Commentary by Thomas Sheffield This month, we celebrate one of the most important holidays, Earth Day. As we come to the final months, (we hope) of the global pandemic, we must demand the government tackle the water crisis issue. Water is one of the things most take for granted each day. The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 was established to assure that the public is provided with safe drinking water. The Act is to be enforced by the EPA. Our water supply and the systems in which we get our water are in jeopardy. We get water through our…
Author: Thomas Sheffield
By Thomas Sheffield Last week the State of Tennessee became the third state in the US to pass a bill limiting transgender athletes. Prior to this, they entertained a bill to let students to refuse to use bathrooms with transgender peers. These were huge bills that did more for the people of the state than any other bill since the passing of Tenncare. I’m just being facetious. I don’t know what they’re doing. This legislature has become one of the most frustrating legislatures in modern times. Instead of tackling issues that bring a higher quality of life for more Tennesseans,…
By Thomas Sheffield There is a divide in the nation. People are in fear of giving up power or feeling powerless. People are scared having things being equal subtracts from the value of their lives. People are intimidated by opportunities given to others who make the most of their opportunity to be successful while they stay stagnant. People fail to realize positive change will result in a better day for everyone. And by People, I mean, White People. I will never know what it means to be white. I am a light skinned black man and I have been…
By Thomas Sheffield As Nashville continues to grow, it seems the crime rate grows faster. You cannot help but turn on the news and see reports of murders, burglaries, bank robberies and various other crimes committed by “Florida Man” and local suspects. We are constantly asking citizens to help police identify suspects caught on fuzzy or bad security camera footage. Our local, state and national politicians continue to take a stance on being tough on crime and resolve all issues with better training of the police, building more prisons and passing more laws. Thankfully, many politicians, both Republican and Democratic have committed to help pass prison reform…
By Thomas Sheffield Last week, the Trump administration made the decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Do you know what it is or why it is important? Do you know what it means? If you are like the majority of Americans, including the President, then the answer is no. I will try to put it into context for you so we can work together to make this a more sustainable planet. Millions of years ago, our planet was covered with plants that converted carbon into oxygen. These plants along with animals died and over…
By Thomas Sheffield I forgive my mother for making me wear uncomfortable shoes. I forgive my father for punishing me for something I did not do. I forgive my brother hitting me with a snowball when I wasn’t looking. I forgive my wife for elbowing me at night while I am snoring. I forgive you for not reading, replying and sharing my articles. However, when it comes to forgiving someone for murdering my family member for no reason, I am not too quick to forgive. I do believe the African American community is the moral background of this nation. I…
By Thomas Sheffield A couple of week’s ago, I mentioned some researches believe statistically, African Americans are headed into a second slavery. It will be an economic and financial slavery. According to the researchers, the black median wealth will be ZERO by the year 2053. So within 200 years from the end of slavery, we will be right back into bondage. Less that 100 years from the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we will be worse off than we were during segregation. All the progress made and all the sacrifices our parents, grandparents…
By Thomas Sheffield Ghosting is a dating trend where one of the people involved cuts off all communication with the other, leaving them without closure. This can be emotionally taxing as the ghostee has questions unanswered as to why and there is no reason given for the cut off. CNN ran a story on how the job market is so good, new hires aren’t showing up for the first day of work. This is commonly called ghosting a job. The theory is the employee has multiple job offers and picks the one that either pays more, has better hours, better…
By Thomas Sheffield The economy is consistently changing. The economy has been growing for the past 10 years since the great recession. The 45th President will lead you to believe that he has been responsible for the economy’s extraordinary growth. He brags that he is responsible for the lowest black unemployment rate in history. However, in spite of this growth, many of the statistics still show people in our community at the bottom. People of color are still at the bottom of every economic category. The black unemployment rate is still almost twice that of the white unemployment rate at…
By Thomas Sheffield September is Insurance Awareness month. How many times have you wished you had a rich uncle or aunt passed and left you a large sum of money? How often have you been disappointed to find a relative had died and did not leave any assets behind to cover funeral expenses? How often do we hear of an untimely death and families depend on the benevolence of others just to overcome the shock of the death? Financial struggles may follow the death of a breadwinner which includes lost earnings and debt due to medical bills. This is why…