Why are some Tennessee Republicans defending the first Grand Wizard of the KKK?
Why are some Tennessee Republicans defending the first Grand Wizard of the KKK? Nathan Bedford Forrest traded slaves and massacred union soldiers. And some Tennessee lawmakers say he deserves a place of honor in the Capitol. TN state representative London Lamar weighs in. March 19, 2021… Read More
The First Progressive Primary Challenge of 2022
The first major progressive primary challenge of the 2022 electoral cycle will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, where public servant and community organizer Odessa Kelly will be taking on ten-term incumbent representative Jim Cooper. A co-founder of the SEIU-backed activist organization Stand Up Nashville and former community center manager at… Read More
Progressives target Jim Cooper for primary challenge
Justice Democrats, the left-wing group that recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress, has its eyes set on ousting another Democratic incumbent. The organization will announce Monday that it is backing Democrat Odessa Kelly in her campaign against Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper — a Blue Dog Coalition member who has… Read More
Progressive group backing primary challenger to Tennessee Democrat
A progressive group that has successfully backed primary challenges to a number of Democratic members of Congress has a new target in its sights: Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). Justice Democrats said Monday that it will support Cooper’s primary challenger Odessa Kelly, a Black organizer and founder of Stand Up Nashville!, a nonprofit focused… Read More
Justice Democrats jump into 2022 primaries with Tennessee House race endorsement
(CNN)Justice Democrats, the progressive group that launched Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s historic 2018 campaign, made its first splash of the 2022 midterms on Monday by endorsing Nashville activist Odessa Kelly as she kicked off her Democratic primary challenge to longtime Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper. Kelly is the co-founder and executive director… Read More
The First Major Progressive Challenger of 2022 Is Here
Odessa Kelly Photo: Odessa Kelly Campaign The first major left-wing primary challenge to House Democrat in the 2022 cycle is here, driven by the same group that helped propel progressives Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush to Congress last year. Odessa Kelly on Monday announced she’s challenging longtime Representative Jim… Read More
The Progressive Group That Helped Bring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez To Congress Is Launching Its First Primary Challenge Of 2022
WASHINGTON — The progressives who helped defeat three Democratic incumbents in the last three years and brought Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress have their first Democratic target for next year’s election, and a chosen candidate to take him down. Justice Democrats is launching Odessa Kelly’s campaign against Rep. Jim Cooper,… Read More
What Tennessee—and the Country—Can Learn from London Lamar, the State’s Youngest Black Woman Lawmaker
By the time Tennessee representative London Lamar tells me she’s “a softy and a sweet person,” she had already removed all doubt. The ambitious lawmaker—the youngest black woman in the Tennessee state House by more than 30 years—has a demeanor that reminds me of spiced honey: sweet and soothing, but… Read More
City Council races begin to fill up
Quicker than Memphis starts to replace fall gray with spring green, the campaigns for Memphis City Council are coming to life at about a dozen or two dozen people at a time. With small gatherings and fundraisers, the 2019 Memphis City Council races are coming to life. But the… Read More
Martesha L. Johnson selected to the Nashville Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40!
We all have the same number of hours in the day, but what we do with those hours varies greatly. Our 40 Under 40 honorees of 2019 are making the most of their time: launching new businesses, growing their teams and making a positive impact on… Read More