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Topic: Jim Crow Laws

A new hero enters Tennessee’s history books

By Bernie Ellis | June 21, 2009 | Print This Post

 

gtsodEvery Tennessee school child learns early on that our state has been blessed with heros throughout its history. Davy Crockett at the Alamo, Alvin York in the trenches of World War I Europe – we continue to revere the honorable people who sprang from our hills and hollows with the in-borne courage to do the next right thing when they were called on to do so. There are three other heros – two long-gone now and one who is still very much alive – who helped expand our franchise and, in the process, helped save our democracy. The two deceased heros were Harry Burn and Ben West. The third hero, the one who still walks among us, is Senator Tim Burchett of Knoxville.

Harry Burn was a first-term Republican state representative from McMinn county, the youngest Tennessee state legislator serving in 1920 when women’s suffrage hung in the balance in our state. Back then, only one state was needed to ratify the Nineteenth amendment to the US Constitution, an amendment that would give women the right to vote. Like many legislators at the time, Representative Burn was under extreme pressure from sexist politicians back home to oppose the amendment, to keep women “in their place”. Some even believed that Rep. Burn was a safe bet to vote against suffrage, since he wore a red rose on his lapel, a color then (and now) that represented exclusion and disenfranchisement. But as the pivotal vote approached, «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Commentary | 2 Comments

 

Native Cultural Circle members confer with state legislators

By Turner McCullough Jr. | April 26, 2008 | Print This Post

 

NCC members meet with State Senator Rosalind Kurita. (l-r) Dr. James Cossingham-member; Virginia Moore-Secretary; Senator Kurita; Virginia Moore-Secretary, Doug Kirby-President. (Not shown- Turner McCullough Jr-member/photographer)

Members of the Clarksville Native Cultural Circle recently met with members of the Montgomery County State Legislative Delegation to urge support for pending legislation that would grant state recognition of Tennessee Native American tribes. The legislation is seen as a first step towards correcting discrimination against Native American Indians in Tennessee.

The focus is two-pronged: Eliminate recognition barriers and support of state recognition for Tennessee Native Tribes.

Following the Trail of Tears Removal, those Native Americans who did not abandon their homesites were subject to punitive laws and regulations designed to strip them of their rights to property and deny their parental rights. Many families hid their Indian heritage to avoid the consequences of proclaiming their ancestry. During the era of Jim Crow laws, Native Americans were also victimized by these repulsive abuses of political authority along with African Americans. Tennessee does not recognize recognize Native Americans as a minority group. «Read the rest of this article»

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