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.

Immediately following the screening there will be a Town Hall meeting, Vicki Yates from WTVF News Channel 5 will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies.

For more information contact or 615-329-0999

Tenn. NAACP State Conference Delegates to Legislative Day On The Hill 2009

The NAACP, Clarksville Branch #5582, participated in the Annual NAACP Legislative Day On the Hill. This year’s observance  celebrates the NAACP’s 100th Anniversary as branch delegates from across the state converged on the State Capitol and Legislative Plaza to confer with state legislators and sit in on committee meetings. Legislative officials came to the House Chambers to greet, welcome and acknowledge the annual event and the organization’s historic anniversary. Over 250-plus delegates and supporters filled the House of Representatives Chambers and visitors galleries to participate in and document the historic event.

Rep. Kent Williams, R-Carter County, Speaker of the House welcomes delegates to House Chambers

The day’s agenda was presided over by Tennessee State NAACP Conference President Gloria Sweet-Love. Officers of the State Conference and staff registered delegates and directed the day’s events and training. State government officials and officers welcomed the assembled delegates with warm accolades and recognition of the organization’s anniversary. Speaker of the House Kent Williams was the first state official to render greetings and welcome to the assembled representatives. He informed the group that Rep. Joe Armstrong had just returned to Memphis because his father had suffered a heart attack. The Speaker said he himself would be Memphis in the coming week to meet with local officials there. He declared that “Tennessee is not a red state or a blue state. I do not represent any one part of the state. We are one state.”

Rep. Larry Turner, Secretary of the Democratic Caucus, urged the delegates to meet with their respective legislators and they them know they are here to represent all the people. I hope you will call and write them and let them know that.”

Hardaman County NAACP Youth/College Delegation Contingent

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey next addressed the assemblage and acknowledged the significance of the NAACP’s legacy and the achievement of its 100th anniversary. He linked that achievement with he himself being the first Republican Lt. Governor in Tennessee in 140 years. Youth and College State Conference President Monet Brown welcomed the youth contingent of the delegates to the hollowed halls of state government. Of the three hundred fifty-plus assemblage, fully one-third were youth/college-aged members and supporters.

Other speakers who addressed the assemblage included State Representative John D. DeBerry, Chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus, declared that “America is stronger because of the NAACP.’ He  told the group that, “God provides. We must possess, and that “the NAACP is paramount to our passing our pride onto our young people.” He reminded the group, “NAACP will be an effective leadership entity” in the twenty-first century.

Beverly Watts, Director of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, said the commission looks forward to working with the NAACP. She told delegates that a bill had just been introduced to extend the commission for ten years. She asked delegates to lobby their respective legislators to support this extension.

A. J. Stallings, Political Director for the AFL-CIO, gave special thanks to the Tennessee State NAACP Conference and its Labor and Industry Director, Marilyn Brown. Jerry Lee, President of the AFL-CIO Labor Counci, acknowledged the assistance and support the AFL-CIO has received from the NAACP over the past years in struggles to improve standards and opportunities for Tennessee workers.

Joseph Clark Jr., Natl Staff Council, AFL-CIO

Joseph Clark, Jr., National Staff Council of the AFL-CIO, spoke of the effort to gather two thousand letters from average Tennesseans to be delivered to Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, letting him know that his declared opposition to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not the sentiment or will of his constituents. Senator Corker had declared that he felt the economic recession’s downturn wasn’t as severe as characterized by President Obama and didn’t warrant any rash actions as such those being proposed by President Obama. He had specifically spoken out against federal assistance the automotive industry despite have significant automotive enterprises in eastern and middle Tennessee, which would be directly affected by any drastic shakeout of the Big Three Automotive Giants of the American automotive industry. Clark told the delegates that  there would be an action calling attention to the plight of working people in Tennessee. “This is a time we have to work collectively.”

Pastor Stacy Rector, Exec. Director, TCASK

Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennessee Coalition Against State Killing (TCASK), came to the podium as well. Acknowledging the history of the NAACP and its being founded to halt lynching of Black men in the South, she spoke of TCASK’s work to repeal the death penalty in Tennessee.

Rector pointed out that studies have shown that the Tennessee death penalty law lacks fairness, cost benefit on return, and most importantly, it lacks accuracy. TCASK seeks a moratorium on the death penalty in Tennessee.

