By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — A young man who fights for social justice as did Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while walking in the footsteps of Jesus has been recognized by one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States for his unrelenting efforts to serve his fellow man. Rev. Calvin Taylor Skinner, minister at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Knoxville, was recently inducted into the Morehouse College of Ministers and Laity. The high honor is bestowed only upon those leaders whose works exemplify Dr. King in areas of service and leadership. Skinner, who believes in community…
Author: Vivian Underwood Shipe
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The last year has been lived in isolation for the majority of the country. That isolation has resulted in a 14 percent rise in suicide, 31 percent rise in overdoses, and an alarming increase of 70 percent in murders in Knoxville, particularly among the youth. While the police are taken the route of justice; many small groups in the community are taken a preventive and restorative plan of action Pastor Reginald Butler of New Mount Calvary Church which sits in the heart of the area where much of the violence has occurred, open the…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — As the history books are being written about the pandemic of 2020 and the recovery years that followed, many who made a difference will be written up in those pages of history. In Knoxville, these women have made an impact in the midst of a storm that has taken over 500,000 lives across the country. That number, thanks to the efforts of these leaders, is much lower in Knoxville than it could have been. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we highlight five of Knoxville’s finest, Barbara Kelley, Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie, Keira Wyatt,…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It was a different type of email. sent out by Principal Ashley Speas to the parents of every student at West High School on a Sunday night. The email request was in response to a request to provide clear backpacks for all students at Austin-East due to the new requirements put in place after the death of a third student over a three week period. Speas, who has been Head Principal at West for over 5 years, wanted to do whatever they could to help. The students wanted to help their friends also. Technological…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — He was so frail. He was unable to walk and arrived by transport van in a wheelchair. As they prepared to lower the lift at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in the inner city of Knoxville, where he would receive his first of two vaccine shots, the lift broke. That did not stop the doctors and nurses of the African American Clinicians Workgroup from making sure he got his shot. Upon hearing the broken lift would prevent him from coming into building; the leaders came out to the transport van and gave him his shot…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — In one of the smoothest operations seen in Knoxville, over 400 elderly, ages 70 and up were given their first vaccine shot of the Pfizer brand in less than 6 hours. The people will return to the same location for their second dose in about 22 days. Thanks to the belief in their ability to pull it off; Dr. Keith Gray, African American Chief Medical Officer of the University of Tennessee Medical Hospital made the vaccine available. The African American Clinician Workgroup, under the sponsorship of the Faith Leaders Initiative, CONNECT Ministries, and New Directions…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — On Martin Luther King Day they gathered on the steps of the Jacob Building to announce they were an army, qualified and ready to be deployed to fight in the war against COVID-19. Less than three weeks later, on the first weekend of February despite cold and snow, they served in their first mission. Under the direction of founder Cynthia Finch, the African American Clinician Workgroup was called upon to give flu shots, administer covid testing and prepare lab work The team worked In partnership with Remote Area Medical (RAM), who were there to…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — “Community just doesn’t happen. People make community.” these words, penned by Claude Whitmyer, in the book,” In the Company of Others: Making Community in the Modern World,” describes two of Knoxville’s leaders who are working on the local and state levels to ensure that is what is happening in Knoxville. If indeed, community is a place where people care about each other and feel they rise together if everyone cares what happens to another; then Darris Upton and Tennion Reed are prime examples of the leadership needed to reach that plane. Working in the…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Cecily Tyson refused to act in any role that degraded her people, Martin Luther Ling and Malcolm X pushed for recognition and equality, and Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, and Elbert Howard created the Black Panther Party to make Black Pride, community, and civil rights a priority. Tyson, who recently passed away at the beautiful age of 96, was blacklisted many times for years for refusing to play roles that did not uplift her race and others like King and Malcolm, were were hated and scorned for their outspoken ways and refusal to be…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — With those words, The African American Health Care Clinician Workgroup, along with founders, Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie and Cynthia Finch, and sponsors, New Direction Healthcare Solutions, C.O.N.N.E.C.T. Ministries, Faith Leaders Initiative, and I AM The Voice of the Voiceless, took their place on the steps of the Jacob Building in Knoxville as the clock struck high noon on Martin Luther King Day. The leaders on the stairs, 40 strong, represented more than 180 religious, political, medical, and community individuals and organizations in Knoxville and from across the state of Tennessee, who have joined forces…