Dr. LaDonna Boyd Interview: The Vision Conference™ Comes Home to Nashville

Jason Luntz
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Dr. LaDonna Boyd Interview: The Vision Conference™ Comes Home to Nashville

The 2022 Vision Conference™, in conjunction with the 116th annual session of the National Baptist Congress, will take place June 16–18, at the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown Hotel.

R.H. Boyd, in partnership with Northern Theological Seminary, is excited to offer an enhanced benefit with registration. All 2022 registrants receive immediate access to six video courses at Seminary Now™, a streaming video platform with short courses in Bible, theology, ministry, and contemporary issues.

The Nashville Voice had the opportunity to sit down with R.H. Boyd President/CEO Dr. LaDonna Boyd to learn more about all the things in store at this year’s conference and the importance of Nashville being this year’s host city.

Dr. LaDonna Boyd

Nashville Voice – Hello Dr. Boyd, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to sit down with us today. I have been doing a lot of reading on the Vision Conference™, so I’m excited to ask some of the questions I know our readers have been asking themselves. I know last year you guys did a virtual conference, what made you feel confident in doing it in person this year?

Dr. Boyd – Well, of course, we want to make sure that we focus on safety. So we wanted to make sure it was safe and allowed for us to do that first if you will. It seems like certainly in Nashville, everything is up and running, so I wanted to give our constituency an opportunity to fellowship and come together in person as well. But we are a hybrid conference and have a virtual option for those that are not ready to travel or to mingle in person just yet.

NV – So you do have the hybrid version. Is the price the same for hybrid as opposed to in-person?

Dr. Boyd – No, it is a lower cost, In-person begins at $150 and it’s a $50 fee for the virtual admission. And they are pretty comparable amount of access to the conference. Both our in-person and our virtual attendees have access to the online platform called Seminary Now, from Northern Seminary out of Chicago. This gives them an additional six curated courses that they can take through their seminary as well. So lots to offer for in-person and virtual attendees.

NV – I’m glad you actually brought it up because one of the questions I was going to ask you was about the seminar. How did that partnership come about?

Dr. Boyd – One of our longtime partners, Dr. Gerald Dew, who’s been part of our conference and the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America for many years and is a customer of R.H. Boyd, is on senior faculty at Northern Seminaries. So a few years ago, I think the end of 2019 before the Pandemic hit, we had talked about providing some accredited courses for our conference. So it just made sense for us to do that partnership. So of course, 2020 and 2021, it was all virtual, but we still did give access to Seminary Now.

So this time to be able to come together in person and have that hybrid option is something that we’re really excited about. To be able to provide that extra education is something that’s very important to our organization.

NV – I also was wondering how would you personally describe the Vision Conference™?

Dr. Boyd – Well, for us, while it’s something that is new, and it’s a fresh take on something that we’ve done for many years. The National Baptist Congress®, founded in 1906 is a consortium of churches and organizations focused on Christian education and leadership has historically held an annual training conference. At the end of 2019, after our last in-person session in Charlotte, which of course we didn’t realize was going to be our last in-person session for a couple of years, we decided we really wanted to assess the needs of modern-day believers, not just in the context of the Church only, but how do believers exist in every day? Where they take their faith, whether it’s the boardroom, classroom, art studio, recording studio, whatever it may be, how do you really represent your faith in your everyday life and especially for those in leadership positions? So I came up with Vision Conference™ to really hone in on visionary leadership skills and what that looks like for intergenerational settings.

NV – That makes a lot of sense and I can even see that by the events that you’re hosting around it. I found the events interesting, like the comedy show, for example, I was like, wow, this is really cool. I can see how you’re bringing the importance of faith, but you’re also looking at people like, we realize you’re all real people and you have lives, so it’s all intertwined.

Dr. Boyd – And being family-friendly is so important to us, too.

NV – Oh, definitely. Out of those events, which ones are you the most excited about?