Rep. Johnnie Shaw, past Chair Tenn. Black Caucus greets delegates

Rep. Johnnie W. Shaw, past Chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus, greeted the delegates and thanked them for coming to Legislative Plaza. He told the delegates to call their congressional leaders and tell them to support the stimulus plan. “We need that money. We need it.” He has introduced a bill to modify the current laws that restore voting rights to ex-felons. Under his proposal, convictions would be expunged for lesser serious crimes. He also has a bill that supports small minority businesses by removing the steep bonding issues that currently blocks small enterprises from pursuing larger contracting opportunities. The legislation would waive those bonding issues for small business. He stated that, “The State of Tennessee should do business with its citizens.”

President Sweet-Love outlined the Tennessee NAACP State Conference Priorities:

1. Repeal Work At Will laws.
2. Increase minimum wage to a Liveable Wage level.
3. Health Care for all, colo-rectal cancer screenings must be covered by insurance plans.
4. Moratorium on the death penalty.
5. Make Environmental Justice an issue in Tennessee.
6. Revise HOPE scholarship retention standards.
7. Eliminate requirement of child support status verification from ex-felon voter restoration law.
8. Oppose Auto Title Predatory Loans.

President Sweet-Love introduced the youngest delegate, young Master Caleb Bradford, four -years-old, an NAACP member since he was six-weeks-old, and her grandson. She also introduced Shelby County Mayor Will Spencer to the delegates. Spencer is only the second African American to be elected county mayor in Tennessee. Memphis Branch Executive Director Johnnie Turner instructed the delegates on how to conduct their meeting with legislators.

Conference delegates seated in TN House Chambers

Rep. Joe Towns brought greetings to the delegates and said, “It’s good to see you here in Nashville. We have to address issues of ex-felon reintroduction into society. Getting a high school diploma or GED and securing employment are paramount issues to successful re-integration into society as productive members of society.” Rep. Towns urged the delegates to attend a  rally calling for “Support for Working Families in Tennessee.” The conference then recessed to allow the delegates to begin their rounds of meetings with legislators and have lunch.

The Clarksville Branch delegation had previously contacted all members of the Montgomery County Legislative Delegation to arrange appointments. Senator Tim Barnes and Representative Joe Pitts both  confirmed the appointments. However Representatives  Curtis Johnson and Phillip Johnson failed to acknowledge the communications and made no provision for any appointments.  Neither were  available for even a brief meeting. Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey assured all conference delegates that their respective representatives were well aware of their presence on the Hill and would be available to meet with them.

In meetings with Rep. Pitts and Senator Barnes, the delegation discussed their position on (1) the minimum wage become a livable wage, (2) health care for all (universal health care), (3) moratorium/repeal of the death penalty, (4) increasing the number of minority students maintaining their HOPE scholarships, (5) assertive application and enforcement of environmental justice, (6) reform of predatory auto title loans in Tennessee, and (7) state recognition of Tennessee Native Americans. These issues were discussed in addition to the priorities raised in the House Chambers.

The Clarksville delegation additionally sat in on two committee meetings and toured Legislative Plaza to become familiar with its accommodations and offices.  Following these activities, the delegation returned to the House Chambers for the afternoon session which was to feature an address by Governor Bredesen.

TN Gov. Phil Bredesen with State Conf. Pres. Gloria Sweet-Love

President Sweet-Love reconvened the conference for the afternoon session and introduced the governor. Gov. Bredesen gave the delegates a warm welcome, stating, “It’s always good to the people in their house.” In his address, he repeated several primary points of his “State of the State” speech. Economic development and growth are key to the stability and future growth of this state. This will be the means whereby the people of Tennessee will best anchor their individual prosperity and that of the state as a whole. “The importance of higher education has never been more obvious. There is an undeniable need for more Tennesseans to have college diplomas. ” As the location of Hemlock Semiconductor in Tennessee signals the state ’s shift into a leading position  in the ‘Green Technology’ industry, higher education degrees will be paramount for our people to secure the advantages this new technology will present.

