The Contributor: Sept. 30, 2020

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Volu m e 14

| Number 21 | September 30 - October 14, 2020

2020

L a N ticia www.hispanicpaper.com

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Año 18 - No. 315

Nashville, Tennessee

Mes de le Herencia Hispana: 'Voto Latino' y el “Sueño Americano”

presidenciales. Eso puede ser 'una carta bajo la manga'.

Hace cincuenta y dos años, en septiembre de 1968, el Congreso autorizó al presidente Lyndon B. Johnson a proclamar la Semana Nacional de la Herencia Hispana.

Veinte Cunza años después, el PorLaYuri Noticia Congreso y el presi- Editor inChief dente Ronald Reagan ampliaron la observancia a una celebración de un mes (del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre) de la cultura y las tradiciones de quienes tienen sus raíces en las naciones de habla hispana de América Central, América del Sur y el Caribe.

El compromiso cívico hispano no se mide por la cantidad de piñatas que podemos comprar con la imagen de un ahora lider de gobierno. Se mide en votos.

IN THE ISSUE Como cada año, alrededor de estas fecha, me pongo reflexivo. Trazo los pasos que me trajeron aquí, a miles de millas lejos de mi familia y seres queridos y me pregunto, “¿Por qué? ¿Por qué hice este viaje? "

La respuesta es siempre la misma: aquella promesa de prosperidad e igualdad que Estados Unidos ofrece hasta el día de hoy. Quizas aun a pesar de lo que vemos ocurrir antes nuestros ojos.

4

Las cosas han cambiado mucho desde mi primera visita a Nashville a principios de los 90. A pesar de la retórica xenófoba recurrente e irracional que todavía a veces emana de algunos aqui en Tennessee, el “Estado de los Voluntarios” (Volunteer State) estado que se ha convertido en un hogar querido para muchos latinos. Quizás, como dijo Cervantes en "Don Quijote", lo único que necesitamos es "confiar en el tiempo, que a menudo trae dulces salidas a muchas amargas dificultades".

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Foto: John Partipilo

More than 8 percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election were Hispanic

A nivel nacional, los hispanos son mas del 17 por ciento de la población de EE. UU., Según las nuevas cifras publicadas por el Censo de EE. UU. esto es 60.6 millones de nosotros que hemos sido entretejidos brillantemente en la vestidura cultural de Estados Unidos.

Los hispanos son una parte integral del panorama económico de nuestra nación y de nuestras comunidades.

Las pequeñas empresas de propiedad hispana están creciendo a tres veces la tasa nacional. Esto es vital para todos los trabajadores, dado que más del 70 por ciento de los nuevos empleos en nuestro país son creados por pequeñas empresas.

Aproximadamente el 20 por ciento de las pequeñas empresas son propiedad de inmigrantes y contribuyen con casi $ 776 mil millones a la economía de los Estados Unidos.

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)

por

Nuestra voz cuenta. Más del 8 por ciento de los votos emitidos en las últimas elecciones presidenciales fueron hispanos.

De hecho, los inmigrantes emplean a 1 de cada 10 trabajadores estadounidenses.

El cuarenta por ciento de las empresas Fortune 500 fueron creadas por un inmigrante o por los hijos de inmigrantes. La lista se lee como el “Quién es Quién” de los principales empleadores de nuestra nación: AT&T, Bank of America, eBay, Yahoo, Intel, los grandes almacenes Kohl's y Google.

Ya no se puede decir que estamos aquí para quitarle a alguien su trabajo, más bien, es posible que podamos darle uno.

Además del impacto económico y cultural tremendamente positivo que están teniendo estos inmigrantes, hay poder político en nuestro número cada vez más creciente. El voto hispano bien podría decidir el resultado de las próximas elecciones

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Nuestra comunidad hispana a menudo es conocida por ser cómplice voluntario de quienes buscan mano de obra barata, pero los hispanos también son conocidos por su disposición a servir para proteger nuestras libertades. Hoy tenemos más de 200,000 hispanoamericanos sirviendo en el ejército y 1.2 millones de hispanos mayores de 18 años que son veteranos de las fuerzas armadas de los Estados Unidos.

Mientras dirijo nuestro reconocimiento de un mes de las muchas contribuciones que los hispanoamericanos han hecho a este país, junto con el liderazgo de nuestra cámara hispana, sus miembros y una poderosa red de socios corporativos y comunitarios, veo que ya no estamos solos en la habitación.

Todos venimos de algún lugar, y podemos celebrar nuestras raíces, reconociendo que lo que realmente nos une como nación no es que todos nacimos aquí, o que por casualidad vivimos aquí, sino que, a pesar de nuestros diferentes orígenes, compartimos un ideal común, un sentido de pertenencia y la fé en una promesa: “la igualdad para todos”.

Tom Wills, Chair Cathy Jennings, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Peter Macdonald, Amber DuVentre, Jerome Moore, Erik Flynn

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

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.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

Contributor Board

Customer Spotlight

Local Activism

Vendor Writing

La Noticia + The Contributor

“One of the things I look forward to is pulling into the parking lot... and just seeing Clint standing there waving at me...”

Nashville activists organized a march on Wednesday evening calling for justice for Breonna Taylor.

In this issue, vendors write about The Contributor, troubles, Breonna Taylor, God’s Love, and coming together.

La Noticia, one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers in the nation, brings Spanish content to The Contributor.

Contributors This Issue

Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Hannah Herner • Carey L. Biron • Sarah Silbirger • David Pineros • Yuri Cunza • Mark Roseland • Christopher Boone • Lindsey Wasson • Joe Nolan • Cynthia P. • Mary B. • Mr. Mysterio • Justin A. • Andy L. • John H. • Jennifer A. • Deanna H. • Tyrone M. Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Patti George • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Nancy Kirkland • Mary Smith • Andrew Smith • Ellen Fletcher • Richard Aberdeen • Shayna Harder Wiggins • Pete MacDonald • Robert Thompson

Cathy Jennings Executive Director Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Hannah Herner Staff Writer Jesse Call Housing Navigator Raven Lintu Housing Navigator Barbara Womack Advertising Manager

The Contributor now accepts Venmo!

Scan the QR Code to the left , or find us: @The-Contributor!

Make sure to include your vendor’s badge name and number in the description. If you bought this version digitally, you can still leave your regular vendor a tip or donate to the vendor relief fund to help vendors affected by COVID-19. Email Cathy@thecontributor.org for more information or with questions!

Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom WIlls Contributor Co-Founders

Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors.

Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed. The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions.

The Contributor cannot and will not endorse any political candidate.

Submissions may be emailed to: editorial@thecontributor.org Requests to volunteer, donate, or purchase subscriptions can be emailed to: info@thecontributor.org Please email advertising requests to: advertising@thecontributor.org

The Contributor P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, TN 37203 Vendor Office: 615.829.6829

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PAGE 2 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

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September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

FEATURE

More than a Customer CLINT MAKES IT MORE THAN A COFFEE RUN FOR BETH IMAGES AND STORY BY HANNAH HERNER We asked vendors to point out a customer that has gone above and beyond for them, and they’ve formed a friendship with. In this series, we’ll interview both the customer and the vendor, in hopes of inspiring more connections. *

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The way that Contributor vendor Clint McDowell runs his business is sure helping out the Hillsboro Pike Starbucks — at least in getting more money from Beth Laird. Her pitstop between home and her job as a CEO on Music Row has fostered a friendship between she and McDowell over more than four years.

