The Contributor: September 14, 2022

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Volu m e 16

| Number 18 | September 14 - 28, 2022

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

Conexión Américas Looks Forward After Two Decades of Service

PHOTO BY JUSTIN WAGNER

I N T H E I S S U E L a N ticia

Contributor Board

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

GRATIS

Septiembre

2022

Año 20 - No. 356

L a N ticia

Tom Wills, Chair Cathy Jennings, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Amber DuVentre, Jerome Moore, Annette McDermott, Drew Morris, Andy Shapiro

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

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

Nashville, Tennessee

El programa Latino Achievers de la YMCA celebra su vigésimo aniversario

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3

Un gran logro en realidad lo que ha conseguido esta institución que por ya dos decadas continúa impactando a la juventud Hispana en nuestro medio a través del programa Latino Achievers. Siempre he tenido un lugar especial en mi corazón para la Por Yuri Cunza YMCA, debido al rol Editor in Chief que cumplen y las @LaNoticiaNews oportunidades que nos ofrecen. Es por esto un gran gusto compartir la información a continuación que nos hizo llegar esta institución por medio de su directora de comunicaciones. ¡Felicitaciones YLA!

Vendor Spotlight

“El Programa Latino Achievers de YMCA ha alcanzado un hito importante este mes y está celebrando 20 años de currículo líder en preparación universitaria y profesional y enseñanza culturalmente receptiva.

Latino Achievers empodera e inspira a los estudiantes latinos a descubrir sus fortalezas, dar forma a su futuro y transformar el mundo. YLA busca cerrar la brecha de oportunidades para los estudiantes latinos y que se identifican como inmigrantes mediante el uso de prácticas basadas en evidencia para aumentar las solicitudes universitarias, las tasas de inscripción y la identidad positiva.

Karina Gutierrez-Molina, YMCA Achievers Pathway Navigator, ha estado en el programa desde la escuela secun-

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Los socios corporativos a largo plazo incluyen Nissan, State Farm, RC Mathews, Transplant Management Associates. Durante los últimos dos años, el programa agregó Bank of America, Truist y Alliance Bernstein a su lista de socios.

Foto: YMCA of Middle Tennessee

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

“Me encantaría ver a Latino Achievers expandirse y brindar más becas para estudiantes. Pero poder apoyar y ampliar ese alcance solo se logra a través de donantes que creen en la misión”, dijo Jazmin Ramirez, voluntaria y ex alumna.”

Vendor Writing

Moving Pictures

Contributor vendors write in this issue about women, fire, friends, and what one vendor learned in the psych ward.

John Singleton’s brilliant Boyz n the Hood still shakes and dazzles at the Belcourt. See it on Wednesday Sept. 23.

YMCA Latino Achievers Program reaches a major milestone celebrating its 20 years daria. Ahora, ayuda a los estudiantes a esta comunidad puede ser escuchada a través de las voces de sus jóvenes”, dijo encontrar su camino hacia el éxito.

Andrea Flores, profesora asistente en la "Pienso en las formas en que puedo ayudar Universidad de Brown y voluntaria de a estos estudiantes y me veo en ellos", dijo YLA. “Ha habido tantos resultados marGutiérrez-Molina. "Son estudiantes uni- avillosos de este programa y creo que versitarios de primera generación, que van expandir el acceso a más estudiantes sería por el mismo camino que yo, y estoy emo- extraordinario”. cionada por ellos. Me emociono mucho al pensar en el hecho de que están mucho Juan Escamilla Vargas participó en Latino Achievers durante su tiempo en la escuela más preparados". secundaria y ahora sigue siendo volunLatino Achievers aumenta la exposición a tario. Dijo que para algunos estudiantes, la educación superior y caminos alterna- Latino Achievers “es uno de sus mayores tivos a través de recorridos universitarios, motivadores para seguir adelante”. ferias y conversaciones con representantes “Latino Achievers ha existido durante 20 y personal de admisiones universitarias, años y ha tenido un gran impacto por lo además de brindar una introducción a que he escuchado de otras personas y lo diversas profesiones y profesionales de que he experimentado personalmente”, color a través de recorridos de "World of dijo. “Las cosas más superficiales brindan a Work" donde los estudiantes pueden ver los estudiantes algo para agregar a su cusus sueños alcanzados por personas que rrículum universitario y, en una escala más comparten sus orígenes. grande e impactante, [YLA] puede cambiar la trayectoria de la vida de alguien”.

“El poder del acceso a la educación y la construcción de liderazgo con los jóvenes Actualmente, el programa trabaja con latinos es poderoso. Es una forma en que nueve escuelas secundarias públicas de

“I will have a goal in life.”

Being a vendor doesn’t just mean a job or a pay Durante agosto y antes del Mes de la Herencia Hispana, a principios de sepcheck it’s del a tiembre, lato Y [Ho] celebrará— el éxito Programa Latino Achievers a través de sus plataformas sociales, tributos en video y complete turnaround." otras actividades y eventos de reconocimiento.

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Metro Nashville que ayudan a preparar a los estudiantes para la educación superior a través de la planificación financiera y la presentación de solicitudes universitarias. A lo largo de los años, se ha atendido a más de 6000 estudiantes de secundaria que lograron una tasa de graduación del 100 % con más de $900,000 en becas otorgadas desde el inicio del programa.

Acerca de la Y: La YMCA de Middle Tennessee es la organización sin fines de lucro líder en la región dedicada a fortalecer la comunidad a través del desarrollo de la juventud, una vida saludable y la responsabilidad social. Inspirada por su misión como una hermandad caritativa mundial unida por una lealtad común a Jesucristo con el propósito de ayudar a las personas a crecer en espíritu, mente y cuerpo, durante más de 147 años, la YMCA de Middle Tennessee ha brindado a personas de todas las edades la herramientas que necesitan para pertenecer y estar bien. El año pasado, la Y llegó a 171,485 personas, mejorando la salud y el bienestar de la región, fomentando el potencial de los niños y adolescentes y brindando oportunidades para servir a los demás y apoyar a nuestros vecinos.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-567-3569

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)

WHAT WE DO 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.

por www.juanese.com juanese@usa.com

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Buying more papers grows & legitimizes a vendor's business, allowing the vendor to apply for housing.

WHO WE ARE The Contributor is a nonprofit social enterprise that creates economic opportunity with dignity by investing in the lives of people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Starting in 2019, our C.O.V.E.R. Program (Creating Opportunity for Vendor Employment, Engagement, and Resources) was the natural expansion of our mission of removing obstacles to housing. We now offer full case management, assistance with housing and rental expenses, addiction recovery, health insurance, food benefits, and SSI/SSDI assistance. We see the onestop-shop team approach radically transforming a vendor's image of self and their place in community.

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Contributors This Issue

Linda Bailey • Justin Wagner • Amanda Haggard • Ridley Wills II • Judith Tackett • Norma B. • Jen A. • Jamie W. • June P. • Wendell J. • Alvine • Evelyn Hockstein • Nandita Bose • Alex Alper • David Lawder • Chris Scott Fieselman • Mr. Myserio • William B. • Joe Nolan

Contributor Volunteers Christine Doeg , Volunteer Coordinator Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Laura Birdsall • Marissa Young • Ezra LaFleur • Linda Eisele • Matthew Murrow • Gisselly Mazariegos

Cathy Jennings Executive Director Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations Carli Tharp SNAP Specialist Ree Cheers SOAR Manager Rachel Ternes Housing Navigator Amy Holt Housing Navigator Jesse Call Operations Consultant Raven Nye Director of Housing Initiatives Arnita Carson Recovery Specialist Justin Wagner Resource Coordinator & Reporter Barbara Womack Advertising Manager Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom Wills Contributor Co-Founders Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors. Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed.

The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions. The Contributor cannot and will not endorse any political candidate.

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PAGE 2 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

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VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: HSIU-E HO

Big Issue Taiwan’s Hsiu-e Ho: “Positive thinking isn’t keeping me going, gratitude is”

BY TZU-HUA CHEN / VERYMULAN PHOTO BY TZU-HUA CHEN / VERYMULAN The Big Issue Taiwan met Hsiu-e Ho towards the end of June at her pitch at Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station. Afternoon thunderstorms had hit Taipei several days in a row as summer arrived. Luckily, despite the clouds, it wasn't raining when Hsiu-e Ho arrived to sit under a tree by the street and talk about her life as a vendor and losing the ability to walk.

--Hsiu-e Ho served as a beautician a few years ago. Living with Thalassemia [a congenital blood disorder], she fell into a coma at work one day and had to stay at the hospital for two months for check-ups and surgeries. All her savings went to inpatient expenses. Another thing she lost for good was the ability to walk — she’s spent her life in a wheelchair since. She’s still unsure about how exactly that happened, how her life turned upside down overnight.

It was a dramatic change for her to be rendered unable to work in a beauty salon

anymore. Nevertheless, she picked herself up and sought support from associations and churches. She met Ms. Lin from Taiwan Adventist Foundation [a social welfare charity] through a priest. Lin suggested that she sell street papers, which was a glimmer of blue sky in the clouds. Ho said to herself: “Yes, I can sell magazines. I will have a goal in life.” Being a vendor doesn’t just mean a job or a pay check to her — it’s a complete turnaround.

A vendor for five or six years, she’s seen both the good and the bad in people: hostile vendors, passers-by who give her unfriendly looks as if they despise her. "My feelings were hurt,” she recalls serenely. She’s probably so used to that kind of treatment that she’s become used to it, nothing but poised.

On the bright side, in a big city like Taipei, pleasant encounters happen too. Ho tells me about her loyal customers: an office worker from Yonghe [a district in New Taipei City], and people that appear aggressive at first but become nicer as they get to know her. The

teachers from the neighbouring primary school also have a chat with her before they go home.

