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…
Author: Logan Langlois
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…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — District 61 Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) proposed legislation that has dominated Tennessean headlines for its call to “not display any flag other than the United States flag and the official Tennessee state flag on or in a public school,” as written in House Bill 1605. Though the bill’s language mentions banning all flags, many LGBTQ+ advocates voiced their concerns regarding the bill’s origin. Concerns regarding the bill’s origins stemmed largely from a recent interview Bulso gave to WKRN where he said, “The whole idea is that a school is a place where a child…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The Lewis Country Store, long famous for its connections to far-right extremist groups and controversial messaging, has made headlines after being sold on January 2nd to the Nashville-based Tri Star Energy, the parent company of stores such as Twice Daily and White Bison. Located about 20 minutes North of Nashville on Old Hickory Boulevard in Bells Bend, the store’s former owner and operator Brian Lewis opened it with his late father Jimmy Lewis in 2004 and has been no stranger to controversy. Clark described himself as “not a cuckservative, I’m an actual literal Nazi”…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Water conservation organization the Cumberland River Compact has announced its Working Lands Program, an effort that will concentrate on mine land reforestation throughout the Cumberland River in Kentucky and Tennessee. The first phase of the project is set to begin in early 2024 with the planting of 35,000 trees, after which The Compact said they will be filling a gap in “small” land reforestation. The reforestation will consist of anywhere from 50-100 acres at a time and is desperately needed in areas around the Cumberland River that have previously been mined for coal. “Basically,…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The new Tennessee Titans Nissan Stadium has been a hotly debated topic among Nashvillians, with many critics including now-current Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, saying the time, energy, and money being allocated could serve the city better in other ways. As debates continue, project leaders of the new Nissan Stadium said they are trying to keep Nashville’s Black community in sports by providing long-lasting employment opportunities. One entity at the forefront of this effort is Don Hardin Group, DHG, who has been charged with overseeing the architecture and construction of the stadium and has also…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Fayetteville State University professor in the School of Social Work, Erica Campbell, has been awarded a $10,000 grant for simulation-based education. Campbell said the grant provided by the Council of Social Work Education’s Kendall Institute will allow for more impactful education and training regarding spreading awareness of widespread food insecurity, an issue that has become a widespread issue in North Carolina. Campbell said that students will not only be studying of food insecurity but also learning how to assist in adapting to the crises and its ever-changing influences. Campbell said she began her journey…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Therapeutic Focus, the self-described “little clinic with a big heart,” has opened a new outpatient location in Crittenden County with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that welcomed several guests, including a speech from West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon. Practice owner and operator LaTeasha Gaither-Davis said she has been practicing occupational therapy since 2008 and opened Therapeutic Focus in 2011, only recently deciding to open a practice around the same area she grew up in. “I am ecstatic, I’m very, very excited,” Gaither-Davis said. “I’ve been in the West Memphis, Tennessee community since 2011. But it feels…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — Tennessee State University’s Avon Williams Campus will be hosting the 13th bi-annual Southern Human Rights Organizers Conference, SHROC, this December 14th through 16th. SHROC founder Jaribu Hill said the conference allows workers struggles activists to exchange ideas and network. Hill said topics for the weekend will include institutional inequalities which consolidate wealth, workplace systems Hill said enslave workers and abuse Black and Brown citizens, and the prospect of a ‘Cop City’ being built in Nashville. Hill said since SHROC is a Black-lead organization they wanted to uplift a college historically important to the Black…
By Logan Langlois NASHVILLE, TN — The doors of Muse Conservatory of Dance haven’t been open for long, but in their short time, they have amassed a reputation as a well-respected Nashvillian-owned studio. So much so that co-owner and operator Mekaylah Gilbert said Muse has been able to participate in traveling performances for the past three years. This Winter, Muse is staying in Music City, however, and will be delivering their rendition of holiday classic White Christmas for Nashvillians on December 16th. Themes behind studio performances typically coincide with the time of year and holidays taking place. Dancers usually train…