The good thing is, she gets to see her friend, the bad thing is, she’s spending more money on coffee, she says.

“One of the things I look forward to

is pulling into the parking lot outside of Starbucks and just seeing Clint standing there waving at me saying hi and me getting to wave back,” Laird says.

“I realize that when I get in my car to leave, my day always starts out better.”

What started with waves and hellos has grown into deeper conversations, exchanged numbers and regular checkins. Laird noticed how much McDowell enjoyed his job, so she thought of ways to help him succeed even more, like giving him a padded seat to rest, a sun hat, some fresh clothes, and more recently, masks.

“I just started paying attention to things that he might need that would help him,” she says. “His job is so hard and he has to stand out on concrete and be in the hard weather.”

The pair has a strong faith and deep love for family in common.

“We talk about family stuff, about what’s going on with her family, with what’s going on with me and my family, what’s going on with me and my living situation. We talk about everything.”

McDowell says. “I pray for her family, she prays for my family.”

The friendship is a two-way street, Laird says.

“Whenever I have had hard times in my life, Clint is such a non-judgemental, warm, inviting person,” she says. “I would ask him to pray for me, and he would ask me to pray for him and I feel like we just connected.”

When the pandemic hit and McDowell stayed home from selling papers for a bit, Laird was able to keep supporting him through periodic venmo payments and encouraging her friends and family to do the same.

PAGE 4 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

McDowell says it means a lot to know customers on a more personal level, and communicate with them outside of the parking lot where he sells.

“It’s really awesome because that let me know that they love me as a person and not just as somebody out there selling the papers,” he says. “They accept me for who I am.”

Laird was sure to point out that she’s just one of many who love Clint.

“When I’m there, sometimes I have to stand back and wait to talk to him, because another customer is bringing him food, or telling him a story, or giving him money,” she says. “I think that’s just a testament to the way that he loves on people and his spirit. He has so many customers that go above and beyond for him and that’s just because of who he is.”

NEWS

‘GROUNDBREAKING’ US HOUSING DATA HAILED AS NEW TOOL TO TARGET COVID-19 AID

BY CAREY L. BIRON About five million Americans lose their homes every year due to eviction or foreclosure, researchers said on Wednesday, urging policymakers to use their new county-specific data on housing loss to target coronavirus aid more effectively.

The research by New America, a thinktank, stitches together county-level eviction and mortgage foreclosure data for the first time to create a National Housing Loss Index, comparing 2,200 US counties for which data was available.

As US housing campaigners warn of a possible surge in evictions and foreclosures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, report co-author Yuliya Panfil said the index helped highlight, which were likely to be the worst-hit areas.

“Because the same communities tend to be impacted over and over, by looking at where housing loss has been the most acute, we could help predict where COVID-related instability is going to happen,” she said.

The report said the pandemic could exacerbate higher rates of housing loss in mainly non-white areas dominated by renters where residents often lack health insurance. The cost of dealing with a medical emergency is a major cause of losing housing.

At the same time, people forced to leave their homes during the outbreak could face a greater risk of catching the virus by moving in with friends and family, according to the report.

“In a context where social distancing is important, we see housing loss as even more of a trigger for increased infections,” said Panfil, who directs New America’s Future of Property Rights program.

States with the highest rates of eviction and foreclosure between 2014 and 2018 - including Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina - have also reported a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent months.

Why Johnny STILL can't read?

Residents of Meridian Heights apartments in Northwest Washington display a painted bedsheet protesting for the cancelation of rent due to the loss of jobs during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 20, 2020. REUTERS/SARAH SILBIGER The United States, which has the world’s highest number of confirmed cases of the respiratory disease, recently announced a temporary moratorium on evictions through December.

But advocacy groups such as the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) have said the measure does not include aid to help tenants already in arrears. The NLIHC has warned that up to 40 million people could face eviction by year-end.

Data on evictions and foreclosures is extremely patchy at a national and county level, Panfil said, meaning policymakers have little guidance about which residents are most at risk of losing their home.

Emily Benfer, a law professor at Wake Forest University, said in an email the new index was a “groundbreaking tool” that could help policymakers channel resources to areas already prone to housing loss that were now

at higher risk due to COVID-19.

In Tempe, Arizona, local officials who were given early access to the findings are using them to “direct outreach toward neighbourhoods and residents facing eviction and housing insecurity,” city councillor Lauren Kuby said in an email.

Tempe is in one of three counties where the New America researchers drilled down into housing loss patterns by smaller-scale census tracts. “(We’re) discussing how best to use this knowledge as we face an expected tsunami of housing loss in the coming months,” she said, adding that the report had prompted lawmakers to demand pro bono legal support for tenants.

Courtesy of Reuters / Thomson Reuters Foundation / INSP.ngo

2020 VOTING

The last Day to Register to Vote in the Nov. 3, 2020 election is Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. For further information Call the Davidson County Election Commission at: 615-862-8800 The Deadline to request a MAIL-IN BALLOT is Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020.

Early Voting Starts Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020 through Thursday Oct. 29, 2020.

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

3 out of 4 children in Tennessee cannot read at grade level.

Find out why at N2Reading. com or check out N2Reading on Facebook.

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—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden.

Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. 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, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. 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

17th Wednesday after Trinity IF thou hast broken a vow, tie a knot on it to make it hold together again. It is a spiritual thrift, and no misbecoming baseness, to piece and join thy neglected promises with fresh ones.

So shall thy vow in effect be not broken when new mended: and remain the same, though not by one entire continuation, yet by a constant successive renovation.

Thomas Fuller: A Wounded Conscience.

TO be free is precisely the same thing as to be pious, wise, just and temperate, careful of one's own, abstinent from what is another's, and thence, in fine, magnanimous and brave.

Milton: Second Defense.

17th Thursday after Trinity THERE is no other righteousness save that of the man who sets himself under judgement, of the man who is terrified and hopes. He shall live. He has the expectation of true life, for, recognizing that this life is naught, he is never without the reflection of the true life in this life, never without the prospect of incorruption in that which is passing to corruption.

The great impossibility has announced to him the end and goal of every trivial impossibility. He shall live of the faithfulness of God. Barth: The Epistle to the Romans.

eternal state, with such speed art thou making haste either to be wholly an angel, or wholly a devil.

William Law: An Appeal.

18th Monday after Trinity DO not build towers without a foundation, for our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done. When we do all we can, His Majesty will enable us to do more every day.

St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

WE must confess our sins in order to obtain pardon; but we must see our sins in order to confess. How few of those who think that they have confessed and been pardoned have ever seen their sins!

Patmore: The Rod, the Root, and the Flower.

18th Tuesday after Trinity WE are fools to depend upon the society of our fellowmen.

Wretched as we are, powerless as we are, they will not aid us; we shall die alone. We should therefore act as if we were alone, and in that case should we build fine houses, etc.? We should seek the truth without hesitation; and, if we refuse it, we show that we value the esteem of men more than the search for truth.

