3 East Chattanooga groups host reunion Saturday to unite community

Cora Lanier, right, and Dr. Everlena Holmes talk outside of Frozen TNT Cafe on Dodson Avenue Monday, August 1, 2016.
Cora Lanier, right, and Dr. Everlena Holmes talk outside of Frozen TNT Cafe on Dodson Avenue Monday, August 1, 2016.
photo Artist Gregory Jones talks outside of Frozen TNT Cafe on Dodson Avenue Monday, August 1, 2016.

East Chattanooga reunion

When: 1 - 7 p.m. SaturdayWhere: East Chattanooga Youth and Family Development Center, 2409 Dodson Ave.

Three neighborhood groups will host an East Chattanooga reunion Saturday to unite a community riddled with violence.

"They're shooting up our neighborhood, and the residents are tired of it," said Fred Flach, treasurer of the Boyce Station Neighborhood Association.

On Saturday, Boyce Station, Glass Farm and Good Neighbor Network will host a communitywide reunion at the East Chattanooga Youth and Family Development Center from 1 to 7 p.m. The neighborhood groups will also meet at 10 a.m. Saturday for a prayer walk through the community.

At the reunion there's going to be food and face painting, school supplies and games for kids. But there's also voter registration, neighborhood association sign-ups and residents sharing East Chattanooga's history and their vision for accomplishing a peaceful community again.

Glenda Welcher, an East Chattanooga resident and a retiree, came to a neighborhood meeting Monday dressed in black T-shirt, blue jeans and boots, ready to work toward neighborhood improvement.

"I want to make things look better in our neighborhood, and I'm not afraid about nothing, because when God calls me, I'm going home," she said.

Three black men initiated the ground work for the reunion. Long-time East Chattanooga resident Cora Lanier said she hopes their effort becomes a movement to bring residents and businesses back to their community.

She holds a list of businesses located in East Chattanooga during the 1950s and '60s. The list includes Smith's Clothing Store, Red Food Store, Holsum Baker, American National Bank, Hamilton National Bank and Sid's Pharmacy.

Former East Chattanooga resident Dee Norwood hosted his first reunion in 2015. This year, he wants to have fun while uniting the community against crime.

The reunion will be the site to sign up more block leaders who will report blight, vacant lots and crime activity, said Lanier, secretary of Boyce Station.

"We want more people doing the work, and that makes it easier, that makes the community safer," she said.

Residents Jumaane Lanier, Cora Lanier's son, and Michael Sanderfur started the Boyce Station association this year to reactivate the community against violence. Everlena Holmes, Glenwood neighborhood leader, mentored the boys as they started the association.

"If you are not vigilant against it, crime will appear," Holmes said Monday.

Less than two weeks before the reunion, Chattanooga counted its 21st homicide on July 29 when 28-year-old Jeremy Clark was shot and killed in East Chattanooga on Glass Street. About 40 percent of East Chattanooga residents live below poverty, according to city-data.com. Crime and violence are scattered throughout the Chattanooga region, but data shows concentrated areas of crime in East Chattanooga and South Chattanooga.

On Saturday, reunion organizers want to show that East Chattanooga is a family-oriented community with barbecue dinners and no violence.

"We're looking to weed out all the violence and give the community opportunity to come together like it used to be," Jumaane Lanier said.

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6431.

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