Tennessee Human Rights Day Celebration Announces 2018 Award Recipients

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place in Nashville at the First Amendment Center on December 11th, 5pm – 7pm.  

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place in Nashville at the First Amendment Center on December 11th, from 5pm – 7pm.  The theme for 2018 was chosen to align with the United Nations’ theme and is: “Born Free & Equal? The Timeline of Justice in Nashville.” The event commemorates the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on Dec 10, 1948. This year is the 70^th anniversary of this important historical document.

During the event, leaders are acknowledged, and awards will go to human rights champions in three categories: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement. Past recipients of these prestigious honors can be seen at NashvilleHumanRights.org.

A committee of human rights organizations and nonprofits, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, United Nations Association, UNICEF, Amnesty International, Tennessee United for Human Rights, the Church of Scientology, and others, work together each year to plan the event.

For the 2018 event, four Rising Advocate Awards will be given to those who have made great strides for human rights and show even greater promise for the future. They are Anne Barnett & Odessa Kelly, both with STAND UP Nashville, who were instrumental in making sure the "Do Better Bill" passed earlier this year; Fayo Abadula who co-founded Oromo Youth of Nashville, a mentorship group for the Oromo youth and anyone from the African Diaspora interested in pursuing a college degree; and the Community Oversight Now coalition which recently successfully got Amendment 1 passed which will create a Community Oversight Board for the police in Nashville, and has advocated for social justice and civil rights.

The award winners in the category of Outstanding Service are Dawn Deaner, who has served unselfishly as Nashville’s Executive Public Defender and stood strong against a criminal justice system fraught with injustice; and Tom Negri who has served on nearly 20 boards and action committees including the YWCA and Conexion Americas as well as taking a leading role on Nashville for All of Us, the initiative to defeat the "English Only" bill.

Lifetime Achievement awards will be presented to King Hollands, who fought for civil rights as a student of Fisk University during the Nashville sit-ins; and Dr. Blondell Strong Kimbrough, a lifelong advocate for civil rights and justice.

International Human Rights Day is ticketed at $10, with proceeds going to fund students attending Model UN. For more information or to reserve a seat, visit NashvilleHumanRights.org.  

Drug-Free Tennessee Reminds Youth to Stay Healthy this Holiday Season

Drug-Free Tennessee recently participated in community events to remind young people to be safe and healthy by distributing the Truth About Drugs booklets.

Drug-Free Tennessee is committed to making neighborhoods drug and crime-free. So it was that volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for local neighborhood health fairs and community events recently to remind kids to make good choices.

The final week of October is Red Ribbon Week. “Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country,” according to imdrugfree.com. This is the best time to educate young people and help prevent drug abuse. The Red Ribbon Campaign was started to commemorate DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who died in the line of duty in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying red ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America, according to redribbon.org.

With Halloween falling during the same week, volunteers found several community events to participate in where they could help remind young people to make safe choices during the holiday.

Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee, says, “Youth today make decisions about drugs at a younger age. We need to get them reliable information so they can make educated choices and lead healthier lives.”

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets with information on how drugs affect the body and mind, what a dealer might say, and common street names to young people know how to avoid them. The materials are available free of charge, and can be obtained through drugfreeworld.org.

For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee or to order materials, visit drugfreetn.org. 

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Reminds Kids to Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee has been out in the community, participating in local community Halloween festivities and health fairs.

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for local holiday festivities recently to help remind kids to be safe and happy during the Fall and Winter months.

"True joy and happiness are valuable," begins the common sense guide, The Way to Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. Since then, the book has sparked a movement and has been reprinted and passed hand to hand to a wide variety of cultures and peoples. In Tennessee, The Way to Happiness Association works with communities and neighborhoods to spread the booklet to as many people as possible. Organizers say that when the booklet is passed from hand to hand, it is like oil spread upon a raging sea, the calm flows outward and outward.

The Tennessee Association launched its campaign to distribute the booklet in 2009. Since that time, the group has visited local health fairs, festivals and community gatherings.

During the recent community events, the Way to happiness volunteers passed out the booklet to students, parents and grandparents. The booklet details 21 precepts predicated on the fact that one's survival depends on the survival of others. According to thewaytohappiness.org, "This code of conduct can be followed by anyone, of any race, color or creed and works to restore the bonds that unite humankind."

The Way to Happiness aims at giving people back a sense of what is right and wrong in a way that is easy to understand. In the three decades since it was authored, some 80 million copies of the book passed hand to hand.

For more information, visit twthtn.org.

Nashville Religion Communicators Council Learns the Importance of Video in Marketing

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) meets monthly to talk about topics of interest and hear from professionals in religious communications.  

In today’s world, video has become an inherent part of living, and as such, is a vital communications tool for anyone trying to get a message across. People of faith trying to get a message of hope out to the world need to understand and use video production to better communicate with those they are trying to reach. So, a group of religious communications professionals gathered recently for their monthly meeting to learn more about video production and its importance in marketing.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations.

“Religious people need to stay on top of the way messages are communicated in today’s world,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, president of the Nashville chapter and pastor of the Church of Scientology, “We live in an audio visual world, and it’s essential that faith communities have people who know how to use video production to get their messages across.”

The meeting took place at the American Muslim Cultural Center over lunch.

Judith Black of Upshot Media was the guest speaker for the day. Black emphasized two key points above all else: the importance of good audio in videos, even above the image quality, and ensuring the video creates an emotional impact on the viewer.

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. The RCC, founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development. The RCC provides opportunities for communicators to learn from each other. Together, RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena and encourage understanding among religious and faith groups. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.

Drug-Free Tennessee Holds Red Ribbon Week Halloween-Themed Event for Kids

With Halloween falling on the last day of Red Ribbon Week, Drug-Free Tennessee thought it apt to hold a Trick-Or-Treat party with a message to kids to be safe and drug-free.

Drug-Free Tennessee in partnership with the Church of Scientology Nashville ended Red Ribbon Week with a Halloween-themed event for kids, helping to educate young people on the dangers of drugs in a fun way with a trick-or-treating kick-off party.

Tennessee consistently ranks in the top five US states in terms of substance abuse rates, according to a report from lakeviewhealth.com. The website further describes that despite the rise in opioid addictions, alcohol abuse statistics have remained stable, so alcohol is still the most commonly abused substance in Tennessee. The website describes opioid abuse, specifically pointing out that oxycodone and hydrocodone are the most commonly abused of painkillers. Although physicians legally prescribe them, these medications often end up on the black market, which has led to a surge in drug related crimes in Tennessee.

To protect youth from the disastrous effects of abusing these and other drugs, Scientologists and others teamed up with Drug-Free Tennessee to bring the truth about drugs to young people during Red Ribbon Week.

Volunteers participated in neighborhood events and health fairs leading up to a Halloween bash on the 31^st to remind kids to be safe and drug-free. They distributed copies of The Truth About Drugs, a booklet that helps young people understand what drugs are and how they affect the user.

Red Ribbon Week is a week-long celebration at the end of October to promote a drug-free lifestyle. The Red Ribbon has been worn as a symbol since 1985 when DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was murdered. Angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons to show their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction caused by drugs in America.

“Our Halloween bash was a great way to educate children in a fun way, while also reminding them that drugs are scary,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church and regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee.

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, an international non-profit organization. Its materials demonstrate the dangers of drugs through factual information and interviews with former addicts giving personal perspectives on each of the substances covered.

For more information on the Truth About Drugs, visit drugfreetn.org. For more information on the Church of Scientology and its programs, visit Scientology-CCNashville.org.