By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Late Thursday evening Federal Judge Lucy Kohl overruled the decision to end the 2020 Census count on Sept. 30 and ruled the census would instead end on Oct. 31 as was originally planned. This reinstatement now gives states the opportunity to continue to count the people in order to obtain a complete and accurate count. Knoxville’s complete Census ount committees and many organizations across the city have been holding events to make sure communities with low response rates are encouraged to be counted. Rain or blistering sun, churches and organizations like the Knoxville/Knox County…
Author: Vivian Underwood Shipe
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Candace Parker played for the greatest women’s basketball coach of all time, Pat Head Summit, at the University of Tennessee. She now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and though she’s playing in the bubble away from her fans, Parker has not forgotten to reach back and help others. Knoxville is reaping the benefits of her desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Over the weekend, with the help of Project Backboard and the 2K Foundation, a dream basketball mural was created on the grounds of the Cal…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The order to stop the census early came on top of the four month delay caused by COVID-19. Originally scheduled to end Oct. 31st, the decision handed down to the Census Bureau to cease operation on Sept. 30, kicked the census count into warp drive. Around the country, as well as in Knoxville, time is of the essence. Now, as they say in the military: the mission is to complete the mission. The enumerators, as census workers are called, hit the streets in mid-August wearing masks, carrying hand sanitizer, and iPhones for the first…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — They gathered at the torch, one of the most traditional spots on the University of Tennessee campus. Shirts and signs of all designs were everywhere. On this day all over the country , athletes and students on college campuses gathered to take a stand in support of Black Lives Matter. In Knoxville, they would not be alone and they would have the blessing of the university to march. Football practice was cancelled by Head Football Coach Jeremy Pruitt as he and Athletic Director Philip Fulmer and the other coaches joined players representing every sport…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It happened all over Knoxville on Sunday afternoon. It was intentional. It was planned. Taking a proactive approach, the faith leaders of Knoxville took up positions in front of schools all across the city to pray as students prepared to return on Monday. As schools prepare with plans to safeguard classrooms, mandatory mask wearing, separate desk areas and other plans after schools were delayed a week to prepare; the churches and community called on a higher power. Singing, touching the buildings, annointing entrance ways and praying; all while social distancing and wearing masks; prayers…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Gloria Garner worked with one mission: “keeping the community in mind.” On Saturday, Aug. 22, the city of Knoxville and her beloved community remembered the dedication of Garner by naming a street in the community in her memory. Garner, who was 80 when she passed away in 2019, was a long-time community activist and was one of the first employees hired when the Knoxville Area Urban League started in the 60s. A strong community activist for Lonsdale, she served as a case manager and worked tirelessly to solve social problems. Garner worked to make…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — When John Shanahan, President/CEO of Ionogen heard of a national survey that mentioned 80 percent of the African American churches feared returning to their church buildings as covid-19 began to rage across the United States; he did not know he was on the same trajectory as the Faith Leaders Initiative in Knoxville. The concern for the churches reopening too soon without proper planning, preparation and prayer, was also on the minds of Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie, New Directions CEO Cynthia Finch and CONNECT Ministries Director Keira Wyatt. Thus was born one of many partnerships.…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The continuing wave of women rising to leadership in Knoxville and the unseating of an incumbent set the tone of the elections in Knoxville last Thursday night. The election did not end until the next day as one winner had to wait for the count of the provisional votes. The wave of change continues. Dr. Dasha Lundy will join the Knox County Commission representing District One, Courtney Roberts Durrett will also join County Commission as District Two representative, and Michele McCray Carringer, a strong supporter of the 2020 Census, heads to Nashville to represent…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — The trees and poles along Martin Luther King Avenue had been lined with Blue ribbons in honor of Congressman John Lewis and Rev. C.T.Vivian. The 70-plus ministers of the Faith Leaders Initiative who usually meet on Thursday afternoon from 5 to 6 gathered on July 31st to socially distance and honor the memory of the the two icons who passed away on the same day. The event was set up outside on the lawn on Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church. The brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, of which Lewis was a member,…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — “We are saving over 500 lives.” Those were the words of C.O.N.N.E.C.T Ministries Program Director Cynthia Finch as she looked down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue at the long line of cars, full of people, many of whom waited over two hours to get their free COVID-19 test. The test was an oral swab with results promised in five days. No one needed insurance, an appointment or even identification; all they had to do was come. And come they did. There had been an outcry for more testing to be done in the inner…