The Contributor: March 17, 2021

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| Nu mber 6 | Ma rch 17-31, 2021

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PASTOR STEPHEN HANDY

REV. KEVIN RIGGS

PAULETTE COLEMAN

BETH THIELMAN

MARK DUNKERLEY

Leader of McKendree United Methodist Church talks about the church’s role in social justice

In affluent Williamson County, Riggs addresses homelessness head on

Longtime housing advocate Coleman is hopeful for the Affordable Housing Task Force

Nashville Mutual Aid Collective wants people to dream for a better world

Oasis Center CEO says the pandemic drove home the importance of meeting youth where they are

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

2021

L a N ticia

Año 19 - No. 326

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

GRATIS

Marzo/2

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

IN THE ISSUE www.hispanicpaper.com

Nashville, Tennessee

Crece Mercado de Productos Hispanos en USA, y en Tennessee

Cuantas veces no hemos extrañado los sabores con los que crecimos, aquellos que nacimos en algun lugar del mundo hispanohablante. Por suerte no es difícil encontrar algun lugar donde encontrar los ingredientes para preparar esos platillos que nos Por Yuri Cunza La Noticia recuerdan nuestra infancia o familia. Editor in Chief Imaginese la cantidad @LaNoticiaNews de personas en este país con ese mismo interés.

Asi es, el mercado hispano en EEUU ofrece un potencial significativo, ya que tiene una población de 61 millones (18,5% de la población total del país) y se espera que esta crezca un 21,8% entre 2014 y 2024. Los gastos de sus hogares en compras de supermercado crecieron 11% entre el 2014 y el 2019.

Las marcas latinoamericanas deben tener en cuenta las siguientes características de esta población a la hora de ofrecerle sus productos:

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Juventud: hace que estén dispuestos a probar nuevos productos, pero al mismo tiempo hace que compren con la mirada puesta en la billetera.

Bilingüismo: facilita que se vuelvan consumidores más sofisticados porque están expuestos a un grupo de personas más diverso.

La comida los une: utilizan los alimentos para fomentar las relaciones con los demás preparando comidas y saliendo a comer.

Vive entre dos culturas: tienen mente abierta y están dispuesto a probar productos.

Los hispanos pueden introducir productos latinos al mercado e iniciar tendencias que se popularizan, ya que les gusta compartir sobre sus raíces latinas con otros. Pese a que la mayoría de los competidores buscan ofrecer valor y buen precio, para sobresalir, las marcas deben ofrecer algo más. Es importante entender el alcance de cada tipo de tienda y el hecho de que los hispanos tienen asociaciones claras sobre qué esperar en cada tipo de tienda.

Las marcas privadas representan un reto para

COVID-19: Ayuda y Beneficios Disponibles por Desempleo

Photo: Submitted

Hesham Muhsin, owner of KOS Distribution at his facility next to the new Amazon space in Lavergne, Tennessee

las marcas independientes y menos conocidas, que les dificulta tener presencia en góndola y competir por precio. El mercado hispano no es homogéneo, es competitivo y la asociación de los productos con un país latinoamericano no es una ventaja competitiva sostenible en el largo plazo para la mayoría de los productos.

mos 3 años; y las ventas aumentaron 45% en 2020. KOS Distribution se asocia con marcas de primer nivel y con los proveedores más reconocidos en la comunidad hispana para así garantizar que sus clientes siempre puedan adquirir los productos deseados de sus países de origen.

Determinar el mercado objetivo es fundamental para aumentar la probabilidad de opciones de éxito y conectar con el grupo correcto puede ayudar a expandir la aceptación del producto hacia el mercado general. (Mintel).

Un ejmplo de esto en nuestro medio es KOS Distribution, negocio de distribución mayorista de alimentos hispanos que acaba de adquirir un nuevo local y oficina de 31,0000 pies cuadrados en Lavergne, TN para poder satisfacer las demandas del crecimiento en ventas de los productos alimenticios hispanos.

"Nos enorgullece el decir que nuestros clientes nos reconocen como los distribuidores de alimentos más innovadores en Tennessee" dice Muhsin. "Es nuestra máxima prioridad crecer con las ventas de nuestros clientes y proveer a esos clientes con la mejor calidad por medio de los productos y servicios que les ofrecemos" Planes para incrementar nuevos productos y el sistema de refrigeración en el nuevo local están programados para el otoño de 2021.

Entre algunos de los productos exclusivos está NOOR° (Marca Registrada), productos de alta calidad, Latin, inspirado en los sabores más auténticos y tradicionalmente preservados como un tesoro en las cocinas de nuestras abuelas y pasados de generación en generación a través de los años. Productos Latin como Jarritos, Tajín, La Costeña, La Morena, San Marcos, Lety, El Ideal, Goya y Jumex, son también marcas bien conocidas y ofrecidas por KOS Distribution.

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

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Hesham Muhsin, Director Ejecutivo y fundador de KOS Distribution con sedes en Tennessee, Alabama y Kentucky ha estado en el negocio de distribución de alimentos por 3 años, con más de 10 años de experiencia en el área de comida hispana.

Esta nueva instalación dará servicio a las crecientes necesidades de alimentos hispánicos en nuestro medio. Las ventas en KOS Distribution han aumentado 160% en los últi-

Aprenda cómo solicitar beneficios de desempleo, compensación para trabajadores, asistencia temporal y otros programas que pueden ayudarlo si pierde su trabajo.

El Gobierno federal está permitiendo que los estados cambien sus leyes para proporcionar beneficios de seguro por desempleo por razones relacionadas con el coronavirus (COVID-19).

La nueva Ley de Ayuda, Alivio y Seguridad Económica por Coronavirus, aprobada en diciembre de 2020, autoriza que: Todas las personas que sean elegibles para beneficios por desempleo reciban un ingreso adicional automático de $300 por semana hasta el 14 de marzo de 2021.

Los empleados por cuenta propia y trabajadores de empleos temporales reciban un ingreso adicional de $100 por semana.

Trabajadores desempleados reciban 11 semanas adicionales de beneficios por desempleo independientemente del número de semanas que brinda actualmente un estado. Esto es adicional a las 13 semanas que fueron autorizadas por la ley CARES. Comuníquese con la oficina que maneja el programa de seguro por desempleo de su estado para conocer los requisitos y solicitar el seguro por desempleo.

Cómo solicitar el seguro por desempleo y otros beneficios Si pierde su trabajo, el Gobierno ofrece diversos programas y beneficios que lo ayudarán. En CareerOneStop.org puede comenzar el proceso para recibir ayuda con beneficios del seguro de desempleo capacitación laboral y para encontrar un trabajo.

(Fuente: www.usa.gov/espanol) Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

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

Contributor Board

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

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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.

ww w.ju ane se.c om jua ne seUSA@gmail.com

Vendor Spotlight

Moving Pictures

La Noticia + The Contributor

Vendor Writing

Cynthia Pritchard loved working at the carnival for over 30 years as a foreman, overseeing its set up and tear down.

The new cyber thriller, ‘Dark Web: Cicada 3301’ (streaming now!) makes a big buzz, but never takes flight.

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

In this issue, vendors write about life, death, racism, God, March Madness and ‘Mr. Smith and the Dying Peach.’

Contributors This Issue

Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Hannah Herner • Maggie Youngs • Ridley Wills II • Jen Starsinic • Alvine • Yuri Cunza • Joe Nolan • Carey L. Biron • Regan Morton Photography • Mr. Mysterio • Jen A. • Tyrone M. • John H.

Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Richard Aberdeen • Marissa Young • 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

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

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

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VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: CYNTHIA PRITCHARD

Photo By Maggie Youngs. Illustrations by Cynthia Pritchard, which have been published in issues of The Contributor over the last few years.

From the Carnival to ‘The Contributor’

BY MAGGIE YOUNGS Cynthia Pritchard loved working at the carnival for over 30 years as a foreman, overseeing its set up and tear down. Before Cynthia decided to stay in Nashville, the carnival allowed her the opportunity to travel all over the country and even internationally to Canada, the Bahamas and South Africa.

“I enjoyed it. If my body was willing, I would do it again,” she says.

“I miss the kids and watching them have fun and enjoy themselves.”

Ea rl ier i n her ca rn iva l days, Pritchard was joined by her four children, whom she homeschooled.

She says she loved seeing the awe on their faces.

“They were basically spoiled rotten,” she says. “My favorite part was when the young kids would walk in

and see all the lights lit up.”

Pritchard started selling for The Contributor in 2013 during three month breaks from the carnival.

Ending her time with the carnival in 2017, she came to sell in Nashville full-time. She currently sells on Harding Place with her friendly and furry companion, Sassy, whom she describes as her “best friend, companion and sleeping buddy.”

Recently, Pritchard moved into an apartment, and notes the excitement of having a toilet, shower and refrigerator. Prior to this move, a concrete company had allowed her to set up a camp in the woods behind their property.

