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A Tennessee organization is looking for community-sourced solutions to the criminalization of poor Tennesseans.

Free Hearts, an organization led by formerly incarcerated women, seeks to provide support, advocacy, and education to families impacted by incarceration. The group’s ultimate goal is to keep families together or reuniting them.

The organization is asking the public to complete a survey to help generate community-based solutions to decriminalize poverty in Tennessee.

“#ItsNotACrime to be poor, but the state of TN has made it a crime to be poor and working-poor,” the survey introduction reads.

Dawn Harrington, executive director of Free Hearts, said that the survey will help identify new Tennesseans who want to join their efforts to end the criminalization of the poor and “transform our state into one that is just and equitable for all.”

The survey will be open through October 4th. Those who are interested can also send a 1-minute video on the criminalization of poverty to the group.

Free Hearts, along with the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, helped push for a recently-passed state law meant to help parents facing incarceration stay with their families.

The Primary Caretaker Bill, which became law in July, requires that courts factor in someone’s caretaker status when handing down sentences. The idea is for the caretakers to be offered a community-based alternative to incarceration.

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• Free Hearts with Gov. Bill Lee as he signs the Primary Caretaker Bill

The group has since been talking with Gov. Bill Lee’s office about solutions to the criminalization of poverty. The organization was asked to present solutions to address the issue and other policies related to poverty and criminal justice.

The survey is a step in that direction. Harrington said the group wants to build on the work it’s done for caregivers, by looking for alternatives to parts of the system it says criminalizes poverty, such as bail and pre-trial detention.

“It is our belief that participation is the first win and in order to propose solutions to a problem that affects so many of us, we must get input and buy in from Tennessee across the state on their ideas and organizations that already exists that they believe are effective,” Harrington said.

To incentivize participation, Free Hearts will enter all survey participants or those who create videos in weekly drawings through October 4th for a chance to win a $500 gift card.

Students at the University of Memphis recently launched a campaign to raise funds for their predominantly African-American, Greek-letter, service-based organizations on campus.

The university’s National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which governs the school’s nine traditionally African-American fraternities and sororities, hopes to raise $7,500 by September 28th.

The money raised will fund “plots,” or permanent housing facilities, for each of the fraternities and sororities.

“The largest symbols of Black fraternalism on college campuses is the plot,” the group’s campaign website reads. “Unlike chapters within the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils, NPHC chapters typically do not own housing facilities.”

Having housing on campus provides “representation and sacred spaces for these groups.” The goal of the NPHC is for all nine organizations to have their own housing on campus near the University Center and Alumni Mall.

“The University of Memphis' NPHC community has been given the opportunity to obtain physical representation on campus, in the form of plots, but we need your help to make it happen!” the campaign site reads. “With your help, the NPHC community will be able to create and maintain these sacred spaces on the U of M's campus for many years to come.”

About 200 students are involved in the nine organizations at the U of M governed by the NPHC, according to the group.

“We pride ourselves in scholarship, service, and quality programming,” a description of the groups reads. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard and ensure students on our campus can see us as role models, while actively engaging in the numerous activities that we program for students.”

So far, $992 of the $7,500 has been raised.

Jessika Williams, president of the university’s NPHC executive board, said the council is “breaking barriers and making history” at the U of M.

“Through rebranding and elevating our campus community, we have set a new standard for NPHC,” Williams said. “As we rise to the occasion as active role models for our campus community, we see the importance of us having physical representation through placement plots here on campus.”

The nine groups under the school’s NPHC, known as the “Divine Nine,” include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.; and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Head of a Memphis organization that works for reproductive justice was cut short during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday as she spoke against legislation that would essentially ban abortion in Tennessee. 

Cherisse Scott, founder and CEO of SisterReach, an organization meant to help women and girls of color, women living in low-income and rural areas, and the LBGTQ community obtain reproductive justice, was cut off five minutes into what was meant to be a 10-minute testimony by chairman of the committee Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville).