Dr. Boyd – I’m excited for all of them, of course. That’s the correct answer (laughs)

NV – Right (laughs)

Dr. Boyd – Well, certainly our kind of ad hoc events is what I call them. So in addition to our courses, we are doing the Faith Leaders Luncheon, and we’re doing that partnership with the Barna Group, which we’re excited about. It’s a panel discussion centered on the state of the Black Church and what that looks like for future leadership. That’s on Thursday, our panelists are myself, Bishop Joseph Walker III, Dr. Forrest Harris, Pastor Breonus Mitchell, and Doctor Judy D. Cummings. And we also have representatives from Barna that are coming, too. So definitely excited about that event. Again, that is Thursday at noon.

Friday is our Legacy Ball. So I love a good black tie, very formal, fancy affair. So we’re doing that to celebrate the 125th anniversary of R.H. Boyd as well. Just taking an opportunity to celebrate black excellence, and that’s going to be a lot of fun.

Then Saturday there is the Praise and Laugh comedy show, which has kind of been like my baby of the conference this year. I am really excited to look at the intersections of faith and comedy. Like, how do you have fun in the context of your faith? So something that’s clean, no profanity, and you can bring the whole family.

NV – The lunch, the ball, and the comedy show are those included in the conference ticket, or are those things you have to pay separately.

Dr. Boyd – Those are additional. If you buy the VIP, then you get access to everything. If you’re just doing the conference registration you do get a complimentary Praise and Laugh ticket. But the Legacy Ball and the luncheon are separate.

NV – When you think about the type of person, what type of person do you envision as the attendee for the vision conference?

Dr. Boyd – Everybody! As I like to say, all are welcome. So it’s really very broad. We wanted to make sure that we gave offerings in different disciplinary areas. So whether you’re an entrepreneur, if you’re a teacher, if you’re a pastor, if you’re a student, there’s something for you. We have a robust kid’s Ministry as well, so ideally, it’s really for the entire family, so every generation has something to receive from this conference.

NV – With that said, I noticed there are different courses and sessions. How does one decide which course is the best for them?

Dr. Boyd – Well, certainly whatever speaks to them, certainly all the descriptions are very thorough, and we’ve broken them down into different genres, like lifestyle, faith, leadership, and so on. So all of the courses are broken down. You can see the instructors as well on our website visionconference.org, and its workshop style, so whatever your schedule allows. People are welcome to go and take as many classes as they’d like. We tried to make sure that we didn’t overlap too many, So I think there are only two running simultaneously. People can take full advantage of courses all day Thursday, all day Friday.

We have some youth courses also on Saturday, and then we also are running some pre-recorded virtual sessions and some live-stream virtual sessions. There is also the additional seminary now classes.

NV – That’s great. I was looking at the schedule. I was like, wow, that’s a lot of really cool stuff on here, but that’s a great answer. And finally, my last question. Why is it important that the Vision Conference™ is hosted right here in Nashville?

Dr. Boyd – Yeah, so we’re excited to be right here in our own backyard. The last time, our conference was in Nashville it was 2006 for our 100th anniversary, so we definitely wanted to bring it back. And Ironically, like, Nashville has become an expensive city, So we don’t take for granted that we already live and exist here for those visiting.

As we know there are a lot of things going on in Nashville, which is why we’re excited to bring in our constituency, to allow them to see what has happened and what’s changed in Nashville since they last been with us. There are a lot of changes, a lot of transition.

We’re happy to be right downtown, within walking distance Of The the National Museum of African American music And Broadway. People can go see the State Capitol, The Tennessee State Museum, and so much more. So everything is right there.

NV – That is really great. Well, I’m glad that you guys are here in Nashville. Of course, we love Nashville, so it’s really good and exciting,

I really appreciate your time, and I hope you have a great time at the conference. Much love.

Dr. Boyd – Thank you. I hope to see you there.

Tickets are still available to register for this year’s Vision Conference™. To register please visit visionconference.org. Follow on Instagram @visionconference_official and @rhboydco for additional details.

