Urban Voice East Tennessee Edition

Clarence L. Vaughn III Tapped to Lead Knoxville PRAC

UrbanV ice CULTURE NEWS POLITICS

EDITION #003 ▪ SEPTEMBER 2011

Community

Business

Health Politics Lifestyle

CHATTANOOGA | CLEVELAND | KNOXVILLE | ATLANTA

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$2.9M Change Center Launched in Knoxville Knoxville Mayor Rogero announced her support for a new $2.9 million “Change Center,” a hangout spot and job training initiative for teens and young adults

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New, Multicultural Generation of Campers:“The greatest glory in living More Blacks &lies not in never falling, but Hispanics Goingin rising every time we fall.”

Camping?

+ KEEPING THE + FAITH

Nearly Forty Percent of New Campers are African-American, Hispanic or AsianAmerican; Millennials, Technology Driving a Shift Toward Greater Diversity in the Outdoors

03

Q&A with Khristy Wilkinson Candidate for Stated Senate District 10

Coalition Calls for Jobs & Programs Celebrating 50 Year with the Bar-Kays !

Celebrating 50 Years to Combat Violence with the Bar-Kays !

Ty Kevin Muhammad Speaks atemon xclusive Interview

Diona Clark Shares her Battle with Domestic Violence Kevin Muhammad of the Nation of Islam delivers ‘People’s State of the City’ to the Chattanooga City Council

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NATIONAL NEWS brief

New, Multicultural Generation of Campers Benefitting from Time Spent Outdoors Nearly Forty Percent of New Campers are African-American, Hispanic or Asian-American; Millennials, Technology Driving a Shift Toward Greater Diversity in the Outdoors ll BILLINGS, Mont.-(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 1 million households in North America started camping last year. Of these new campers, 18 percent are African-American, 11 percent are Hispanic, and 44 percent are millennials, according to the 2016 North American Camping Report, an annual independent study supported

by Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA). The research findings suggest that not only is there an increase in African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American representation overall, but among new campers for 2015, representation closely matches overall population (i.e., census) figures, indicating that this new generation of campers is truly multicultural.

African-American and Hispanic campers are not

only camping more than ever before, but they are enthusiastic about the benefits, stating it allows them to spend more time with friends and family, reduce stress and be more physically active. What’s more, the research suggests that there is a “flattening” effect among millennials, where many of the differences observed between ethnic groups are much less pronounced among these younger campers.

Relaxation and stress relief are the top reasons people camp, according to nearly 3,000 survey respondents across the U.S. and Canada.

Additionally, 1-in-5 campers say that camping allows them to spend more time vacationing each year, and access to technology may be promoting greater mobility among campers.

While email usage while camping is down overall, campers who check their email while camping spend on average three additional days camping, reinforcing the notion that technology is allowing people to camp more without the anxiety of being disconnected.

“More people are camping across North America than in the past few years, and we’re seeing how we define experiences in the outdoors evolve in a modern and meaningful way,” said KOA COO Toby O’Rourke. “The uptick among millennial and multicultural campers could represent a shift in how camping is perceived and levels of participation. With interest and intent to camp more up across the board for 2016, the outlook for the upcoming season, as well as the long-term viability of

camping, remain strong.”

Additional highlights from the 2016 North American Camping Report include: The New Generation of Campers: A Camper is a Camper Diversity in the outdoors is slowly increasing, with more AfricanAmericans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans starting to camp each year. Notably, the results of this year’s North American Camping Report show that the distribution of new campers is much more aligned with overall population figures for ethnicity.

• One-in-5 new campers are African-American, which is being driven primarily by millennials.

• Hispanic campers are now 8 percent of the overall camper market (up 2 percentage points from 2014 to 2015) and represent 11 percent of all

Jay-Z and Beyonce Are Reportedly Making Millions From the Cheating Rumors?

ll While many Beyoncé fans are applauding her “vulnerable” and “transparent” performance on her new visual album Lemonade, others are hesitant to

take a sip because they suspect the project is merely a clever PR stunt.

One crafted to fatten the pockets of Mr. Sean Carter and his wife while the consumer remains intrigued by the mystery surrounding the savvy power couple.

Since the release of Lemonade, critics and fans alike have noted how Bey has gushed about her rap star hubby in many songs since she made her solo single

debut with the hit “Crazy in Love.” Behind the scenes, Jay Z’s infidelity has reportedly had Mrs. Carter quietly playing the role of long-suffering wife. In 2014, Beyoncé released “Ring Off,” about her mother’s experience with infidelity in her marriage. Now, the pop star is finally exposing her own husband’s womanizing with her latest work, most notably on the track “Sorry.” While Rachel Roy and Rita Ora have

denied being the “Becky with the good hair” that Bey mentions in the track, a source tells Page Six exclusively that Jay Z is “100 percent behind” his wife exposing him for a bigger payday.

The source goes on to say that the Becky speculation “was a deliberate play by the famous couple.”

“They develop these storylines to sell albums.

‘Lemonade’ is a movie crafted to drive sales.

Morehouse College Department of Mathematics Honored for Achievements

ll (Black PR Wire) The Department of Mathematics at Morehouse College has been chosen to receive the 2016 AMS Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference Award.

The annual award was created by the AMS Committee on the Profession to recognize outstanding programs that successfully address the issue of underrepresented groups in mathematics.

Morehouse is honored “for its significant efforts to encourage students from underrepresented groups to continue in the study of mathematics.”

David Savitt of Johns Hopkins University, who served as chair of the award selection committee, said:

“The Department of Mathematics at Morehouse College goes the extra mile to encourage and challenge its students.

The faculty show great care and devotion in their teaching and mentoring, and they also open students’ horizons by, for example, offering research opportunities and getting students to participate in conferences. The impact Morehouse has on increasing diversity in the mathematical sciences community will exert a positive effect for years to come. The

AMS is very happy to present this deserving department with the Programs that Make a Difference Award.”

Morehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, with enrollment of approximately 2200 students. In recent years its Department of Mathematics has graduated an average of 14 mathematics majors per year.

new campers. New Hispanic campers are also highly likely to be millennial (64 percent), representing one of the fastest growing segments among campers.

• Of millennials who started camping in the past year, 54 percent are nonwhite.

• Fully 1-in-10 AfricanAmerican and AsianAmerican campers just started camping this past year.

Among all campers, camping is a form of escapism and a healthy way to connect with family and friends, with these opinions strengthening substantially year over year, and strongest among Hispanic campers and African-American campers.

percent of all North American campers, 71 percent of African-American campers, 72 percent of Hispanic campers), relax (46 percent strongly agree) and escape the stress of everyday life (44 percent strongly agree).

Nonwhite campers are more likely to say camping allows them to spend more time vacationing each year (27 percent versus 18 percent among whites).

Additionally, it appears that nonwhite groups are responding to efforts to get them into public campgrounds. Past research has indicated that many nonwhite groups, particularly African-Americans, do not feel welcome at public campgrounds.

• People camp because it’s a way to spend more time with family and friends (69

FCC Approves $1.5B Subsidy for Affordable Internet Service in Low-Income Homes hours as Republicans accused FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler of scuttling a late-night compromise to bring them on board.

ll Millions of poor Americans will be eligible for federal subsidies to help pay the cost of Internet service after new regulations were approved in a whirlwind Federal Communications Commission (FCC) meeting on last week.

The FCC voted to expand its 30-year-old Lifeline program, which has offered the monthly $9.25 subsidy for voiceonly phone service.

The three Democratic commissioners approved the proposal over opposition from the two Republicans, who have concerns about the program’s budget.

The vote was delayed for more than three

They said they had a deal with Democratic commissioner Mignon Clyburn before it fell apart under pressure from the chairman, members of Congress and outside groups. „I must address the elephant in the room: the delay in the meeting and rumors about a proposed cap on the Lifeline program,” Clyburn said at the meeting. She said she engaged in negotiations with Republicans but ended up backing out because the deal did not „fully achieve my vision.”

Clyburn told reporters she is five feet two inches tall but „not easily bullied.” Wheeler gave a one word response to charges that he bullied his fellow Democrat: „Balderdash.”

The expansion is a major win for advocates who increasingly see

Internet access as a necessity for education, finding a job or simply communicating.

They point to the 15 percent of Americans, concentrated in poor and rural communities, who do not use the Internet.

Families will only be able to receive one subsidy per household, which they can put toward paying for home Internet, phone or smartphone service — or a combination of the three under the program. Many current participants receive free basic cell service because the $9.25 subsidy covers the entire cost, but they would have to cover the remaining cost of a broadband connection.

The vote ensures that “Americans can access the dominant communications platform of the day,” said Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the F.C.C.

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The Region’s Largest African American Newspaper

MAY 2016

letter from the

Public Education: A State of Emergency

Pas

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” – Derek Bok, educator and former president Harvard University CHAIRMAN/PUBLISHER Jermaine D. Harper, MBA

Chief Creative Officer

Jermaine D. Harper, MBA Email: jd.urbanvoice@gmail.com Our public education system is in crisis.

In fact, those schools populated by black and brown children in urban communities, are bearing the brunt of the devastation.

Our government and political leaders know this. Our corporate CEOSs know this. And increasingly, students and their parents know this, especially once they enter the job market after graduation, assuming they did not drop out before earning their diploma.

And if you don’t know things are bad with our schools—“You Gone Learn Today.”

Exposure to concentrated neighborhood poverty harms kids’ life chances.

Black kids are also uniquely exposed to concentrated poverty in their public schools.

There are several factors that contribute to the problem. Dont’t take my word for it.

Check out these facts: •

•

•

Black students are more likely to attend high-poverty public schools.

Over 40% of black students attend a high-poverty school; about 10% attend a low-poverty school Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of school every day, and only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a high school diploma.

More than 60 years after Brown vs.

Board of Education, school systems in the United States are separate and unequal. By 2022, the number of Hispanic students in public elementary and secondary schools

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is projected to grow 33 percent from the 2011 numbers. The number of multi-racial students is expected to grow 44 percent.

On a local level, there has been much conversation about the how education reform is critical to both the economic competitiveness and security of our local community. The foundation and fuel of American innovation rest on the quality of our public education system, which leads to earning potential, healthier neighborhoods, and stronger community.

And parents, regardless of race, nationality, or economic status, want their child to have the best education possible.

Yet, no one wants to do what it takes to make the changes necessary to improve our public school system. Its time to eliminate race, economic status, and zip codes as determining factors in which Hamilton/Knox County children attend well-funded and equipped schools with the best teachers. It’s long past time that we recognize the investment required to really fix our school system.

It was not long ago when the profession of teaching was considered an honorable pursuit, worthy of respect. This was certainly the case during my time in Hamilton County public schools. Now, the profession is at best taken for granted and at worst, the option of last resort for average professionals. In fact, I was once told that I should have minored in education as a “fall back career plan.”

That’s just bad advice. With that said, if we want the best and brightest to choose teaching over other professions, we need to pay them accordingly.

There is a need to increase diversity and cultural competence in the teaching workforce. Recruiting and retaining teachers of color is important, as some children of color will go through their entire educational career without having a teacher who looks like them or who can identify with the uniqueness of their cultural heritage.

We also need to change the way public schools are funded. As long as schools are funded unevenly, we will continue to have separate and unequal schools that we thought was outlawed years ago.

And while charter school may provide another option, they are not solutions in and of themselves.

The bottom line is: we need to fix our entire public education system, not just bits and pieces of it. It’s time to have an honest conversation about inequity, parity and post graduation opportunities.

