Mariana Bacayau

The last-minute redistricting effort was spurred by a U.S.

Supreme Court decision to walk back part of the Voting Rights Act, which had protected the majority Black voting bloc from redistricting in the past.

Memphis Democratic State Senator Ramesh Akhbari says the move is a dishonor to the memory of civil rights activists who fought for the right to vote.

And now we have people who sit in Washington, who sit in Nashville, who say that those in this community do not matter.

The legislature will reconvene this upcoming Tuesday for the special session.

For NPR News, I'm Mariana Bacayau in Nashville.

Walking into Fido, you can't miss the giant countdown clock, measuring the time until the coffee shop closes in two years.

That's Bob Bernstein, founder and owner of Fido.

There are still memories to be made before the clock strikes zero.

Fido will serve as a wedding venue this year and come spring, the birthplace of many dissertations for students at neighboring universities.

Bernstein is part of a generation that has shaped Nashville's food scene, and he's worried about who will take his place.

In the past, Bernstein has signed his lease for 10 years at a time.

But Nashville's skyrocketing rent prices have forced his retirement.

Rising prices are a problem all over the country, according to Technomic, a research and consulting firm for the restaurant industry.

Vice President Rich Schenck says when chains move in, the city can lose its individual identity.

Across the river, East Nashville is also losing some of that culture.

A city staple, Margo Cafe, plans to say goodbye this June on the 25th anniversary of its first day.

Margo McCormick, the owner of Margo Cafe, has a framed menu from that first night.

McCormick has already cleared the biggest hurdle in this industry.

She owns her building outright, but she still has to contend with rising prices.