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Kevin Byard: The Vet

Mike Patton
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Kevin Byard: The Vet

It’s amazing how things can change within a year.

Safety Kevin Byard was one of the veterans in the Titans’ defensive secondary last year along with cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Dane Cruikshank, and cornerback Kristian Fulton last season. Byard was a leader of the Titans’ defense but he had some veterans around him for the most part except for Fulton. This year though, things are just a little bit different.

Gone are Jenkins and Cruikshank and the Titans are adding young players like cornerback Caleb Farley and rookie Roger McCreary into the room to compete for playing time at corner along with Amani Hooker more than likely being the safety locked in alongside Byard. Heading into his seventh season, Byard is not only a leader on this team but the veteran member of the secondary. Along with being a star safety in the NFL, he also has to be a guy that is a big influence on the younger players. But listening to him speak at St. Thomas Sports Park after OTAs on Wednesday, this is a role he completely understands and embraces.

“I think it’s just important for those guys to see me in meetings doing little things. I think for young guys, it’s always good to see a veteran with his notebook out taking down notes and things like that so they can see from an older guy, seeing how he does it every single day.”

Byard also mentioned that he talks to the younger players on the field, giving little pointers to them as they are taking in all the new knowledge of a defensive system.

Along with Byard being there for the younger players as an example and being someone to mentor them as they go into they go through camp, he also is leading the way in showing them how to take care of their bodies. Byard was noticeably leaner looking despite weighing near the same as last season and when asked why he gave a detailed answer.

“A lot of this can be contributed to having a better diet and eating more clean. Not eating a whole lot of fast food. Just staying in tune with my body and I feel like it helps on the field.”

His new diet also included less red meat and mainly fish and chicken, not a lot of carbs at night and includes intermittent fasting, where he says he usually doesn’t eat until 11 am and his last meal of the day is around 7 or 7:30, allowing him to feel “light” as he said.

Byard recognizes that he is the veteran many will look forward to in the secondary and on this defense and he is doing all he can to be there for his younger teammates both on the field with tips and pointers and off the field with the example in how to take care of his body. With rookie Roger McCreary calling Byard a mentor to him, it seems like Byard is off to a good start as the veteran leader surrounded by more youngsters.


Metro Nashville Files Petition for Tennessee Supreme Court to Review Recent Ruling on School Vouchers

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Metro Nashville Files Petition for Tennessee Supreme Court to Review Recent Ruling on School Vouchers

Nashville, TENN. – On May 31st Metro Nashville filed a petition asking the Tennessee State Supreme Court to review its recent 3-2 decision that found the state’s school voucher program, known as the Education Savings Account Act (ESA Act), to be constitutional, effectively clearing the way for it to move forward. Metro Nashville previously challenged the law’s constitutionality based on the “Home Rule Amendment,” which says that an act of the Legislature that is local in its form or effect, applicable to a county or municipality in its governmental or proprietary capacity, is void unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the local legislative body or by local referendum.

Alongside key Nashville leaders for our public schools, Mayor John Cooper will host a press conference tomorrow to talk more about this filing and supporting Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). Details are below.

“Great public schools require consistent prioritization because our kids’ future is our most critical investment,” said Mayor John Cooper. “The state already provides Metro Nashville Public Schools far less funding per student than almost every other county in Tennessee, and now a state voucher program threatens to syphon off even more money away from improving public schools and into the hands of private schools. We hope the Court will consider MNPS’ status as the public school system for both Nashville and Davidson County, and not allow the state to direct taxpayer money away from our schools without our consent.”

The court’s majority opinion, issued on Wednesday, May 18th , found that the ESA Act doesn’t violate the “Home Rule Amendment” because “the Act regulates or governs the conduct of the local education agencies and not the counties.” In other words, the court ruled that the ESA Act applies to school districts, not counties, and therefore local-government protections in our state constitution do not apply.