“In the wintertime, I had a cowboy coffee pot, which is the kind you put on the f lame and would take that

and tarp up an area for a shower with wooden crates and a five gallon bag of water,” she says.

Pritchard says that Sassy has enjoyed the move as well.

“Now with being in a motel here, I have to literally shut the door when I go get a shower or somebody will jump in with me. She loves the water!”

One of Pritchard’s favorite parts of being with The Contributor has been the opportunit y to publish her artwork. She particularly loves drawing and painting things for kids that have to do with the outdoors like f lowers, ladybugs and cartoon animals. Outside of The Contributor, she’s also had the opportunity to create some canvas paintings for her customers. She says that her art was largely inspired by her mother.

PAGE 4 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

“My mom was very good at drawing,” Pritchard says “One time, she drew a beautiful Santa Claus on a good piece of film. Then she put it in a frame that had a backlight on it.

So, whenever we turned the lights off, nothing there. But when the lights come on, you could see Santa Claus and all that so that’s crazy. That’s super cool.”

Pritchard says she is largely inspired in her work by Sassy, her art, and her faith. She’s passionate about people understanding that we are all humans.

“I mean, God ain’t one color.

He’s all the colors,” she says “And too many people don’t look at it that way. We’re all humans. We’re all descended from Adam and Eve. Not many people think that way.”

NASHVILLE HISTORY CORNER

PEYTON STAKES

BY RIDLEY WILLS II In an earlier History Corner article, I wrote about the Grassland international Steeplechases held in Sumner County in 1930 and 1931.

An even more remarkable race took place on a glorious day on Oct. 10, 1843, when the when the richest horse race ever run anywhere in the world took place at the Nashville Race Course on the south bank of the Cumberland River. This was the $35,000 Great Peyton Stake, an event so daring and remarkable that it received the attention of the entire United States and Europe as well. Advertisements in the Spirit of the Times, the leading sporting periodical, published in New York City, spread the news of the race over the entire racehorse world.

Everything about the race was big. The starting fee was $5,000. The distance was 16 miles. The stake was contrived by Gallatin racing bigwig, Balie Peyton, United States envoy to Chile from 1849 until 1853. The race was a test of both stamina and speed.

Nominations to run were thoroughbreds from nine states. The race was attended by an unusually large assemblage. The ladies’ stand was filled with a crowd of, “youth, beauty and fashion,” that would have moved the soul of an anchorite, wrote a reporter. The only unpleasant feature of the race was the condition of the track which was heavy with sticky mud after two days of rain.

The big bet was on Herald, the entry of Colonel Wade Hampton, of

South Carolina. Herald won the second heat after dropping the first to a chestnut colt by imp. Skylark, from Lilac by imp. Leviathan, entered by Hon. Alex Barrow, of New Orleans.

Just when it appeared that Herald would win the third heat and the stake, the “dark horse” Glumdalclitch passed Herald with a burst of speed that defied description. His jockey had avoided the deep mud by swinging to the outside.

She beat Herald by a length. Her win necessitated a fourth heat. Adopting the same tactic, Glumdalclitch’s jockey, Barney Palmer, kept his horse wide before turning on the heat to again defeat Herald by a length.

The winner was a great mare, about 16 and ½ hands who was named after the giantess in Swift’s

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

Gulliver’s Travels. In honor of the stake and the gentleman whose name it bore, the “gallant filly” was renamed “Peytona.” She went on to more triumphs.

The high peak established by the Peyton Stake was never again closely approached at the Island Track or any other track in Nashville. Racing, however, continued at the Island Track, two mils north of the city just below Bush’s Lake until the Civil War. In the 1860s racing in Tennessee stopped for four years. Racing resumed at the Island Track after the war, when, in the 1870s and early 1880s, management was criticized for not keeping the track up to date. The last race there was held at the end of the program on May 7, 1884.

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. First published in 1941, 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. 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 religion . . . through the slain body of Christ, we are what we are not.

Barth: Epistle to the Romans.

communion of the Word who now still comes down to us and falls into a trance by the Memorial of his Passion.

Methodius: Banquet of the Ten Virgins.

5TH MONDAY IN LENT

EASTER WEEK FRIDAY IT belongs to God alone to bestow beatitude upon souls by a participation with Himself; but it is Christ's prerogative to bring them to such beatitude, inasmuch as He is their Head and the author of their salvation.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

HE alone . . . for us to thee both Victor and Victim and therefore Victor because of Victim; for us the thee Priest and Sacrifice; making us to thee of servants sons, by being born of thee, and serving us.

St Augustine: Confessions.

THE beginning of our Lord's entrance into the terrible jaws of this second death may be justly dated from those affecting words, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death; tarry ye here with me and watch." See here the Lord of life reduced to such distress as to beg the prayers, watching and assistance of His poor disciples! A plain proof that it was not the sufferings of this world, but a state of dreadful dereliction that was coming upon Him. O holy Redeemer, that I knew how to describe the anguishing terrors of thy soul, when thou wast entering into eternal death, that no other son of man might fall into it!

William Law: An Appeal.

5TH THURSDAY IN LENT

5TH TUESDAY IN LENT

WHEN all is done, with this cross thus laid out for me, and taken up by me, I must follow Christ; Christ to his end; his end is his cross; that is, I must bring my cross to his; lay down my cross at the foot of his; confess that there is no dignity, no merit in mine, but as it receives an impression, a sanctification from his. If I could die a thousand times for Christ, this were nothing, if Christ had not died for me before.

Donne: Sermons.

AS He was uplifted above others in gifts of graces, so was He lowered beneath others by the ignominy of His sufferings.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

5TH WEDNESDAY IN LENT THAT God the Lord, the Lord of life could die, is a strange contemplation; . . . but that God would die, is an exaltation of that; but, even of that also, it is a super-exaltation, that God should die, must die; . . . God is the God of revenges; he would not pass over the sin of man unrevenged, unpunished; But then the God of revenges works freely; he punished, he spares whom he will; and would he not spare himself; He would not. . . Love is as strong as death; stronger; it drew in death, that naturally was not welcome.

Donne: Sermons.

GOD always goes before our contemplation; we can never here overtake him who is our highest beatitude.

Dante: Convivio.

THE will maketh the beginning, the middle, and the end of everything; it is the only workman in nature, and everything is its work. It has all power, its works cannot be hindered, it carries all before it, it creates as it goes and all things are possible to it. It enters whenever it wills and finds everything that it seeks, for its seeking is its finding. The will overrules all nature, because nature is its offspring and born of it; for all the properties of nature, whether the be good or evil, in darkness or in light, in love or in hatred, in wrath or in meekness, in pride or humility, in trouble or birth of the will; as that liveth so, they live, and as that changeth, so they change.

William Law: Divine Knowledge.

5TH FRIDAY IN LENT

EASTER WEEK WEDNESDAY

THOU dost nowhere depart from us, and we hardly return unto thee.

St Augustine: Confessions.

GOD is the essence as well as the object of religion.

Coleridge: Anima Poetae.

THE same act, for good or evil, is judged differently, accordingly as it proceeds from a different source. The Father delivered up Christ, and Christ surrendered Himself, from charity, and consequently we give praise to both: but Judas betrayed Christ from greed, the Jews from envy and Pilate from worldly fear, for he stood in fear of Caesar; and these accordingly are held guilty.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

5TH SATURDAY IN LENT HE gave power unto the sharp thorns to enter and most cruelly wound His divine and trembling head; He empowered the bonds and bitter cords to bind Him fast unto the pillar and ties His hands together; . . . He gave unto the hard nails power to pierce and enter His tender feet and the hands wherewith He had given light unto the blind and hearing unto the deaf; . . . He empowered the lofty cross that it should bear Him on high, . . .

He caused the vinegar and hyssop to make bitter his mouth; He caused (oh, marvellous to hear!) the lance to enter and pierce through His divine side and heart.

Angela of Foligno: The Book of Divine Consolation.

AS of His own will His bodily nature kept its vigour to the end, so likewise, when He willed, he suddenly succumbed to the injury inflicted.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT IN Christ ye are under grace. Comprehending Him, ye are comprehended in His death; with His human body ye are made dead. All human possibilities, including the possibility of religion, have been offered and surrendered to God on Golgotha . . . Golgotha is the end of law and the frontier of

THE will of the Creator shall gather together man's dust, shall renew it, and make of it the temple of glory; the body shall lead his companion, the soul, into the bridal chamber and there comfort her; and the body filled with sorrow in Hades shall rejoice, and the body that hath despaired shall give praise for his redemption, and that over which the foolish despaired shall receive great mercy.

St Ephraem Syrus: Hymns.

NONE can be eternally united who have not died for each other.

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

EASTER WEEK SATURDAY AFTER the meeting was over I went to John Audland's, and there came John Story to me and lighted his pipe of tobacco. And said he, "Will you take a pipe of tobacco?" saying, "Come; all is ours." And I looked upon him to be a forward bold lad; and tobacco I did not take, but it came to my mind that the lad might think I had not unity with the creation. For I saw he had a flashy, empty notion of religion. So I took his pipe and put it to my mouth, and gave it to him again to stop him lest his rude tongue should say I had not unity with the creation.