It will require all hands on deck to fix this problem. That means, all levels of government, regardless of political party, teachers, parents, students and every member of every community to keep the crisis of public education from becoming a full fledge national disaster Until Next Month,

- JD Harper

CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Archie Lynn Cole James Clingman Sharetta T. Smith Jermaine D. Harper DaVette Jones Kevin Muhammad Khristy Wilkinson Shanelle Smith Brtittany Thomas ADVERTISING Email: ads.urbanvoice@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BA Photography, Brian Archie Look Within Photography, Shakeesha Semone WEBSITE: www.urbanvoiceonline.com COPYRIGHT All material appearing in Urban Voice NewsMagazine is copyright unless otherwise stated or it may rest with the provider of the supplied material. Urban Voice Newsmagazine takes all care to ensure information is correct at time of printing, but the publisher accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of any information contained in the text or advertisements. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher or editor.

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featured must read in this issue

tor daryl arnold, Overcoming believers church

Column:

Columnist: Should You Downsize for Retirement?

Provided by: DaVett Jones

Grassroots Coalition Gives ‘People’s State of the City’ in Chattanooga

GUEST COMMENTARY: STOP WHINING AND START GRINDING

East Tennessee’s Largest African American Newspaper <<<<<<

Knoxville mayor appoints clarence l. vaughn, iii AS THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE POLICE REVIEW ADVISORY AND REVIEW

PRAC reviews citizen complaints and Internal Affairs reports involving the Knoxville Police Department < < < < < < VOICES

Fight for 22The $15: Lifting

Communities from Poverty by Raising the Minimum Wage <<<<<<

Q&A with Khristy Wilkinson Candidate for the State Senate District 10 Seat held by Todd Gardenhire

13 07

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QUICKNews CITY OF KNOXVILLE BUSINESS NETWORKING BREAKFASTJUNE 14TH

Knoxville Launches $2.9M Change Center to help curb gang violence and lack of jobs

7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

FREE ADMISSION Knoxville Civic Coliseum 500 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue Knoxville, TN 37915 FREE PARKING Parking Garage C – Historic Preservation Drive (One block south of Howard Baker Jr. Avenue, across from the Knoxville Marriott) There will be enhanced opportunities to meet the department directors in small group settings. ● Community Development ● Engineering ● Fire ● Fleet ● Knoxville Area Transit ● Knoxville Utilities Board ● Knoxville’s Community Development Corp. ● Parks and Recreation ● Police ● Public Building Authority ● Public Service ● Redevelopment

A Change Gone Come?

By Staff Reporter

Register Online at: https:// www.surveymonkey.com/ r/2016Business-Breakfast

Tennessee Enacts Fantasy Sports Bill, Privilege Tax On April 27, 2016, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 2109 (Public Law Ch. 978, effective July 1, 2016). The Fantasy Sports Act (FSA) confirms the Tennessee Attorney General Opinion No. 16-13 (April 5, 2016) (holding that fantasy sports contests were illegal gambling), stating that it is a violation under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-503 for “any person to offer fantasy sports contests through an online digital platform that enables Tennessee consumers to participate in such contests without that person being licensed as a fantasy sports operator by the secretary of state.”

The FSA establishes a six percent (6%) privilege tax, dubbed the Fantasy Sports Tax, on all adjusted revenues of fantasy sports contests offered by a fantasy sports operator to Tennessee consumers. The Tennessee Secretary of State (“Secretary”) will administer the tax as well as other provisions of the FSA.

youth. This diversion approach would offer outreach, job training and life skills classes to young men in trouble. The longterm goal is to reduce robberies, aggravated assaults, and murders in the target neighborhoods.

ABOUT THE CHANGE CENTER

Last month, Knoxville Mayor Rogero announced her support for a new $2.9 million “Change Center,” a hangout spot and job training initiative for teens and young adults, which aims to address some of the youth needs identified by Save Our Sons, particularly the need for nearby safe places and activities for at-risk youth.

To help prevent crime, Save Our Sons set goals to increase KPD community policing patrols, as well as to increase collaboration with juvenile court and the public defender in providing alternatives to jail for at-risk

The Change Center will include a roller skating rink (a repeated desire voiced by inner-city youth), a multi-purpose sports venue, a concert stage, a movie wall, a music mixing studio, a climbing wall, a game room, and a Hard Knox Pizza café.

Planned to open in late 2017, the center will have free adminission and modest activity fees.

In addition, there will be a major Change Center Jobs Initiative that will offer direct entry-level jobs, job training, job referrals, and an effort to partner with business mentors and community partners to develop jobs for

entrepreneurial teens.

The Change Center is in the process of becoming its own nonprofit, not run by the church, although Arnold (and Rausch) will co-chair its board of directors.

Among other board members are Mike Murray, president and general maanger of the Knoxville Ice Bears, Sterling “Sterl the Pearl” Henton, former UT quarterback and official DJ for UT, and Nathan Langlois, principal of Austin-East High School.

In addition to the $500,000 committed by the city of Knoxvville, major commitments from the Haslam Family Foundation, Pilot Corporation, and Cornerstone Foundation of Knoxville. (The Haslam Family Foundation will also contribute $250,000 to operating expenses over five years, to prevent the Change Center from competing too much with existing nonprofits for donations.)

Clarence L. Vaughn III tapped to Lead Police Advisory and Review Committee

By City of Knoxville

Mayor Madeline Rogero has named Clarence L. Vaughn III as the new Executive Director of the Police Advisory and Review Committee, which reviews citizen complaints and Internal Affairs reports involving the Knoxville Police Department.

Vaughn, who has an MBA from Syracuse University in Organizational Management and a B.S. in Business Administration from Florida

A&M, has worked in banking and business consulting since 2007. He also volunteered with a range of community organizations including the Helen Ross McNabb Center, Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum, Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission and Knoxville Area Urban League Young Professionals.