Metro Nashville is asking the Court to review the ruling because the reasoning provided by the majority opinion is wrong, particularly as it applies to Nashville. The newly filed petition argues that as a metropolitan government, Nashville and Davidson County included their combined school systems in the new metropolitan government when our citizens voted in 1962 to consolidate and adopt the Metro Charter.

Because Nashville’s public schools are part of Metro, the ESA Act applies directly to Metro, and the state constitution’s Home Rule Amendment therefore also applies, even under the Court’s reasoning.

“Metro Nashville, through the Metro Council or its voters, has the legal right to say whether taxpayer funds should be spent on private schools,” said Wallace Dietz, Director of Law for Metro Nashville.  “Our state constitution demands no less. We don’t believe the Court’s reasoning for allowing the state’s voucher program to proceed should apply to Nashville, since we are a metropolitan government with a combined city and county school system.”

Dietz continued: “Additionally, The Court concluded that the Home Rule Amendment does not apply to the ESA Act because the face of the Act addresses school districts only and does not impose obligations on counties. Instead, the Act triggers existing county funding obligations by forcing school districts to include students participating in the ESA program in their enrollment counts, even though the students are not attending public schools. This ruling conflicts with other Tennessee Supreme Court cases applying the Home Rule Amendment to bills that did not on their face require counties to do anything, but triggered obligations in existing law.”

Additional background: For much of Tennessee’s history, local governments were viewed simply as creatures of the Legislature, subject to its control at will. That one-sided balance of power shifted dramatically in 1953 when Tennessee held a limited Constitutional Convention that focused primarily on state encroachment on local prerogatives.  The main concern was the Legislature’s historic abuse of local legislation, the passing of laws that impacted only one or a small number of counties.  The Convention overwhelmingly approved the Home Rule Amendment to the Tennessee Constitution.  The Home Rule Amendment was approved by Tennessee voters in 1953 and has been a part of our state constitution ever since.

For a full copy of the filing, please email press@nashville.gov.

Crown Love Beauty Supply Announces Grand Opening in Antioch

Jason Luntz
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Crown Love Beauty Supply Announces Grand Opening in Antioch

Antioch, TENN – Entrepreneur couple Steven and Whitney Sains are proud to announce that Crown Love Beauty Supply is officially opening its doors on June 18, 2022. The public is invited to celebrate the occasion and to experience premium hair styling products, bundles, lashes, and exclusive apparel pieces firsthand. The event will start at 12:00 PM at 887 Bell Rd, Antioch, TN 37013 and includes T-shirt and snack giveaways as well as local food trucks and a bouncy house for the entire family to enjoy.

The local couple was inspired to open a beauty supply store due to the lack of Black ownership in the industry. Beauty supply stores are a part of a multi-billion-dollar industry with African Americans spending nearly $500 Million dollars a year in the United States on hair care products and services alone. Yet it is still rare to find a location that is owned and operated by African Americans. “Nationally, we all know that this is an industry that African Americans hold very little ownership and there are barriers in the market, but we were able to move around the barriers to create Crown Love,” said co-owner Whitney Sains.

(l-r) Steven and Whitney Sains. (Courtesy Photo).
(l-r) Steven and Whitney Sains. (Courtesy Photo).

Crown Love began its soft opening in May, and it should come as no surprise that there are many people excited to celebrate the store’s grand opening. “We have had a ton of positive feedback. We are still seeing the results of COVID when it comes to shipping, but the community has been patiently waiting on the opening of Crown Love,” explained co-owner Steven Sains. “We get asked all the time about the progress we are making, and we have been happy to share updates. The support has been amazing, and I feel good knowing we are providing a store that the community wants and needs.”

Others who work in the beauty industry have reached out in anticipation of doing business with Crown Love as well. “Locally, we have been in contact with barbers, cosmetologists, and nail techs,” Whitney said. “Most have expressed mutual excitement in working with us.”

