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Middle Tennessee groups prepare for Afghan refugee arrivals
Middle Tennessee refugee resettlement programs need all the help they can get to properly welcome Afghan refugees coming to Nashville At least 300 Afghan refugees will arrive at the Nashville International airport in the next few months and several nonprofit organizations—United Way of Greater Nashville, Catholic Charities of Tennessee, the Nashville International Center for Empowerment […]
Metro Nashville Health gains grant to train doulas
The Metro Nashville Public Health Department will soon be seeking recruits for a federally-funded program aimed at creating additional support for expectant mothers in low-income areas. On Tuesday, Metro Health announced they have received $125,000 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund a project aimed at recruiting and training doulas to […]
Dixie: Special legislative session should assess West Tennessee infrastructure
Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, spoke with a civil-rights group Monday morning about what to expect at Gov. Bill Lee’s special session discussing the Ford Motor Company manufacturing campus headed to West Tennessee. The Urban League of Middle Tennessee, a non-partisan civil-rights group, asked Dixie, D-Nashville, about his goals to use the deal in an effort […]
Memphis civilian law enforcement group upholds police punishment
A Memphis resident testified before city officials about the strange circumstances surrounding a police visit to her home. Members of the Memphis Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) meet on a monthly basis to make judgements on alleged cases of police brutality, and on Thursday, they received the case of Anita Hill and the events […]
Civil rights groups work to prevent further gerrymandering
As Tennessee lawmakers prepare to redraw districts, civil rights organizations are working to prevent further gerrymandering ahead of statewide elections. The Tennessee Legislature and municipal officials are currently redrawing congressional and state district maps based on data from the 2020 U.S. Census, which was released in August 2021, and are set to complete their work […]
Two festival seasons in, pandemic taxes planners and vendors
Life has been rough the past 18 months for Tennesseans who make their living through the state’s tourism and festival industry. Ruth Rico has made a name for herself selling Colombian cuisine from her food truck Delicias Colombianas throughout Nashville’s festival season, normally lasting from spring to fall. But over the last year and a […]
‘This is injustice’: Dickerson Pike mobile home tenants fight eviction
Juana Cecilia has lived on Dickerson Pike for 17 years but faces losing her home after developers took an interest in her trailer park neighborhood. In June, she and 19 other families received eviction notices giving them less than two months to find a new home. They later learned that their neighborhood was being sold […]
After a school shooting, Shelby County weighs strengthening early childhood education
A week after a school shooting critically injured one student at a K-8 school, Shelby County officials on Wednesday debated directing more resources into early childhood education, with one resolution focused violence prevention measures. Members of the education committee of the Shelby County Commission recommended approval of a $500,000 contract with Porter-Leath, a historic Memphis […]
Memphis Sand Aquifer, Memphis’ source of drinking water, at center of growing number of disputes
The Memphis Sand Aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for Shelby County residents, is the subject of a growing number of disputes. Memphis City Councilmembers on Tuesday clashed with Tennessee Valley Authority representatives over plans to relocate coal ash to a local landfill over fears it could contaminate the aquifer. The Southern Environmental Law […]
Federal Child Tax Credit program boosts thousands in Tennessee
While Jessica Crumbley was able to keep her job as assistant manager at Dollar General in Loudon throughout the pandemic, her wages barely kept her disabled husband and three children afloat. Any financial hiccup could be enough to destabilize her family, and in July, Crumbley quarantined from COVID-19 without knowing if her job would pay […]
As federal protections have ended, Memphis evictions have soared
To Cindy Ettingoff, executive officer at the Memphis-Area Legal Services, a pandemic and rising evictions often mix chaotically in courtrooms. At Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court, dockets were restricted to 50 cases to allow for safe social distancing early in the pandemic, but a growing backlog of eviction cases bumped the number to 100 […]
Shelby Count calls for DOJ oversight of juvenile courts
On Monday, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution urging the U.S. Department of Justice to oversee the county’s juvenile detention centers after reports of racial disparities. According to the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, violent crime rates overall have risen by 12.1% in comparison to previous years. Violent juvenile charges have decreased […]