Pascal: Pensées.

GOD gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.

St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

THY works praise thee, that we may love thee, and we love thee, that thy works may praise thee.

St Augustine: Confessions.

17th Friday after Trinity

18th Wednesday after Trinity

HAPPY then that soul, who in the lucid intervals of a wounded conscience can praise God for the same. Music is sweetest near, or over rivers, where the echo thereof is best resounded by the water. Praise for pensiveness, thanks for tears, and blessing God over the floods of affliction, makes the most melodious music in the ear of heaven.

Thomas Fuller: A Wounded Conscience.

IF I look singularly to myself, I am right naught; but in general I am in hope, in oneness of charity with all mine even-Christians.

For in this oneness standeth the life of all mankind that shall be saved. For God is all that is good, as to my sight, and God hath made all that is made, and God loveth all that he hath made: and he that loveth generally all his even-Christians for God, he loveth all that is. For in mankind that shall be saved is comprehended all: that is to say, all that is made and the Maker of all. For in man is God, and God is in all.

Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.

TRANQUILITY according to His essence, activity according to His nature: perfect stillness, perfect fecundity.

Ruysbroeck: De Vera Contemplatione.

17th Saturday after Trinity

IN the beginning truly of my conversion and singular purpose, I thought I would be like the little bird that for love of her lover longs, but in her longing she is gladdened when he comes that she loves. And joying she sings, and singing she longs, but in sweetness and heat. It is said the nightingale to song and melody all night is given, that she may please him to whom she is joined. How muckle more with greatest sweetness to Christ my Jesu should I sing, that is spouse of my soul by all this present life, that is night in regard of clearness to come.

Richard Rolle: Fire of Love.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity THOU canst not stand still, because thou livest in the perpetual workings of temporal and eternal nature; if thou workest not with the good, the evil that is in nature carries thee along with it: thou hast the height and depth of eternity in thee, and therefore be doing what thou wilt, either in the closet, the field, the shop or the church, thou art sowing that which grows, and must be reaped in eternity. Nothing of thine can vanish away, but every thought, motion, and desire of thy heart has its effect either in the height of Heaven or the depth of hell: and as time is upon the wing, to put an end to the strife of good and evil, and bring about the last great separation of all things into their

18th Thursday after Trinity AS I do no good action here, merely for the interpretation of good men, though that be one good and justifiable reason of my good actions: so I must do nothing for my salvation hereafter, merely for the love I bear to mine own soul, though that also be one good and justifiable reason of that action; but the primary reason in both, as well as the actions that establish a good name, as the actions that establish eternal life, must be the glory of God. Donne: Sermons.

18th Friday after Trinity SINCE all sickness and corruption did fall to the flesh when the soul fell from this work, therefore shall all health come to the flesh when the soul by the grace of Jesu—the which is the chief worker—riseth to the same work again. And this shalt thou hope only to have by the mercy of Jesu and thy lovely consent. And therefore I pray thee with Solomon here in this passage that thou stand stoutly in this work, ever more bearing up unto him thy lovely consent in gladness of love.

The Epistle of Privy Counsel.

THE giving of thanks maketh entreaty of behalf of the feeble before God. The Paradise of the Fathers.

18th Saturday after Trinity THE word 'humanity' means unredeemed men and women; the word 'history' implies limitation and corruption; the pronoun 'I' spells judgement. Neither forwards nor backwards can we escape from this narrow gorge. There is therefore no alternative for us but to remain under the indictment; and only he who remains here without making any attempt to escape, even by spinning sophistries of human logic is able to praise God in His faithfulness.

Barth: The Epistle to the Romans.

WE indeed have these passions by reason of the weakness of our human nature; not so the Lord Jesus, whose weakness was of power.

St Augustine: City of God. THE highest, the only proof of love, is to love our adversary.

St Gregory, quoted in Aquinas: Catena Aurea.

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity THIS is the light of bare reason or the reasoning faculty of the mind has no contrariety to the vices of the heart; it neither kills them nor is killed by them. As pride, vanity, hypocrisy, envy or malice don't take away from the mind its geometrical skill, so a man may be most mathematical in his demonstrations of the religion of reason when he has extinguished every good sentiment of his heart, and be the most zealous for its excellency and sufficiency when he has his passions in the most disordered state.

William Law: A Demonstration.

REPENTANCE is tardy knowledge; innocence from the first is knowledge.

St Clement: Stromata.

WHEN we once begin to form good resolutions, God gives us every opportunity of carrying them out.

St John Chrysostom: Homilies.

19th Monday after Trinity REPENTANCE is but a kind of table-talk, till we see so much of the deformity of our inward nature as to be in some degree frightened and terrified at the sight of it . . . A plausible form of an outward life, that has only learned rules and modes of religion by use and custom, often keeps the soul for some time at ease, though all its inward root and ground of sin has never been shaken or molested, though it has never tasted of the bitter waters of repentance and has only known the want of a Saviour by hearsay. But things cannot pass thus: sooner or later repentance must have a broken and a contrite heart; we must with our blessed lord go over the brook Cedron, and with Him sweat great drops of sorrow before He can say for us, as He said for Himself: "It is finished."

William Law: Christian Regeneration.

19th Tuesday after Trinity HOW easy is pen and paper piety, for one to write religiously?

I will not say it costeth nothing, but it is far cheaper to work one's head than one's heart to goodness. Some, perchance, may guess me to be good by my writings, and so I shall deceive my reader. But if I do not desire to be good, I most of all deceive myself. I can make an hundred meditations sooner than subdue the least sin in my soul.

Thomas Fuller: Good Thoughts in Bad Times.

YOU still shall tramp and tread on endless round of thought, to justify your action to yourselves, weaving a fiction which unravels as you weave, pacing forever in the hell of make-believe which never is belief.

T. S. Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral.

Sponsored by Matthew Carver, publisher

PAGE 6 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

LOCAL ACTIVISM

Nashville activists organized a march on Wednesday evening calling for justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman in Louisville killed in her home by police during a botched raid. On Wednesday, the Louisville grand jury announced an indictment against a former Louisville police officer for wanton endangerment for his actions during the raid. No charges were announced against the other two officers who fired shots, and no one was charged for causing Taylor’s death. IMAGES BY DAVID PIÑEROS

PAGE 8 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

TO HELP PAY YOUR BILL, WE’VE BOUGHT YOU SOME TIME. 2020 has been a difficult year and NES wants to help our customers by easing some of the financial burden brought on by the global pandemic and economic downturn that have affected our city.

Anyone with an overdue electric bill has automatically been enrolled in an installment plan with no penalty. Back in July, NES evenly distributed past-due balances into 12 monthly payments. These charges appear on each monthly bill and customers who keep up with their payments going forward are assured service.

V I S I T NE S P O W E R NE W S .C OM OR C A L L 615.736.6 90 0 F OR MOR E DE TA IL S .

COMMUNITY IS OUR TRUE POWER

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

COVER STORY

IMAGES BY SUSAN ADCOCK

Condos vs. Camps

What happens when homeless encampments are no longer “out of sight out of mind”?