She still exhibits imperturbable calm as she speaks, but a smile has crawled up her face.

Good things aside, she baulks at the pandemic that’s affected business. “It’s almost the end of June and I haven’t got 30 issues sold. How do I make a living doing this?” She suffers financially despite the income from selling magazines and government subsidies.

Giving up is not an option though. Whether it’s to find a new pitch or to try something else, she’s got to do something to improve her life.

I’m not able to see her eyes behind the sunglasses; neither can I imagine how she’s come such a long way after all those big life changes. I ask if it takes a lot of positivity to get through them, but she has no answer. “I can’t keep moving forward If I have to get everything figured out,” she shakes her head, and starts naming those who have given her a hand: her church, The Big Issue, foundations, and friends who offer her constant assistance

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

in different aspects of life. “I feel enormously lucky to receive help from all over.” There it is — positive thinking isn’t the key to keeping her going; gratitude is. She’s able to stay the course thanks to the people who’ve been there for her, backing her up.

This article was written in collaboration with Verymulan. Founded by CEO Shu-mei Chang in 2012, Verymulan is a content site which advocates women’s participation in social innovation and shows the power of women through a variety of stories. The staff provides support to entrepreneurs looking to solve social problems, and gathers resources to encourage collaborations between women and businesses. They “Stand for Small”, aiming to improve society with their support for social entrepreneurship and small businesses. https://www.verymulan.com/ Translated from Mandarin by Sunny Tseng (Taiwan) Courtesy of The Big Issue Taiwan / International Network of Street Papers

PAINTING THE SMOKIES A R T, C O M M U N I T Y, A N D T H E M A K I N G O F A N AT I O N A L PA R K OPEN THROUGH JAN. 15, 2023

FREE Admission 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.

Nashville, Tennessee 615.741.2692

TNMuseum.org

PAGE 4 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

NEWS

A Few Questions with Councilmember Colby Sledge, District 17

BY JUDITH TACKETT

C

olby Sledge, a second-term Councilmember representing District 17, sits on powerful committees — Affordable Housing and Budget & Finance — and has been instrumental this year in doubling the Mayor’s proposed ARP allocation to the Barnes Housing Trust Fund from $20 million to $40 million.

Sledge says that he will not run for an atlarge seat in the next council election.

“I specifically ran for a district council seat,” he says. “I grew up in Nolensville, so Nashville to me has always been South Nashville. That’s my Nashville. I’m very deeply rooted in this community, and I want to continue to try to do good work that helps the people in South Nashville. Council is one way to do that, but there are other ways to do that, too.

That’s where I want to keep my focus.”

The Contributor talked with Sledge as part of a series called A Few Questions With where we interview council members about their district’s most pressing issues.

You are in your second and last term as District 17 Councilmember. How would you describe the changes of the past seven years in District 17?

District 17 has grown at a rate faster than most other districts. In fact, when redistricting goes into effect for next year’s elections, District 17 will shrink area-wise because we’ve added so many people. We’ve seen a lot of growth in urban core neighborhoods like Edgehill and Wedgewood-Houston and Chestnut Hill — there just right outside the Downtown area. I suspect that we’re just continuing to grow a lot faster than the Nashville average over the next several years.

What are the main concerns you hear from your constituents?

Housing affordability is definitely a major issue. With the proximity to Downtown and so many different pikes and avenues that run through District 17, this is a really great area to live in because you’re so close to everything. That has caused the prices of homes and rents to go up. I think we’ll start to see that change a little bit as so many new units come online, but it’s still going to be on top of everybody’s list.

The other thing is infrastructure. A lot of this area was outside the old city county lines, and so, for many years, it was not receiving the level of services that some other areas of Davidson County did. Trying to play catch up as we grow so quickly has been a challenge.

We’ve got a lot of water infrastructure being replaced. We have pipes that are 100 years old that are being replaced right now. We’re having sidewalks being built, we’re having bike lanes being built, and we’re really trying to be a community that has connected neighborhoods that you can get around safely in a lot of different ways, whether you’re walking, biking, in the car, or taking a bus.

METRO COUNCIL COMMITTEES: Affordable Housing Budget and Finance Human Services You serve on two powerful committees, the Budget and Finance Committee and the Affordable Housing Committee. What are some of the main achievements you’d like to highlight from these two committees?

Budget is obviously extremely important in the sense that we analyze the Mayor’s budget proposal every year and then usually propose a substitute of our own. I think what we’ll see this coming year is that the budget probably won’t have grown by such big amounts as it had the last year or two because we won’t be receiving federal money to supplement it through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars.

That’s another big piece we’ll be having before the Budget Committee is that we will be considering the recommendations of the ARP Committee to allocate the rest of those funds. There is more than $70 million left to allocate of these one-time funds, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. So, we’ve got to make a real effort to ensure that they’re going to areas of the highest need and places where we can make an impact immediately.

In the Affordable Housing Committee, we review items like Barnes Fund applications when the Housing Trust Fund Commission makes recommendations. We are reviewing policy items on how we encourage affordable housing, how we incentivize it, and we also have a role to play in the ARP funds because so many of them that are coming through Metro Council relate to housing.

I think we’ve done a good job last year of

really digging into the why of housing, looking at why certain policies were put in place or why do we have a shortage of housing among certain populations, and how do we really drill down to address the issues that we can most directly affect. We have been talking through issues related to hard-to-house populations or populations experiencing homelessness.

We’ve gotten a lot more into the depth of these policies than we have on the committee in years past. That’s a good thing because Council members are now starting to grasp all the ins and outs of what affects housing policies and we’re making more informed decisions.

You also are new to the Human Services Committee. What made you want to serve on that committee?

Human Services oversees a lot of the housing issues that we’re talking about, especially when it comes to items like permanent supportive housing or rapid rehousing. We’re having $50 million worth of housing through ARP funds we’re considering right now, and they go through all three committees I sit on. It gives me the unique opportunity to ask questions and consider our initiatives through different lenses, whether it’s the budget lens or the affordability lens or the human services/ government services lens of how we are best helping people.

We have been asking a lot of questions about the $50 million plan.

The main conversation I’m having is whether there is a portion that’s talking about

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

direct housing in developments that have tax credits on them or other federal funding attached to them to really try to address very low- to no-income individuals. I’ve been trying to get more details on that. The one concern I have is that we may be considering new programs at the expense of programs of the Barnes Fund instead of adding to our overall investment in housing for Nashvillians.

We’re kind of just moving money from one pot to another. I want to make sure that we’re increasing our overall investment.

Homelessness is a top political issue across Davidson County. Do you have any short-term and long-term goals you’d like to see happen?

The biggest goal is to get people housed.

The district I represent includes the Fairgrounds and during COVID we were sheltering individuals who otherwise would have gone unsheltered. It was a program that had a lot of positives to it because people knew where they could come back to. My short-term goal would be to ensure that we are producing the open doors to ensure people are to obtain housing. We have talked a little about that on Veterans who are facing homelessness, but it has to be a communitywide initiative.

Longterm, we have to get ahead of demand. We have to ensure that we are building enough housing of all types so that the supply meets the demand, and we are able to help guide people to the housing through programs and initiatives we take on.

PAGE 6 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

NASHVILLE HISTORY CORNER

FROM BALD HILL TO LOVE CIRCLE

BY RIDLEY WILLS II The families who lived in the settlements along the Cumberland River were dependent on game to survive. Many of the men hunted along Richland Creek. Those that did were well aware of a 750-foot hill about three miles from town on the south side of what became known as the Richland Creek Road (now Harding Road). Be-

cause of the lack of vegetation on its crest, they called the hill “Bald Hill.”

In December 1864, Federal General George G. Thomas’ outer defense line ran west from the Hillsboro Pike beside what we know today as Love Circle, before crossing what was then called the Richland Turnpike. This hill

was the tallest in Nashville in 1910 when lots were laid out around its perimeter and houses built. The City of Nashville purchased 8.33 acres on the crest of the hill in 1926 in order to build a 200,000 gallon reservoir beneath the top of the hill.

The ground around the hill became a small public park.

The park’s first supervisor was a man named Mettau. Initially, the park was named for him, but for many years it has been known as Love Circle because the city bought it from John R. Love, but it’s become a double entendre because generations of young couples have enjoyed parking there at night to get to know one another.

Ridley wrote a book!

Longtime writer for The Contributor Ridley Wills II has published a book cataloging all of his work writing History Corner articles for the paper from over the past decade. All proceeds from the book will be donated to The Contributor to continue its mission of providing low-barrier income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness so that they can find sustainable housing.

FIND THE BOOK AT THESE LOCAL STORES: • • • • • •

Belle Meade Mansion Gift Shop: 5025 Harding Pike Elder's Bookstore: 101 White Bridge Road Fort Negley Visitors Center: 1100 Fort Negley Boulevard Historic Belmont: 1800 Belmont Blvd.

Logos Book Store: 2136 Bandywood Drive Parnassus Books: 3900 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 14

• Landmark Booksellers: 114 East Main Street, Franklin TN • Hot Pink: 831 Franklin Pike, Brentwood TN • Duck River Books: 124 Public Square, Columbia TN

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

LEARN MORE ABOUT

Learn More About Criminalization of Homelessness Why the criminalization of homelessness creates barriers to solutions and how this plays out in Nashville

BY JUDITH TACKET T The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a statement in late August to express its strong concerns at the increasing number of state and local laws that criminalize homelessness “at the disproportionately high number of persons belonging to racial and ethnic minorities affected by homelessness.”

The press release pointed to Tennessee as the first state in America to make it a felony to camp on public lands despite a lack of adequate affordable housing. The Tennessee law went into effect on July 1, 2022, and could lead to a Class E felony conviction that carries up to six years in jail, a $3,000 fine and the loss of voting rights.

