Memphis Flyer 5/25/2023

Eric Anthony and his grandson, Allan

CLARK

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OUR 1787TH ISSUE 05.25.23

You’ve all heard by now that Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been seen, once again, on a social media live stream aunting a gun. Back in March, Ja, looking a bit intoxicated, ashed a small handgun on an Instagram Live from a nightclub in Denver, Colorado. He was suspended for eight games following that incident and entered a counseling program in Florida, issuing a statement saying he needed “to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.” On May 13th, another video surfaced of Ja and friends having a big time in a car, with Ja swinging a gun to and fro in the passenger seat.

A few notes: e man is 23 years old. He’s from a small (small) town — he attended high school in Sumter, South Carolina, whose population was just over 43,000 in the 2020 census; for perspective, compare that to the just under 55,000 in Southaven, Mississippi, and 628,000 in Memphis. In 2019, at the age of 19, Ja signed a four-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies worth $39.6 million. Last summer, he signed a ve-year extension, a deal worth a guaranteed $193 million, with a potential $231 million if selected for All-NBA. I’m not an avid basketball fan and couldn’t tell you what All-NBA means without googling it. But this isn’t about basketball, Ja’s talent, or even the speci cs of these and other reported events (an alleged confrontation with Indiana Pacers players in January, another with a teen at his home in March). is is about a young man, just past the age to even drink alcohol or buy cigarettes, who, like most young men his age, probably wants to have a good time. But unlike most young men his age, he has risen to fame quickly and has millions of dollars to play with, and that could arguably lead to a bad decision here and there, perhaps even a sense of invincibility. With enough money, you can get away with a lot (or think you can). But — especially when guns are involved — no one is invincible.

My issue with all of this has less to do with Ja Morant — who hasn’t broken a law that I’m aware of — having a gun. My issue is that he’s recklessly brandishing a gun.

To bring it closer to home, I’ll share this. Sixteen years ago this summer, I lost a close friend in a similar incident. It was 4th of July, and he and some peers were joyriding, intoxicated, and he was in the passenger seat waving a gun. I have no idea why he’d do that. Other than he was always a little wild, the life of the party, doing crazy stu like eating live bugs or walking across res to see people’s reactions. But one bump in the road, a slip of the nger (we’ll never know exactly) caused the gun to go o , and he shot himself in the head. I can tell you that his sister, one of my very best friends, did not want to see her brother in that condition in a local ER. Nor did she expect that night that she’d be by his bedside as he took his last breath. In the blink of an eye, a good time turned tragic — and this is what I’m reminded of when I see people handling guns without regard.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY - 4 AT LARGE - 6 COVER STORY

“COMMUNITY LOST”

Ja Morant is a role model for countless youth. Waving guns around in public spaces or while jamming tunes in a car with your buddies is not “cool.” And yes, I know the probability of a gun going o on accident is low, but it is never zero. Add alcohol or inexperience to the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster — especially for young folks who’ve never been properly trained on gun safety but sadly could likely get their hands on one with little e ort. Guns are for hunting, for protection — not for showing o on a live stream to thousands of impressionable followers. Unfortunately, some will want to emulate this behavior. And they will.

BY ERIC ANTHONY, MARY HUMPHREY, AND ERIC BROWN, AS TOLD TO JACOB STEIMER, MLK50: JUSTICE THROUGH JOURNALISM - 8 WE RECOMMEND - 12

ARTS - 13

CALENDAR - 14

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 14

NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 15

ASTROLOGY - 16

FOOD - 18

FILM - 20

CLASSIFIEDS - 22

LAST WORD - 23

According to Gun Violence Archive, as of May 21st, there have been 597 unintentional shootings in the U.S. so far this year. e most recent in Memphis happened on May 17th, in which a 5-year-old was accidentally shot and injured by a sibling. is isn’t just about Ja. It’s about a culture in which people don’t respect the fact that a gun can end a life in a split second. Promoting reckless gun use has got to stop. So many lives depend on it.

Shara Clark shara@memphis yer.com

PHOTO: TOM DEF | UNSPLASH

When guns are involved, no one is invincible.

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{CITY REPORTER

By Kailynn Johnson

Memphis on the internet.

HIJACKED

A Safer Campus

New state money will upgrade U of M’s security infrastructure.

Someone — we’re guessing the guy above — apparently hijacked Brother Juniper’s Instagram account this month. A stream of delicious food photos was interrupted by three photos of the guy above. en, the account went completely dark with an ominous note: “this account for sale. Contact DM.” e page has now been removed.

STUCK

Hunter Mathis and six others were stuck in an elevator at the Peabody Hotel for over an hour this month.

Jokes turned to strain as the situation wore on, the box got hotter, and the air harder to breathe. e TikTok shows the group talking with Peabody sta , who promised to get them out. No one came. e group nally called the Memphis Fire Department who had them out in 20 minutes.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

e University of Memphis is set to receive more than $5 million for campus safety and security upgrades thanks to a budget request from Governor Bill Lee and approval by the Tennessee General Assembly.

In a statement, U of M president Bill Hardgrave said a “safe, thriving campus” is the school’s “No. 1 priority.” e money will be used to “fund proven measures that ensure our students, faculty, and sta feel safe on our campus.” According to the university, these upgrades will be for this current scal year, and the investment is nonrecurring.

e university was named the safest large campus in Tennessee in 2022 by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

e university said the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and Homeland Security did a campus-wide assessment in 2021, which they used to determine ve di erent areas that would receive investments from the funding. e following breakdown was provided by the university:

• $2.193 million for upgrades and installation of LED lighting

• $1.46 million for perimeter fencing and parking lot access control

• $773,000 for intelligent camera installations

• $750,000 for a comprehensive noti cation system

• $312,000 for mobile trailers and patrol vehicle replacements

While the investment will be used to upgrade and install equipment around campus, the university said it is continuing to work with partner organizations such as MLGW.

“In addition to making the strategic investments [noted

above] to improve campus safety and security, the U of M is continuing to work with MLGW to improve lighting on perimeter neighborhood streets,” said the university in a statement. e school will also work with the Memphis Police Department to better coordinate e orts on police patrols on and around campus.

“ e U of M will also coordinate with other law enforcement and community partners such as the University Neighborhood Development Corporation to curb crime, speci cally auto-related crime,” the university said. e majority of crimes on campus are auto-related.

According to the TBI’s campus crime report, a majority of the crimes reported at the U of M were larceny and the o enses (111). While 36 of the crimes reported in this category were “the from [a] building,” there were 26 reports of the from a motor vehicle, and 32 reports of the of motor vehicle parts. ere were also 47 reports of motor vehicle the .

e U of M has previously encouraged students and other members of the campus community to utilize the LiveSafe app, which provides an avenue for students to directly communicate with police services on campus through text, pictures, video, and audio. However, Everbridge Crisis Management will replace the app this summer.

“Everbridge will orchestrate all crisis response activities, teams, and resources to accelerate critical event recovery times and allow the U of M to continue prioritizing safety and security,” added the university.

POSTED TO INSTAGRAM BY SOMEONE WHO APPARENTLY STOLE THE BROTHER JUNIPER’S ACCOUNT

POSTED TO TWITTER BY ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL

POSTED TO TIKTOK BY HUNTER MATHIS

PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS | FACEBOOK

e University of Memphis was named the safest large campus in Tennessee last year.

