Category: Diversity

Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Food, History, Immigration

Hecho con amor (Made With Love)

Written by Cassandra Castillo

Valdemar Ibarra and Carmen Torres prepare the grill and prep area for a customers order. The couple has cooked to order upon request since their restaurant’s inception in 2012. Wednesday April 19, 2023. (Photo by Cassandra Castillo)

Natives of Michoacan, Mexico, Carmen Torres and Valdemar Ibarra have been living their American Dream cooped up inside their small orange-painted restaurant nestled within the busy Amnicola Highway.

“All the people from Chattanooga, from Hixson, Redbank, Dunlap, Dayton who are all customers, many of them friends because we were eager to have family, eager to have friends, so we have many friendships now,” Ibarra said. 

He was a businessman from his days in Mexico, but left that behind when he arrived in the U.S. as an immigrant in 1992. Ibarra began working in California but found no steady income, so he moved to the Chattanooga area, where his cousin resided, not long after. 

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art, Chattanooga, community, Diversity, Entertainment, History, Music, women

Heart of Jazz

Written By Ali Lemmons

Lisa Baker is performing at the Barking Legs Theatre with her jazz band, The Knotty Professors. Wednesday, February 8, 2023. (Photo by Kylee Boone)

Lisa Baker’s guitar is an extension of her own body. From the decorative swirls running along its length to the initial “L” sewn on the strap, it’s a tangible display of her love of jazz. And she’s rarely found without it.

“It kind of goes everywhere with me, period,” she laughed. “Going to the beach, take my guitar.”

Baker, a jazz performer and adjunct professor of music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has had a heart for jazz music ever since she can remember.

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Anxiety, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, LGBTQ+, Love

Backslide

Story By Seth Carpenter

Kyle Carmon takes a photo of him and his husband Joe off their apartment wall in preparation for moving day. Thursday, September 1, 2022. (Photo By Seth Carpenter).

On September 2, Kyle and Joe Carmon finished boxing up their Chattanooga apartment of one year and left for Minnesota. The Carmon’s did all of this in order to protect something many other couples might take for granted: their marriage.

“We were really considering living here for the rest of our lives,” Kyle said. “It’s strange how much can change in such a short amount of time.”

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art, Chattanooga, Daily Life, Diversity, Fashion

Printing & Parenting

By Logan Stapleton

Joshua Teichroew spreads the ink across the screen-design, continually printing shirts for a local gym. Teichroew completed a whole order in a quick and efficient manner. Monday November 15th, 2021. Photo by Logan Stapleton

To run a business single-handedly is a challenge in itself, but to wear all those hats and still have room for a family is a feat worth admiration. 

Joshua Teichroew, owner of Lookout Prints, has achieved his dream of self employment, while running his business from the comfort of his own home and becoming a social media influencer. Teichroew creates hand printed shirts, and he started showcasing his work on Instagram shortly after his company launched. It allowed him to share his business and be an inspiration to a large audience. He strives to become not only a role model to other entrepreneurs, but also his four-year-old son David

“I was never close to my family growing up, but for me…I want to be closer to them [and] be there for them” Teichroew expressed. “I want to teach them how to live life. It’s ok to be different, it’s ok to not want to do what the world tells you to do.”

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, donate, Family, History

The Unseen Battle for Lincoln Park

By Virginia Campbell

Tiffany Rankin walks past the old bathhouse on the edge of Lincoln Park’s baseball field. The bathhouse used to be the only facilities that African American baseball players could use, even when they were allowed to play at Engel Stadium. (Taken on February 19, 2022. Photo by Maggie Weaver.)

Lincoln Park used to be a safe space for the African American community to enjoy themselves. In fact, before integration in the 60s, it was the only park in Chattanooga they were allowed in. The property is currently owned by Erlanger, who have built parking lots over most of the park, reducing it down to just five acres. Compared to the original twenty acre plot, it’s now a mere skeleton.

Tiffany Rankin grew up in the area and remains a resident in the neighborhood adjacent to the park. She has always been a community leader, but she started to get heavily involved and raise awareness for the park when she heard the City of Chattanooga was planning to extend Central Avenue. The road would cut into a boundary of the park, sizing it down further. The plan was to “urbanize” the area, which, to Tiffany and many others in the community, meant displacement and gentrification.

