Lawson was the non-violent activist who mentored the young men and women involved in the Nashville Student Movement. I had a chance to meet one of his students, Rip Patton, in June 2017. I wrote a little bit about my […]
Nashville
Goodbye Nashville (for now)
I’ve spent a little over a month in Nashville in 2024. In mid-January I was in the Music City during a snowstorm that paralyzed the city. I managed to get a little research done on my current book project during […]
Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in historical context
Over at The Washington Post, historians Ansley Quiros and Anthony Siracusa connect the recent removal of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee legislature to the early civil rights movement in Nashville. Here is a taste of their piece: […]
Senate Chaplain Barry Black: “It is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers”
I am watching an interview with him on CNN right now. Here is his prayer yesterday in the Senate today:
Images of the Day
Andrew Clyde: Georgia ninth congressional district: George Santos: NY third congressional district: Anna Paulina Luna: Florida’s thirteenth congressional district: Thomas Massie: Kentucky’s fourth congressional district: Andy Ogles: Tennessee’s 5th congressional district. The home of The Covenant School: Lauren Boebert: Colorado’s […]
What is going on in Nashville? (And why didn’t I know Pat Sajak was the chair of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees?)
Over at Religion News Service, writer David Dark introduces us to the Nashville “Prayer Trade.” Here are some of the things I learned (or was reminded of) from the piece: Michael W. Smith, Ricky Skaggs, and Steven Curtis Chapman were […]
Nashville removes a statue to the founder of the KKK
It was a really strange statue that one website said “accurately reflects the ugliness of its subject.” D. Patrick Rodgers’s piece at Nashville Scene is titled “Nathan Bedford Forrest Has Fallen.” Here is a taste: The Confederacy has fallen. Again. […]
Rip Patton, freedom rider, RIP
Today I learned from my friend and colleague Todd Allen that yet another veteran of the civil rights movement has passed away. Here is the Associated Press: Ernest “Rip” Patton, a member of the Nashville Freedom Riders and civil rights […]
Conservative evangelical radio host Phil Valentine changes his tune on COVID-19 vaccination
We wrote about Valentine last week in a post on Eric Metaxas’s claim that “he can spread false information [about the COVID-19 vaccine] all day long.” The New York Times is now covering the story. Here is Hamilton Matthew Masters […]