The reason this topic remains relevant is that across the nation including in Nashville, we have seen an increase in outdoor homelessness. We all agree that something needs to be done, but criminalizing homelessness is actually making homelessness worse rather than contributing to any solutions.

Nashville’s Mayor John Cooper has brought a proposal before Metro Council, which is on the agenda for Oct.4, to consider using $50 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to address outdoor and chronic homelessness. The draft proposal that has been published so far clearly shows that the focus of the $50 million proposal is to dismantle large encampments by creating options for people to move indoors quickly and work on permanent supportive housing following a Housing First approach.

Going the route of focusing on housing as solutions is the right way.

Criminalizing homelessness will create increasing barriers to housing making it nearly impossible for many people to access housing quickly even if they have obtained sufficient income and assistance.

What is more, city and state leaders that support the criminalization of homelessness without building sufficient housing opportunities for all people, including the poorest and most vulnerable residents, should be aware of the potential impact such laws eventually could have on federal funding streams designated to implement actual solutions.

The U.N. Committee stated it very clearly when it urged the United States

to, “abolish laws and policies that criminalize homelessness; implement strong financial and legal incentives to decriminalize homelessness, including by conditioning or withdrawing funding from state and local authorities that criminalize homelessness and encourage them to redirect funding from criminal justice responses to adequate housing and shelter programs, in particular for persons belonging to racial

dollars are being redirected to open the doors to an apartment.

Were the federal government to reduce its homelessness grants to Tennessee, on top of what’s already happening in response to counteract the increase in criminalizing homelessness, even fewer people could be served with housing. Therefore, increasing outdoor homelessness.

In addition, according to the U.S. In-

"We all agree, something needs to be done, but criminalizing homelessness is actually making homelessness worse rather than contributing to any solutions." and ethnic minorities most affected by homelessness.”

Criminalization already affects funding. For one, arresting and jailing people is costly. Second, nonprofits and local governments are increasingly creating incentive programs for landlords to (pretty much) beg them to house people with felonies and even with misdemeanors. Therefore, more service

teragency Council on Homelessness, the federal government has for years taken a clear stance against criminalization of homelessness and promoted instead: • The creation of comprehensive and seamless systems of care; • Collaboration between law enforcement, behavioral health, and social services providers; and

PAGE 8 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

• Alternative justice system strategies.

Please pay attention. We know that systems need to change to truly address homelessness. Our continuation of waiting until people are pushed to live in encampments and outdoors and then criminalizing them because our healthcare, criminal justice and social services systems have failed them all along. None of this is new, for years, we have been working on improving systems approaches in Nashville and have done so with minimal funding, while fighting for additional dollars.

Now, with the $50 million in ARP funds, there is a real opportunity to change the tide and also address the racial equity aspect that the issue of homelessness includes.

In Nashville, about 42 percent of people experiencing literal homelessness (meaning they live in shelters, on the streets, in cars, and other places not meant for human habitation) identify as African American compared to 27 percent of the general population. Discrimination is real for every single person forced to live outdoors. Criminalizing them on top of that is just simply cruel and does nothing to reduce encampments.

Let me be clear, $50 million will not end all homelessness in Nashville.

But it will save a lot of lives of people who would otherwise perish in encampments and on Nashville streets — in 2021, Nashville counted a record 200 people who had experienced homelessness and passed away that year. And it will create new opportunities for some of our most vulnerable neighbors to get back on their feet. Investing dollars in homelessness solutions benefits each Nashville neighborhood, reduces expensive costs to the criminal justice system and other systems that are designed to manage rather than end homelessness for people.

The $50 million will hopefully be just a start, and I urge Metro Council to ensure the entire amount remains dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness AND I call on Mayor John Cooper and Metro Council to include funds in next year’s Metro budget to supplement this one-time, two-year ARP funding and ensure continuity in systems building.

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 2022

GRATIS

Septiembre

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

Año 20 - No. 356

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

Nashville, Tennessee

El programa Latino Achievers de la YMCA celebra su vigésimo aniversario

Un gran logro en realidad lo que ha conseguido esta institución que por ya dos decadas continúa impactando a la juventud Hispana en nuestro medio a través del programa Latino Achievers. Siempre he tenido un lugar especial en mi corazón para la Por Yuri Cunza YMCA, debido al rol Editor in Chief que cumplen y las @LaNoticiaNews oportunidades que nos ofrecen. Es por esto un gran gusto compartir la información a continuación que nos hizo llegar esta institución por medio de su directora de comunicaciones. ¡Felicitaciones YLA!

Metro Nashville que ayudan a preparar a los estudiantes para la educación superior a través de la planificación financiera y la presentación de solicitudes universitarias. A lo largo de los años, se ha atendido a más de 6000 estudiantes de secundaria que lograron una tasa de graduación del 100 % con más de $900,000 en becas otorgadas desde el inicio del programa.

Los socios corporativos a largo plazo incluyen Nissan, State Farm, RC Mathews, Transplant Management Associates. Durante los últimos dos años, el programa agregó Bank of America, Truist y Alliance Bernstein a su lista de socios.

Foto: YMCA of Middle Tennessee

“El Programa Latino Achievers de YMCA ha alcanzado un hito importante este mes y está celebrando 20 años de currículo líder en preparación universitaria y profesional y enseñanza culturalmente receptiva.

Latino Achievers empodera e inspira a los estudiantes latinos a descubrir sus fortalezas, dar forma a su futuro y transformar el mundo. YLA busca cerrar la brecha de oportunidades para los estudiantes latinos y que se identifican como inmigrantes mediante el uso de prácticas basadas en evidencia para aumentar las solicitudes universitarias, las tasas de inscripción y la identidad positiva.

Durante agosto y antes del Mes de la Herencia Hispana, a principios de septiembre, la Y celebrará el éxito del Programa Latino Achievers a través de sus plataformas sociales, tributos en video y otras actividades y eventos de reconocimiento.

Karina Gutierrez-Molina, YMCA Achievers Pathway Navigator, ha estado en el programa desde la escuela secun-

YMCA Latino Achievers Program reaches a major milestone celebrating its 20 years daria. Ahora, ayuda a los estudiantes a esta comunidad puede ser escuchada a través de las voces de sus jóvenes”, dijo encontrar su camino hacia el éxito.

Andrea Flores, profesora asistente en la "Pienso en las formas en que puedo ayudar Universidad de Brown y voluntaria de a estos estudiantes y me veo en ellos", dijo YLA. “Ha habido tantos resultados marGutiérrez-Molina. "Son estudiantes uni- avillosos de este programa y creo que versitarios de primera generación, que van expandir el acceso a más estudiantes sería por el mismo camino que yo, y estoy emo- extraordinario”. cionada por ellos. Me emociono mucho al pensar en el hecho de que están mucho Juan Escamilla Vargas participó en Latino Achievers durante su tiempo en la escuela más preparados". secundaria y ahora sigue siendo volunLatino Achievers aumenta la exposición a tario. Dijo que para algunos estudiantes, la educación superior y caminos alterna- Latino Achievers “es uno de sus mayores tivos a través de recorridos universitarios, motivadores para seguir adelante”. ferias y conversaciones con representantes “Latino Achievers ha existido durante 20 y personal de admisiones universitarias, años y ha tenido un gran impacto por lo además de brindar una introducción a que he escuchado de otras personas y lo diversas profesiones y profesionales de que he experimentado personalmente”, color a través de recorridos de "World of dijo. “Las cosas más superficiales brindan a Work" donde los estudiantes pueden ver los estudiantes algo para agregar a su cusus sueños alcanzados por personas que rrículum universitario y, en una escala más comparten sus orígenes. grande e impactante, [YLA] puede cambiar la trayectoria de la vida de alguien”.

“El poder del acceso a la educación y la construcción de liderazgo con los jóvenes Actualmente, el programa trabaja con latinos es poderoso. Es una forma en que nueve escuelas secundarias públicas de

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)

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.

por www.juanese.com juanese@usa.com

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

“Me encantaría ver a Latino Achievers expandirse y brindar más becas para estudiantes. Pero poder apoyar y ampliar ese alcance solo se logra a través de donantes que creen en la misión”, dijo Jazmin Ramirez, voluntaria y ex alumna.”

Acerca de la Y: La YMCA de Middle Tennessee es la organización sin fines de lucro líder en la región dedicada a fortalecer la comunidad a través del desarrollo de la juventud, una vida saludable y la responsabilidad social. Inspirada por su misión como una hermandad caritativa mundial unida por una lealtad común a Jesucristo con el propósito de ayudar a las personas a crecer en espíritu, mente y cuerpo, durante más de 147 años, la YMCA de Middle Tennessee ha brindado a personas de todas las edades la herramientas que necesitan para pertenecer y estar bien. El año pasado, la Y llegó a 171,485 personas, mejorando la salud y el bienestar de la región, fomentando el potencial de los niños y adolescentes y brindando oportunidades para servir a los demás y apoyar a nuestros vecinos.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-567-3569

ARTS

Nashville Photographer Debuts Show Depicting Noir Nashville ‘Skullcap’ is on display at Zeitgeist Gallery through Sept. 24

BY AMANDA HAGGARD Photographer David Piñeros, who is known for his black and white street photography in Nashville, has a show called Skullcap debuting at Zeitgeist Gallery through Sept. 24.

Piñeros’ project focuses on the night side of Nashville, where he portrays subjects in black and white. He calls the images “post-punk photo-

graphs depicting a queer and dystopian side of the city.”

Skullcap is depicted in zine format as a series of 20 photographs from this project. The zine launches alongside the show with an accompanying 10 pieces, which were taken all over time This work “uses elements from

street photography and portraiture,” Piñeros exhibit information says.

“The frames are not staged but rather a product of coincidence and access to the community. This allows him to make intimate almost psychological captures of this subculture. Taken mostly at night, the portraits feel grimy and ominous.”

