By Rosetta Miller Perry The calendar may say it’s 2022, but in the minds of some Tennessee Republican legislators it might as well be 1852 or 1962 in terms of how little regard they have for Black institutions and officials. A few days ago the state legislature held what amounted to the ugliest combination of a Salem witch trial and a kangaroo court in a situation where an HBCU that has historically been denied its rightful funding was now seeking legislative help for a crisis no one in or out of the state anticipated. Across the nation HBCU attendance is…
Author: Rosetta Miller Perry
By Rosetta Miller-Perry The holiday season is a time for reflection and reunion with friends and family. But it’s also a time to give thanks, and Black America has much to be thankful for this year, even in the face of still dealing with on a daily basis the debilitating and devastating impact of systemic racism. But this nation just had an election and though everything didn’t go as we would hope, a lot more went right than wrong. The best things in terms of a direct impact on Black Americans were the victories by candidates in key offices around…
By Rosetta Miller-PerryPublisher, The Tennessee Tribune Despite all the impressive sounding rhetoric that you hear during Black History Month and some of the recent markers and streets getting new names, African American accomplishments and landmarks are not given the exposure and attention they deserve. There are some 95,000 entries across the country that carry this designation from the National Register of Historic Places as “sites deemed worthy of preservation by the federal government.” But as revealed in a recent issue of the New Yorker, Black landmarks have been horribly ignored in the National Register process. The major mission of historic…
By Rosetta Miller-Perry As editor of the longest running African-American news institution in Nashville, I have built a reputation for shining lights on the facts: how business decisions made downtown affect our community; how referendums that appear on the ballot from time to time have impact on how we live, work, and play; and yes, how important it is that we participate in the political process. This paper has both calmed the storms of politics and, more than often, ruffled some feathers. To our credit, we walk and work in the tradition of African-American newspapers who, for nearly two hundred…
By Rosetta Miller-Perry When it comes to America’s judicial system, there’s seldom equal treatment for Black defendants. The white mass murderer (that’s what he is) Payton Gendron was indicted last week on hate crimes and weapon charges. First, if a Black man went to a supermarket mostly frequented by whites, opened fire and killed 13 people, most of them white, it’s highly doubtful he would have been brought in alive. The police would have gunned him down, and no one would have blinked or questioned police behavior, Gendron is pleading not guilty, and his attorney claims she hopes to resolve…
By Rosetta Miller-Perry It’s a double-blow to lose your hard-earned cash taken by someone you know. A thief will steal something even more valuable than money or goods, they also steal your trust. The aspects of this crime is rotten. The challenge is handling a form of betrayal to keep the rot from taking hold. It’s a paradox to be sure to cultivate trust even as I recognized that a friend violated it; or to accept that a crime was perpetrated against me without allowing it to recast my identity. The point is to move on from the event while…
By Rosetta Miller Perry There are three things that separate the cases of Robert “Bobby” Crimo III and Jayland Walker. The first concerns their actions. Robert “Bobby” Crimo III fired more than 80 rounds into a crowd of people in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, gathered to celebrate the 4th of July at a parade. Jayland Walker sped away from police cars in Akron, Ohio, then later fled on foot. The second concerns what happened to them. Despite the fact Crimo III killed seven people and fled the scene, when police caught him he was arrested. He’s now being held…
By Rosetta Miller Perry Many Black communities across this nation celebrated Juneteenth this past weekend, recognizing the significance of the end of slavery in America, and what was supposed to be the start of a new day. Despite the fact that only 18 states to date are officially on board declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday, African Americans paid homage to our ancestors, and celebrated the sense of unity and freedom that the day symbolizes. But now African Americans must rekindle that holiday’s spirit and again strive for the unity of purpose that Juneteenth epitomizes. A sad reality is the brutality…
Tennessee Tribune Newspaper Tennessee Tribune Bldg. 1501 Jefferson Street Nashville, TN 37207 Dear State Senator Jeff Yarbro: One of my reporters has been looking into a case that involves DCS and a Juvenile Court Judge, who are keeping two pre-school age children from their mother who wants them back. DCS took the children from her in January 2020. She has had supervised visits with them every other weekend since October 2020. We will not disclose any more details publicly. If you are not aware of the case, ask your staff to fill you in. We are holding the story because publishing it now could…
By Rosetta Miller Perry While the Tribune always acknowledge and embraces the right of any and all concerned individuals who consider themselves qualified to run for office, we also want to see a degree of stability and order in the process. The people who oppose Black progress are certainly unified. They are organized, and they co-ordinate their campaigns with this racist republican widespread gerrymandering. It is being spearheaded by white racist led legislators whose only glory on Sunday morning is to pray to the white master that they can keep turning the hate clock back. This makes it even more…