Nashville’s Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church held its benediction on the sidewalk Sunday, Oct. 13, praying for 10 people who were shot nearby the night before. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)
Parishioners of Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church gathered Sunday morning on the sidewalk outside the church sanctuary to pray less than 300 feet from an intersection where 10 people were shot the night before.
Bishop Aaron X. Marble, senior pastor, said Tennessee State University’s annual homecoming parade, which had concluded hours before the violence, “really is a homecoming for the community,” and a day usually filled with celebration, good food and community building.
“It really is sad, and it really has put a damper on and hurt this community, because it is not representative of the day, nor the culture of the community at all,” he said.
The parade is a major cultural event in North Nashville. People come in from other states to see it and participate in it, and to attend TSU’s homecoming football game. While the parade wrapped up before noon, festivities along Jefferson Street continued through the evening, with vendors selling food from tents along the sidewalks.
Police said Monday that five people with local gang affiliations “indiscriminately started shooting at each other” at the intersection of 27th Avenue and Jefferson Street around 5 p.m. Saturday. Six adults and three children were injured, and 24-year-old Vonquae Johnson died of his injuries.
Police said Johnson and two people who were hospitalized with gunshot wounds were among the five suspected to be involved in the shooting. The nine people injured were recovering and in non-critical condition as of Monday evening.
“So many persons who were innocent and had nothing to do with the initial conflict were caught in that crossfire, people who were just outside enjoying the activities,” Marble said.
TSU released a statement Saturday to combat misinformation about the incident, reiterating that the shooting occurred several blocks away from its campus. Most students, faculty and staff had already moved to Nissan Stadium to watch the homecoming game when the shooting occurred, a TSU spokesperson said.
No one from TSU or affiliated with the university was involved, the school stated Monday. TSU’s homecoming parade concluded without incident hours before the shooting occurred.
“The shooters obviously had no regard for human life and put a crowd of innocent persons, including children, in extreme danger,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a statement Monday evening. “The entire criminal justice system must treat violent gun crime with the seriousness it demands with resulting incarceration for those convicted.”
Council member: Violence shouldn’t overshadow accomplishments, rich history
At-large Nashville Council member Delishia Porterfield, herself a TSU alumna, said it is frustrating to see news media link violent events that occur “within any proximity of TSU” to the university, something she said “tends not to happen with other universities.”
“For us here in Nashville, but especially for the locals and for TSU students and alumni, we want it to be very clear that crime happens everywhere, and it can happen anywhere,” Porterfield said Monday. “It’s very unfortunate when these things happen, but these things many times are not directly affiliated with the university or students at the university.”
Homecoming is a time to celebrate TSU and the accomplishments of its students and alumni, she said.
“We don’t want things like this to overshadow all the good things that are associated with homecoming,” Porterfield said.
She described TSU and Jefferson Street as vibrant communities essential to Nashville. Many TSU alumni, including herself, are now local elected officials and community leaders. Jefferson Street was the heart of historically Black North Nashville and a haven for music, churches and local businesses. The construction of Interstate 40 in the late 1960s demolished 16 blocks along Jefferson Street, disproportionately hampering its residents and businesses.
The street runs along three of Nashville’s historically Black universities: TSU, Fisk University and Meharry Medical College. Its role in the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville is chronicled with black-and-white photographs on historical markers. The Elks Lodge, once a club that hosted artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Etta James and Ray Charles in the 1960s, is just 500 feet down the street from Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church.
“We do have so many people that are just invested into revitalizing that area and making sure Jefferson Street gets appropriate investments, and TSU has just been a great partner,” Porterfield said.
She criticized state legislators for their lack of action to address gun violence.
“They refuse to pass any common sense gun reform in our state, so unfortunately, we’re sitting ducks wherever we go,” she said. “You know, whether you’re at school or at church or at the grocery store or walking down the street or in a movie theater, we live in a state where it’s very easy to get a weapon in this state, so unfortunately that makes all of us targets to a certain extent, and it puts all of us — all of us have the potential to be in harm’s way.”
‘Jefferson Street Loves Jefferson Street’
Local pastor Howard Jones owns Kingdom Cafe & Grill, a restaurant that also lies less than 300 feet away from the site of the shooting. He said he started Kingdom Cafe as a ministry providing work opportunities to people in North Nashville, where a 2018 Brookings Institution study found the 37208 ZIP code had the highest incarceration rate in the country.
Jones’ son now runs Kingdom Cafe on a day-to-day basis. When Jones got the call about the shooting Saturday, he drove to the restaurant immediately.
“Your heart kind of drops when you see that police presence and the taping from the interstate,” Jones said. “I was sad. I was sad at any loss of life when we were just celebrating such a peaceful event.”
Jones said the community will be “Jefferson Street strong” and “continue to press forward,” not allowing a few people’s resort to gun violence to stop the “growth that we’re looking to do for the ministry that we have on Jefferson Street.”
Marble, the bishop, said he held his church’s benediction, or final blessing, on the street Sunday to “stand in solidarity with our community.”
His church prides itself on the tagline, “Jefferson Street Loves Jefferson Street.” They’re committed to social justice, and have provided gun locks and firearm safety training in the past. His congregation expects political leaders to “be courageous and compassionate about issues that we’re concerned about,” he said.
“For that violence to be so near to our sacred space, our congregation certainly is emotional, and certainly is saddened, but also has a righteous indignation that this is the type of thing that we speak out against, that we think the scriptures call us to bear some responsibility and accountability for,” Marble said. “We just hope that we don’t have to continue to experience — and pray for and support the families and victims who deal with — this type of violence.”
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