The Contributor May 8, 2024

IN THE ISSUE

A Few Questions

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Contributor

HOW TO PAY A VENDOR WITH VENMO Vendor Writing 13

Any vendor of The Contributor can accept VENMO as payment. Technology is a barrier to those experiencing homelessness. Many of our vendors don’t have phones or bank accounts, or use online commerce. Thus we simplified the VENMO process by using one account for all vendors. This means YOU MUST IDENTIFY YOUR VENDOR when using VENMO. Here is the skinny on how to do it right.

#1 You must have a VENMO account. Sign up at www.venmo.com if you haven’t already.

#2 SCAN THE SQUARE QR CODE in the top left corner of the cover of this paper using your phone or tablet camera. Then press the button that appears once it has been recognized.

#3 CLICK the blue “Pay or Request” button on the screen with The Contributor yellow and black logo.

#4 TYPE in the amount you wish to pay. The paper costs $2. Tips are welcomed. Vendors get all the money you send and can pick it up the next business day at our office.

#5 Most importantly, TYPE YOUR VENDOR’S NAME AND BADGE # in the “What’s this for?” box. Then hit the PAY button. Their name and 4 digit badge # should be written on the front cover of the paper below the QR code. You must

identify them to insure they will get the money. First name, last initial and 4 digit badge # will ensure that a vendor with a similar name doesn’t get confused for your vendor. You can also leave feedback in this field. But always identify the vendor. If they didn’t write their name or badge # on the cover of this paper, please describe where they were and what they looked like. This usually can identify them.

#6 HIT THE PAY BUTTON.

#7 The FIRST TIME you pay anyone using VENMO you will be asked to enter the last 4 digits of their phone number. Type 6829 in this field. Our phone number is (615) 829-6829. Or, you can scroll down and skip this step. (VENMO wants to protect you from sending money to the wrong person with a similar name. The next time you pay a vendor using our account, you won’t be asked to verify again.)

#8 ALWAYS TAKE THE PAPER HOME WITH YOU. When vendors sell out, the satisfaction of having a business that sells out its products begins to sink in! Vendors who sell out, come back to our office to buy more. This helps our vendors meet their sales goals. And, it is there that we can meet with them, give them their VENMO payments or mail and work on solving their barriers to housing and life’s goals.

#9 Friend us on VENMO and leave feedback. Open the app and click on “Me” at the bottom. Then select “Transactions” to see your payments. Click on the payment to The Contributor in your transaction list and then click on our icon at the top of the screen to see all of those transactions between us. On this page you can “Friend” us and click on the speech bubble icons of all your payments to leave feedback on your experience. Constructive feedback and praise help encourage our vendors to do their best.

Longtime Contributor

vendor John Parker will be remembered for his laughter, courage and voice

BY LINDA BAILEY

John Robert “Bobby” Parker passed away on Friday, April 26, 2024. He was 76 years old.

John was born in Nashville on June 21, 1947. He was the 11th child out of 12 and lived in Nashville for most of his life. In 2009 John began selling The Contributor, which is where I met him when I started working for the paper in 2011. John said that selling the paper kept him alive and gave him something to do. He enjoyed meeting people and making them smile, something we have in common.

The first time I met John Parker was at a vendor paper release meeting. He called me over in his gruff voice to help him fill out a survey we were asking all of the vendors to fill out. This survey, like so many in homeless service spaces, was full of deeply personal information used to collect data for things like grant funding that allow us to continue helping people at the low cost of dehumanizing the people we serve, but I digress. I started filling out the survey with John, who questioned every question, but answered them nonetheless. Eventually, and I don’t remember the question this happened on, he broke into a huge laugh and I realized he didn’t care that I was asking him a million personal questions, because he was used to answering them al-

ready. He had done it most of his life. So when he started laughing, I started laughing and I made it a point to talk to him every week at these meetings.

Those conversations quickly turned into a friendship, and on my birthday that year he bought a cake, balanced it on his rollator, got on the bus and brought it to the vendor office for me and we had a birthday party. I’ve never been so stunned at an act of care and generosity than that. He was so good at showing love.

John took me to Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church, the church he attended from childhood. I had the honor of hearing him sing a solo in the choir. He had a soft but powerful voice that filled the auditorium. We ate a potluck lunch after it was over and he introduced me to the church family he loved so much. John’s faith was important to him, and while we didn’t always see eye to eye on religion, we both respected the other’s perspective. He was so good at being faithful.

When I left The Contributor in 2017 we were, as John described it, “kin.” I reassured him that we would still see each other even if we didn’t work together anymore. This turned into me picking him up for Saturday break-

fasts at Shoneys. We’d hit the buffet, sometimes just us and other times with Contributor volunteers. We’d talk about our lives, our dreams, our hopes, the hard times, the good times and we’d both throw in jokes for good measure. He was always making me laugh.

During the pandemic things got hard. We were both concerned with his health and wanted to be as safe as possible. I’d bring him groceries or pick up his prescriptions. We’d talk on the phone when he got lonely. I did what I could, but I never felt like it was enough. John never made me feel like that though. He appreciated everything and always understood my limitations. He was always kind to me.

Throughout my time knowing John, he was in and out of hospitals and doctors offices. I think he would want me to mention his appreciation for the staff at Tennessee Oncology where he received treatment for at least a decade. He especially admired Dr. Doss.

Eventually his health declined to the point of needing to have both of his legs amputated. He got a nice motorized wheelchair through his insurance (his Mercedes, as he called it). He moved into a rehab facility that we both knew he would stay in until he died, though

we never talked about it that bluntly. I think it was hard for us both. I know it was hard for me. He frequently reminded me of all the people I had in my life — ones that he had introduced me to and ones that I had found on my own — who would be with me when he no longer would be able to. I thanked him and told him I hoped that wouldn’t happen any time soon because I wanted more time. He reminded me the Lord was in charge of timing, and I said, “Amen.” We both laughed.

The last time I saw John, he came to The Contributor office to bring me lunch, something he did frequently when he was more mobile. He knew I had a habit of skipping lunch so whenever he could, he’d bring us the special of the day from a restaurant in the Arcade he frequented often. He hadn’t done this in a while both because it was harder now and also because I was better about bringing my own lunch. We talked for a bit. Not long enough for either of us, but we both had things to do that day. I gave him a hug and told him I’d see him soon. I, of course, did not bring a lunch that day, so I was very grateful when I opened the styrofoam container and saw a pile of spaghetti. He was always taking care of me.

PHOTO BY LINDA BAILEY

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024

2PM

10 changes in Nashville in the past 10 years

BY RIDLEY WILLS II

Some years ago, Betty McLeod, a Murfreesboro native, who married Duncan McLeod, a professor at Oxford University in England, told me that “’Nashville changes more in five years than Oxford does in one hundred.”

Having been to Oxford, I agree with her. Just for fun, I’ve listed 10 ways Nashville has dramatically changed in the last decade. See if you agree with my choices.

1. Vanderbilt's becoming one of the the two leading heart transplant hospitals in the world, alongside New York City's Mount Sinai.

2. Belmont University’s remarkable growth in enrollment, facilities and programs.

3. The replacement of locally owned meat and three restaurants in favor of much more expensive restaurants opened here by restaurateurs from Charleston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York City, Australia and elsewhere.

4. A sharp acceleration in Nashville law firms being acquired by some of the largest law firms in the nation

5. The explosive growth of the Nashville, Murfreesboro, Franklin Statistical Area, which had a population in 2024 of more than two million.

6. The enormous growth of the Nashville International Airport (BNA), “a world-class airport for a world-

class city,” which has more than 20,000 paying passengers annually.

7. Nashville's new status as the number one destination for bachelorette parties. These are held mostly on lower Broadway, an area which in 2023 produced 25 percent of all liquor taxes collected by the state of Tennessee. Many of the bars and honky tonks there and on Second Avenue North are owned by county music stars.