George Fox: Journal.

SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER (PALM SUNDAY) . . . TO live thus, to cram to-day with eternity and not with the next day, the Christian has learnt and continues to learn (for the Christian is always learning) from the Pattern. How did He manage to live without anxiety for the next day—he who from the first instant of His public life when He stepped forward as a teacher knew how His life would end, that the next day was His crucifixion, knew this while the people exultantly hailed Him as King (ah, bitter knowledge to have at precisely that moment!), knew when they were crying, "Hosanna!", at His entry into Jerusalem that they would cry, "Crucify Him!", and that it was to this end He made His entry; He who bore every day the prodigious weight of this superhuman knowledge— how did He manage to live without anxiety for the next day?

Kierkegaard: Christian Discourses.

HOLY WEEK MONDAY

THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION IF a poet or an artist puts himself into his productions he is criticized. But that is exactly what God does, he does so in Christ. And precisely that is Christianity. The creation was really only completed when God included himself in it. Before the coming of Christ God was certainly in the creation but as an invisible sign, like the watermark in paper. But the creation was completed by the incarnation because God thereby included himself in it.

Søren Kierkegaard: Journals.

[LOVE said] What! Most of all, did I not make a loveday between God and mankind, and chose a maid to be compere [companion], to put the quarrel at end?

Thomas Usk: Testament of Love.

THE progress of these terrors are plainly shown us in our Lord's agony in the garden, when the reality of this eternal death so broke in upon Him, so awakened and stirred itself in Him, as to force great drops of blood to sweat from His body . . . His agony was His entrance into the last eternal terrors of the lost soul, into the real horrors of that dreadful eternal death which man unredeemed must have died into when he left this world. We are therefore not to consider our Lord's death upon the cross as only the death of that mortal body which was nailed to it, but we are to look upon Him with wounded hearts, as fixed and fastened in the state of that two-fold death, which was due to the fallen nature, out of which He could not come til He could say, "It is finished; Father into thy hands I commend my spirit."

William Law: An Appeal.

EASTER WEEK THURSDAY THE Word, leaving his Father in heaven, came down to be joined to his Wife, and slept in the trace of his Passion, and willingly suffered death for her, that he might present the Church to himself, glorious and blameless, having cleansed her by the laver, for the receiving of the spiritual and blessed seed which is sown by him who, with whispers, implants it in the depths of the mind, and is conceived and formed by the Church, as by a woman, so as to give birth and nourishment to virtue. For in this way, too, the command "Increase and multiply" is duly fulfilled, the Church increasing daily in greatness and beauty and multitude by the union and

HOLY WEEK TUESDAY HE said to Judas, when he betrayed him: "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" Just as if he had said: "Thou hatest me, and art mine enemy, yet I love thee and am thy friend." . . . As though God in human nature were saying: "I am pure, simple Goodness, and therefore I cannot will or desire or rejoice in, or do or give anything but goodness. If I am to reward thee for thy evil and wickedness I must do it with goodness, for I am and have nothing else."

Theologica Germanica.

Sponsored by Matthew Carver, publisher

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March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

YOUTH VOICES

CELEBRATING NASHVILLE WOMEN ELLA SHEPPARD AND JACKIE SHANE It’s Women’s History Month and Girls Write Nashville is outlining great women in Nashville history online and in the pages of The Contributor.

The Youth Voice Column is a partnership between The Contributor and Girls Write Nashville. In Girls Write Nashville, as well as their gender neutral wing Loudmouth Community Music, students are guided through the process of writing and recording original songs. In this project, youth writers will offer essays, poems and insight to The Contributor’s regular roster of stories.

Ella Sheppard Ella Sheppard was an arranger, pianist, composer, vocalist, social justice advocate (and contemporary of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington) and Fisk Jubilee singer. She is credited for bringing Negro Spirituals to the global stage.

Ella was born on Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Plantation in 1851. Born into white supremacy, Sheppard committed her career and voice to advocating for racial justice.

As an adult, she began giving affordable, sliding-scale piano lessons to members of her community, and saved enough money to enroll herself in Fisk University, where she began her career as a Jubilee Singer.

She quickly began a leadership role at Fisk, as she began arranging “plantation songs” (as they were called at the time) for choral performances.

Sheppard led the Jubilee Singers to

Ella Sheppard and Jackie Shane perform for Queen Victoria who stated when she heard the group that they, “sing so beautifully they must be from the Music City of the United States.” And that’s how Nashville became known as Music City.

Women like Ella Sheppard paved the way for women, particularly women of color, to have a national voice through the arts.

Stay tuned for some big announcements about how our students are continuing the legacy of courageous self-expression and leadership.

Jackie Shane Jackie Shane was a performer, singer,

GIRLS WRITE NASHVILLE TO UNVEIL ‘SING THROUGH THE QUARANTINE’ ALBUM MARCH 26 Sing Through the Quarantine is Girls Write Nashville’s fourth compilation album consisting of youth-written and remotely recorded songs about life in 2020 and includes themes such as racial justice and isolation.

The album will be released Friday, March 26 on all streaming platforms and we’ll celebrate with a Drive-In Listening Party at the Greater Nashville United Way on Sunday, March 28 2:30-4 p.m. with WXNA’s Teen Power Radio Hour streaming the entire album! We’ll be celebrating all month coinciding with Women’s History Month and will also be fundraising all month in support of future programming.

and multi-instrumentalist born in Nashville on May 15, 1940 who is remembered for electrifying performances, showmanship, and an unapologetic fierceness.

We had the privilege of talking to Lorenzo Washington, the “curator of Jefferson street” and founder of Jefferson Street Sound Museum, and a dear friend of Ms. Shane.

Washington said: “She left Nashville when she was about 16 years old, with a travelling band. She was able to drum and sing standing up. The audiences just loved her. She had such a distinct voice. She performed all over little towns around Nash-

ville before she really launched her career in Canada. She felt much more accepted there, as a transgender Black woman.”

Shane was musically inclined since she was a kid growing up in Nashville’s influential R&B scene along Jefferson Street. By age 13, Shane knew she was transgender, and would spend her entire career honoring her musical and personal truth, as one of the first transgender musicians in the public eye.

After leaving Nashville, Shane launched a career in Canada, spanning from the late ’50s to the early ’70s, releasing multiple songs that rose in Canadian charts. She moved back into Nashville in the early ’70s to take care of her mother, who was battling a terminal illness.

Jackie had been living in seclusion in public housing in Germantown for 34 years, following her mother’s death. “She loved her mom,” Washington remembers, “and when she lost her, she kind of lost the drive to perform how she used to.”

Washington remembers “Jackie was a very proud person. If you didn’t know her, you would have thought she was royalty from another country. She spoke so properly and carried herself so elegantly. She always said ‘I just want folks to let me live my life my way.’ “ Any Other Way, Shane’s first fulllength album, a two-disc collection of her previously unreleased hits, was released in Oct. 2017, and was nominated for Best Historical Album at the 61st GRAMMY Awards.

2020 Vision

By Tiana Williams from the album Sing Through the Quarantine Written and produced by Tiana Williams

We have to stand up for humanity Fights for what’s right Stand side by side Walk with our hand up, heads up in pride

Tiana Williams - Lead vocals and piano Jen Starsinic - additional piano and arrangement Kyshona Armstrong - background vocals and vocal arrangement

And on top of all that, Corona’s still here Add another thing to my list of fears The man who calls himself a king With a crown made of copper Waited two whole months before he had a word to offer Calling me a thug makes my people madder and madder But what I really want to hear is, “Black Lives Matter”

I had a vision that one day we’d come together Brothers and sisters holding hands no babysitters They say we can’t win But they can’t realize it’s never too late to be friends, not foes The pain I feel rushes down to my fingers and toes But at least I can feel Are you human?

Like being Black in this world means I’m nothing?

Like we don’t have hearts, minds, and souls Like the pain we have felt has never left holes Like the ones that were left in my brother Tamir A twelve year old boy living off fun, not fear Like my brother Trayvon who was seen as a threat Only wanted Skittles, got death instead Are you hearing the words that are coming out my mouth?

If you hear me, stand up and shout No justice, no peace No justice, no peace

PAGE 8 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Are you hearing the words that are coming out my mouth?

