KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators have visited Knoxville almost every year since 2017.
A number of topics affecting the Black community in Knoxville were discussed in a town hall meeting on Friday, including women's reproductive rights, gun violence and the advancement of minority-owned businesses.
"We need to give more to our education system, we need to expand Medicare, we need to put people into a situation where they can receive adequate health care, without going broke," State Rep Sam McKenzie of Knoxville said.
It all came down to Juneteenth, an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. It's been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s and the timing of the caucus is no coincidence.
"Right after emancipation and right after those that were enslaved were set free, they began having celebrations. But at those celebrations there were speakers that would speak about what still needs to be done in the Black community," Renee Kesler, president of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, said.
Town halls like the caucus and the celebration of Juneteenth give a chance for people to remember history and let it guide their future.
"Slavery was a discourage on our nation's history, but we can't push it to the side and put it under the bush, let's talk about the things that still affect the African American community in a negative way, and what can we do as a collective to bring everyone's boat up," McKenzie said.