The dismissed lawsuit was originally filed by Kevin Johnson of Clarksville, TN, alleging his Title VI complaints were not answered.

As President for the past six years, the Clarksville NAACP has never received a written complaint from either Mr. Johnson or Mr. Hagan requesting assistance. Neither Johnson  nor Hagan has submitted a properly filled out and signed affidavit which is standard procedure in order for the NAACP Branch to investigate any complain submitted to them. – Jimmie Garland

Clarksville Attorney, Michael K. Williamson, representing Garland and McMoore, as well as an attorney from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, representing Jerkins, filed similar motions for dismissal with one of the key points being that General Sessions Court “lacks jurisdiction” and also Mr. Johnson “lacks standing to bring this lawsuit” and was in violation of several other areas of Tennessee Code Annotated and Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.

An associated case filed by Kevin Johnson in the Federal Courts, Nashville, was recently dismissed with prejudice by Judge Williams J. Haines, Jr.

For questions concerning this Press statement please contact us at:

• Jimmie M. Garland: (931) 216-6745
• Terry McMoore: (931) 378-1999
• Pastor Jerry G. Jerkins: (931) 220-1522
• Attorney Michael Williamson: (931) 647-8500

Celebrating 100 years of Bold Dreams & Civil Right's Victories!

The Clarksville Branch of the NAACP will host its 54th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet on October 23, 2009 at First Baptist Church of Clarksville, 435 Madison Street Clarksville TN. starting at 7:00 p.m.

The National NAACP organization is celebrating “100 years of the NAACP and fighting for freedom, civil and equal rights”.

The theme for this year’s banquet is, “Bold Dreams…. Big Victories”. There will be a special presentation honoring former Presidents of the Clarksville Branch of the NAACP.  The guest speaker will be National NAACP Board Member and President of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, Gloria J. Sweet-Love.

Cost of tickets for the event will be $50.00 per person.  For information on how to obtain tickets contact the Jimmie Garland at 931-216-6745 or O.D. Watson at 931-216-0290. Deadline for purchase of tickets is October 16, 2009.

Reserve a table for your business, church or organization today!

Celebrating 100 Years of Social Justice

On September 5, 2009 Civil Rights Leaders from across the nation will gather on the grounds of the Memorial Building Mayors Office at 202 Center Avenue in Dickson, Tennessee for an all day rally from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Dickson is home to one of the worst Environmental Racism cases in the history of the United States. The Holt family has been fighting for the past 10 years to bring justice and awareness to the contaminated water leaked from the county landfill. For years, the family unknowingly drank poisoned water, bathed in that water, and cooked with that water which has resulted in numerous members of the family developing cancer and even dying.

National NAACP President, Benjamin Jealous, the Reverend Joseph Lowery, Reverend Al Sharpton and a coalition of over 30 prominent speakers, activists, clergy, elected officials and scholars have been invited and are scheduled to speak at this rally and tour the landfill site.

“Join us in our efforts to bring further awareness and justice to this local and national problem of Environmental Racism, a Public Health issue that continues to disproportionately plague minority communities and poor families across the United States” – Terry McMoore, Media Agent

For more information

Contact one of the people below:

• Jimmie Garland Sr., Vice President, Tennessee State NAACP (931) 216-6745
• Pastor Jerry Jerkins, Rally Organizer & Coordinator – (931) 220-1522

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

Christina Walsh, Director of Community Organization, Institute for Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a fact finding meeting on November 20 at 7 p.m. at the New Providence Outreach Center, 207 Oak Street, in Clarksville. This is a precursor to a larger public forum on downtown redevelopment issues.

The redevelopment plan was first brought to the attention of federal officials this summer, when local NAACP President Jimmie Garland submitted some concerns to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

William Dirl, field office director of the Nashville HUD office, expressed concerns in a letter to Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper that the redevelopment plan did not emphasize providing housing rehabilitation to existing residents.

Elected officials, community leaders and civic organizations have been invited to attend. The meeting is also open to interested members of the public.

Christina Walsh serves as the Coordinator for the Institute for Justice’s Castle Coalition. Through her outreach efforts and grassroots organizing, she helps property owners nationwide to fight eminent domain abuse.