If you hear me, stand up and shout No justice, no peace No justice, no peace We have to stand up for humanity Fights for what’s right Stand side by side Walk with our hand up, heads up in pride No justice, no peace No justice, no peace We have to stand up for humanity Fights for what’s right Stand side by side Walk with our hand up, heads up in pride

COVER STORY

Q

&

A

Over the last year, we’ve seen almost everyone grapple with some form of loss or struggle. From the top to the bottom, people’s lives have changed. For some people, they knew one big thing like the pandemic would show the cracks. Despite the deepening divide, people scratched and clawed to get good work done and to work with their neighbors in sometimes entirely new ways. For this Q&A edition of The Contributor, we talked with five people in the Middle Tennessee community tackling various issues. Whether it’s newly formed mutual aid groups, churches focusing on social justice, nonprofits folks working within the system to make change, these folks represent the steady drumbeat of activism and hope and education and change that is needed to get the work done. AMANDA HAGGARD | Photos by David Piñeros

BETH THIELMAN Nashville Mutual Aid Collective wants people to dream for a better world

BY A M ANDA HAGGARD Beth Thielman is just one in a collective of people in Nashville working to get the right supplies and resources to the people who need them.

Through Nashville Mutual Aid Collective, she and others have spent the last year trying to find ways for neighbors to help neighbors all while trying to dismantle oppressive systems that often do little to help the people who need it most.

Thielman is a Nashville native, a community organizer, a co-founder of Nashville Disability Justice Collective and a member of the Middle TN chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

These answers were written with collective input and approval from Nashville Mutual Aid Collective.

Tell me a little bit about Nashville Mutual Aid Collective, and more generally about how Mutual Aid works.

The Nashville Mutual Aid Collective was founded in March 2020 as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple crises Nashville and the world were facing at that time.

We are not a nonprofit or a government agency, and we are not a charity organization. We are a grassroots effort in ‘the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world,’ [a quote from Dean Spade, Mutual Aid organizer and scholar]. We are made up of volunteers: friends, allies and community organizers dedicated to showing up for one another and fighting to dismantle harmful social, political, and economic systems. We always welcome community

members who are interested in learning more to join us for our weekly Zoom calls. To get more information, email nashvillemutualaidcollective@gmail.com.

A lot of times Mutual Aid efforts grow in times of crisis. What sorts of things can folks be doing to ensure support is there for people on a regular basis?

Sustainability is a core value for many organizers in Mutual Aid that has its roots in the Disability Justice movement. We’re making an effort to continue offering direct support, political education, organizing, and community care through collective sharing of responsibilities, decision-making, gifts, leadership and skills. We make regular invitations for folks to get involved in new efforts, and we respect the need for breaks, rest, and care. We have every intention of continuing these efforts, even when the COVID-19 crisis is not dominant. People will always need uplifting, support, and care. So we must continue to be there for one another, no matter what’s going on, or who’s in charge of our government.

I’m really into the idea of low-barrier help — we offer low-barrier income opportunities at The Contributor. Do you think the idea of “no questions asked” should be more widely incorporated into aid in general?

Yes. Too often, there is talk of whether or not folks are ‘deserving’ aid and support. Who are we to make that call? It’s a dangerous, false debate at its core, because there is no human be-

ing who doesn’t deserve a full life of community participation, play, safety, growth and stability.

Our hope is not only to help people find ways to meet their basic needs in a time of crisis, but to dream for a better world, and to be a part of that making that happen in an atmosphere of greater care, safety and community.

What has really worked in Mutual Aid in Nashville? Where do you see the greatest needs?

Our Collective truly has a spirit of mutual care and collaboration. Our greatest strengths are building a sense of connection and community, educating and bringing together passionate people, and finding joy. We are hopeful to have more folks join who are interested in volunteering for some of our partner organizations, learning more about the history of mutual aid, and working toward lasting social change.

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

Is there anything you would want people to know about the Nashville Mutual Aid Collective that I didn’t ask about?

Mutual aid is multiracial, antiracist, anticapitalist work done with a focus on care, accessibility, and compassion. While our membership is diverse, we make every effort to center and amplify voices of poor people, disabled people, Black people, indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people and anyone else pushed to the margins by the oppressive systems in which we live. “Centering” means passing the mic to them, following their lead, acknowledging their legacy, and refusing to let them shoulder the burden of constantly working against harmful systems. We are already seeing fruit from our collective care and organizing efforts, and we hope to be a haven for those who most need one in our community for years to come. We would love to have you join us in this sacred work.

COVER STORY

REV. KEVIN RIGGS In affluent Williamson County, Riggs addresses homelessness head on

BY A M ANDA HAGGARD Rev. Kevin Riggs had long been a pastor at Franklin Community Church when two parked cars across the street from his church’s community center caught his attention.

He learned that two people were living in their car. It set him off on a mission to create an emergency shelter system in Williamson County and to address the inequity in housing in the county. Riggs has several ideas about how to improve things for those without housing in Williamson County and works with the Williamson County Homeless Alliance in many of his endeavors to get people off the streets.

What had you been working on before this year and how did the pandemic alter your plans?

We got a grant to move people from homelessness into permanent housing, and assist them for a period of time. That program is always full now with the waiting lists, but we did have that and were focused on it. We’ve moved about 45 people who were homeless into permanent housing in the last couple of years.

And we had churches helping do cold and hot temperature shelters. And when COVID hit, we really had to pivot because all the churches who were helping just closed. Sowe started placing people in hotels, especially during the initial lockdown shelter in place. We raised money and we put people in hotels for about six weeks. And then we operated like that for under 32 degrees and above 90 as well.

What are some of your goals after this year?

I want to eventually get 31 churches who would agree to house homeless people in their church for one night a month. And then if I had 31 churches who agree to that, we could have shelter options 365 days a year. All [churches] have to commit to is space. We would bring in our own bedding. We would bring in, I would bring in my own monitors to stay with them all night. I would provide the insurance for the churches and we would eat a meal off site in the middle at our community center. And it would be cheaper — just for two organizations in an

11-month period, we spent $200,000 getting people into hotels.

When you’re fundraising in a place like Williamson County for emergency shelter, do you run into having to convince folks that it’s a real issue there?

Yeah, people need to be convinced, but I do think at this point, they’ve probably seen a homeless person in the county, maybe holding a sign up. What they don’t get is that it’s the tip of the iceberg. One thing that came out of the pandemic is that early on in the shelter place, I was able to be on a conference call every day

with emergency management that had every political, social, educational, medical leader in the county. There would be 90 some people so there’s not a leader in the county that didn’t hear me outline the problem or report about how many people were homeless in the hotels the previous night. They heard it every day for at least 40 days or more. … People also might think the people they see here that are homeless are coming from other places and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Something like 85 percent of the people homeless here grew up here or have lived here a significant amount of time.

PAULETTE COLEMAN Longtime housing advocate Coleman is hopeful for the Affordable Housing Task Force

BY HANNAH HERNER Paulette Coleman advocates for affordable housing — that is housing that costs no more than 30 percent of your income. She knows well that wages haven’t kept up with housing costs, and in a city like Nashville, the right to invest in property and the right for people to have adequate and safe housing collide often.

Coleman now brings her years of advocacy work with NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope), experience as a chair of Metropolitan Housing and Development Agency, and experience in international development and urban planning as a member of the mayor’s new Affordable Housing Task Force.

Can you tell me about the work you’re doing with the Affordable Housing Task Force?

One is to come up with some recommendations for addressing the affordable housing crisis that can be implemented in one, two or three years. Now, given that the challenges of affordable housing intersect with many, many components, we also have a charge to think longer term. And even if we’ve done these things in one, two or three years, what is the larger, broader ecosystem that needs to exist here in Nashville to mitigate against homelessness, or lack of affordable housing?

I’ve been working on housing issues here in Nashville since 2014. This group perhaps represents the most comprehensive amalgamation of people addressing the problem. So I’m very hopeful about this. The other thing that I think is good is that the work of the committee is timebound, we’re supposed to have our recommendations in April.

What are some of the same old problems that keep coming up over the years working on affordable housing?

Money. NOAH worked very hard to get a commitment from Mayor [Megan] Barry, that we would have at least $10 million a year [in the Barnes Housing Trust Fund]. We need predictable, recurring funding, and that isn’t the level we need, but you have to start somewhere.

The second thing is, most people behave as if the nonprofit sector is the only one responsible for solving the problem. And I think that’s just very, very mistaken and misguided. The for-profit sector has a role, and we need to structure programs and policies that would encourage them to be involved.

Another problem — and this is a problem across the country — people will say that they’re for affordable housing. But then if you

talk about increasing density, or allowing multi-unit housing, instead of single family, you get all kinds of protests from law abiding, sometimes progressive people who support affordable housing. The phenomenon of NIMBYism, not in my backyard, is very very real.

What are some of the new issues you’re addressing?

I mediate with the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, and we got some of the CARES Act money to mitigate people who were behind in their rent. It was a win-win, because the landlords got their money, but people got their rent paid, and it bought them time. I’m concerned about that. The problem is, unless the tenants have some new sources of income, they’re going to be

PAGE 10 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

back in the same predicament in a few months.

What inspires you to keep working on affordable housing?