By Hannah Herner

O

ut of the three condos that Bryan Myers rents out in the Riverfront Condominiums complex, only one of them elicits complaints from the people renting from him while visiting Nashville. That one has a thirdfloor balcony that overlooks Jefferson Street Bridge and the homeless encampment underneath it. The complex put up some wooden slats to make a visual barrier on the bottom half of the balcony and complaints subsided.

Out of sight, out of mind.

That particular encampment has more people living in it than ever. When the March 3 tornado hit, condos and camps alike suffered damage, and resources poured into Germantown, where the bridge is located.

People experiencing homelessness moved in to get what they needed to survive and get back on their feet.

“You could get three square meals a day

and more supplies than you can imagine, and it was all coming to the bridge. There was quite a bit of news coverage that was happening. So that’s when we saw the camp really grow,” says Jennifer Ranson, who has served with Bridge Ministries at Jefferson Street Bridge for 13 years. “Just a few weeks later we went into safer-at-home. We had two weeks of mass resources and relocations to under the bridge, and then safer-at-home.

Everything dried up.”

When the citywide safer-at-home order went into effect, many of the organizations that were serving took time away to deal with the various challenges of being a service provider during a pandemic. The camp remained at an inflated number of 60 or more residents, compared to the typical 20 to 30.

The quiet and safe encampment that Katherine had come to know changed rapidly, she says. She moved under the bridge in early 2020, but became homeless for the first time in her life four years ago.

“At first, it was quiet. Now it’s loud. It used to be safe under here,” she says. “It’s hard being homeless. It’s very hard. If you never been there, I would advise you not to go there.”

Neighborhood Complaints It was around the time of double disasters that District 19 Council Member Freddie O’Connell started noticing an uptick in emails complaining about seeing people living on the streets. The most organized effort was from Riverfront Condos, a 145 unit complex with 68 active short-term rental permits, located a stone’s throw from the encampment.

Myers, who lives in Indiana, complained about the camp to the police and Metro Council multiple times throughout the nearly three years he’s owned units there.

As many as one in four of his short-term renters complain about the camp, he says.

When they started cancelling bookings after

PAGE 10 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

they had already arrived and leaving negative reviews, he started getting nervous.

“When it first showed up and I started having people complain about it, I got nervous pretty quick because I didn’t know how many people were going to have an issue with it,” Myers says. “If it’s one in four, if it’s one in five, it’s a cancellation every couple of months. I can stay in business. But if it becomes every other person, we’ve got a serious problem here.”

Myers’ most recent email to O’Connell was prompted by the Homeowner’s Association for the complex. The HOA did not respond to a request for comment.

“I don’t care that they’re there. I would probably feel more strongly about it if I were experiencing crime, or if I felt like it was truly unsafe,” Myers says. “My personal opinion is that I don’t necessarily think they are unsafe, I think it’s unsightly for people who are on vacation and I understand why those people would feel unsafe.”

COVER STORY

The dozens of emails to Metro Council members from those affiliated with Riverfront Condos cite drug activity, human waste, noise and crimes committed on condo property to be the top concerns. The emails also noted fear of campfires spreading and loss of property value.

MNPD said they do not organize incidents as such to be able to pull all those that happened at Riverfront Condos or Jefferson Street Bridge for public record.

Since March, four crimes recorded in the area by Metro Nashville Police Department list people experiencing homelessness as the victims or perpetrators. Two were assaults against women who lived in the camp, one was a robbery committed against a man who parked under the bridge, and the other was a fight over a generator that took place under the bridge, MNPD confirms.

Copies of these incident reports found via crimemapping.com were not released because they are still open — meaning they haven’t been prosecuted, MNPD says.

The Central Precinct has seen a downward trend in crimes in which the victim or perpetrator are homeless throughout 2020, says Kristin Mumford, spokesperson for MNPD. “I think Central Precinct is well aware of some of the concerns and complaints of people that live [near Jefferson Street Bridge], so we do have extra officers in that area and we have seen a downward trend overall,” Mumford says. “We do our best to do outreach with folks and also make sure that business owners and homeowners are also involved and understanding that the police are in the area and wanting to make sure that everyone feels safe.”

Enforcing public trespassing laws is tricky in this particular spot under the bridge, because there is a mixture of both city and state land on camp grounds, so the state would have to take the lead. Either way, Mumford says the focus now is offering services and gaining trust with the population under the Jefferson Street Bridge.

“We’re partnering with the city and with groups and the Salvation Army and giving meals and gaining trust,” Mumford says.

“So as far as the enforcement part of it, we’re hoping to help people first.”

gest moving the residents of the camp to the COVID-19 emergency shelter at The Fairgrounds Nashville. In order to stay there, a person must go through screening at the Nashville Rescue Mission. There is room for 200 people on the “well” side of shelter, and 250 on the “sick” side. A count on Sept. 16 had 71 people staying at the Fairgrounds shelter.

It’s not uncommon for O’Connell to get an email that says something to the effect of, ‘do your job and get rid of the homeless,’ he says. What O’Connell sees as Metro’s re-

applying to the second wave of $8.5 million was Sept. 21.

These funds can be used for homelessness prevention, street outreach, or Rapid Re-Housing. The city’s plan is for a “housing surge,” a push to focus on landlord recruitment with the goal of setting up 400 individuals with rent assistance and support services up to one year with the Rapid Rehousing dollars, Tackett says.

Some of the nonprofits receiving these Emergency Solutions Grant funds met up

What is the solution?

When asked why the Jefferson Street Bridge encampment got to stay intact during the pandemic, Judith Tackett, executive director of Metro Homeless Impact Division said in an email: “While Metro does not sanction encampments, we strongly believe that homelessness can only be solved by linking people with access to housing, safe shelter, and services. COVID– 19 has caused disruptions in the way our community’s day centers operate and many of them are closed. That has led to an increase in the populations in our larger encampments.”

At a Continuum of Care meeting for Nashville area homeless providers on Sept.

17, Tackett also alerted the group to the “skyrocket” in complaints about people living on the streets around Jefferson Street.

Some emails to council members sug-

sponsibility is to clean up the area of debris.

The city put in hand-washing stations and port-a-potties in late March.

“The hard part is, the ‘do something’ element, in my opinion, is to find housing for folks,” O’Connell says. “If there is no housing, the things you can do are fairly limited.”

at the camp on Sept. 24 to complete assessments to get people in the city’s homeless database and on the path to housing — another goal of the surge. Tackett says MHID would like to get people out of the campsite as quickly as possible after that event, and is calling on local congregations to host them. (Email Judith.tackett@nashville.gov to volunteer.)

“Moving people out of the Jefferson Street Bridge encampment is dependent on housing availability,” Tackett says. “However, due to the COVID pandemic I am calling on all nonprofits and on churches to see if they can identify some private property where a few people are welcome to relocate in very small numbers while they are working actively with nonprofits on housing. It takes the entire community to work together.”

There is also a need for landlords and

Housing Solves The housing the city has been waiting for may be partially coming in the form of an Emergency Solutions Grant totalling $10 million given by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Nashville nonprofits. This is a one-time grant added to the $450,000 Nashville already qualified to get from this fund for 2020. The first wave of $1.5 million has already been dispersed to 14 Nashville-area nonprofits. The deadline for

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

motel owners willing to charge fair market rates for their properties and house people being helped by Rapid Re-Housing dollars.

