Tales From the Road #1: Clarksville Training and Knoxville Win
By Francie Hunt, Executive Director | Sept. 9, 2022, 8:43 p.m.
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Ruth’s Army, a Ruth Bader Ginsburg-inspired action council, only had a few days to help support my training walk in Clarksville on Labor Day, so I was happily amazed to pull up to the trailhead parking lot full of supporters. What better place to kick off a group training walk than in a military town? Folks with the Montgomery County NAACP, Women’s Veterans of America Chapter 47, Indivisible, City Council Member Karen Reynolds, and state house candidates Ronnie Glynn and Monica Meeks joined in the training walk and gave excellent guidance on good hiking gear.
Pierre, Carmen and Andrea walked the full 10 miles with me. I learned more about military family life, deployment to Iraq and what it was like to be a Black progressive soldier. The toughest fight for us to move this country forward is to combat racism and discrimination.
Walk for Our Lives represents a shift from organizing critical mass to critical connections. Huge thanks to Clarksville for connecting with me and helping me prepare for this walk in body, mind and spirit.
The next training walks are in Murfreesboro on Saturday, September 10 and in Chattanooga on Sunday, September 18. If you are in the area, sign up HERE.
The next day, I drove the walk route from Nashville to Knoxville. Parts of this walk will be serene and meditative along Tennessee’s countryside, but there will be many parts that will be traffic-filled and a little nerve-racking, not to mention passing a few Trump signs here and there. I sure hope you’ll join me along the way, because there is always safety in numbers.
The BEST thing was arriving at the Knoxville City Council meeting that was packed with pro-choice supporters. The City Council passed the Abortion is Healthcare resolution unanimously and with bipartisan support. You can watch coverage of this incredible advocacy effort HERE.
Can you imagine if we could have that same kind of impact at the state legislature? This will be possible one day if we can continue electing pro-choice candidates to state office. Our Endorsement Committee will be meeting next week to review a slate of candidates and then the TAPP Board will vote to approve our endorsements. We are preparing for an October Month of Action, to help elect solid candidates by getting out our voters. Stay tuned!
Even in these distressing times, I can honestly say that my heart is full. I know we have each others’ backs and I know we can make change.
I hope you can join me in-person to Walk for Our Lives ! If you can't walk but still want to help out, you can donate to the walk here or help us purchase needed supplies for the walk via our Amazon Wish List.
And, of course, you can follow my entire journey right here on the TAPP blog where I'll be sharing many more Tales From the Road in the weeks to come!
One step at a time,
Francie