May 3rd Election RESULTS
Chattanooga, TN – Weston Wamp is the new Hamilton County Mayo, winning a close race over Sabrina. And, taking the reins of the office of the District Attorney will be Coty Wamp, (sibling to Weston), whose race results outdistanced incumbent Neal Pinkston.
Newcomer Mike Dumitru wins Circuit Court Judge, Division 2 and Boyd Patterson is the new Criminal Court Judge in Division 3.
Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Beck is back in the seat again for District 5, winning handily over three opponents. The current Commissioner Katherlyn Geter did not seek re-election. Winners for Hamilton County’s two new districts are Jeffrey Eversole, District 10 and Montrell Besley, District 11.
Boy’s Leadership Summit Encourages Leadership
The Lighthouse Collective hosted the Boys Leadership Summit this past Saturday, April 30th at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The theme was, “Lighting the Way for Tomorrow’s Leaders.”
The Leadership Summit is designed to encourage middle and high school boys, as well as college-age men at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, to become leaders of the future. Young men received resources and guidance from local and nationally known speakers on topics such as mental health, self-awareness, and communication development. In its 10th year, the Boys Leadership Summit was free and open to the public. As an added feature, specific sessions for parents were offered during the leadership summit.
The Lighthouse Collective is a licensed 501(c)3 entity founded by LaDarius Price, Montrell Besley, Troy Rogers and Chris Sands. Their goal is to provide mentoring and life-skills training for Chattanooga’s youth and young adults. LaDarius Price, one of the Lighthouse Collective founders remarked, “We had a phenomenal turnout of young men and parents.” The late Chris Ramsey was honored for his vision and leadership of the Boys Leadership Summit. (Photos by Herman Prater, Jr.)
Collegedale Police Deny Excessive Force in Traffic Stop of Black Man; Attack DA Pinkston
By Camm Ashford
Collegedale Police on Monday released an internal review of the March 10 traffic stop where white Collegedale officer Evan Driskill used a Taser on black DoorDash driver
Delaney Gordon.
The investigation found that claims of excessive force were unfounded.
Collegedale Chief of Police Jack Sapp said, “The Collegedale Police Department respects the civil rights of all citizens, regardless of race, nationality or other protected characteristic, and is fully compliant with state and federal standards in that regard. Statistical analysis demonstrates that neither Officer Driskill or the Department at large has disparately initiated law enforcement actions against minority citizens.
Collegedale’s review of the incident has therefore been closed and Officer Driskill was found to have acted in accordance with policy and standard law enforcement procedures.”
Chief Sapp said Officer Driskill asked Gordon for identification 5 times during the incident, and he refused. Therefore he was arrested. The officer only used the Taser after Gordon refused to comply multiple times, Sapp noted.
“The officer opened the driver’s side door to make the arrest and ordered Mr. Gordon from the vehicle five times before transitioning to his Taser,” Chief Sapp said. “The officer drew his Taser and ordered the driver out of the car eight more times before holstering his Taser in an effort to de-escalate. The officer returned to hands-on with the driver and ordered him five more times to exit the vehicle, injuring his own leg in the struggle. It was only when Mr. Gordon emphatically stated “No!” to the officer’s many orders, that Officer Driskill made the decision to deploy his Taser to gain compliance and effect the arrest. After using the Taser, Officer Driskill had to order Mr. Gordon 10 more times out of the vehicle.”
Chief Sapp criticized Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston for not allowing a sheriff investigation of the incident to be completed, but sending it on to the U.S. Department of Justice, as was requested of the DA in a letter from the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice. Sapp also claimed Pinkston didn’t watch the full police cam video of the arrest.
“To our knowledge, no one from the district attorney’s office has requested to watch the video of the entire traffic stop, instead choosing to only view the 49 second clip recorded by the defendant’s cell phone,” Chief Sapp said. “Based on no other evidence, General Pinkston has moved to dismiss all charges against Mr. Gordon, which is unfair to Officer Driskill and the public at large.”
The March 10 traffic stop and arrest of the 28-year-old Gordon has gained national attention and come under intense investigation and legal challenge.
