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Election 2022 in photos
Throughout the 2022 election cycle in Tennessee, photojournalists John Partipilo and Karen Pulfer Focht documented candidates — and incumbents — debating, speaking at rallies and working polls, culminating on the Nov. 8 Election Day. The pair, with an Election Day assist from Nick Fantasia, captured the stress, excitement and tension of campaigning.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn headlines anti-transgender rally in Nashville
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn joined several other Tennessee lawmakers at a rally to protest gender-affirming care for transgender youth, which drew more than 2,500 activists to Nashville’s War Memorial Plaza on Friday afternoon. Billed as “The Rally to End Child Mutilation,” the event was hosted by The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh. Walsh started a political […]
New Tennessee laws take effect, with protests accompanying
Dozens of new laws passed in the last session of the General Assembly took effect on Friday, most of which haven’t captured the public’s attention. There’s little controversy about a law that requires utility companies to provide the estimates of connection fees to potential customers, for instance, for instance, or one that allows defendants for […]
Nashville Pride 2022
Members of Middle Tennessee’s LGBTQ community, friends and supporters gathered Saturday and Sunday in Nashville to celebrate Pride Nashville. The event came just a day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 law legalizing abortion at the federal level, and has raised concerns the court could overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. […]
Juneteenth 2022
Tennesseans across the state celebrated Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the date in 1865 when enslaved Texans learned they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, over the weekend. Photojournalist John Partipilo covered the Music City Freedom Fest in Nashville, which, like other events, featured speakers discussing the history of Juneteenth, food trucks and […]
Gun safety advocates take to Tennessee streets
Laura Brown stood by a table surrounded by red, white and blue posters with drawings of the U.S. Capitol and a message: “Send a letter to Congress.” “Hello, would you like to send a letter to the Senate?” she called out. “I love these things, but people in Congress never seem to hear about them,” […]
Tennesseans petition Gov. Bill Lee for gun reform
More than 70 Tennesseans, including several pastors, walked from Nashville’s Legislative Plaza to Gov. Bill Lee’s office on Wednesday to make a plea for gun reform. The rally comes in the wake of several high profile mass shootings, including last week’s slaughter of 19 elementary school children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in […]
Earth Day 2022
Earth Day, first celebrated in April 22, 1970, was rolled to April 23 in Nashville and photojournalist John Partipilo staked out the event at Centennial Park. Hundreds turned out on a beautiful day to pick up free trees that were being distributed, listen to live music and attend presentations from environmental and conservation organizations. Packets […]
Nashville Hindus celebrate Spring with Holi
Members of Nashville’s Hindu community celebrated the coming of Spring over the weekend with Holi, a Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Spring, the Festival of Colors or the Festival of Love. About 400 people gathered at Sri Saibaba Temple in Antioch, dancing and splashing each other with colored powder dye. Pink, blue, […]
Ukrainians in Tennessee worry for safety of family and friends
Ira Tsykovska’s iPhone kept alerting her with the familiar Apple text tone ring every few minutes while her husband Bogdan Chornomaz looked over her shoulder and worriedly read texts from their families and friends in Kyiv and Kharkiv, two of the largest cities in Ukraine. “The Russians have surrounded the cities but we are fighting them”, said […]
Metro Nashville official makes Valentine’s dream come true for couple
Metro Nashville official Fabian Bedne loves officiating weddings, so much that he wondered if it was possible to organize a free wedding on Valentine’s Day for the Latino community. The former two-term Metro Councilmember talked to Veronica Salcedo, founder of the Spanish-speaking news outlet Nashville Noticias, about his idea and she began making calls to Latino […]
Crowd protests GOP-drawn congressional maps on MLK Day
Concerns over COVID-19 and lingering snow from a weekend storm halted several Middle Tennessee events traditionally held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to honor the late civil rights leader, but more than 100 people turned out in Nashville to protest new GOP-drawn congressional and legislative district maps. The Nashville Justice League, which is comprised […]