On this day we walked 16 miles from Knoxville to Strawberry Plains. Jennifer Walker, our volunteer driver, Button, and I met Mary Kay, Doris, Cindy, Elizabeth and Natalie at the Sunsphere. We felt very privileged to have Mary Kay join our walk. Mary Kay had originally moved from Chicago and eventually became the Executive Director of the Knoxville Women’s Center. She shared the feminist history of the area while we walked past where the first Knoxville Women’s Center was located, which was in the Ely Building on 406 Church Street. It had been a dire time, but the Women’s Center was a place where women could access medical, legal, employment, and other resources. We passed several other historic sites, including Cal Johnson’s speedway circle. Cal Johnson was the first Black millionaire.
As we left Knoxville, we happened upon Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo, where Laura and I went inside to find out how gun owners felt about the abortion ban.
I’ll admit I was nervous, especially after the FBI announcement that the shooter at our health center was the same person who burned it down on December 31, 2021. I talked with a woman who worked at the gun store and was absolutely appalled by the abortion ban. She said it was an erosion of our rights and that we were moving backwards. She and several other cashiers expressed the same sentiment. I wondered if these folks would vote their values in the election in a few days.
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