“How come you’re raising BANK FEES ON POOR PEOPLE but not the minimum wage? Will you be pushing your RUN-OVER-A-PROTESTOR BILL?” We asked Sen. Jack Johnson (R-WILLIAMSON COUNTY) why he’s targeting poor people and putting protestors in danger. He didn’t seem to want to talk.
We need more diversity and inclusion in our national and state discussions. Tullahoma City Alderman Rupa Blackwell joins the show to discuss how she is helping to elevate these issues in her rural community.
FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts here, and wherever else you like to listen here.
"That's the beauty of diversity – we have so much to learn from each other."
Tullahoma Alderman @BlackwellRupa joined @Whataboutuspod1 to talk about how diversity by itself isn't enough: we need education & inclusion too.
Full Podcast ? https://t.co/oekPW2M2po pic.twitter.com/eU1BW3B7Ab
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 26, 2021
Written Testimony on HJR150 by Steven Puckett.
My name is Steven Puckett. I am a citizen of Hendersonville, TN. I speak for myself and myself alone. First off, I want to say that I think the sponsor is well-intentioned in bringing this legislation. With that said, I am testifying in opposition to HJR150 on three grounds.
The first is that this resolution desecrates the Holy Bible. The second is that this resolution calls into question the truth of the Christian faith. The third is that this resolution steals from the Holy Bible the witness power of being mistaken for the state book.
For many Christians in Tennessee, this resolution desecrates the Holy Bible by reducing it in status from a sacred venerated object to just another political prop. Further, this resolution suggests that the Christian faith will not last the test of time as it seeks to memorialize an aspect of the Christian faith in government. In the eyes of Christians that believe that Christianity is the “one true faith”, this bill calls into question the “truth” of the Christian faith by suggesting a need to memorialize aspects of the faith as the “one true faith” needs no such memorialization for posterity.
Furthermore, this resolution steals from the Holy Bible the powerful witness opportunity that comes from people mistaking the Holy Bible for the state book as it allows Christians the opportunity to explain that the Holy Bible is much more special than just some ole state book. The very fact it gets mistaken for the state book, when it is not, gives the ultimate testament to the truth of the Holy Bible. Without the fact that the Holy Bible is not the state book, the powerful witness opportunity is lost.
Also, I understand that many mistake the removal of past societal idols as the removal of God from our society, but yet the reality is that God is actively creating opportunities for people to “to be still and listen”. In a world where nearly everyone speaks for God, God is clearly sending a message for us to be silent and listen throughout the elements in our society whether it be by replacing prayer over the loudspeaker with the moment of silence, required Bible study with silent reading, or conservative majority courts handing down liberal rulings on social issues. It is time for us to stop speaking for God and listen for God to speak to us. If do not, then we risk repeating the same folly that leads to people walking away from God forever during my dad’s school years, because they saw God and Christ as nothing more than agencies of the government.
Finally, understand that we have a whole generation that is watching us and asking “Is there anything left that is sacred? Is there anything that is beyond being tainted by the dirty hands of politics?” I ask that you answer this generation by demonstrating that there is so by voting down this resolution in a decisive fashion.
“A lot of The New York Times and Washington Post articles are using language like ‘The authorities are still determining if this was racially motivated.’ To me, that’s just as hurtful” as Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s racist tweets.
Dr. Stephanie Kang of API Middle Tennessee on the subtle racism of how the media has framed the Atlanta hate crime against Asian-Americans.
Full podcast interview with Dr. Stephanie Kang, Joseph Gutierrez, and Kit Canlas of API Middle TN available on Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you like to listen.
Support API Middle Tennessee here
If you identify as API, join their processing space on Monday here.
Full livestream available here:
Rep Hensley voted against the slavery abolition resolution and expanding black history, and is fighting to keep the KKK GRAND WIZARD BUST. Begs the question: Is he in the Klan?
Organizer Justin Jones joins to talk with Representative Johnson about his years-long struggle in leading the charge to remove the bust of former KKK Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capitol. Jones puts it best in his reason for focusing so heavily on the bust: if we can’t remove such a blatant symbol of racism from our Capitol, how will we ever be able to find the strength to build a true, multi-racial democracy?
FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you like to listen.
"TN is being manipulated and held hostage by WHITE SUPREMACY — that has a class argument to it."@brotherjones_ joins @VoteGloriaJ on #StandingTall to talk about the KKK bust and how @TNGOP maintains the status quo through divide and conquer.
Full Pod ? https://t.co/oekPW2M2po pic.twitter.com/FaqqcAQN3c
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 16, 2021
Aftyn and Anna are joined by April Jarocki, the coordinator with the Southern Connected Communities Project, who along with members of the Clearfork Valley, built their own internet by establishing a wireless internet system at the Highlander Research and Education Center in Jefferson County, Tennessee. April highlights the role of the pandemic in exacerbating the digital divide and discusses what broadband justice looks like to her community.
Donate to SCCP by clicking here!
FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you like to listen.
"What would internet justice look like to you?"
April Jarocki of the Southern Connected Communities Project joins @gritspodcast to talk about internet justice in rural TN and how SCCP built their own rural internet in the middle of Clearfork Valley.
Pod: https://t.co/oekPW2M2po pic.twitter.com/ucCH85aSyi
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 13, 2021
Bruce Baird DDS joins to talk about the patients he volunteers to care for twice a month in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. Dental care is a basic need that all people have a right to – this is yet another area where Tennessee could do a better job for its citizens.
Check out and support the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic
"Dental Medicaid stops at age 21 in Tennessee. That's not true in most other states."
Bruce Baird, DDS joins @Whataboutuspod1 to talk about inequities in dental care and the urgent need for comprehensive dental coverage for Tennesseans.
Full podcast ? https://t.co/oekPW2M2po pic.twitter.com/dYwnqV2hDR
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 12, 2021