Tennessee Voices, Episode 281: Jackie Sims, executive director, PATHE

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

The Rev. James Lawson, the champion of non-violent resistance and teacher of the late Rep. John Lewis, changed the life of Jackie Sims forever.

Sims retired as a mental health professional in South Carolina to Tennessee and she sought to contribute to her new community. She said her training under Lawson's tutelage transformed her forever.

"Dr. Lawson expanded my understanding of violence," she said on this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast. "He helped me expand my understanding of who is my neighbor. He helped me see my work from a deeply spiritual perspective."

Executive Director of People's Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment Jacki Sims speaks during a press conference held by PATHE outside the Justice A. A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Executive Director of People's Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment Jacki Sims speaks during a press conference held by PATHE outside the Justice A. A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.

Since coming to Nashville, Sims has been deeply involved in organizing such as the successful 2018 voter referendum to create a community oversight board of police.

Today, she is executive director of the People's Alliance of Transit, Housing and Employment, also known as PATHE.

She spoke about her work to advocate for lower wage-earning people and to push politicians to "stop kicking the can down the road" on challenges such as affordable housing.

We discussed what it means to be a truly "progressive" city and how organizing is not about promoting oneself, but about being selfless.

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About Tennessee Voices

The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.

Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.

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Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Citizens' housing and transit needs with Jackie Sims