A day after the city hosted the 50th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march, Chattanoogans paid homage to the late reverend at Tuesday's city council meeting, pleading for higher wages and violent crime prevention.
Tuesday's regular business meeting was book-ended by passionate calls to action by citizens concerned about gun violence, including the family of Alfred Williams, who was recently slain in a shooting outside a local Walmart, and members of the local Service Employees International Union calling for livable wages for city employees - both social issues championed by King.
The meeting began with a presentation from the council to posthumously honor Williams, who was fatally shot on New Year's Eve while protecting other potential victims from a shooter outside the Brainerd Road Walmart where he worked.
"Unfortunately, sometimes sad things happen, and we've had a rash of those lately," District 6 Councilwoman Carol Berz said, honoring Williams' family on behalf of the council. "We on the council feel that [Williams' actions] are worthy of some sort of notice."
The council presented a resolution honoring Williams for his "extreme courage and selflessness" in shielding and saving strangers from gunfire.
Williams' nephew, Isaiah Moore, used the time in front of council to call for the city to intervene in Chattanooga's crime rate.
"My uncle was probably the most pure-hearted man in this city. ... I just really hate that this is happening in our city, that we have innocent bystanders having their lives taken for no reason," Moore said, adding that it was just like Williams to sacrifice for a stranger. "He was shot on his lunch break ... on his lunch break. ... I know that we in the inner city are always going back and forth with the council on what needs to be done in our communities to stop this violence, and honestly, we're all failing."
According to Moore, police, citizens and the city's officials are failing until violence is resolved.
"I'm asking the city from this day forward, if there's anything that we can do - if the inner city community can come to you and we can get together and honestly make a move to change what's going on, we have to do it now," Moore added. "It has to be now because I'm tired of losing loved ones, and I know a lot of people in this city are tired, as well."
"We are appreciative and thankful for the city of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs and everyone who helped us have the 50th annual MLK march. We're one of the oldest, longest and most continuous [Martin Luther King celebrations] in the country, and think about the display that we had [at the march]," Unity Group member Eric Atkins said at the end of the meeting. "We know that Dr. King was a victim of gun violence ... and we know that more needs to be done to end gun violence ... and that's what Dr. King was talking about."
Later in the meeting, King, a workers' rights activist, was cited again as roughly 15 members and friends of the Service Employees International Union stood behind steward and city employee Steven Russell as he called for the city to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour in the FY 2021 budget, which will be formed over the coming months.
"Yesterday, we marched with many groups in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We thought it was fitting to continue his message of social and economic justice by getting further public support in our fight for $15 to be the new minimum wage paid by the city of Chattanooga," Russell said to the council, citing city data that suggests the minimum hourly wage required to support a household in Hamilton County is $21.90. "I'm saddened to report that we have fallen way behind. The cost of living has increased substantially but our wages have not increased at that same rate. ... During the budget season, it is important to remember that Dr. King said a budget is not only a financial document but also a moral document. We must pass a moral budget and make the fight for $15 the top priority for ending poverty for Chattanooga workers."
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.