Black Tennesseans share stories of resilience, community and love

The death of a dear friend. The loss of a beloved home. The power of a village.

These are some of the experiences of six Black Tennesseans, shared Tuesday night in the Roots Theater at the National Museum of African American Music. These cataclysmic events shaped the storytellers into the leaders they are today.

Black Tennessee Voices Live, a storytelling event produced by Tennessean staffers Lebron Hill and Anika Exum and presented by The Tennessean, created a stage for these stories to be shared. The event was more than one year in the making, with its roots in Hill's work to engage his community as an opinion and engagement reporter.

"This all started when the nation was grappling with the murder of George Floyd," Hill said to more than 150 audience members during the opening of Tuesday's event.

"People were asking questions, looking for answers."

Hill worked with the opinion and newsletter teams to launch the Black Tennessee Voices newsletter, which he has curated weekly over the past two years. The Black Tennessee Voices community has also grown into a Facebook group and Instagram page, something Hill affectionately calls "a force."

This week, his community took to the stage.

"Tonight is about storytelling," Hill said. "To me, storytelling is about having an open mind and heart. Some will be polished, professional. Some will be raw and emotional."

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Kennetha Patterson took the stage first to tell the story of how she became the self-proclaimed "Homeless CEO."

Patterson believes in uplifting people who have experienced homelessness firsthand, and she works to share those stories through her grassroots organization, Vision Heirs INC. On stage, she shared her own family's journey with multiple bouts of homelessness.

"If I had listened to the people who told me to wait until I wasn't homeless, I wouldn't be where I am today with Vision Heirs INC," Patterson said.

Storytellers Marisa Richmond and Ashford Hughes told tales of their own advocacy work, starting from a young age.

Richmond, a history professor at Middle Tennessee State University, told the story of her parents' commitment to social change and the values they instilled in her.

"When the sit-ins started in Nashville, my mother was pregnant with my younger sibling," Richmond said. "She got on the phone and helped organize the business boycotts."

Richmond said she found her niche in fighting for transgender rights at the local, state and national level. Years ago, she met President Barack Obama and told him the same thing she tells all politicians she meets: "I'm an out trans woman, and we need you to do more."

Hughes has lost friends to gun violence, dating back to his childhood. The experience of losing his best friend led him down a path of deep introspection, something he called a transitional moment in his life.

"I made it my purpose to make sure young black and brown girls and boys didn't end up killed or in jail," Hughes said.

Despite vulnerability and raw emotion, resiliency and love were at the center of each story, something Exum believed was a strong event theme. Exum, who covers education at The Tennessean, hopes the event transforms into a Nashville staple. Applications for next year's storytellers are now open.

"This type of show is special, because you get to hear it directly from the storytellers," Exum said. "I think one thing that's special — people might not have known these figures in Nashville. But then it's also good for people that do know these people's faces already, to see how they got to where they are."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Black Tennessee Voices Live uplifts stories of resilience, love