By Kailynn Johnson

Still Rox

Memphis Rox celebrates ve years of climbing and community.

Chris Dean recently recalled a conversation with lmmaker

Tom Shadyac, in which Shadyac asked him what the South Memphis community needed.

Dean had gone to a neighborhood meeting held at a church next to LeMoyne-Owen College and was handed a physical list of everything required to improve the area. As the story goes, Dean in turn handed the list to Shadyac, who was determined to help the community.

“On the list was a recreational space, space for the youth, food, a place to exercise, and so many more,” said Dean.

He explained that while the list was exhaustive, it failed to include how much these necessities would cost the community. But the two wanted to help, and while they didn’t know what exactly they were going to create, the end result came to fruition as Memphis Rox Climbing and Community Center, located at 879 East McLemore Avenue, and is now celebrating ve years in the business.

According to the organization, Memphis Rox is the “ rst nonpro t climbing gym of its size, standing at 32,000 sq. . with yoga and meditation spaces, a tness area, and system board.” Shadyac explained that the gym is very much a “child of the St. Jude” model, with accessibility being at the heart of their purpose.

“We don’t want to turn anyone away for their inability to pay,” said Shadyac. “We keep our doors open and accessible to all people. We ask if you don’t have money — rst it’s pay-what-you-cana ord — but if you have no money, we ask that maybe you volunteer in the neighborhood, you volunteer at your church, you do something positive as a sort of energetic exchange and a contribution to

what we’re all trying to do.”

According to One Family Memphis’ 2021 annual report, the organization helped create 1,802 volunteer hours served and 518 volunteer impacts (which refer to anytime a volunteer completes a volunteer service). e report also stated that all volunteer hours totaled to a value of $44,203.06.

With accessibility being a major component of the work done at Memphis Rox, the organization still relies on some of the building blocks of rock climbing, such as collaborating and cooperating on the wall.

While Memphis Rox may appear to be your standard rock climbing gym, Shadyac believes it’s simply a way to access a relationship.

“Anyone who comes in our doors from the community to grab a meal, to work out, or to climb, we listen to,” said Shadyac. “When we listened to the community, we realized there were certain needs that weren’t being met.”

Aside from rock climbing activities, the campus also houses the Juice Almighty café, the Soulsville Community Closet, and an “educational food garden.” e organization also partners with Sister Supply for their Period Power Program to “provide menstrual products to women in the community who are unable to a ord that.”

“We want the whole city to embrace this culture of climbing and wellness and health and community,” said Dean. “ ere are young people in the community that don’t have access to all the rest of those things anywhere else, so you just come here and bring a little bit of yourself.”

2023 party line up

PHOTO: MEMPHIS ROX e idea came from a meeting at LeMoyne-Owen College.

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AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden

Whooped?

The latest Ja Morant contretemps has been batted around so much by sports pundits that it’s almost old news. e Grizzlies’ star point guard has been involved in a troubling series of incidents in the past year, including a near- ght with a teenage kid at his house, threatening a sales clerk at a mall, an incident with a laser beam being pointed at an opposing player’s vehicle, and the now-infamous Denver strip club lap dance/gun-waving scenario that got him sent to counseling and suspended for eight games by the NBA. Finally, there was the recent Instagram Live clip that showed Morant bouncing to hip-hop with a friend in a car and brie y ashing a gun. Morant issued a statement saying that he took “full accountability” for his actions.

As I write this, Morant’s fate with the NBA is in limbo, with most predicting a multigame suspension at the beginning of next season. Is that a fair ruling, given that GOP legislators and politicians all over the country routinely run ads brandishing guns to demonstrate their love of the ammo-sexual culture? Or given that Kid Rock and other culture-war morons are now joyfully shooting cases of cross-dressing beer? Not really.

Morant did nothing illegal in that IG clip. He lives in a state where anyone can buy a gun and wear it into the nearest Arby’s — or wave it around in his car while listening to hip-hop. He lives in a state where Johnny Cash sang that he “shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.” is incident isn’t troubling to the NBA because it’s illegal. It’s troubling because what Morant did is contrary to the image the league wants to present, which does not include the gangsta rap culture of drugs, strip clubs, gang ghts, and hookers.

So maybe the Memphis Grizzlies front o ce ought to do some soul-searching of its own on this subject. I’m referring to the team’s embrace of the gangsta rap song, “Whoop at Trick” — which it uses as its anthem when the Grizzlies are closing out a win at home. It’s an inclusive, joyous scene, as kids, adults, and senior citizens — Black, white, and brown — chant those

inspirational words about whooping someone in a strip club.

You may recall that the song was written by Memphis rapper Al Kapone for director Craig Brewer’s 2005 lm, Hustle & Flow, which chronicled the rise of a Memphis pimp/would-be rapper named DJay, played by Terrence Howard. ere’s a scene in the lm where DJay is sitting in a studio pondering his potential hit, which he’s calling “Beat at Bitch.” His associate wisely suggests that the song wouldn’t receive much radio play, so they change the name to “Whoop at Trick.”

e lyrics are still about going into a strip club and beating someone. Man or woman? Google the lyrics and decide. (And check out the words to “Fresh Prince of Utah,” another hip-hop song that became an uno cial victory anthem with its line, “It’s a parade inside my city …”)

On Twitter, when I said that “Whoop at Trick” was about a pimp beating one of his girls, many were quick to assure me that the song was “actually” about DJay whooping up on a dead-beat john and was therefore an inspirational Memphis ght song about overcoming obstacles.

So, I guess when the L.A. Johns whooped the Memphis Pimps in the playo s last month, that was hella embarrassing, right?

e Grizzlies adopted a variation of the song (“Whoop at Clip”) during a playo series during the team’s Grit ’n Grind era. But that was a team with a notable mean streak. Nobody messed with Z-Bo or Tony Allen.

e current Grizzlies roster, with the possible exception of Canadian performance villain Dillon Brooks, looks about as dangerous as a bunch of young Rotarians.

e New Zealand center raises sheep. Brandon Clarke (another Canadian) talks like a surfer. Morant acts tough, but at his size, he’s not scaring anyone.

I get that “Whoop at Trick” is performative and part of the team’s historic ethos, but it glori es a dead-end culture that suckers in way too many of our city’s kids — including our All-Star point guard. So maybe it’s time for everyone — from the top of the organization down to its soon-to-be-disciplined star — to do some image reassessment.

Must be 21 or older. Gambling problem? Call 1-888-777-9696.

PHOTO: CHRIS MCCOY

Al Kapone performing “Whoop at Trick” at BSMF 2022

Maybe it’s time for errbody to “take full accountability.”

JUNE 9, 2023 6:00PM-9:00PM An evening of science, music, and culture

COMMUNITY LOST

COVER STORY

By Eric Anthony, Mary Humphrey, and Eric Brown, as told to Jacob Steimer, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

PHOTOGRAPHS

By Andrea Morales for MLK50

Eric Anthony knows his Hayden Place duplex needs renovations.

For years, his landlord refused to x major issues. Multiple times, he’s had feces back up into his sink or ow into his backyard.

But Anthony is even more frustrated by his new landlord Cameron Ellis. A major renovation planned by Ellis, a local real estate investor, will soon result in Anthony’s displacement. And he has no idea where he’s going to go.

“I’m losing control of everything,” Anthony said.