“Reproductive justice seeks to liberate and emancipate vulnerable populations from all forums of reproductive and sexual oppression,” Scott said early in her testimony. “It challenges us to expand our analysis beyond abortion to be inclusive of the myriad of other issues that preclude women and people that give birth from achieving reproductive and sexual autonomy.”

Scott called the legislation in question an “outright and intentional abandonment by the Tennessee state legislator of these vulnerable people.”

She said the legislation would be the “final straw in a political pattern of vile, racist, un-American, and un-Christian legislation.”

Scott continued citing “harmful” policy making that intersects with abortion rights. She noted the need for sexual education in schools, access to health care, education reform, and more behavioral and mental health care.

She said the legislators have “created an environment that leads Tennesseans to need more abortions, under-care or neglect their children, regardless of whether or not they want to or able to parent.

“And if all this isn’t heartbreaking enough, you weild your political power in Jesus’ name,” Scott said. “Many of you who claim to be conservative Christians have weaponized the word of God to forward your political agendas and maintain power and control over the most vulnerable Tennesseans. You manipulated Biblical scripture to align with your colonialism and supremacist ideologies, instead of showing mercy.”

• Matt Anderson
• Cherisse Scott continues to speak as she is approached by the sergeant-in-arms

This is when Bell interrupted Scott: “That’s enough. Your time is up.”

Scott continued to speak though, prompting Bell to call for the sergeant-in-arms to escort Scott from the room.

“I have sat here and I have watched you all to allow people to talk and talk, but you won’t allow me to talk as a Christian because I disagree with the way that you believe?” Scott said, noting that she hadn’t gone over her allotted 10 minutes.

Bell asked for Scott’s microphone to be turned off, as she continued to speak, and then he called for a five-minute recess, and left the room.

“Either you care about people’s bodies or you do not,” Scott told the committee. “Either you are here to save my life or you are not. Stop being an impostor of God’s word and do your jobs.”

Scott’s words garnered applause and cheers from members of the audience. Watch Scott’s interrupted testimony here or read the entire testimony here.

Of the 21 witnesses that spoke before the committee, Scott was the only one prohibited from completing her testimony. She was also the only African-American witness, and one of nine women.

SisterReach called the committee's actions a "bold declaration of the staunch, disrespectful, and dismissive attitude toward women." 

Many watching the hearings agreed and took it to Twitter.

The legislation up for discussion, sponsored by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) seeks to redefine viability and outlaw abortion at the moment of conception, or when a woman finds out she is pregnant.

Others who testified against the legislation include Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. Weinberg called the arguments made in support of the legislation “certainly creative,” but “irrational.”

“Abortion restrictions disproportionally harm women in rural areas and women with limited incomes,” Weinberg said. “Forcing a woman to carry to term increases existing hardships. It’s unconstitutional.”

If the bill is passed, Weinberg said the ACLU will sue and “We will win.”

Wrapping up the two-day hearing, Pody admitted that the issue is “very, very contentious,” but also “extremely important.”

Pody also noted that the bill isn’t “necessarily a heartbeat bill” and that no other state is “hearing something like this.”

“I think it’s going to boil down to this: When does life begin?” Pody said. “And who’s going to decide? So far it’s been decided by the Supreme Court, but I believe at one point everybody thought the world was flat. I believe at one point, people of color didn’t have the same rights,

“I believe at one point, women didn’t have the same rights. As we grow as a society, we want to make sure everybody’s protected. If there’s life in the womb and that life is human, I believe that that life deserves protection as well.”

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) is on track to have 2,100 officers by the end of the year, according to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

That's just 200 officers shy of the target number Strickland has pushed since taking office. The goal is to reach 2,300 officers by the end of 2020. 

In his weekly newsletter to constituents, Strickland said that because of improved recruiting efforts and increased officer pay — 9.75 percent to 11.75 percent since 2016 — the police department has been able to hire close to 450 new officers since he took office in 2016.

Strickland said, “we inherited a broken and ineffective system.”

