English Only-Voters React

Voters react after casting their ballots on the English Only Bill.

English-only movement could hurt city

“Nashville will become a laughing stock in the nation and the world.” — Jose Gonzalez

Tensions were high the day the English-only proposal went to vote in Nashville as groups opposing and defending the measure worked to make their voices heard.

 

“We are working until the last minute,” said Jose Gonzalez, an opponent of the proposal and co-founder of Conexion Americas, a Nashville company that works to benefit the local Latino population. “We all agree English is the unifying language [of this city]. We don’t agree on how it’s being implemented.”

 

Gonzalez is speaking of the amendment which would force all Metro Nashville government business be done in English, with the council being able to grant exceptions. But Gonzalez says the proposal is flawed.

Nashville for All of Us

Nashville for All of Us is the opposition force to the English First amendment. On the Monday before the vote, several volunteers spent hours phonebanking and some took a break to speak with me.

Spanish professors sound off about English Only

Jessica Walker interviewed two Spanish professors, asking them their opinion on the English Only measure.

The Demographic Shift in Nashville

With the vote of “English Only” proposal of Jan. 22, a lot of factors needed to be taken into account. What would the impact on immigrants, impact to Metro council, and  impact on taxpayers be? However, the big question behind all this was, who will the vote effect? And, among others, the big blatant answer is: Non-English speaking people.

… But how big is that number in Nashville?
It’s important to consider that Nashville has a rich mix of diversity. The sugar coating of country music sometimes can give outsiders the impression that the city’s population is made up of cowboy boot wearing white people; while in reality there are many different types of cultures and people  – English speaking and not.
The city is home to the largest population of Kurdish people in America, estimated at 11,000, earning Nashville the nickname of “Little Kurdistan”, and also has large populations of African and Asian immigrants as well.
In fact, if the demographic trends continue as they are, whites are going to be a minority in Nashville by 2024,according to an article by the Tennessean.
The article stated, as of July 2007, only 46 percent of children under 5 were white, 30 percent were black, and 17 percent were Hispanic. While currently, 61 percent of Davidson County’s population is white, making them the majority, that number is down from 65.5 percent in 2000.