I graduated from college in three years and the fourth year, I went out to Denver, and I was a fellow at The Center for International Race Relations. This would have been in the ’70s. I remember, the general wisdom was that we would not see apartheid end in South Africa in our lifetime. I mean, every scholar, every activist, everybody, that’s what they were saying. Then comes 1996 and it ends. So that’s why I know you have to keep fighting no matter what. Because the victories aren’t gonna come tomorrow, and I might not even live to see them, but you still have to keep advancing the charge.

COVER STORY

PASTOR STEPHEN HANDY Leader of McKendree United Methodist Church talks about the church’s role in social justice

BY HANNAH HERNER As pastor of McKendree United Methodist Church in Downtown Nashville for 12 years, Stephen Handy is no stranger to working with those experiencing homelessness — but the work is ever-evolving.

In the 80s, the church was an incubator for what became Community Care Fellowship, a day shelter now in East Nashville. To this day, McKendree serves meals and offers a free clothing closet twice a week. A couple years ago, the church took one step further and opened The Foundry, eight living spaces for men transitioning off the streets, located in the basement of the church.

Next, Handy says the church hopes to expand into real estate, to give The Foundry residents an opportunity to switch from transitional housing to homeownership. He sat down with The Contributor to discuss his philosophy with providing for those experiencing homelessness and the church’s role in social justice.

What keeps you going with offering services to people experiencing

homelessness?

I’ve realized through the years that I am not here for myself, I’m here to be in partnership with my brothers and sisters, regardless of race, gender, age. And if I have something to share, it is an obligation, is actually a gift that I’m called to share with my brothers and sisters.

It also is a justice issue, right? We can’t have this thriving Downtown community, and we have the poorest of the poor walking the streets.

Although I don’t expect government to save the day, I do expect government to do their part.

We can leverage the giftedness of government, of other nonprofits, of civic organizations, and faith communities and we can change the course and disrupt homelessness and create an environment where there’s equity.

How do you stay patient with people when the transition from homelessness to housing takes time?

It’s a pilgrimage. And I don’t live for immediate results. This is a long-term process.

Because I’m a long-term process, too. I’m get-

ting better at getting better. I need my brothers and sisters to remind me that I could be in that predicament with some decisions, with lack of affordable housing, insignificant and undervalued wages, I could be right there alongside of them. So I’m energized by seeing my brothers and sisters who need help, and I’m in a position to help. I’m in a position to help empower.

I see that McKendree has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement, especially in the last year. How does your faith, and just your own background inform that activism?

It’s part of my DNA. My father walked with Martin Luther King, Jr. — they went to school together. My grandfather was an activist, my

great great grandfather was part of the House of Representatives in the state of Mississippi.

When a group of people are devalued, I have to see the need to speak to that injustice, stand for that injustice, and become an activist for that injustice, and I’m able to do that, as a clergy person. Because I don’t report to anyone who can tell me no, that’s not your job.

Part of being a clergy is to be a prophet, also to be a priest, but also to be compassionate, and walk alongside of my brothers and sisters who have been mistreated, murdered, taken advantage of all in the name of privilege. So I get to disrupt that privilege. I get to disrupt white supremacy for the sake of humanity because we’re all made in the image and likeness of God. All means all, there are no exclusions.

MARK DUNKERLEY Oasis Center CEO says the pandemic drove home the importance of meeting youth where they are

BY A M ANDA HAGGARD Mark Dunkerlely didn’t take the most traditional path to leading a nonprofit.

“I started a craft beer business back in 2009 and we gave half the profit to Oasis Center and then started doing street outreach,” Dunkerely says.

At the beginning of 2021, Dunkerley took over as president and CEO of Oasis Center, a nonprofit focused on housing LGBTQI youth — a group that often has difficulty finding housing for a myriad of reasons.

In an interview with The Contributor, Dunkerley outlined the need to meet youth where they are and talked about the importance of giving young people with different backgrounds a shot.

How has the last year been different for Oasis Center? You took over in a very obviously weird time.

I’m fortunate in that I had 10 years of working for the organization, so that makes the transition a little easier than if someone had come in brand new into a virtual environment to try to be our CEO. I think that would have been a daunting task.

So it was, it was a little easier for me just because of the relationships and institutional knowledge,

but I think any nonprofit CEO, this is likely the most challenging year they’ve had. If you look at our outreach center this year compared to June or July to December of 2019 to July, to December of 2020, we saw 114 percent increase and young people coming to our door. You know, and that’s just off the charts. We were fortunate that we did get a very large federal grant that allowed us to step up during the pandemic. But even with that, it’s just been really, really hard to keep up with the demand for services and the need, you know, as folks are, you know, especially our young people, like a lot of folks that are really struggling with employment and maintaining employment.

A lot of our folks that typically would maybe get food service industry jobs or jobs that have been, you know, really, really shut down. So that’s been tough. And then with our age group, a lot of our young people will couch surf and double up and a lot of things that there just haven’t been as many doors open for that this year.

Despite the pandemic, what are some persistent barriers you all have when trying to help youth get into housing?

I usually argue that our young people are the

most adversely impacted because we have this crazy housing market. It’s really tight and hard to find a place even if you have the funds. Landlords can be a little pickier and just in general, people don’t really want to rent to an 18 to 24 year old, right.

Whether they’re a college grad, college students or whatever or not. Our young people don’t have a parent to cosign on the loan or the lease. The work we’ve done with [this rehousing grant] has allowed us to get our foot in the door with some landlords.

But we’re still facing the same issues, maybe with more resources to face them with then before. But affordable housing is the number one barrier. And getting landlords to take a chance on someone.

What do you think folks get wrong about young people?

You know, it’s just, it’s a very formative age.

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

Right. And our young people are still developing. I think there’s just a lot of misnomers that young people are bad or they’re on the streets because they, you know, X, Y, and Z, and that that’s not dissimilar from the other homeless populations. I think it’s really important for people to understand the tremendous trauma and challenges our young people have had at a very early age that has led them to in many cases, flee unsafe environments. There’s also a disproportionate number of young people that identify somewhere in the LGBTQI spectrum, up to 35 to 40 percent. A lot of these young people have overcome some pretty remarkable things. Ultimately, these young people want to live independently and have their own freedom and sense of self worth. They just need the same opportunities that every young person needs.

LOCAL ACTIVISM

On March 1, Secretary of State Tre Hargett (left) organized a parade for the Tennesee State Constitution as it was moved to its new home in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Demonstrators from Nashville Peace and Justice Center joined the end of the procession. PHOTOS BY ALVINE

On Tuesday, March 9, The Tennessee Historical Commission voted in favor of relocating the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from The Tennessee State Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. This was the last vote needed by Gov. Bill Lee to officially move the bust, an action activists have been pushing for in demonstrations over the last several years.

Protestors ga†hered with signs on April 12, 2019 at Ida B. Wells plaza during a demonstration organized by the Nashville chapter of Veterans for Peace to observe the anniversary of the Fort Pillow massacre and demand the removal of the bust from the Capitol.

The protest eventually moved into the Capitol where the bust remains.

PHOTOS BY ALVINE. Justin Jones covers the bust of Forrest with a jacket on Aug. 4, 2017 during a demonstration calling for the removal of the racist monument from the Tennessee State Capitol.

PAGE 12 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

MOVING PICTURES

A community of DIY codebreakers ‘DARK WEB: CICADA 3301’ MAKES A BIG BUZZ, BUT NEVER TAKES FLIGHT

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC These days a n average mainstream news report might mention vaccine roll-outs, new stimulus plans, anything to do with royals or even an investigation of a so-called conspiracy theory. In this time of QAnon Shamans conspiracy theories have gone mainstream. And while some people swear the elites are ruled by an ancient race of reptilians, and there’s 2.1 million dollar bounty on Bigfoot in Oklahoma, these contemporar y fables might

be games that have gone out of control.

Alternative reality games emerged during the early days of the internet and often feature narratives that spill out into players’ everyday lives: a character might send players a text; instructions mysteriously arrive via email. Around 1993 Joseph Matheny’s Incunabula/ Ong’s Hat website went live.

The site included an odd selection of brochures, book lists and interviews, which loosely

conveyed the story of a pair of genius twins who’d developed a trans-dimensional vehicle in the impenetrable Pine Barrens of New Jersey. ARG’s have also been deployed to promote everything from the Halo 2 video game to the Lost television series. Cicada 3301 is another real life internet-based phenomenon. It acts a lot like an ARG. It’s never been completely solved, and no one knows who’s behind it.

The new film Dark Web: Cicada 3301 is inspired by the real-life internet puzzle. More specifically it’s inspired by speculation that Cicada 3301 is a training/recruiting platform created by some shadowy secret society. The cyber thriller pits an oddball trio against the challenges of a virtual puzzle, and the untrustworthy characters racing to uncover the forces behind it.

Conor Black (Jack Kesy) st u mbles on Cicada 3301 while surfing the dark web.

Black has a prolific memory and a Rainman-like talent for instantaneous mathematical computation. Black meets a librarian named Gwen (Conor Leslie). Gwen is also researching the Cicada mystery and the

pair become uneasy partners.