TN Gov. Bredesen and the TN Conf. & Branch Presidents celebrate the NAACP's 100th Anniversary

Following the governor’s address, President Sweet-love called for all branch presidents to assemble in the Capitol Legislative Lobby to pose with the governor and the 100th Anniversary cake. Then the entire delgation gathered on the western steps of the capitol for the annual “Day on the Hill” commemoration group picture. After the picture taking, delegates returned to Legislative Lobby for refreshments and cake, thus concluding the 2009 Tennessee NAACP Legislative Day On The Hill.

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The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Urban Resource Center and its director, Terry McMoore, in partnership with the Center for Community Change.

Over the next 5 years a half a billion dollars in job training money will be coming to Clarksville. Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) will open a new plant in Clarksville that will hire over 1,000 construction workers to build, and provide over 800 permanent high paying jobs when they open. HSC will be one of the richest employers in Clarksville’s history since the arrival of Fort Campbell in the 1940s.
Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work. These are just some of the issues that will be discussed at this community forum.

Initial response from the community and some elected officials has been strong.  community and several elected officials who will be in attendance, including State Senator Tim Barnes and NAACP President Jimmie Garland Sr. are planning to attend this session.

McMoore was asked to hold this meeting by the Washington D.C.-based  Center for Community Change, who will be facilitating most of the meeting.

Ms. Evonne Tisdale, the South East Regional Team Leader for the Center for Community Change, is  in Nashville and has already touched base with the Governor’s office on this issue; she held a  meeting with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean,  who is eagerly awaiting the final plan and proposal from the Nashville African American community.

New job opportunities for Clarksville-Montgomery County targeted populations include:

• High School graduates
• College graduates
• Veterans or members of the reserve forces
• Homeless individuals
• Non-violent ex-felons
• Low-income individuals

This falls right in line with the recently signed into law Economic Recovery Bill. Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

McMoore wants the community to understand that this bill is intended for all Americans and this meeting is open to anyone who wants to attend. It took people from all races and nationalities to get this far in first ending slavery, and years later stopping Jim Crow laws which eventually led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The country came together to say “enough is enough.” That demand for change resulted in the election of the first African American president in the history of our nation. But there is still work to be done, and by community dialog and working together can we will someday achieve the true meaning of our constitution.

Pastors, Business Owners and the Community-at -Large: are you prepared to have a place at the table right now while there are still jobs and money available? How and what this money is spent on is important to the survival of our communities; these are the jobs of the future and they pay good salaries.

Contact Person for this release is Mr. Terry McMoore at  (931) 378-1999

Ms. Evonne Tisdale, South East Regional Team Leader, Center for Community Change can be reached at Email: or at (615) 469-5220 in Nashville, or at
http://www.communitychange.org/

After the meeting,front row from left: Urban Resoucre Center Director Terry McMoore, Wanda McMoore, Pastor Tommy Vallejos, and Naomi Jerkins; back row from left, Ward 5 School Board representative Jimmie Garland sr., Joann Latz, Pastor Jerry Jerkins, and Frank Washington of the NAACP and PCA.

CMCSS was deluged with phone calls for and against viewing the inauguration on school time, and the questionable e-mail to teachers was the result. The e-mail from the directors of high, middle and elementary schools read in part:

“If any of your teachers is going to show the Inauguration in the classroom it should be tied to their curriculum … I think you may leave yourself open to question if students are just watching the Inauguration in a passive manner. If it is tied to instruction the Inauguration can be a highly relevant event to learn about and from.

“The only reason I even send out this recommendation is that we have had a flood of calls from the community asking if the Inauguration is going to be shown in schools. Those calls represent different perspectives. Ensuring it is tied to relevant curriculum and instruction is consistent with how we use other teaching tools.” – CMCSS email to principals

On Inauguration Day, as the eyes of the world and the eyes of schoolchildren around the world were on Washington, a email sent out to teachers calling for a link to curriculum as a prerequisite for watching the inauguration meant that a number of teachers did not allow their students to watch this global broadcast. A second flurry of calls began Tuesday (1.20.09) evening when angry parents who had expected their children would view this event at school learned that their expectation had not materialized.

CMCSS Director of Schools Michael Harris

Harris said the e-mail was “misinterpreted” but that the directors of the schools were concerned about students “passively” watching. Harris acknowledged that the e-mail sent out to teachers “could have been clearer,” and that the communication was subject to misinterpretation by teachers.

In a press statement following the meeting, Pastor Tommy Vallejos called the meeting “constructive” but also said he was “satisfied” with the answers.