8. The division of the 5th Congressional District, represented for more than 30 years by Democrat Jim Cooper. a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard Law School graduate, into three congressional districts 5th, 6th and 7th represented by conservative Republicans.

9. An enormous change in our skyline by the construction of an unprecedented number of high rise apartments, condominiums, office buildings and hotels in downtown, Sobro, the Gulch, Germantown and Midtown.

10. Increasingly enormous congestion on our roads, a sharp increase in property values due partially to the gentrification of such areas as The Nation, East Nashville, and Germantown, and an acute shortage of low income housing. Addressing these serious problems are Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s highest priorities.

Learn More About Guaranteed Income Programs

Universal Basic Income and Guaranteed Income are the two most prominent terms that usually come up when discussing direct cash assistance pilot programs, which assess whether monthly payments to participants will help reduce their poverty and even prevent homelessness.

The idea of Guaranteed Income is not new and has appeared throughout history. American economist Milton Friedman advocated for a basic income in the 1940s. Then in the 1960s, several measures that included creating a guaranteed income program to alleviate poverty made it to Congress but did not pass.

In his last book published in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “I’m now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”

His words are posted prominently on the Mayor’s for a Guaranteed Income Website (mayorsforagi.org) as a reminder of how long folks have been advocating for these efforts.

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income was founded in 2020 by Michael D. Tubbs, former Mayor of Stockton, Calif., and it includes nearly 150 mayors who are committed to advancing a federal guaranteed income. The goal of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is to serve as a research and resource hub for municipal pilot programs.

Tubbs’ Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) program claims to be the first Guaranteed Income demonstration program led by a Mayor in the nation in recent history and was launched in 2019. It provided $500 per month for two years to 125 randomly selected residents. The cash was unconditional and did not include any work requirements.

Researchers who studied the outcome of SEED observed “trends of a positive trajectory,” but the relatively small sample combined with the fact that cash recipients and those in the control group were hard to reach during the height of the pandemic, did not lead to results that were statistically significant.

Meanwhile, guaranteed income programs have been implemented in dozens of cities across the nation, and Minnesota may become the first state to take a basic income pilot statewide, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported last month.

The Standford Basic Income Lab published a white paper in 2020 that explored the different names used to describe Universal Basic Income plans.

To sum it up:

• Universal Basic Income provides the same cash amount to all individuals within its program. The funding is usually distributed monthly and has no strings attached.

• Guaranteed Income is for a targeted population, for individuals or households, whose income is less than a certain threshold. The income amount paid to recipients varies. It makes up the difference that the individual/household lacks to reach that predetermined threshold. There are also no strings attached to this monthly allowance.

• Negative Income Tax is another targeted approach that focuses on households whose incomes are less than the defined

BY JUDITH TACKETT

income cutoff when they file taxes. This benefit is given annually and varies based on income and income cutoff.

• Earned Income Tax Credit requires households to work in a formal employment setting. It targets residents whose earned income from formal labor is less than the defined income cutoff when filing taxes. It is also provided annually, and the amount varies based on income and income cutoff.

Basic Income Pilots and/or Guaranteed Income also seem to be gaining traction in some cities and counties when it comes to preventing and reducing homelessness. As homelessness is increasing nationwide, local governments are desperate to curb the inflow of new people into homelessness and reduce recidivism rates.

Denver was among the first cities to implement a basic income program for people experiencing homelessness. The Denver Basic Income Project offers unconditional cash transfers for 12 months and is studied by the University of Denver’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research. Three groups of participants will receive different amounts during the project:

• Participants of Group A receive 12 monthly cash transfers of $1,000;

• Participants of Group B receive a onetime cash transfer of $6,500 at the time of enrollment, and $500 per month for the remaining 11 months; and

• Participants of Group C are considered the comparison group and will receive 12 monthly payments of $50.

According to an article printed in December 2023 in the Colorado Community Media, enrollment for the program took about four months from November 2022 to February 2023. Participants were recruited through local homeless service agencies. The eligibility criteria included that basic income recipients must be 18 years of age or older, experience homelessness, and not have severe or unaddressed mental illness or substance disorder. The project so far has served about 800 people, way more than the project founders initially anticipated. But funders like The Colorado Trust, The Colorado Health Foundation, and The Denver Foundation backed it. In total, the Denver Basic Income Project has raised about $6 million.

A six-month report released in October found that participants reported spending their cash on things like housing, transportation, and obtaining jobs. The findings show an increase in housing placements, a decrease in people sleeping on the streets, and an increase in fulltime employment.

A final report will be available in June 2024. I have spoken with local politicians who are interested in exploring the idea of a Basic Income Pilot program here in Nashville. But so far, Memphis is the only Tennessee city that has signed on to the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income network.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young is quoted on their website as saying, “Economic stability means high-quality, well-paying jobs, support for entrepreneurship and small business, and helping close the gap for people who are working

hard yet struggling to get by. For many low-income families, a small amount of money can unlock a world of potential.”

Critics of these types of programs, however, are concerned that handing out cash without strings attached could lead to a reduction in employment among low-income Americans, which they claim would weaken families and increase poverty.

Leslie Ford, an adjunct fellow of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, released a report in March 2024, which states that “from the evidence currently available, if guaranteed income is nationally implemented, it could harm lower-income Americans by disincentivizing work.” She continues that in the long run, “This would likely have negative consequences for the citizens the programs seek to help because employment, not merely transfer payments, is key to overcoming poverty and exiting dependency.”

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income actually agree that while handing out cash is immediate, it is not a silver bullet. “We need meaningful, systemic change to our economy — and cash is just one part of that,” their website states. In addition, they claim that giving money without strings attached is powerful for three reasons:

1. It reaches recipients quickly.

2. It allows for flexibility as the needs of households are not identical (some need to pay rent, others need money for childcare, a laptop to allow for improved child education, to cover a medical emergency expense, auto repair, etc.).

3. It fills gaps in social safety net programs.

There is not much evidence yet that unconditional cash assistance results in a huge decrease in people willing to work.

University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research recently published its findings for the Recurring Income for Success (RISE) program in Cambridge, Mass. It showed that the recipients of cash benefits reported higher full-time employment on average compared to the control group. RISE offered $500 per month to 130 single caregivers from September 2021 to February 2023. To be eligible, participants had to have an income below 80 percent of the area’s median income.

Other findings in the evaluation of RISE showed that compared to the control group, cash recipients increased their income and income stability, achieved the ability to cover emergency expenses, and put money in savings. In addition, their housing cost burden and food insecurity was reduced. But the impact on mental and physical health outcomes was mixed. Researchers concluded that this suggests that Guaranteed Income alone is likely not enough to support the well-being of some caregivers.

While most Guaranteed and Basic Income projects are focused on families with children, a few, like the one in Denver, try to reduce homelessness.

A 2024 issue brief called Basic Income Grants to Reduce Homelessness in Los Angeles by four leading homelessness academics in the country argue that the potential of cash payments to people experiencing homelessness could contribute to reducing outdoor homelessness. They point to a 2022 Urban Institute

Survey of Guaranteed Income projects, which compared these programs to the distribution of benefits through the usual bureaucratic ways. They cited the following benefits:

• Cash subsidies provide more flexible housing support at a lower cost. The current dominant model entails considerable overhead to pay for government employees and contractors to manage relationships between landlords and people in need.

• They afford more choice and dignity by allowing unhoused or housing insecure people to be treated like any other prospective tenant or lodger.

• They avoid voucher discrimination by landlords, some of which is motivated by the not irrational reluctance to deal with government bureaucracies to receive payment.

• These subsidies can be provided to people excluded from other government funded voucher programs, including immigrants and formerly incarcerated people.

The way I read their paper, the authors, including Dr. Sam Tsemberis, who has recently held a workshop with Nashville service providers on the Housing First philosophy, critique the homelessness systems that focus solely on implementing approaches that result in slowing down the housing process for people who are less vulnerable. Or said in another way, cash assistance could help provide options for people who are able to find housing on their own if they had a little bit of economic support in doing so.

