In her black dress, Doris McMillan stood in the center of a circle of nearly 100 women, escaping the summer heat in the shade of the trees.
“You’re the driving force,” she said to the group, also dressed in all black donning sets of pearls and rhinestones. “You raised your children here. You pay your taxes here. We are diverse in nature. You can’t deny the energy in Franklin. We are a movement.”
In its infant stages, 100 Black Women of Williamson County plans to help Black women network with each other and not feel alone in the area, where the population is only 4.5% Black according to U.S. Census data.
Gina Gunn — who helps oversee her family’s doctor’s office — said she was the only person of color in the room when serving on Brentwood’s 50th Anniversary task force.
“It’s situations like that where sometimes people, they don’t know what to do with you,” she said. “So I think this new opportunity is a great way to see and talk with others. A lot of times, Black people here feel hidden.”
Dionne Lucas — who works for the National Museum of African American Music — said she had lived in Franklin five years after moving up from Atlanta. She said it was hard to move to a new area that wasn’t as diverse as her previous city.
“People were never surprised to see me at the table, and people are even more surprised here,” Lucas said. “But being here today, it warms your spirits to see all these movers and shakers in the community being here together.”
McMillan said she isn’t sure where the movement will go as it moves into the future, but she said she hoped the first meeting forged new relationships and connections for the Black community in Williamson County.
“I am celebrating you as a Black woman,” McMillan said. “I am not ashamed to say it. It’s who we are. Be part of the solution.”
Emily West is a reporter for The Tennessean, covering Franklin and Williamson County. Follow her on Twitter @emwest22 and email her at at erwest@tennessean.com.