The Sains hope to see everyone in the community join them on June 18, 2022, from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM to celebrate their grand opening and learn of the variety of beauty and hair products they offer along with a friendly staff who go above and beyond to ensure they can handle all their customer’s needs.

Normal business hours will be Monday – Saturday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM. More information can be found by visiting www.crownlovebeauty.com.

OP-ED: Racist ‘Replacement’ Rhetoric is Deadly and Republicans Must Stop Using It

Guest Writer
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OP-ED: Racist ‘Replacement’ Rhetoric is Deadly and Republicans Must Stop Using It

The young man who murdered 10 people in Buffalo, New York on May 14, was out to kill Black people. He chose a grocery store because he wanted to leave the local Black community in fear of going about their daily lives.

These evil actions were motivated by a racist ideology known as the Great Replacement Theory. That should cause some serious reflection among Republicans who are trying to build power with their own versions of racist “replacement” rhetoric.

Replacement rhetoric is meant to tap into a very old fear: that the survival and dominance of White Americans is threatened by others—whether by the freedom and empowerment of Black people or immigration by people of color.

Frederick Douglass, one of the great Americans of all time, denounced that ideology shortly after the end of the Civil War. Douglass was born into slavery.

He became a great anti-slavery speaker and organizer. He gave a series of important anti-slavery speeches in Buffalo, near where he lived in Rochester, and where a statue of him in his home town has been repeatedly vandalized.

In 1869, this Black Republican gave a speech called “Our Composite Nation.”

He promoted a vision of a country that welcomed and was strengthened by diversity. And he denounced fears that were being stirred up against Chinese immigrants. He said that the idea that “the Caucasian race may not be able to hold their own” against immigrants “does not seem entitled to much respect.”

Truth.

Replacement ideology is still not worthy of respect. It is toxic. And it promotes violence.

The man arrested for the killings in Buffalo reportedly claimed that he picked up his anti-Semitic and racist beliefs from some of the unsavory corners of the internet. He decided to kill Black people in Buffalo. Others who were twisted by the same racist ideas chose to kill Latinos in El Paso, Jews in Pittsburgh, Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans are hearing variations of the replacement rhetoric from irresponsible politicians and cable TV personalities. They falsely claim that Democrats want “open borders” so they can replace American voters with what Tucker Carlson called “more obedient voters from the Third World.”

Carlson has used that kind of rhetoric more than 400 times on his highly rated show. And this year at least half a dozen Republican Senate candidates have been running on the idea.

It seems that the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, is acting more like the old Democratic Party did after the Civil War. It is becoming a party defined by its willingness to use the ideology of violent white supremacists to try to stir up voters and win elections.

This is playing with fire. And if it continues, we will all get burned, again and again.

There is a more honorable path for the Republican Party. I believe national Republicans should go to Buffalo. They should reflect on the killings that were motivated by racist ideas. They should reflect on the legacy of Frederick Douglass. And they should consider the life of a more recent Republican, the late Jack Kemp.

Kemp had been a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Then he became a Republican congressman representing western New York. And he ran for president as both a Republican and a card-carrying member of the NAACP. “I can’t help but care about the rights of the people I used to shower with,” Kemp said.

We urgently need more of our national leaders to embrace Douglass’s broad vision of a strong and diverse America and Jack Kemp’s recognition of our shared humanity. And we need more people, both politicians, and regular folks, to have the courage to consistently call out bigotry when we hear it and to hold accountable those who spread it.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free” will be published by Harper Collins in December 2022.

The Titans Face Unexpected Gifts and the Unknown

Mike Patton
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The Titans Face Unexpected Gifts and the Unknown

The Tennessee Titans headed into the 2022 NFL Draft with plenty of questions. Would they get their quarterback of the future? Would they take an offensive lineman in the first round like many mock drafts had predicted them to? Well, they did get their quarterback of the future, but their draft didn’t exactly pan out the way many thought it would.