I would like to point to a new study that Vanderbilt University’s Research News announced in April. Per that announcement, the study will “test whether unconditional direct cash payments and peer support to families who are homeless will help reduce the length of shelter stays and improve other aspects of their lives.”

“This study was essentially designed by lived-expertise consultants, a team of mothers who had stayed in New York City shelters with their young children. When we asked them what would help families leave a shelter most rapidly and promote family well-being, the consultants said cash and peer support,” Dr. Marybeth Shinn, a nationally renowned researcher and a professor at Vanderbilt University, was quoted in the announcement.

Foundations often do not like to participate in or are even prohibited to fund Basic Income Pilots or Guaranteed Income programs due to the lack of fairness as to who receives the cash payments. Therefore, government funding mechanisms become important to implement viable programs. At the same time, whenever government is involved, bureaucracy may stall swift implementation.

The federal stimulus grants implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic also showed that it can be done and that the result of cash payments would help reduce poverty. Yet, those subsidies are ending. That is where national advocacy groups like Mayors for a Guaranteed Income become crucial to push for widespread implementation of programs that would supplement existing social welfare systems to alleviate poverty.

A Few Questions With Megan Barry

Barry reflects on where Middle Tennessee is headed as she runs for congress against a Republican

Megan Barry is running for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Middle and West Tennessee, including a portion of Davidson County. While she does not face an opponent in the Democratic primary, she’ll run against the Republican incumbent. She says she chose to run in a district that’s been a recent Republican stronghold because of the lack of choice in the district.

Furthermore, Barry says she strongly feels her opponent Rep. Mark Green does not effectively represent his constituents — he had actually announced his retirement from Congress but rescinded his decision after the Republican Party urged him to reconsider. Some of the issues she intends to run on are access to healthcare, reproductive freedom for women, accessible affordable housing so that people do not have to leave their communities, and the right of parents to feel and know that their children are safe at school.

Another issue that is always close to Barry’s heart is related to the opioid crisis, where she advocates to expand services to alleviate mental illness, substance use disorder, and overdose crisis. She lost her only son to an overdose while still serving as the 7th Mayor of Nashville and has written a forthcoming book called It’s What You Do Next, which will be published on Nov. 12, 2024.

In today’s Q&A, we asked Barry to comment on several topics about where Nashville is heading.

On Transit/Transportation

Where is Nashville?

We’re behind and trying to catch up. We are the only city of the Top 25 most populated cities in the US without a dedicated funding source for transit.

Where would you like it to go?

There will be a transit referendum on the ballot this year. Nashville should pass it.

Are we on course, based on what you just said?

Nashvillians will need to get energized and excited about the transit proposal and come out to vote in the November election.

On Housing

Where is Nashville?

We’re behind and desperately need to catch up. We haven’t built enough housing at differing price points for Nashvillians to afford to live here.

BY JUDITH TACKETT

Where would you like it to go?

We need to safeguard the housing we have and we have to be intentional about building more at different price points. This is a multi-prong approach at the local and state level which includes increased funding to the Barnes Housing Trust Fund, creating new revenue sources for preservation, using existing underutilized publicly-owned land to create housing and incentivizing the folks who are building housing all over Nashville — developers — to include affordable housing in their mix.

Are we on course, based on what you just said?

There are a lot of good efforts across the board and housing advocates have put a tremendous amount of time and energy into this and moved the needle significantly. There is always more to do and under this presidential administration, we’ve seen efforts to expand assistance and support for renters, build homeownership opportunities by reducing mortgage insurance premiums, and boosting the housing supply through renovation, low-income housing tax credits and the new Neighborhood Homes tax credit.

On Education

Where is Nashville?

We need to make sure our children in public schools are getting a great education and we still have work to do. Less than 50 percent of our high

school graduates are college-ready, and students in schools in lower-income areas achieve less favorable outcomes than their peers. However, the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS) gave MNPS a Level 5 value-added growth score, the highest score that they give, for the second year in a row last year. We are improving but there is always room for growth.

Where would you like it to go?

We can improve student outcomes in a myriad of ways. I will leave the specifics of what that looks like inside a classroom to the professional educators that know better than I do. I trust them. We have to ask what the overall community can do to help our children. Let’s start with making sure they are safe at school by passing real gun safety laws, have stable housing, access to nutritional food, after school activities that engage and challenge them, and as they become older, opportunities to participate in paid internships and job opportunities. Creating all of this is not the job of teachers, but of leaders, elected and others, to make sure our children have everything they need to be successful.

Are we on course, based on what you just said?

I definitely have hope. Dr. Battle has been a great champion and advocate for our children and she and her team are working hard everyday to make this happen.

On Health and Collaboration and Partnerships

Where is Nashville?

Right now, women in Tennessee do not have access to basic reproductive health and our maternal mortality is the third highest in the country. We have not expanded Medicaid in Tennessee — leaving over $22B in federal dollars on the table. Think of all the healthcare and health outcomes our citizens could have benefited from if we had done this. We still can. The state legislature needs to expand this. Tennessee has the highest rate of rural hospital closures in the country. When people don’t have access to a hospital or emergency care in their county, it can cost them their lives. A Beacon Center poll earlier this month asked respondents about the most significant barrier they face in achieving financial stability and growth.

Respondents said, “High healthcare costs that are not covered by insurance or employer.” Healthcare is a basic human right and people shouldn’t have to go broke to make sure they and their families have access to medical care.

Where would you like it to go?

Expand Medicaid in Tennessee. An expansion will ensure that our most vulnerable citizens, especially those experiencing mental illness, will have resources to help them. This can only be done in partnership

with the state legislature. The federal government can’t mandate that Tennessee take the money nor can local healthcare advocates circumvent the state. This has to be done in partnership with the governor and the state legislature.

Are we on course, based on what you just said?

In order for us to be on the right track for these issues, we need to elect leaders who care about these issues.

On Equity

Who are we leaving behind in Nashville?

We are leaving a lot of folks behind and that demographic is growing in Nashville as we see more people who are cost-burdened by housing, transit, and healthcare. There are many who have often been on the margins — the unhoused, the poor, the mentally ill and minority communities. Investment in transit, affordable housing, education and healthcare will go a long way toward making sure that no one gets left behind.

What is Nashville doing well to remedy the situation?

Imagine Nashville asked respondents to identify Nashville's biggest challenges. One interesting outcome was that most Nashvillians believe that growth is making things better in Nashville — bringing benefits and advantages. We need to make sure that everyone is benefiting from the growth and this takes deliberate policies and actions by leaders and elected officials.

What could we do that we're not doing yet?

We could elect Congressional representatives who would support policies that facilitate better voter participation. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would have strengthened legal protections against discriminatory voting policies and practices, didn’t pass the Senate in 2021, and wouldn’t pass the House today. Tennessee ranks 51st in voter turnout nationally, when you include Washington, D.C. Dead last. It’s a vicious cycle, where bad voting policies create low turnout which elects representatives who enact bad voting policies, and the cycle repeats. But if enough Nashvillians show up in November, we can beat back the effects of partisan gerrymandering and send one, two, or even three more people to Congress to vote for better voting policy.

Graduation rates for low-income students lag while loan debt soars

A recent federal study on graduation rates for American colleges and universities shows that 40 percent of all students did not earn a degree or credential within eight years of leaving high school. The graduation rate is even lower for low-income students.

Among students from families with income levels of $115,000 or more, 66 percent who enrolled in higher education earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from 2009 through 2021. However, among students from families who made less than $35,000, 26 percent earned a bachelor’s degree or higher during the same period. For people whose families had earnings between $35,000 and $55,000, 36 percent earned these degrees.

Many start but don’t finish

The problem goes beyond the fact that students from lower-income households are entering higher education at a lower rate than high-income students. Rather, the issue is also that fewer low-income students are graduating.

