CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators held a town hall meeting in Clarksville on Wednesday night, which included Montgomery County’s own Rep. Ronnie Glynn addressing topics such as the juvenile detention centers and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The night started with the legislators answering questions submitted to them online and in person. At the end of the night, three Democrat candidates for Congress, District 7, shared their platforms.

Wednesday’s event was part of a 2025 statewide town hall series. In addition to Glynn, the following state representatives attended:

  • Rep. Jesse Chism, District 85, Memphis.
  • Rep. Torrey Harris, District 91, Memphis.
  • Rep. Antonio Parkinson, District 98, Memphis.
  • Rep. Larry Miller, District 88, Memphis.
  • Rep. Johnny Shaw, District 80, Bolivar.
  • Rep. G.A. Hardaway, District 93, Memphis.
  • Rep. Vincent Dixie, District 54, Nashville.

| MORE: 3 Democratic candidates for Congress tell Clarksville town hall how they can ‘flip this seat’ 

Q&A with legislators: DEI

One individual who submitted a question online urged the Black Caucus of Legislators to continue to push back against efforts to dismantle DEI initiatives, before asking the representatives about the hiring practices of Austin Peay State University. The question referenced APSU’s recent hiring of a professor who had accusations of being associated with a hate group, before the two parties mutually agreed to part ways. The question asked two parts:

  • What are the qualifications required for faculty hired and how are candidates vetted?
  • And if that individual (the professor) made it through the hiring process, how can anyone claim Black professors are receiving preferential treatment?

Glynn said that the reality is that Black professors are not receiving preferential treatment. “That’s just the truth, they’re qualified,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you; I personally could care less about DEI. Why? Because Black folks are not even benefiting from it anyway. We’re like No. 5 on the list.

“My problem with DEI … is the fact that they laid it at the feet of us Black folk,” he said. “Then it became the boogeyman. And when it became the boogeyman, everybody said, ‘Oh, we’re being discriminated against.’ Nothing was further from the truth.“

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Glynn said that as far as Austin Peay’s hiring practices, they made a serious mistake, and he believes they paid a price for it. “Are they going to do better? Yes, I think they are,” he said. “They sent us an email about the changes that they are making and how they are going to relook at their hiring practices. I think that was a wake-up call for them, in how they go about doing business.”

Juvenile detention centers

Another question asked about juvenile detention centers. Glynn said juvenile detention centers are not the answer and said that we need to look at the root cause of why so many juveniles are making the decisions that they are making.

“I’ll also say we as a community, are not doing the things that we need to do to ensure our kids are not going in the juvenile justice system,” Glynn said. He then posed a series of questions:

“Here’s why the juvenile detention center is a mistake. Because we have failed to get involved with our children,” he said. “I know the NAACP has a juvenile council where they work with a lot of kids, they actually came to the capital not long ago. I had an opportunity to meet with them. These kids are begging for our help. … We have to do better in mentoring our young folks.

“How many of you have been to the schools and just been in the hallway watching them go from class-to-class? It’s not a pretty sight. But that’s because of why? So many of them are coming from single-family homes, and we – again I say ‘we’ because I’m in that group – are not doing what we need to do to help our young folks. So, before we go talking about locking them up … let’s do the groundwork first. Let’s get to the root cause. They’re begging for help, but are we giving it to them?”

Glynn: ‘There’s work to be done, we have a lot to do’

After the meeting, Glynn told Clarksville Now that the event had a great turnout, with great questions as well. “The community was really engaged, which is what’s important to us always,” he said.

Glynn said he really wants those who attended to take what the legislators said and use it in the community, while spreading the word as well. “There’s work to be done, we have a lot to do,” Glynn said. “But we can do it if we get out in the community. For those who couldn’t attend, don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have a question.”

His final message was for young people to get involved because, “If there was ever a time for young folks to get involved, the time is now.”

For any questions, Rep. Glynn can be reached at his email: rep.ronnie.glynn@capital.tn.gov.

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