The biggest surprise: the trade of AJ Brown. Unable to come to an agreement, the Titans traded the talented young wide receiver to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 1st round pick (18th overall) and a 3rd round pick. The trade stung, as many Titans fans were shocked that he was headed out of town and along with him heading out, Brown got a four-year, $100 million deal with $57 million in guaranteed money.

The Titans, however, feel they drafted a very capable replacement though when they selected former Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burk 18th overall to fill the void.

The talented young receiver had a ton of ability, but he has big shoes to fill on the Titans and CBS color analyst and NFL Network Draft analyst Charles Davis acknowledged both: “The loss of AJ Brown was mitigated on paper by the immediate drafting of Treylon Burks, a clone of AJ Brown in the body type, style, ability, and speed and his potential is vast. But he has to prove it as AJ Brown did during his time in Nashville.”

Definitely, big shoes to feel but Davis feels good about the selection. “I thought it was a great pick by GM Jon Robinson,” he said.

The pick of Burks will be scrutinized for sure over the next couple of years given the way he ended up in Nashville, but another pick that will surely be paid attention to over the years will be the third-round selection of quarterback Malik Willis. The Titans traded their additional third-round pick they got in the Brown trade along with a fifth-round pick this year for the right to the pick that got them Willis.

The value of that pick was great for the Titans, as Willis was projected to be a first-round pick in this draft, but he had an unexpected freefall in the draft. But he could not have landed in a better spot, where he can sit behind a veteran quarterback and actually learn for at least a season and Davis agrees. “The landing spot of Malik Willis in Tennessee is perfect for him. He will not have the pressure to start right away, and the Titans style of offense helps all quarterbacks acclimate.”

Many fans of the Titans and maybe even the Titans themselves were wondering who would be next in line for them at the quarterback position. Incumbent Ryan Tannehill had a down season last year and with him coming towards the end of his deal, the Titans needed a plan. Willis has a strong arm, can improvise with his legs, and certainly doesn’t lack the confidence in himself to be a starting quarterback in this league. And most of all, he has leadership qualities that lend him to being a leader on this team in time.
While the Titans may have opened up a question and didn’t answer others in the draft, they surely did a solid job of setting themselves up for the future with a quarterback and wide receiver pairing that has a ton of potential.

Now the question is will one, none, or both of this future quarterback/wide receiver combo reach that potential?

Trailblazing to TSU

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Trailblazing to TSU

Nashville, TENN. – Mayor John Cooper and the leaders of Nashville’s premier public education institutions have announced “Trailblazing to TSU,” an exciting new partnership and scholarship program between Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Tennessee State University (TSU) to provide 100 students starting in the fall of 2023 the opportunity to be educated and trained for career opportunities in four high-demand content areas. The partnership will include early college experiences in collaboration with MNPS to include college visits, mentorship, guidance, and counseling support, and will be a full-ride scholarship that covers four years of tuition and fees for participating students.

“As an institution of higher learning with deep roots in our community, we are elated to provide this opportunity for 100 Metro Schools graduates to be TSU Trailblazers, earning a degree and treasured life experiences that will help them to succeed in life and careers beyond our campus,” said Dr. Glenda Glover, President of TSU. “MNPS students are fortunate to have such a strong advocate in Dr. Battle, who has worked with me and my team to develop this initiative in a way that will maximize the benefits to the students and our respective organizations.”

Trailblazing to TSU is part of a broader initiative of Dr. Adrienne Battle, Director of Metro Schools, to create the “University of MNPS,” which aims to develop, strengthen, or expand partnerships between Metro Schools and colleges and universities in the Nashville and Middle Tennessee area.

“Elevating our relationship with TSU has been a key focus of mine in developing the University of MNPS initiative because this institution means so much to so many in our community and among the many teachers and administrators who have used TSU’s College of Education as a springboard to success – including myself!” said Dr. Battle. “This generous offer to provide a no-cost education to 100 of our students will help more of our graduates to live their dreams and be on the pathway to great-paying, highly sought careers in Nashville and beyond.”