(E-mail deon.trotter@nashville.gov if interested.)

Nothing New What’s going on with the Jefferson Street Bridge encampment may feel like deja vú to Nashville’s homeless service providers.

One of the founding members of homeless outreach organization Open Table Nashville, Ingrid McIntyre, estimates that there are more than 200 homeless encampments in Nashville.

“People love to pay attention when there’s a big thing like Fort Negley or Jefferson Street Bridge. But that’s going on every day,” she says.

Ten years ago the camp in the public eye was “Tent City,” which was cleared out by the 2010 flood, while Metro was already working on removing it. Five years ago, an encampment located at Fort Negley Park was cleared out. Now, Jefferson Street Bridge is in the public eye. There’s a pattern, McIntyre says.

A 2016 press release from former mayor Megan Barry’s office boasts a coordinated effort between the police, city, and homeless service providers to get the majority of people who were staying at the encampment at Fort Negley Park into housing.

They were housed through a combination of housing vouchers that aren’t available right now, tiny homes and Rapid Re-Housing. Fort Negley was at least somewhat a coordinated effort, McIntyre says, but it was more visual than anything — the issues were still there, and the solutions weren’t lasting. There is simply not enough housing, and there are not enough caseworkers to help people get into it.

McIntyre doesn’t feel it’s a very safe environment to have so many people living together in such a small area, particularly during the pandemic. But it’s also important to be sure that the people in the camp are willing to utilize the kind of housing that’s offered, she says.

“It’s a complex societal issue that needs to be addressed holistically and not just like ‘whack a mole,’” McIntyre says.

Camp resident Katherine says people might think she is in a relatively good situation, with a tent and the bridge overhead to protect her from the elements, along with the resources that nonprofits bring to them, but it’s the seemingly smaller things that really get to her.

“It’s not taking showers every day, cooking meals every day, watching TV every day,” she says. “I don’t watch much TV anyway. But where you can sit down and just enjoy your meal in a comfortable environment. This, you have no comfort.”

Like the barricade on the balcony, clearing out the camp would hide some of the people experiencing homelessness from sight. The tornado destroyed that barricade literally and figuratively and the pandemic has kept people there. Now, homelessness is no longer out of sight, out of mind.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS COULD HELP HEAL SEGREGATED CITIES

BY MARK ROSELAND AND CHRISTOPHER BOONE American cities represent part of the nation’s long and grim history of discrimination and oppression against Black people.

They can also be part of the recovery from all that harm.

Some cities’ work can be symbolically important, such as removing public monuments that honour oppression. But cities can do much more to address inequality, starting with an area that was key to past discrimination: how land is used.

Zoning rules, including requirements that prohibit duplexes or anything other than single-family homes on residential lots, have helped maintain class and racial segregation. Lending practices like redlining that discriminate mostly against people of colour in specific urban neighbourhoods have entrenched poverty and inequality in US cities.

One result is that the average Black family with children in the US has just one cent of wealth for every dollar held by the average white family with children.

Some calls to resolve these inequalities have raised an idea with century-old roots: community land trusts to assemble land for the benefit of Black Americans.

Cities consider compensation Some cities are already looking at ways to promote racial equality.

In July, the Asheville, North Carolina, city council unanimously passed a resolution directing the city manager, “to boost economic mobility and opportunity in the Black community.”

Also in July, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, issued an executive order “committing the City to a process of truth, reconciliation and municipal reparations for Black, Indigenous (Indian) People, and People of Color in Providence.”

To carry out these lofty goals, they could take a page from history.

A new kind of land ownership In the 1960s, civil rights organizers recognized that denying property rights was a key method

225 and 280 community land trusts in the US, which together have around 15,000 home ownership units and 20,000 rental units.

To encourage more of this type of development, New York City passed a bill in 2017 exempting community land trusts from certain taxes. Houston in 2019 announced a plan to use a community land trust to develop 1,000 affordable units.

Lochlan Roberts of Whidbey Island listens to a performer during a “Fourth of YouLie” day of action against gentrification and calling for reinvestment in Black communities, hosted by King County Equity Now and Africatown Community Land Trust in the city’s Central District on the Fourth of July holiday in Seattle, Washington, U.S. July 4, 2020. REUTERS/LINDSEY WASSON of reinforcing white supremacy in the US, blocking people from putting down roots in a community, limiting their political power as well as wealth.

They devised a system called a “community land trust” as a way for African American farmers to work rural land for their own benefit. This was in stark contrast to the sharecropping system prevalent after the Civil War, where black families would rent small plots of land, or shares, to work themselves and in return give a portion of their crop to the landowner at the end of the year.

The first community land trust in rural Georgia in 1970 was established on land purchased by a small group of individuals with some federal grant assistance and became the largest single piece of land in the country owned by African Americans, who got to keep all the proceeds from their labour. Although the trust, New Communities Inc., was beset by drought and discrimination from the start and was forced to close by the late 1980s, it helped inspire

people to create similar organizations across the country.

Community land trusts today are more often focused on housing. They are community-run, non-profit landholding organizations that aim to help low-income buyers obtain homes. Trust land can be purchased or donated. The model allows community ownership of the land with individual ownership of houses.

With this model, a buyer can get into a home for less money than elsewhere in the local market, because they aren’t paying for the land – just the building. This makes homes more affordable, especially for low-income families who often can get down-payment assistance and low-interest mortgages from the trust as well.

The residents, who become members of the trust, elect board members to govern the organization and guide its development and investments to meet community needs and priorities.

Community land trusts are a form of permanently affordable housing based on shared equity.

The trust retains ownership of the land and maintains it for the benefit of homeowners present and future and the community as a whole. The homeowner leases the land but owns the building and pays for improvements.

The land lease sets out terms for any future sale of the property, letting the homeowner build equity through appreciation in value, while ensuring the home remains affordable for future limited-income buyers. This sort of shared-equity model may not appeal to people who can afford open-market housing. But for those otherwise priced out of the housing market, it is an opportunity to build equity and wealth, and establish credit and financial stability.

These trusts also serve renters by providing long-term leases with limits on rent prices, as well as by investing in housing in communities where others won’t.

They also can give a more formal voice to tenants, who otherwise are often ignored by local officials.

There are now between

PAGE 12 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

A history of working together Local governments have formed several kinds of partnerships with community land trusts. In June, the city of Seattle announced it would transfer a decommissioned fire station to the Africatown Community Land Trust, saying “we understand the urgency behind making bold investments in the Black community and increasing community ownership of land.”

Community members hope the site will play a key role in a city development plan that highlights Black entrepreneurs. It’s one of several proposals in the region for Black-led community organizations to acquire underutilized public property.

Cities have also used municipal zoning powers to require larger developers to donate a portion of new development to community land trusts or related entities such as housing trust funds for permanently affordable housing.

Partnerships between cities and community land trusts are a promising way to provide affordable housing and help low-income and minority families. As cities reflect on their roles in perpetuating institutional racism and what they can do to relieve it, they can use their zoning laws and negotiating power to support community land trusts, as one way to keep housing affordable and benefit minority communities.

