Amendment 1 rallyHealthy and Free Tennessee will present Voice Your Vote: For a Healthy and Free Tennessee, an early voting event, noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Brainerd Recreation Center, 1010 N. Moore Road.Includes live music, free food and information on potential consequences of Amendment 1, regulating abortion. Free admission.
"Inequality for All" is former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich's exposé on economic disparity.Six cities across the state are hosting the Together Tennessee film series this week to educate citizens about Question 3, one of four amendments on the November ballot.
Question 3, if passed, would amend the state constitution to prohibit a state income tax. Proponents (vote Yes) say passage would keep Tennessee competitive and bring in jobs. Opponents (vote No) say permanently blocking an income tax would result in increased sales taxes, business taxes and property taxes and further widen the gap between the state's richest and poorest citizens.
The Tennessee Together series will screen six award-winning documentaries, beginning what organizers call a long-range collaborative campaign to advance social and economic justice in Tennessee. The series is sponsored by Tennessee for Fair Taxation, Tennessee NAACP, Tennessee Education Association, Common Cause and the Coalition for the Organizational Protection of People and Equal Rights, in partnership with Working Films and United for a Fair Economy.
"This broad-based coalition is committed to educating and mobilizing citizens to vote No on Question 3, and these film screenings are one step toward achieving that goal," says Michael Young of United for a Fair Economy in a news release. "Hundreds of activists, organizers and regular citizens will be in attendance and will be mobilized to win an important victory for future generations of Tennesseans."
The Chattanooga screening will be "Inequality for All," set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, in the University Center auditorium, 642 E. Fifth St. on the UTC campus. Admission is free. "Inequality for All" is former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich's exposé on economic disparity.
Other films in the series, which started Tuesday, are "Blood on the Mountain" (Johnson City), "The Hand That Feeds" (Memphis), "Citizen Koch" (Nashville), "Freedom Summer" (Jackson) and "American Teacher" (Knoxville).
Young says the participatory film tour "is designed to educate communities on the impacts of money in politics, an unfair tax system that burdens the poor and on cuts to the state budget that are eliminating social safety nets and defunding public education.
"These issues will be spotlighted in the films and discussed in interactive post-screening programs designed to offer a forum for community members to share their perspectives, identify common ground and discuss potential solutions."
For more information, visit workingfilms.org.