The data also reveals disparities in the graduation rates of different racial and ethnic groups. While 50 percent of white students earned a bachelor’s degree or higher during this period, only about 29 percent of Black students and 30.4percent of Hispanic did. Further, 73 percent of students who went to a private high school earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 42 percent of public school students.

BY ROBERT SAMUELS

Educational segregation

As I indicate in my book, Educating Inequality, there are many causes for these disparities. One key factor is that low-income students of color tend to go to low-funded higher education institutions with low graduation rates. Meanwhile, most white and Asian students attend highly funded schools with high graduation rates.

Moreover, underrepresented minority students tend to major in high-paying STEM

disciplines at a much lower rate. According to federal data, 20 percent of white college students earned a STEM degree, while 15 percent of Hispanic students and 10percent of Black students earned degrees in these majors.

Since race is highly correlated with income in the US, one possible solution is to push universities and colleges with high graduation rates to accept and graduate more low-income students. In our current system of de facto educational segregation, however, econom-

ic disparities are growing bigger instead of shrinking.

Making matters worse is the fact that students of color often leave college with high levels of debt. In 2019, close to a third of Black adults had student debt, while only 20 percent of white adults bore this burden. Meanwhile, the average level of outstanding student loans for Black borrowers was $30,000, compared to $23,000 for white borrowers.

The combination of low graduation rates and high debt can severely reduce the ability to pay off loans. These loans generally cannot be discharged through bankruptcy.

Even though President Joe Biden has forgiven some student debt, causing the total owed to decline slightly, there is still $1.727 trillion of outstanding student loans.

A significant part of student debt is generated by for-profit colleges that have low graduation rates. In comparison with students who go to public four-year colleges and universities, students who attend for-profit colleges take on $3,000 more debt and default on their loans at twice the rate.

At a time when many public and nonprofit colleges and universities are striving to increase diversity on campus, enrollment and retention practices could be adding to economic and racial inequality.

Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo

Where Tennessee lawmakers landed on vouchers, guns, AI and other education issues in 2024

BY MARTA W. ALDRICH, CHALKBEAT

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

Tennessee’s legislature is done for the year after a session marked by political infighting over private school vouchers and emotional debates about whether teachers and staff should be able to carry a gun in public schools.

The statewide voucher proposal fizzled after the Senate and House couldn’t agree on the specifics. Gov. Bill Lee quickly pledged to come back next year with another plan.

The bill to arm some school em -

ployees easily passed, defying dramatic protests at the state Capitol, a year after a Nashville school shooting in which three children, three adults, and the intruder were killed.

“This was a session of good, bad, and ugly,” Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari said after the legislature adjourned on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, some really really bad bills ended up passing,” the Memphis Democrat added.

Republican leaders hailed the fourmonth session as a success.

“We accomplished things that will benefit the people of this state,” the

governor told reporters minutes after the gavel fell.

He cited the passage of a “historically important budget” that includes a consolation prize of $144 million for his Education Freedom Scholarship Act, in case it passes in future years. The failed voucher proposal seeks to give taxpayer money to any family who wants to send their children to private schools, regardless of their income.

“That shows a clear intent that we believe in this concept and that we expect that to get done next year,” Lee said.

By the end of the week, the gov-

ernor had signed the bill to let some school employees carry guns, which took effect immediately.

The new law marks the biggest expansion of gun access in Tennessee since the killings at The Covenant School. Last year, the legislature appropriated $140 million to help place an armed officer in every public school, but many districts, especially in rural areas, haven’t been able to hire an officer for every campus.

“Districts have the option to choose,” Lee said earlier, arguing that some school systems need to let some employees carry a concealed handgun.

PHOTOS BY ALVINE

Legislation at the intersection of schools and guns

Lawmakers sorted through some 230plus education bills filed in time for this year’s session — about 300 if you count those left over from last year in the two-year General Assembly. They ultimately passed about 70 that directly affect K-12 education.

For the second straight year, they made tweaks to a 2021 reading and retention law to address what many called unintended effects for students in grades three and four. Under a compromise approved on the last day of session, parents and educators of fourth graders will now have input on whether their students get held back because of low reading scores on state tests.

The legislature rejected tighter gun laws sought by Democrats and gun control advocates, and continued instead to pass legislation aimed at fortifying campuses. Among the initiatives: new school fire alarm protocols to take into account active-shooter situations; a pilot program to give teachers wearable alarms; increased safety training for school bus drivers; and guidelines to digitize school maps so first responders can access school layouts quickly in an emergency.

A rare bipartisan bill increases the penalty for anyone who threatens to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity.

Another measure, which Lee has signed into law, requires public schools to teach children age-appropriate firearms safety concepts as early as pre-kindergarten. The video-based training is to begin in the 202526 school year and, among other things, will instruct students who find a firearm that they shouldn’t touch it and should notify an adult immediately. The bill bars parents from opting their children out of the training.

So-called culture war issues played prominently again

One new law requires public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable. Another measure will require public school employees to out transgender students to their parents. But a bill designed to ban LGBTQ+ flags in schools failed in the Senate amid concerns of a legal challenge based on First Amendment rights.

Tennessee’s age-appropriate materials law, championed by Lee in 2022 to cull certain titles from school libraries, now includes a definition of “suitable” materials for certain ages and maturity levels. And if a local school board doesn’t address a book complaint within 60 days, the complainant can now take the issue straight to the state textbook commission.

Another GOP bill that passed seeks to make sure that material related to “sexual activity” is excluded from the state’s mandatory family life curriculum for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade.

Meanwhile, legislation sponsored by Democrats directs the state education department to develop a program that public

schools can use to teach students the skills of nonviolent conflict resolution.

Social media and technology also were on the minds of lawmakers.

They signed off on legislation requiring minors to have parental consent to create social media accounts.

In addition, school districts, charter schools and higher-education institutions must develop and implement their own policies on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, if they haven’t already done so. Those policies could include restricting or outright prohibiting the use of AI.

Amid that discussion, one bill requires that Tennessee history be taught in fifth grade. Having that issue codified in state law settles, for now, a debate that erupts whenever the state revises its academic standards for social studies.

Memphis was the focus of more legislation

Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Memphis Republicans, drafted several proposals aimed at education in their community.

The legislature passed one bill allowing the University of Memphis to create its own K-12 school district and expand its innovative University Schools model beyond campus borders. University officials said they’ll launch the district this fall, even as they’re still in talks with Memphis-Shelby County Schools about their contract that runs through fall 2026.

Another proposal — giving the governor the power to appoint up to six new members to the board of Memphis-Shelby County Schools — was never heard in committees after White agreed to hold off and work with the existing board and the district’s

new superintendent, Marie Feagins, on an improvement plan.

A Democratic-sponsored proposal to end the Tennessee Achievement School District, the state’s sputtering takeover and turnaround initiative, passed out of the Senate but not the House. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, the sponsor there, pulled the legislation on the last day of session when White sought to amend the bill. Still, the ASD continues to shrink on its own as its 10-year contracts with charter operators end.

An effort to expand a separate pilot school turnaround project — which started in 2021 in Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga — failed to clear budget committees.

Lawmakers passed House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s charter school proposal to create new alternative education options for Tennessee’s at-risk youth. The plan opens the door to residential charter schools, a concern of disability advocates who warned against any measure that could lead to the institutionalization of youth or commingling distinct student populations facing varying issues such as substance abuse, juvenile crime, chronic absenteeism, and teen pregnancy.

Sexton trumpeted his and other charter school legislation headed to the governor’s desk. One bill rewrites state law governing vacant and underutilized public school properties to give charter operators the “right of first refusal” to purchase those public assets.

“This session did more than it’s ever done in our history to continue to put (charter schools) on a path to give parents the choice and alternative to traditional schools,” Sexton said.

A tighter budget meant fewer education initiatives

Passing a budget for state government is the legislature’s only required constitutional

duty, and the task was more challenging this year as tax revenues flattened and federal COVID relief funding ended.