Gordon–who faces charges of speeding, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct based on Officer Driskill’s sworn affidavit which says Gordon was going 49 mph in a 35 mph zone–pressed record on his phone after he was pulled over. That recording, made public by Gordon’s attorney Ryan Wheeler, has since gone viral.
“Our officers have had to endure illegitimate claims of racism and threats of violence from those who have only seen a small portion of the entire interaction between Officer Driskill and Delane Gordon,” Collegedale’s Chief Sapp said. “I will always promote and support de-escalation when practical, but in this specific event only one person was acting unlawfully and that was Mr. Gordon.”
“Coming To Your House” – In the Huddle
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
(Luke 19:10, NIV)
For the SON of MAN came to seek and to save the lost.
TODAY’S WORD
In Luke 19, out of a large crowd of people, JESUS called out Zacchaeus by name, a dishonest and despised tax collector, stating that HE wanted to meet with him at his house. It’s interesting that JESUS passed by all the religious people and went right to the most notorious sinner in the crowd. It shows you the heart of GOD. HE was saying, “I know all your weaknesses, failures, and cheating ways, and I’ve come to save you.” You may think you’ve made so many mistakes and have so much negative baggage that GOD won’t have anything to do with you. No, GOD is calling your name. HE will seek out the one person who most people have written off. HE looks beyond the mistakes, beyond the failures, beyond what we pretend to be. No matter what you’ve done, HE never writes you off. HE’ll help you change where you couldn’t change before. Salvation is coming, breakthroughs, deliverance, restoration, healing, favor, the fullness of your destiny.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
FATHER, thank YOU that in YOUR heart is a constant purpose to seek and save people like me. Thank YOU that YOU see beyond what I have been to what I can become, and YOU come to my house with the gift of salvation and help me change. Welcome to my house. In JESUS’ Name, Amen.
Black Activists Hope Supreme Court Abortion Rumor Holds True While Leaked Opinions Set Poor Precedent, Possible Ruling Applauded
Washington, D.C. – Members of the Project 21 black leadership network expressed cautious optimism regarding a leaked document indicating that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion back to the states. They also criticized apparent political motivations behind the leak.
“Along with the rest of America, I am waiting for verification and confirmation that this is the justices’ true decision,” said Project 21 member and pro-life leader Day Gardner. “However, I was immediately overcome with tears of joy – giving praise and glory to God in Christ for even the slightest possibility, the slightest hope of ending the horrible practice of killing preborn children.”
A draft of the majority opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked to the media this week, leading many to speculate that the Court plans to overturn two cases – Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey – to allow state law to again dictate the legality of abortion.
“Finally, the disproportionate murder of preborn black babies can come to an end,” said Project 21 member Mike Hill. “Per capita, more preborn innocent black babies are murdered in the womb than any other segment in America. Margaret Sanger’s eugenics agenda and its devastating effect on black America is coming to its bloody end. Now the battle shifts to the state level.”
According to a report by Politico, an initial draft of the majority opinion in the Mississippi-initiated abortion case, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, will overturn the Roe and Casey rulings that are central to federal protection of abortion. Alito is credited with having written in the opinion: “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
“According to a draft, it looks like the Supreme Court is going to send abortion back to the states. I am not surprised,” said Project 21 member Marie Fischer. “The basis of Roe v. Wade was privacy, but the COVID pandemic and government mandates threw out privacy for millions of Americans. The left ultimately could not have its cake and eat it too. Either push mandates and vaccines that strip privacy rights from individuals or keep privacy for all.”
This is the first time in modern history that a draft opinion in a pending Supreme Court case has been leaked. Because this is the most controversial case before the Court in decades, the leak has further politicized the issue and raised concerns about undue influences being put on justices to changes their votes or alter their opinions.
“An initial draft of this Supreme Court opinion should not have been released publicly. Releasing drafts of Court decisions could undermine the ability of the justices to decide future cases,” said Project 21 member Derryck Green. “Having said that, and if the news is correct, Justice Alito is both morally and politically right in his legal analysis. Morally, Roe was a terrible decision. It lacked legal expertise and seems to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Legally, it’s wrong because abortion clearly isn’t found in the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the decision regarding its legality should be left to the individual states to decide.