“We have a great school system,” Vallejos said, adding that meeting put “clarity” on the issue and re-focused attention to the message at the root of the root the problem.Vallejos and most of the participants commented earlier, though, that if the schools can find time for pep rallies and other events, they should have found time for an event that was “living history.”

Mr. Harris acknowledged that the e-mail sent out to teachers “could have been clearer,” and that the communication was subject to “misinterpretation” by teachers.

Jimmie Garland Sr., Ward 5 School representative and local NAACP President

Ward 5 School District Representative Jimmie Garland Sr. said “there will never be another day like this January 20th. We have to get it right next time.” He noted that if the McCain/Palin ticket had won, there would have been a similar impact with the first woman (Sarah Palin) elected to the vice-presidency.

Terry McMoore said the school system “has assured us that it will not happen again.”

Wanda McMoore, military veteran and nurse, said “the fact is that some students didn’t get to see it; students were told they were not allowed to see it. Frankly, if one missed it, then we all missed it.”

“People around the world were united in a common purpose, there should have been unity throughout the schools with the inauguration — not lack of access.” — Wanda McMoore

Harris admitted that the email was subject to “misinterpretation” and that “was not our intent.”

According to Vallejos, students had been expected to watch the event and the department “wanted every student to have the opportunity” to watch the inauguration. “Next time, there will be greater “clarity of message,” Vallejos said.

That statement remains a problem for Naomi Jerkins, who said there is no opportunity to make up this loss. “It happened. It’s over. It was living history. Folks were out there (in Washington D.C.) freezing, but they were there.” She was deeply saddened by this lost opportunity for some student to “live” history. “I witnessed the civil rights movements. I marched. I remember Wilma Rudolph. It is a shame that some of our children did not see (the inauguration).”

From left, parent Kelly LaPlante, FreeThinkers for Peace founder Debbie Boen, CO editor Christine Piesyk, NEHS student Bobby LaPlante, Urban Resource Center Director Terry McMoore and Ivan Roberts gather Sunday for a press conference on the "inauguaration watch" isse at the Montgomery County Library

Kelly LaPlante, who attended the meeting with her son, Robert,17, acknowledged that any resolution on this issue was “moot” because there was no way to re-capture this lost opportunity. “I can think of a dozens ways to link this event to every single subject; there was not excuse for not making this required viewing for all students.” She was glad she kept her son home from school and attended the ASPU screening of the Inauguration, where she was joined by one of her daughters (Rochelle, an APSU freshman), and her mom.”My son can’t wait to register to vote, he worked on the campaign and for the Democratic Party, and he wanted to see it. I felt it was a chance to watch history. I’m glad I kept him out of school; he might not have been able to watch otherwise.”

Rev. Frank Washington was only “somewhat” satisfied with the outcome, saying “we disagree” and stating a belief that had the CMCSS truly wanted to maximize this opportunity, it would have happened. As to statements that this kind of error won’t happen again, he said simply, “we’ll wait and see.”

Attending the meeting were Urban Resource Center Director Terry McMoore, Wanda McMoore (a veteran), Ward 5 School Board member Jimmie Garland (also president of the local NAACP), Anderson Grant of the Clarksville Human Relations Commission, Pastor Tommy Vallejos of HOPE, Pastor Jerry Jerkins and Naomi Jerkins, Frank Washington of the NAACP and the PAC (Private Citizens Advocates), Kelly LaPlante (parent of a high school student), and Northeast High School student Robert LaPlante II. This group met with Mr. Harris, Dr. B.J. Worthington (Chief Academic Officer), Dr. Roz Evans (Directors of High Schools), Dr. Sean Impeartrice (Director of Middle Schools), and Dr. Ann Griffin (Director of Elementary Education).

Photos by Bill Larson

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CPRC member Don Sharpe speaks out against redevelopment at "fact-finding" community meeting

“Sued for a half million dollars for speaking out…”

“This ordinance is detrimental to the community…”

“The City Council ‘rubber stamped’ the mayor…”

“I don’t think they have a plan…”

“Our Leadership doesn’t want to listen to us….”

“CHA is a shadow, not a voice…”

“Preying on minority communities…”

“I’ve never been to a public forum where the public couldn’t speak…”

This is what representatives from the United States Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Institute for Justice  heard when they came to Clarksville Thursday to listen to community concerns about the about the city’s controversial redevelopment plans. Seventy people participated in a fact-finding meeting at the New Providence Community Center on Oak Street sponsored by the NAACP and the Urban Resource Center.