Walsh travels the country, educating and organizing property owners and activists whose properties are threatened by eminent domain for private gain. Through community meetings, rallies, protests and workshops, Walsh has helped defeat tax-hungry governments that seek to condemn perfectly fine properties for land-hungry private developers. She successfully organized home and small business owners in Chicago, Ill., Wilmington, Del., New York City, and across New Jersey, and has forged strong alliances that span the philosophical spectrum. Walsh has been quoted extensively in news outlets across the country.

Walsh provides legislative support to state and local lawmakers, and coordinates Perspectives on Eminent Domain Abuse, a new series of independently authored reports published by the Institute for Justice that examine the issue of eminent domain.

Christina received her undergraduate degree in Political Theory from the University of Virginia in 2004, and joined the Institute upon graduation.

This meeting format will best help identify to USDOJ and HUD the issues and non-compliance that will and have already come about since this redevelopment plan was put together. The USDOJ and HUD will use the information gathered at this meeting to determine the best possible way to effectively engage the community in the next phase of this process.  Please RSVP to Terry McMoore at the Urban Resource Center,

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/11/19/institute-for-justice-to-send-representative-to-forum-with-department-of-justice/feed/ 0 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/09/13/tennessee-state-conference-naacp-hosts-62nd-annual-state-convention-in-clarksville-tn/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/09/13/tennessee-state-conference-naacp-hosts-62nd-annual-state-convention-in-clarksville-tn/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:00:53 +0000 Terry McMoore http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=8909 Austin Peay State University will host a portion of the 62nd Annual NAACP State Convention and Civil Rights Conference on September 27 at the APSU Morgan University Center. The entire conference will run from September 25-27.

NAACP Hosts 62nd Annual State Convention in Clarksville, TN

The Saturday session of the conference begins at 7:30 a.m. with a breakfast for W. I. N. (Women in the NAACP) and the youth. After breakfast, the conference continues with a variety of workshops for both adults and youth. At noon there will be an awards luncheon followed by more workshops. The evening concludes with the Freedom Awards Banquet beginning at 6:30 p.m.

NAACP Tennessee State Conference of Branches President Mrs. Gloria J. Sweet-Love made the anouncement, which is presented here:

We gather here this morning in this historic “Queen City” to announce that the Clarksville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will host the 62nd Annual State Convention of the Tennessee State Conference NAACP.

The Tennessee State Conference NAACP in coalition with, the mayors of Clarksville and Montgomery County, Business and Corporate Partners, Governmental Entities, Members of Organized Labor and NAACP Officials and members from across this great state come to announce that your city has been chosen to host our Annual Convention.  The Convention Hotel is the Riverview Inn, located at 501 College St, in Clarksville.

Today, our country faces some enormous challenges:

• Ending the disastrous war in Iraq
• Getting our economy back on the right track
• Combating catastrophic climate change
• Addressing an energy crisis, that is putting the squeeze on too many poor & middle class families in America

Today, because we don’t have a living wage, many workers barely make enough per hour to buy a gallon of gas.  Because we have buried our heads in the sand and failed to address “Environmental Racism:”

• Families in our counties and across our state are dying from chemical contamination caused by illegal and irresponsible land fill
• Poor disposal practices that have contaminated soil and water where our people must live and inadequate Health Care continues to fuel Health disparities in our community

We have come because we must have a “living wage” for every worker, we must protect workers “Right to Organize!” and we must work to change the “Employment at will” laws of this state that are both unfair and outdated.

The Events for Thursday, September 25th will be held at the Fifth Ward Baptist Church located at 900 Franklin Street, in Clarksville.

Delegates from across the state will convene for fellowship, training and motivation. Featured speakers for the Convention’s Health/Religious Emphasis Day will include panelists Rev. James Thomas, Rev. Tommy Vallejos, Rev. Jerry Jerkins, Dr. Simi Vincent, Dr. James Hilbert, Dr. Hildreth. Panelists include Rev. Delbert Brown and Rev. Raymond Bowman. Rev. Enoch Fuzz of the Nashville Branch has been invited to moderate the Religious Forum that will focus on the Faith Community and NAACP’s role in addressing and combating social issues. These issues include but are not limited to health disparities, economics and get out the vote.

Rev. R.W. Sibert, President of Missionary Baptist State Convention of Tennessee and pastor of Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Murfreesboro will be the keynote speaker for the Religious Affairs/Membership Luncheon.  The forum will continue after the luncheon.