“The hope is that, despite this leak, the justices who are in favor of overturning this legal precedent will hold firm and steadfastly refuse to change their minds,” added Green. “This has the moral potential to save an untold number of lives – particularly black lives – since non-Hispanic black women generally have higher rates of abortions than their multiethnic peers.”
“Casey and Roe were unfounded and wrongly decided,” said Project 21 member Patrina Mosley. “We look forward to an official opinion release that ends the tragedy of abortion. If so, this will be the second greatest reversal in our country after slavery.”
To schedule an interview with a member of Project 21 on this or other issues, contact Judy Kent at (703) 477-7476.
Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over 25 years, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Its members have been quoted, interviewed or published over 50,000 times since the program was created in 1992. Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated, and may be earmarked exclusively for the use of Project 21.
53 Democratic State Parties Issue Statement on Leaked SCOTUS Intent to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Last night, a draft opinion circulated indicating the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade. In anticipation of this “egregiously wrong” SCOTUS ruling, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority has already passed a trigger law that would immediately ban abortions once this decision is finalized. “I am disappointed that the court’s conservative majority has decided to turn the highest court into an incubator for dangerous Republican political ideology.” – Hendrell Remus, TNDP Chair
Given the additional powers this anticipated decision will yield to state and territorial legislatures, the listed State Parties, representing almost all of the states and territories of the nation, signed on to jointly offer the following statement:
“The shockwaves of Donald Trump’s presidency are neither gone nor forgotten. We are heartbroken – but not surprised – to see the draft opinion of the United States Supreme Court indicating it intends to overturn a half-century constitutional jurisprudence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Many of us live in states where abortion access has been overturned or torn apart by extremist Republicans who have no business interfering in personal health decisions. Abortion bans are not favored by a majority of Americans, and they never will be. They are, however, supported by an extremist group of right wing primary voters and donors – and that’s why the GOP continues to fight to restrict abortion access nationally and in our legislatures.
“In the wake of this decision, the Supreme Court’s anticipated opinion will signal a return of power to the elected representatives of each state and territory. Therefore, it is important now, more than ever, that we protect and exercise those rights that remain intact — our First Amendment rights to associate and to vote representatives into office who will stand firm and protect their constituents from the threats and whims of conservatives.
“Across America, our State Democratic Parties will work tirelessly to recruit, train, and support Democratic candidates for state and federal office who will fight for the right to abortion. We encourage our federal legislators to codify Roe immediately. We cannot and will not wait.”
Signed by:
- Alabama Democratic Party
- Alaska Democratic Party
- Arizona Democratic Party
- Arkansas Democratic Party
- California Democratic Party
- Colorado Democratic Party
- Connecticut Democratic Party
- DC Democratic Party
- Delaware Democratic Party
- Democrats Abroad
- Florida Democratic Party
- Georgia Democratic Party
- Guam Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of Hawai‘i
- Idaho Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of Illinois
- Indiana Democratic Party
- Iowa Democratic Party
- Kansas Democratic Party
- Louisiana Democratic Party
- Maine Democratic Party
- Maryland Democratic Party
- Massachusetts Democratic Party
- Michigan Democratic Party
- Minnesota DFL Party
- Mississippi Democratic Party
- Missouri Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands
- Nebraska Democratic Party
- Nevada State Democratic Party
- New Hampshire Democratic Party
- New Jersey Democratic State Committee
- New Mexico Democratic Party
- Montana Democratic Party
- New York State Democratic Party
- North Carolina Democratic Party
- North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party
- Ohio Democratic Party
- Oklahoma Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of Oregon
- Pennsylvania Democratic Party
- Rhode Island Democratic Party
- South Carolina Democratic Party
- South Dakota Democratic Party
- Tennessee Democratic Party
- Texas Democratic Party
- Utah Democratic Party
- Vermont Democratic Party
- Virginia Democratic Party
- Washington State Democratic Party
- West Virginia Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of Wisconsin
- Wyoming Democratic Party
Blackburn on Roe vs Wade
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called out the Democrats’ blatant attempt to use the media to attack the integrity of the Supreme Courtafter a leaked opinion revealed the Court may overturn Roe v. Wade.