“Clarence combines community engagement and knowledge with the skills required to conduct thorough, independent reviews of complicated incidents and issues,” Mayor Rogero said. “PARC serves a vital role in maintaining community trust in our law enforcement efforts.

Clarence will be a diligent and fair-minded advocate for accountability and transparency.”

He will begin his position with PARC on Monday, May 9.

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East Tennessee Largest African American Newspaper

3 Questions for Khristy Wilkinson: Candidate for State Senate District 10 want better for my neighbors, and I want better for my friends.

Growing up, my family had little and life was a constant struggle.

With help I was able to create a better life for myself and my family. Even so, my family still struggles to make ends meet, and I know we are not alone. I see the role of State Senator as a continuation of the work I do as a parent and in my community, and as an opportunity to help improve the lives of the people in our city and in our district.

Q. Who is Khristy Wilkinson and why are your running for Public Office?

A. I am many things to many people: a committed volunteer, stay-at-home mom, educator, wife, and friend. I am not a politician. I am an average, middle-class Tennessean frustrated by the injustices I see and worried about our state’s future. I want better for my kids, I

Tennessee has an opportunity to lead the way, and yet we are lagging behind. Our representatives should be acting as servants to the public good.

Instead, they represent special interest groups and their own agendas. It’s time to put people over politics. As State Senator, I will help restore the voice of the people in our government, provide transparency and accountability to my constituents, and bring about change that will improve the quality of life for the majority of us who are struggling to get by.

Q. What do you think are the 3 most pressing issues affecting our area?

A. Education, economic inequality, and lack of civic engagement are the biggest issues facing our area. Civic engagement is of the utmost priority because the other two will not change if we do not elect the right officials. The only power we have is in numbers, people and paper. If we want our government to invest in our communities, then we have to elect the people who are willing to fight for community investment.

Our leaders are more motivated by profit and personal gain than they are for the good of the people. They are counting on our apathy. It is time for a change.

It is time to elect representatives who understand that the system plays favorites and who are committed to dismantling the mechanisms that hold that system in place. We have to get informed, and inform others; we have to

register to vote, vote, and get others to vote too; and we have to start encouraging like-minded people to run for office. We have to understand the relationship between government and daily life. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of state and local politics in our day-to-day experiences.

Q. What should government’s

role be, if any, in supporting the healthy development and learning needs of children from birth through age three?

A. The first few years of a child’s life have a profound impact on their neurological and social development. It takes a village to raise a child. That means every member of the village is responsible for contributing to the early development of our children, including and especially the leaders of that village. My husband and I have two kids, ages 3 and 5, and our entire family lives far away.

We depend on educators, neighbors, community members and friends to help us with the

task of raising our kids. People rely on their communities to provide their children with the experiences and opportunities they need to thrive, so investing in communities should be a priority.

Our government has a moral obligation and an opportunity to empower communities and organizations working to enhance the lives of our children and strengthen our families. No parent can raise a child alone; we must have strong communities if we want strong individuals.

In Chattanooga, Youth and Family Development centers are a woefully underfunded but immensely valuable resource for strengthening our communities.

Short of expanding public education to include early childhood development, I am in favor of incentivizing meaningful investment in YFD facilities and other organizations that promote healthier families; encouraging the development and implementation of sound programming for early childhood development; and increasing compensation and opportunities for early childhood education specialists.

Should You Downsize for Retirement?

Some retirees save a great deal of money by doing so; others do not.

by DaVett Jones • p3financialgroup put more cash in your pocket.

If your home isn’t paid off yet, have you considered how much money is going toward the home loan? When you took out your mortgage, your lender likely wanted your monthly payment to amount to no more than 28% of your total gross income, or no more than 36% of your total monthly debt repayments. Those are pretty standard metrics in the mortgage industry.1

You want to retire, and you own a large home that is nearly or fully paid off. The kids are gone, but the upkeep costs haven’t fallen. Should you retire and keep your home? Or sell your home and retire? Maybe it’s time to downsize.

Lower housing expenses could

What percentage of your gross income are you devoting to your mortgage payments today?

Even if your home loan is 15 or 20 years old, you still may be devoting a significant part of your gross income to it. When you move to a smaller home, your mortgage expenses may lessen (or disappear) and your cash flow may greatly increase.

You might even be able to buy a smaller home with cash (if finances permit) and cut your tax

liability. Optionally, that smaller home could be in a state or region with lower income taxes and a lower cost of living.

You could capitalize on some home equity. Why not convert some home equity into retirement income? If you were forced into early retirement by some corporate downsizing, you might have a sudden and pressing need for retirement capital, another reason to sell that home you bought decades ago and head for a smaller one.

The lifestyle reasons to downsize (or not). Maybe your home is too much to keep up, or maybe you don’t want to climb stairs anymore. Maybe a condo or an over-55 community appeals to you. Maybe you want to be where it seldom snows.

On the other hand, you may want and need the familiarity of your current home and your immediate

neighborhood (not to mention the friends close by).

Sometimes retirees underestimate the cost of downsizing. Even the logistics can be expensive. As Kiplinger notes, just packing up and moving a two-bedroom condominium’s worth of furniture will cost about $1,500 if you are resettling locally. If you are sending it across the country, the journey could take $5,000 or more. If you can’t sell or move everything, the excess may go into storage, and the price tag on that may be well over $100 a month. In selling your home, you will probably pay commissions to both your agent and the buyer’s agent that add up to 6% of the sale price.2 Some people want to retire and then sell their home, but it may be wiser to sell a home and then retire if the real estate market slows. If you sell sooner instead

of later, you can always rent until you find a smaller house that could save you thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars over time.

Run the numbers as accurately as you think you can before you make a move. Downsizing always seems to have a hidden cost or two, but for many retirees, it can open a door to long-term savings.

Other seniors may find it cheaper to age in place.

