also includes the establishment of an Office of Youth Safety to be staffed by Nashville city employees. This office would be focused on at-risk youth outreach that works toward…
By Logan LangloisPhotos by Russell T. Rivers Jr. NASHVILLE, TN — Muse Conservatory of Dance is celebrating the end of a successful spring season and is now gearing up not only for the start of fall performances, but to say goodbye to its first graduating high school class. Founder, director, and co-owner Mekaylah Gilbert said sending her students out into the world is both exciting and frightening, as she has been coaching many of them since they were very young when Muse opened its doors in 2017. “It’s a bittersweet thing to see their progress and to see them turn…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The 2024 Kindling Arts Festival has recently announced the second half of the artists to be included in their impressive yearly roster. Kindling Arts Founding Artistic Director Jessika Malone said this is the festival’s seventh annual celebration, set to begin on Thursday, July 18, and continue until Sunday, July 21. She said this year’s theme is titled ‘Imperfections’, and explores how humankind as well as art itself is perfectly imperfect. “We work with artists that are working outside of the traditional institutional models,” Malone said. “They’re making work that’s really risky and what we do…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Ten Tennessee MTE linemen joined a 21-person volunteer crew this past May, traveling to a remote village in Guatemala to lay cables and build towers to provide electricity to the townspeople. One volunteer, Brad Nattress, said that the team could have never completed their 19-day mission without the dedicated help of the townspeople and five volunteer interpreters. Nattress said everyone banded together through several weeks of long hours, no days off, and having to use old-school methods. Workers also had to overcome their lack of available equipment, while simultaneously navigating a difficult terrain that…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Black Market (NBM) has been hosting a jam-packed month filled with community activities and is showing no signs of slowing. Market co-founder Carlos Partee said he and his team are excited to present the host of activities taking place throughout June, as they have enjoyed bringing a different cultural light to Nashville’s forefront. He said throughout June and February Black events and culture have been long-recognized in Nashville. He hopes to cultivate an environment where the impact of the Black community is celebrated year-round. “As these events are growing, these businesses are…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Black Nashville Assembly (BNA), an extension of the Southern Movement Committee (SMC), is hosting its first family fun field day on June 15 to promote community togetherness. Arts and Culture Director Mike Floss said the mission of the event is to celebrate Nashville’s Black youth who have either successfully progressed through another year of schooling or completed their education altogether. Organizer and lawyer Erica Perry said BNA’s overall mission is to encourage community organizing and political engagement within Nashville’s Black community to influence long-lasting change. “A big part of making a community stronger comes…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Jefferson Street Sound Museum hosted In Celebration of Men last weekend with two days of presentations centered around self-care and encouragement, all of which were hosted by other celebrated community members who have positively impacted Jefferson Street. The Museum’s founder and curator Lorenzo Washington said the goal of the weekend was to “support, encourage, and reflect” as men within the Black community, and to celebrate the great achievements that the young men being featured throughout the weekend have earned through passionate hard work. “It’s a time to have positive reinforcement as far as…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — When most people hear about when slavery was practiced in Tennessee, they think of the tobacco field plantations that populated much of middle Tennessee, or maybe even the cotton plantations that ran as “king” in west Tennessee. However, in middle Tennessee, another king ran – one whose production brought about conditions even more brutal than those experienced by the enslaved peoples of neighboring plantations. “King Iron: The Untold Story of Enslaved Furnace Workers in Tennessee,” is a traveling expedition that digs deep to tell the forgotten story of those forced to work the hellish…