Author

John Partipilo

John Partipilo

Working as a photojournalist for 40 years, Partipilo has won awards such as NPPA Best of Photojournalism and nominated for two Pulitzers. His photography has also been featured in national and international publications. Most importantly Partipilo’s work is about people — people in their different environments and people in their different stages of life. That’s the heart of his work. To him people are so important, because they all have a unique story.

Nashville Pride Parade 2023 on the city's Broadway. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Nashville Pride 2023

By: and - June 26, 2023

Thousands celebrated the rights of LGBTQ Tennesseans on Saturday and Sunday in Nashville, including First Lady Jill Biden, who spoke to crowds on Bicentennial Mall in the shadow of Tennessee’s Capitol. “We know there are those who wish to undo the hard-won progress that this community has made and tomorrow we will brave those battles […]

Signs at the 2023 Memphis Juneteenth Festival Celebration in Health Science Park in Memphis, Tennessee June 17, 2023. (Photo by Karen Pulfer Focht)

Juneteenth in Tennessee

By: , and - June 18, 2023

Tennesseans didn’t wait until Monday to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the date in 1865 when enslaved Texans learned they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In May, Gov. Bill Lee signed a law recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday, two years after President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday. Cities […]

Sen. Charlane Oliver and Tequila Johnson, co-founders of The Equity Alliance. (Photo: John Partipilo)

The new civil rights leaders

By: , and - May 12, 2023

In March 2021, the Tennessee Lookout published a photo essay on Nashvillians who participated in the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s — a series of protests against segregation on private bus lines — coupled with narratives taken from interviews with area Freedom Riders. So in early 2022, photojournalist John Partipilo began working on his […]

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Bishop William Barber, II, attempt to bring a coffin into the Tennessee House of Representatives chambers on Monday. (Photo: John Partipilo)

“Moral Monday” event draws thousands to Tennessee Capitol

By: - April 18, 2023

More than 1,000 people marched to the Tennessee Capitol on Monday as part of Bishop William Barber’s “Moral Monday” movement to press lawmakers to pass safe gun laws. Barber, who began leading similar events in North Carolina in 2013, joined with Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, for Monday’s event. The two have been close since meeting […]

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, walks from the Metro Nashville Courthouse to the Tennessee Capitol for his swearing-in ceremony on April 12, 2023. Jones was reappointed by the Metro Council less than a week after being expelled for taking part in a gun safety rally. Metro Councilmember Zulfat Suara is holding Jones's left arm. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A wild two weeks in Tennessee culminates with reinstatement of expelled lawmakers

By: - April 14, 2023

Days after Democratic Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis were expelled from the House of Representatives for leading a protest for safe gun laws, both men were reinstated to their seats: Jones was reappointed by the Metro Nashville Council on Monday, walking from the Historic Nashville Courthouse to the Tennessee Capitol, […]

In Nashville, Rev. Ingrid McIntyre hugs a mourner during a Monday night vigil for shooting victims at Belmont Methodist Church. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Photo essay: Nashville reels after six killed in Monday school shooting

By: - March 29, 2023

A beautiful spring morning devolved into chaos Monday, as emergency vehicles sped to the scene of a mass shooting at Covenant School in the Green Hills part of Nashville. Area schools, public and private, went on lockdown and frantic parents tried to reach their children. A shooter killed six at Covenant, including three children attending […]

The crowd at a March rally in Nashville, sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, crowds around drag performer Perplexity. (Photo: John Partipilo)

“Slay hate” rally draws hundreds in Nashville

By: and - March 10, 2023

A Nashville rally sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign drew hundreds to protest recently-passed  Tennessee laws that criminalize some drag performers and performances and prevent parents from providing their children with gender-affirming care. “Slay the Hate: Fight Back Tennessee,” featured appearances by several drag performers and remarks from LGBTQ leaders. The event was one of […]

COMMENTARY
One of Nashville's last "meat and three" restaurants, closed Saturday after 40 years in business. Lines of diners streamed into the nearby parking lot throughout the day. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A Nashville institution closes

By: and - January 8, 2023

Visitors to Nashville seeking favorite restaurants among locals have for 40 years been directed to a modest brick and cinderblock building, from which plates of roast beef and fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens and whipped potatoes, banana pudding and improbably delicious hot pepper chocolate pie have issued by numbers uncountable. But on Saturday, […]

Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette and his wife, Kate Bulls Lafayette, leave American Baptist College in Nashville on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A civil rights leader comes home.

By: and - November 22, 2022

The campus of American Baptist College has changed little since Rev. Bernard Lafayette moved to Nashville in 1960 to attend seminary. A handful of neat red brick buildings, built in the 1920s and 30s, still cluster in the shadow of the headquarters of the newer National Baptist Convention off Brick Church Pike in North Nashville.  […]