By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — There was a scene in an old baseball movie once where one of the characters said, “If you build it, they will come.” This was the thought pattern back in January when three visionaries got together to plan for the reopening of the city post Covid-19. They believed by the end of summer, right before schools began again, that vaccinated people would be ready to put on some party clothes and shake a tail feather. They were correct in their assumption. Hubert Smith, local radio personality, Lee Willis, local performer, and John Rutherford, one…
Author: Vivian Underwood Shipe
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — For thirty-six years the YWCA across the nation has paid tribute to honor the accomplishments of women who exemplify it’s mission; women who empower other women, work to eliminate racism, and work diligently to promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity. The women are selected nationally by a panel who ranks them as best each year in the following categories, arts and culture, business and industry, community enhancement, education, emerging leader, racial and social justice, and science, technology, and environment. The seven women chosen in Knoxville for 2021 have been exemplary in their fields for…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — When the sun rises on August 7th, it will be 72 hours before the doors open on a new school year for Austin East Magnet High School. In the months leading up to the new year, across the city of Knoxville, many have been working diligently to let the students know when they enter their school on Monday morning, they are loved and valued. Much work has been done to create a beautiful and safe educational environment for their return. The Austin/Austin-East Alumni Association has led the charge for change since 2019. In public…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — When Visit Knoxville and other brochures are mailed out across the country as places of historical significance for visitors to see, two areas will now bear the names of two of Knoxville’s leading African American leaders. The Museum of East Tennessee History, located in downtown Knoxville, renamed its reading room the Booker-Neely Microfilm Reading Room in honor of two of Knoxville’s most prestigious researchers of local history. One one of those researchers is Bob Booker. Already a civil rights icon, Booker was instrumental in integrating the lunch counters of downtown Knoxville during sit ins…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — As they set up for their weekly vaccine clinic, this one in partnership with community partner Foster Chapel, their minds were already on the next big project, vaccinating the young 12 years of age and up. This mission has become every bit as important as the first. In the beginning the elderly were at greatest risk and the Faith Leaders Initiative worked diligently to get them vaccinated. Now, as mask mandates have been lifted across the city and county of Knoxville, as schools move towards no masking requirements in the upcoming school year, and…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Across the city of Knoxville and across the United States, the push is on to get children vaccinated before the next school year begins. Pfizer is vaccinating ages 12 and up and Moderna is not far behind, waiting only for FDA and CDC approval before they too join the effort to vaccinate over 25 million children ages 11 to 17 living in the USA according to the 2019 census data. Once the children are vaccinated and the pandemic is in their past, it is their mindset for the future that is now of great…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — They are responsible for tens of thousands of vaccinated citizens in Knoxville and surrounding counties. They hold weekly clinics and this week was an exceptionally busy one for the Faith Leaders Initiative. In one week there were homeless clinics that members volunteered with for the health department, a drive thru vaccine clinic for ages 12 and up, an evening clinic for day workers, and a Vaccine Festival that not only put shots in arms, but provided food and other resources. In the midst of this were visits from state leaders and recognition from the…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It has been a long time coming. The homeless population had been asking for the life saving vaccinations for a while. The problem in Knoxville, as around the country has been how to fully vaccinate a group of people who are transient and have no regular address and can not return for a second shot to the same location to totally protect them from COVID-19. Martha Jane LaRue Baker, owner of Salon LaRue Hair Salon in West Knoxville, as been feeding hundreds and providing clothing the homeless in the north and downtown areas of…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It was a beautiful sunny day and the first time in over a year a large crowd of city and county leaders had been in the same space since the pandemic shut down the city and the world. In a time that has demanded great leadership on many levels in Knoxville and Knox County, it seemed only fitting that the annual Mayors Leadership Luncheon, now in its 12th year, bring great leaders to speak to the 2021 graduates of Leadership Knoxville about community and servant leadership. The event is hosted yearly by the board…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — When this edition of the Tennessee Tribune hits the street this week, it will mark exactly one year ago that an alarm was sounded by two of Knoxville’s most dedicated community advocates. Since May 1, 2020, every Thursday, with the exception of Christmas week, from five to six pm. Cynthia Finch, Director of New Directions Health Care Solutions and Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie have led a group of faith leaders and organizations that has grown to over 180 state and nationwide in a battle against COVID-19. The group, named the Faith Leaders Initiative, was…