Ellis bought Anthony’s duplex, along with 24 adjacent ones and a small apartment complex, in February. And in recent weeks, he’s started $2 million worth of improvements.

is work by the young, Black investor lls a need. Despite major maintenance issues, the properties have been largely neglected for decades, according to residents and building permit records. And local

leaders have long decried the lack of investment in Memphis’ Black neighborhoods that eventually leaves properties falling into disrepair.

But Ellis’ investment plans don’t include renewing any leases, which has le the community reeling. Many of the residents of the Hayden Place and Waynoka Avenue duplexes predated Ellis’ purchase by at least 15 years. ey knew their neighbors well, watched out for each other, and enjoyed their streets’ low crime rate. Now, they’re being dispersed.

e same people who endured years of poor maintenance have been told renovations are coming — just not for them.

A er enduring unhealthy conditions for years, they’ve now been forced to fend for themselves in an inhospitable housing market. Lost in the progress of Memphis’ core city neighborhoods attracting investment they haven’t seen in decades, these people’s loss is a reminder of the pain that much-needed work can bring.

Binghampton residents forced out as home flipper moves in.

To capture this pain, MLK50: Justice rough Journalism asked three residents to share their stories, which were edited for length and clarity.

Ellis declined to be interviewed but sent the following response: “Not renewing a lease is not unethical or illegal. Tenants are not being forced out. Simply, the leases are expiring, and we are not renewing.”

Recently, someone walked around with papers. ey said, “We just want to let y’all know we’re not going to renew your lease.”

It was just like saying, “Master said you got to get out of here by such and such time,” or “Find you somewhere to go, cockroaches.”

ey ain’t giving us no type of options or somewhere else to live. White people who have good ass jobs will be in my duplex.

I have six grandkids living with me. Finding out we’d have to move felt like I was having another heart attack. I was thinking, “Oh my God, what could happen worse now?”

Where are my grandbabies going to go to school? Our school is in walking distance, and I don’t have a car.

ERIC ANTHONY, 56

I’ve been over here in Binghampton for about 35 years and in my duplex on Hayden Place for six or seven.

Recently, my blood pressure went up so high I had to go to the hospital because I was worrying so much. ey had to keep me overnight.

My doctor said, “You need to stop worrying.” I said, “I can’t. I might not have a place to lay my head anymore.

“Who’s to say where we’re going to go? And who’s to say where we’re going to go will be safe?”

— Eric Anthony

Eric Anthony and his grandson Allan sit for a portrait outside of their home on Hayden Place in Binghampton. Recently, new management took over the home, and Anthony got notice that he has to leave by November because the new management intends to ip his home.

I’m f—.”

You just can’t imagine how it feels for someone to come tell you, “Get gone.”

Who’s to say where we’re going to go? And who’s to say where we’re going to go will be safe? Everybody here is kind of on the same page. We look out for each other. at was just too good to be true.

(Editor’s note: e only homicide on either street in the last 10 years was a justi able homicide, according to Memphis Police Department data. And there was just one violent crime — an aggravated assault — in the two years preceding Ellis’ purchase.)

Other people have it worse than me. ey told some of my neighbors who didn’t have a lease they had to go immediately. I have until my lease ends in November.

But I’m not going to be able to nd nothing by then because I can’t a ord nothing. I’m already struggling to pay $575 a month, and it’s hard to nd something for less than $650.

I’m on disability. I have custody over my grandbabies, so I need to be with them most of the time. I get an $800 check each month. I try to hustle to make ends meet and pay my light bill. But a er I had a heart attack two years ago, I don’t have the energy to do much stu . And I don’t have a car.

If God is for me, what can be against me? I’m not going to give up on faith. I know He’ll make a way somehow.

But I’m worried I may not be able to take care of my children anymore. I’m a single grandaddy, raising all these children. ey’re probably going to have to live with their mom, who didn’t

take care of them.

I wish, I wish, I wish I had money so I could take care of my children.

MARY HUMPHREY, 75

I’ve been here ever since 1983. ey gave me until October 31st. But they said they’re not going to renew my lease.

How can you just walk up, give a person a piece of paper, and tell them to get out? ey’re just throwing us out for nothing.

I am just so confused and I am so angry. I am so angry. I know it’s their property. But I’ve been here 40 years.

Before this happened, I just bought new light xtures to go all the way through my house. And that’s just money wasted. I feel like just taking them down and throwing them in the garbage; I don’t want to leave it to them.

I’m very angry.

I know we Black. But we’re still human. Treat us right.

In spite of it all, I found somewhere to go. I worked for the University of Memphis for 35 years and have retirement. I found a one-bedroom

on Harvard Avenue (less than a mile away). I had to nd something.

When they handed me that paper, it was like they were evicting me then. I wasn’t going to wait until October. But a lot of people don’t have nowhere to go. ey can’t a ord anywhere. I’m angry for them.

We just was family. If I le , I knew somebody was watching out for me. If we got sick, we’d watch out for each other. I knew most all of their children.

I’m going to miss sitting on this porch and just looking at everybody. It’s rough. It’s rough. It’s rough. Sometimes, I sit and cry. We just got to go our separate ways now. But, it’s going to be alright. God got us. And he gonna take care of us. Because I’m a rm believer in God. And without him, I would have not made it this far.

My mother, who’s dead and gone, always said, “If you put God rst, no matter what happens, he can handle it, and you’ll be able to handle it.”

If we live right, we might not be together here on Earth, but when that great day comes, we’ll all get together again.

ERIC BROWN,

e letter said to be out by April 3rd. en they said we had until May 1st, but I’m praying to God they don’t come evict me.

I have been riding my bicycle around the neighborhood, trying to nd somewhere for rent. I haven’t found anything for sure, but I think the Binghampton Development Corporation is going to have something for me in a couple of weeks. We’ve been in this duplex 18 years, going on 19. I’ve been in Binghampton all my life. I’m 58. I grew up here. I went to Lester Elementary and East High.

My mom, who I live with, is worried. She has doctor appointments on Broad Avenue. If we move out somewhere, she can’t get to her

continued on page 10

58

Mary Humphrey stands for a portrait at her new home. Humphrey lived on Waynoka Avenue for 40 years until a new company bought the property with intentions to ip. Humphrey still lives in Binghampton but has had to downsize to a much smaller space.

“Sometimes, I sit and cry. We just got to go our separate ways now.”

— Mary Humphrey on losing her community

Eric Brown had lived with his mother on Waynoka Avenue for 18 years before being displaced by the renovations.

appointments. She’s 79 years old. She walks to the community center and the store. But she’s too old to do too much walking.

I just found me a job at Lost Pizza right here on Poplar — a 10-minute walk.

We don’t want to move out of Binghampton because we know everyone in the neighborhood. If my mom needs to go to the doctor, neighbors help.

Most people on the street have been here for a while.

Binghampton is home.

Editor’s note: Since the initial interview was conducted, Eric Brown and his mother leased a house on Allison Street from the Binghampton Development Corporation. ey love the look of their new place and are excited to move in. While Brown and Humphrey have secured new premises, Anthony’s next move remains unclear. To support him directly during this time, his CashApp is $ericanthony0.

Jacob Steimer is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Email him at Jacob.Steimer@mlk50.com

is story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice rough Journalism , a nonpro t newsroom focused on poverty, power, and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today.

“Binghampton is home.”