Still, Republican lawmakers approved a $1.9 billion package of tax cuts and refunds to corporations and businesses.

They ultimately approved a nearly $53 billion spending plan that allocates an additional $126 million to raise the annual minimum salary for public school teachers from $42,000 to $44,500. The goal is to get to $50,000 by the 2026-27 school year.

Also included is $8 million to hire more school-based behavioral health specialists amid record reports of students experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Another $15 million in non-recurring funds will help charter school operators pay for school facilities and maintenance.

But the legislature killed efforts to hire more school-based nurses and counselors, reimburse teachers for some of their child care expenses, and provide free feminine hygiene products in high schools, as well as separate proposals by a Democrat and a Republican to make school meals free for all students. It also said no to a bill to use tax revenue from Tennessee’s growing sports betting industry to offer child care scholarships to low- and middle-income families.

When the 114th General Assembly convenes next year, it will look somewhat different after this year’s elections. All seats of the 99-member House of Representatives and half of the Senate’s 33 seats will be on the ballot.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@ chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

LA NOTICIA

“The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.

“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.

El 30 de abril de 2024, la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del Área de Nashville (NAHCC), la asociación sin fines de lucro de negocios hispanos más antigua y de más larga duración en Tennessee, celebró su 25ª reunión anual de miembros, marcando un hito importante en su historia. Este evento, llevado a cabo durante el desayuno de la reunión anual en el Nashville Entrepreneur Center, no solo presenció la firma de un acuerdo de cooperación trascendental con el Centro de Incubación e Innovación Darrell S. Freeman Sr., sino también contó con un panel de discusión altamente informativo que atrajo una gran participación de empresarios hispanos, demostrando el robusto apoyo de la comunidad.

el Sector Privado," moderado por Loraine Segovia Paz, Directora Ejecutiva de la Fundación NAHCC.

nidades de mercado y contratos gubernamentales.

lo y financiamiento del centro. Junto a Lena Winfree, cofundó una firma de consultoría tecnológica y estableció la sección de Nashville de Blacks in Technology, mejorando la educación tecnológica y la representación de las minorías. Bajo su liderazgo, esta sección se convirtió en una de las más grandes de EE. UU., y lanzó programas aclamados como Local Tek Thrive y Healthcare Data Training.

La ceremonia de firma contó con la presencia de líderes destacados como Holly Rachel, Directora Ejecutiva del Centro de Incubación e Innovación Darrell S. Freeman Sr., y Yuri Cunza, Presidente y CEO de NAHCC. Esta alianza estratégica busca empoderar a los emprendedores y fomentar un entorno de negocios dinámico y enriquecedor en Nashville y Tennessee, enfocándose especialmente en las empresas dirigidas por hispanos y otras minorías.

Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo un panel titulado "Oportunidades de Adquisiciones para Empresas Pequeñas y Minoritarias con Metro y

Los panelistas principales fueron Jamari Brown, Director de Desarrollo Económico y Comunitario del Gobierno Metropolitano de Nashville y Davidson County, en la Oficina del Alcalde Freddie O’Connell, y el Dr. Isaac Addae, PhD, Enlace para Negocios Pequeños y Minoritarios con la oficina del Alcalde O’Connell. Ambos aportaron su perspectiva sobre la importancia de la certificación de minorías y cómo esta facilita el acceso a nuevas oportu-

Además, agencias de recursos como la Oficina del Gobernador para la Empresa Comercial de Diversidad (GoDBE) y la Oficina de Asistencia Comercial para Minorías y Mujeres de Metro estuvieron representadas en mesas informativas. Representantes de estas agencias estuvieron disponibles para responder preguntas de los asistentes, proporcionando una oportunidad valiosa para que los empresarios locales obtuvieran información directa y relevante sobre certificaciones y oportunidades de adquisiciones.

Holly estaba emocionada por su papel al frente del Centro Darrell Freeman, declarando que el Centro Freeman en el campus de la Universidad Fisk enriquecería de manera única el paisaje empresarial de Nashville. El centro fue diseñado para continuar el legado de Darrell Freeman de fomentar el talento empresarial e integrar los recursos académicos de Fisk con las necesidades de la industria para promover una cultura emprendedora vibrante.

Conoce tus derechos:

¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

1. Mantenerse callado

2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido

3. No mentir

4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos

5. No revelar su situación migratoria

6. No llevar documentación de otro país

7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

Con más de 15 años de experiencia como ejecutiva, educadora y emprendedora, Holly Rachel contribuyó significativamente al desarrol-

Los compromisos establecidos en el acuerdo incluyen fortalecer la educación financiera, fomentar el liderazgo empresarial y promover la certificación de negocios de minorías, con el objetivo de ampliar el acceso a capital y mercados. Este evento no solo celebró un acuerdo estratégico sino que también sirvió como una plataforma valiosa para el intercambio de información, que podría influir significativamente en el crecimiento y la sostenibilidad de los negocios de minorías en Nashville. El espíritu colaborativo entre la NAHCC y el Centro de Incubación e Innovación Darrell S. Freeman Sr. promete generar cambios significativos y oportunidades dentro del diverso ecosistema empresarial de Nashville, creando un ambiente más inclusivo y próspero para todos los emprendedores locales.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-567-3569

Por Yuri Cunza Editor-In-Chief @yuricunza

Holly Rachel had significantly contributed to the Darrell S. Freeman Sr. center's development.

Jamari Brown and Dr. Isaac Addae discuss procurement opportunties with Metro Goverment with NAHCC Foundation Exec. Dir. Loraine Segovia Paz

Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 25th Anniversary with New Strategic Partnership.

Foto: Karlha Ramon

The Veil

BY FREEPRESSGMA, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

The chartreuse lace of Spring drops her veil onto the trees.

Soon I will be covered by Her. The wind has blown me all about, never ceasing it seems, this March.

Yet

Soon, I will be covered by Her.

When the fear of unknown people, the noise of dust and traffic is too much;

I can find a quiet spot in a little forest remnant hidden in the city.

A marginal space. A forgotten space No longer considered useful.

A little piece of peace.

A refuge, a quiet spot where rain collects. Sweet birds, even a frog.

And then, refreshed, I emerge to hawk the paper, and talk about refuge for all.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Get The Paper

WRITTEN BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

I was going to get the new paper the day it was released

But my ride was running late

I realized I was going to miss the meeting entirely

So I decided to go down the street

To the local Starbucks and get a much needed dose of caffeine with a gift card I’d been given

As I waited in line to place my order, another vendor approached stating the obvious:

‘You missed the meeting today!’

I replied rolling my eyes and saying ‘I know!’

That prompted the man at the front of the line to turn to me and ask, “Just what meeting did you miss my dear?”

I told him about The Contributor- its mission and purpose to help those who are homeless and displaced get the things they need to lead productive lives in the community where they reside

He then told me his name was Joe and that he was familiar with the concept

Because he had helped to launch The Big Issue: a publication similar to ours in the UK where he is from. At that point he told me to put my gift card away, HE was, “buying my coffee today!”

I offered him a paper in exchange for the drink, so he could compare the one from the UK to the one from right here in Nashville, Tennessee.

I encouraged him to let us know what he thought of this kindred paper from across the pond! We finished speaking but as he walked away

A few others who overheard what we were talking about

They were also waiting for their drinks and other tasty treats a few began to ask: “Can I have one of those so I can check it out?” Or “Can I have one of those to read with my coffee, please?”

Without hesitation of course I said yes, as any good salesman would do Something not everyone was exited to hear Out of nowhere a man suddenly appeared

He gave me a stern warning: “There’s no soliciting here on this property ma’am!”

I said I am aware of that, but for the record, I didn’t ask ANYONE to buy a single paper!

Continuing on I said, “I gave a paper to the man who bought me a drink. That seemed fair as it was the ONLY thing I had to share.

I didn’t solicit a single sale they ALL asked me. Was I supposed to say no?”

