Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{WEEK THAT WAS

By Flyer staff

Drag, Brooks Museum, & Kit Kat

State law blocked, ground broken Downtown, and candy gets a Memphis wrapper.

Drag Ban Blocked

U.S. District Judge omas Parker ruled last week that Tennessee’s drag ban is unconstitutional.

Tina Turner’s recent death uncovered an amazing connection between the artist and Australia.

Her song “Nutbush City Limits” about her West Tennessee hometown (just between Brownsville and Ripley) is practically embedded in Australian culture, according to a Sky News Australia anchor last week. e song and the line dance that goes with it are staples at Aussie gatherings like parties, weddings, and just about any other festivity.

Big Red Bash, a three-day music festival outside of Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia, will try to break the record for the largest group dancing to the song next month. Organizers hope to get 5,000 to dance at once, beating the current record of just over 4,700 (above). Each dancer pays $15 to enter. e money goes to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, which provides emergency aeromedical evacuations throughout rural and remote Australia.

h/t to Craig Meek, Ashley Jones, and Dark Horse Band Canberra.

Mpd Pride

In March, Friends of George’s, an LGBTQ theater company at the Evergreen eatre, led a suit against the state of Tennessee for what they called the “reckless anti-drag law,” arguing it violated the group’s First Amendment rights.

e law was temporarily blocked shortly a er, as it was set to go into e ect on April 1st.

Parker had granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against District Attorney Steve Mulroy, the state of Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee, and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.

“A er considering the briefs and evidence presented at trial, the court nds that — despite Tennessee’s compelling interest in protecting the psychological and physical wellbeing of children — the Adult Entertainment Act is an unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of speech and permanently enjoins defendant Steven Mulroy from enforcing the unconstitutional statute,” said court documents.

Officials Without Borders

Tennessee state Republican leaders are inserting themselves (and even the Tennessee National Guard) into other states.

Governor Lee announced recently he was sending 100 Guard troops to Texas “to secure the U.S. Southern border amid an ongoing national security crisis and surging drug crisis being fueled by an open border.” Also, Tennessee AG Skrmetti joined the state’s name to a legal fracas in Florida over a gender identity case in a school.

New Brooks Ground Broken

Ground broke last week on the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s new home Downtown.

O cials also announced that, so far, they have raised 75 percent of the $180 million fundraising goal for the project.

e new 122,000-square-foot building will feature nearly 50 percent more gallery space than the museum’s current home in Overton Park. e space will be used to exhibit Memphis’ growing permanent art collection, as well as new spaces for education and art-making for all ages. O cials said the new Brooks will include “600 percent more art- lled public spaces than the current facility.” e new Brooks will have a restaurant and a gi shop highlighting Memphis markers and artists. A community courtyard in the heart of the building will be 10,000 square feet, the size of two full NBA courts. e roo op will provide visitors with an expansive green space: an art park in the sky, o cials said, complete with an event pavilion. Both the courtyard and the roo op will be open to the public without museum admission.

Kit Kat Wrapped Up In Memphis

Fans of Kit Kat bars may spy a touch of Memphis style on their candy wrappers this month. e Hershey-owned brand recently partnered with Black illustrators to design wrappers that “depict Black music in six cities across the U.S.” to celebrate June’s Black Music Month.

“Putting the P in MPD,” u/Genhauer posted to Reddit with an image of a convertible(?!) Memphis Police Department cruiser, apparently headed to the Mid-South Pride parade.

O cials turned the ceremonious rst shovels of dirt at the space on Front Street between Monroe and Union. Demolition work has been underway for months at the site, razing a parking garage and the former headquarters for the Memphis Fire Department.

Memphis artist Mia Saine designed wrappers for Memphis, New York City, and New Orleans.

Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

By Toby Sells