Opponents of license plate readers said they could unfairly be used to target communities of color in Nashville, and said they were concerned about privacy issues.
Former Sen. Thelma Harper, first Black woman in Tennessee Senate, dies at 80 Adam Friedman and Natalie Allison, Nashville Tennessean
Former Sen. Thelma Harper, Tennessee s longest-serving female state senator and the first Black woman to be elected to the chamber, died Thursday.
Harper, a Democrat from Nashville, was 80 years old. Her death was confirmed by members of both the Tennessee Senate and House Democratic caucuses who had been in touch with Harper s family, though the circumstances of her death are unclear.
Elected in 1991, Harper made history serving for 30 years as a state senator. But she was also a prominent Nashvillian in her roles as a mentor and mother figure in the community, easily recognizable by her signature hats.