— Eric Brown

Eric Brown talks to his mother in front of their home. Brown lives in a home with his mother and stepfather on Waynoka Avenue in Binghampton, where he’s lived his whole life.

Live music

steppin’ out From Rich Soil

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

By Abigail Morici

is summer at the Memphis Botanic Garden, bodiless dresses oat above the freshly-tilled garden beds, as if they, too, have emerged from the same soil where plants stretch out their roots. e e ect is otherworldly, a dance frozen in time as the greenery around them shi s with the winds, the leaves unfolding toward the sun. For a moment, there is peace.

“It’s more than physically seeing it, but actually feeling whatever feelings come up,” says Kristine Mays, the San Francisco-based artist who hooked and looped the wires shaping these 29 gures featured in the “Rich Soil” exhibition. “My hope is that people will experience it.”

Inspired by the work of Alvin Ailey, who used dance to upli Black lives in America, Mays created her dancers to be “celebrations to the ancestors, to all the people who have toiled the land, speci cally the people who have gone through life invisible, all of the workers that go unrecognized. And so the concept behind it is that these ancestors have now come back and risen through the soil, and they’re rejoicing.” e dresses, she adds, have no bodies so that “anyone could be in the dress. A lot of times people will look at speci c dresses and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s Joanne,’ or ‘ at’s my Aunt Sheila.’” In turn, the pieces become more about the collective human experience, rather than about the individual.

Even the material itself — the rebar wire — speaks to this sentiment. is kind of wire can be used to mend fences, to hold concrete in place while laying a foundation, or to stabilize railroad tracks. “It makes me kind of giddy to think that I’m using it in a way that’s kind of bringing people together and mending,” Mays says, “mending circumstances and inspiring people to look at just the fact that we’re all humans. … And one of the qualities that I like about [the wire] is that it is lasting. I know that it’ll last beyond my lifetime.”

As the exhibition has traveled from California to D.C. to Atlanta and now to Memphis, Mays says that the pieces adapt to the di erent environments, soaking up the richness of each location’s history, people, and culture. “As soon as I was asked to come to Memphis,” Mays says, “I was like, ‘Wow, this is great’ — just considering that so many historical things have happened here, that this is the birthplace of so many creative acts.”

To complement the exhibit’s run, the garden will host Rich Sounds on the last Sunday of each month, which will include performances and demonstrations from local arts and culture organizations. is Sunday, May 28th, will mark the rst of this series, with Ekpe Abioto performing. Visit membg.org/rich-soil for more information on the exhibit and its accompanying programs.

“[app-ah-lat-chuh-is-sip-pee]”

Opening Reception

ANF Architects, Friday, May 26, 5-6 p.m.

ANF Architects hosts Hank Smith’s rst solo exhibition, “[app-ah-latchuh-is-sip-pee].”

Hank Smith’s art is deeply rooted in the landscapes of the American South, which he approaches not as a mere observer, but as a portraitist who seeks to capture the essence of the region’s culture, identity, and history. His work is inspired by Gothic literature and the idea of using landscape to uncover hidden truths about the South that transcend time and narrative.

Entry to the opening is free, and so drinks, wine, and snacks will be provided.

Mora Play

eatreWorks, performances run May 26-June 4, $12/students and seniors, $15/general admission

Our Own Voice eatre Troupe is delighted to announce a return to the stage with Mora Play, a modern twist on the classic medieval morality play.

Within this play, the central character wants to nd a place that’s better than the one she knows. She travels far and wide, discovers strange places with rules that she’s not used to, and meets folks who have di erent ideas of following the rules.

e show will run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with matinees on Sundays at 3 p.m., through June 4th. e box o ce opens 30 minutes before curtain and payment forms include cash, Venmo, and Paypal.

Potliquor

Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, Sunday, May 28, 2-6 p.m., free

Potliquor is a cultural storytelling event celebrating foods from African ancestors, incorporating elements of culture, cuisine, education, entertainment, and community engagement.

Enjoy demonstrations, cultural exhibits, and music led by Ekpe Abioto and friends. Savor complimentary potliqour and candied yam cornbread made from the harvest of Black Seeds Urban Farms and culinary o erings from Charlotte & Pickens. Bring your picnic blankets, family, and friends for a memorable and authentic celebration of African culinary heritage.

Reserve your spot at https:// shorturl.at/mzR49. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.

“RICH SOIL AT THE GARDEN,” MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN, ON DISPLAY THROUGH OCTOBER 1. RICH SOUNDS, MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN, SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2-5 P.M., FREE WITH GARDEN ADMISSION.

PHOTO: COURTESY KRISTINE MAYS Kristine Mays’ Celestial Prayer Meeting

ARTS By Abigail Morici

“A Requiem for King”

e National Civil Rights Museum’s latest exhibit highlights three Memphis-based artists whose work responded to King’s assassination.

Last month, to honor the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the National Civil Rights Museum unveiled “Waddell, Withers, & Smith: A Requiem for King,” an exhibition highlighting three Memphisbased artists whose work responded to King’s assassination and the Civil Rights Movement: self-taught sculptor James Waddell Jr., photojournalist Ernest Withers, and multimedia artist Dolph Smith.

“It goes to show the levels of Dr. King and how many people he impacted,” NCRM associate curator Ryan Jones says of the exhibit. “He didn’t just impact people who were civil rights leaders and human rights activists; he impacted people who were artists. And so this goes to show what he meant as a man and that people here in this great community of Memphis have channeled and responded to something that has been a dark cloud over the city in the past 55 years. Dr. King impacted the hearts and minds of so many citizens.”

Each of the three artists were born and raised in Memphis, Jones says, and all served in the military, with their respective services being turning points in their artistic careers. Withers, a World War II veteran, learned his cra at the Army School of Photography. He would then go on to photograph some of the most iconic moments of the Civil Rights Movement, including King’s fateful visit to Memphis, the priceless images for which line the exhibition’s walls.

“We can’t tell the story of the modern Civil Rights Movement without the role of photography,” Jones says, and truly, Withers played one of the most signi cant roles in documenting that history, capturing approximately 1.8 million photographs before his death at 85 years old in 2007.

At the same time Withers was documenting King’s Memphis visit and the a ermath of his assassination, James Waddell (who happened to later be photographed by Withers) was serving in the Vietnam War and didn’t learn what had happened in Memphis until weeks later. For Waddell and his family, King’s death marked a period of pain

and grief — “His relatives compared the assassination to a death in the family,” reads the exhibit’s wall text.

“[Sculpture] was his way of reacting to the tragedy that had happened,” Jones says. “He said that living in Memphis and being a native Memphian and not doing the work would be something he would never be able to get over.” So when he returned home, Waddell channeled this grief in the work now on display — an aluminum-cast bust of King and Mountaintop Vision, a bronze statue of King kneeling on a mountaintop with an open Bible. “It shows he’s humbling himself to God,” Waddell said of the sculpture in a 1986 Commercial Appeal interview with Anthony Hicks.

Initially, as the 1986 article reveals, Waddell planned to create an eight-foot version of Mountaintop Vision as “the city’s rst statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” “ e time is right, because Memphis is beginning to voice an opinion that there is a need for a statue,” Waddell told the Appeal. “ is will be a tool for understanding.”

Waddell, who has since passed, said he hoped “to see the nished piece placed at the proposed Lorraine Motel Civil Rights Museum, Clayborn Temple, or in Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park.” ough that eight-foot version never came to fruition, at long last, the smaller version of Waddell’s Mountaintop Vision can be seen not only in a public display for the rst time, but also at the National Civil Rights Museum as he once had envisioned.