PAGE 10 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

VENDOR WRITING

Sometimes ‘Because I Said So’ Just Isn’t Enough

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR I remember once when I was young, seemingly out of the blue, my mom told me, “You should NEVER play with matches.” When I asked why, she uttered the immortal words ALL parents have said to their children at one time or another — “Because I said so.”

I have to admit, I’d never really thought about doing anything like that before, but this “sparked” my curiosity. So what did I do?

Well, if I’d been smart, I would’ve listened to my mom, but instead as this story will prove, I was young and dumb.

The minute my mom wasn’t looking I picked up a book of matches off the kitchen table and went into the bathroom to find the answer to this burning question. It didn’t take me long to figure it out.

I struck each match careful not to get burned, blew it out, and then threw it into a small plastic tulip shaped trash can filled with toilet paper. I soon discovered that even though I’d blown the matches out, it only took a single hot ember to set all that toilet paper ablaze, and it smelled like….well, let’s just say it wasn’t good.

I immediately came out of the

bathroom, closed the door behind me and told my mom, “You were right, I should NEVER play with matches!” Her eyes widened and panic instantly set in and she said, “Oh my God! Why would you say that?” I said, “You might want to open the bathroom door and find out.”

When she did, she let out a blood-curdling scream. My uncle Thomas (my mom’s brother) and my uncle Jimmy (my aunt Betty’s husband) rushed in to save the day! They set the extremely melted trash can in the bathtub, filled what was left of it with water and put the fire out.

Thankfully no one was seriously injured, though there was some minor damage to the linoleum floor and the trash can was a total loss.

With the situation now firmly under control, my mom turned her attention to me — needless to say, I got a well deserved whipping. (It was the kind where you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week.)

I remember telling her, “I wish I was dead.” She said, “You’re gonna wish it a whole lot more than that before I’m done with you!” (For the record, she was right.)

You’d think that would put an

end to my preoccupation with fire, but sadly that was NOT the case.

A short time later my fascination with fire coupled with my desire to experiment surfaced once again.

My mom had a fancy lighter sitting on the bar. It didn’t work but it would still give off a spark. Add a spray of Behold furniture polish and that tiny spark was instantly transformed into a blow torch!

I was eager to share my latest discovery with someone and who better than my cousin Angie? (She was the closest thing I had to a sister.)

As I prepared to show her what I’d learned she leaned in for a closer look, and singed off her bangs and eyebrows in the process. (They’d always been light colored — she had blonde hair — but now they were nonexistent!)

Did I mention we were having school pictures done the next day?

Angie was SO pretty she even modeled for the Cato’s clothing store as a teen, but I have to say, I was prettier than her at least in those school pictures.

Even with all this mischief, I STILL hadn’t learned my lesson.

In the final incident I will relay here, someone had given me a pack of

bottle rockets. I REALLY wanted to set them off, but can you believe that no one would trust me with a lighter?

I guess I can’t blame them given my history. Still, I was impatient and didn’t want to wait. So I had another brilliant idea. I would light the fuse on the stove in the kitchen, then run to the front door, and let it go. It was a straight shot to the door, and back then I could move a lot faster than I do now. Still, it was a BAD idea.

It turns out those fuses burn faster than I’d anticipated. I suddenly thought of all the things that could possibly go wrong. (Man, I wish I would’ve done that BEFORE putting my “plan” in motion!) So, I let it go INSIDE THE HOUSE and it went directly into my mom’s roommate’s bedroom. Oops!

A loud POP and yet another deafening scream was followed by a barrage of questions: What on earth were you thinking? Why would do such a foolish thing?

I told my mom I just wanted to set off the fireworks and if she’d only given me a lighter it wouldn’t have happened. Needless to say that argument didn’t hold up. She wasn’t the least bit sympathetic, just annoyed.

In hindsight I can’t blame her. If I

was in her shoes I probably would’ve felt the same way.

But seriously, there are a couple of lessons to be learned from this.

Parents: You shouldn’t put what could be harmful ideas in the minds of curious young children. It’s true what they say, inquiring minds want to know.

Also if you are going to tell children that they should or shouldn’t do something you may want to take the time to explain your reasons clearly in an age appropriate manner to prevent them from trying to figure it out for themselves.

If you fail to do this, as shown here, it can not only be hazardous but also frustrating and irritating to them leading to more problems.

(Colossians 3:21) Children: “Be obedient to your parents in ALL things for this is pleasing to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20; and Ephesians. 6:1) Keep in mind they are looking out for your best interests.

It can also save you from a lot of heartache in the future if you learn from their experience/mistakes rather than insisting on doing things your own way and suffering the consequences of your inexperience.

Teach Our Children Well

BY JEN A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Republicans have long wanted to destroy our public schools. Each year, the Tennessee legislature does all it can to take the tax dollars necessary to fund our schools and gift those funds to enrich unregulated private businesses. That way the state can wash its hands of any responsibility for our state's low level of student achievement and at the same time add billions to their already overflowing bank accounts.

During the pandemic, the Tennessee State Board of Education did next-to-nothing to develop learning programs and procedures to help our early-learners keep up to speed in the areas of reading and math. While Republican legislators raged against mask mandates and vaccines, our children fell woefully behind. Where were their priorities? Certainly not with our children.

That isn't surprising considering our state board of education

is a body with few members who actually have education credentials.

There are two members who are involved with commercial real estate, a couple of lawyers: one who operates an investment firm and the other started and profits from a Tennessee charter school. There's even a lobbyist who used to work in the governor's office and another who came to the board after a 33 year banking career. Those aren't the people I would turn to for solutions to learning problems in our public schools.

Now years on, the TSBE and the legislature have finally come up with a plan to solve the student learning-loss problem. It's called the 3rd Grade Retention Law. It mandates that if a 3rd grade student does not pass, on the first try, the language arts portion of the TNReady assessment test given near the end of the 2022-2023 school year, that the

student will be held back to repeat the 3rd grade or be remanded to an underfunded "summer camp." It also makes crystal clear that neither the teachers nor the administrators at the school will be held responsible for the student's failure.

The blame and punishment of the failure on this one-shot test will fall squarely on the small shoulders of the totally-innocent student.

How in heaven's name can this be possible? Instead of developing a program that will help our early-learners become more proficient, or holding teachers and administrators to account for implementing that program efficiently, this law will allow the trauma of failure to follow this student for the rest of their academic experience.

The legislature has done everything it can to scare children away from books. After spending a good portion of the last legislative

session depicting libraries as temples of smut and degradation, and librarians as little more than pornographers and pedophiles, is it any wonder that they have so little to offer our early-learners to help them to become able readers? Children have ears. They've been frightened by our legislature's baseless, outlandish rhetoric.

As always, low-income students will bear the brunt of our legislator's educational ineptitude. They may not have access to books or the Internet. Their parents might work two or three jobs just to keep up with constantly escalating rent. If a welloff family has a child who has fallen behind, they can afford tutors and private schools to help their children catch up. Low-income students don't have that kind of advantage.

But I think all of us in Nashville can do something to help our precious early-learners.

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

Let's make this coming school year the year to "Teach a Child to Read." Let's make a commitment to make Nashville children the strongest readers in the state. Churches, unions, businesses, sororities and fraternities, musicians, lawyers, gas station attendants, fast-food workers, poets, publishers, everyone in town can do just a little to keep the earlylearners in our community reading and succeeding. We can do this!

I'm hoping that our local libraries and our neighborhood schools will develop programs we can use to help an early-reader to read. They can at least recommend age-appropriate books. This school year, everyone in Nashville should be reading to a child and then listening attentively as the child reads to you. As with everything else in life, the answer to how an early-learner becomes a proficient reader is: Practice, Practice, Practice. Let's do this!

COVER STORY

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN WAGNER

20 YEARS OF CONNECTING COMMUNITIES Conexión Américas Looks Forward After Two Decades of Service

BY AMANDA HAGGARD When the nonprofit Conexión Américas launched in 2002, Nashville was smaller in so many ways: The Hispanic and Latino community made up only roughly 5 percent of the population. Over the next 20 years, the organization grew with the community. Now, Latinos are the fastest-growing population in the area, with more than 10 percent of Nashvillians identifying as Hispanic or Latino in the latest U.S. Census.

And the organization is celebrating 20 years of serving the community.

When it was founded by Renata Soto, José González and María Clara Mejía, they were looking to “build a welcoming community and create opportunities where Latino families can belong, contribute and succeed,” according to current co-executive directors Martha Silva and Tara Lentz. Leaders at the nonprofit have long

worked through education, advocacy, economic development as guiding points.

“The biggest accomplishment over the past 20 years has been to live our mission in a way that allows Latino families to be served through programs and partnerships so they can successfully continue their journey of integration in this country,” the directors said.

The nonprofit provides assistance to over 9,000 individuals and families every year through programs like Negocio Próspero, where entrepreneurs receive guidance to launch and grow their own businesses, and Puertas Abiertas, a longstanding homeownership program that provides Latino families access to financing, financial counseling and culturally competent homebuyer education.

In 2012, they launched the Mesa Komal

Culinary Incubator, which is a licensed commercial kitchen that offers affordable space for immigrant and native-born food entrepreneurs. There, people have utilized the space for everything from food trucks to catering to cooking food for market retail environments.

In August of this year, they teamed up with Belmont University and Sodexo to open the Mesa Komal Café at Belmont, which will place members of the Mesa Komal program in yearly rotation to give them more experience running their business.

“The name stems from two words: ‘Mesa’ is the Spanish word for table and ‘Komal’ is the Kurdish word for community,” they said. “We chose the name as a banner for our kitchen: Everyone is welcome at our table.”