DaVett Jones may be reached at 865-325-2631 or davett@ p3financialgroup.com. www.p3financialgroup.com

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“Riverview Terrace Rooftop” BIRMINGHAM APRIL 28 - MAY 1 Sinbad Stardome Comedy Club MAY 21 Babyface Alys Stphens Center MAY 21 Birmingham Funk Fest New Edition, Guy, 8Ball & MJG, Silk Legion Field Gates open 3pn | Showtime 5pm www.funkfesttour.com MAY 29 Janet Jackson BJCC Legacy Arena

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Kevin muhammad ‘ People’s State of the City

Local Nation of Islam Leader addresses the Chattanooga City Council. READ THE FULL ADDRESS HERE

Written By • Lynn Cole & Kevin Muhammad

Nation of Islam leader Kevin Muhammad issued a rebuttal last week to Mayor Berke’s “State of the City” report. Addressing a packed house Muhammad stated that a large segment of Chattanooga is impoverished, while parts of the city are enjoying a Renaissance. In his 20 minute address entitled “State of the People” Muhammad presented to the Council another Chattanooga – one he says that is much different from the picture painted

by Mayor Berke’s address last month.

being harassed by the police.

Why are we funding the police as if they are our hope for a better tomorrow?”

Muhammad recited several statistics outlining the conditions of inequality that exists in Chattanooga and said that many city programs are failing, including the Violence Reduction Initiative (VRI) and a Youth and Family Services (LEXIA) reading program.

Cynthia Stanley Cash said there had not been a gang shooting since Kevin Muhammad first addressed the council last week.

Several members of the public agreed with Muhammad’s description of another Chattanooga

{

“Chattanooga is a great place to live, If you’re White,” said Tresa McCallie, who lives on the Southside with her husband (Franklin).

Others addresses specific concerns with policies that have come from the Berke administrations and City Council budget decisions.

A resident of North Chamberlain said the wealthy are getting big tax breaks “and we can’t get a grocery store in East Chattanooga.”

Khristy Wilkinson of Highland Park said, “My black friends are

Diante Jackson of One Nation Family said the cameras around town “are a terrible idea.” He said inner city youth “have nothing to do and don’t have a fighting chance.”

Katherine Cordell of We the People said, “Stop the mass incarceration and stop the war on drugs.”

Charlotte Williams, a local minister, said her son has dreads “and is harassed and brutalized by the police.” She said, “Putting black faces into blue uniforms will not change anything.”

AshLee Henderson said Mayor Berke had been invited to the Muhammad talk. She said, “Do you see him? Andy, are you here?”

People’s State of the City Address –

Kevin Muhammad, May 3, 2016 In the name of God, The Beneficent, The Merciful. I greet you with the greetings of Peace be unto you.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the City Council for allowing us this opportunity to give The People’s State of the City Address.

We stand before you today as the voice of the voiceless, the voice of those whose voices have fallen on deaf ears and whose deeds are not recognized in City Hall and the Chambers of Justice.

We the people love our city despite her many flaws.

Mr. Chairman, members of the City Council, Look around. This is the true power of the community.

If you’re here as a living testimony

that another Chattanooga exists, one in which a different narrative than our mayor has portrayed is reality, please stand. Thank you.

You may be seated.

Today, we the people roll up our sleeves and say: Today, we work.

We the people stand today in the spirit of Isiah, “to rebuild the wasted communities, to restore the former devastations, renew the ruined neighborhoods and desolations of many generations.”

In 2014, a New York Times article on American’s growing poor and low-income populations featured Chattanooga as a highlight of disturbing new trends. The article found that 27 percent of the city’s residents live below the poverty line, nearly double the national average. Out of that number, “women head two-thirds of the city’s poor households and 42 percent of its children are poor and according to another source, 60 percent of African-American children are poor, and nearly double the rate statewide.”

Chattanooga ranks 12th in the nation for economic inequality out of the top 100 markets for the ratio of lower-income households to high-income households. For every one household earning $200,000 or more, there are 20 earning less than $50,000.

The Brookings Institution has reported that between 2000 and 2010 Chattanooga saw a 75.2% increase in people in poverty in the urban core, and a 52% increase in poverty in the suburbs.

In the years of 2007-2009, Chattanooga had the second highest rise in poverty in the United States; an 8% increase.

Chattanooga currently maintains the 7th quickest-rising rents in the nation.

In 2012, the Thomas Fordham Institute noted that two of Chattanooga’s zip codes were among the highest for gentrification and racial displacement in the United States.

Recently, WalletHub (an online information-gathering site) noted that Chattanooga had the

seventh-lowest pay in the U.S. for someone WITH a bachelor’s degree.

Only 23% of all working age Chattanooga residents live near a transit stop. The average for the top 100 metro areas is 69%.

Chattanooga, home of the Ironman competition, the U.S.A. Cycling championships, having one of the largest downtown climbing complexes in the country, was named one of the least healthy cites in America.

Volkswagen has been given nearly $800 million in public subsidies and has the lowest paying wages of any auto workers in America.

Time will not permit us to deal with all the issues, initiatives and proposals we would like to present. So today, we share the stories of those who still live in the Dark Ages while our city prospers from its Renaissance.

The Mayor said, “Over the last 3 years, our unemployment rate has dropped 2 point 5 percent.”

You can’t tell that to the people who live in Alton Park whose unemployment rate is 35% and receive wages of 18 thousand a year. Or, the people who live on the Westside where 100% rent and 30% are unemployed. Or, the people who live in Eastlake with an unemployment rate of 28% and earn 20 thousand dollars a year.

Today, we the people say to the City Council; you can no longer rubber stamp the Mayor’s budget. If we are truly budgeting for outcomes, then it’s pretty obvious that we have not gotten the right outcomes. The current budget does not address the growing needs, the 100 percent dissatisfaction and frustrations in our communities. The answer is not to continue to increase the budget of the police.

The budget is a moral document that represents the priorities of our city.