Meanwhile, Dolph Smith, who had

long since returned home from the Vietnam War, was in Memphis the night of King’s assassination. As Memphis was set ablaze that night, he and his family stood on the roof of their home, watching the smoke rise around them. He vowed to never forget that date — April 4, 1968. In his personal calendar for that day, he wrote, “If this has happened in Memphis, then now I know it can happen anywhere. It is so hard to believe a man’s basic instinct is to be good.”

In response to what he called “an unspeakable tragedy” and the public uprising that arose from it, Smith took to the canvas. For one piece on display at the museum, titled e Veil of the Temple Was Rent in Two, the artist ripped an American ag, placing photographs of the Civil Rights Movement in between its tears, as Jones says, “to show the extreme divisiveness that the assassination caused.”

In all, Jones hopes the exhibit will show the reach of King’s legacy extending beyond April 4, 1968, all the way to the present day. In one of the videos projected on the exhibition’s walls, Smith, now at 89 years old, speaks on the importance of witnessing artwork like the pieces on display. “If you make something and it just sits there, it’s un nished,” Smith says. To him — a painter, bookmaker, and educator — in order for a work of art to be “ nished,” it has to be shared, for the mission of the artist is not simply to create but to spark conversation, to encourage self-re ection, and in cases like that of Withers, Waddell, and Smith, to activate progress.

“Waddell, Withers, & Smith: A Requiem for King” is on display at the National Civil Rights Museum through August 28th.

PHOTOS: ABIGAIL MORICI

(above) Ernest Withers’ photographs illustrating Memphis in 1968; (below) Dolph Smith’s e Veil of the Temple Was Rent in Two

CALENDAR of EVENTS: May 25 -

31

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“Celebration of Sarawak”

Exhibition showcasing Sarawak’s rich ethnic and cultural heritage through intriguing artifacts from the Sarawaka Museum. rough May 31.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Dolphland”

Attendees will get to experience historic moments in Young Dolph’s career while immersed in a sensory overload of everything Dolph. rough May 26.

AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL

“Iterations”

Exhibition of John Salvest’s articulate works that developed out of obsessive collections of objects and a keen social awareness. rough June 24.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

ART HAPPENINGS

“[app-ah-lat-chuh-is-sip-pee]”

Opening Reception

Exhibition of work by Hank Smith inviting viewers to embark on a visual journey through the landscapes of the South. Friday, May 26, 5-6 p.m.

ANF ARCHITECTS

Juan Rojo Opening Reception

Exhibition of recent paintings by Juan Rojo.

Friday, May 26, 5-8 p.m.

JAY ETKIN GALLERY

talks and tapas

Join gallerist Sheila Urevbu and professor Sarah Boyle for a deeper dive into the gallery’s current exhibition, “RE(de) FINED.” ursday, May 25, 6-8 p.m.

UREVBU CONTEMPORARY

FESTIVAL

Spring Soul Fest

Get ready to groove, dance, and enjoy a variety of fun activities, including games, arts and cra s, and more with Stax Music Academy. Free. ursday, May 25, 5-7:30 p.m.

HANDY PARK

FILM

Dazed and Confused

A special 30th anniversary screening of the legendary coming-of-age cult comedy. 18+.

Friday, May 26, 6:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Everything Everywhere All At Once

An unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to ght bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse. Free. Friday, May 26, 6:30 p.m.

COMEBACK COFFEE

Redha

Philadelphiabased artist John Salvest’s “Iterations” is on display at David Lusk Gallery through June 24th.

Indie Memphis and Memphis in May present a screening of the Malaysian drama about a family navigating childhood autism.

Wednesday, May 31, 7 p.m.

MALCO STUDIO ON THE SQUARE

Seven Samurai

One of the most thrilling movie epics of all time, Seven Samurai tells the story of a 16thcentury village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. ursday, May 25, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Great American River Run e Great American River Run, or GARR, closes out the month-long festival known as Memphis in May. Saturday, May 27, 7 a.m.

DOWNTOWN

Zoom through the Zoo

Get active and support the zoo at the annual four-mile race and one-mile fun run through the zoo and Overton Park. ursday, May 25, 6:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO

Crossword

Edited by Will Shortz No. 1222

SPECIAL EVENTS

Lupus Bowl-A-Thon Fundraiser

Knockin’ over pins, rockin’ out, and raisin’ lupus awareness! Saturday, May 27, 12:30-2 p.m.

BILLY HARDWICK’S ALL-STAR LANES

Memphis Armored Fight Club! Hear ye, hear ye, come one, come all! Memphis Armored Fight Club returns to Lodge! Saturday, May 27, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Potliquor

A culturally rich and immersive experience to celebrate the culinary heritage of Southern soul food. Free. Sunday, May 28, 2-6 p.m.

SLAVE HAVEN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MUSEUM

SPORTS

Houston Gamblers vs. Memphis

Showboats

Sunday, May 28, 1 p.m.

SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM

Memphis Redbirds vs. Norfolk Sounds ursday, May 25, 6:45 p.m.; Friday, May 26, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, May 27, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, May 28, 6:05 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

flourish

8 “___ les compliments de l’auteur” (inscription in a French book)

9 So-and-so

10 What some coin purses do

11 Involves

12 On a fundamental level

14 How Pee-wee Herman often appears to fans

17 Not seeing anyone else, say

21 Talks about one’s job, perhaps

24 Induces to commit a crime

26 Ostentatious

28 First female artist with five Billboard #1’s from the same album

30 It’s what everyone’s doing

32 Want ad abbr.

33 Miracle-___

34 Title city

THEATER

Clyde’s

A truck-stop sandwich shop in Reading, PA, becomes a place of employment and redemption for the formerly incarcerated kitchen sta . rough June 4.

CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE

Mora Play

A modern twist on the classic medieval morality play, presented by Our Own Voice eatre Troupe. Friday, May 26-June 4.

THEATREWORKS

TOURS

True Crimes of Bygone Times: A Tour of Elmwood Cemetery

A tragic tour of twisted tales. $20. Saturday, May 27, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

News at Sounds Like a Joke Northern Railway in England has made a speci c appeal to its riders: Please stop watching porn on the train. e Mirror reported that Northern provides “Friendly Wi- ,” which meets (apparently the bare) minimum ltering standards. Tricia Williams, chief operating o cer, said people should remember that “some content is not suitable for everyone to see or hear — particularly children.” While the company understands that the ride may be “the rst opportunity to view content,” commuters should “wait until you get home.” [Mirror, 4/14/2023]

Precocious

Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, told CNN on April 18 that a toddler was able to breach the fence around the White House, setting o security alarms. e “curious young visitor” crawled through the fence posts on the north side and was quickly apprehended by Secret Service police o cers, who reunited him with his parents. Perhaps he’s considering a bid for 2052. [CNN, 4/18/2023]

Update

News of the Weird recently reported that former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had taken street maintenance matters into his own hands and lled a pothole in his neighborhood. His good deed turned out to be an “oops” moment, though, according to the Associated Press. e “pothole” was actually a utility trench that had been temporarily lled by Southern California Gas Co. and was set to be xed permanently later. SoCal Gas said rain had delayed the permanent paving. e Terminator tweeted, “Teamwork. Happy to help speed this up.” [Associated Press, 4/14/2023]

Questionable Judgment

Parents of students at Desert Hills Middle School in Kennewick, Washington, are questioning the thinking behind a school assembly activity that took place before spring break, YakTriNews reported. e game involved

a large piece of clear plexiglass with stripes of whipped cream sprayed on both sides; teams of students and sta competed to see who could lick the cream o both sides at the same time, making it appear as if the two people were kissing. District Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce sent a letter to parents on April 12, which assured them that “ e content of a video being shared on social media is highly concerning” and the activity “does not re ect the high standards we hold for our sta members.” An investigation is underway. [YakTriNews, 4/12/2023]

ported her over the discussion, and she was taken to a police station and told she had “praised Zelenskyy.” She was unable to attend the trial due to health reasons and intends to le an appeal.