Trailblazing to TSU scholarships will each be individually named after a leader in the struggle for civil rights in America, in recognition of the trail blazed by those individuals who fought for the rights for opportunity and equality in America. To ensure the success of students participating in the program, TSU will assign a mentor to each scholarship recipient to guide them in their collegiate journey and to strengthen their chances for success in life beyond college.

“Investing in our children’s future through education is among our most important responsibilities as a community, and I’m thrilled that TSU has stepped up to the plate in a big way for our Metro students,” said Mayor John Cooper. “It’s a fitting tribute these 100 scholarships will be named for civil rights leaders as living testaments to their role as powerful examples for our future leaders. I’m grateful to President Glover for partnering with us on this initiative and for everything she does for Nashville, as well as to Dr. Battle for her continued leadership and service to Metro Schools.”

The 100 scholarships will cover tuition and fees for the students participating, with 25 awards allocated towards each of the following colleges in the TSU system:

College of Business: Educating current and future business professionals through innovative teaching and research focused on contemporary business concepts for the global economy. Programs offered include accounting, business administration, business information systems, economics, and finance.

College of Education: Training future teachers to thrive in the multicultural classroom, the College of Education is committed to meeting the demand for qualified educational professionals with degree offerings in Early Childhood Education along with meeting the requirement for State Licensure.

College of Engineering: Recognizing the need for developing graduates with an appreciation for global awareness, solid engineering fundamentals, and professionalism, the College of Engineering has several degree offerings in STEM fields such as applied and industrial technologies, computer science, and architectural, civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering.

College of Health Sciences: Preparing tomorrow’s health care leaders with programs in nursing, cardio-respiratory, dental hygiene, health information management, healthcare administration, public health, sports sciences, and speech and hearing science.

MNPS will work with school leaders to promote these opportunities to our graduating class, using our Academies of Nashville pathways to help identify students who will be great candidates for this program. Academies of Nashville is a nationally renowned transformation of the high school experience that partners with leading industries to incorporate real-world knowledge and experiences into the everyday classroom structure to set students on a pathway to success.

Students who are interested in applying to this exciting program should visit mnps.admissions.tnstate.edu.

Nationwide Shop Black City Tour Comes Home to Nashville

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Nationwide Shop Black City Tour Comes Home to Nashville

Nashville, TENN – The founders of Shop Black City Tour 2022 are excited to announce their Shop Black Nashville festival is coming to East Park on May 21st. The 2022 tour spans over twenty cities across the US, providing a chance to support over 1500 local Black-owned businesses in a COVID-safe vendor market space.

After seeing huge enthusiasm and success for vendors on their six-city tour in 2021, Shop Black City Tour expanded its reach to 18 cities in order to help more small businesses generate revenue. Shop Black hosts a festival experience featuring local Black-owned businesses, food trucks, and musical performances, plus education and networking forums for Black entrepreneurs.

Greg and Tee Westbrook founded Shop Black City Tour in 2019 as a Nashville vendor market before shifting in 2020 to virtual events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their work became even more important – Black-owned small businesses were impacted disproportionately by the pandemic, with the House Small Business Committee reporting a 41% drop in Black business ownership between February and April 2021. In 2021, Shop Black City Tour came back strong, hosting in-person marketplace events for over 650 Black-owned businesses in Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago. This year, with the expansion of the tour, the Westbrooks hope to help business owners across the country rebound from these losses.

“During the pandemic, we helped hundreds of Black-owned small businesses generate over $300K in revenue in just one year, and we’re especially proud of that,” said Greg Westbrook.

Their goal in 2022 is to build on that momentum, hoping to generate $1 million in revenue for vendors. “If we can help 1,500 BIPOC-owned businesses generate at least $600 of revenue [each], we’ve made a huge step forward,” said Tee Westbrook.