As with the Belmont affiliation, partnerships

PAGE 12 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

have been part of the nonprofit’s strategy to expand resources and the ways they can provide services. In advocacy efforts, they partnered locally and nationally to work on defeating the English Only referendum in 2009. Three years later, they began work with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and Tennessee Justice for our Neighbors to coordinate with volunteer attorneys and host community outreach events and workshops to educate as DACA was established. It’s become an ongoing effort as the legal back and forth continues regarding the ruling and as families prepare for what may happen if the provision doesn’t continue.

“We’ve always known that there is no one organization that can do it all — or that [we] should even try to do it all,” they said. “With the

COVER STORY

right partnerships, we have been able to collaborate and complement each other's services to broaden and deepen direct services for families in our community.”

In 2012, Conexión Américas created and moved into Casa Azafrán, which has almost become synonymous with the organization. It houses other nonprofits as well and Nashvillians see it as an open community space for people of all kinds. Casa Azafrán offers health services and mental health counseling, adult education and after-school programming for children and youth, an MNPS Pre-K center, legal and financial services, entrepreneurship, leadership development and community organizing, and space for the visual, performing and culinary arts.

At Casa Azafrán on Sept. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations will kick off with the Hispanic Heritage Awards Ceremony from 6-7:30 p.m. It’ll start with the unveiling of a new mural on the building, which is called the “We All Belong Mural.” It was commissioned by local artist Ruben Torres.

“This mural represents the work of all of Conexión Américas’ partners at Casa Azafrán and the diverse communities that the nonprofit collaborative and cultural hub welcomes,” they

said. “The mural, painted on the north facing wall of Casa Azafrán, encompasses the life, culture, and alma of the Latin immigrant community, and highlights Nolensville Pike as the international corridor of Nashville.”

At the award’s ceremony after the unveiling, three Orgullo Hispano (Hispanic Pride) awards will go to unsung heroes in the community: Damaris Villava, Araceli Crescensio, and Celia Aguilar. They were all nominated by peer community organizations.

Villava volunteers with Américas’ Negocio Próspero and Adult Education programs, as well as with the Tennessee Immigrant Refugee Rights Coalition. She also fights for DACA and gives assistance to first-generation DACA recipients and DREAMers to start businesses, apply for school and deal with filing taxes and other federal requirements. Crescencio is a News Channel 5 news reporter and a first-generation Latina who covers the Latino community and their experience as well as working with Latino Achievers, which works to empower students.

Aguilar is a Whitsitt Elementary School parent and volunteer at the school’s garden. She’s also built partnerships with Cosecha, a grassroots nonprofit organization with a mission to gather

neighbors together to foster community along Nolensville Pike and South Nashville.

Conexión Américas will also honor Lauren M. Rogel with the 'Amiga We Love’ award.

For five years, Rogel has provided pro bono legal services to Negocio Próspero small business development program participants on things like reviewing contracts and agreements.

They also prompted young people to write essays in this 20th year of the organization, which was themed “My Present, My Future, My Generation.” High school students shared how their experiences living in the United States defined their identity, how they perceive the role of their generation of young Latinos in shaping our community, and what dreams they have for themselves and their generation over the next two decades.

Winning essays will be announced at the event.

“Some of the overarching themes that we noticed were the difficulties of navigating multiple identities, the pressures of being first-generation, such as serving as interpreters for their parents and the community at large, balancing their families’ expectations with the many hurdles they face on a daily basis such as systemic and educational barriers, and dreaming of success, whether it is being a musician, working in the

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

medical field, or still figuring it out,” they said.

Conexión Américas says it's proud of the many barriers it has overcome throughout two decades.

“Most recently, we overcame the barrier for Latino families to access financial support due to the pandemic crisis,” they said. “The Latino community was heavily affected by the financial burden of the pandemic where many workers lost their jobs, the majority of which did not provide sick days or possibilities of remote work.

With the available funding, strong partnerships, and the hard work of Conexión Américas, more than $1 million were distributed to families in need of assistance during the most difficult times of the pandemic.”

For the next 20 years, Conexión Américas says it will continue to move forward through barriers, always aiming to foster more robust networks within the broader immigrant community and the immigrant-serving sector and to expand their focus on inspiring and incubating leadership for future systems changers.

“We’re only getting started,” they said. “Conexión Américas will continue to advocate for the Latino community’s right to belong, contribute, and succeed.”

VENDOR WRITING

Woman 8

BY JEN A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Woman 1: The Scapegoat: Having taken a bite from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, she is cast out of her home naked and condemned to a life of shame and poverty. Years later, self-righteous men will add the fig leaves to protect them from her naked shame.

Woman 2: The Slave: Draped in coarse burlap, she is little more than a brood mare and works tirelessly to keep her growing family alive as the men wander aimlessly in the desert. She rolls her eyes as the men speak of their search for the promised land. She knows this

mythic land will hold no promise for her.

Woman 3: The Virgin: As a young maiden, she is repeatedly raped by the high priests of the temple as she travels the long distance each day to fetch water from the well. When she becomes heavy with child the priests deny any responsibility and convince the village men she is carrying the seed of God himself.

Woman 4: The Harlot: Smart, hard-working, dependable, and revered by everyone in the commu-

nity, the men conspire to demean her. They lable her a whore and deny her access to the power structure of their world. She shrugs and applies a fresh coat of Jungle Red lipstick. She knows the power she can wield. Who cares what foolish men think? She knows her time will come.

Woman 5: The Token: The society of men begins to fall apart. They trudge off to war at the least provocation. Someone has to decide while the men lust after power abroad. The woman is just a token­— the men think­ — a place

keeper. When the men return broken, blank, and drug dependent; the woman becomes more than a token. The woman bides her time as she waits for the men to finally crash and burn.

her children, she knows it's time to act.

Woman 6: The Victim: The men rise up in a last-ditch effort to make her pay for her maddening mastery. They conspire to make her life as difficult as possible. She is denied proper health care and the right to make decisions about her own body. Again she rolls her eyes, and ignores the mandates of the men. But when they come for

Woman 8: The Savior: She boldly pulls a 2000 year old sword from a stone. Upon this rock she builds a church exalting the Mother as the Great Creator. The society of women charts a new course of care for the world and devotion to the Great Mother. The Earth tilts at her direction. Nothing is the same after that.

Woman 7: The Warrior: She withdraws from the society of men and does... nothing.

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

BY JAMIE W., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR What can I say, I'm sick a lot now.

In July I fell down four times. And then I fell down three times three weeks ago and I'm like why do I keep on falling down? Earlier last month when I was in Vanderbilt Hospital for three days they did some tests on my brain and they said the reason I keep falling down is because I keep having mini strokes. They did an ultrasound of my heart and I'll probably end up having a minor surgery to close a hole. They said if I did not have the hole closed in my heart, I would continue to have strokes and eventually die. So, I'm on a heart monitor until Setpember 12 and I go to the heart doctor on September 29. Then they will let me know what is gonna happen and it's like I keep telling my customers, if I'm getting to

where I can't sell the paper then I don't know what I will do. I don't know how long it will take me to get well. I'm worried and scared about this and I hope my customers will keep me in their prayers.

I don't know anything about this. I have never been through this before.

But I will continue to sell the paper as long as I'm able. I worry so much about how I'm gonna pay my bills if i get to where I can't sell the paper anymore.

I want my customers to know how grateful and blessed I am to have such great people who I always look forward to seeing. They are great. I'm blessed to know such fine people. I'm just worried about everything. May God bless everyone at The Contributor office and all of my customers. I love y'all.

HELP B Y J U N E P. , C O N T R I B U T O R V E N D O R

Cat Flint performs at Tootsie's Lounge on Broadway. She loves singing "Heads Carolina, Tails California" by Jo Dee Messina as well as Dolly Parton songs. She's from a small town in New York. She buys The Contributor to read about Nashville. She will be recording music for Spotify soon. | ART BY CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR WENDELL J.

What's up my friends? No one's helped me with a name for my friend the Mouse. He or she is very upset with calling them "the Mouse."

I need a name please help. Don't like seeing my friend upset with me.

You can come see me at Osborne B-Rites on Belmont Boulevard. Or I guess you could call the Contributor office aat 615-829-6829. Leave a message with the name for my friend the mouse to my name, June P. vendor #2509. Contributor Director of Vending Tom W. will make sure I get it. Thank you all.

But come see me at my spot at BiRite and get one of our wonderful in-

PAGE 14 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

teresting papers full of poems, stories, pictures and news that me and other vendors write. There's good news and stories as well as some of the bad news.

We don't like it out here. Well, I don't. So I'm doing all I can to keep my apartment. So I'd like to thank The Contributor staff, you people, my customers, the mayor and especially God for you help.

Thank you God and all our Earth angels he has put in my life, well all of our lives. And the angels above that watch all of us 24/7. My best is up there.

I'm in good hands with them. Have a blessed day everyone.

LOCAL ACTIVISM

Images from Nashville's Labor Day Parade. | PHOTOS BY ALVINE

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

Activists demonstrate outside an entrance to the White House calling for the cancellation of student debt in Washington, U.S., April 27, 2022. REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN

How Biden's student loan forgiveness will impact Americans

BY NANDITA BOSE, ALE X ALPER AND DAVID L AWDER President Joe Biden announced in August a long-awaited plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, making good on a campaign promise to aid debt-strapped younger Americans even as some Republicans argue the move could worsen inflation.

How much will be cancelled and for whom?

The government will cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants, low-interest federal loans to benefit lower-income college students, will have up to $20,000 of their debt cancelled.

Cancelling $10,000 in student loan debt for every borrower would cost the US government $321 billion, the New York Federal Reserve calculated in April, but the income cap means the actual cost will be lower than that.

The New York Fed estimated that forgiving $10,000 per borrower would eliminate student debt for 11.8 million borrowers, or 31 percent of the total number. The White House said that figure will be 20 million borrowers. Nearly 90 percent of those borrowers will make under $75,000 a year, the

White House said.

How much will this cost?

Biden administration officials declined to provide a specific bottom-line figure on the total cost of the student debt relief plan, saying it depended on how many people apply and qualify for it. But private economists have estimated that it could add $300 billion to $600 billion to the federal debt.

The University of Pennsylvania-Wharton Budget Model estimated that a one-time $10,000 debt forgiveness would cost $300 billion, while former Harvard University economist Jason Furman tweeted a figure of "roughly" $500 billion. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget think tank estimated that with $20,000 in debt relief for some borrowers, the cost would reach $440 billion to $600 billion over 10 years.

How big is America’s student debt problem?

US borrowers hold about $1.75 trillion in student debt, according to the latest Federal Reserve figures. The vast majority of that, some $1.62 trillion, is held by the federal government.

The cost of higher education has skyrocketed in the United States in the past three

decades, doubling at private four-year colleges and universities and rising even more than that at public four-year schools, according to research from the non-profit College Board.

The debt is split among 43 million borrowers, a figure that includes students and their parents or other family members, but is dominated by borrowers under age 40, the New York Fed said.

When will borrowers with remainder need to repay?

A COVID-19 pandemic-related program that paused federal student loan payments, started under Biden's Republican predecessor Donald Trump, will be extended until the end of this year. Any borrowers with remaining balances after debt forgiveness would start making payments again in January.

The Education Department is also proposing a rule to halve the amount undergraduate borrowers need to pay monthly to 5 percent of discretionary income and forgive any remaining loan balances after 10 years.

Is there a tax penalty?

Student loan amounts forgiven under the program will not be treated as taxable income,

PAGE 16 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

unlike other cancelled debts, according to a US Treasury official. This exclusion is consistent with a provision in last year's American Rescue Plan COVID-19 relief act that made any student loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025.

Who will not benefit?

Excluded from the program are borrowers who earn more than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. The White House said no high-income individual or high-income household, which it defines as in the top 5 percent of incomes, will qualify.

How could this impact inflation?

Republicans opposed to the plan and some economists, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have argued that new consumer spending power unleashed by forgiving loans could drive up prices for homes, cars and other consumer goods.

The White House and some economists including Moody's Mark Zandi have said they believe the impact of restarting loan payments in 2023 will be deflationary.

Courtesy of Reuters / International Network of Street Papers

VENDOR WRITING

DIE FOR CHRIST

THE PARABLE OF THE 55 GALLON DRUM

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman

Somewhere… Not America, Where Christianity, Costs a whole lot more, Than mediocrity belief.

The dangers of professing, You’re a Follower of Christ, Could end you up in prison, Loss of property or your life.

It’s there where True Believers, Meet in secrecy to share, Their faith through praise and worship, Teaching, fellowship and prayer.

Hoping no-one knows, What’s going on behind closed doors.

In such a situation, You have got to Love the Lord.

I can’t forget the night, That I would never be the same, Because I chose to stand and die, And not deny his name.

I thought about not going, Something troubling me inside.

But I felt the spirit urging me, And it could not be denied.

Rumors of armed men attacking, Christians in the street, With no remorse or pity for, The victims that they beat.

Our little flock had gathered, Specifically to pray, For God’s Hand of Protection, And his help along the way.

We didn’t see it coming, They came storming through the door.

Wolves with sub-machine guns, And black ski masks that they wore.

No-one said a word as moments slowly ticked away, Waiting for the predator to move against the prey.

You start with a 55 Gallon Drum, Containing, Information Accumulation.

Two holes on top, One’s for what we take in.

The others for what, Comes out in the end.

A lot of its toxic, Dangerous stuff, Tainted with hatred, And lacking in Love.

Now take yourself, A garden hose, And insert it into, The take it in hole.

You turn on the water, And just let it run, And run and run and run and run, And it cleans out the black stuff, Contained in the drum.

Give it some time, And eventually.

Nothing but, Clean, fresh, clear water flows free.

“You say, that you are Christian, And believe in the after-life.

Well, how many of you are really ready?

To Die for Christ tonight?

You’re free to leave right now, And live to see another day, Or prepare to meet your maker, If you decide to stay.”

“Father please forgive them, For they know not what they do.”

Ten of us remained, Where there once stood twenty-two.

I knew I did the right thing by deciding not to leave.

By staying I was saying, “I will live what I believe.”

What happened next was un-expected, When he turned and locked the door.

They put down their guns, They took off their masks, And said “Now, Let’s Praise the Lord!”

This earthly story, With a heavenly meaning’s, A moral that’s taught, Metaphorically speaking.

The drum represents, The total sum, Of the things, That have made us, What we have become.

The contents, Are not hard to understand.

They’re the things, That come out of, The heart of a man.

The garden hose, And the water that flows, Is God’s holy word, Which cleanses the soul.

The more that you read, You search and you seek, Eventually comes out, In the words that you speak.

This parable’s written, With the wisdom that comes, From a water filled, 55 Gallon Drum.

Page 66 ‘Excerpt from, “Lessons Learned from Wisdom’s Words” Written by Chris Scott Fieselman.

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

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

14th Wednesday after Trinity ASK ye for the greater things, and the small shall be added unto you: and ask for the heavenly things, and the earthly shall be added unto you.

Quoted by Origen as a traditional saying by our Lord.

ON the same day, seeing one work on the sabbath, he said unto him: Man, if indeed thou knowest what thou doest, thou art blessed: but if thou knowest not, thou art cursed, and a transgressor of the law.

Apocryphal New Testament.

14th Thursday after Trinity WHEN the loving kindness of God calls a soul from the world, He finds it full of vices and sins; and first He gives it an instinct for virtue, and then urges it to perfection, and then by infused grace leads it to true self-naughting, and at last to true transformation. And this noteworthy order serves God to lead the soul along the Way: but when the soul is naughted and transformed, then of herself she neither works nor speaks nor wills, nor feels nor hears nor understands, neither has she of herself the feeling of outward or inward, where she may move. And in all things it is God Who rules and guides her, without the meditation of any creature.

St Catherine of Genoa: Life.

14th Friday after Trinity THIS restful travail is full far from fleshly idleness and from blind security. It is full of ghostly work, but it is called rest, for grace looseth the heavy yoke of fleshly love from the soul and maketh it mighty and free through the gift of the holy ghostly love for to work gladly, softly, and delectably . . . Therefore it is called an holy idleness and a rest most busy; and so it is in stillness from the great crying and the beastly noise of fleshly desires.

Walter Hylton: The Scale of Perfection.

THE Way is God.

as he does of us in our absence. Human society is founded on mutual deceit.

Pascal: Pensées.

WE have done nothing . . . if we have not purified the will in the order of charity.

St. John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel.

15th Tuesday after Trinity LOVE is careful of little things, of circumstances and measures, and little accidents; not allowing to itself any infirmity which it strives not to master, aiming at what it cannot yet reach, desiring to be of an angelical purity, and of a perfect innocence, and a seraphical fervour, and fears of every image of offence; is as much afflicted at an idle word as some at an act of adultery, and will not allow itself so much anger as will disturb a child, nor endure the impurity of a dream. And this is the curiosity and niceness of divine love: this is the fear of God, and is the daughter and production of love.

Jeremy Taylor: Holy Living.

GREAT love is also pliant and inquisitive in the instances of its expression.

Jeremy Taylor: Holy Living.

Feast of St Matthew the Apostle [Of the Lord’s Prayer] Many folk, as servants and herdsmen, have more will to pray for special reward that they covet here, than as true sons for the love and the pleasing of our father, God of heaven: and so they set more their likings and business in a private prayer, made of man . . . than they do in this general prayer made of God Himself; the which without a doubt is most pleasing to Him and most speedful to us. And therefore they be deceived in many manners.

The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, tr. by Nicholas Love.

15th Wednesday after Trinity

Boethius: Consolation of Philosophy, translated by King Alfred.

14th Saturday after Trinity GOD hath created nothing simply for itself: but each thing in all things, and of every thing each part in order hath such interest, that in the whole world nothing is found whereunto any thing created can say, "I need thee not."

Hooker: Sermons.

THE Will of God is the necessity of things.

Calvin: Institutes.

THE less it thinketh that it loveth or seeth God the nearer it nigheth for to perceive the gift of the blessed love. For then is love master, and worketh in the soul, and maketh it for to forget itself, and for the see and behold only how love doth.

And then is the soul more suffering than doing, and that is clean love.

Walter Hylton: The Scale of Perfection.

LOVING, it [the Soul] flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and is not restrained.

Thomas à Kempis: Imitation.

15th Thursday after Trinity

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity THE one supreme, unchangeable rule of love, which is a law to all intelligent beings of all worlds and will be a law to all eternity, is this, viz., that God alone is to be loved for Himself, and that all other beings only in Him and for Him. Whatever intelligent creature lives not under this rule of love is so far fallen from the order of his creation, and is, till he returns to this eternal law of love, an apostate from God and incapable of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now, if God alone is to be loved for Himself, then no creature is to be loved for itself; and so all self-love in every creature is absolutely condemned. And if all created beings are only to be loved in and for God, then my neighbour is to be loved as I love myself, and I am only to love myself as I love my neighbour or any other created being, that is, only in and for God. William Law: The Spirit of Prayer.

15th Monday after Trinity THERE is always some advantage in making men love us.

Human life is thus only a perpetual illusion; men deceive and flatter each other. No one speaks of us in our presence

LOVE does not consist in great sweetness of devotion, but in a more fervent determination too strive to please God in all things, in avoiding, as fas as possible, all that would offend Him, and in praying for the increase of the glory and honour of his Son and for the growth of the Catholic Church.