[Daily Mail, 4/19/2023]

Awesome!

A batch of ale originally brewed to celebrate King Edward VIII’s coronation in 1937 will hit the auction block, Sky News reported. Edward abdicated the throne before his coronation in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. e Coronation Ale went into storage until it was uncovered in 2011; several crates of the 86-year-old beer will be auctioned o in advance of King Charles III’s coronation in May. e brewer, Greene King, says the beer is no longer drinkable and the bottles will just be collectors’ items. (Keep an eye on News of the Weird for the unlucky collector who can’t resist a sip.) [Sky News, 4/18/2023]

Overreaction

EVERY WEDNESDAY IN MAY FROM 5-7 PM 694 MADISON AVE. / TRIANGLE PARK IN THE EDGE DISTRICT

Nyet

Olga Slegina, 70, was hit with a ne of about $500 on April 18 in Moscow for a remark she made in December about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Daily Mail reported. While speaking with another woman at a care home in Nalchik, Slegina called Zelenskyy, 45, a “handsome young man” with a “good sense of humor.” at’s a no-no in Russia; the Code of Administrative O enses, introduced in March 2022, characterized her comment as “discrediting” the Russian military. Slegina was told that three people re-

A Monopoly game in Belgium on April 2 took a sinister turn, Sky News reported. Four people were playing the game outside their home when a neighboring man and his son, apparently annoyed by the players, came outside with a stick and a Japanese samurai sword in a sheath. A scu e ensued, and the sword came out of its sheath; police said two men — one of the players and the son — were injured by the weapon. e Monopoly player was later discharged from the hospital, but the son was reported to be in critical condition. Both men had been arrested. Large patches of blood and scattered Monopoly cards marked the spot of the dispute. [Sky News, 4/5/2023]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@ amuniversal.com.

News of the Weird is now a podcast on all major platforms! To nd out more, visit newso heweirdpodcast.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

- Live music, DJs, axe throwing, Made in Memphis Market, outdoor games, 360 Photobooth & more.

- Dog friendly!

- Free drinks from Rootstock, Memphis Made, & Strangeways.

5/31

BAND: RANEEM

DJ: SHELBY SMITH

FOOD: ROCK N’ DOUGH, FRENCH TRUCK, & MUDDY’S

SPONSORED BY CNCT Design, Downtown Memphis Commission, Event Ops, French Truck, Memphis Made Brewery, Memphis Flyer, Memphis Medical District Collaborative, Memphis Moms, Orion FCU, Orleans Station, Pathway Lending, Premiere Contractors, Rock’N Dough, Remember Media, Rootstock, Selfie Memphis, Strangeways Cordials, & THE EDGE DISTRICT

Memphis Scene

ARIES (March 21-April 19): My reading of the astrological omens inspires me to make a series of paradoxical predictions for you. Here are five scenarios I foresee as being quite possible in the coming weeks.

1. An epic journey to a sanctuary close to home. 2. A boundary that doesn’t keep people apart but brings them closer. 3. A rambunctious intervention that calms you down and helps you feel more at peace.

4. A complex process that leads to simple clarity. 5. A visit to the past that empowers you to redesign the future.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you want a seed to fulfill its destiny? You must bury it in the ground. There, if it’s able to draw on water and the proper nutrients, it will break open and sprout. Its life as a seed will be over. The plant it eventually grows into will look nothing like its source. We take this process for granted, but it’s always a miracle. Now let’s invoke this story as a metaphor for what you are hopefully on the verge of, Taurus. I invite you to do all that’s helpful and necessary to ensure your seed germinates!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Testing time is ahead, but don’t get your nerves in an uproar with fantasy-spawned stress. For the most part, your challenges and trials will be interesting, not unsettling. There will be few if any trick questions. There will be straightforward prods to stretch your capacities and expand your understanding. Bonus! I bet you’ll get the brilliant impulse to shed the ball and chain you’ve been absent-mindedly carrying around with you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Biologist Edward O. Wilson said that the most social animals are ants, termites, and honeybees. He used the following criteria to define that description: “altruism, instincts devoted to social life, and the tightness of the bonds that turn colonies into virtual superorganisms.” I’m going to advocate that you regard ants, termites, and honeybees as teachers and role models for you. The coming weeks will be a great time to boost your skill at socializing and networking. You will be wise to ruminate about how you could improve your life by enhancing your ability to cooperate with others. And remember to boost your altruism!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Jack Sarfatti is an authentic but maverick physicist born under the sign of Virgo. He suggests that if we make ourselves receptive and alert, we may get help from our future selves. They are trying to communicate good ideas to us back through time. Alas, most of us don’t believe such a thing is feasible, so we aren’t attuned to the potential help. I will encourage you to transcend any natural skepticism you might have about Sarfatti’s theory. As a fun experi-

ment, imagine that the Future You has an important transmission for you — maybe several transmissions. For best results, formulate three specific questions to pose to the Future You.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I have five points for your consideration. 1. You are alive in your mysterious, endlessly interesting life, and you are imbued with the fantastically potent power of awareness. How could you not feel thrilled? 2. You’re on a planet that’s always surprising, and you’re in an era when so many things are changing that you can’t help being fascinated. How could you not feel thrilled?

3. You have some intriguing project to look forward to, or some challenging but engaging work you’re doing, or some mind-bending riddle you’re trying to solve. How could you not feel thrilled?

4. You’re playing the most enigmatic game in the universe, also known as your destiny on Earth, and you love ruminating on questions about what it all means. How could you not feel thrilled? 5. You never know what’s going to happen next. You’re like a hero in an epic movie that is endlessly entertaining. How could you not feel thrilled?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn,” advises Scorpio author Neil Gaiman. Let’s make that one of your mantras for the coming weeks. In my astrological understanding, you are due to cash in on favors you have bestowed on others. The generosity you have expressed should be streaming back your way in abundance. Be bold about welcoming the bounty. In fact, I hope you will nudge and prompt people, if necessary, to reward you for your past support and blessings.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): So many of us are starved to be listened to with full attention. So many of us yearn to be seen and heard and felt by people who are skilled at receptive empathy. How many of us? I’d say the figure is about 99.9 percent. That’s the bad news, Sagittarius. The good news is that in the coming weeks, you will have an exceptional ability to win the attention of good listeners. To boost the potential healing effects of this opportunity, here’s what I recommend: Refine and deepen your own listening skills. Express them with panache.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Because you’re a Capricorn, earthiness is probably one of your strengths. It’s your birthright to be practical and sensible and wellgrounded. Now and then, however, your earthiness devolves into muddiness. You get too sober and earnest. You’re bogged down in excess pragmatism. I suspect you may be susceptible to such a state these days. What to do? It may help if you add elements of air and fire to your consti-