When Conor and Gwen uncover a digital image mash-up of William Blake prints they call on Conor’s pal — an art historian named Avi. It’s not surprising that director and co-writer Alan Ritchson (Smallville, Titans) used the Cicada 3301 mystery to launch a thriller film. But this film also wants to be a comedy. It’s also a movie where more than one character is attacked with a book. The Conor Black character is a bad boy bartender/bar f ighter who also happens to be a math wiz with a penchant for hacking.

He just can’t seem to make the rent. Gwen the librarian is also a cryptography expert who happens to be an expert with the lock-pick she carries in her purse.

The actual story of Cicada 3301 involves a community of DIY codebreakers who’ve formed worldw ide f riendships over their love of puzzle solving. This film might have stayed truer to its inspiring source material and given us a cyber-flavored Stranger Things featuring a squad of code kids exploring an internet version of The Upside Down. Instead

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

we get unreal characters, superf luous fight sequences, redundant storytelling and a bewildering amount of juvenile humor.

If you’re fascinated by 21st century urban myths and internet subcultures you know you have to watch this film – now it’s part of the Cicada story, too. Unfortunately Cicada’s dedicated investigators — this film’s most likely audience — are the group that will be most disappointed by this version of their world. It’s hard to tell a compelling cinematic story about online image searches and digital cryptography. But the story of Cicada isn’t really about the internet, passwords, and QR codes. Cicada is about mystery, and a passionate dedication that’s made strangers from across the world partners and friends. That’s a code this film doesn’t crack.

Dark Web: Cicada 3301 is now streaming on digital platforms and on demand.

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

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 2021

GRATIS

Marzo/2

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www.hispanicpaper.com

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

Año 19 - No. 326

Nashville, Tennessee

Crece Mercado de Productos Hispanos en USA, y en Tennessee

Cuantas veces no hemos extrañado los sabores con los que crecimos, aquellos que nacimos en algun lugar del mundo hispanohablante. Por suerte no es difícil encontrar algun lugar donde encontrar los ingredientes para preparar esos platillos que nos Por Yuri Cunza La Noticia recuerdan nuestra infancia o familia. Editor in Chief Imaginese la cantidad @LaNoticiaNews de personas en este país con ese mismo interés.

Asi es, el mercado hispano en EEUU ofrece un potencial significativo, ya que tiene una población de 61 millones (18,5% de la población total del país) y se espera que esta crezca un 21,8% entre 2014 y 2024. Los gastos de sus hogares en compras de supermercado crecieron 11% entre el 2014 y el 2019.

Las marcas latinoamericanas deben tener en cuenta las siguientes características de esta población a la hora de ofrecerle sus productos: Juventud: hace que estén dispuestos a probar nuevos productos, pero al mismo tiempo hace que compren con la mirada puesta en la billetera.

Bilingüismo: facilita que se vuelvan consumidores más sofisticados porque están expuestos a un grupo de personas más diverso.

La comida los une: utilizan los alimentos para fomentar las relaciones con los demás preparando comidas y saliendo a comer.

Vive entre dos culturas: tienen mente abierta y están dispuesto a probar productos.

Los hispanos pueden introducir productos latinos al mercado e iniciar tendencias que se popularizan, ya que les gusta compartir sobre sus raíces latinas con otros. Pese a que la mayoría de los competidores buscan ofrecer valor y buen precio, para sobresalir, las marcas deben ofrecer algo más. Es importante entender el alcance de cada tipo de tienda y el hecho de que los hispanos tienen asociaciones claras sobre qué esperar en cada tipo de tienda.

Las marcas privadas representan un reto para

COVID-19: Ayuda y Beneficios Disponibles por Desempleo

Photo: Submitted

Hesham Muhsin, owner of KOS Distribution at his facility next to the new Amazon space in Lavergne, Tennessee

las marcas independientes y menos conocidas, que les dificulta tener presencia en góndola y competir por precio. El mercado hispano no es homogéneo, es competitivo y la asociación de los productos con un país latinoamericano no es una ventaja competitiva sostenible en el largo plazo para la mayoría de los productos.

mos 3 años; y las ventas aumentaron 45% en 2020. KOS Distribution se asocia con marcas de primer nivel y con los proveedores más reconocidos en la comunidad hispana para así garantizar que sus clientes siempre puedan adquirir los productos deseados de sus países de origen.

Determinar el mercado objetivo es fundamental para aumentar la probabilidad de opciones de éxito y conectar con el grupo correcto puede ayudar a expandir la aceptación del producto hacia el mercado general. (Mintel).

Un ejmplo de esto en nuestro medio es KOS Distribution, negocio de distribución mayorista de alimentos hispanos que acaba de adquirir un nuevo local y oficina de 31,0000 pies cuadrados en Lavergne, TN para poder satisfacer las demandas del crecimiento en ventas de los productos alimenticios hispanos.

"Nos enorgullece el decir que nuestros clientes nos reconocen como los distribuidores de alimentos más innovadores en Tennessee" dice Muhsin. "Es nuestra máxima prioridad crecer con las ventas de nuestros clientes y proveer a esos clientes con la mejor calidad por medio de los productos y servicios que les ofrecemos" Planes para incrementar nuevos productos y el sistema de refrigeración en el nuevo local están programados para el otoño de 2021.

Hesham Muhsin, Director Ejecutivo y fundador de KOS Distribution con sedes en Tennessee, Alabama y Kentucky ha estado en el negocio de distribución de alimentos por 3 años, con más de 10 años de experiencia en el área de comida hispana.

Esta nueva instalación dará servicio a las crecientes necesidades de alimentos hispánicos en nuestro medio. Las ventas en KOS Distribution han aumentado 160% en los últi-

Entre algunos de los productos exclusivos está NOOR° (Marca Registrada), productos de alta calidad, Latin, inspirado en los sabores más auténticos y tradicionalmente preservados como un tesoro en las cocinas de nuestras abuelas y pasados de generación en generación a través de los años. Productos Latin como Jarritos, Tajín, La Costeña, La Morena, San Marcos, Lety, El Ideal, Goya y Jumex, son también marcas bien conocidas y ofrecidas por KOS Distribution.

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

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.

ww w.ju ane se.c om jua ne seUSA@gmail.com

PAGE 14 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Aprenda cómo solicitar beneficios de desempleo, compensación para trabajadores, asistencia temporal y otros programas que pueden ayudarlo si pierde su trabajo.

El Gobierno federal está permitiendo que los estados cambien sus leyes para proporcionar beneficios de seguro por desempleo por razones relacionadas con el coronavirus (COVID-19).

La nueva Ley de Ayuda, Alivio y Seguridad Económica por Coronavirus, aprobada en diciembre de 2020, autoriza que: Todas las personas que sean elegibles para beneficios por desempleo reciban un ingreso adicional automático de $300 por semana hasta el 14 de marzo de 2021.

Los empleados por cuenta propia y trabajadores de empleos temporales reciban un ingreso adicional de $100 por semana.

Trabajadores desempleados reciban 11 semanas adicionales de beneficios por desempleo independientemente del número de semanas que brinda actualmente un estado. Esto es adicional a las 13 semanas que fueron autorizadas por la ley CARES. Comuníquese con la oficina que maneja el programa de seguro por desempleo de su estado para conocer los requisitos y solicitar el seguro por desempleo.

Cómo solicitar el seguro por desempleo y otros beneficios Si pierde su trabajo, el Gobierno ofrece diversos programas y beneficios que lo ayudarán. En CareerOneStop.org puede comenzar el proceso para recibir ayuda con beneficios del seguro de desempleo capacitación laboral y para encontrar un trabajo.

(Fuente: www.usa.gov/espanol) Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

VENDOR WRITING

SWIMMING AGAINST THE CURRENT JEN A.

Abandoned on a slippery raft Tossed about by bon voyage waves Instead of learning how to sink He astutely learned to swim His powerful stroke propelled him Through the wondrous world of words Until he came ashore for good At the city by the bay He took us to Coney Island Where we wandered through his mind He glorified the people’s verse For a handful of magic beans He found his truth in shadows Cast by streetlights against the night Now he’s painted a glorious sunset From his beloved City Lights Ferlinghetti est mort Vive Ferlinghetti

MARCH MADNESS JEN A.

THEME: BA SEBA LL ACROSS 1. Turkey trot, e.g.

6. Dadaist Jean 9. *____ crew, Milwaukee Brewers fan base 13. Poppy seed derivative 14. Afghan monetary unit 15. Hotel room option 16. Category of artistic composition 17. Between northeast and east 18. Relating to pond scum 19. *Babe Ruth’s first major league team 21. *____-and-____ sport 23. Dog command 24. Bald eagle’s home 25. Witchy woman 28. Back wound?