The 2016 Chattanooga Annual Budget appropriates nearly $108 million for safer streets. This is

nearly 50% of the $221 million budget. We cannot police our way out of this. In the eyes of the poor and disenfranchised, the police in our communities are to us as the occupying armies of America are to the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

The Mayor said, “Last year we arrested 306 gang members as part of VRI. Now, we have more information than ever before about the main perpetrators on our streets. Because many of these are truly young men -- 16, 17, 18 –“ We tell the story of a young man who has witnessed several callins. A man who committed violent crimes, spent over 20 year in prison, who has done his time, and now lives a productive life, a family man. He said, “They can find money for bicycles, and bike lanes all through the city. But can’t find money to fund programs to restore the lives of these young men.”

With passion and conviction he said, “I have witnessed the same spirit of the police that exists in the streets inside the VRI call-ins.

If they got the power to sit them down, scare them, why don’t they use this as an opportunity to help solve their personal problems and addictions that cause them to do what they do? Every time I leave it depresses me. It is so dehumanizing. And the way they talk to the brothers is sickening.

They don’t love them. These young men would rather go to jail or die before turning government informant.”

The VRI has failed. 11 of the 12 officers quit the unit. The head of the Public Safety Committee left town. The out of town contractor paid to implement his High Point Initiative has taken our money and his plan has failed. The 32 Worst of the Worst failed. The call-ins are failing!

The Mayor said, “In one week, they arrested 28 gang members and confiscated 18 guns. Yet we also saw those arrested make bond the same night, only to get on Facebook the next day with

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2016 | 11

East Tennessee Largest African American Newspaper

Kevin Muhammad more provocative statements.

These last two weeks epitomize the danger that occurs when a small group of people value retribution more than they worry about jail or even their own safety.

And the cycle of violence and the code of silence continues.”

We tell the story of a young man who said to us, “Billy Long was the Sherriff of Hamilton County. He is back on the streets. The number one law enforcer was distributing cocaine. I know people who are doing several life sentences for less than what Billy Long was doing. They want us to snitch but they won’t break the blue code of silence and do nothing with the bad cops among their own.”

We tell the story of an active gang member who said, “Yeah! They want us to stop gang banging but we watch them down there gang banging. What color is the Republicans? Red. What color is the Democrats? Blue. They Blood!

They Crip!”

We the People say, The Mayor’s plan to spend another $1 million dollars in the next two years to put cameras in the yards of residents, businesses and churches is like throwing a life jacket into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during a hurricane. It will not slow the destructive forces intensifying in our communities. It too will fail.

Smarter Students and Stronger Families is appropriated $24 million, only 11% of the budget.

Safer Neighborhoods is appropriated $43 million, only 20% of the budget.

We tell the story of an elderly lady who lives in one of the poverty pockets in our city, an area of our city where residents once could not sit on their front porch due to the toxics from factories in the dirtiest city in America. Who now cannot sit on her porch due to crime and violence.

Her husband has passed. Her children have moved out. All that remains of the good days are the pictures hanging on the walls in her humble home. Most of the lots around her are vacant, boarded up, rented out or trap houses. Out of fear for her safety, her loved ones at every opportunity try to convince her to move out. She has no place to go. This is home. She loves her home.

We the people believe that our City must focus more on Safer Neighborhoods. Family is the basic unit of civilization. When you have strong families you have strong communities. When you have smart students who are empowered they make smart choices.

We tell the story of a young man who was hanging out in the streets with his friends. He said to us, “We have high school diplomas. Some of us have 2 year degrees. Some of us have Bachelor Degrees.

But we all have another thing in common. None of us have jobs.”

These are young people who played by the rules. They did what their parents taught them. They went to school. They got a good education. They still can’t get a job.

Today, we the people, no longer give the City Council our permission to give public subsidies that do not benefit the people directly impacted. Today, we the people, no longer give the City Council our permission to grant PILOTs. Currently, 60 companies receive tax breaks through PILOTS. $15 million went uncollected in 2015 and more than $350 million has been forgiven in current PILOTS. $350 million.

We the people say to this council, you must now collect our tax dollars. We the citizens have to pay. They should too! We can fund the programs to address the root cause of the violence in our city with this money. When we invest in our children. Smarter Students, Strong Families, Safer Neighborhoods will produce Safer Streets.

The Mayor’s answer is two new initiatives; the Citizens Safety Coalition and spending an additional one million dollars on cameras.

Tonight, We the People offer our two bold initiatives.

First, The People’s Youth Initiative. We make Chattanooga the Best Youth Town in America.

We tell the story of a sixteen year old girl walking downtown with her mother. We stopped and asked, “If you had one thing to say to the Mayor, the City Council and the City Leaders that could help you, what would it be?” With no

hesitation, she looked me straight in my eyes and said, “Spend time with me. Believe in me. Invest in me. “ Here is how we invest in her. We take the $1 million proposed for the cameras, and we create 500 summer jobs. We start our youth on a graduated pay scale depending on age. We employ those youth in the poverty pockets that are most impacted first by the economic inequalities, and then we spread it out throughout the entire city. We train our youth on how to open a bank account, open a savings account, invest in a down payment on a car, a house, college education, creating their own businesses. We have the money. The question is do we have the will.

We call on Volkswagen who has benefited from over $800 million in public subsidies to match the $1 million, Amazon who received $30 million tax breaks to match the $1 million, Coca Cola $5.9 million tax incentives, Alstom Power, BlueCross BlueShield, Chattem, Walnut Commons, McKee Foods, and others to collectively match the $1 million.

The private investors, who will invest $650 million dollars in downtown to pay their tithes, give 10%of what they invest to help The People’s Youth Initiative.

We call on former Mayor Kinsey, Senator Corker, and River City Company to each invest $1 million to make our city the Best City for Young People in America.

We create thousands of jobs.

