by karen wieckert | Feb 1, 2023 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Lindsey Kimery, Coordinator of Library Services at Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville.
Ms. Kimery is a past-president of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians and has served in leadership roles for the American Association of School Librarians and Future Ready Libraries. She has served in TN public schools for over twenty years.
There were over 780 attempts to bar or restrict school library materials across the United States last year, with Tennessee in the top tier of states with challenges. Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act contributed to the high number of removal requests.
The bill came about in response to alleged widespread concern among Tennessee parents that certain materials in school libraries are obscene or inappropriate for certain ages. Passed in March 2022, the new law requires each school governed by a Local Education Agency (LEA) and public charter schools to maintain a list of materials in the library collection. Teachers are also required to catalog every book in their classroom library. The lists are required to be posted online.
An additional bill HB 1944/ SB 1944 (which did not move forward), sought to create a process for a parent or guardian to submit to a district’s superintendent a concern about a book they deem “obscene.” Upon receipt of the complaint, a district must remove the book from all library shelves for no less than 30 days. The school board then reviews the book, applying the Miller test, the primary legal test for determining whether expression constitutes obscenity.
If the book is deemed obscene or harmful to minors, it must be permanently removed. A librarian who disregards the directive can be charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a $50,000 fine. A subsequent offense is a Class E felony, which could mean prison time of one to six years in Tennessee, in addition to a fine of up to $3,000. While this bill was tabled for summer study, this censorship issue was again attached to the HB 2666/SB 2247 which among other things, gave the Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission the ability to categorically ban books across the state deemed “inappropriate” based on one successful appeal from one parent in one district. The bill also expanded the State Textbook Commission to 12 members.
LWV members can stay informed on this topic by visiting:
Tennessee Association of School Librarians,
Unite Against Book Bans,
ALA Library Bill of Rights and
Freedom to Read Foundation.
by karen wieckert | Jan 1, 2023 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Chas Sisk, Senior Editor and Interim News Director at WPLN (an NPR radio member station).
Sisk shared information and thoughts on the ways various forms of bias impact our daily lives by shaping the way news is portrayed. As League members know, appreciation of the power of reliable information and the importance of a free flow of information in a democracy is essential to a healthy civil society and informed electorate.
Sisk shared a quote from Canadian author, Roberson Davies, “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend,” and set the stage for the hard work necessary for identifying and deciphering our own biases and that of the information we consume. Recognizing that there is truly no such thing as a neutral journalist we would do better to understand that all people have moral instincts and points of view that color their interpretation of the facts. Of course, not all who represent themselves as journalists actually are; therein lies the first necessity of literacy – identification of the reliability of the source and that source’s motivation
by karen wieckert | Dec 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Lindsey Krinks the Co-Founder and Interim Co-Director for Open Table Nashville.
Krinks gave a background on how houselessness became a chronic problem from the 1980’s to the present. She focused on specific issues in the Nashville area, and how Open Table Nashville works to disrupt houselessness by addressing underlying economic, social, and community issues. She was joined by Julia Sutherland, the Executive Director for the Village at Glencliff. She gave a history of the Village at Glencliff and their 10 housing units developed to provide dignified medical respite and bridge housing for people experiencing houselessness.
by karen wieckert | Nov 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Jazmin Ramirez, a community organizer at Tennessee Immigrant and Refugees Rights Coalition. She is currently leading youth organizing, electoral work and rapid response. She has helped lead the fight for in-state tuition for undocumented students in Tennessee.
DACA, an acronym for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a policy established by President Obama in 2012 that protects around 800,000 young people — known as “DREAMers” — who entered the United States unlawfully as children. The program does not grant them official legal status or a pathway to citizenship, but it does allow them to apply for a driver’s license, a social security number, work permit and protection from deportation.
Ramirez provided important background on DACA, the changes from the Obama through the Trump Administration, and what the current Biden Administration plans for the program.
Learn more at TENNESSEE IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE RIGHTS COALITION
by karen wieckert | Oct 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speakers: Dr. Ellen Clayton and Dr. Nancy Lipsitz.