30. Siskel or Ebert 35. Smoothing appliance 37. Distinctive flair 39. Stomata, sing.

March Madness was cancelled last year The fans all shed buckets of tears Close contact was forbid Because of the Covid The future of hoop was unclear This March they will take to the court “What Covid?” they exclaim with a snort The schools would be loony To pass up the money They get for broadcasting the sport The athletes are pleased to perform The round ball their lives can transform But all they’ll get for their sweat Is a thin strip of net And a chance to get out of the dorm College athletes have long been beleaguered To escape from their bondage they’re eager The schools should be careful They’re losing their bankroll As the players choose to be g-leaguers

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

40. Burlap fiber 41. Archeologist’s find 43. Estimated arrivals 44. Discompose 46. Cobbler’s concern 47. Merlin or Gandalf 48. *B in RBI 50. Close by 52. Spade for stony ground 53. Karl of politics 55. Between ready and go 57. *Left, center or right one 61. *Yankees’ only #4 64. Blast from the past 65. Crew tool 67. Helped 69. ____ one’s time, past tense 70. Schiller’s poem 71. Express contempt 72. What Simon does 73. Cut grass 74. Intoxicating

DOWN 1. *Eat a hot one at the game 2. Copycat 3. *Number of standard baseball positions 4. Miss Muffet’s meal 5. Vomiting 6. Highest point 7. *Scoring unit 8. Annapolis frosh 9. Tulip’s early stage 10. Capital of Latvia 11. Et alibi (2 words) 12. Water source 15. Bacchus’ attendants 20. Weasel’s aquatic cousin 22. *Baseball trajectory 24. Diver’s edible reward 25. Muslim woman’s headscarf 26. Caribbean island destination 27. Gained access to (2 words) 29. Hoppy beers 31. Individual unit 32. Bottom line 33. Idealized image 34. *Katie ____ or “____ at the Bat” 36. Empty when kids leave 38. World’s longest river 42. Cut it out 45. Moved a flock of sheep 49. Certain John’s or Jane’s last name 51. Re-use old ideas 54. Car sound, to a toddler 56. Trinity 57. Small door-opening devices 58. One of the hipbones, pl.

59. Whirlpool 60. “Big Little ____” 61. What Jack’s beanstalk did 62. It comes to mind 63. Turned to the right, like a horse 66. Commotion or fuss 68. Wine quality

FUN

HOBOSCOPES ARIES

As an object falls toward the earth it accelerates until it reaches its terminal velocity.

If that object is an average squirrel, the drag created by the shape and size of its body as well as its buoyancy will result in an impact with the ground at a speed the squirrel can survive. To put it another way, no matter how far a squirrel falls, the fall is survivable.

I know it feels like you’ve been falling for a long time, Aries. But what if you knew for sure that you were the squirrel? What if you were sure you would survive this?

How would you think about all this falling if you knew that your life will begin again once you hit the ground?

TAURUS

We’ve sent people to the moon. We’ve eradicated polio. We communicate instantly across the globe. But we still don’t really know how freshwater eels reproduce. I mean, we’ve got some good guesses. They seem to mature in rivers and lakes and then return to the sea where they converge in an area near The Bermuda Triangle and...something happens.

It seems to result in baby eels. We’re just not sure exactly how it plays out. Remember, Taurus, that when it seems like there’s no mystery left, you might just be looking too far from The Bermuda Triangle.

GEMINI

I had a dream about you the other night, Gemini. I mean, it wasn’t exactly you. Kind of a combination of you and the cashier at the drive-thru smoothie place. In my dream you were worried about something but you didn’t want to tell me what it was. I said I’d make us some smoothies to keep your mind off of the worry. Then we laughed because we both knew my blender is broken. When I woke up, I realized that I’d been wrong in the dream. That if you’re worried, Gemini, there’s no need to keep it a secret. This is a great time to talk it through.

CANCER

I remember one time when I was a kid and the power went out. Everything went dark and I was scared, but my mom found some candles and my dad opened a package of marshmallows and we sat in the living room listening to my sister tell ghost stories and laughing. It probably only lasted 45 minutes and then the lights suddenly came back on. Dad went back to the TV and mom got on the phone and I had to go do my homework. Sometimes things going back to normal is as scary and lonely as when things got weird in the first place. But remember who you were in the dark and who you wanted to be. That’s still you.

LEO

So I guess it turns out money isn’t even real, Leo? Give me a second here, I’m just finding out about this. Money is just a system we’ve all agreed to participate in where human labor is turned into numbers in a computer at a bank that tell you how many chicken nuggets you can buy? Pretty crazy. So if money isn’t real, Leo, then what is? I know you are. And everybody you see today is, too. However much money you’ve got, it’s enough to say hi to folks, check in, let them know you’re glad to see them, and ask if they might want one of your chicken nuggets.

VIRGO

Do you still have that bike, Virgo? Do you think I could borrow it? I’m trying to get outdoors more and running is so hard on the knees. Maybe I could just use it, like, two days a week and then you could have it the other days.

You’d love getting out there on the trail, zooming past the joggers with the wind at your back and the wide world in front of you. Pedalling wherever your wheels can take you. Honestly, Virgo, maybe you should just take it out for a spin and you can let me know how it went. I’m gonna see if Libra will let me use their skateboard.

LIBRA

“Nature abhors a vacuum” is a statement attributed to Aristotle. (We can’t very well leave a statement like that hanging out there unattributed.) I think I’m beginning to see what he meant, Libra. It seemed like you might have a lot of free time over the past few months, but the time filled itself right up. Days will be filled whether we fill them or not. You can get away with letting nature make your schedule for a while, but I think it may be time for you to get back in the driver’s seat of your free time, Libra.

SCORPIO

If I were stuck on the side of the road with a f lat tire and no jack and I only had 5% batter y lef t on my phone, I think I’d call you, Scorpio. I mean, I know you aren’t just sitting at home alone with nothing better to do, but I also know you care and you’d help me get it figured out. It’s an unusual person who can solve problems in a crunch the way you can. I just hope you know that just because you’re so good at helping, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help, too.

SAGITTA R IUS

It’s been a weird day, Sagittarius. But, then again, aren’t they all? Sometimes I feel like I’m just waiting for a normal day so I can start a new project or get things organized or check in on my status. But if it’s always a weird day, I can always find an excuse to avoid those things. On this weird day, Sagittarius, give yourself permission to do the things you’re waiting for a normal day to do.

CAPRICORN

The owls are back outside my kitchen window. They show up every year.

I’ll be cooking dinner and hear a low “who-who-whooo.” And I usually stop and think, well, he’s got a point. Who exactly am I? Who do people think I am? Who do I want to be? I think about those questions and I make some dinner and I go that much deeper into myself. But maybe we could take those questions differently this time, Capricorn. Who needs my help? Who can I call?

Who could I connect with more? If you’re worried about missing the questions, Capricorn, or getting the answers wrong, the owls always ask again.

AQUA RIUS

In 1846 a horse was born. His name was Sampson and he still holds the record for the largest horse ever documented.

Sampson stood over seven feet tall and weighed more than 3,000 pounds. Though he was never photographed, we will remember this enormous horse forever. Or, more likely, until another bigger horse comes along. Honestly, even if you were a 3,500 pound horse, Aquarius, it still wouldn’t be enough to make sure you’ll be remembered for all time. Love the people around you. Let them love you back. They’ll remember you for their whole lives and that’s enough.

PISCES

I’m so tired this week, Pisces. It’s suddenly even harder to get up in the morning and all I want to do after I get home is take a nap. Springtime is supposed to be this glorious thing when the world comes to life and everything begins anew. But if you’ve had the kind of week where you don’t feel like beginning anew, Pisces, you don’t have to. Take a nap. Stay inside.

Turn off the lights and watch a movie. Make the springtime come to you.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained pharmacist, or a registered horse. 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

PAGE 16 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

3D-printed homes build hope for U.S. affordable housing

BY CAREY L. BIRON After years of homelessness and hard living, Tim Shea has swapped the sharp corners in his life for the round, flowing design of his new 3D-printed home in Austin, Texas.

In August, Shea became the first person in the United States to move into a 3D-printed home, according to Austin-based developer ICON, in what advocates say is a milestone in efforts to boost the national supply of affordable housing.

This month New York-based firm SQ4D listed what is purported to be the country’s first 3D-printed house to go up for sale, while ICON completed the largest 3D-printed structure in North America — a military barracks.

Shea, 70, said his new house — which he moved into for free and is located in a community of formerly homeless people — has saved his life.

“It’s just phenomenally beautiful ... it just wraps around and gives me a feeling of life security,” Shea told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from his 400 square foot (46 square metre) home.

The house’s high ceilings, large windows and skylights make it feel larger than it looks from the outside, he added.

Shea got to watch his home being built on site by a large new “printer”, developed and operated by ICON, a process which the company said took about 48 hours and is being reduced further as the technology improves.

Large-scale 3D printing is gaining steam around the world as a quicker, cheaper and more efficient way of building housing, with some projects producing a home in 24 hours of printing time for just a few thousand dollars.

ICON constructed the first permitted 3D-printed building in the United States in 2018 and is one of the few 3D construction firms focusing specifically on affordable housing.