The impact will affect tens of thousands of families. This is a bold progressive step in the right direction. The benefits too many to name in the few minutes we have left.

We must have new leadership to operate the People’s Youth Initiative. We can no longer recycle the same people and get the same results.

We must bring all of our Youth and Family Development out of the cave man days. The Lexia Program is not working. We cannot force our children to learn in the Rec Centers what the school system is failing to do. Sports and Recreation is necessary to

channel the energy of our youth through good, clean competition.

We say with this with deep love, respect and humility to those who lead our YFD, we cannot allow this same spirit of intimidation and fear to creep into the Centers.

Fear restricts the will. Fear kills the spirit of creativity. We must free up and use the years of experience in the Centers from the qualified staff who have earned the trust and loyalty of our young people.

They are First Responders. The youth love and respect them. We must support them financially to implement new innovative methods. We must fund outreach programs. The Rec centers worked for many of us. They can no longer be underfunded. We have to empower the good people in these YFDs to do what they do best.

Secondly, The People’s Formerly Incarcerated Rehabilitation Initiative. We can’t keep telling our brothers to put the drugs and guns down when we do not have anything for them to pick up. Many of our brothers want jobs but because they have a felony they can’t get a job.

We tell the story of a young man who spent 13 years in jail. A young man that is brave enough to share a very personal side of himself.

When he was five years old, he was molested by another man.

His father never praised him for any of his accomplishments. The schools he attended passed him knowing he could not read or write.

He clowned his whole way through school to distract everyone from his deficiencies.

He is a convicted felon. He wants to work. He has paid his dues. No one will give him a chance. He wants to pay his child support.

They keep locking him up for nonpayment at least six months out of the year. A story all too familiar.

He sees no way out. He doesn’t desire to resort to the savagery of the concrete jungles The Mayor said, “We have… opened doors for those gang members seeking a better life, and 184 have found employment.

“What the Mayor did not say is most of these are temporary jobs, with no benefits, most lasting for 3 months.

We the people are not satisfied with 184 temporary jobs. They need real, full time, permanent jobs with full benefits. If we are truly serious about uprooting the cause, we will call these same companies and others, to put people like this young man to work. No matter how large or small your business is, help us to employ our people who have felonies.

We begin collecting the millions of uncollected funds through the PILOTS and fund Community Based Initiatives and restore the broken lives of our people. We spend time with them. We believe in them. We invest in them.

We must form a People’s Formerly Incarcerated Rehabilitation Board, made up of those who were formerly incarcerated, former dealers, former leaders of street organizations whose lives have been reformed and transformed.

We form Conflict Resolution Teams to mediate their beefs.

We partner the Board with retired educators, retired policeman and social workers, business and spiritual leaders to help make our communities a decent place to live and heal our city. We teach them how read and write, get their GEDs, counseling to repair and restore their broken lives, proper community policing, trades and skills consisting of plumbing, electrical work, heating and air, carpentry, painting, sheet rock hanging, barber and cosmetology school, car detailing, landscaping, brick laying, roofing.

We the people ask this City Council to partner with us, to not only represent the classes, but represent the masses. Smarter Students, Stronger Families, Safer Neighborhoods will produce Safer Streets.

Today we the people begin that process that is written of in the scriptures, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the City Council.

12 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2016

opinion

May 2016

Alton Park Development Corporation host Playground Build Day May 10th (@TWITTER), organizers from KaBOOM! (@kaboom) and the community gathered on Tuesday, May 10th, to give Southside area kids the childhood they deserve by building a new playground at Chattanooga Civic Center at Mountainside (formerly the Piney Woods Elementary school).

BACKGROUND

By Staff Reporter More than 200 volunteers from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation (@BlueCrossTNNews), Alton Park Development Corporation

A playground is more than a playground. It’s a brainexpander, friend-maker, and muscle-builder. Play is central to a child’s ability to grow into a productive adult.

It can transform children from sedentary, bored and solitary

to physically, mentally and socially active. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to the bold goal of giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve, filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. With its partners, KaBOOM! has built, improved and opened nearly 16,300 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers, and served 8.1 million kids (#playmatters).

The new playground will bring more than 1,000 kids in Chattanooga one step closer to having the play-filled childhood they deserve. In building this playspace together, we are

making it easier for all kids to get balanced and active play and making Chattanooga more playable.

Currently, there is no playground in the Alton Park neighborhood. This new playground will provide the kids of the surrounding community with a safe, accessible place to play.

The playground is the 11th built

by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation and KaBOOM!. Through this partnership, more children will have the joyful childhood they deserve. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation supports KaBOOM! in promoting

and protecting a child’s right to active play at home, at school and in the community.

The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, Inc. (THF) was established in December, 2003 as a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit corporation organized to promote the philanthropic mission of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

KaBOOM! is the national nonprofit dedicated to giving all kids – particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive.

Distraught Republicans Share True Feelings on Trump, Call Out Who He Is “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” He previously called Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot.”

By Moses Frenck

ll The aftermath of Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee has left many Republicans in a quandary — many don’t want to be associated with Trump.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham this week tweeted:

Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who previously wrote that “A presidential candidate who boasts about what he’ll do during his ‘reign’ and refuses to condemn the KKK cannot lead a conservative movement in America,” this week tweeted: “Reporters keep asking if Indiana changes anything for me. The answer is simple: No.” It is this association with racism and bigotry that has vulnerable down-ballot Republican candidates worried. GOP congressional candidates in states like Florida and throughout the Southwest with large Hispanic populations fear their endorsement of Trump will alienate Latino voters, for example.

As a result, Trump will not receive many public endorsements but will earn their

12 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2016

votes nonetheless. Meanwhile, a handful of prominent Republicans have flat-out said not only will they not vote for Trump, but will vote for Clinton or leave the GOP altogether.

Mike Treiser, a former staffer on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, wrote on Facebook: “In the face of bigotry, hatred, violence, and smallmindedness, this time, I’m with her,” using the Clinton hashtag slogan “I’m with her.”

