by Susan Mattson | May 1, 2023 | Hot Topics
Speakers: Dr. Angela Sutton and Mr. Cyril Stewart.
Fort Negley began as a Union fortification built by nearly 5000 laborers, including free blacks, enslaved persons, as well as “contraband” folks seeking refuge in Nashville during the Civil War. The working and environmental conditions were very poor, and 800 folks died during the construction. Following the end of the Civil War, the Fort went through many different phases, including a shameful time as a gathering place for the Klu Klux Klan.
Most recently, in the 2018, plans to create the Cloud Hill commercial development brought many Nashvillians together to save the park, its history, and the green space it provided to an area hemmed in by interstates and other developments. Importantly, in 2019, the Fort was designated a ‘Site of Memory’ within the Slave Route Project by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
Since then, Metro Parks began its work to create an Open-Air Museum of National Significance. The Master Plan was finalized in October of 2022, and the first phase started this winter. The development and expansion of building and activities will continue through 2023 and into the future, dependent upon funding. The presentation was moving and informative. This is a place that Nashvillians should preserve and treasure. Our history must not be denied nor forgotten, but provide for a shared future with meaningful hope and justice for everyone in our community.
by Susan Mattson | Apr 1, 2023 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews, Jr. and Judge Sheila Calloway, his self-proclaimed “Partner in Justice.”
The speakers focused on shifting the culture of the juvenile court systems and operations to prepare for the opening of the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment. Juvenile Court is responsible for making sure that every child and parent who passes through our court is met with justice, fairness, and hope. Williams provided data and commentary on the reduction in youth intersections with law enforcement and the courts and a detailed overview of the new development project and goals for continued reduction in harms.
As described by Tennessee Code Annotated Section 37-1-101, the purpose of juvenile court is: “To provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental and physical development of the children coming within its provisions.” Clerk Matthews and Judge Calloway go further to note that their roles at the Juvenile Court are responsible for making sure that every child and parent who passes through the court is met with justice, fairness, and hope.
The current Juvenile Justice Center, located on Woodland Street opened in 1994 with just 4 judicial officers, one elected juvenile court judge and three appointed juvenile court magistrates. Today, it houses 10 judicial officers, one elected juvenile court judge and 9 appointed juvenile court magistrates. The Juvenile court handles petitions to cover custody, visitation, establishing parentage, child support, guardianship, child abuse, neglect, dependency, delinquency, unruly and other juvenile related issues. In addition, the pre-trial housing facility houses an average of 35-40 justice-involved youth daily. Clerk Matthews noted that two-thirds of the court’s business is devoted to family-conflict issues while one-third of the cases involve delinquency, unruliness or status offenses. Contrary to public perception, juvenile delinquency has decreased from 4745 cases in 2013 to 1921 cases in 2021 and can be partly attributed to the de-incarceration strategy of providing treatment, training and rehabilitation over criminalization.
The new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment (“NYCE Campus”) on Brick Church Pike will be “a family-oriented, trauma-informed campus designed to support the intrinsic value of all members of our community. In addition to serving as the home of the Davidson County Juvenile Court and a pre-trial housing facility for justice-involved youth, the NYCE Campus will house resources and agencies that can provide immediate service delivery to families in need. A 24-hour Assessment Center will support youth in crisis, while maintaining the safety of the community. Spacious meeting rooms and courtrooms will allow Court staff, community partners, litigants, and attorneys to conduct private meetings and mediations to peacefully resolve family conflicts with dignity and respect. A safe exchange facility will allow for therapeutic custodial visitation to help strengthen families and build resilience in children. In short, the NYCE Campus will provide a center of growth, opportunity, and empowerment for young people in our community from birth through adulthood.”
The 14-acre site was chosen based on its proximity to additional resources for children and families, easy access for attorneys and other court partners, accessibility to public transportation, adequate space for free parking for staff and the public.
View and read the entire master plan document at this link: Nashville Juvenile Justice Center Master Plan.
by Susan Mattson | Mar 1, 2023 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Dr. Dan Firth, Chair of the Solid Waste & Mining Committee of the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Dr. Firth gave a thorough analysis of: Tennessee’s trash problem; Why recycling, although not a complete solution, is necessary; Why producers must be responsible for supporting recycling programs throughout the state, both in urban and rural jurisdictions; Why producers must focus on reducing the amount of packaging for their products as well as remove harmful chemicals of concern used in their packaging; and How the TWRRA addresses these issues.
For additional information: Tennessee Waste Reduction & Recycling Act (TWRRA)
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.
