Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon at APSU

By Debbie Boen | March 27, 2008 |

“Everybody gets several opportunities in life to risk everything they have to become what they can be.”

— Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon

Dr. Jill Eichhorn of Women’s Studies, APSU, told me that she didn’t know exactly what Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon would do for us, but guaranteed that whatever she brought to us would be “great.” Since Jill knows well my interest in civil liberties, and since CO author Terry McMoore had published a story about Dr. Reagon coming here on March 19, I knew I had to see this.

Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon is Professor Emeritus of History at American University. She recently retired after 30 years from performing with Sweet Honey in the Rock, a cappella ensemble she founded in 1973.

APSU President Tim Hall said he knew how music has the capacity to make us listen. It arrests and challenges us. Growing up in a family whose father led singing in the car after church, Hall couldn’t think about war without hearing the song in his head, Where have all the flowers gone by Peter, Paul, and Mary. When civil rights issues surface his mind visits the song, We shall overcome. So it was that he welcomed with utmost respect the civil rights leader, speaker, singer and composer, Bernice Johnson Reagon, to speak. «Read the rest of this article»

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NAACP Opposes Nursing Home bill as an injustice to seniors

By Jimmie Garland, Sr. | March 27, 2008 |

Legislation Unfairly Limits Victims’ Rights; Punishes Elderly At Their Weakest

Jackson, TN – The Tennessee State Conference NAACP today voiced its strong opposition to HB4053/SB4075, proposed legislation that strips nursing home residents of their rights to seek justice against abuse and neglect. The legislation comes at a time when the quality of care in Tennessee nursing homes is at a record low and the profits of nursing home operators continue to soar.

Gloria Sweet-Love, NAACP State President, said the organization is urging state legislators to reject the legislation, which is being backed by the billion-dollar nursing home industry in an attempt to protect its profits. NAACP members are contacting members of the General Assembly to inform them of the gross injustice this legislation imposes on nursing home residents who are often poor, infirm and have no one to defend them.

The NAACP joins several other statewide groups, including AARP, Tennessee Association for Justice, Tennessee Citizen Action, and Centers for Independent Living, in opposition to HB4053/SB4075. “This legislation is a slap in the face to some of the weakest members of our society, and the NAACP is bitterly opposed to it,” said Sweet-Love. “Our parents and grandparents stood up for our rights and now we must stand up for theirs. The nursing home industry is demonstrating how far it will go to protect itself, even if it means stomping on the dignity of the people it should be helping.” «Read the rest of this article»

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