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Your meandering trek through the Unpromised Land wasn’t as demoralizing as you feared. The skirmish with the metaphorical dragon was a bit disruptive, but hey, you are still breathing and walking around — and even seem to have been energized by the weird thrill of the adventure. The only other possible downside was the new dent in your sweet dream. But I suspect that in the long run, that imperfection will inspire you to work even harder on behalf of your sweet dream — and this will be a blessing. Here’s another perk: The ordeal you endured effectively cleaned out stale old karma, freeing up space for a slew of fresh help and resources.

tution, just to balance things out. Give yourself a secret nickname with a fiery feel, like Blaze, or a crispy briskness, like Breezy. What else could you do to rouse fresh, glowing vigor, Breezy Blaze — even a touch of wildness?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I love to use metaphors in my writing, but I hate to mix unrelated metaphors. I thrive on referring to poetry, sometimes even surrealistic poetry, but I try to avoid sounding like a lunatic. However, at this juncture in your hero’s journey, Aquarius, I frankly feel that the most effective way to communicate with you is to offer you mixed metaphors and surrealist poetry that border on sounding lunatic. Why? Because you seem primed to wander around on the edges of reality. I’m guessing you’ll respond best to a message that’s aligned with your unruly mood. So here goes: Get ready to surf the spiritual undertow all the way to the teeming wilderness on the other side of the cracked mirror. Ignore the provocative wasteland on your left and the intriguing chaos on your right. Stay focused on the stars in your eyes and devote yourself to wild joy.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The gift of patience opens when our body, heart, and mind slow enough to move in unison.”

So says Piscean poet Mark Nepo. I feel confident you are about to glide into such a grand harmony, dear Pisces. Through a blend of grace and your relaxed efforts to be true to your deepest desires, your body, heart, and mind will synchronize and synergize. Patience will be just one of the gifts you will receive. Others include: a clear vision of your most beautiful future; a lucid understanding of what will be most meaningful to you in the next three years; and a profound sense of feeling at home in the world wherever you go.

By Michael Donahue

B U T C H E R

omething about his mother’s heavenly hamburger casserole made Richard McCracken and his wife Molly create Mimi’s Meals.

at and the lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and other casseroles made by his mom K.C. Bryant, who is known as “Mimi” to her grandkids.

“When we had our baby, my mom made us a lot of casseroles,” McCracken says. “And these are just like the ones I grew up on as a kid.

“My wife was like, ‘Oh, my God. ese are the most amazing casseroles. Even when you put them in the freezer, take one out, thaw it, and cook it, they were still awesome. Get all her recipes and make these casseroles.’”

e McCrackens now sell the casseroles at their Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace at 7946 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova.

ey feature 14 di erent casseroles, including chicken macaroni and cheese. Million dollar chicken is a chicken and cheese dish. “And it’s really good and gooey.” Heavenly hamburger is “everybody’s favorite. It’s macaroni noodles with marinara sauce. en it has ground beef, cream cheese. On top it has cheddar cheese.” en there’s chicken chili spaghetti, which is “ground beef, onions, peppers, with a chili sauce, and chunks of chicken in it. And tossed with spaghetti noodles. It’s to die for.”

McCracken created some of his own casseroles, including the ooey gooey casserole, which is “like the million dollar chicken, but has penne pasta and broccoli in it.”

He also put his own twist on the heavenly hamburger recipe, and altered it to come up with a cheeseburger casserole. “I put sauce in it and make it moist and gooey and just kind of go from there.”

McCracken also created the tuna noodle casserole and salmon pasta casserole.

His mother has “tried every one,” McCracken says. “She loves them. ey are Mimi approved.”

e casseroles, which include a caricature of his mother on the logo, are available online at eatampli ed.com and at Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace. “You can order them online and have them delivered to your house on Sunday. Or walk in the store and order them as well.”

His mother inspired him to become a cook, he says. “I grew up with three sisters and none of them were really that

interested in the kitchen stu . So, I would always help mom when I was 6 or 7.”

McCracken helped with the casseroles, too. He did “as much as you can let a 6- or 7-year-old kid do. I don’t know. I probably chopped some veggies for them or something.”

Bryant, who lives in Heber Springs, Arkansas, explains why she likes to make casseroles. “Because it’s a meal in one,” she says. “You’ve got your everything. When I grew up, you had meat, you had starch, you had a vegetable. And I found you could put them all in the casserole dish and kids would eat them. Especially if you had cheese in them.”

As for recipes, Bryant rotated “probably about a dozen [casseroles] that the kids would really like.

“I’ve always been an experimentalist, I guess you could say. I’d see a recipe and say, ‘Ooo. at sounds good. I can change this and we can make this so much better.’”

A friend, who co-owned a beauty shop with her, came up with the original heavenly hamburger recipe for a cookbook they decided to put together, Bryant says. ey wanted to give discounts to anyone who brought in a recipe to “get more people to come in.”

Bryant, who thought heavenly hamburger was delicious, tweaked the recipe and made it her own. It’s now her go-to casserole. “My husband requests that once a week. I won’t make it for him once a week, but he requests it.”

Bryant, who works at an elderly community, still does a lot of cooking for others. “Someone has a baby, someone is sick, someone is coming home from the hospital, just if they need a little help — they had surgery or whatnot, I’ll bring them a casserole.”

And, of course, she loves to cook for her 16-month-old grandson Ryker McCracken. “He’s a little hoot toot.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

K.C. Bryant with Ryder & Richard McCracken

FILM By Chris McCoy

Ease on Down the Road

Ever since I rst looked at the release schedule for 2023, I have been dreading Fast X e tenth Fast & Furious lm seems completely pointless. I love a good car chase as well as the next guy, but Dom (Vin Diesel) and his “family” long ago exceeded both the bonds of Newtonian physics and cinematic decency. In the last one, F9, they literally drove cars into space. When a long-running lm series that does not take place in space suddenly decides to go into space, it means they’re out of ideas. at’s called the “Moonraker Rule.”

Given Fast X’s running time of 141 minutes, it looked like a bad weekend was brewing for me. en, a stroke of luck. On Saturday night, my wife LJ and I went to the monthly Time Warp DriveIn for Singalong Sinema: Mad Musicals in May, a triple feature of Little Shop of Horrors, e Blues Brothers, and e Wiz It was a perfect night to camp out at the Malco Summer Drive-In’s Screen 4 with several hundred of our closest friends. Next door, Screen 3 was also lling up with a crowd who favored muscle cars and giant trucks.

