By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Celebrating their 22nd year of regularly meeting to discuss books, sisterhood, and volunteering for their community, the Women of Focus Book Club is still going strong in providing community support after having read an estimated 264 books and counting. Established in January 2003 in the beauty salon of book club co-founder Veronica Wiley, its name was adopted from Wiley’s salon Women of Focus Hair Studio and has since offered its support to both the women and charities around their community. Wiley said when Women of Focus are not reading, they are engaged in volunteer…
Author: Logan Langlois
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — SB1738, a bill that has been criticized as a threat to the rights of trans foster children by civil rights groups such as the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), was passed on second consideration and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee in late January. This bill introduced by District 32 Senator Paul Rose (R-Lauderdale, Shelby, Tipton) would prohibit “the Department of Children’s Services from requiring an adoptive or foster parent to support a policy on sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.” “Honestly I was mortified,”…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Student Freedom Initiative, or SFI, has partnered up with technology company Cisco on a mission to fight the current wealth gap being experienced to the detriment of minority communities by providing technological and financial relief to minority colleges. Chief Operating Officer Keith Shoates said SFI and Cisco originally started the program to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, in updating their outdated cyber-security technology following a message from the Department of Education which set forth an updated set of guidelines that had to be followed by all colleges receiving federal funding,…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Unapologetic from the beginning, ready to call out those who stand between real political change and civil equality, the Black-fronted hardcore punk band Black Forces is touring through Tennessee, building a devoted following. Vocalist Derik Overstreet said the band was founded as a joke between him and his friend and drummer Portugal. When first founded, the band took on a nonsensical name that referenced the rats they had just found in the business Portugal still co-owns and operates today, Molotov Skate Shop, and the two began jamming during the swirling political unrest that shaped…
By Logan Langlois The Jefferson Street Sound Museum is hosting the “Black History In Music: Work Worship, and Celebration” showcase, which will highlight both the past and future of Jefferson Street artistry. The showcase features seven artists presenting both sculptures and canvases and will run every Saturday throughout February from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is free to visit; however, there is a charge for tours given by the founder and curator of the museum, Lorenzo Washington. The Vice President of Jefferson Street Sound Museum, Karen Coffee, emphasized the importance of remembering the history and culture that has…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) took to the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville recently to protest, donning flags, signs, and t-shirts speaking out against what they have dubbed the “Slate of Hate,” or a collection of bills led by a proposed “Flag Ban,” with House Bill 1605, along with other legislation TEP has described as a threat against LGBTQ+ rights. TEP Policy Researcher Jace Wilder said the protest did an excellent job of sending a message to legislators that civil rights advocates will not be silent and will not be going anywhere. Wilder said the…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The internationally recognized Latin American restaurant chain Pollo Campero has announced that Tennessee is one of its targets to open new locations over the next couple of years. Pollo Campero Director of Franchise Development Blas Escarcega said the restaurant chain is looking to open 15 new locations across Tennessee over the next ten years, with the franchise’s third location opening in Smyrna sometime in March. Escarcega said he expects to sign another franchise agreement within the next couple of weeks to open an additional location in Metro Knoxville. He said additional Tennessee cities Pollo…
By Logan Langlois PHILADELPHIA, PA — The decades-long opioid crisis has proven to be one that citizens are still processing even after having experienced several devastating waves that have claimed nearly 645,000 lives from overdoses between 1999-2021 according to the CDC. The show “Street Talk” was simultaneously broadcast over both Power 99 and WDAS FM, and hosted by Power 99 air personality Cosmic Kev and iHeartMedia Philadelphia Director of News and Community Affairs Loraine Ballard. During their discussion over the show, Kev and Ballard tackled several hard-hitting topics that relate to combating spiraling overdose deaths in Black communities. The program…
By Logan Langlois JACKSON, MS — An appalling situation of 215 bodies discovered buried under unmarked graves in a pauper cemetery behind a jailhouse located in Hinds County, Mississippi is spreading across news and social media. The identities of many of the deceased have not been determined, largely due to the reported lack of proper record-keeping having been done by the jail. Relatives attempting to identify bodies have reported that they’ve been told they will have to pay a fee. Many of the families believed that their loved ones were merely missing persons or serving their sentences in jail, not…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — On January 18 we celebrated the birthday of a man of firsts. The first person to ever successfully perform open heart surgery, the first African American cardiologist, and the founder of the first interracial hospital, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams III’s January 18, 1856 birthday is one to be marked with broad strokes within history books. Williams was the first African American physician to be admitted into the American College of Surgeons, after which he co-founded the National Medical Association. Throughout his career, Williams advocated for African Americans to have their place in the medical…