Walter Atkinson, Senior Conciliation Specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service (Southeast Region IV), in stating that the meeting was “to hear community concerns,” said his role was in part to try and avert “litigation.”

“I am here to listen and observe,” Atkinson said, noting that it was letters from NAACP Chapter President Jimmie Garland and Terry McMoore of the Urban Resource Center that focused federal attention on this local issue. Atkinson had been “in communication” with Mayor Johnny Piper and with the Downtown District Partnership Board. Piper, DDP members and most sitting City Councilors did not attend this meeting. Jim Doyle, who was not re-elected to his Ward 8 seat, along with newly elected councilors Candy Johnson, David Allen and Jeff Burkhart did attend the meeting and spoke with the Ward 6 constituency.

The origin of the issue and the center of the controversy, which exploded in November, 2007, is a city ordinance that was quietly developed and passed by the City Council; at its core was section that designated two square miles, 1825 homes and small businesses in the downtown area, including City Hall and the Courthouse, as “blighted,” with the exception of property owned by Austin Peay State University. The ordinance also included an assemblage clause that would allow eminent domain to be used in “assembling” a group of properties to be transferred to private developers who would “maximize” the potential of the land involved.The land in question lies in Ward 6, the city’s only major minority ward, which, according to Garland, may be protected under the Civil Rights Acts of 1964.

In response to the passage of the ordinance, a grassroots activist group was formed: the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition, who staged an initial Standing Room Only meeting at the Hope Center on Legion Street in November, 2007, which attracted 50 people. Several weeks later, a second meeting at the Train Station on 10th Street was not only packed with concerned citizens but had the overflow crowd of 300 spilling out the doors. A postcard campaign was organized and specialists including representatives and lawyers involved in historic preservation and litigation became involved. Subsequent meetings, including one at APSU where the CPRC and others were not allowed to speak or make a presentation to city officials, and another meeting at the Burt School on Eighth Street where a last minute change in building capacity left nearly a hundred people standing in the parking lot, signs in hand, but unable to speak out to officials or hear what being said inside. Piper later admitted that of the written comments from the concerned residents were destroyed.

Joyce Vanderbilt of Kelly's on Riverside Drive displays the controversial ad on redevelopment

With city officials squaring off against Ward 6 residents and business owners, the redevelopment plans became the supercharged issue of 2008; an ad placed in a local newspaper by the CPRC made a case against the ordinance and proposed development, and The case, borne of a highly controversial ordinance passed by the Clarksville City Council in November, 2007, that “blighted” some two square miles of downtown Clarksville, culminated in a libel suit over a newspaper ad taking some city officials to task for their actions in supporting the ordinance that potentially opened the door for taking of properties by eminent domain and for private development.

In that case, Richard Swift, a developer who is a member of the Clarksville City Council, and Wayne Wilkinson, a member of Clarksville’s Downtown District Partnership, sued the CPRC because its members criticized them for supporting Clarksville’s controversial redevelopment plan, which authorizes the use of eminent domain for private development. In a newspaper ad, the CPRC noted that both Swift and Wilkinson are developers and said, “This Redevelopment Plan is of the developers, by the developers, and for the developers.” Virginia’s Institute for Justice represents the CPRC in the case.

Christine Walsh of the Institute for Justice

Becky (McMahan) was sued for a half million dollars for speaking out,” said Christina Walsh, Director of Community Organization for the Institute for Justice. “The Clarksville Center Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Plan violates the rights of home and business owners in the redevelopment area. The saga of how it was passed illustrates perfectly why the abuse of eminent domain is wrong. This plan would not pass muster in many states.”

“We do have the right to speak. We are not a Third World Country. Wake up, Sleeping Clarksville, and realize that this is our community. Question the ordinance and the need for the ordinance, and the potential use for the ordinance… even some of the city councilors did not understand this ordinance, and if they didn’t understand it thow can they vote on it.” — CPRC member

NAACP Chapter President Jimmie Garland Sr.