At dusk, the lms started. A miscommunication led to the Time Warp lms being played out of order, so e Wiz rolled rst. From our lawn chairs next to our parked car, we could see both screens 4 and 3. at’s when I got the idea. It’s highly unethical to review a lm without watching it. But the truth is, nobody who is going to go see Fast X cares what a critic like me has to say about it. You’re either down with $350 million and 141 minutes worth of explosions and big guys in muscle cars going vroom, or you’re not. But technically, I was watching Fast X, even if the sound I was hearing was the Tony Award-winning score of e Wiz. If the other Fast & Furious lms

were anything to go by, it’s not as if hearing the dialogue would shed any light on the plot that was allegedly happening between car chases. I have seen at least ve of them, and I have never understood what is going on. Is Dom a street racer? A bank robber? Some kind of super spy? All of the above?

e rst big improvement I noticed in Fast X is that Aquaman himbo Jason Momoa is the big bad, a drug lord named Dante who is dead set on revenge for Dom’s crimes against (what else?) his family. is information comes from an extended opening ashback taken from Fast Five, where Dom and the crew steal a bank vault and drag it through the streets of Rio. Aquaman’s exquisitelystyled locks mean that, unlike earlier installments with Dwayne “ e Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham, the story does not boil down to bald guys punch-

ing each other. Momoa’s performance is so excessive it lands like a silent lm actor’s pantomime — especially when accompanied by the dulcet tones of Diana Ross as urban Dorothy Gale.

At roughly the time in e Wiz when Michael Jackson is introduced as the Scarecrow, Charlize eron is reintroduced in Fast X as Cipher. I hope she got paid a lot of money. Same for Rita Moreno and Helen Mirren, both of whom have scenes with Dom which I think are supposed to be motherly, but come o as romantic. You go, ladies!

As Diana Ross and Michael Jackson explode into the radio hit “Ease on Down the Road,” Fast X travels to Rome, where Dante is planting a bomb that looks like a giant metal ball. Naturally, automotive hijinks ensue, with Dom and fam chasing the big ball through the streets of the Eternal City. By the time Nipsey Russell

In , Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto uses a car door as a shield, as one does.

is introduced as the Tin Man, the giant ball is on re; it eventually explodes in the Tiber River in a way that is somehow both good and bad for Dom.

In conclusion, e Wiz, a box o ce bomb widely credited as ending the ’70s golden age of blaxploitation cinema, is awed, but much more fun than its reputation suggests. e disco-era bass work in Quincy Jones’ soundtrack is especially choice. Fast X is elevated by the presence of Aquaman and a agrant disregard for human constraints like “good taste.” It’s the best lm in the Fast & Furious series to kind of watch out of the corner of your eye while doing something else.

Fast X

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(But unfortunately not alongside e Wiz again)

Fast X is the best Fast & Furious lm to kind of pay attention to.

Our critic picks the best films in theaters.

The Little Mermaid (2023)

In Disney’s latest live-action remake, Halle Bailey stars as Ariel, mermaid princess of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica, whose love for the human Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) causes her to defy her father King Triton (Javier Bardem) and make a deal with Ursula the Sea Witch (Melissa McCarthy) so she can walk on dry land. Given the sorry state of the Above World, it seems like a big mistake, especially since Ariel has her pick of all those nice fishboys. But who am I to judge?

Kandahar

Gerard Butler’s latest shoot-’em-up takes him to Afghanistan during the American occupation, where he plays a CIA opera-

tive who has his cover blown. He and his translator (Navid Negahban) must evade the war and hit squads to reach their extraction point in, you guessed it, Kandahar. Expect gun violence and monologues about courage and duty delivered through gritted teeth.

The Machine

Comedian Bert Kreischer, allegedly the real-life inspiration for National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, stars as himself in this fictionalized version of his life from stories he told in the 2016 Showtime comedy special of the same name. He must escape after being kidnapped by people he pissed off 20 years ago while drunk. Mark Hamill is involved, as is YouTube star Jimmy Tatro. Expect gun violence and funny monologues delivered through gritted teeth.

NOW PLAYING By Chris McCoy

Panic in … El Paso?

is humanitarian crisis playing out at our southern border is neither new nor intractable.

ose of a certain age remember 1973 and “Panic in Detroit,” a David Bowie song describing the 1967 riots in the Motor City. e current Panic in El Paso seems di erent: made by and for the media, fueled by pandering politicians, and wholly related not to a “crisis at the border” but a major humanitarian/refugee crisis metastasizing in the Americas.

America has always been a land of immigrants, and the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty (Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free) are not in the Constitution but they represent a sort of bedrock set of American values. Our nation is wealthy, powerful, and prosperous thanks to healthy and copious immigrant ows. Nations that shut out immigration (think of Japan, Italy, Russia) don’t do well, economically, over the long arc of history.

Right now, the United States economy is in a labor de cit — we desperately need workers. And if you don’t believe us, ask anyone who owns a business. Or needs something repaired at home. ere are approximately ve million jobs that need to be lled, right now, in America. Why not create a reasonable, bipartisan bill to allow people who want to work, and who have passed a background check, the ability to do so? Presidents Biden, Trump, and Obama have been faced with the unregulated arrival of desperate people at our southern border and all three reacted via “executive action” — not exactly law, and subject to the whims and caprices of “the next” administration.

e American population is aging, our birthrate is low, and has been declining dramatically since 2007, and our populace is not so healthy. is means that, in order to sustain robust economic growth into the future, we need young people to come here and … work. We need nurses and doctors, but instead we get deceptive Canadian Ted Cruz at the southern border telling us we’re being invaded by immigrants. We need serious technological support and innovative solutions. Instead, we get vague mumblings from Chuck Schumer, a nice old man, leader of the U.S. Senate, who still uses a ip phone.

Looking at two neighboring nations — Mexico and Haiti— it becomes clear why we have people heading to the U.S. border. Technically, Mexican nationals are not seeking asylum at the U.S. border, but a drug war there, which began in 2006 and is largely nanced by the U.S., has le an estimated 350,000 dead. e Mexican minimum wage is about 11 dollars per day, and there is literally no legal path for Mexican citizens with neither money nor skills to obtain a legal visa to travel and work in the USA. ese people, then, are forced to migrate here in a clandestine and dangerous way, and the only ones who pro t are the smugglers and other unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of this situation.

Haiti is a wholly di erent story. It has no functioning government since mercenaries murdered the sitting president about two years ago. Criminal gangs rule the streets of Port-au-Prince and the once proud nation — the rst nation in the world to gain independence through a sustained slave revolt in the early 19th century — has descended into chaos. President Biden traveled recently to Canada to try and persuade Prime Minister Trudeau to tackle the Haitian morass: Both leaders walked away without an agreement or plan.

An alternative plan to the disinterest and handwringing of powerful nations is a local organization that has been supporting Haiti for the past 20 years. e “IC Haiti Outreach Ministry” is a not-for-pro t that has focused on education, economic opportunity, and healthcare in a rural area of the Central Plateau — a 34-square-mile area consisting mostly of subsistence farmers. e organization, developed by University of Memphis professor and public health expert Debra Bartelli and Bob Lorsbach, MD, has hired a nurse and medical doctor for the region, and has provided dental, eye, and deworming clinics. ey’ve also funded and trained a Haitian MD by supporting education opportunities in the U.S. and in Haiti. If the American government engaged in similar collaborative, innovative approaches designed to generate solutions rather than seeking to scapegoat su ering people for political points, the plight of the Haitian people would certainly improve. is humanitarian crisis playing out at our southern border is neither new nor intractable. We need political action, we need people to tell the truth — including our friends in the media — and we need “real” information about the drivers of this situation. Sadly, many of us are manipulated by the media and our politicians. Tragically, a few take action while the rest of us sit around listening to Bowie songs from half a century ago.

Bryce W. Ashby is an attorney at Donati Law, PLLC. Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.

PHOTO: BARTH BAILEY | UNSPLASH

We need solutions, not scapegoats for political points.

THE LAST WORD By Bryce W. Ashby and Michael J. LaRosa