Mark Salter, who worked as a strategist for John McCain, also said he would support Clinton over Trump. “He’s an awful human being. He appeals to a sliver of the country that mystifies me.”

Ben Howe, a contributing editor at conservative website Red State, tweeted: “I am a fiscal conservative and I am a social conservative. That will not change. But I will not vote for an egomaniacal authoritarian.

Nope.” He also added

#ImWithHer. Philip Klein, the managing editor of the Washington Examiner, posted a photo Tuesday night of a voter identification form showing him officially changing his registration from Republican.

Jamie Weinstein, senior editor of conservative news site Daily Caller, wrote: “I’m a lifelong conservative, but Hillary is preferable to Trump just like Malaria is preferable to Ebola.

Malaria is curable. Ebola is more often deadly.”

A tweet by John McCain’s daughter Meghan summed up the sentiment: “I guess when I said in 2012 that my party was going to evolve or it was going to die — it was easier to choose death.”

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the past has called Trump a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the U.S. presidency.”

Ronald Reagan’s son Michael

this week tweeted: “The Republican Party is no longer the Party of Reagan it is now the Party of Trump. Good Luck.”

Conservative commentator Glenn Beck said on the radio this week that as the leader and face of the GOP Trump makes the party appear to be one consisting of a bunch of racists and said he has nothing to do with the party anymore.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus this week said “it will take some time” for Republicans to get behind Trump. “This was a very contentious battle. It’s not easy when you have 17 candidates and people’s second and third choices didn’t win.”

Please Join us for breakfast Learn about upcoming City of Knoxville business opportunities planned for the next 12 – 18 months.

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14 | URBAN VOICE NeWSMAGAZINE 2016

May 2016

opinion The Fight for a $15 wage: Lifting Communities from Poverty

GuestCommentary

East Tennessee Largest African American Newspaper

Commentary • Marc Morial wise man has any intention of destroying what is known as the profit motive; because by the profit motive we mean the right by work to earn a decent livelihood for ourselves and for our families.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, State of the Union Address, January 4, 1935 Day in and day out men and women all over our country work hard at their jobs—but hardly have anything to show for it.

urban voice ll (TriceEdneyWire.com) - “We find our population suffering from old inequalities, little changed by vast sporadic remedies. In spite of our efforts and in spite of our talk, we have not weeded out the over privileged and we have not effectively lifted up the underprivileged. Both of these manifestations of injustice have retarded happiness. No

As the debate over income inequality and narrowing the ever-widening wealth gap continues to dominate our national and political conversations, private corporations and states are taking matters into their own hands, bridging the dueling divides of income and opportunity by increasing the minimum wage.

Target is reportedly raising employee wages to a $10 minimum in May. This would be the second wage hike in a

year for the retail giant. Only a few weeks ago, the governors of New York and California signed bills that would gradually increase their states’ minimum wages to $15—the highest in the nation.

In the face of the Congress’ refusal to increase the federal minimum wage, these gestures from private enterprise and legislative offices reflect a new reality in our post-recession economy: jobs are coming back, but, for the most part, they aren’t the kinds of jobs that pay a living wage. Very often, they are not the kinds of jobs that serve as a platform to better paying work. And they are the kinds of jobs that predominately employ young people, minorities and women—the most vulnerable members of our low-wage, slow growth recovery economy.

What was a Franklin Roosevelt era labor law meant to put a floor on poverty in America has become a low ceiling barring millions of American workers from present and future

prosperity.

For 10 years, the National Urban League has advocated for a federal minimum wage hike tied to the Consumer Price Index, which tracks inflation by observing changes over time in consumer pricing for a variety of goods. If prices are going up—and they are—wages that don’t reflect these hikes in prices translates into working-class employees never getting ahead and being forced to make difficult choices to survive, provide for themselves and their family.

The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25. President Barack Obama, during a State of the Union address, said, “Let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” Well, on $7.25 an hour, you can bet they will. In fact, if the minimum wage kept pace with inflation, the current minimum wage would be $19.

We support a $15 minimum wage, tied to inflation.

With more Americans surviving on minimum wage than at any other point in our history, to ignore the issue of wages is to ignore the problem of income inequality, and to ignore the struggles of men and women left behind as the economy recovers. While I applaud the initiative taken by states and businesses to provide employees with living wages, we must put an end to the “vast, sporadic remedies” condemned

by President Roosevelt.

The current patchwork of state minimum wages is not a solution. Congress needs to do its job. Republicans supported minimum wage increases under President George W. Bush, but have blocked all efforts to raise it since then. Rather than condemn a generation to a lifetime of poverty, let’s afford them the opportunity to earn living wages and climb the economic ladder of opportunity and success.

15-Year-Old Memphis Student Gets Perfect ACT Score AROUND THE STATE ll A 15-year-old high school sophomore got a perfect score on the ACT (American College Testing) exam, reports Blavity. com.

Dwight Moore, a student at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis scored a 36 out of 36 on the college entrance exam putting him in rare company—

less than one percent of the 1.9 million test takers received a perfect score in 2015.

His school put out a statement this week congratulating him, reading in part: The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1–36, and a student’s composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take the optional ACT writing

test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT Composite score. “Please join me in congratulating sophomore Dwight Moore for his perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT,” said CBHS principal Chris Fay. “Dwight is an incredibly polite and humble young man, who is respected by both his peers and teachers. He is a model student at CBHS.” Moore reportedly said that he thought the score was a mistake

when he first saw it.

“I sat there in shock for a second. There is no way this is right,” he said. “It didn’t have the writing score so I thought this was just a placeholder for later so I am not getting my hopes up; when the writing score came out too, I actually got a 36.”

And he’s only in his second year!

Bravo, young man, bravo!

URBAN VOICE MAGAZINE 2016 | 15

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