Thursday’s activities will culminate with the Mass Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Faith Out Reach Church located at 731 Windermere Drive.  Rev. Dr. Julius C. Hope, Director of the National NAACP Religious Affairs Department and pastor of the New Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, will be the keynote speaker. The delegates and guest will be served a “Soul Food Dinner” after the services.

On Friday morning, September 26th at Austin Peay State University, Mr. Fred Redmon, International President of Human Affairs for United Steel Workers from Washington, D.C.,  will be the keynote speaker for the Labor & Industry Breakfast. A workshop immediately following the breakfast will focus on labor and industry issues across the state of Tennessee and the nation. Also scheduled for Friday will be the Human Rights luncheon and a Labor Town Hall Meeting, which will take place at the Riverview Inn.

On Friday evening will go back Austin Peay State University where the Youth & College Division will host a Senatorial Debate with candidates for the Tennessee Senate Race.

On Saturday, September 27th all activities will be held at Austin Peay State University.  Dr. Maxine Smith, National Board Member and renowned Civil Rights activist, author and educator from Memphis, Tennessee, will be the featured speaker for the Women In NAACP breakfast. This program will also feature a “Hat Show” by local celebrities and delegates.  The NAACP Youth & College Division will host its annual Vernon Jarrett Youth Awards luncheon at noon on Saturday.

That evening, the Convention will end with the Freedom Awards Banquet at 6:30 p.m.. The invited speaker is newly elected President/CEO for the NAACP, Mr. Benjamin Todd Jealous.

The Tennessee State Conference of NAACP is headquartered in Jackson, Tennessee,  at 27 Brentshire Square, and services more than 45 Adult Branches and 22 Youth and College Chapter across the State of Tennessee.

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Attending the announcement  program were local chapter President Jimmie Garland; NAACP Officers & Members; Mayors Piper & Bowers; Co-Chairs  Rev. Frank Washington and Rev. Jerry Jerkins; members of the clergy, commissioners, council persons, and other elected officials.

For Additional Information Contact: Gloria J. Sweet-Love @ (731) 660-5580, Fax: (731) 660-5002, or E-Mail @

Photos by: Terry McMoore

In response to correspondence received from the Nashville, Tennessee Office of Housing and Urban Development dated May 20, 2008, the Clarksville Tennessee Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) would like to thank the Nashville HUD office for its prompt response.

Although several of our concerns were addressed in their response, we feel there is still serious discord between the intent of the Ordinance as approved by the City Council and the understanding the residents have concerning the impact the redevelopment plan will have on their communities.

It is factual that Section 13 of the Tennessee Code Annotated clearly states that certain and deliberate steps must be taken to establish a redevelopment district. In developing the local development plan, the Clarksville City Council has apparently ignored the code, cherry picking areas that meet their objectives. It is troubling to know that the redevelopment plan, as written, does not meet all the objectives of the City of Clarksville five-year consolidated plan.Future funding for low to moderate-income residents in Clarksville could be in jeopardy, due to the administrations refusal to abide by the laws established by the state. This insipid approach taken by the city council could affect future state and federal funding.The TCA states “The housing authority is the only entity that can declare property blighted.” This declaration can only be done through a Housing Authority plan, which has to be adopted by the city and county elected officials. The plan has to:

• specifically identify the area;
• define why its blighted;
• specify what measures the governmental body will impose to eliminate the blight and
• declare both how much it will cost and how long it will take to correct the blighted conditions.

The most important part of the plan is to define how it will benefit low to moderate-income persons. The city of Clarksville Redevelopment Plan does not address these elements as specified in section 13, TCA.

The Clarksville Branch of the NAACP is simply asking that TCA be followed. The resolution passed by the city council lacks the quality and detail specified in the code. The city council members who voted in favor of this flawed resolution sadden us. The obvious attempt by the elective body of the city government, minus three, to compel the citizens of the redevelopment area to adhere to their will is repressive and lacks moral ethics. The unity in their show of force should alert citizens of Clarksville to what type of people we have elected to serve our interest.

It is clear, that this issue will most likely not be resolved without the state and federal legislative bodies withholding state and federal funds from the city. Our first choice in resolving this matter would be to have a joint resolution, agreed to by residents of the impacted communities and city government. Reluctantly, this will be our goal until this flawed resolution is either withdrawn or resolved. We feel even these actions will not be enough to get the city legislative body’s attention, since they are so adamant about implementing this non-existent plan.

