Election Runoff, Organizer Networking in Progressive Nashville

Between shooting for Nashville and newly driving for Uber (gotta buy groceries!), had almost no time last week; apologies. Hoping this week will be less stressful and more forgiving. We’ll see. In the meantime, here’s what’s happening through Thursday in Music City, and one happening is huge: Thursday is Runoff Election Day.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8

• This second Tuesday of September, come out to help entrepreneurs from our community. A Seed Money Supper takes place at 6 pm at East Nashville’s Wild Cow Restaurant in East Nashville. Yes, there will be dinner, but you’ll also get to hear about projects positively affecting Nashville’s foodscape that you can choose to support with the evening’s proceeds.  The venue is at 1896 Eastland Ave., 37206. Admission (which covers food, drink, and a grant to the winning startup) is $10 for adults, $5 for kids.
• Veterans, first responders, and others are invited to attend Tuesday’s Victory over PTSD Town Hall Meeting. The event is intended to be a “safe start to healing” for those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. Included on the agenda: Lt. Gen. Hugh Smith will speak on the history and causes of PTSD, Rebecca G. Townsend of Townsend Psychological Services will discuss symptom and treatment options, and actor/model Jennifer O’Neill will talk about the success of equine therapy for PTSD sufferers. There will be all kinds of information to give hope to PTSD sufferers and their loved ones. The meeting runs from 6-9 pm at the Faith Life Church (formerly Macy’s in the lower level of Hickory Hollow Mall), 917 Bell Road in Antioch.
• Nashville Organized for Action and Hope‘s Aug. 16 mayoral candidates’ forum will be one topic up for discussion at the organization’s monthly meeting, which takes place Tuesday at 6:30 pm at Fifteenth Ave Baptist Church (1203 Ninth Ave. N, near the Farmer’s Market). Also on the agenda: an upcoming community organizing training and a brainstorming session on how to engage public officials after the election. For more information about NOAH, email info@noahtn.org or call 615-905-NOAH.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9

• One of the questions I hear most from closeted progressives who want to make a difference is, “How do I get started?” Find real answers at the monthly Organizer Networking meetup. On Wednesday at 5 pm, community organizers and people interested in learning who’s who and what’s what in local social justice actions gather to offer info, make contacts, and share updates on good work going on throughout Music City. The meeting takes place at the righteous Flatrock Coffee, 2640 Nolensville Pike.
• West End United Methodist Church‘s new Wednesday Night Dinner is back for another week of fellowship through nourishment. The church’s McWhirter Hall is the site for a community supper catered by Martha Stamps. Admission is $10 for folks more than 10 years old and $5 for those between three and 10 years of age. You must reserve your seats each week for the dinner, by Monday at 5 pm: Click here or call Kirk Clark at 615-321-8500.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10

• It’s Election Day — specifically, the Metro Nashville and Davidson County Runoff Election, in which Nashvillians will choose a mayor and council at-large and district members. For those like us, the choice should be clear: Progressive Megan Barry has it all over Tea Party and right-wing muscleman David Fox. Yet the most recent polls show the two neck and neck in Nashville? That should not be. Vote. Encourage your friends and associates to vote. Do you really want Music City led by David Fox, the representative of the apparently feisty One Percent? Vote.Keep Blue voices strong on Metro Council: For the five at-large seats, the progressive recommendations are John Cooper, Erica Gilmore, Sharon Hurt, Lonnell Matthews Jr., and Jim Shulman. Find out where to vote here. Polls are open from 7 am-7pm Thursday. Tennessee is a voter suppression state, y’all, so bring a photo ID and your voters’ card, just in case; give The Man no excuse to disallow your ballot. Do your duty. Don’t let the One Percent and apathy turn Nashville into a Fox town, especially when the differences between the mayoral candidates are so obvious. Speaking of Megan Barry, her supporters once again will gather at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, 900 Rosa L Parks Blvd., 37208, after the polls close. Whatever happens — and I expect a progressive victory, Nashville; VOTE — the music will be fun and the food will be tasty. RSVP here.
• Labor Day 2015 is past, but Nashville progs will still stand for workers’ rights — we must! At noon, come out to Fight for Fifteen. The call is for fast-food workers to receive a (barely) living wage of $15 per hour. The labor rally takes place at McDonald’s, 1201 Broadway (between I-40 and the Gulch), and will be followed by a march downtown, to demand higher wages. We’ll have additional details as they become available.
• Hoist a couple and engage in conversation with fellow area progressives. Nashville’s original Drinking Liberally is back for another Thursday evening of camaraderie. The gang meets at 6:30 pm at the second rail table in the main bar room of the Flying Saucer, 111 10th Ave. S #310, 37203. For more information contact nashville@drinkingliberally.org.
• Also at 6:30 pm, more serious discussions will take place at the monthly meeting of the Nashville Peace Coalition. On the table for talk: How do we counter the drumbeat for war? What do we think about the Nuclear Treaty with Iran? What and who should be included in the upcoming Nashville Peace Roundtable? They’d love to hear from you and to have input into forthcoming Nashville Peace and Justice Center events. The meeting takes place downstairs at Friends Meeting House, 530 26th Ave. N.
• The case involving the anti-LGBT Kentucky clerk shows why we have and need a wall between church and state. That important topic is the center of activities for the Nashville chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The group holds a board meeting at 7 pm on the second Thursday of most months, at West Police Precinct, 5500 Charlotte Pike.
• The environment is the focus of the local Sierra Club of Middle Tennessee, which also meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 pm. The Sept. 10 gathering takes place at Radnor Lake Visitor Center, 1160 Otter Creek Road. Use the Granny White Pike entrance.
• This should be really fascinating: The annual Ina Corinne Brown Lecture Series offering is scheduled for Thursday at 7 pm. The speaker is Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide regional organizer Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, a long-time activist working around issues of community empowerment and environmental racism in central and southern Appalachia and a supporter of the Movement for Black Lives. The series is named in honor of Ina Corinne Brown, professor of social anthropology and professor emeritus at Scarritt College from 1942-1966, and to pay tribute to all women who work for racial justice in the US South.The lecture will be held in the Wightman Chapel of Scarritt Bennett Center, 1008 19th Ave. S, 37212. This is a free event, but RSVPs are appreciated.