On August 18, 1920, the state House of Representatives concurred with the state Senate and ratified the 19th Amendment which granted American women the right to vote after a 72-year struggle. Tennessee became known as "The Perfect 36" since it was the last state of the then 48 states that could possibly ratify. Rep. Joseph Hanover, the Memphis (Binghampton) Independent, became the floor leader who kept the pro-suffrage votes together despite the opposition of the railroad, manufacturing and liquor interests.
Read MoreA fighting spirit - that’s what we need in our Tennessee State Legislature. Future901 is proud to endorse Gabby Salinas as the 2020 Democratic candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent the citizens of the 97th District – Bartlett, Cordova, and East Memphis. Gabby ran for the Tennessee State Senate District 31 in 2018, and narrowly lost the seat to Republican opponent, Brian Kelsey, by a mere 1400 votes.
Read MoreThe primaries are over and we now know who is going to help us bring change to Tennessee in November.
Future901’s focus continues to be flipping State House seats. In flipping those seats, we are able to put the break on some of the worst gerrymandering practices during redistricting next year. In flipping those seats, we kill any opportunity for the state GOP to force an unwanted voucher program on Shelby and Davidson counties (and nowhere else). In flipping those seats, we put increased pressure on the Legislature to finally expand TennCare…
Read MoreBecause of a recent court decision, Tennessee had briefly joined 16 other states in allowing no-fault absentee voting. The Tennessee has fought changes despite the global pandemic and its impact here. Formerly certain concrete reasons such as travel, age, disability, or being a candidate would qualify you to apply for a mail-in ballot and it was not widely publicized. This year, with Memphians concerned about the ever-increasing COVID-19 infection rates, around 15,000 voters requested ballots, with little publicity or help from our Secretary of State or local Election Commission.
Read MoreThe late John Lewis talked about making “Good Trouble.” For society to move forward, people have to have the courage to make the kind of trouble that gets the powers that be upset. That is what Torrey Harris has been doing in his bid to unseat Rep. John DeBerry. Well, he has gotten the attention of the folks in power.
Read MoreWhen a crisis occurs, it becomes clear who stands with you. In the wake of recordings revealing Lauderdale County Sheriff, Steve Sanders casually using the “N word” to describe Lauderdale residents, the public has a crisis of trust in its top law enforcement. Unfortunately, Sheriff Sanders is not stepping down. Even more disappointingly, this incident has revealed how folks who have talked a good game on equality are absent when the community needs them to step up. This is particularly the case for State Representative Chris Hurt.
Read MoreAndrea’s vision for Tennessee is focused on improving Tennesseans’ quality of life: providing access to healthcare and saving our rural hospitals by expanding Medicaid, improving infrastructure for our rural communities through increased broadband services and safer roads and bridges, creating good jobs with fair wages, investing in public education for our children’s success, and using data and science to inform public health policy decisions. Andrea is running because loving our neighbors means advocating for them—even, and especially, the most vulnerable populations.
Read MoreIn 1970, when my oldest daughter was three, nearly 50 years ago, she participated in a pilot effort at the Institute for Human Potential in Philadelphia, which usually worked with brain injured children. They emphasized the “crawling before you walk” perspective to help children develop, and discovered that brain-injured children could learn to read before they were five – sometimes as young as two or three years old. The Institute wanted to see if the techniques they had developed would help “normal” children to read. It worked! So, they taught us how to continue sharing the process.
Read MoreEvery resident, every taxpayer in Shelby County, would benefit from having accessible transportation for all. Before COVID 19, and hopefully again in the near future, those of us with the good fortune to own one or more vehicles, could freely move about going to work, keeping a doctor appointment, picking up essential prescriptions, buying groceries, or attending some form of entertainment. For those without a vehicle, up to 40% of households in some parts of the county (see attached map for areas that are 10%+), such activities are more challenging, if not totally inaccessible, with our current MATA public transit system.
Read MoreIf we want to see Tennessee change directions, we need to flip TN State House seats. If you were to make a list of TN House seats vulnerable to flipping, State House 97 will be one of the top three on your list. This includes Berclair, parts of Bartlett and a little of Cordova. Over the past few years, demographic changes and sweat equity have made a once solidly “red” seat purple. Moreover, with the recent retirement of the district’s long-time incumbent, a focused Democrat candidate can win this seat. After watching this district for years, the Future901 Steering Committee unanimously agrees that Allan Creasy is the ideal candidate to make this happen.
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