The Clarksville Branch of the NAACP will continue to address this flawed resolution until all of the residents in the redevelopment area voices are heard and their concerns properly addressed.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Jimmie Garland, 3rd vice-president of the Tennessee State Conference of Branches and president of the Clarksville Branch, addressed the gathering of some sixty residents and citizens. He noted that their mayor had issued a press statement declaring “that as long as the branch had the right kind of leaders and membership, the NAACP was welcome in Springfield!” Garland thanked the mayor for his warm endorsement. He stressed that Rev. Garner was just the kind of strong leader needed to helm the resurgent branch. He continued that people often fear the presence of the NAACP because they always see it as a threat to their comfortable ways. However, he said that is not, and need not, always be the case.

The NAACP believes in advocating for everyone’s civil rights. Membership is not restricted to just Blacks. Hispanics and Latinos, Native Americans, Jews, Caucasians, legal immigrant,or illegal immigrant, men , women and children, heterosexual, gay, young or old. The NAACP is a civil rights advocacy organization that cares for everyone’s civil rights.

“Having worked side by side with Mr. Garland during past civil right campaigns I can not stress enough how important it is to have him as the NAACP State Vice President given the current racial history and race relations Clarksville has had to struggle with on a daily basis”.

“With an NAACP state official at “ground zero” so to speak, it should go a long way in helping to right social injustice and to ensure the political, educational, social and economical equality of minority citizens in Clarksville-Montgomery County”.

–Terry McMoore, Director
Urban Resource Center

I am Jimmie M. Garland, candidate for re-election as District 5 representative for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board. It has been an honor to serve as your representative during the past four years. I would be honored to be your choice to represent you during this next session.

As board member, my focus will continue to be on the needs of the students. As your representative, my focus has been on ensuring that “ALL” means “ALL” when it comes to student achievement. That will continue to be the focus of my energies should your allow me to continue to serve.

The board has made significant strides during the past four years. We have worked with the leadership to the District to redirect the focus of energies to better serve the purpose of our existence, “the students”. We have done this by realigning curriculums, establishing obtainable goals, opening up communication channels between the staff and the public and established method of operations that allows employees to focus on assigned missions.

Though successful on some issues, we still have work to do. We need to find alternative ways to gain the trust and confidence of you the constituent. I pledge to work harder at meeting this objective by being open to your communication and responsive to your recommendation.

Why am I adamant about the stability of our current system of operation?

Through personal association with board members across the state and nation, I am convinced that our method of operation is one of the best in exist Nance. We have a school system that is gathering interest of systems across the nation. The recent recruitment of our Director is a signal that our system is reaching prominence. We are doing this while experiencing a deficit in per-pupil funding.

As your representative, I would like remain on the team to ensure our focus remains on track during the transition to our new Directorship. I would also like to be there for the children.

Other reasons I am interested in remaining a member of the team are:

1. Our children deserve better the best education as well as educators.
2. Our schools should be funded to the fullest extent possible.
3. Parents have in the past been victimized by a system that was out of touch with reality; today that bridge is being dissolved.
4. We need to continue the trends set during the past five years to ensure the successful ascension of our young adults into society.

What I believe:

I believe the business of operating a school system should be conducted in an open public forum.

I believe parents should be kept informed of the needs of the system to ensure the growth of our children.

I believe all elected officials should be held accountable for ensuring funds received to operate public trusts are spent wisely.

I believe the will of the majority of the community of interest voting population should form elected officials opinions and greatly influence their decisions.

A candidate who will hear their concerns and respond appropriately should represent CMCSS School Board District 5.

As your elected representative, I will continue to work diligently with members of the school board to improve the quality of our education system. I will do this by exercising good judgement, voting responsibly, and evaluating all issues impartially.

What I need from you the voter.

To accomplish the goals outlined above; I need your help to get the message out to residents of CMCSS School-Board, District 5, in particular. Please exercise your constitutional right this election season by voting to support positive change. I would appreciate it if your vote were cast for me on August 3, 2006.

Thank You.

Jimmie M. Garland
Incumbent, District 5
CMCSS School-Board
Tele: (931) 216-6745
Email: