This stone archway in the Lincoln Park neighborhood was built for the park’s opening in 1918.The state will investigate whether Mayor Andy Berke’s office violated Lincoln Park neighborhood residents’ civil rights in an ongoing dispute over a multimillion-dollar road project downtown.
The Tennessee Human Rights Commission confirmed in a letter that after reviewing the historic black neighborhood’s concerns, officials decided to conduct a joint investigation with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to make sure Chattanooga was complying with civil rights laws.
The Lincoln Park community alleges its rights were violated when city officials decided to use $5.9 million in federal highway funds to extend Central Avenue through their community and city officials made decisions without involving the neighborhood, discriminating against the community. They also claim they were intimidated by the mayor’s office and told not to go to the media with their complaints.
As a result, Tiffany Rankins, secretary of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood is opposed to the Central Avenue extension and wants the state to stop the project from going forward.
The mayor’s office argues that it has included the neighborhood in each step of the process.