Author: Rosetta Miller Perry

By Rosetta Miller Perry The world got a chance to see America at its worse this past weekend, with a sick and disgusting collection of racist Klan and Nazi types descending on a college town to champion their message of hatred and bigotry. For many who’ve seen other displays like this through the years, it was no surprise that this kind of sickness still exists in our nation. That three people lost their lives in this carnage, two of them state troopers only doing their job and a third a young woman who was part of the crowd that a…

By Rosetta Miller Perry Nothing undermines the mission of media organizations more than fake controversies. It makes readers skeptical and distrusting, and in turn makes it harder to get the public’s attention focused on legitimate issues and major problems. The Nashville Scene recently decided to “expose” what they thought was wrongdoing on the part of Howard Jones, one of the candidates for State Senator from District 19, in the upcoming election. On a Scene blog post one of their contributors claims Jones has been guilty of violating school policy. “Would-be state senator Howard Jones has been blasting mass emails asking…

With Father’s Day approaching, this is the ideal time to put the focus and spotlight on Black men. Unfortunately, too many times these days the only attention paid to Black men is negative. Everyone sees the stories about the disproportionate number of Black men incarcerated, or killed in crime incidents, or shot by police during questionable encounters. Then there’s also the stats that show more than 72% of all Black children recently born were the products of single mothers (according to 2010 statistics). Now it is very easy for these stats to be distorted, or our message to be misinterpreted. No one should take what…

By Rosetta Miller-Perry Black celebrities often only have one dependable champion when it comes to media outlets. That’s the Black press. Black newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, as well as the handful of Black owned TV properties, rally behind Black celebrities and politicians when others attack or abandon them. Yet all too often, those celebrities don’t support the Black press as far as advertising, or even bothering to get subscriptions. They give priority interviews to mainstream media, appear on those stations first, even take out huge ads in mainstream newspapers, but don’t even bother to give Black media any attention.…

By Rosetta Miller Perry Police misconduct and brutality have long been a major problem in this nation, one that disproportionately affects people of color, and in particular has resulted in the deaths of several Black citizens. All too often in these cases there are cover-ups where evidence is lost, statements are changed, and officers who have done heinous things get off totally free. But what is even worse in controversial cases is when misinformation gets widely disseminated, tensions increase, and communities continue to lose confidence in the ability of those entrusted with authority to fairly and objectively do their jobs.…

By Rosetta Miller Perry The Tennessee Tribune has been asking for months, and not getting any clear answers or much response at all, about exactly what role Jefferson Street, and for that matter North Nashville, is going to play in the ongoing boom that has kept Nashville in the news and made it one of the country’s most talked about cities. When you drive or walk down Jefferson Street today, or take a trip through the corridor area, you do see more development happening. There are various buildings under construction, condos, apartments. There are improvements continuing that promise to finally…

By Rosetta Miller Perry Since the Trump administration began in January, ridiculous behavior and indefensible actions have been routine. Between spending his time sending out idiotic tweets, attacking the news media, insulting foreign diplomats, and even implying in public statements that Frederick Douglass was still alive, the 45th President has made both himself and this nation a continual laughing stock. But there’s nothing remotely funny about his reported plans to either gut or try to completely eliminate the Affordable Care Act (better known in some circles as Obamacare). In particular, his administration has announced that they are targeting provisions that…

By Rosetta Miller Perry During Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign there were multiple incidents of hate groups openly embracing his campaign, with everyone from Klan representatives to members of Neo Nazi organizations publicly supporting him. Trump periodically tried to distance himself from them with timid, lukewarm comments, but it was obvious he never fully separated himself from these groups. Then, after only a few days in office, he appointed as a close adviser Stephen Bannon, someone with a long history of racist and anti semitic rhetoric as an executive at the vile publication/website Breitbart. Now, with Trump only in office a…

By Rosetta Miller Perry Whenever controversial or tragic events occur involving the police department, the actions of those in charge are always under close scrutiny. That is especially true when a death is involved, and even more so when an officer shoots and kills an unarmed black male. But so far in the case involving Officer Joshua Lippert and the death of Jocques Clemmons, the Tribune thinks that the actions of Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson have been commendable. First, he met with several Black ministers. Then at a press conference he agreed to a full and open investigation of…

By Rosetta Miller Perry Dr. Wayne Riley, former Meharry President, accepted a new position recently. He will now be President of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York. The roughly 157-year-old SUNY Downstate Medical Center touts itself as the nation’s first medical school to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside. With more than 6,000 employees, it is one of the largest employers in Brooklyn. The State University of New York has 64 college and university campuses. During the 2015-16 academic year, it served nearly 1.3 million students. Dr. Riley is the third high profile…