Sen. Charlane Oliver: ‘a certain fellow colleague’ spread misinformation on the university’s proposal
A town hall on a proposed data center at Fisk University Monday kicked off with sharp words from State Sen. Charlane Oliver directed at State Rep. Justin Jones.
The June 29 event brought Fisk President Agenia Walker Clark before North Nashville residents to answer questions about the proposal. It was organized by public officials who represent the neighborhood around Fisk: state Sen. Charlane Oliver, state Rep. Harold Love, Metro Councilman Brandon Taylor and the NAACP.
While Oliver didn’t call out Jones by name, her remarks on “a certain fellow colleague”—who she said spread misinformation about her and Fisk—left little ambiguity.
In a livestream posted by The Tennessee Holler, she said:
“I am the only person who speaks for me.
“And I certainly don’t appreciate my reputation being dragged so that a certain someone can boost their celebrity status and appear like the hero in a situation no one asked his opinion on.
“While my colleague was hosting press conferences and throwing molotov cocktails on the situation to get the community riled up, I had already sprung into action doing the real work to bring about a resolution.”
She added that allegations of secrecy by Jones during a June 13 Roland Martin interview were false. Oliver said she had contacted Dr. Park to ask her to meet with state lawmakers representing Davidson County, and to follow up with a public town hall. Jones had been invited to both and did not attend, she said.
“There was no meeting done in secrecy. My colleague got the same invitation every other member of our caucus received. But when the call happened, he was nowhere to be found.”
She said Jones was absent in fights to protect Tennessee State University and the Buchanan Street business district.
“The only place we can only seem to find him is in front of a camera.
“My colleague isn’t interested in doing the work or finding real solutions to your problems, only interested in sowing chaos in a district he doesn’t represent to fit his own personal agenda, narrative, and vendetta.”
Among state lawmakers, diving face first into an issue in someone else’s district is the fastest way to start a fight. Those unspoken, intraparty rules are there to prevent conflicting narratives and internal division.
These two things are not the same
The data center conversation first exploded over the Nashville Zoo, and people are rightfully questioning why the Fisk proposal is getting less attention. No doubt, there’s a lack of care for HBCUs. But there’s still a key difference, and it’s the reason why that project deserves a slower approach. Fisk is obviously under-resourced and underfunded. DC Blox can go to hell, but Fisk should be here forever. Nashville is full of people who would do harm to the city’s HBCUs, so it’s easy to understand why Sen. Oliver would want to correct the record.
The conversation can’t end at “no data center.” It’s got to carry forward into the long-term health of the institution that gave Music City its nickname and reputation. Monday’s town hall applied real pressure on Fisk from where it belongs: the university alumni and the neighbors who will be affected.
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