Mark Roseland is a professor of community resources and development at Arizona State University.

Christopher Boone is dean and professor of sustainability at Arizona State University. Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo

MOVING PICTURES

‘Push’ & Pull NEW DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHTS WHAT MANY DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE GLOBAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS

BY JOE NOLAN Film Critic Director Fredrik Gertten opens Push with a cigar-smoking realtor staging a home. In markets like Nashville, where rent is skyrocketing and home buying has become a full contact sport, it’s a sight we’re all familiar with. But Push isn’t a documentary examining what most of us know about real estate. Push is an exorcism

of the invisible forces that undermine the human right to housing for all but the elite.

The film follows Leilani Farha from Barcelona to Berlin, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, London and San Francisco.

Farha is the United Nations Rapporteur on Adequate Housing. She’s examining the problem of inadequate/unaffordable housing in metropolitan areas around the globe, and working with experts and politicians in different cities to explore what the problem is, why it’s happening, and how it might be solved.

In the movie’s press release Gertten observes that “Blaming a coffee shop or an art gallery for pushing out the poor is just silly. There are other — much stronger forces in action.” Gerten and Farha reveal those forces in chats with rent strikers in Toronto where in the past three decades housing prices have risen more than three times faster than wages.

The filmmakers also profile places like London’s Notting Hill district of North London, which f lourished after the world wide success of the eponymous 1999 romantic comedy drew tourism, celebrities and investors. The result was a wave of hyper-affluence even as low income high rises burned-up in deadly fires for lack of basic maintenance.

Push’s central theme is that traditional gentrification is not to blame for this current crisis. Push posits that the crisis is much deeper and further reaching than mainstream conversations about affordable housing acknowledge.

The transformation of real estate into financial assets subject to the whims of speculation and hyper trading has un-

dermined the stability of actual housing resources for real people. Residential buildings are being bought and built so that securities can be created sold and traded. Renters and homeowners don’t necessarily have a place in the equation other than creating the demand that raises values of the properties and their assets.

The results are dead zones where empty luxury buildings replace shops, small businesses — even hospitals – which can be crucial resources to longtime neighborhood communities. To the uninitiated the vacant luxury dwelling look a developer investment gone bad, but that’s usually not the case. When an empty luxury condominium replaces a grocery or a number of local small businesses housing is not increased for the people in that community who can’t afford to live there. The building and the land are being treated like a valuable asset that can be bought and sold precisely because it is empty and there are no pesky occupants demanding their legal rights as renters with leases. We see an empty building, but we don’t see the security asset that represents the building being invested in and traded over and over in seconds in the invisible marketplace of digital high-speed finance.

Push doesn’t argue that capitalism is problematic in and of itself. But it does argue that capitalism run wild in a space where housing is treated as a commodity — like gold — is a problem.

As Farha says, “Gold isn’t a human right.

Adequate housing is.” Push is a common

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

sense reminder that societies undermine their own foundations when sectors like education, health care, law enforcement and housing are profit-driven instead of people driven. Again, Farha says it best, “Who’s going to live in cities? Who are cities for? People need a few things to have a dignified life. Housing is one of those things.”

Find a virtual screening for Push at http:// www.pushthefilm.com/us-events/ Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/ songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

VENDOR ART

!

Col

o

e M r

BY MARY B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

B Y C Y N T H I A P. , C O N T R I B U T O R V E N D O R

Advertisers of The Contributor put their marketing dollars to work in lives of Nashville’s most vulnerable community.

If your business is exploring cause marketing opportunties, consider partnering with The Contributor.

CONTACT: 615-499-6829 OR

BARBARA@THECONTRIBUTOR.ORG PAGE 14 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

FUN

HOBOSCOPES LIBRA

The light is different lately, Libra. The way it slides under the bedroom door, reaching in as a reminder that there’s still more to see on the other side. Or how it divides the trees from the trees while leaves glow and quake, some green, some yellow, some suspended, branchless in the air. Or the way it disappears, when I close the refrigerator door–saving itself for later, like the block of cheddar in the Ziploc. What I’m seeing, Libra, are the ways that we witness what we allow to be illuminated. It changes. It’s changing again.

SCORPIO

I like it when the grocery store aisles turn orange and black and fill up with plastic horrors and too much pumpkin-shaped candy. I like it because it’s a reminder that we’re all here together. We’re all moving forward into the same time–the same season. But this year it’s harder to go to the grocery store. It’s harder to go anywhere. And I hope we still remember, Scorpio, that we’re all in this together. And I hope that when we see each other again, we really see each other.

I’ve heard that you can fit 1.3 million Earths inside the sun. I just can’t figure out why you would want to.

Honestly, I wouldn’t even know where to start with getting the one actual existing earth into the sun, much less 1.3 million of them. It seems like an awful lot of work, Aquarius. You’re excellent at putting in the effort. I applaud that, Aquarius. But maybe take a break from impossible tasks for the rest of today and use your energy for something that makes you happier.

PISCES

James Baldwin once wrote, “No one is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart: for his purity, by definition, is unassailable.” We’ve got to be vulnerable with each other, Pisces. We’ve got to be willing to admit that we might be wrong. And the trick here is, that when I say “we” I don’t mean “the other team” I mean you. And I mean me. But I might be wrong.

GEMINI

I put up all my decorations, but I didn’t find my pumpkin yet. I always try to pick a good one for the front porch, but none of the ones at the store have felt quite right. Maybe it’s not the pumpkins, Gemini. Maybe it’s the season. It just feels a little too dark out there to act like everything is ok. So maybe we just buy a pumpkin in hope this time. Maybe we buy a pumpkin even when it doesn’t feel right and we put it out there on the porch in hope that before too long, it will feel right.

CANCER

Recent research indicates that on the night The Titanic sank, there was an unusual amount of solar activity that could have caused a geomagnetic storm in the north Atlantic. Of course, solar winds would be imperceptible to folks on a big boat, but they could have caused trouble with the radio and the navigation system.

Maybe enough trouble that they ended up off course.

Make sure you’re communicating extra clearly in the next few weeks. There’s lots of icebergs out there.

ARIES

SAGITTA R IUS

Brainwashing is an exciting concept that makes for a great plot device. The brain-washed assassin isn’t responsible for their actions — and they could be anybody! The problem is it’s not exactly real. We’re all working off of different ideas, different assumptions, but I have to believe, Sagittarius, that everybody, no matter how “brain-washed” you might think they are, has the ability to grow and change. You do too.

CAPRICORN

AQUA RIUS

Have you seen that movie where an ancient race of vampires secretly controls the world but their sworn enemies, the werewolves, tirelessly plot to overtake their dark empire? It’s pretty good, if you like that sort of thing. I’ve been thinking of that movie lately because if I’m not careful, I start to think that the world is only made up of two types of people. And I start to think that my type of people are always right and the other type are always wrong. What if there’s no such thing as vampires and werewolves, Capricorn? What if we’re all on the same team?

