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How Tennessee disenfranchised 21% of its Black citizens

8Nov

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How Tennessee disenfranchised 21% of its Black citizens

This story was originally published by ProPublica. By Bianca Fortis, Propublica Leola Scott recently decided to become a more active citizen. The 55-year-old resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was driven to action after her son was stabbed to death and nobody was charged. In August, Scott tried to register to vote. That’s when she learned she’s not allowed to cast a ballot because she was convicted of nonviolent felonies nearly 20 years ago. One in five Black Tennesseans are like Scott: barred from voting because of a prior felony conviction. Indeed, Tennessee appears to disenfranchise a far higher proportion of its Black residents — 21% — than any other state. The figure comes from a new analysis by the nonprofit advocacy group The Sentencing Project, which found that ...

Knoxville’s Black Community Endured Deeply Rooted Racism. Now There Is Medical Debt.

1Nov

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Knoxville’s Black Community Endured Deeply Rooted Racism. Now There Is Medical Debt.

(Originally published Oct. 28, 2022) By Noam N. Levey, California Healthline KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — When Dr. H.M. Green opened his new medical office building on East Vine Avenue in 1922, Black residents of this city on the Tennessee River could be seen only in the basement of Knoxville General Hospital. They were barred from the city’s other three medical centers. Green, one of America’s leading Black physicians, spent his life working to end health inequities like this. He installed an X-ray machine, an operating room, and a private infirmary in his building to serve Black patients. On the first floor was a pharmacy. Today the Green Medical Arts Building has been replaced by a tangle of freeways that were built after the city’s Black business district was bulldozed ...

Black woman says authorities mishandled rape case involving suspect accused of later murdering White woman

23Sep

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Black woman says authorities mishandled rape case involving suspect accused of later murdering White woman

A lawsuit filed on Tuesday reportedly claims the teacher who was abducted while jogging in Tennessee and murdered could have been avoided if authorities properly investigated the alleged rape of a Black woman who accused the suspect involved in the other case. Alicia Franklin said she was raped last year by Cleotha Abston, the suspect accused of first-degree murder and kidnapping of Eliza Fletcher, reported WMC. The suspect is also named as Cleotha Henderson in other reports. Fletcher's case made national headlines after the Tennessee teacher was forced into a vehicle during an early morning jog near the University of Memphis. Franklin reportedly met Abston after a month of communicating on a dating app. They met at an apartment complex on Sept. 21, 2021 where Abston allege...

Video: Tennessee police accused of “brutal” assault on man inside his home after attempted traffic stop

21Jul

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Video: Tennessee police accused of “brutal” assault on man inside his home after attempted traffic stop

A video posted to social media showing a young Black man being hit by police in his home in Tennessee has drawn accusations of racial profiling and police brutality. The incident reportedly happened Saturday around 7:30 p.m. in Oakland. Police said they were trying to initiate a traffic stop. According to WREG, Oakland Police said on Saturday around 7:30 p.m., 25-year-old Brandon Calloway failed to stop at a stop sign and drove 32 mph in a 20 mph zone. The police said when they attempted to pull Calloway over he refused and drove home about half of a mile from where they tried to stop him. They said he “started running into the house reaching into his pockets… yelling “this is my expletive house and I did stop for the stop sign,” according to WREG. Calloway’s attorney Andre Wharton d...

20Jun

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White supremacists crash Juneteenth event in Tennessee

A group of masked White supremacists crashed a peaceful Juneteenth celebration on Saturday holding protest signs and spreading hate. The “men” stood outside from the city’s second annual Juneteenth event holding signs that read “White Lives Matter” while spreading their “White replacement theory” as attendees looked on. A group of counter protestors later showed up at the event which turned into a shouting match. Police came to the scene and requested both groups of protestors leave. No one was arrested and there were no reports of violence. Police said they were unaware any groups planned to protest the Juneteenth event. More about the disruption can be found here. Opinion: Now that Juneteenth is a national holiday, more of these White supremacy protests should be expected. (Auth...

15Jun

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Mom sues Tennessee school district over White students’ racist bullying and harassment of son

A mother is suing a school district in Tennessee after her son was reportedly harassed and bullied with racist slurs and attacks from White students. The mother reportedly said her son, who is Black, was subjected to being called the n-word and a monkey while attending a middle school in Hawkins County. The boy was even chased by students holding a stuffed toy monkey which the students posted on Snapchat. In another instance of bullying at the school, the mom said the boy was also slapped by a White student who continuously followed the boy on campus and harassed him. The mother reportedly said the principal sent the White student home without question after the incident but questioned the victim about what she assumed was his role in provoking the attack. The boy’s mother bro...