Shop Black Nashville is May 21st at East Park, located at 700 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206. Visit www.shopblackcitytour.com, our Facebook page, Shop Black City Tour, or our Twitter, @SBCT2022 to stay up to date.

COMMENTARY: Finding the Light to Drive Out Hate

Guest Writer
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COMMENTARY: Finding the Light to Drive Out Hate

By Dr. Gail C. Christopher

Washington, D.C. – “Hate always terrorizes. That’s the intention. As an African American woman who came of age during the Civil Rights era, I know at heart how hate works to harm some and paralyze or, at least, to immobilize others. But movement is life. It’s certainly the way forward if Democracy is to survive and its aspirational tenets of equality are to be actualized. This is why we must see hateful acts, and their progenitors, hate speech on all forms of media, as threats to our collective health, well-being and future existence.

We must mobilize as a nation, come together to deny the expression of hate permission to continue expanding, unchecked on multiple airways across this nation. Sociologists probe whether the rises in hate speech can be directly linked to racial violence. This is not about free speech, it’s about freedom to live healthily and permission for democracy to thrive. Communities in Buffalo, El Paso, Atlanta, Charleston and Charlottesville know this in their bones. Their minds and hearts are forever imprinted with the devastating and horrific memories of violence and lives lost loss simply because of their racial or other identities.

Racial hatred denies our right to exist, to live in loving relationship with ourselves and with one another. No entity, human or corporate, can be allowed to have or to proliferate that misguided right. Ending racism, in all its forms, is a public health and a national imperative. Governmental action to regulate social media through new mechanisms and to enforce existing laws is urgently needed, now.

But more is required.

The 21st century has ushered in new understanding about how molecular and cellular biology works to sustain life. Chemicals find receptors on our cell membranes before they can enter and catalyze action. No receptor, no effect. We need a parallel in our body politic. For example, the life-saving drug Narcan, prevents and reverses opioid overdoses by competing at the nine opioid cellular receptor sites. What are the interventions that can knock out receptors for hate? Available research tells us that authentic human engagements and positive meaningful interactions with perceived “others” can reduce fears and biases and, help counter receptivity to hateful narratives and rhetoric. We must mobilize, with clear intention, so hate can no longer find receptors in our hearts and body politic. This work will also help generate political will needed to expedite essential regulatory and enforcement actions that are urgently required. As Dr. King prophetically told us decades ago, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Jerry Maynard Announces Campaign Kickoff for State Senate

Jason Luntz
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Jerry Maynard Announces Campaign Kickoff for State Senate

Former Councilmember At-Large and Pastor Jerry Maynard* has a proven record of getting things done as a community advocate in our city. He played a major role in saving Nashville General Hospital, securing contracts for women and black-owned businesses, and appropriating $10 million for the National Museum of African American Music. As a senator, he will continue to be a champion for social and racial justice and empower those who no longer feel they have a voice.

Maynard has been endorsed by a number of local leaders and elected officials.

 “I believe he is best suited for this position. His experience would be a valuable asset to our party at the state level,” said Rep Vincent Dixie.

“I’ve known and worked with Jerry for a few decades now. He has consistently been a fierce advocate for our community and brings a wealth of institutional knowledge of the law and governance to this position. Jerry would be ready on day one to represent the interests of Senate District 19 and the city of Nashville,” said Rep. Harold Love.

“His approach is fearless and effective. You don’t get things done by going along to get along. You must have the courage to stand up to the mayor, the governor, or a CEO. You also need to be able to work with anyone to make something happen for the community. Nashville General and The National Museum for African American Music are great examples of where Jerry’s fearless effectiveness got big wins for our community,” said Councilmember At-Large Sharon Hurt.

Jerry Maynard’s official campaign kick-off will take place at Swett’s Restaurant located at 2725 Clifton Ave, Nashville, TN 37209 at 5:30 PM May 19th, 2022. To learn more please visit www.maynardforsenate.com.

* Jerry Maynard is the founder and part-owner of the Nashville Voice.

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