He agreed, still he said I had to leave Once I got my drink, I couldn’t stay.

I did as he asked and went away, but know this, I did so with a BIG smile on my face! This story goes to show how much has changed since I started selling the paper way back in the day Ironically when I started I sold The Contributor at the Starbucks on 29th and West End One day a policeman threatened to give me a ticket because he said my wheelchair was blocking the sidewalk keeping pedestrians from getting through So I folded my chair and stood as instructed To avoid getting the citation he was offering That is until a manager came out and asked:

“Ms. Norma, why aren’t you sitting in your chair on the sidewalk like usual?”

I told him what happened, with the policeman and he took immediate action, placing my wheelchair in the gravel pit under the Starbucks sign. He went on to say, “If he comes back and gives you ANY trouble, tell him to come inside and talk to one of us, we’ll take care of you I promise!

Because you’re on Starbucks property now, and there’s NOTHING he can do about it!” Needless to say, I NEVER had another incident as long as I was there!

Life and Times of James, aka “Shorty”

BY JAMES “SHORTY” R., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Born June 17, 1958 in Jefferson City, Tenn. on a farm, I started school at the age of six, and continued at the same school until the 8th grade in New Market, Tenn. I attended Jefferson High School for ninth and tenth grade. I moved to Walnut Springs, Texas, and finished my high school years in 1976. I graduated from high school at Walnut Springs.

I joined the Marine Corps in 1977. I was head chef, and taught other Marines how to cook. I was responsible for teaching them how to cook for about 1800 Marines. I got discharged in 1981. I cooked for numerous businesses all over. I decided to open up a BBQ restaurant, J.R.s BBQ in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I owned my own catering business in Austin, Texas. I was approached by Willie Nelson, he asked what kind of work I did, I told him I was a cook. Willie offered me a job cooking at his ranch. I worked for Willie for two years in Austin.

I moved back to DFW and started

construction work, and to be back with family for several years. I started traveling and ended up in Phoenix and also Flagstaff, AZ and did construction work. I missed my family, so I went back home and stayed for a couple of years. I lost all my family, so I had to get away, I ended up in Los Angeles for a couple of years.

I came to my home state in 2009, Tennessee. That is when I started selling the Contributor paper. I have been selling the paper for 14 years now. I was homeless with two quarters in my pocket. A friend told me about the paper. I want to thank my customers for helping me get off the street, and all the support and love they give. I want to thank all the volunteers at the paper office for helping me get off the street also. I thank God for leading me to sell the paper, and putting all of the wonderful people in my life that I have met on my corner. My life has not been easy, it’s not a “bed of roses” but I’m making it one day at a time.

The New Christian Year

Selected by Charles Williams

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. First published in 1941, this series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

7TH WEDNESDAY AFTER EASTER

A SAINT once said: “With whomsoever thou rejoicest, and whomsoever thou sorrowest, with him wilt thou also be judged.”

Tauler: Sermons.

TO love any one is nothing else than to wish that person good.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

Ascension Day

THIS Ascension Day is properly the most solemn feast of our Lord Jesus: for this day first in his manhood he began to sit on the Father's right hand in bliss and took full rest of all his pilgrimage before. Also this is properly the feast of all the blessed spirits in heaven: for this day they had a new joy of their lord whom they saw never before there in his manhood. And also for that day began first to be restored the falling down of their fellows, and that in so great multitude and number of blessed souls of patriarchs and prophets and all those holy souls that this day first entered into that blessed City of heavenly Jerusalem, their kind heritage above.

Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, (tr. by Nicholas Love).

THE Church is an excellent state, when it is sustained by God only.

Pascal: Pensées.

Friday after Ascension Day

BUT what does this mean, what have I to do, or what sort of effort is it that can be said to seek or pursue the Kingdom of God? Shall I try to get a job suitable to my talents and powers in order thereby to exert an influence? No, thou shalt first seek God's kingdom. Shall I then give all my fortune to the poor? No, thou shalt first seek God's kingdom. Then shall I then go out to proclaim this teaching to the world? No, thou shalt first seek God's kingdom. But then in a certain sense it is nothing I shall do. Yes, certainly, in a certain sense it is nothing; thou shalt in the deepest sense make thyself nothing, become nothing before God, learn to keep silent; in this silence is the beginning, which is, first to seek God's kingdom.

Kierkegaard: Christian Discourses

Saturday after Ascension Day

WHAT is God? No less the punishment of the perverse than the glory of the humble. We may say He is reason and sweet reasonableness directing itself with fixed unchanging aim, and everywhere operative. Any perversity in collision with that must of necessity be confounded. Of course, all swelling pride and unseemliness which dashes itself against that must be broken to shivers.

St Bernard: On Consideration

Sunday after Ascension Day

CHRIST humbled himself: not—was humbled. Oh, the infinite sublimity of whom it may be said with categorical necessity: neither in heaven, nor upon earth, nor in the abyss is there any one who could humble him—he humbled himself.

There we see Christ's infinite qualitative difference from every other man: that he must unconditionally give his consent and approbation to every humiliation he suffers, his willingness to submit to the humiliation. That is the infinite superiority to suffering, but at the same time the more intense suffering.

Kierkegaard: Journals.

Monday after Ascension Day

WHATSOEVER hath its being for God's sake endureth and abideth for ever with those who are true.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

HE who has the fire of love in this world need not fear the fire of the sword in the other.

St Ambrose: On Psalm cxviii.

Tuesday after Ascension Day

"WHO hates his neighbour has not the rights of a child." And not only has he no rights of a child, he has no "father." God is not my father in particular, or any man's father (horrible presumption and madness!), no, he is only father in the sense of father of all, and consequently only my father in so far as he is the father of all. When I hate someone or deny that God is his father—it is not he who loses, but me: for I then have no father.

Kierkegaard: Journals.

Wednesday after Ascension Day

THE Work is not of persuasive eloquence, but Christianity is a thing of might whenever it is hated by the world. St Ignatius: Epistle to the Romans.

NOT only do we know God by Jesus Christ alone, but we know ourselves only by Jesus Christ. We know life and death only through Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, we do no know what is our life, nor our death, nor God, nor ourselves.

Pascal: Pensées.

I THOUGHT I should have thee, O God, as a help in loving men. Thou didst understand it differently, Thou didst use men against me to help me to love Thee. Kierkegaard.

Thursday after Ascension Day

TWO things make our delight pure. One is turning of sensuality to the skill [intelligence]; for when any is turning to delight of his five wits [senses], all soon uncleanness enters into his soul. Another is, that the skill meekly be used in ghostly things, as in meditations and orisons, and looking in holy books. Therefore the delight that was naught of unordained stirring, and meekly has stirring in Christ, and in which sensuality is turned to skill, all set and used to God, makes a man's soul in rest and secureness and aye to dwell in good hope, and to be paid with all God's gifts, without grumbling or heaviness of thought.

Richard Rolle: Desire and Delight.

2nd Friday after Ascension Day

LET me love Thee so that the honour, riches and pleasures of the world may seem unworthy even of hatred,— may be not even encumbrances.

Patmore: Life.

THE righteous man has already done in heaven and in earth all that he has willed to do and therein he is like God.

Eckhart: The Book of Benedictus

Sponsored by Matthew Carver, publisher

2nd Saturday after Ascension Day

IF we are to have the nature of Christ regenerated in us, as the life of Adam is born in us; if we are to be like Him in nature as we are like Adam in nature; if we are to be the heavenly sons of the one as we are the earthly sons of the other, then there is an absolute necessity that that which was done and born in the Virgin Mary be also by the same power of the Holy Ghost done and born in us, by a seed of life derived into us from Christ our regenerator.

William Law: Answer to Dr Trapp.

Whit-Sunday; Day of Pentecost

UNITY is in the Father, equality in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost is the concord of equality and unity.

St Augustine: De Doctrina Christiana

THE Holy Ghost is He whereby the Begotten is loved by the One begetting and love His Begetter.