Dr. Clayton and Dr. Lipsitz shared background on the SCOTUS ruling as well as the triggering of the Tennessee Human Life Protection Act and discussed the legal barriers placed on health professionals providing life-saving, comprehensive and confidential care. Our speakers were also able to address the public confusion around what types of contraception are acceptable and which aren’t in states where laws ban all abortions after conception and the legal and legislative strategies that could be employed to reverse the criminalization of medical procedures.
by karen wieckert | Sep 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Angie Emery Henderson (Metropolitan Nashville Council District 34).
Councilmember Henderson provided insight about the intersection of various local legislative rulings with the Tennessee Legislature.
The preemption doctrine refers to the idea that a higher authority of law will displace the law of a lower authority of law when the two authorities come into conflict. Many may recall that in Tennessee, preemption has affected prevailing and minimum wages laws, LGBTQ rights, community oversight of police, and marijuana decriminalization to name just a few policy issues. Of late, Metro’s sidewalk construction bill, ride share (Uber, Lyft, etc.) regulations, and AirBnB restrictions have come under the preemption fire. Councilwoman Henderson pointed meeting attendees to the National League of Cities (nlc.org) which has produced a “Preemption Wheel” graphic to illustrate State and Local overlap and conflict while also sharing numerous examples from Title17 (Zoning) of the Municipal Code.
We also learned more about additional organizations that lobby State officials such as American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Beacon Center of TN, part of the State Policy Network (SPN), that provide bill language and fund PR campaigns that in many cases undermine local voices and authority.
For more information, readers are also encouraged to visit Source Watch to understand how” model bills” reach into almost every area of American life, including those of Middle Tennessee residents.
by karen wieckert | May 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speakers: Howard Gentry, Criminal Court Clerk for Davidson County, and Jim Shulman, Vice-mayor for Nashville.
Gentry and Shulman addressed restoration of voting rights in Tennessee. Tennessee ranks near the bottom in voter turnout and registration. Nearly 10% of Tennessee’s eligible voting population are disenfranchised due to a past criminal conviction, and many of those have served their sentences and parole.
The speakers offered an informative colloquy regarding the complicated process of restoring voting rights in Tennessee. Locally, Gentry has worked to make the process easier, resulting in a steady increase in the number of restored voting rights in Davidson County. Unfortunately, this process is not as well honed in other Tennessee counties. In the audience for this Hot Topic was Kathy Greenberg from the Tennessee League’s Voter Restoration Project. She commended the work done in Davidson County, and urged our members to follow her project.
Information is available at VOTER RESTORATION
by karen wieckert | Apr 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker> Grace Stranch, COO of the Harpeth Conservancy.
Ms. Stranch provided a background on The Harpeth Conservancy, as well the importance of clean water in Tennessee. Using the acronym RIVERS, she focused on Restoring our rivers; the Issues that we face in maintaining clean rivers; the need for a unified Voice from environmental groups; Education throughout the state; our rivers as a source of Recreation; and the Science behind keeping our rivers clean and safe.
Since 60% of our drinking water comes from rivers, it behooves us to work diligently to protect these waterways. And, yet, there is constantly a barrage of damaging legislation presented in our state legislature every year to benefit specific industries. Ms. Stranch’s message was a reminder that we cannot afford to let our guard down. Just remember, we have one of the most bio-diverse rivers in the world, the Duck River. Let’s work to keep it that way.
For more information: Harpeth Conservancy
by karen wieckert | Mar 1, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Vanessa Beasley, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Vanderbilt. Primary research interests include presidential rhetoric, U.S. political communication,
rhetorical criticism and theory.
Does what US presidents say really matter?
Throughout US history, there has been some debate about this question, with some feeling that presidents should not speak directly to US citizens at all. Offering a broad historic overview of this discourse and its presumed functions at various stages in our political past, Vanessa Beasley, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Vice
Provost for Academic Affairs at Vanderbilt, shared her perspective on that question.