St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

THE the blessed Anthony knelt Down upon his knees on the ground, and prayed before Him Who said, "Before thou criest unto Me, I will answer thee" (Isaiah lxv, 24), and said, "O my Lord, this I entreat Thee: let not Thy love be blotted out from my mind, and behold, I am, by Thy grace, innocent before Thee."

St Athanasius: Life of St. Anthony.

15th Friday after Trinity ST THOMAS says the active life is better than the life of contemplation, so far as we actually spend in charity the income we derive from contemplation. It is all the same thing; we have but to root ourselves in this same ground of contemplation to make it fruitful in works, and the object of contemplation is achieved.

Eckhart: Sermons and Collations.

LOVE is as strong as death; but nothing else is as strong either; and both, love and death, met in Christ. How strong and powerful upon you then should that instruction be, that comes to you from both these, the love and death of Christ Jesus!

Donne: Sermons.

15th Saturday after Trinity HE showed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereupon with eye of my understanding, and thought "What may this be?" And it was generally answered thus: "It is all that is made." I marvelled how it might last, for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: "It lasteth, and ever shall last for that God loveth it." And so all thing hath the Being by the love of God. Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.

THIS and that are good; take away this and that, and see good in itself if thou canst; and so thou shalt see God, good not by any other good, but the good of every good.

St Augustine: On the Trinity.

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity THE Goodness of God is the highest prayer, and it cometh down to the lowest part of our need. It quickeneth our soul and bringeth it on life, and maketh it for to waxen in grace and virtue. It is nearest in nature; and readiest in grace: for it is the same grace that the soul seeketh, and ever shall seek till we know verily that he hath us all in himself beclosed.

For he hath no despite of that he hat made, nor hath he any disdain to serve us at the simplest office that to our body belongeth in nature, for love of the soul that he hath made to his own likeness.

For as the body is clad in the cloth, and the flesh in the skin, and the bones in the flesh, and the heart in the whole, so are we, soul and body, clad in the Goodness of God, and enclosed.

Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.

16th Monday after Trinity THE more blest, the more curst, if we make his graces our own glory, without impression of all to him; whatsoever we have we steal, and the multiplication of God's favours doth but aggravate the crime of our sacrilege. He, knowing how prone we are to unthanfulness in this kind, tempereth accordingly the means, whereby it is his pleasure to do us good . . . This is the cause why, as none of the promises of God do fail, so the most are in such sort brought to pass, that, if we after condiser the culprit, wherein the steps of his providence have gone, the due consideration thereof cannot choose but draw from us the selfsame words of astonishment, which the blessed Apostle hath: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God!" Hooker: Sermons.

16th Tuesday after Trinity PHILOSOPHY said: "Every lot is good whether it be harsh or pleasing." And at this I was afraid and said: "What thou sayest is true: yet I know not who would dare to say so to foolish men, for no fool could believe it."

Boethius: Consolation of Philosophy, translated by King Alfred.

I SAY, as do all Christian men, that it is a Divine purpose that rules them and not Fate.

Boethius: Consolation of Philosophy, translated by King Alfred.

[OF Fortune or Luck] This is she who is continually cursed and blamed with bitter voices by those who should praise her; but she is blessed and does not hear; she turns her sphere among the other joyous creatures who were made first of all and there enjoys her bliss.

Dante: Hell.

PAGE 18 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

FUN

HOBOSCOPES VIRGO

The plot thickens, Virgo. And it’s a good thing, too. Your plot was looking pretty thin there for a while and I, for one, am glad to see things congealing. But it can be pretty intense to deal with all these new characters and possibilities. And maybe you’re worried you won’t have the energy for this new density of action. Move at your own pace, Virgo.

And don’t forget to stir.

LIBRA

There are two crows perched on the stonewall in front of my neighbor’s house. I wouldn’t have noticed, except for all the cawing. Are the crows upset? Excited? Are they fighting? Are they trying to draw my attention away from some more exciting event on another wall? I’ll probably never know. There’s a lot of noise around and it’s easy to get distracted, Libra. But you don’t have to know what all the racket is about. Tune in to what matters. Let the crows work out the rest.

SCORPIO

I just downloaded a new social media app that will really show the world who I am. Everyday it automatically sends a 30 second video of whatever I’m doing to all my friends and I never know when it might happen. Sure, I’m nervous. I’m watching what I say and I haven’t stepped in a bathroom since I installed it. It makes me think, Scorpio, that we shouldn’t have to take drastic measures just because we want to be known by others. Maybe we could spend more time communicating and less time becoming presentable. It’s worth a shot.

SAGITTA R IUS

My favorite monarch is probably King Friday XIII from The Neighborhood of Make Believe. Sure, King Friday has some weaknesses. He could be described as pompous and vain. He’s an autocrat who doesn’t always think through the consequences of his rulings. But King Friday learns. When his neighbors come and tell him that what he’s decided is wrong, he eventually believes them. I don’t have much hope for the rulers of the real world, but I have a lot of hope for you, Sagittarius. Discover the areas in your life where you are exercising power. Find out how that power is affecting others and believe them when they tell you what you can’t see.

CAPRICORN

I used to rent DVDs from that place next door to the post office. After it closed, a juice bar opened up there, but it was always the wrong space for it. So today I was surprised to see an inflatable ghost by the door and spooky light-up eyes in the windows. It reminds me, Capricorn, that you’ve got some extra space in your mind lately. Sometimes if it sits empty too long, a little Halloween store might open up in your thoughts. If there’s something you want there instead, you might have to cultivate it. If you won’t fill the space, some other ghost might.

AQUA RIUS

There are plenty of statues of Queen Nefertiti. You know the one with that oddly-long neck and the hat that looks like an upside down traffic cone with the pointy-end cut off? Her image has been replicated for 3,500 years.

She ruled over one of the most successful periods of ancient Egyptian history. But nobody knows what her favorite flavor of Starburst was or if she preferred The Misfits over Danzig’s later stuff. And nobody knows what she named her favorite rubber duckie.

And nobody knows where she’s buried. Live like a queen, Aquarius. We all get lost by the end.

PISCES

I’m staying with my sister for a few days and there’s something off about the houses in this neighborhood. Nobody ever checks the mailboxes. Nobody mows their own lawns. Nobody parks in the driveways. But cars pull up slowly and bring passengers with bags. They pick them up a few days later, but it never looks like the same people to me. My sister says it's all tourists booking homestays online, but I think something’s up. Keep an eye on who drops in and out of your life this week, Pisces. Not everybody is where they’re supposed to be.

ARIES

There’s a buddhist parable about suffering (there are many, in fact) that says suffering is like being struck by an arrow you didn’t see coming. It’s painful. And there was nothing you could do to stop it. But there’s a second arrow on its way, and this one you can avoid. The second arrow is your response.

It’s the way you resist or regret or rehash the first.

And if you can stop and watch your response,

you may be able to get out of the way before the second arrow hits. Suffering will come, Aries, but if you can turn with the pain you may be able to cut it in half.

TAURUS

[404 Page Not Found] We're sorry the Hoboscope you requested could not be found. Please go back to the homepage or call 707-VHS-TAN1 for more information.

GEMINI

I spend all summer looking forward to the fall. And every year I’m surprised that, when it finally arrives, I feel a little sad. There’s just a little more room for it, I think. It’s easier to stand on the porch in the cooling air and look at the yellowing leaves on the big tree. It’s time for some things to pass on, Gemini. And that can be sad even when you know it’s for the best. Don’t beat yourself up over how the changes make you feel.

CANCER

There’s a litter of kittens in the shed on the corner. I just saw one stumble out and blink at the sun just before her mom came to pull her back inside. Pretty soon they’ll get better on their feet and they won’t stay in the shed much longer after that. If we stick around long enough, Cancer, we all grow up. We get stronger and smarter and we have to start taking care of ourselves. But I hope you don’t lose your sense that all of this is pretty new. Stop and notice that the world is a strange place and the sun is too bright.

LEO

I always wanted one of those secret passages where you pull the right book out of the shelf and a tunnel opens to a hidden chamber where all the best things are.

How do you get one of those, Leo? In any case, I was noticing that you’ve got some secrets you haven’t been utilizing much lately. You’ve got access to some amazing parts of yourself, but it seems like you're not’ always willing to pull that secret lever. No need to hold back anymore, Leo. This will be more fun if you bring out the good stuff.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained librarian, or a registered super-host.

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

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

VENDOR WRITING

REFLECTION

By Jen A. We've always shouldered your burdens For as little money as the law allows or less We've tended your children, your elders, your lawns We've served your meals and that Scotch rocks We've made your clothes, and your bridges We've been used, abused, and discarded Then you've come for our hungry children As Christians The neverendingness of it Should make you wince We sell newspapers on street corners We brave extremes of cold and heat We navigate torrents of rain and snow To make an honest buck Our shoes are lined with cardboard We are cursed at and spit upon But more often than not we are ignored--invisible As Christians The neverendingness of it Should make you cringe

THEME: THE 1920'S ACROSS 1. The Sweet's hit "Ballroom ____" 6. Farm cry 9. Schooner pole 13. Barrel racing meet 14. *"____ Quiet on the Western Front," 1920s novel 15. Move sideways 16. Southeast Asia org.

17. Hula dancer's garland 18. Like the Vitruvian Man 19. *New type of movie in the 1920s 21. *Jack Dempsey's sport 23. Triple ____ liqueur 24. Prep flour 25. "Hamilton: An American Musical" singing style 28. Floppy data storage 30. Smack 35. Not much (2 words) 37. *Prolific playwright ____ Coward 39. Sacrum, pl.

40. "Nana" author … mile ____ 41. Flash of light 43. Not kosher 44. Convex molding 46. *Football legend Graham, born in 1921 47. Furniture wood 48. Not wholesale 50. Aquatic snakes 52. Reggae precursor 53. Animal den 55. CafÈ alternative 57. *Assassinated Villa 60. *St. ____, 1928

Olympic site 63. East Asian peninsula 64. Nope 66. "Bite the bullet," e.g.

