Media
Featured Speeches
Brennan Center for Justice - "Legislating in the Dynamic South"
2023 MLK Convocation Remarks
TEDx Nashville Talk - "I Like My TEA With Lemon"
Media Interviews
Invited Panel Discussions
Charlane in the Press
How (And Why!) to Vote in Nashville
For the August 1 primary election, State Senator and Equity Alliance co-founder Charlane Oliver joins host Grace Fuisz to give us the scoop on voting in Nashville: Where to go, what to bring, and more importantly, why it matters.
Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver visits Vanderbilt’s famed elections class
Senator Charlane Oliver (D-TN, District 19) was invited to address the largest U.S. Elections class in Vanderbilt's history regarding her experience navigating the State Legislature.
Tennessee must protect the rights and freedom of women to access contraception
By championing the Tennessee Contraceptive Freedom Act, we are not just advocating for reproductive rights, but also for the fundamental principles of autonomy and freedom that define our state.
Tractor Supply slashes its DEI and climate goals after a right-wing pressure campaign
Several, like Tennessee state Sen. Charlane Oliver, a Democrat, were especially disappointed that the company chose to take this stance during the month of both Pride and Juneteenth.
Lawmakers, Activists Reflect on Two Years Without Roe
More than 100 had RSVP’d online as part of a national women’s march, which also took place in cities including Knoxville and Clarksville. A common theme among those gathered is that the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision ignited a streak of activism that wasn’t there before.
Nashville celebrates Juneteenth at Union fort
Nashvillians celebrated Juneteenth on Wednesday at Fort Negley, a Civil War encampment built by free Blacks and Black Americans conscripted by the U.S. Army.
The holiday commemorates the day — June 19, 1865 — U.S. Major General Gordon Granger, for whom a Civil War fort in Williamson County is named, arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the enslaved residents that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
How a large-scale effort to register black voters led to a crackdown in Tennessee
“They have created more administrative hurdles to make it harder to vote,” said Charlane Oliver, a co-founder of the Equity Alliance, one of the partners of the Tennessee Black Voter Project. “And that’s exactly what they want. They don’t want black people to vote.”
After School Shooting, Nashville Grieves and Ponders Its Divisions
Shortly after the shooting rampage that left six people dead this week at a Nashville elementary school, State Senator Charlane Oliver, a first-term Democrat who represents a large chunk of the city, stood before reporters and wiped away her tears. Then she laced into her Republican colleagues for systematically loosening the state’s gun laws when, she said, they should have been tightened.
This is the Tennessee Four
The political fight in Tennessee extends beyond the expelled lawmakers and includes four Black women who are no strangers to protest, politics or partnership.
Charlane Oliver and Tequila Johnson co-founded the Equity Alliance in Nashville in 2016 with a mission to “unapologetically build independent Black political and economic power.”
Charlane Oliver and Tequila Johnson co-founded the Equity Alliance in Nashville in 2016 with a mission to “unapologetically build independent Black political and economic power.”
Charlane Oliver: Nashville's 'now generation' civil rights activist grew up in abuse and depression
Sexual assault, racism and suicidal thoughts helped fuel a fire for fairness in Oliver that has launched her to the front of Nashville's civil rights movement. Charlane Oliver has been fighting ever since.
Authored Publications
Work With Charlane
Guiding others to find the light within themselves as their own sources of inspiration and drive, Charlane is available for consulting for political candidates, community leaders, and organizations that are looking to inspire change. She is also available for speaking engagements, guest lecturing, and panel discussions as well.