I went out driving around the cemetery last week, Aries. I know, it seems just like something I would do. But I had a good reason this time. I found out my great great grandfather is buried just a couple of miles from here. And, since I never met him, I thought I should go try to connect. Sometimes, Aries, it helps to think about the people who shaped you, and the people who shaped them, and the people who shaped them. We’re all doing more for each other than we know.

TAURUS

I’ve got a fish tank with three goldfish in it. Every morning I turn on the f luorescent bulb on top of the tank and every night I turn it off. It’s hard to tell when the fish are sleeping, Taurus, but I know we all need those rhythms. Lately, it’s easy to just leave your light on all the time. There’s constantly something outrageous in the news. There’s always something on your phone that can make you feel angry or scared or excited. If you were my goldfish, I would make sure to turn off that light, at least for a while.

Or maybe you could even leave it off all day.

LEO

I used to like roller coasters. I liked the start where you go up and up and up and it gets slower and slower, clicking and clicking, until you finally start to fall. But lately, Leo, I’ve had enough. I feel like this ride keeps going up and up and up and I don’t even like thinking about the fall anymore. I’ll tell you what though, I’m glad I decided to sit next to you on this thing. We may have a way to go before the drop, so if you want to talk about it, we’ve still got some time.

VIRGO

Scary movies just aren’t gonna cut it this year. Scary movies are all about giving up control and letting all the things we’re afraid of happen. Watching characters go through the worst things we can imagine. And then the credits roll and we get to come back to ourselves. This year, I’m tired of watching all the worst things play out. I want a break. Maybe instead of watching all those stories, Virgo, we could just go for a walk in the woods. Maybe forget about the news. Maybe find an old abandoned cabin to check out.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained pumpkin selector, or a registered aquatician. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast. Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com. Got a question, just give Mr. M a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

VENDOR WRITING

‘The Contributor’ means a lot

BY JUSTIN A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR The Contributor means a lot. I’m homeless right now. I just got out of prison like a month ago. Everything I had planned on and had worked for with me getting out got shot. I signed everything over to my aunt and they sold everything.

If they hadn’t done that I would have a place to live.

I actually met some nice people selling The Contributor downtown. Yesterday I helped a woman out. She dropped

her bag, and everything she had went everywhere. This guy was fixing to grab her bank bag and run off with it. I stepped on his hand. Four hundred pounds stepping on your hand, that don’t feel good. She actually treated me to lunch. She said, “eat whatever you want.” Then she went and bought me two shirts. It was fun.

I’ve had a wonderful experience. A lot more no’s than yes’s, but I’m not going to let that discourage me.

What’s been troubling me

BY ANDY L., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

THEME: BOTA N Y 101 ACROSS 1. Capital of Ghana 6. Paris in Tour de France 9. Wild ox of India 13. Admiral’s group 14. “Mele Kalikimaka” wreath 15. Julian Barnes’ “The ____ of an Ending” 16. Telephone company 17. Acronym in a bottle 18. Birth-related 19. *Set briefly on fire 21. *Separate solids from fat in melted butter 23. *Crusty dessert 24. Uncouth person 25. Westminster broadcaster, acr.

28. Coffee break spot 30. *Scald quickly in boiling water 35. Like desert 37. Like Civil War reenactment battle 39. *Like old chips 40. Delhi dress 41. Subculture language 43. *Good or bad it emanates from stoves

44. “As the World ____” 46. Like Jekyll and Hyde’s personality 47. This over matter?

48. Encryption device, a.k.a. ____ machine 50. Practice in the ring 52. Low-____ image 53. Competitive advantage 55. NBA coach “____” Rivers 57. *Dissolve browned food bits with liquids 61. *Thicken by simmering 64. Love, to Catherine Deneuve 65. Pigeon sound 67. Pianist’s exercise 69. Resembling a fish 70. Hawaiian Mauna 71. Smart candy?

72. Tire swing holder 73. Bruin legend Bobby 74. *Yummy reward DOWN 1. Back of the boat 2. Staff symbol

3. Text messenger 4. Short version 5. Like number 1 to hydrogen 6. Besides 7. Opposite of paleo8. ‘70s music genre 9. Wheel in grandfather clock 10. ____-perspirant 11. Defender of skies 12. Count on 15. Growls angrily 20. What lighthouse does 22. Williams sister’s return 24. On account of 25. *Turkey action 26. Hitler’s Eva 27. Wispy clouds 29. *Incorporate an ingredient 31. Niels Bohr’s study object 32. Rock bottom 33. Star Wars attacker 34. Shepherds’ flocks 36. Sound at door 38. ____sack 42. Clearing in the woods 45. Viscous 49. Wood-shaping tool 51. Capybara, e.g.

54. GEICO’s mascot 56. Like a button, but more so 57. Cuckoo 58. Dubai dignitary 59. Departed 60. Debussy’s “Clair de ____” 61. Serengeti sound 62. *Preserve by adding salt 63. Old Norse texts 66. “____ the ramparts...”

68. D.C. time

Something’s been troubling me about what happened way back in March when a tornado came through here. You could see, people lost their houses. Then after that COVID-19 came about. Now we’re just wondering how long they’re going to help us with money that people need to survive and live.

If we can get organizations and the president of the United States and Democrats and Republicans to sign off on this bill for people that need help all over, we’ll be OK. It’s for the second stimulus check. I’d like to see that pass and I’m praying for it to pass to the people struggling to pay rent, buy food and take care of their children.

Love and Obey

BY JOHN H., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR God loves us so much he gives us our daily bread each day, through his word (the Bible), through meditation, a neighbor, our consciousness, and many times he speaks to our heart. Why is it so hard for us to do the right thing? He’s constantly revealing himself to you but somehow it’s uncaptured.

Remember when you was little and your first relationship (girlfriend or boyfriend), you’d write each other letters.

Famous word, “I love you, do you love me?” As time passed by you matured in the relationship, words changed. Well, it’s the same in our relationship with Christ. We begin to have more love, more trust, and we believe the things God speak to us. Why is obedience such a problem? Why do we ignore the things of God? We’ve been blessed so much till

PAGE 16 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

we actually think we can do whatever we please, even though God did speak differently. At some point we must find that quiet place and give it some thought.

I found an easier way to do things, and I find that if we live by these first two commandments, mostly everything else falls behind it. Ya see if we are obedient to the first two we wouldn’t commit the other eight. To me that’s simple enough. We learn. Thing of it is, we must put into practice what we’ve learned. For instance love, it’s an action word not a noun. I say noun because it’s how many of us live it. We say the word love, but we somehow have a problem showing it.

So in the future, if you can learn to love God and your neighbor “hey!” You’ll be on your way in the right direction. “Love Changes Things.”

VENDOR WRITING

COME TOGETHER — RIGHT NOW — OVER THEM

PASS ME BY DEANA H.

JENNIFER A.

BREONNA TAYLOR, GOD’S ANGEL TYRONE M.

As I stand and wave and have a smile I watch you pass by There she go strollin’

As I stand for hours haven’t made a dime,

She had that sparkle in her eyes

She got bona fides

but I still smile and you pass me by.

hardworking, cheerful

She speak jabot language

lady, all the time,

She one righteous sister

I wonder what kind of day you

She leave her mark on the highest bench

might have had or do you wonder about me

Set a great example

as I wave and smile you pass me by.

