Nashville reaps benefits of welcoming policies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – When the White House announced that Nashville would be the backdrop for a speech by President Obama on immigration, a spokesman praised the city’s efforts to welcome and integrate its fast-growing immigrant population.
But less than a decade ago, Nashville was in the grips of a backlash against the rapid changes that surge was bringing. That changed in 2009, when a movement to restore Nashville’s reputation as a friendly and welcoming city coalesced around opposition to the so-called “English Only” ordinance. The measure would have made English the mandatory language of all government business,
Through a hard-fought educational campaign, the measure was defeated and the momentum shifted. Since then, efforts to help immigrants by nonprofits and government officials have helped make Nashville a model for other cities around the country.
