Members of the community joined NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) for their second anniversary banquet, ‘Fired Up for Democracy!’ in mid May.
The Cal Turner Center on the Campus of Meharry Medical College was host to a full house as NOAH made a appeal to continue doing the needed work for social justice in Nashville.
The guest speaker, Stefanie Brown James, community strategist, made her first visit to the growing city of Nashville to give a word to the workers of NOAH. With a great sense of humor and an even greater dedication to the cause, James has dedicated her life to “empowering people to organize and advocate for equality and expanded opportunities in their communities.”
She is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and CEO/founding partner of Vestige Strategies, LLC, a Washington D.C.-based community firm that specializes in grassroots community and civic engagement strategies.
In August of 2016, Stefanie and her husband, Quentin James co-founded The Collective PAC, a national political action committee dedicated to recruiting, training, funding and supporting Black candidates to run for office on the local, state and federal levels.
James paralleled her message through the story of Elijah noting that “the seeds that you plant today will be the trees of tomorrow. She ended by observing the age in the room, saying she expected to return and see a larger percentage of youth among those present and working.
There was a promise made to make those efforts.
“We invite any social conscience congregations, unions and organizations to join NOAH as we strive to make Nashville a great city for all,” said Rev. Edward Lee Thompson, chairman of NOAH.
Other participants on the program included: Rev. W. Antoni Sinkfield, master of ceremonies; Tanya Debra, NOAH secretary; Angela Stockdale; and Just Us, former singers of Fisk Subilee Singers and Hampton University Singers; Steve Hawkins, president of the Coalition for Public Safety; and Judy Cummings, who closed with prayer.
For more information on NOAH, visit <www.oahtn.org>.