She magnificent mensch

Breonna - you will always be on our minds.

From the day you were born you were very special

Come together--right now--

I pray for each one of my customers.

as could be

Over her

I hope you pray for me as I smile and wave

God looked down and

Striver

please don’t pass me by.

bless thee.

Mensch

Raise early in the morning stand on me feet til mid afternoon not

your mom/sister/friends

Come together

for you to pass me by.

all will miss you

Leader

each/every day/ when they There he go marchin’

I like you a lot thanks for waving back

Feel sad, all they need

He got Jesus mojo

while you pass me by.

To do is pray

He mark with stigmata

Don’t feel sad for me just stop by and get a paper

The cops that killed you will

His shield and sword were love and peace

and don’t pass me by.

surely pay, it’s sad

He live hero’s journey

you had to die this

Never stop believin’ segregation could cease Come together--right now--

I greet you with a smile a wave for good measure you wave and

Over him

smile back but you still pass me by.

Striver

way.

We the People will march

Leader

There’s wonderful things in this paper. Horoscopes, poems, the

/protest until Justice

Prophet

news on our community that are homeless

is done

Come together

you will want one don’t pass me by.

Look out America, here we come!

Here he come bumblin’

Red hot off the press get your news read without stress

He one Twitter mongo

don’t pass me by.

He got jackboot tactics

We will (never) forget you Breonna

Over bone spur fetish

You’re looking good today. You looked in the mirror and gave

You were a shining light

He lie and cheat and steal to win

yourself a smile. You know you’re going to have a good day.

In this otherwise

Leave us sick and dyin’ then deny it with spin

You grabbed your keys and you lock the door and you take off

utter darkness

Liar

knowing when you see me you won’t pass me by.

Cheat Phony

My name is Deana I am your vendor.

Come together--right now--

Just want you to know you’re my favorite people

Over him

thank you so much for not passing me by.

Come together Come together--right now-Over them Come together Over them Come together

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

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.

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

L a N ticia 2020

GRATIS

Octubre

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Año 18 - No. 315

Nashville, Tennessee

Mes de le Herencia Hispana: 'Voto Latino' y el “Sueño Americano”

Hace cincuenta y dos años, en septiembre de 1968, el Congreso autorizó al presidente Lyndon B. Johnson a proclamar la Semana Nacional de la Herencia Hispana.

Veinte Cunza años después, el PorLaYuri Noticia Congreso y el presi- Editor inChief dente Ronald Reagan ampliaron la observancia a una celebración de un mes (del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre) de la cultura y las tradiciones de quienes tienen sus raíces en las naciones de habla hispana de América Central, América del Sur y el Caribe.

Como cada año, alrededor de estas fecha, me pongo reflexivo. Trazo los pasos que me trajeron aquí, a miles de millas lejos de mi familia y seres queridos y me pregunto, “¿Por qué? ¿Por qué hice este viaje? " La respuesta es siempre la misma: aquella promesa de prosperidad e igualdad que Estados Unidos ofrece hasta el día de hoy. Quizas aun a pesar de lo que vemos ocurrir antes nuestros ojos.

Las cosas han cambiado mucho desde mi primera visita a Nashville a principios de los 90. A pesar de la retórica xenófoba recurrente e irracional que todavía a veces emana de algunos aqui en Tennessee, el “Estado de los Voluntarios” (Volunteer State) estado que se ha convertido en un hogar querido para muchos latinos. Quizás, como dijo Cervantes en "Don Quijote", lo único que necesitamos es "confiar en el tiempo, que a menudo trae dulces salidas a muchas amargas dificultades".

presidenciales. Eso puede ser 'una carta bajo la manga'.

El compromiso cívico hispano no se mide por la cantidad de piñatas que podemos comprar con la imagen de un ahora lider de gobierno. Se mide en votos.

Nuestra voz cuenta. Más del 8 por ciento de los votos emitidos en las últimas elecciones presidenciales fueron hispanos.

Foto: John Partipilo

More than 8 percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election were Hispanic

A nivel nacional, los hispanos son mas del 17 por ciento de la población de EE. UU., Según las nuevas cifras publicadas por el Censo de EE. UU. esto es 60.6 millones de nosotros que hemos sido entretejidos brillantemente en la vestidura cultural de Estados Unidos.

Los hispanos son una parte integral del panorama económico de nuestra nación y de nuestras comunidades.

Las pequeñas empresas de propiedad hispana están creciendo a tres veces la tasa nacional. Esto es vital para todos los trabajadores, dado que más del 70 por ciento de los nuevos empleos en nuestro país son creados por pequeñas empresas.

Aproximadamente el 20 por ciento de las pequeñas empresas son propiedad de inmigrantes y contribuyen con casi $ 776 mil millones a la economía de los Estados Unidos.

De hecho, los inmigrantes emplean a 1 de cada 10 trabajadores estadounidenses.

El cuarenta por ciento de las empresas Fortune 500 fueron creadas por un inmigrante o por los hijos de inmigrantes. La lista se lee como el “Quién es Quién” de los principales empleadores de nuestra nación: AT&T, Bank of America, eBay, Yahoo, Intel, los grandes almacenes Kohl's y Google.

Ya no se puede decir que estamos aquí para quitarle a alguien su trabajo, más bien, es posible que podamos darle uno.

Además del impacto económico y cultural tremendamente positivo que están teniendo estos inmigrantes, hay poder político en nuestro número cada vez más creciente. El voto hispano bien podría decidir el resultado de las próximas elecciones

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)

por

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.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

PAGE 18 | September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nuestra comunidad hispana a menudo es conocida por ser cómplice voluntario de quienes buscan mano de obra barata, pero los hispanos también son conocidos por su disposición a servir para proteger nuestras libertades. Hoy tenemos más de 200,000 hispanoamericanos sirviendo en el ejército y 1.2 millones de hispanos mayores de 18 años que son veteranos de las fuerzas armadas de los Estados Unidos.

Mientras dirijo nuestro reconocimiento de un mes de las muchas contribuciones que los hispanoamericanos han hecho a este país, junto con el liderazgo de nuestra cámara hispana, sus miembros y una poderosa red de socios corporativos y comunitarios, veo que ya no estamos solos en la habitación.

Todos venimos de algún lugar, y podemos celebrar nuestras raíces, reconociendo que lo que realmente nos une como nación no es que todos nacimos aquí, o que por casualidad vivimos aquí, sino que, a pesar de nuestros diferentes orígenes, compartimos un ideal común, un sentido de pertenencia y la fé en una promesa: “la igualdad para todos”.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

LiFNAV

My Story | Our Community

Socially displaced individuals experiencing homelessness are at health risk and are experiencing an extreme quality of life loss.

Our Vision: People enjoying life in all its fullness through transformative relationships with God, self, other, and all creation.

Theory of Change: Resourcing the hope of individuals while protected in supportive shelter increases the speed of social and housing recovery, improving their quality of life.

The Need: Rentals and Landlords who will accept individuals 55+ needing stable housing.

Let’s Have Coffee: Major Ethan Frizzell - (615) 933-9305

September 30 - October 14, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19