68. Relating to Quechuan people 69. B&B, e.g.

70. Foul smell 71. Challenge 72. Langley, VA agency 73. Decorates, as in Christmas tree DOWN 1. Type of undergarment 2. *Like generation described by Gertrude Stein 3. Brain wave 4. Shades of blue 5. Very tired 6. "The Fighter" actor Christian ____

7. Bass or Redhook 8. Defendant's excuse 9. Longer then mini 10. Port in Yemen 11. Smelting waste 12. ____ Aviv 15. 6 equal parts of 6 20. Cake layer 22. Short for oftentimes 24. Mosquito, slangily 25. Schick's product 26. Beyond's partner 27. *Amelia Earhart, e.g.

29. *Like Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight 31. W on a bulb 32. TV classic "Green ____" 33. Floorboard sound 34. *"The Trial" and "The Castle" author Franz ____ 36. Samoan money

38. Not on time 42. Much, in Italy 45. Tin Man's prop 49. Follows soh 51. Confession, archaic 54. Not Doric nor Corinthian 56. Downy duck 57. Kind of cornbread 58. Rainbows and such 59. Like a drink in a snifter 60. Mimicking bird 61. ____caca, South American lake 62. Type of modern meeting 63. *American Girl character born in 1923 65. American cuckoo 67. Robinson to "The Graduate"

One woman asked if I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior As she grabbed the paper Dropped 35 cents in nickels in my hand, And sped off with the two dollar paper It happens more often than you'd think Folks often say one thing but do another As Christians The neverendingness of it Should make you reflect

I SEE THROUGH YOU

By Jen A. I See Through You I'm made of steel and Friday pizza (Hold the sausage and pepperoni) Forced to my knees early on Yet cursed with the superhuman ability To see the almost imperceptible flash Of slight spasms and tiny twitches Around the mouth and eyes That signal fiction from fact Honesty, truly is, in the eye of the beholder

PAGE 20 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

VENDOR WRITING

Things I learned in the psych ward

BY WILLIAM B. I’ve told this story before, but when I was 6 years old, my oldest brother got murdered. He was shot in the back by a security guard as he was trying to escape his boarding school. A year later I had a complete nervous breakdown that led me to the top of a three-story house pulling off the shingles and throwing them at cars.

I went to juvie and then to two different psych hospitals. I was put into a leather straight jacket and I couldn’t breathe. A young worker there took me out of it and she got fired. When I went back before the judge again, they sent me to another hospital for 10 years.

While I was there I learned many many jobs and how to do so many things, such as: • Working in a barber shop: I cut hair. I would have to cut it all off though because I didn’t know how to stop.

• Maintenance Man: Cleaning, stripping floors of wax. I was walk-

•

•

• • • • •

ing across the floor, slid and turned a triple flip and landed on my feet.

All things are probable but ain’t nothing possible!! I remember it.

I was around 14 years old.

Took care of three ponies: I loved this one. I never could ride them with a saddle. Only bare back. I had one I called Candy. He was a palomino. He was mean and he tried to bite me and run me into barb wire. But I earned his love by sugar and carrots.

Dairy. Yes, I can milk a cow by hand.

I could move a bail of hay by myself.

I could make the hay into bails and throw them into the truck Dishwasher: I could use a dishwasher with five racks Mailman Warehouses Janitorial, I graduated high honors in janitorial by the way.

Ambulance Attendant. I helped push people in on gurneys. I saw a

SINCE OCTOBER 2020

440

a song, a dance and it was called ball in the jack. I learned how to tap dance there too.

I sold newspapers there too on the street. Before I went in I shined shoes, and sold Tennessean newspapers, and I worked at the old farmers market. I snapped beans and shucked corn, put together tomatoes and apples in bags. I had a job at 5 years old. I made money and got food to carry home. I worked in a theater doing sweeping and After I got out, I also worked for public works department on the truck with the trash. I worked in an antique place moving furniture. I also worked as an offset apprentice to make booklets for people. I was also an engraver and a sandblaster. I sandblasted plumbing brass. I also learned in the state of Oregon how to work in computers making small parts that go into computers. I also learned to cook there too. I could make you a pizza that would blow your mind.

But my specialty was chef salads.

LIFNAV SAVES LIVES “Your shirt says HOPE, that’s the way, the love, and the light.”

NEIGHBORS MOVED TO PERMANENT HOUSING

398

NEIGHBORS ENROLLED IN RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM

1,160

girl from my youth who had abused me and I watched her die and then I couldn’t do that job anymore. I’m very sensitive. I can’t even go to a funeral again. The doctor told me if I had another nervous breakdown today I could go into shock.

• I cleaned offices. I cleaned the gymnasium.

• I worked in the hospital as an attendant.

Two weeks after I was there, I was sent to another building with grown men. This is when I learned how to shave people and stuff like that. I also met a real good friend there. He was playing spoons. I asked him to teach me and he did. His name was Bobby Joe Dean.

I also learned to play a little guitar. I can’t do it anymore because my fingers are too stiff to strum. I was in a lot of plays there. I was in the Christmas plays and I was also took to church and had two kids on either side of me and I did

Those were the words of a friend I encountered walking down the street today.

He sat down and we engaged in conversation about life. He opened up to tell me about his substance abuse, and of course my first offer was to assist him in getting into rehab. He replied “Yes, when can I go? Can we go now?”

I waited for my co-worker to finish up her conversation and off we went to the ER to get started. I know the process of getting into rehab is often very lengthy and frustrating to walk through because the need is great, and the space is limited.

Today, however, something felt different, and I felt this was all going to work out somehow.

My friend was getting anxious and asked, “Is today the day you think?” I replied, “Absolutely today is the day.” I got a phone call about ten minutes later from the amazing ER social worker who gives her all for her patients! She said, “I have a representative here from a treatment center, would your friend want to talk?”

The treatment center had ONE bed left open today, and my friend got it. Today’s journey for my friend and I ended on the path to healing.

It was a sweet reminder of my why, the mission behind the shield and the longing of my heart to see the One. It was a reminder how simple kindness and conversation can change lives in this world. It is amazing how such a small action is vitally important to our survival. I whole heartedly believe Gods hands were all over this situation today! It was as a reminder that something so basic can be the HOPE someone needs to keep on living...and it costs only time.

ENROLLED IN THE LIFNAV PROCESS

When you feel hopeless, remember HOPE is on the WAY!

Learn more about LIFNAV at SalvationArmyNashville.org

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 21

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PAGE 22 | September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

MOVING PICTURES

Growing Up. JOHN SINGLETON’S BRILLIANT 'BOYZ N THE HOOD' STILL SHAKES AND DAZZLES AT THE BELCOURT

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC Boyz n the Hood (1991) begins with the sound of automatic gunfire, screams, a police scanner, and then this white text on a black screen, “One out of every twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime,” and then, “Most will die at the hands of another Black male.” Director John Singleton’s script tells the story of an adolescent boy sent to live with his father in the middle of gang wars in South Central Los Angeles.

Dennis Hopper’s Colors (1988) introduced Middle America to Los Angeles gang culture when he cast many actual Crips and Bloods in his film. Singleton based his story on his own experiences as a child, and many of his cast shared similar experiences of growing up in dangerous neighborhoods disrupted by the street gang culture nurtured by America’s War on Drugs. Singleton’s movie marries lived experiences with masterful screen storytelling and visionary casting to give us a film that delivers both artistry and authenticity in the form of a heartbreaking, unforgettable tale about growing up.

When 10-year-old Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) gets into a scrap at school, his mother Reva (the great Angela Bassett) sends him to live with his father Furious Styles (the legendary Laurence Fishburne) in South Central.

Tre reunites with his boyhood friends, Darrin “Doughboy” Baker (Ice Cube), Darrin’s brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut), and their friend Chris, before finding out just how dangerous his new neighborhood really is. The mov-

ie flashes forward seven years and the rest of the film is like an obstacle course where Tre and his pals try to avoid being killed or crippled in confrontations with the gangs or as their collateral damage. They try to get good grades without becoming teen addicts or drunks. They dream about what they’ll do when they grow up if they can manage to avoid becoming parents themselves before earning diplomas.

The movie’s subject matter might put viewers in mind of the gritty crime cinema of the 1970s or one of the many 1990s gang films inspired by Boys n the Hood that focus more on stylized violence and less on human themes.

Singleton avoids street crime movie clichés with a decidedly formalist approach that astonished many contemporaneous critics who had trouble wrapping their heads around the fact that this was Singleton’s debut feature film. In the movie’s first scene the camera slowly dollies in on a stop sign — the only sound is the exaggerated roar of an airplane.

It’s an ominous way to start a film and it reads like a warning about everything that’s to come.

Singleton pictures a group of kids walking to school before one of the boys leads the rest to a fresh crime scene to see a dead body. Singleton’s scene directly references Stephen King’s “Stand

by Me” story and Rob Reiner’s film adaptation, and Boyz n the Hood also sneaks in shout-outs to the Roots television miniseries and Apocalypse Now. The film’s “Once upon a time in South Central L.A.” poster tagline ref-

erences Sergio Leone almost three decades before Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Boyz n the Hood also features a brilliant soundtrack that seamlessly blends hip-hop with Stanley Clarke’s gorgeous, nostalgic jazz and classical score.

Boyz n the Hood is about a time, but it’s not of that time. In fact, it’s a timeless movie about poverty, race, family and the fragile work of growing up in the middle of the American Drug War. A war that’s still ravaging communities throughout the country in the 21st century.

Boyz n the Hood screens at the Belcourt at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, as part of Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria and Belcourt Theatre’s Pizza and a Movie series. Go to www.belcourt.org for more info.

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

September 14 - 28, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 23