Blue Oval Good Neighbors, board members hold rally over use of community center
MASON, Tenn. — Blue Oval Good Neighbors and the Board of the Bernard Community Center held a rally Wednesday afternoon.
The rally participants walked from their meeting point to the community center to address their concerns about Fayette County’s Mayor Rhea ‘Skip’ Taylor.
Speakers such as Pastor Keith Caldwell of Memphis, Tennessee, and Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner, took the podium to address the disenfranchising of black communities and to question the mayor’s position in Ford’s Equitable Growth Advisory Council.
“There is a political agenda but there is also a spiritual agenda and so that liberation requires that we speak truth to power, and coming here to this community center and reclaiming what is rightfully ours is part of that speaking forth,” said Caldwell.
We received a statement from Ford that says:
“Ford wants residents in every community to benefit as the campus comes to life. Ford formed the Equitable Growth Advisory Council in 2023, bringing together community leaders across West Tennessee to share their insight.”
We spoke to Mayor Taylor, who told us that he has talked to the board members before about the building. He admitted to closing the building last Christmas for certain irregularities that were happening.
He also told us that the building is open for use. Some of the rules for use are listed online.
Mayor Taylor told us that there must be a 10 day notice to use the facility. The list also states that the building cannot be used for private events.
Jamison Fleming, a resident of Mason, took the podium to express her concerns for the future of the youth.
“What? What are you talking about? What do you mean there are locks on the community center? My grandmother’s birthday is in February and we were planning on having a birthday party for her and I was like, ‘Well where else are we gonna have it? That’s where we do everything.’ So it really made me upset,” said Fleming.
To see more of the rules and regulations for the community center, click here.
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