National HIV Testing Day to raise awareness of Choice Health Network’s year-round services KNOXVILLE, TN (June 24, 2021) – National HIV Testing Day, held annually on June 27, also will raise awareness of Choice Health Network’s everyday services for East Tennessee’s most vulnerable individuals and families affected by HIV, mental illness, substance use, homelessness, discrimination,…
In a country that typically separates incarcerated people from their newborns, the eight states with prison nurseries seemed groundbreaking. Minnesota introduced an entirely new solution. Jean Lee Reporting Fellow Published June 11, 2021 In June 2014, Autumn Mason gave birth while incarcerated in Shakopee Correctional Facility, Minnesota’s only women’s prison. She was arrested for criminal vehicular operation…
Tammi Campbell Appointed Principal of Austin-East Magnet High School Tammi Campbell has been appointed Principal of Austin-East High School, effective May 2021. Ms. Campbell joined Knox County Schools in 2002 working with Project GRAD for seven years before becoming a school counselor at Austin-East High School. She previously served as a training specialist for Knoxville’s…
EDUCATION/Schools KNOXVILLE, TN, June 2021 Nathan Langlois Appointed Director of Advancement and Diversity Nathan Langlois has been appointed Director of Advancement and Diversity for Knox County Schools. Mr. Langlois joined the district in 2011 as assistant principal at Powell High School. Mr. Langlois previously taught in Cobb County, Georgia and served as an administrative assistant…
EDUCATION/Schools Julia Baker, Chalkbeat Tennessee Jun 21, 6:16pm CDT Teachers hoping to challenge a new Tennessee law limiting discussions on institutional racism, white privilege, and bias in the classroom were encouraged to document instances when their lessons or classroom discussions are limited, and students should note when they feel silenced in the classroom. These…
It’s official! As of June 16, 2021, the Juneteenth Flag has a national holiday to be recognized, celebrated and flown. An additional red, white, and blue flag could be flown over the National and state capitol buildings beginning next year. NATIONWIDE (June 2021) – For two decades, communities around the country have held flag-raising…
KNOXVILLE, TN (May 2021) – The Knoxville Area Urban League presented an “End of the Year” celebration for its 27 graduating scholars in the National Achievers Society (NAS) program. The celebration was at Marble Hall at Lakeshore Park in Knoxville on Sunday, May 23rd. Due to the pandemic, it was the first large, in-person event…
The United States has instituted a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery, Juneteenth! The day the South was ordered to set their captive African slaves free. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday, June 16, to make Juneteenth – June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The bill was signed into law by President…
By Rick Held KNOXVILLE, TN (June 15, 2021) – Knoxville Utilities Board leadership took their case for getting into the broadband business to East Knoxville on Monday, fielding questions from community members that kept returning to the theme of affordability for individual ratepayers. In the second of two public forums in a month, KUB board…
BUSINESS Burlington decades ago was a robust residential neighborhood with a uniquely distinct commercial district. KNOXVILLE, TN (June 16, 2021) – It still boasts Lema’s World Famous Chitlins and Speedway Circle, once a Cal Johnson racetrack. But at one time, it was home to…
Errin Haines The 19th Editor-at-large June 11, 2021, 1:05 p.m. ET Darnella Frazier, the teenage girl who whipped out her cell phone and recorded the police murder of George Floyd last summer, a video that rocked the nation, has received an honorary Pulitzer Prize for her courage. Frazier, now 18, was honored with a special citation…
Three commissioners recently took the oath to serve on the Knox County Election Commission. Julie Gautreau and Andronicus Thomas have accepted positions on the Knox County Election Commission as Democratic representatives. Former State Rep. Eddie Smith was also sworn in on May 19, 2021, to a four-year term. The Knox County Election Commission has…
By Marta W. Aldrich, Chalkbeat Tennessee May 24, 2021 Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a bill into law that will restrict what public school teachers can discuss in Tennessee classrooms about racism, white privilege, and unconscious bias. The Republican governor signed the bill without comment, following its passage along partisan lines. The new…
KNOXVILLE COLLEGE 2021 HOMECOMING CELEBRATION In the aftermath and residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, KC alumni were polled to decide how to conduct the 2021 Homecoming festivities. Over 400 responses were returned from the survey. View this video for the resulting data and insights into how the 2021 Homecoming may be presented;…
KUB (Knoxville Utilities Board) invites community members to exchange information on its proposed plan to offer internet service to current customers in the electric service area. The meeting is on Monday, June 14, at 6 p.m. at the Change Center Knoxville, at 203 Harriet Tubman Street, Knoxville, Tennessee 37915. The meeting is open to…
June 2021- Knox Pride to open a community outreach center in July — helping fulfill their mission as an LGBTQ+ nonprofit. Knox Pride plans to establish a physical location in South Knoxville. More details to come on location and the official name. Without a festival in 2021, we worked hard behind the scenes to get…
The City Council Movement (CCM) builds on its 2017 and 2019 victories with competitive candidates in Knoxville’s 2021 City Council contests. The City Council Movement is proud to announce endorsements for the 2021 Knoxville City Council elections. CCM is endorsing three candidates in three districts: David Hayes for City Council District 1, Jen McMahon for…
The first in a series of the “African-American Experience in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park” project will be a free ZOOM at 11 am June 16, 2021. Join the East Tennessee Historical Society as they share the first of a series of free ZOOM Brown Bag programs and Saturday lectures to be offered through…
POP Tenn Inner City Youth Paintball League The East Knoxville Community has been rocked by gun violence. In the first few months of 2021, five students from the same high school have been the victims of gun violence. Each of them was promising students on their way home from school, except for one. POP…
(Oak Ridge, Tenn.) – The Spurgeon Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, 100 S Benedict Ave Oak Ridge, TN 37830, will hold a Praise on the Lawn event this Saturday, June 5, 2021, at 6 p.m. at Spurgeon Chapel A.M.E.Zion Church, 100 Benedict Avenue. This is the first of many events planned to unify the community. Water…
KNOXVILLE, TN The East Tennessee History Center at 601 S. Gay Street will dedicate its new Microfilm Reading Room at 4-5 pm, Tuesday, June 1. The event is free and open to the public. The new Booker-Neeley Microfilm Reading Room is named for two of Knoxville’s most prolific historians, Robert ‘Bob’ Booker and Jack Neely….
Marine WO2 Sherman Gillums, Jr. May 2019 This is a picture the Defense Department has never allowed the public to see until now. This is a behind-the-scenes look at Dover Air Force Base where the bodies of fallen service members are prepared for burial. That includes being properly dressed, all the way down to the…
“I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home. I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams,” she said. “I…
May 30th marks the 61st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering the commencement speech to HBCU Knoxville College graduates. A speech that sparked many of its students to activism. Knoxville’s Bob Booker was among them. He was born in the basement, the Negro ward of Knoxville General Hospital in the 1930s during…