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The Red Cross has been praised for its tireless efforts assisting storm victims in Middle Tennessee. But there are concerns in the black community that the organization lacks diversity, especially in an effort helping mostly black evacuees.


A number of minority churches and groups are offering to help, but say they've been left out.


The Red Cross Shelter in Franklin opened its doors to storm victims last week. It’s only one of two shelters in Middle Tennessee. The other is in Nashville.


Both shelters are in suburban areas, and the volunteers are predominately white, while the evacuees are almost all black.


Some members of the African-American community say that’s not good enough.


“When you're different and you're the lone person, you do feel different. When you're in crisis you like to have some familiarity there,” says Joyce Searcy with the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville.


Searcy says she tried to open up her community center as a shelter, but could not get approved by the Red Cross. It already had a list of 63 churches and community groups.


Searcy adds, “You know that big headline that we were gonna have six thousand evacuees and the list of shelters in the newspaper were in the suburbs and so the question is: why aren't these in our community?”


The Red Cross says it’s because the other groups were already on a pre-approved list. Their facilities had already been checked out, and the volunteers, already trained.


But Reverend Enoch Fuzz says in times like this, the volunteer corps should be more diverse, “Who in Brentwood would know where a black beauty shop or barber shop is?” asks Fuzz.


The Red Cross acknowledges most of it’s volunteers are white, but says training is open to anyone. Since then, Joyce Searcy went through training, and is signing up others.


A number of black churches are helping evacuees on their own even though it isn't through the Red Cross.


Also they are assembling teams of 50 take turns volunteering at the Red Cross shelters.

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That would be insanity - let me or someone else drown/starve/whatever because the rescuers are too white!

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Phlog, the current king of internet links on XPT!

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Thanks! I do enjoy my niche!