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Animals, Anxiety, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Healing, Health, Love, Military

Battle Buddies

By Madison Van Horn

Eric Dudash standing tall next to Phantom. Eric explained the trials that Warrior Freedom had to go through in order to be here today. Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Photo by McKenna Pegrim)

The heroes that serve in the United States Military face unimaginable challenges every day in service, but for many veterans that is only the beginning of a lifelong mental warfare. 

Eric Dudash is a veteran who served in the special operations command for over 30 years and suffers from PTSD. However, he has discovered an unconventional form of medicine: his service dog, Phantom.

Audio by Eli Rushing
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Chattanooga, community, Diversity, Environment

Best Foot Forward

By David Whalen

Ronnie Dickson changes his prosthetic before a climb in Alabama. Friday, March 5, 2021 (Photo by Dave Whalen)

Ronnie Dickson was diagnosed with Trevor’s Disease at age five. This rare congenital bone disease stunted the growth in his left leg and caused intense discomfort that led him , at the age of 17, to opt for total limb removal. 

Two years after his above-the-knee amputation, Dickson found comfort and interest in the sport of climbing and took to the vertical world where legs weren’t always necessary.

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Chattanooga, community, Diversity, Environment, History

The Untold Story of Native American Activism in Chattanooga

By Virginia Campbell

Tom Kunesh stands on the Chickamauga Mound. Saturday, November 13, 2021 (Photo by Virginia Campbell)

What was once a thriving advocacy group for Native American preservation work in Chattanooga has slowly fizzled over time, but it’s cause still stands. The Chattanooga Intertribal Association (CITA) has existed for twenty years, and Tom Kunesh, the former Public Relations Chairman, tries to maintain the spirit of their work to this day.

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Diversity, donate, Family, Healing, Uncategorized

Faithful Aid

By Seth Carpenter

  • A Bible sits on the dash of the UGM church van. Religion was integral to the GDP and its graduate Dan Johnson. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Daniel Bregg rides in the UGM church van on the way to Sunday service. Religion was an integral part of the GDP. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Dan Johnson attends church. Religion was very important to Johnson’s life. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Dan Johnson looks at a photo of one of his children. Family was another important issue in Johnson’s life. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Brandon White writes about what he feels is important in life for class. White was in the second of four phases that make up the GRACE Discipleship Program at UGM. Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Brandon White carries an empty pot of turkey to dump in the trash can. White also had help from Tyler Chambers (left). Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Bill Basham gives Ron Wolf a cup of coffee. Basham was very receptive to his students. Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Bill Basham conducts the morning class with Brandon White, Ron Wolf and Tyler Chambers. The class touched on topics such as what the students felt was important in life and addiction. Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Dan Johnson enters the UGM chapel. For Dan, the UGM was home. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Dan Johnson drives the GDP students back to the UGM with a Bible on the dash. Relgion was crucial to the GRACE Discipleship Program. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)
  • Dan Johnson prays. Religion was very important to Johnson. Sunday, November 21, 2021 (Photo by Seth Carpenter)

The Union Gospel Mission through its GRACE Discipleship Program works to help men dealing with life-controlling issues. Program graduate and current volunteer, Dan Johnson, goes into the importance of the program itself, the people who come to Union Gospel Mission for help, how faith intersects with the work done, and why he stays there.

Seth Carpenter is a photojournalist as well as the current Photo Editor of UT Chattanooga’s student-run newspaper, the University Echo. Recently, he told the story of how a nurse and her family have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He hopes the stories he tells will make a difference in the lives of people around him. You can contact him at Sethcarpenter101@gmail.com. 

Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Diversity, Environment, Sports

Green Racers

Written By Maggie Weaver

Hamilton County schools race their electric cars in the Chattanooga Green Prix. The race put on by Green Spaces Chattanooga was a part of a STEM learning project for over 40 schools in the Chattanooga area. Saturday, November 20, 2021. Photo by Maggie Weaver.

In 2017 green|spaces Chattanooga started a hands-on program to encourage STEM learning in Hamilton County students through designing and building race cars. The Chattanooga Green Prix, this year held at the Bend in downtown Chattanooga, allowed hundreds of students from 40+ schools to put their full-sized, functioning electric power race cars to the test.

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