WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House conceded Wednesday that efforts to avoid automatic budget cuts are unlikely to succeed before they kick in and is initiating new talks with congressional leaders to confront seemingly intractable tax-and-spend issues.

2. Justices Voice Skepticism of Voting Rights Law - Thursday, February 28, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court's conservative justices voiced deep skepticism Wednesday about a section of a landmark civil rights law that has helped millions of Americans exercise their right to vote.

3. Nashville Museum on African American Music Planned - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

NASHVILLE (AP) – A new museum in the works for Nashville will aim to expand the public's idea of what makes the town Music City.

The National Museum of African American Music may sound counterintuitive for a city most closely associated with country music, a genre dominated by white performers. But supporters of the new project say the city played an important role in fostering African American music, which in turn influenced the roots of country and many other American genres.

4. Rights Museum Picks Gore, Nash for Freedom Awards - Thursday, August 21, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Former Vice President Al Gore and civil rights activist Diane Nash were named Tuesday as recipients of the National Civil Rights Museum's annual Freedom Awards.

They will receive the awards at a banquet in Memphis in October. The museum is built around the former Lorraine Motel where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

5. Bredesen Says Judicial Selection Commission Blocks Diversity - Wednesday, August 08, 2007

NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Phil Bredesen on Monday said his efforts to promote diversity on the state's appellate courts are being thwarted by the state Judicial Selection Commission.

Speaking at a ceremony to name a Nashville road after civil rights icon Rosa Parks, Bredesen complained that the latest panel of candidates sent to him contains no black applicants.

6. 'Rosa Parks Act' signed into law in Tennessee - Friday, June 08, 2007

NASHVILLE - Tennesseans charged with crimes while protesting segregation-era laws will be able to have their records cleared beginning next month.

Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed what is known as the Rosa Parks Act into law, according to information released by his office Thursday.

7. Black History Awards Day Set for Feb. 28 - Wednesday, February 21, 2007
     For a little more than 30 years, people have celebrated Black History Month in America by researching and writing about well-known African-Americans who have made positive contributions to society.