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Race & Equity

This is where to find WPLN’s coverage of race and ethnicity, and of questions of equity relating to both. We strive to tell stories that reflect the diversity of Middle Tennessee, empower communities of color, and explain the systems that uphold inequitable power dynamics.

We as a newsroom are thinking deeply about what stories we choose to cover, who we talk to and about what, but we know we can always do better. Read more from our news director about the work we're doing and how to get in touch.

Quick links:

  • Sigue a Nashville Noticias, donde periodistas de WPLN comparten las noticias en español dos veces a la semana.
  • Listen to Breaking Points, a special series from summer 2020 that passes the mic to Black Nashvillians.
  • We're sharing our goals and progress with you on our WPLN News transparency page. Read our annual newsroom goals and how we're keeping track of source diversity.
  • Read our latest FCC quarterly report, which includes our source diversity numbers.
  • For coverage specifically on policing and criminal justice, please refer to our Criminal Justice topic page.

Tennessee could lose up to $1B in education funding under bill denying undocumented students

By Marianna Bacallao

April 1, 2025

A bill that would allow schools to refuse undocumented students could put Tennessee in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

Filed Under: Education, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: 114th Tennessee General Assembly, Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Bo Watson, immigrants, Immigration, Supreme Court, tnleg, tnpol, U.S. Supreme Court, undocumented students

Tennessee advances a challenge to education rights for immigrant students, despite mounting opposition

By Marianna Bacallao

March 26, 2025

A challenge to federal education rights is one step closer to passage, despite mounting pressure from protesters and faith leaders.

Filed Under: Education, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: 114th Tennessee General Assembly, Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Bo Watson, Charlie Baum, Gabby Salinas, immigrants, Immigration, Raumesh Akbari, Rutherford County Schools, Supreme Court, tnleg, tnpol, U.S. Supreme Court, undocumented students, William Lamberth

A new anti-transgender bathroom bill in Tennessee is headed to the governor’s desk

By Kimberlee Kruesi, AP

March 24, 2025

Tennessee’s Republican governor may sign a proposal that would require educational institutions that house students overnight to separate bathrooms “by immutable biological sex.” The Republican-dominant Senate easily cleared the legislation last week over objections of LGBTQ+ activists and the chamber’s handful of Democratic members.

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: anti-lgbt legislaton, Gino Bulso, Heidi Campbell, lgbtq, transgender

A late-night spot for Ramadan and beyond: Nashville’s Muslim-owned coffeeshops stay open, sans alcohol

By Rachel Iacovone

March 14, 2025

Listen

A handful of Muslim-owned shops in Nashville want to make sober nightlife cafe culture a year-round thing.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, Business, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: coffee, Muslim, Palestine, Ramadan, religion, Yemen

A fair housing nonprofit secured upgrades at TN apartments. But federal funding cuts could stall their work.

By Cynthia Abrams

March 13, 2025

The modifications come after Gross Residential — an Ohio-based company that develops, constructs and manages retail properties — reached a conciliation agreement with two fair housing nonprofits.

Filed Under: Business, Metro, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act, federal funding, federal funding freeze, Housing, HUD, National Fair Housing Alliance, Tennessee Fair Housing Alliance, Tennessee Fair Housing Council, Trump Administration, US Department of Housing and Urban Development

Tennessee schools could charge tuition for students without legal status under a bill advancing in the statehouse

By Marianna Bacallao

March 5, 2025

Listen

Schools could refuse to teach students without legal status, or charge their families tuition, under the bill.

Filed Under: Education, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: 114th Tennessee General Assembly, Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Bo Watson, immigrants, Immigration, Raumesh Akbari, Rutherford County Schools, Supreme Court, tnleg, tnpol, U.S. Supreme Court, undocumented students

To combat isolation for local immigrants, this nonprofit recruits allies and volunteers

By Char Daston

March 2, 2025

A group of people sits and/or stands around long tables in a bright, open office space.
Listen

Fear of deportation has led some immigrants to hide in their homes. TIRRC says it’s fighting that fear by selling yard signs that say “Immigrants Belong.”

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: Immigration, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, TIRRC

TN’s ‘drag ban’ is here to stay. Here’s why LGBTQ advocates don’t mind.

By Marianna Bacallao

February 27, 2025

Tennessee lawmakers are celebrating as the state’s so-called drag ban remains in place indefinitely. LGBTQ advocates also see the decision as a win.

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: anti-lgbt legislaton, drag, drag show, Jonathan Skrmetti, lgbt, lgbtq, Pride, Tennessee Attorney General, tnleg, tnpol

Tennessee drag ban to stay as SCOTUS refuses to hear the case

By Marianna Bacallao

February 25, 2025

Tennessee’s ban on drag in public spaces will remain in effect, as the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to take up a legal challenge to the law. Another suit could give LGTBQ advocates another shot at challenging the ban.

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: anti-lgbt legislaton, drag, drag show, Jonathan Skrmetti, lgbt, lgbtq, Pride, Tennessee Attorney General, tnleg, tnpol

From deportations to health care, state lawmakers are key for much of Trump’s domestic agenda

By Larry Kaplow, NPR

February 25, 2025

Federal power only goes so far. State governors and legislatures have wide authority over local law enforcement, schools, health and how cities and counties handle immigration.

Filed Under: Health Care, NPR News, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: 114th Tennessee General Assembly, Abortion, abortion rights, anti-lgbt, anti-lgbt legislaton, deportations, gender-affirming care, Health Care, immigrants, Immigration, NPR, school vouchers, tnleg, tnpol, transgender, Trump Administration, undocumented immigrants, Vaccines

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