St Augustine: De Trinitate

HE loves Himself and every creature by the Holy Ghost, inasmuch as the Holy Ghost proceeds as the love of the primal goodness whereby the Father loves Himself and every creature.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

A GIFT is properly an unreturnable giving . . . hence it is manifest that love has the nature of a first gift, through which all free gifts are given. So since the Holy Ghost proceeds as Love, He proceeds as the first gift. Gift . . . is the proper name of the Holy Ghost.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

Whitsun-Week Monday

NEITHER is that city, the heavenly Jerusalem, watered by the channel of any earthly river, but that Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Fount of Life, with but a short drought of Whom we are satiated, seems to flow more abundantly among those celestial Thrones, Dominions, and Powers, Angels and Archangels, rushing in the full course of the seven virtues of the Spirit. For if a river rising above its banks overflows, how much more does the Spirit, rising above every creature, when He touches the as it were low-lying fields of our minds, makes glad that heavenly nature of the creatures with the larger fertility of His sanctification.

St Ambrose: On the Holy Spirit

THE Father was pleased to breathe into his body [of man] in the creation; the Son was pleased to assume this body in the redemption; the Holy Ghost is pleased to consecrate this body by his sanctification. The consultation of the whole Trinity is exercised upon the dignifying of man's body.

Donne: Sermons.

Whitsun-Week Tuesday

GOD begins in the soul, his Word, and the soul conceiving it passes it on to her powers in varied guise, now as desire, now as good intent, now as charity, now as gratitude, or as it may take thee: It is his, not thine at all. What is thus wrought by God take thou as his and not thine own, as it is written, "The Holy Ghost asketh in us with unutterable yearnings." He prays in us, not we ourselves. St. Paul says, "No one is able to say, Lord Jesus Christ, except in the Holy Ghost."

Eckhart: Sermons and Collations

THEME: FICTIONAL MOTHERS

1. Bars 6. Escape or flee

Mrs. ____

21. *Mother in "The Terminator," Sarah ____

23. Not safe, in baseball

24. "Hold on!"

25. Uno ____, in Mexico

28. Iranian monarch 30. Be a go-between

35. Kind of cuckoos

37. Passing mention

Dwelled 40. TV show "____ 911!"

71. Bookie's quote

72. Well-kept secret, for some

73. Teatime treat DOWN

1. Do like volcano

2. Honey home

3. Iris holder

4. Human trunk

5. iPad "pen"

6. *Matriarch, ____ Mun-

ster of "The Munsters"

7. *Nadezhda of "The Americans," ____ Elizabeth Jennings, acr.

8. Muhammad's birthplace

9. Melissa Rivers' mom

10. Australian slang for afteroon

11. Widely hunted ruminant

12. Follow ems

15. A particular legume

20. Not pathos

22. Second O in EVOO

24. Kinda white

25. *Mrs. ____, a.k.a. Marmee

26. Anoint

27. Red Sea peninsula

29. Drive a getaway car, e.g.

31. Goals

32. Like a Harvard building?

33. Plant-based laxative

34. *____ Bunker, mom to Gloria in "All in the Family"

36. Dance partner

38. Drive-____, for short

42. Like a haunted house

45. Daisy dukes, e.g.

49. ____ chi

51. Casts a line

54. Popular electric car

56. Newton's first name

57. Foul substance

58. Matured

59. Bob of "The Joy of Painting" fame

60. Better than never?

61. On top of

62. "High" time

63. Cosine's counterpart

64. In the past

66. *"Married... with Children" mom

Shelter First Housing Second

BY

CHRIS SCOTT FIESELMAN

WRITTEN

Pick It Up

BY

CHRIS SCOTT FIESELMAN

____

55. Three, to Caesar

57. *Margaret White's telekinetic daughter

60. *Elizabeth Zott of "____ in Chemistry"

64. Vernacular

65. R&R hot spot

67. Capital of Vietnam

68. Yours is as good as mine?

69. Tennis retry

70. Cause anxiety (2 words)

WRITTEN

What does that C stand for? It stands for, Whatever you want it to stand for. But, it started with a Contributor. With a Creative idea to Comfort others. With a plan to stand up for & fight for a Cause, And the Cash on hand to Cover the Cost. Some Called it Crazy. Some Called it Courageous. But, you never will know if you never do try...

So... Can a Camping Community, Become a Compromise?

And who is it? Who has the power? To choose to decide?

Whether or not it’s worth all the effort?

Whether or not it’s worth the price?

“Shelter First & Housing Second” Sure sounds like Good Advice... So much for another, Unwanted & Wasted, Worthless “Word to The Wise” So where do we go from here? We find a way to create a place, For people to become Pioneers.

“If you can find a way, To make someone’s day better, Just because you crossed their path, You did the Right Thing, and... If the Whole World does The Wrong Thing, And you do the Right Thing, That’s the only thing that matters.”

Let’s go clean up that mess in the Homeless Camp. Knowing it’s only going to happen again. Unless we can finally find a way, To finally get Rid of Them. Kick them all out and put up a fence, Till next we meet again... Sooner or later, just ask yourself? When will this foolishness end? They pick the day to say it’s OK, To implement their plan, To stand up against, And attack more defenseless, Poor Homeless Americans. Just fighting a good fight to try to survive, And doing the best that they can, but... Camping’s no longer permitted here &, No longer allowed on Our Land. So, take what you Can Carry and leave the rest. We’ll take Care of whatever you Can’t. And they’re right back where they started from, Right back where they began.

I Can’t see myself doing this - To my fellow man. So, why does Music City Choose? To keep doing this to them?

When you walk through the door, Dirty clothes on the floor, And dishes piled up in the sink. The garbage can’s there, But there’s trash everywhere, And some of it’s starting to stink. That’s kind of what it’s like, When I’m riding my bike, Seeing litter on city streets. It may not be a problem for someone else, But it bothers the hell out of me.

So, if we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind. They didn’t care, when they left it there, For somebody else to find.

If we pull together, We can make it look better. It’s all just a matter of time. If we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind.

Now, I’m not your momma. I’m not your maid. You shouldn’t have to be reminded to, Throw it away. I’m sorry some people, Don’t understand. This world we call Our Home, Is not their garbage can.

So, if we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind. They didn’t care, when they left it there, For somebody else to find. If we pull together, We can make it look better. It’s all just a matter of time. If we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind.

If you want it done right, You’ve got to do it yourself. Stop pointing your finger at someone else. That “Not My Problem” mentality, Hurts everybody else eventually...

So... If we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind. They didn’t care, when they left it there, For somebody else to find. If we pull together, We can make it look better. It’s all just a matter of time. If we all pick up a little bit of the stuff, Someone else left behind.

HOBOSCOPES

TAURUS

I used to hate that thing where the guitarist smashes the guitar during the big emotional finale of the show. I mean, what about the person who made the guitar? I’d imagine them painstakingly crafting every detail. What beautiful wonder might this guitar accomplish? What songs might be written and played? And now it’s letting out its final whine as it’s beaten over the edge of an amp and a crowd cheers for its destruction. But nowadays, Taurus, I think there’s lots of great reasons to smash a guitar. It’s a powerful tool. A finite object. And some objects reach their greatest purpose when they fall to bits in the name of human freedom. What are you protecting that might better serve the world in pieces?

GEMINI

I guess I’m flying home for my cousin’s wedding this weekend. Sorry, Gemini, I know I don’t exactly sound excited. It’s not that I don’t want to see everybody, it’s just always a little more complicated than I wish it was. I don’t like dressing up. (I think the “no shorts” in the invitation was just about me.) I don’t like lining up for another picture with “just the nephews this time!” I don’t like it when my Aunt Trudy asks how my “astronomy” is going. But even in the midst of all that, I’ve learned to find moments of real connection. And that’s all anybody is really doing, Gemini. Meet me by the cheese tray and we can pretend we didn’t hear the speeches starting.