Jimmie Garland charged the City Council with “rubber stamping” the mayor on this issue and asked where “the plan” for development. “Knoxville showed us a plan and invited the community in; that’s not how it was done here There is no plan here.” Garland said that Clarksville’s present leadership does not want to represent us and “does not want to  listen to us.” (Ed: garland excepted Ward 6 Councilor Marc Harris, who opposed the plan). “Our legislators don’t listen to us.”

“Clearly, the confluence of bad law and politically connected developers here does not bode well for the citizens of Clarksville, who have been virtually abandoned by the very political officials they elected to represent their best interests…Local governments very often disguise their intentions of transferring perfectly fine properties to private developers, declaring so-called “blight removal,” “urban renewal,” or “slum clearance” as the justification for eminent domain. … they hide behind this “public use” concept in their quest to acquire property for the private use of developers.” ~~ Christine Walsh

Walsh noted that Piper himself said the plan “was not written in strict accordance with state law,” at which point the city amended rather than rescind the plan, and took a trip to Knoxville to view that city’s redevelopment  process.

Turner McCullough Jr. speaking about a state law that requires that community bodies must reflect the diversity of the community they represent.

Turner McCullough Jr. said “the mayor himself said there is no plan.” After the APSU public forum in which the “public” could not actively participate, and “when (the public) asked for information, we were told to shut up. We  were not considered.”

Wanda McMoore noted that the ordinance assesses what terms “underutilage” of land, which the Institute for Justice and the CPRC read as property that could rake in more profit and more taxes if uses for something other than what it is (i.e., three homes vs a strip mall, five homes versus and apartment complex, a family-owned restaurant vs waterfront condos).

Edward Vanderbilt of Kelly’s on Riverside Drive questioned why, under eminent domain his land and business could conceivably be taken for a minimum of money that wouldn’t even buy a plot of land somewhere else  while “the mayor sells his land and gets millions” (Mayor Piper owns land along Riverside Drive that is in the redevelopment and marina area).

Kevin Johnson of Veterans Services of America discusses the make-up of redevelopment committees

Kevin Johnson of the Veterans Services of America suggested that beyond stating what they do not want, the residents of the area and members of the CPRC, along with local community leaders, should assess what they do want, what kind of growth and positive change they would like to see in their community, and what they would use in lieu of the present ordinance.

It was noted that legislation passed in 2006 can withhold federal funds to communities that use public money to fund private development.

A theme that ran through many of the statements offered by concerned citizens included the following:

• The assemblage clause is of serious concern
• Eminent domain should not be used for private development. (”Take eminent domain out of this plan.”)
• Elected officials simply do not listen to or want to hear from dissenting constituents
• Developers and real estate people with properties in the affected area should recuse themselves from voting on issues which may benefit them (conflict of interest, ethics)
• The actual authors of the ordinance should be disclosed. (”Who wrote this damned thing?”
• According to law, redevelopment plans in Tennessee must be overseen by a housing authority. A determination of Kevin Johnson of the Veterans Services of America participation in the development and execution of the ordinance and redevelopment efforts should be disclosed (Wanda Mills of the CHA has said publicly the CHA did NOT do a study for this plan)
• Demographics (ethnicity, gender etc) of development and advisory boards should be disclosed and appointees to these public posts should be present at meetings when their appointments are confirmed, rather than simply being “a name on a piece of paper.”
• What are the qualifications of the people who created the ordinance?
• Why aren’t more members, if not all members, of the board from the areas impacted by this law?
• What have HUD and other federal monies really been spent on? Has HUD funding been redirected to other projects outside of the designated districts or parameters?

Walter Atkinson, Senior Conciliation Specialist, U.S.D.O.J.

In summing the comments accumulated during the fact finding meeting, Atkinson asked the audience to consider the following?

• If the plan is dropped, what do you want (in your community)?
• What qualifications do you feel people need to participate on redevelopment and related boards?
• What kind of oversight (and by whom) do you need for your community?

As the meeting closed, Terry McMoore noted that he had sent “many, many emails and invitations to people about this meeting, including city officials and Mayor Piper. Given the Mayor’’s lack of response and absence from this session, McMoore requested that Atkinson himself ask the Mayor to attend the next meeting on this issue.

Also attending were Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Representative David H. King, Director, Knoxville Field Office; , Louisville, HUD Fair Housing Equal Opportunity;  County Commissioner Lettie Kendall; CPRC spokesperson Rebecca McMahan; and Tim Harvey, former City Attorney.

