Draft:Demetrus Coonrod: Difference between revisions

• Comment: Member of a city council (this particular population) is not notable per WP:NPOL. Safari Scribe^{Edits! Talk!} 00:09, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

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Demetrus Coonrod
Member of the Chattanooga City Council from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office April 24, 2021
Preceded by	Yusuf Hakeem
In office 2018–2021
Personal details
Born	(1974-12-30) December 30, 1974 Chattanooga, Tennessee
Political party	Tennessee Democratic Party

Demetrus Coonrod is among the first in Tennessee, and the U.S., to earn her voting rights back after a felony conviction. A formerly incarcerated Black woman, Coonrod successfully restored her voting rights in December 2016. Her achievement is notable especially in Tennessee, where voting rights restoration is more difficult than in other states, and where few citizens regain voting rights after serving time for a felony conviction. In Tennessee, nearly 10% of the state can't vote in elections per felony convictions. That's nearly half a million people. 21% of Black Tennesseans are disenfranchised. That's more than in any other state. Having restored her own voting rights, Coonrod is an advocate for the formerly convicted reentering society, fighting for the reinstatement of their civil rights, especially their voting rights, to ensure that those who have paid their debt can fully participate in civic life again. In 2022, Coonrod published a memoir, From Prison To Purpose: A Past That Shaped My Future, in which she recounts her rise from the traumas and desperations of poverty to dedicated civil servant.

Coonrod is the only convicted felon to be elected to office in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is is a Democratic politician and currently Council Woman for District 9, voted in for her second term on April 24, 2021. She sits as chair member of the Council's Economic Development Committee.

She is a mother, grandmother, author, and graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga where she received a bachelor's degree in Sociology in 2022.

Early life

Coonrod was born in Chattanooga, TN on December 30, 1974, the oldest of 4 siblings. Because her parents struggled with drug addiction, she helped care for herself as well as her siblings as she was raised by her grandmother, who she calls her "shero." At 12 years old, Coonrod became a mother. Growing up in oppressed conditions and forced to endure a life of abuse, violence, and hardships, she survived traumas she now uses as a drive to accomplish positive change.

In 2001 and 2002, Coonrod pleaded guilty to being involved in holdups at Popeye's and a plasma center. While she did not herself commit crimes, she allowed others to use her vehicle to do so. She was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, sentenced to an 84-month sentence, and sent to prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was released early due to cooperating with police during an investigation into corrections officers smuggling drugs in exchange for money and sex.

She earned an associates degree from Chattanooga State Community College, and a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

Activism

After being released from prison, Coonrod decided to pursue politics. To do so, she had to break a cycle: "I had to exclude a lot of people from my life. That included family and friends. Understanding that my environment was a breeding ground for criminal activity, I went to the streets to change that narrative for others, showing them a better path." The Hamilton County Election Commission acknowledged Coonrod as eligible and qualified to run for office, as her voting rights and citizen rights were restored in November 2016. In April 2017, Coonrod defeated long-serving Republican Yusuf Hakeem.

Coonrod focuses on issues impacting Chattanoogans and all Tennesseans, and on bettering the lives of all. In 2021, Coonrod supported Tennessee Governer Bill Lee's criminal justice reform bills, the Alternative to Incarceration Act and the Re-Entry Success Act. She encourages citizens to understand their representation in government and to pay attention to redistricting efforts. In addition to promoting voting rights restoration and voter education and turnout, she calls on citizens to solution seek for themselves when elected officials do not solve issues like community violence. She calls on citizens to stop cycles of violence to protect education and other aspects of public and private life. She advocates for community as well as individual safety in promoting efforts like opening fire halls for quicker response times and emergency medical services in underserved neighborhoods.

Coonrod fosters sustained change by focusing on opportunities for young people. Coonrod's response to Chattanooga's high and rising youth violence is to offer and encourage better choices. For instance, she's working to change the minimum age to become a firefighter from 21 to 18, opening service opportunities to more and younger community members.

Community involvement

• Hamilton County School Leadership Program
• Vice Chair of Hamilton County Democratic Party
•       Chattanooga-Hamilton county NAACP
•       National Black Caucus
•       Order of Eastern Star Zia 31081
•       Tennessee Municipal League
•       A Step Ahead Contraceptive Access Advisory committee
•       Human Development Committee
•       Creator and President of Eastdale Neighborhood Association
•       Board member of The Sports Barn, Community Development Block Grant, and Causeway
•       Advocate for restoring voting rights for convicted felons as part of the Ban the Box Movement
•       Member of Race, Equity, and Leadership Council by the National League of Cities
•       Board member of Criminal Justice Reform Task Force
•       Leadership Tennessee 2023-2024 Signature Program Class X