The Contributor | Page 52 | The Contributor helps our homeless neighbors establish their own micro-businesses and work their way into housing through selling an award-winning street paper.

Soulful Dudes

By Aram Goudsouzian and Chapter16.org | February 26, 2025

In the 1990 hip-hop anthem “Fight the Power,” Chuck D of Public Enemy slammed Elvis Presley. Elvis may have been “a hero to most,” but for the militantly conscious rapper, that “sucker” was a “straight-up racist,” lumped with the conservative icon John Wayne.

The lyrics evoked the long, complicated debate over Presley’s legacy: Did his music bridge a racial chasm, or did he steal from Black artists? In Before Elvis, Preston Lauterbach flips the frame on this question. He explores Elvis through the lives of the Black musicians who shaped his style.

Hoboscopes: February 26, 2025

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a registered herbalist, or a certified dishwasher.

Feral: Little Pal

Part 1 of 3 of the true story of a wild (feral) cat colony over a 3-year time period. My observations and involvement.

Learn More About Community Organizing

Federal edicts and missiles over these past couple of weeks have created chaos among nonprofit organizations, state and local agencies and others who are focused on serving people who struggle to make ends meet. Among some of the confusion created by the White House was the threat of halting a large portion of federal grant funding that Congress has allocated for agencies serving some of the most vulnerable populations in our nation. It remains unclear what direction the federal government intends to take next.

More Headlines

‘Look Into My Eyes’ documents contemporary loneliness and the supernatural

Q&A with Mike Hodge

Cumberland Furnace

Features

Addressing the Urgent Need for Improved Homelessness Mortality Data Collection in Nashville

By Gabrielle Beck | January 3, 2024

Tracking and evaluating homeless mortality data locally and nationally is vital to developing health and housing strategies to save lives.

Vendor Writing

Pieces of Poetry – 15

By Chris Scott Fieselman | January 3, 2024

Ain’t My First RodeoWritten by Chris Scott Fieselman

This ain’t, my first tour of duty.This ain’t, my first time in hell.There’s nothing that, you can do to me,That ain’t been done, by someone else.Now I’m a real long way from a virgin,And you sure as hell can’t say that I’m green.My past, ain’t some kind of burden.I can’t begin to tell you all that I’ve seen. I’ve been up. I’ve been down.Take my word, I’ve been around.I’ve been here. I’ve been there.I’ve been all, most everywhere.I have seen, so many things.Been a Pauper. Been a King.Been around this mountain before…No, This Ain’t My First Rodeo…

Now, I’ve been with people in power.Had more than my five – minutes of fame.Been through my share of darkest hours.Enjoyed the hell out of, Playing the Game.I can talk my way out of trouble.You may think you’ve seen my kind before.Well, I hate to have to burst your bubble.But, I always leave them begging for more.