Memphis, TN — Today community, faith, labor, youth, culture and business leaders launched Free the 901, a campaign to prepare, protect and uplift Memphis residents amid escalating authoritarian attacks — including the proposed deployment of the National Guard to patrol neighborhoods. Rooted in the belief that real safety comes from investing in people, not punishment, Free the 901 held a press conference at 1 p.m., followed by the “No Cooperation with Occupation” march at 1:30 p.m. Both events began at the park across from Juvenile Court (intersection of Neely & Adams). This campaign was born out of urgency. On Sept.…
Author: TN Tribune Staff Writer
Assata Shakur, a Black liberation activist granted political asylum in Cuba after a 1979 prison escape, has died in Havana, Cuban officials and her family said. Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited “health conditions and advanced age.” Her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, confirmed the death in a Facebook post. New Jersey officials said she was 78. Born Joanne Deborah Chesimard — her married name — Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. Her case long strained U.S.–Cuba relations, with American authorities for decades seeking her return; the FBI placed her on its “most wanted terrorists”…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Les Smith, a longtime Memphis television reporter known for vivid, people-centered storytelling, died Wednesday at 75 following a recent hospitalization for suspected lung cancer, his family said. Smith had recently returned from Belize “in bad shape physically” and, after spending a weekend with his sons and grandchildren, entered the hospital the following Tuesday, according to a Facebook post by his son Jason. Doctors drained fluid from his lungs and believed he likely had lung cancer, the post said. Over a 13-year run at FOX13 before retiring in 2014, Smith filed more than 8,000 stories, earning a reputation…
Voddie Baucham Jr., a prominent Reformed Baptist preacher and author who led the newly launched Founders Seminary in Florida, died Thursday at age 56 following what his ministry called an “emergency medical incident.” Founders Ministries announced his death and asked for prayers for his wife, Bridget, their children and grandchildren. Baucham had moved to Cape Coral, Florida, earlier this year to serve as the founding president of Founders Seminary, which opened its first semester in August. Before returning to the United States, he spent nearly a decade in Lusaka, Zambia, as a professor and dean of theology at African Christian…
Former U.S. president Barack Obama said comments by Donald Trump linking paracetamol to autism are “violence against the truth” and risk discouraging pregnant women from using safe pain relief, according to the Guardian. Speaking September 24 at London’s O2 Arena during an interview with historian David Olusoga, Obama said claims about paracetamol—sold as Tylenol in the United States—have been “continuously disproved” and “undermine public health … that can do harm to women,” the Guardian reported. On September 22, Trump said, “Taking Tylenol is not good … All pregnant women should talk to their doctors about limiting the use of this…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bobby Cain, who integrated Clinton High School in Anderson County as part of the “Clinton 12,” died Sept. 22, 2025, in Nashville. He was 85 and became the school’s first African American graduate in 1957, one year before the “Little Rock Nine” integrated Central High School in Arkansas. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, Anderson County ended funding to bus Black students to Knoxville, leading Cain and other eligible students to attend Clinton High on Aug. 26, 1956. The first days brought threats and obscenities from white students, and violence followed; on…
CLARKSVILLE, TN —On September 15, over 100 people attended a candidate forum in Clarksville where three of the four Democratic candidates seeking Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District seat addressed critical issues facing voters ahead of the October 7 special primary election. State Reps. Aftyn Behn and Vincent Dixie, along with businessman Darden Copeland were in attendance. Notably absent was State Rep. Bo Mitchell. While the candidates showed similar policy positions on a variety of issues, there were still some clear distinctions as shared below. Rising Costs: All three attending candidates addressed growing concerns about utility bill increases related to data center…
The Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence will host the 21st annual “Meet Us at the Bridge” ceremony Saturday, September 20 to honor victims of domestic violence and recognize those working to end it. The event marks the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and will feature the reading of names of 12 individuals who lost their lives to domestic violence in Nashville over the past year. Family members and loved ones will drop purple roses from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in their memory. Mayor Freddie O’Connell is scheduled to attend, alongside family members, advocates, and community leaders. The coalition…
A Nashville Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) employee has been placed on administrative leave following an internal investigation into a social media post referencing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The department confirmed it is reviewing concerns about the post and emphasized that all personnel matters are handled according to Metro, departmental, and Civil Service rules and policies. “The employee involved has been relieved from her duties and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation,” the DEC said in a statement. The department stressed that it does not consider personal characteristics such as political beliefs,…
NASHVILLE, TN — Metro Council Member Delishia Porterfield has been elected president pro tempore of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County after a tie vote that underscored divisions within the 40-member body. Porterfield and Council Member Russ Bradford each received 18 votes during the Sept. 2 meeting. Vice Mayor Angie Henderson broke the tie by casting the deciding vote for Porterfield, giving her the one-year appointment. The president pro tempore presides over Council meetings when the vice mayor is absent and serves as a representative of the Council in official and ceremonial functions. The position, while largely procedural,…