Strickland said that rebuilding MPD is one of the components of his administration’s strategy for long-time crime reduction.

“Overhauling the system to recruit better has been a herculean task — perhaps the most time-consuming of my tenure as your mayor,” Strickland said. “But, it’s important. For long-term crime reduction to take place, we must have a fully staffed police department.”

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• 128th Basic Recruit Class

“We are looking for highly dedicated and motivated candidates who enjoy serving their community and protecting others,” a press release from the city reads.

More information about joining MPD can be found here.

State lawmakers are slated to hold hearings next week on legislation that would ban abortions at six weeks in Tennessee.

Last spring, the Tennessee General Assembly came close to passing similar legislation — the Heartbeat Bill, which would have blocked abortions after a heartbeat is detected — but it stalled in the Senate.

• Facebook/Mark Pody
• Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon)

Now, Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), one of the co-sponsors of last year’s bill is pushing to bring back the Heartbeat Bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a two-day hearing on Monday and Tuesday of next week to discuss the legislation.

Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi (PPTNM), said at a Thursday press conference that the six-week ban is “unpopular, dangerous for Tennessee women, and it’s unconstitutional.” Coffield said PPTNM is urging the Senate committee to drop the legislation, as abortion is a “critical component of women’s reproductive health care.”

“A six-week abortion ban goes too far, inserting government in personal private lives,” Coffield said. “The bill is intended to ban all abortion in our state. It’s important that abortion remain a safe and legal option for women to consider when and if she needs it.”

Banning abortions threatens the “autonomy and individual freedom of people in Tennessee,” Coffield added.

“The truth is, banning abortion does not eliminate abortion,” Coffield said. “It just makes it less safe, and it puts pregnant women and their families at risk.”

She also noted that in other states that have passed six-week bans, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Iowa, North Dakota, and Ohio, the court has “easily blocked these bans,” on the basis that it is unconstitutional for states to prohibit a woman from choosing abortion before viability.

As set by Roe v. Wade, viability occurs in the 24th week of pregnancy.

“If passed in Tennessee, the six-week abortion ban will be challenged in court,” Coffield said. “Just like every other state that’s passed similar laws, we would be setting Tennessee up for an expensive lawsuit that wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money.”

President of the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT), David Fowler, helped draft the new version of the bill to be discussed next week.

On this week’s episode of the FACT Report, a one-minute commentary featured on conservative radio stations in the state, Fowler said under the precedent of Roe v. Wade the heartbeat bill is “clearly” unconstitutional. But, he said “Roe’s constitutional reasoning has been sharply criticized from the beginning by liberal and conservative lawyers.”

“Surprisingly, in 46 years, no state has passed a bill that directly attacks Roe’s foundations,” Fowler said. “For 46 years, the Court has not been forced to re-examine Roe’s reasoning.

"So, the real question these senators must answer is whether it’s time to stop cowering before the U.S. Supreme Court by attacking Roe in roundabout ways and pass a bill that forces the issue,"  Fowler continued. "Roe seems like a giant to overcome, but God has used His people to slay giants before. It’s time we take on the giant.”

Coffield said PPTNM is urging Tennesseans to come to the hearing in Nashville next week to “make their voices heard.”

"These hearings are the most important days of action this whole summer,” a post on PPTNM’s Facebook page reads. “It is imperative that we show our elected officials that Tennesseans do not support a ban on abortion. With your presence, we will make our voices heard.”

PPTNM is offering free travel to Nashville from Memphis by bus on Monday. Contact Tory at tmills@pptnm.org for details. For those who want to spend the night, the group is also assisting with lodging. Contact Julie at jedwards@pptnm.org for more information.

After the hearing on Tuesday, Coffield said there will be a “people’s hearing” to give the public a chance to voice their opinions. She said speakers will include physicians, attorneys, and women who’ve had abortions.

“It’ll really be centered around the experience of women who have had abortions,” Coffield said. “Those people will not be allowed to speak during the hearings. So those are the people we need to hear from.”

Read the full amended version of the legislation below.