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The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a fact finding meeting tonight on the controversial downtown redevelopment plan, dubbed “the blight bill,” including its eminent domain and assemblage issues. The meeting will be held at the New Providence Outreach Center, 207 Oak Street, in Clarksville at 7:00 p.m.

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. The plan as it was passed contained language that effectively “blighted” the entire downtown business district — two square miles.

Angry residents challenge the redevelopment ordinance at a series of public meetings on the issue

Property owners, in response to this legislation, formed the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition to challenge this ordinance.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 nor did it protect low to moderate home owners from eminent domain abuse.

Representatives from the NAACP, Clarksville Property Rights Coalition and the Institute for Justice a national advocacy group supporting the community will  attend the meeting.

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

For more information please contact meeting coordinator Mr. Terry McMoore, Director, Urban Resource Center at (931) 378-1999 or Jimmie Garland, NAACP President, at (931) 216-6745

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/2008/09/24/naacp-power-justice-freedom-voter-registration-rally-planned/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/09/24/naacp-power-justice-freedom-voter-registration-rally-planned/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:00:38 +0000 News Staff http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=9697 On Friday, September 26, hundreds of Tennessee NAACP unit presidents and members, along with the community will hold a “Register to Vote for Power, Justice & Freedom Rally” Friday, September 26, at 2:00 p.m. on the Austin Peay University Campus at  Pettus Park, across from the APSU Dunn Center.

Tennessee NAACP members will be in Clarksville for their 62nd Annual State Conference, to be held at the Riverview Inn Hotel at 501 College Street in Clarksville. The NAACP is one of the leading organizations in this country and continues to fight for the rights of people in this country.

With only one week to go before the voter registration deadline on October 6, the NAACP wants to mobilize its members and the community to register, new voters before the deadline, and begin their “Get Out The Vote” Campaign.

Early voting in Tennessee will start on October 15. Tennessee still has over 100,000 un-registered voters in the state.

“People need to realize that voting in this election will affect our lives and our communities for years to come. Everything in this Country is broken, our economy, our health care system, and the rights of workers.  It is time you stand up and make your voice heard by voting.”  ~~ Marilyn Brown, Chair of the State Labor and Industry Committee

Speakers include, Mrs. Gloria J. Sweet-Love, President of the Tennessee State Conference, Mr. Fred Hammond, International Vice President of Human Affairs for the United Steel Workers, Keith Caldwell, Director of the Urban EpiCenter and Stephen Fotopoulos, Director Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and local advocates and community leaders.

Please call the Tennessee NAACP State Office at (731) 660-5580 or email for further information.

In his first week as National President of the  NAACP, and with only seven weeks to go until Election Day, Benjamin Todd Jealous has hit the ground running with a message stressing the need to register every possible voter.

“While unprecedented numbers of African Americans voted in this year’s primary elections, there are still an estimated eight million unregistered. That’s just too many” Jealous said.

This week the NAACP launched Upload to Uplift, the NAACP’s new Online Voter Registration Initiative to leverage the powerful, viral effect of the Internet. The registration tool, available at www.naacp.org, allows visitors to register and/or upload the email addresses from their address books in any major email program, like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and others, directly into the online registration system. No one else will contact your friends and family and the information will be completely confidential.

Those contacts then receive a personal and customized email from you, reminding them to register to vote and letting them know just how easy it is to use the online registration tool. They’ll also receive an Election Day reminders to go to the polls.

If you’ve got a web site or blog you can download the voter registration widget to display on your enabling even more people registered to vote. Just click the button on the right to get the widget.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, get registered now. If you’re already registered, go one step further. Uploading your contacts only takes a few seconds to do, but it can have an important impact on this and future elections.

Early voting in Montgomery County will run from October 15-30, with general election on November 4. Those wishing to vote in the November Presidential Election must register to vote by October 6.

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

New NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous

Benjamin Todd Jealous is president-elect of the NAACP, the nations oldest civil rights organization. When he assumes office in September 2008, the former news executive, activist and Rhodes scholar will be the youngest president and CEO in the organization’s 99-year history.

Currently, Jealous is President of the Rosenberg Foundation, a private independent institution that supports advocacy efforts on behalf of California’s working families. Under his leadership, the Foundation has significantly expanded its support of groups working to expand employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people, as well as those that work to make economic development in the Bay Area more accountable to local residents’ needs.

