Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    Anti-Corruption Summit for Country Above Party

    Clint ConfehrBy Clint ConfehrMarch 21, 2019Updated:March 26, 2019No Comments5 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Music City Center in Nashville, TN
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Clint Confehr

    NASHVILLE, TN — More than 2,000 people are coming here for an “anti-corruption movement” conference March 29-31, organizers say of their “UnRig Summit” in the Music City Center.

    “I guarantee you, this is one of the most diverse conferences ever to come to Nashville,” former Congressman Zach Wamp recently told The Tennessee Tribune.

    Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who’s running for president, and Our Revolution President Nina Turner, a “firebrand progressive activist” from Ohio, are two notables Wamp names as headliners. Others include March for Our Lives activist Emma González.

    [Sen. Kamalla Harris was reportedly coming. She’s not, a group spokeswoman said.]

    Wamp and Metro Councilman Jonathan Hall were asked about the UnRig Summit’s name and presidential statements that the system is rigged.

    “It’s rigged for incumbents, special interests, and the two-party system,” Wamp said. “The president has not done anything to drain the swamp, but he was smart enough to talk about it.”

    On the rigged system, Hall said, “Isn’t it?” Nashville’s “spent quite a bit of money on disparity studies over the last 12-15 years on… policing… disparity… fair housing… I won’t say the system is rigged [but] there’s a lack of parity and continuity… We’re making great strides to be inclusive and have diversity, but… we have a very long way to go.”

    Why is Hall attending the summit? “For me, everything’s about learning… The conversation needs to be about solutions.”

    National solutions to be discussed are described at https://represent.us by actress Jennifer Lawrence, a RepresentUs Board member, and RepresentUs Director Josh Silver who say reformers must bypass Congress and force anti-corruption laws on cities and states. It’s how interracial- and same-sex marriages were legalized nationally. Similarly, women got the right to vote after change was approved by enough states to reach a tipping point. More state laws lead to federal victories, Silver and Lawrence say.

    Among other things, they want to:

    • Stop gerrymandering election districts by having lines drawn by independent commissions, not incumbent politicians;

    • Overhaul lobbying, and ethics laws so politicians can’t be bribed with high-paying job offers;

    • Make political spending transparent “so people know who’s paying who” and give voters a $50-$100 tax voucher so politicians raise money from constituents, not lobbyists; and, since the Constitution gives states control over how elections are run,

    • Have ranked-choice voting in which voters prioritize candidates and winning candidates have a majority of first-preference votes, so third parties and independents can run and win.

    It’s less about issues, as a political strategies.

    Nashville Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry Jr., who’s helped former inmates expunge

    Howard Gentry Jr.
    Nashville Criminal Court Clerk

    records so they can vote, will speak and introduce Mayor David Briley who brings greetings from Nashville.

    Also participating are: congressmen Jim Cooper (D-Nashville) and Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville); Nashville-Based Equity Alliance President Tequila Johnson; Think TN President Shanna Singh Hughey; Fisk University teacher Megan Barry; Tennessee Beacon Center Vice President Mark Cuningham; Color of Change Senior Campaign Director Brandi Collins-Dexter; journalist Steve Cavendish who’s leading a group to re-launch the Nashville Banner; and others named at unrigsummit.com.

    Wamp says the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision is

    Mayor David Briley

    wrong. Small individual contributions are how to raise campaign money.

    Making election day a national holiday “makes a lot of sense,” to Wamp, and “When Mitch McConnell says… ‘Enough people are voting… We don’t need to address this’ low voter turnout… That’s nonsense.”

    At Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State speech, Wamp saw “African Americans applaud” Lee for endorsing civics education.“The average American doesn’t know how their government works…

    “Legal immigrants take basic civics classes before taking a test to become a citizen,” Wamp said. “If we’re going to do that for new citizens, we … ought to do it for young Americans.”

    Also speaking at the summit is Metro Councilman Fabian Bedne, an immigrant from Argentina — “a safe place for Jews to escape Europe” — and member of Congregation Mica. “I was told [the summit] would be nonpartisan, and it appears to be that way,” he said. Bedne will share his family’s story.

    Wamp chairs the Nashville-based Gospel Music Foundation, leads its capital campaign, helps sell STEM education curriculum to states, and is a business development consultant

    Former congressman Zach Wamp and Tribune publisher Rosetta Miller Perry share a moment at her newspaper office. Tribune photo

    for electric utilities, and three business start-ups in Silicon Valley. He’s not a political candidate.

    The UnRig Summit is in Nashville “because they want to emphasis that this is not a partisan effort. This is not a bunch of liberal Democrats trying to tell the country what’s good for them out of California. This is a cross-partisan effort with Republicans like me and Democrats, and people like Jennifer Lawrence who are neither… [and]… Nashville is… a cool place to have a conference. It is frankly the hottest city east of the Mississippi River.”

    Summit funding is from entry fees and, “Dozens of reform groups are sponsoring part of it,” Wamp said. “It’s ironic, they raise money to influence politicians on how they raise money, but you need money to get your message out.”

    He’s part of Issue One which gave $15,000 to event organizers. “The first issue is to fix the political system, so you can fix other issues.”

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Clint Confehr

    Related Posts

    The rise of Aftyn Behn in Tennessee

    October 16, 2025

    Meharry Medical College’s GREAT Health Study Launches on Vibrent Platform, Marks New Era in Community-Embedded, Genomic Research

    October 15, 2025

    Women We Admire Announces Top 50 Women Leaders of Tennessee for 2025

    October 14, 2025

    Les Gemmes, Inc. Nashville Chapter hosts the Jewels 2025 Meet and Greet

    October 12, 2025

    Riverside Chapel’s 80th Anniversary celebration to highlight historic sanitarium

    October 11, 2025

    The Museum of Christian and Gospel Music Now Open

    October 9, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZODr-6rxyI
    Business

    FUNdraising Good Times Nonprofit heroes hidden in plain sight

    October 10, 2025

    Amazon Web Services partners with Nashville Innovation Alliance to address Tennessee’s technology talent demand

    October 5, 2025

    Nashville airport ends minority business program to comply with federal order

    October 2, 2025
    1 2 3 … 389 Next
    Education
    Education

    Meharry appoints leader of Diaspora Human Genomics Institute

    By TN Tribune Staff WriterOctober 16, 2025

    NASHVILLE, TN — Meharry Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically Black…

    TSU Homecoming 2025: What you need to know

    October 8, 2025

    Meharry launches study to build world’s largest African ancestry genetics database

    October 7, 2025

    Digital Pioneers Academy Partners with The $50 Study to Launch Groundbreaking Student Cash Transfer Program in Washington, DC

    October 2, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/