CANCER

I think if I won the lottery the first thing I’d do is buy you a house, Cancer. The next thing I’d do is ask if I can crash on your couch for a few days while I figure out what to do with my life. I used to think money would fix all my problems, but now I see that it would only fix a few of them. I’d still have to do the rest of the work myself. And since neither of us won the lottery, Cancer, it sounds like the first thing we need — once we’ve got a roof over our heads — is each other.

LEO

Did you see that?! Right there in the grass, Leo, it’s slithering toward the bushes. It gives me a shiver every time! But then my thinking-brain kicks-in and I realize that it’s just an old ratsnake heading in to work. Maybe he’s just passing through. Maybe he’s here cause we’ve got mice in the compost again. In any case, Leo, I know that my initial fear isn’t anything to act on. Not everything we’re afraid of needs to be dealt with. Sometimes a fear just needs to be acknowledged and left to slither on by.

VIRGO

This morning I started my car and there was a new light blinking on the dash. Now, I know my dash lights, Virgo. I’ve seen the one with the “E” that means I’m out of gas and I’ve seen the one with the “(!)” that means my tires are low. I’ve even seen the one with the oil can that means pull over, stop the car, and call an Uber. But this one was just a flashing yellow light that said “Forgive.” Keep an eye out for that one, Virgo. Sometimes we wait too long.

LIBRA

Brains are weird, Libra. Like, when you read the words “Hey Jude” or “Sweet Caroline” or “Baby Shark” a song will just instantly start playing in your head. You don’t even have to try. But if you showed those phrases to somebody from 100 years ago, they would see the words without hearing any song at all. Your brain is loaded with all kinds of these connections, Libra. Not just the musical ones. When you notice yourself having a bigger response to a phrase or idea than the person next to you, remember that you might have a different context than they do. Or maybe they’re just from 100 years ago.

SCORPIO

I had a dream that we were at the airport, Scorpio. It was you and me and… well, I can’t remember exactly, but it was somebody you were really glad to see. And the two of you were talking and laughing and having a great time sitting at the gate while I was pacing around worried that we were going to miss an announcement about our flight. Anyway, I just thought I should tell you that when I woke up I was really glad that you’d gotten to spend some good time with your good friend. And I wanted you to know that you didn’t miss anything. The plane we were all waiting on was never as important as being there together while we waited.

SAGITTARIUS

I’ve never gone into one of those carnival “hall-of-mirrors” things. A maze of endless repetitions of my own self just never particularly appealed to me. Plus, in the movies, nothing good ever happens in those. It’s all just shards and screams and cackling hallucinations. Still, I do think taking a good hard look at oneself can be valuable. Even if it’s just in one mirror at a time, Sagittarius, it might be a good day to see who’s looking back at you.

CAPRICORN

When my uncle Ptolemy finally retired from the hubcap factory, I was afraid he wouldn’t have enough to do. But apparently he’s gotten very into model trains. He just showed me his basement, where he’s built an extensive scale model of this entire area. He’s even got a model of the tracks out by your place, Capricorn. And a tiny model of you sitting down and reading this. My uncle Ptolemy is extremely detail-oriented. Anyway, Capricorn, I hope this week you’ll spend more time on the things that interest you most. You can’t work at the hubcap factory forever.

AQUARIUS

There’s no such thing as bad publicity. At least, that’s what the guy at the sunglasses booth in the mall shouted when I asked him if he could please take down the picture of me wearing only a towel and squinting out my bathroom window, looking confused. But apparently I signed something when I tried on those Aviators that says they can use my image for any “Before” pictures and they don’t need my permission to hide outside my house and bang on my walls. This can’t be legal, Aquarius. Still, it’s a good reminder that you’re worth more than how you might look in a random photograph on any given day. And don’t forget to read the small print.

PISCES

I’ve been receiving some complaints lately, Pisces, and I just wanted to let you know that I’m hearing you. I get it. You come to me for laser-accurate astrological wisdom and lately you feel like you’re just getting vague platitudes and overloaded metaphors. But when I look to The Stars, Pisces, all I can do is report what I see. And if you can’t find a way to ride these molten waves of wisdom to the diamond-crusted beach of understanding, I’ll just have to keep finding new ways to tell you the cherry-truth at the center of the cosmic-lollipop: You’ve already got what you need.

ARIES

Sometimes I imagine what my life might be like as an insect. After a long unmemorable larvahood, I emerge from my pupal shell, finally able to stretch out the wings that I’ve always known I have, but could never quite realize. The wings beat rapidly, as if independent, and I soar through the air for the first time in my tiny, crunchy life. I finally know exactly what I was meant for. Funny that it seems harder to be a soft, wingless human. Each time we discover a new purpose, it gets so quickly complicated, Aries. So I’m just dropping in to say that I think your endless metamorphoses are each beautiful and each complete.

Classic Teen Flick

LISA FRANKENSTEIN IS A BLOODY SMART RETRO COMEDY ABOUT LOVE, DEATH AND GROWING UP

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

At the beginning of May, we’re not quite halfway to Halloween yet, but one of the best treats on streaming platforms is a new take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . It combines the vibes of a John Hughes classic teen flick with a reanimated corpse tale and lots of loving homages to the history of fantastic cinema. Director Zelda Williams (legendary actor/comedian Robin’s daughter) sews these all together and brings them to life with a big splash of campy bad taste that somehow results in a warmhearted family film.

Lisa Frankenstein finds the titular heroine (Kathryn Newton) living with a new family in a new town. She was the only witness to her mother’s ax murder, and now Lisa’s adjusting to life with her nitpicking stepmom, Janet (Carla Gugino), her

sweet-if-scatterbrained stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano), and her goodhearted and mostly clueless dad, Dale (Joe Chrest).

This Frankenstein film is set in 1989 and it’s all big-hair and loud fashion with a soundtrack featuring Echo & the Bunnymen, Pixies (“Wave of Mutilation,” of course), The Chameleons, and Jeffrey Osborne’s big 80s ballad, “On the Wings of Love.” Lisa floats through her days in a haze of PTSD, and she’s probably the only teenager who ever had every right to affect a goth persona after everything she’s been through. She’s friendly, but she’s self-conscious. She’s got a crush on the editor of the school’s literary journal, but she spends a lot of time in an abandoned cemetery, in a supposedly haunted woods near her house, where she talks to the handsome

bust of a young Victorian man who died in 1837. Lisa leaves him gifts and flowers along with her most private thoughts. And one night, when Lisa stumbles home from a cheerleader’s house party, a storm rolls in and the young man’s grave is struck by a mysterious bolt of green lightning.

Lisa Frankenstein received mixed reviews during its theatrical run, but its production design and performances have earned consistently high marks. The small town and the old Victorian house that Lisa’s family live in are all dressed-up like a lower budget version of the community in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands — perfect white picket fences, matching green manicured lawns and lots of eye-popping colors. And the monster in the film even feels a little like Johnny Depp’s fur-

tive and mostly silent character — they both yearn for love and connection, and they both make their way into the world with the help of teenage girls who see their best qualities beyond their startling exteriors.

Newton carries nearly every scene in the film and she does a great job of making Lisa a likable oddball. You’re on her side from the beginning of the film because even if she’s a square she’s always ready to stand up for herself. Cole Sprouse does a lot with a little, making the monster menacing and disgusting one minute, vulnerable and hilarious the next. Soberano’s Taffy is a lovable party girl and a sly scene stealer with her off-the-cuff delivery of horny punchlines. The supporting cast is also pretty flawless, and a chunk of the credit for these

cool characters goes to screenwriter Diablo Cody. Her kids and adults are all real and relatable even though they’re all exaggerated for laughs. And while some critics have scolded the film’s uneven pace and loose plotting, Cody and Williams more than make up for it with their sincere commitment to their youth-andromance themes, and the sheer fun of jumping between film universes from John Hughes to John Carpenter.

Lisa Frankenstein is now streaming on Peacock

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.