If you attended the second annual Women’s March in Nashville this year, then you’ve seen activist and community organizer Odessa Kelly’s power. She told the crowd of Nashvillians gathered on that January day, “For every crane that’s going in the air, you should ask, ‘Is this building a pathway out of poverty, or trapping somebody into debt?’ ”
Kelly is the director of Napier Recreation Center, a community center in one of Nashville’s poorest neighborhoods, where she supports and inspires kids on a daily basis. They credit her with helping them raise their grades, apply to college, and build their confidence and social skills.
The Nashville native loves her city in a fierce way, and there’s action behind her words. Kelly is the co-chair of Stand Up Nashville, a coalition that is influencing legislation, having helped draft the Do Better Bill. Passed in January, the bill requires that before the Metro Council votes to give tax incentives to a company for new a build, the developers must first offer details of the jobs the deal will create — how many, what kind, whom they’ll hire, and what they’ll pay.
Kelly was also a chief architect of the community benefits agreement that Stand Up Nashville negotiated with Nashville Soccer Holdings for the upcoming Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville. Her team got commitments from 31 Metro Council members not to move the plans forward without a legally binding agreement from NSH to incorporate affordable housing into the 10 acres of private development on the land, set a wage floor of $15.50 an hour for construction workers and employees in the new stadium and development, and include amenities beneficial to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Kelly’s co-chair Anne Barnett says, “Trying to describe Odessa is a bit like trying to describe the Grand Canyon.” She continues: “She will unabashedly challenge you when you are out of line, give you a hug and a pep talk at the exact moment you need it ... and fearlessly lead the charge into battle without a single thought to personal damage, but always with her eyes on the strategy and goal.”
Kelly is also the co-chair of the economic equity branch of Nashville Organizing for Action and Hope. With NOAH, Kelly helped push through Nashville’s Construction Readiness Partnership, an initiative to ensure that Nashvillians have the skills and access necessary should they want to be employed as part of the city’s construction boom. Mike Hodge, longtime activist and NOAH co-chair of the affordable housing task force, calls Kelly “an agitator in the very best sense of the word.”
“She agitates young people in public housing, sometimes bellowing ‘You can do it!’ ” Hodge adds. “She agitates elected officials, insisting, ‘Don’t let people get left out of Nashville!’ … But most of all, she agitates herself … to stay committed, to persevere, to act on her love for Nashville.” ERICA CICCARONE
