By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — As Knoxville celebrates Black History Month, several young African Americans are making new history locally and on the national scene. Let the history books reflect the following: Elston Turner Drive was formally unveiled as one of the new streets in the old Austin Homes area where the former NBA star grew up playing street ball. Say the name Elston in Knoxville and you will invoke stories of one of the greatest basketball teams to ever come out of Austin East High School. Born and raised in the inner city, Turner was a basketball natural.…
Author: Vivian Underwood Shipe
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The requirements were simple, if you were a church, day care, or nonprofit in need of masks, sanitizer, hand soaps and wipes, all you had to do was show up at noon, sign in and haul away cases of free supplies. Partnering with DAY ONE Relief, an organization based in N.C. that works to serve marginalized communities, along with other local organizations – Keira Wyatt with C.O.N.N.E.C.T. and Cynthia Finch of New Directions Healthcare Solutions, made sure everyone who came got what they needed to keep their businesses safe as the pandemic takes its…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Malcom X said, “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” The need to educate was important to these great leaders over 50 years ago…. it’s still important to these leaders featured this week who have spent decades successfully molding the minds, teaching skills, and preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s challenges.…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Men of Valor have been defined as men with three distinct characteristics, strength, courage and passion. During this Black History Month Celebration, several of those mighty African American men will be recognized in this space. Asking no one’s permission, they have been influencers, change agents, and visionaries for decades. we begin our series with three of Knoxville’s entertainment legends. Cylk Cozart, a man who will be the first to tell you how much he loves and honors his mother; wears many hats. Knoxville’s own actor, director, writer and producer, he recently was recognized for…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Children of God Church of God in Christ, a long time member of the Faith Leaders Church Initiative, recognized members of the community who had been helping in the fight against COVID including the co founder of the organization, Cynthia Finch during their annual Mission Day. Finch was also the featured speaker during the event which drew dignitaries and community leaders. The church presented Finch , essential worker nurse Samara Ramsey, and youth leader Kaden Shipe with the James Allen Legacy of Hope Award. After giving the history of the Faith Leaders Church Initiative…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — As the pandemic ends, another pandemic has slowly been building like a tsunami after an earthquake. Homelessness numbers are the new surge as the effect of lost wages, inability to pay rent and utilities and the soaring real estate market are taking a toll on the country. A January 2021 published by the United Way indicates more people than ever before are at risk of being homeless as evictions across the country continue to rise. The same is happening in Knoxville also. People need help more so than ever before. One place they have…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — David Hayes laid on the floor as he was being handcuffed and arrested by the Knox County Sheriff Department at a meeting where Knoxville City Police Department officers had been asked not to attend. Sheriff Spangler released a statement that they were called and told by a city police officer that Hayes would be at the meeting and that he had outstanding warrants pertaining to his participation in a peaceful protest in 2021 Hayes was arrested as soon as he stepped outside the doors of the assembly room of the city county building during…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The surprise gift came at the end of the Christmas Party for the seniors who live at the Residences at Five Points. It came in the form of a wish come true. Like gifts wrapped in several boxes and layers with each gift more beautiful than the previous one, so was this one. The unwrapping began with the first gift of a Christmas at Five Points party. As promised, the community came together again and gave the residents, who had been isolated since May, the second party they promised when they came together at…
By Vivian ShipePart 1 of a 2 Part Series KNOXVILLE, TN —What must it be like to live through not one, but two pandemics, 34 wars around the world, segregation, winning the right to vote and the turmoil of it all? How does it feel to know what life was like before computers, cell phones, and all the other conveniences we all take for granted? For a full week, volunteers from several organizations sat at the feet of elders in Knoxville and listened to the stories of the lived experiences of men and women who have walked through many of…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The evening was very special. People had traveled by cars and vans to be present at the 12th annual Distinguished African American Professional and Student Awards (DAPS). The awards were held the first Saturday of December in Knoxville along with the fourth annual African American Hall of Legacy and the H.R. Mills Black Cultural Awards. AHERN Magazine, which is distributed across Tennessee and 15 states, has a mission of reaching outside one community and touching other communities, and during the banquet the magazine recognized several individuals and organizations. Businesses of the Year went to…