Civil Rights

‘Deeply concerned and disturbed;’ Tennessee NAACP demands release of kids taken after traffic stop

BY: - March 25, 2023

Leaders of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP on Friday issued a public demand for the release of five Black children taken from their parents after a misdemeanor traffic stop in rural Tennessee last month, saying they were “deeply concerned and disturbed” by the events. The civil rights organization, joined by its local, youth […]

Attorney Courtney Teasley, at left, with Bianca Clayborne and one of Clayborne's children outside the Coffee County Justice Center on March 20, 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Kids taken from Black family remain in state custody

BY: - March 20, 2023

MANCHESTER, Tenn. — Five children taken from a Black family after a traffic stop in Coffee County will remain in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services following a hearing in juvenile court on Monday. Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for tinted car windows and driving […]

Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were on the way to Chicago for a family funeral when they were pulled over in Coffee County. Williams was arrested and their young children taken from them. (Screengrab from Zoom)

DCS seeks prosecution of Black parents, lawyers for speaking about kids’ removal after traffic stop

BY: - March 17, 2023

The Department of Children’s Services has filed a motion for prosecution and sanctions against the Black parents of five young children taken into DCS custody on February 17, according to Courtney Teasley, an attorney for the family. DCS accuses the parents, and their attorneys, of breaking juvenile court confidentiality rules, Teasley said. The motion for […]

Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, called for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Service to release five children in state custody to their parents. House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville is at left. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Tennessee Democrats demand release of children removed from Black family after traffic stop

BY: - March 16, 2023

The Tennessee Democratic Caucus on Thursday demanded that the Department of Children’s Service release five young children taken from their parents, who are Black, after a traffic stop in Manchester last month. The children — ages 7, 5, 3, 2 and a four-month-old infant who was still nursing — were removed from their parents Feb. […]

Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were on the way to Chicago for a family funeral when they were pulled over in Coffee County. Williams was arrested and their young children taken from them. (Screengrab from Zoom)

A Black family fights to get their kids back from Tennessee Department of Children’s Services

BY: - March 16, 2023

A Black family from Georgia is fighting for the return of their five young children from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services after a traffic stop in Manchester, Tenn. last month.  Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were on Interstate 24 heading to a family funeral in Chicago — kids asleep in the […]

The crowd at Thursday's "Slay the Hate" 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 […]

Rep. Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta, at left, who advocated for bringing back lynching for capital crimes, with Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Black Caucus wants more than Sherrell pulling street name bill

BY: - March 8, 2023

Black lawmakers believe legislation to rename Rep. John Lewis Way was dropped as token appeasement after they sought sanctions against the bill’s sponsor for saying lynching should be resumed in Tennessee. The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators last week urged House Speaker Cameron Sexton to remove Rep. Paul Sherrell from committees as a form […]

Gov. Bill Lee, Jan. 21, 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Ads to target Gov. Bill Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation at SEC tournament

BY: - March 7, 2023

A full page ad in Tuesday’s Tennessean newspaper features a high school yearbook photo of Gov. Bill Lee dressed in drag with a call to action by the Human Rights Campaign against Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation. The ad appears a week after Tennessee became the first state to enact a measure that could criminalize public drag […]

Downtown Nashville, as viewed from the east bank of the Cumberland River. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Nashville Black clergy group could file lawsuit against the state if Metro Council cut

BY: - March 3, 2023

A prominent group representing Nashville’s black clergy delivered a letter Friday asking state Republican leaders to halt their efforts to shrink the size of the Metro Council and other proposals targeting the city. Davie Tucker, the President of the Nashville Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship, signed the letter. In it, he implied the group could file a […]

Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, photographed in Tennessee Senate Chambers on Feb. 13. Johnson sponsored a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Republicans speed transgender therapy bill to passage

BY: - February 14, 2023

Despite the threat of legal action, supermajority Republicans passed legislation Monday restricting transgender therapy and surgery for anyone under 18 in Tennessee. As amended, the bill clarifies that hormones and puberty blockers can be distributed and that the legislation won’t apply until July 1, 2023. Brought by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson in response to […]

(Illustration by Getty Images)

Bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors advances in both Tennessee House and Senate

BY: - February 10, 2023

Both House and Senate versions of a bill to ban healthcare providers from treating transgender minors with gender-affirming care took steps toward becoming law, passing handily in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House Health Committee on Wednesday. The bill not only prohibits healthcare providers from treating transgender minors, it also sets up […]

(Illustration: Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP preps for debates on ‘parents’ rights’, school vouchers and transgender athletes

BY: - February 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans laid the groundwork for some top legislative priorities during a Wednesday hearing that examined public funding for charter schools and voucher programs, as well as increasing parents’ oversight of school curriculum.  The Republican chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, provided a forum for […]