Nashville Justice League
Nashville Justice League is a front for Liberation Road.
The Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, the Equity Alliance Action Fund, and Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition Votes are joining forces to elect a slate of elected officials who share our vision for a more just and equitable Nashville and will stand up for workers’ rights, immigrant rights, and civil rights.[1]
Beginnings
The Nashville Justice League was formed in June 2019.
Its mission? Elect a more progressive Metro Council.
The new coalition, announced is made up of some of the biggest grassroots organizations in town: the Equity Alliance Fund, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition Votes and the Central Labor Council.
The groups' alignment is an indication that this year’s Metro Council races are about to kick into a higher gear ahead of the Aug. 1 election.
“Our organizations are bringing deep community relationships and organizing experience to the voter’s doorstep and inbox,” Tequila Johnson of the Equity Alliance Fund said in a statement. “There’s a new power rising in Nashville, and it looks like us.”
The Equity Alliance proactively advocates for African Americans and other communities of color. TIRRC Votes is the advocacy arm of TIRRC, which launched last year to build political support for immigrants. The CLC represents thousands of union members in the industrial, commercial, service, construction and public sectors.
TIRRC Votes announced last week it is supporting council members Burkley Allen, Fabian Bedne and Bob Mendes, as well as newcomers Gicola Lane and Zulfat Suara, in the race for Metro Council at-large seats.
The CLC is endorsing state Rep. John Ray Clemmons for mayor, and Allen, Bedne, Mendes, Lane, Suara, Sharon Hurt and Gary Moore for at-large.
Endorsements from these three organizations are key in Metro elections, as the communities behind the groups have led several powerful efforts in recent years.
Those include policy work behind the Do Better Bill that added transparency and accountability to incentives packages, keeping keeping Metro government from doing the work of federal immigration enforcement and to mobilizing voters. [2]
Endorsements
Nashville Justice League July 9 ·
We are so excited to share our full endorsement list below! Let's turn out the vote and get folks into office that will work for working people!
- At-Large: Bob Mendes, Sharon Hurt, Zulfat Suara, Fabian Bedne, Gicola Lane, Burkley Allen.
- District 2: Kyonzte Toombs;
- District 13: Russ Bradford;
- District 16: Ginny Welsch;
- District 17: Colby Sledge;
- District 19: Freddie O’Connell;
- District 29: Delishia Porterfield;
- District 30: Sandra Sepulveda;
- District 31: John Rutherford;
- District 33: Antoinette Lee.
LR connection
Liberation Road is actively involved in Nashville Justice League.
From the Liberation Road July 2019 newsletter.
The Nashville Justice League launched at the end of June to bring together the strategic alliance into the electoral field. This IPO Project is a new PAC, and a joint project with the Central Labor Council, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and the Equity Alliance, a civil rights and civic engagement organization run by black millennial women. We are using voting pledges, social media advertising, and canvassing to break down the silos of our membership and combine our strengths to get true champions of justice elected. We are currently focusing on Nashville metro elections, but have our eyes set on combining the IPO city-based projects for 2020.