When The Left Doesn’t Get Their Way, They Use the Media to Attack The Courts
“We have to protect the institutions…this is what the Democrats do when they do not get their way. They go to the media. They would coach the witnesses because they want things to go their way. If they can’t get it done legislatively, and if they are not going to get it done in the Court, they attack the courts.”
Democrats Want To Protect “Women’s Rights” But Can’t Define “Woman”
“They have said a ‘woman’s right to choose,’ even though bear in mind two weeks ago, they couldn’t define ‘woman.’ Today, they’re out there and they’re saying, ‘no, it is a woman’s right to choose.’ This lawsuit, this argument before the Supreme Court, was not to outlaw abortion, it was just to say the proper place for these decisions is at the state level. And thereby the states should have the ability to make the decision as to how they’re going to move forward. Now, that is federalism 101. Things that are not enumerated in the Constitution, they go to the states, and the states make the decisions. That’s why you have the state legislatures that are in charge of elections. It’s why state legislatures set their rates of local and state taxations. It is why state legislatures take a lead on issue after issue like schools and school boards and curriculum, because that is federalism. The left is wrong to go after saying this would outlaw abortion because that is inaccurate.”
We Must Defend The Integrity Of The Court From The Left’s Radical Attacks
“I have to tell you quite honestly, that the American people are sick of all of the fighting that left is doing regularly—just going after issue, after issue, taking to the streets, all of the protesting and the unrest. What they would like to see is some civility. What we have to do is realize this is up to Chief Justice Roberts, to assemble the Justices to find out what happened to meet with the clerk. There’s a very small circle of people that would have access to a draft opinion. So, they are going to get to the bottom of this. We need to support the Chief Justice and the integrity of the Court as they go through this process.”
Democrats Won’t Stop Until They Legalize Abortion On Demand
“I’m the only pro-life female on the Senate Judiciary Committee. What they do is try to go after the personal destruction attacks. You can’t be a conservative woman in their mind and you cannot be fully recognized and your opinion matter unless you submit to the leftist agenda and the leftist agenda is abortion on demand up to the last minute.”
Breaking News: Vice President Kamala Harris to Headline Tennessee State University Commencement
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Vice President Kamala Harris will headline Tennessee State University’s 2022 Spring Commencement in May. Vice President Harris will deliver the keynote address for the undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 7 at 9 a.m. CDT in Hale Stadium. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin will address graduate students at an indoor ceremony on Friday, May 6 at 5 p.m. CDT in the Gentry Center Complex. University officials say nearly 900 students will receive degrees in various disciplines.
“We are excited to have the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris and Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, two trailblazers and history makers, deliver the keynote address for our commencement ceremonies,” says TSU President Glenda Glover.
“Commencement marks a major milestone in our students’ lives, but to have the Vice President of the United States as your guest speaker makes this moment even more special for our students and their families. I believe they will also appreciate the fact that both Vice President Harris and Mayor Woodfin are HBCU graduates, a testament to the caliber of students TSU and other HBCUs produce. The TSU family looks forward to both ceremonies and featured speakers.”
“One Act Of Kindness” – In the Huddle
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
(2 Kings 5:2–3, MSG)
It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel, captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he would be healed of his skin disease.”
TODAY’S WORD
Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army that had captured a young Israelite girl and brought her back as his wife’s maid. You can imagine how her life was turned upside down. Taken from her family and friends into a foreign country, she barely understood the language. Her hopes and dreams were shattered, and it’s all because of Naaman. You would think she hated him. But whenever he came home and took off his armor, hidden underneath was the leprosy, eating away his body. She could have thought, “I hope you die. You wrecked my life.” But instead, she was full of mercy and offered the remedy through which he was completely healed. All because she showed kindness to someone who had done her wrong. It’s easy to hold a grudge, try to pay someone back, ignore them, and make them suffer, but all that does is hold you down. JESUS says, “GOD blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Be good to someone who doesn’t deserve it..
PRAYER FOR TODAY
FATHER, thank YOU for showing me YOUR mercy over and over again when I didn’t begin to deserve it. Help me to have a heart that is free from being vindictive toward others who have done me wrong. I want to pass the test and be good to those who don’t deserve it. In JESUS’ Name, Amen.