Previously, Jealous served as Director of the U.S. Human Rights Program at Amnesty International. While at Amnesty, he led its efforts to pass federal legislation against prison rape, rebuild public consensus against racial profiling in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, and expose the widespread sentencing of children to life without the possibility of parole.

He is the lead author of the 2004 report Threat and Humiliation: Racial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United States, the release of which received coverage by major media outlets in most states and on six continents.

Jealous, whose parents have been civil rights activists since the 1950s, organized his first voter registration drive at age 14. At age 18, he began working for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as a community organizer in Harlem.

At age 21, Jealous moved to Mississippi to work as a field organizer as part of a successful campaign to stop the state’s plan to close two of its three public historically black universities, and convert one of them into a prison. During that time, he took a job at the Mississippi’s Jackson Advocate newspaper investigating human rights abuses. His reporting for the frequently firebombed weekly paper was credited with exposing corruption amongst high-ranking officials at the state prison in Parchman. His investigations also helped to acquit a black small farmer who had been wrongfully and maliciously accused of arson.

He soon became Managing Editor at the Advocate, and eventually went on to serve as Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 black community newspapers. While at the NNPA, he rebuilt its 90-year old national news service and launched a web-based initiative that more than doubled the number of black newspapers publishing online.

Active in civic life, Jealous is a board member of the California Council for the Humanities, PowerPAC, the Association of Black Foundation Executives, and a member of the Asia Society. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University and a master’s degree in comparative social research from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is married to Lia Epperson Jealous, a professor of constitutional law and former civil rights litigator with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. They presently reside in Alameda, CA with their two-year old daughter, Morgan.

Clarksville Online author Terry McMoore, politically active citizen, activist, and businessman, speaks out on the balance of personal rights and public responsibilities.

I wear many hats in my life from being a father, husband, civil rights activist, author, music producer, campaign chairman and motivational speaker. With all this activity in my life it is virtually impossible to remain neutral or non-partisan in everything. I often tell my friends in the NAACP who have executive positions that they are being too politically correct on to many issues.

For instances, some will not attend a candidate rally because they might get accused of supporting that person. I tell them you are still a voter who needs to hear where a candidate stands. Just because you hold some position, you do not lose your rights as a concerned voter.

Being able to balance the many hats of my personal life with my political life has never been a problem for me, so why is it so difficult for some in the community? My recent letter to the editor, which appeared in local print and online media, sent the bloggers into frenzy. The bloggers were more concerned with my personal life and passing moral judgment on me and my family than the content of the letter.

Don’t get me wrong: I am all for freedom of speech, or in this case freedom of opinion, and I have learned over the years to have tough skin when you are in the public eye, but to also to at least talk about the subject at hand and pay attention to the facts (off-site link). This way, we all might learn something. Here is my letter for the Clarksville Online readership to view, and this time around, please pay attention — you just might learn something.

Letter:

I am very disappointed with Sen. Rosalind Kurita for casting the key vote that helped elect Republican Ron Ramsey as Senate speaker and lieutenant governor.

The benefit that seems to have been gained by crossing party lines was Sen. Kurita’s appointment as the new speaker pro tem; which happens to be the Senate’s No. 2 leadership position. Although this was publicized in the news, there just seems to be very little discussion about this among those of us in Montgomery County.

Under the current Republican leadership, people are losing homes, gas and the unemployment rates are sky high. The economy is in shambles, our education system is underfunded, and many are without health insurance.

My family and I voted for Sen. Kurita in the past believing her to be a true blue blooded Democrat and a woman of her word. With all that is going wrong in the world today, people need more than ever to be able to trust their elected officials. When a candidate crosses party lines, that completely destroys our trust in that candidate.

If I wanted the Republicans to be in charge of the Senate, I would have voted for a Republican, but I didn’t, I voted for a Democrat, who seems to have failed to represent me and the rest of the Democratic constituency.

One must exercise the right of the voting constituency to make it known that when we vote for you, you represent us.

But you know what they say: “Politicians are like diapers: when they become full, change ‘em!”

Right now, the person who seems to be willing to uphold the trust that our votes represents in them is Tim Barnes. My family and I will be voting for Tim Barnes for state senator — someone we can trust to keep his word.