Council Wants To Continue Race Discussions

The Cookeville City Council wants to continue the dialogue on race during August.

Councilman Eric Walker said he hopes the council will continue these discussions for months to come.

“I just certainly don’t want to quickly address the topic and it just be words,” Walker said. “I do want to see that the city is doing all it can to unify Cookeville and unify everyone, all of our residents, and be there for everybody.”

Walker said part of the delay for discussing race is the council got distracted with history and rules about private property. He said although peaceful protests and residents discussing race has made media headlines, there still hasn’t been any council discussions.

“There are people hurting in the community, and there are people that have needs in the community,” Walker said. “The best thing I can say is for them to reach out to me specifically on the city website and address those concerns so that we can hear them. I think that’s a major part of the process is trying to reach out to the community.”

Walker said the best council members can do is educate themselves. Walker said he hopes after these discussions, city leaders will gain a better understanding of the community as a whole.