Last year, Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter helped an Indian company called Tvasta build India’s first 3D-printed

Tim Shea sits in his 3D-printed home in Community First! Village in Austin, Texas, in 2020. Handout photo by ICON / Regan Morton Photography home, which brought construction times down by more than a third and reduced waste by about 65 percent.

“3D printing technology has huge potential to boost the affordable housing sector,” said Patrick Kelley, the center’s vice president, in emailed comments.

Affordable and sustainable Using 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, for construction goes back to at least 2004, when a University of South Carolina professor tried to print a wall.

Unlike other uses of 3D printing - such as medical devices or complex modelling — the process typically uses some form of quick-drying concrete laid precisely by a computer-controlled extruder.

The approach has been used for niche projects in recent years - such as the world’s first 3D-printed bridge, which opened to the public in Madrid in 2016. But it is now at the cusp of a major expansion, according to market analysts.

While the global market for 3D-printed construction stood at $3 million in 2019, it is pro-

jected to grow to more than $1.5 billion by 2024, according to a study from consultancy Research and Markets.

Last year, the global industry publication 3Dnatives listed a dozen companies working on 3D-printed houses globally.

Jason Ballard, who spent a decade working in housing and homelessness before helping form ICON four years ago, said he came to 3D printing seeking a construction method that was affordable, sustainable and climate-resilient.

“For me it was always about housing,” the CEO said, suggesting the technology should eventually be the “predominant paradigm” for home construction.

This week a developer is putting the country’s first series of 3D-printed homes up for sale for the mass market, with printing completed by ICON and moveins expected this summer, the firm says.

Ballard points not only to savings in cost and time but also labour, since homes can be printed off of a tablet or phone.

The structures are also more resilient to disasters such as hurricanes, more energy-efficient

and easily adaptable to unique design needs, he added.

“You could imagine hundreds or thousands of these printers — ending homelessness and the affordability crisis,” Ballard said.

ICON built its first homes in an anti-homelessness “village” in Austin, overseen by the non-profit Mobile Loaves and Fishes.

The site, called the Community First! Village, is currently expanding to offer homes to about 500 individuals at the village, including tiny homes, recreational vehicles and six 3D-printed homes, said the organization’s president, Amber Fogarty.

“What attracted us is the promise of this technology,” said Fogarty.

“A lot of the time, innovation becomes available only for people with resources, so for this to be available to our neighbours is really special.”

‘Transformative’ technology Although ICON has only recently started rolling out its technology, Ballard said the firm has already been inundated with requests from homeless people,

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

non-profits and foreign governments.

The company has partnered with New Story, a US-based non-profit that works internationally to provide housing in low-income communities.

Together, they are building houses in a community of fishermen and textile workers in Tabasco, Mexico.

Elsewhere, New Story has typically constructed homes using cinder block, but they were interested in ways to work more quickly, said Sarah Lee, the group’s chief operating officer.

Housing is “such a massive problem, and without taking risks these families are going to be the last people to benefit from this technology,” she said.

Although the Tabasco project was slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, families will start moving into 10 of the houses in coming months, Lee said.

ICON’s work has also attracted interest from the US military.

The Texas barracks — which the company finished this month — will house 76 troops as part of a project with the Department of Defense that will test a range of uses, according to Lieutenant Colonel Alex Goldberg, a lead with the Defense Innovation Unit.

The military is interested in using 3D printing to address its mammoth construction backlog and also in its response to natural disasters, Goldberg said in an interview.

He added that the building process is five times faster than traditional approaches and has “significant” cost and labour savings.

All of this means 3D-printed structures hold significant prospects for post-disaster missions, he noted.

“Having this capability where you’re not just building temporary facilities but can leave behind infrastructure that can get a foothold and begin the recovery — that has the possibility to become transformative,” Goldberg said.

Courtesy of Reuters / Thomson Reuters Foundation / INSP.ngo

VENDOR WRITING

Mr. Smith and the Dying Peach

BY JEN A. I live at an MDHA property. When I first came to live here, I was struck with how beautiful the landscaping was. There were so many rose bushes with fragrant red, pink and yellow flowers. There were wonderful holly bushes. Their thick, crinkled, deep green pointed leaves caught and reflected the sunlight year round. And there were trees; cedars, and exotic trees with branches that wept to the ground. But best of all there was a peach tree. This is where I have to tell you about Mr. Smith. He was a longtime resident when I got here. He was a fixture to say the least. Everyone knew Mr. Smith.

He always dressed to the nines, carried a briefcase, and topped it all off with a Fedora.

He was a sweet, gentle, interested man.

Everyday Mr. Smith would drive his power

wheelchair with an oxygen tank clanging off the back out front to take advantage of the bounty of our glorious yard. He’d pick a perfect rose and slide it carefully into his lapel or a button hole of his shirt if he was feeling especially frisky. And he loved the peach tree. When MDHA privatized the management of their properties, the first thing to flag was the landscaping. First to go were the rose bushes. Then the cedars got sick and died of neglect. And then the peach tree started looking pretty peaked.

Mr. Smith, desperate to save it, would fill a green Sprite bottle with water at a spigot at the base of the building and drive it down and deposit it at the base of the tree. Over and over he would fill the bottle and take it to the peach tree. It was like watching

someone give CPR to a dead man. You know like on one of those medical shows when a group of doctors has put all their energy and expertize into saving a dead patient to no avail. There’s one doc who refuses to give up and keeps pounding on the poor guy’s chest and calling for O neg or some such thing until one of the other docs pulls her away. That’s what it was like watching Mr. Smith minister to that blackened tree. But he kept it up as long as he could. Mr. Smith died suddenly one day while carrying water to his beloved peach tree. The dead tree carcass stood for many months after his passing. We often speak of Mr. Smith and sometimes think it would be nice to plant another tree and put a plack at the base in his memory. But we haven’t done it yet.

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Let me help you. Racism is a toxic, negative condition, that is taught while you are young, then it grows and grows until a person is consumed with it.

Can you Can you Can you/ you figure it out?

Stop the presses! Let’s print a new edition. Naw, not the singing group!

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When a person or people hate you, they really hate themselves.

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PAGE 18 | March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

LET’S START TODAY JOHN H.

Being a Black man, never felt so proud God’s love, so clear, It speaks very loud Understand me, maybe you’ll feel the same too Look up, don’t look down, ‘cause he looks straight at you Don’t be afraid, especially by people on this earth Jesus told you the truth, ever since his birth Hear, believe, and please obey Let’s stay true, let’s start today Even you may hate me, God say I have to love you I obey his word, Because his word is true Let’s “love,” all you who may Let love guide you, let’s start today

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BARBARA@THECONTRIBUTOR.ORG

“The Homeless” experience the greatest bias in the US.

Myths vs. Facts About Homelessness 1 2

Irish

Elderly Retarded LC-HW Disabled

Housewives Christians

Middle Class HC-HW Americans

3

Black Professionals

Whites Poor

British LC-LW

Turks Welfare Feminists Recipients Arabs

Jews

4

HC-LW Asians Rich

Homeless

Low

Competence

High

Figure 2.1 Stereotype content model warmth x competence space mapping social groups, in a representative sample survey of American adults. Source: Cuddy et al. (2007). Reproduced by permission.

Progress will require us to pause and find greater truth from the stories. Accountability will require us to invest in data driven facts, even as we struggle to unlearn our favorite myths. Our myths come from the edges of two stories.

Compassion requires us to love.

Some people just want to be homeless, they don’t want to come indoors.

Reality: Homes are the solution to homelessness. Homes that reduce homelessness have three components: self-determination, social connections, and affordability.

But won’t that just enable substance abuse?

Reality: Substance problems are hard to kick, even when one is super-motivated and receiving first-rate treatment. It’s much more difficult when that person lives outdoors and has no idea where their next meal is coming from. Stable housing, especially when offered with support services, significantly improves quality of life and community wellbeing.

Aren’t we just rewarding bad behavior?

Reality: Do we want to end homelessness? People make mistakes – sometimes over and over again. But they need a place where they can get their lives back in order. Affordable housing alternatives, especially when support services are offered, are proven to keep people off the streets, giving them the time andmotivation to make life changes.

The poor will always be amongst us.

Reality: This is a call to action to do good. The effects of public policy have been traced across the country to determine the quality of life of the poor. Evidence based practices show that the poor can be housed, fed, and safe in housing. Poor public policy with poor procedures reduces the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities. Poverty does not have to equate to homelessness.

Stories are how we hold the narratives of our lives and our communities.

Stories help create our culture and lead our community compassion.

Unfortunately in the homeless service sector, stories often convey failure because the losses are painful. Blame causes people to choose sides between the myths. Data has proven that the stories we tell ourselves about homelessness are too often incorrect and the systems created from those stories are flawed. Join Nashville, join us in changing the story.

Major Ethan Frizzell Area Commander, www.SalvationArmyNashville.org

March 17-31, 2021 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19