By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Zykia Burns, Seraya Gasper, and Kimberly Riddle. Thanks to State Representative Rick Staples; those names will forever live , not only in the hearts of their loved ones but also will be seen by everyone driving across the bridge where their lives ended in a devastating bus wreck in 2014. Thru Staples efforts, the bridge on Asheville Highway where the children and their teacher died was renamed in their honor during a special ceremony held at the Milton Roberts Recreation Center. Representatives from State and local offices were present . Among those in attendance…
Author: Vivian Underwood Shipe
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It is a community that has realized it’s voting power and has become increasingly politically engaged and is causing those running for office to realize it will not be business as usual. Mt. Calvary Baptist Church was the location of the latest forum, drawing one of the largest crowds since the race to be city mayor of Knoxville began. SEEED and Community Voices Coalition sponsored the forum with the questions drawn from surveys and a community meeting held earlier in the summer at OverComing Believers Church. The forum was moderated by Knox County Education…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Stolen from Africa, brought to America, fighting on arrival, fighting for survival….those are the words of the great Bob Marley as he sang about one of the greatest fighting units in the history of America; the Buffalo Soldier. In the beginning they were part of the 10th Calvary, formed in 1866. They would eventually include the 9th , 24th and 25th infantries. They were the infantry….ready to defend the country in war and peace time…their mission: to capture , destroy, and repel the enemy. For 150 years, until 1951, that’s exactly what they did.…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Imagine it is 1907, women are working in dangerous conditions at the Brookside Mill in Knoxville. The problem, they have no daycare for their young children and the mill is too dangerous to have them by their sides as they work in the harsh conditions to make a living. Enter the United Methodist Women. They get permission from the mill owner to open a day care in the building right behind the mill and thus Wesley House was born. Now, 110 years later, the children of the Lonsdale, Beaumont, Mechanicsville communities are still cared…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It is hard to return to normal life after any set back. Imagine the struggle to return to society after you have served time in prison or jail and have paid all your dues and are working to pay all remaining fines. Imagine the struggle to be accepted, to find work and a home; to find support and resources after leaving the prison system. You are alone and don’t know where to even begin. It can’t be done without help. In Knoxville, on July 11th, help came in the form of a re-entry fair…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — They came from all over the United States. 1200 strong. The event was so big that buses were hired to take the attendees from coliseum parking to the Knoxville Convention Center. They are the alumni of Austin and Austin-East High School. They came to celebrate 140 years of unity. The oldest alumini at the celebration over the Fourth of July weekend was from the class of 1938. Theirs is a story of perseverance. The only high school for African Americans for 88 years in the city of Knoxville, called Austin (named after Emily Austin…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — It means creativity in Swahili. For 30 years, Kuumba Fest has been one of the longest running African American festivals in America. The festival, which spans over a three day period, began in 1989. It was the vision of Nkechi Ajanaku and others to raise awareness and present the beauty , culture and art of the African and African American community. From this vision was born African American Appalachian Arts Inc. A family affair held the last weekend in June, the festival draws thousands of people from all over the world and features African…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — Imagine being forced to flee your homeland. Separated from your children, sometimes for years ; unable to return for funerals and weddings, never to see family again, …running for your life to escape wars and armed conflicts, persecution, national disasters; you are called by many names on your way seeking safety…displaced, fugitive, outcast and refugee. Refugee…a person unable to return to his or her own country because of a well founded fear of persecution. The reasons can be due to race, membership in certain groups, religion or their national origin. Once upon a…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — UniversityofTennessee Knoxville Campus, Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), andPellissippi State Community College; all prestigious institutes of higher learning, all offering Summer Institutes for 300 scholars of Project GRAD. The goal of the program, now in its 18th year, exposes graduates to career opportunities after high school. Those who attended the program at the University of Tennessee were given an opportunity to experience campus from day classes to evening activities. The scholars even stayed on campus for a full week, and were the first to stay in the Universities newest dorm, Magnolia House. The…
By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — There are feeding projects all over the world. From the coffers and kitchens of the United States flow millions of dollars and meals to remote lands, yet some of the most hungry of all live in these United States of America: one of the richest countries in the world. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that 12.3 percent of Americans are termed food insecure. That means that 1 in 8 households had trouble during the year feeding their household. Many of these families having to choose to eat or pay bills or buy medicine.…