'Be brave and show up': Tennessee's Covenant moms are among USA Today's Women of the Year

The Covenant mothers are among USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

In March 2023, a shooter entered the Covenant School in Nashville and murdered three children and three staff members.

The tragedy shocked the city but prompted a group of women whose children died or survived the attack into action. They formed organizations to lobby for change in the state's gun laws. They went to the state Capitol, where they were a constant presence for months after the shooting.

Their coalition ran the ideological spectrum but with a common purpose — making Tennessee's schools safer for children. Now, thanks to their efforts, the issue of gun violence is front and center in the state's political conversation.

For this reason, all Covenant mothers are being highlighted as part of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year program. The Tennessean spoke to several of them for this story.

They include Sarah Shoop Neumann, co-founder of Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows, whose child was 5 years old at the time of the shooting; Becky Bailey Hansen, the other co-founder of the group, who also had a 5-year-old at the school; Mary Joyce, whose then-9-year-old daughter was in the classroom shot up by the killer; and Melissa Alexander, a mother of two, who also helped co-found Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows.

Other Covenant mothers got active in a group called Voices for a Safer Tennessee, which has thousands of active members across the state. They too are a constant presence at the Capitol pushing for change, wearing distinctive red shirts.

Below are comments from Neumann and Hansen. Joyce and Alexander's comments are included in the accompanying online video. Some of the answers were edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to get involved in this issue?

Hansen: After the shooting, my kids had to be brave simply to show up to school. And so I vowed that I'm going to be brave and show up and do everything I can to fight and make the world a safer place for them at school and everywhere else that they have to go.

What is your proudest moment during this whole process? Your lowest?

Neumann: I think the proudest would be getting the Covenant parents together to testify against some of the dangerous bills that were going to bring untrained, armed people onto school campuses, and getting those defeated and shut down in committee.

The lowest, I think, is realizing the people that have been putting in all of the groundwork for this, and how much more I could have been doing prior. You can't go back and change the past. All there is is now. But it's hard to realize there were so many people putting in this work for us (fighting for changes in gun laws).

What's your definition of courage?

Hansen: Being afraid and showing up anyway. Showing up against forces, whether that be political or monetary, that are much bigger than we are, and have a lot more power and influence than we do. I have to at least try. And I wish I had been trying for a lot longer than we had been and alongside a lot of folks who have been trying for decades. I'm happy that we're here now.

Is there a guiding principle or mantra you tell yourself as you continue your activism?

Neumann: Our Head of School, Dr. Katherine Koonce, who we lost in the shooting, had timeless truths for every classroom that she based curriculum on — to just stay grounded in the unchanging truths of God. And, when I started being an advocate, I thought of two things: One was, would Katherine be proud of this; and, two, we need to be grounded in something.

So, I wanted a timeless truth for that. The "seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God" verse has just stuck with me. No matter how frustrated I get, just keep walking towards change in a positive way.

Who do you look up to?

Neumann: I think everyone who's showing up. There's parents who lost (children) who are doing a lot, sometimes behind the scenes. I can't fathom that. It's everybody. The whole community has stepped up.

Hansen: The entire community has been incredible. It's amazing to see the ways in which everyone is using their individual gifts to contribute.

How have you dealt with the opposition you've faced?

Neumann: I think opposition, when it's civil discourse, I don't mind. We've had some legislators and people that feel very different but you can tell genuinely believe in what they're saying and are looking for solutions. That gives me hope. It is more difficult with opposition when somebody is dishonest to your face, or not upfront with their intentions.

It's really hard to relive trauma. After Special Session (in August 2023) especially I had to step away for awhile and just take time to make sure I was focusing on my family and not sacrificing their well-being.

Hansen: This is gun violence, mental health, school safety. These are complicated issues, and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. I think if we start with what we have in common, and we seek to engage and keep our own minds open to different ways that we can solve these problems we can make progress together.

I've been a registered Democrat my whole life. I could not be more different than some of the folks that I'm now joining forces with politically and who I'm having conversations with politically. But if I don't open my mind to different viewpoints, how can I expect the person sitting across the table from me to do the same?

What advice would you give people who want to become activists?

Hansen: Seek out the folks who are already doing the work. There are a lot of organizations that are already out there that you can learn from and build upon.

Neumann: We need that united front. We need everyone working together, not siloed off. Whether it be gun violence or any of the issues that we're facing that need activists, it's too much for any one group or organization to take on. If we're all coming together and approaching at different angles and taking on different pieces, I think that's how we'll really see change.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: USA TODAY's Women of the Year: Tennessee's Covenant mothers