January 15, 2015

Dr. King

January 15 - 21, 2015

VOL. 64, No. 2

The 1 thing hurting MLK’s legacy: his fighting children

by Danielle C. Belton

No stranger to the National Civil Rights Museum, Mayor A C Wharton Jr. on Tuesday took his turn at a podium there and looked ahead about a week to the annual celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.

He had been asked to keynote a gathering that reflected collaboration between the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis and the Anti-Defamation League. In a room with no chairs left unfilled, he seized up the luncheon theme – “The Legacy: It’s Our Turn.”

“It is our turn,” said Wharton, clearly comfortable in a room with a bevy of lawyers. “And it is our turn as we will celebrate next week. …We

SEE FIGHTING ON PAGE 3

Holiday

www.tsdmemphis.com

75 Cents

Luncheon sets tone for MLK Day

by Karanja A. Ajanaku

How do you solve a problem like the King kids?

Since the deaths of their mother, Coretta Scott King, and eldest sibling, Yolanda King, the surviving children of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have engaged in some publicly destructive and embarrassing behavior.

Lawsuits abound in this King Lear-ish plot as brothers Dexter Scott King and Martin Luther King III have tried to oust sister Bernice King from her spot as CEO of the King Center in Atlanta. The situation reached peak messiness last year when Bernice revealed that her brothers planned to sell their father’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and Bible. Now a judge is set to decide this week – just as the nation is set to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday – whether Bernice must give up the heirlooms or whether the case will go to trial.

It’s disgusting that an understandable effort to get better control of their father’s image would turn into this: controversies over money mismanagement; constant lawsuits against King’s documenters, friends and contemporaries; and the image of MLK being used to sell cellphones. But worst of all, who could have guessed that it would dissolve into three children regularly suing and countersuing one another for almost a decade over who would control the millions that make up “King Inc.,” or the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc.?

From arguments over what to do with the King Center to the lowest-of-low digs over a $55,000 Lincoln Navigator in 2008, here’s a timeline of the fight for King Inc. December 2005: In an early – and, at the time, rarely seen – public spat, the siblings split on whether to sell the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta to the National Park Service, which currently manages the family church and historic home.

Bernice and Martin III oppose the sale, while Yolanda and Dexter support it. At the time the center – founded in 1968 by their mother, Coretta, and managed by her sons – is in need of up to $12 million worth of repairs. Dexter argues that the center would be better off in the hands of the Park Service, which had been trying to acquire the King Center since the 1990s.

Says political columnist and longtime friend of the King family Tom Houck: “I think Dexter really wants out (of) the business of being a repository of all things King. ... He feels the feds can do a better job of it, and he won’t have to worry about being criticized by the media anymore.”

Ultimately the center stays in the family.

January 2006: Coretta Scott King dies, leaving her estate, King Inc. and the King Center in the hands of her surviving children.

June 2006: King’s children arrange to have their father’s papers auctioned by Sotheby’s, something they’ve been trying to arrange since at least 2003 but are hastened into doing in light of their mother’s death and the dire financial health of the King estate. In response, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin organizes a private group to purchase the papers for $32 million, then gifts the papers to MLK’s alma mater, Morehouse College.

May 2007: Eldest sister Yolanda dies.

Some reports say that Yolanda was the peacemaker among the siblings. Family friend the Rev. Joseph Lowery would say that the King children always had their differences but Yolanda served as a bridge between them, and now “that bridge is no longer there.”

July 2008: Bernice and Martin III sue Dexter, accusing Dexter, who is the president of King Inc., of cutting them out of the decision-making process, as well as taking funds from their mother’s estate and placing them in their father’s estate, of which he is CEO. They claim that Dexter has withheld documents from them and has refused to hold shareholders’ meetings since 2004.

The suit also targets how the funds from the $32 million sale of King’s papers will be divided and the siblings’ exclusion from a licensing deal for the use of King’s

19th

‘It is our turn’

Upcoming ruling is a reminder The Root

January

kajanaku@tsdmemphis.com

Mark J. Moskowitz, Southeast Regional Director for the Anti-Defamation League know the dream (of Dr. King) and what it is about. What do we do with it?”

It was not the first nor will it be the

Terri Lee Freeman, National Civil Rights Museum President last time a speaker poses such a question as an observance of MLK Day looms. Wharton knew that, careful to tie his question to current events for

weight and validity.

“I don’t know anyone who can make an appearance anywhere at this time and in this season without taking stock of the world in which we live and the conditions that threaten and call into question the mere viability of the basic truth that in God’s sight ‘I am a man,’” he said, borrowing the phrase forever linked with the Sanitation Workers Strike in Memphis in 1968. “Or change the words: I am a woman, I’m a Gentile, I’m a Jew, I’m Muslim.”

Referencing the terrorist attacks that recently rocked Paris, Boko Haram’s slaughter of 2000-plus people in Nigeria and happenings in places such as Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Wharton said the “ugly head of SEE LUNCHEON ON PAGE 2

COMMENTARY

‘Charlie,’ meet Dr. King

by Bernal E. Smith II besmith@tsdmemphis.com

Trenton Watson, a principal with the W.E.B. Dubois Consortium of Charter Schools, shares his thoughts during the Heal the Hood Foundation’s Citywide Anti-Violence Youth Symposium featuring Sybrina Fulton, the mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Also pictured: Fulton’s son, Jahvaris Fulton (right), and LaDell Beamon, the Foundation’s CEO. (Photos: George Till Man Jr.)

‘Don’t become comfortable with young lives being lost’

by Brittney Gathen

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The crowd – young, old and in between – packed Unity Christian Church in Whitehaven for the Heal the Hood Foundation’s Citywide Anti-Violence Youth Symposium featuring Sybrina Fulton, the mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, whose name is now known throughout the nation.

Fully engaged, Trayvon’s audience members mom says came prepared with questions for stay mad, active Fulton. What can people do and en- young to cause change? gaged What is her opinion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

The Jan. 9th symposium was part of Heal the Hood’s 97 Days of Hope – a campaign that started Oct. 18 and has generated a string of events designed to restore peace and unity in Memphis and to highlight the positive aspects of the city and its people.

By self-descripiton an “average mom” of two sons before Trayvon was killed by neighborhood security guard George Zimmerman in 2012, Fulton, who worked as a housing agency employee, said that the time she had no knowledge of the “Stand Your Ground” law that has become intertwined with Trayvon’s memory. Since then, she has started the Trayvon Martin Foundation to create awareness of how violent crime impacts the families of the victims and to provide support and advocacy for those families. The Foundation also promotes discussions about violent

Sybrina Fulton and her son Jahvaris Fulton. crime, seeks to enhance awareness about racial, ethnic and gender profiling, and educates youth on conflict resolution techniques.

“We created the Trayvon Martin Foundation so that we could channel our negative energy into something positive, and that’s what you have to do; you have to channel your negative energy into something positive,” Fulton said.

“You have to connect yourself with a viable organization that’s meaningful to you because you have to donate your time, and you may have to donate some money so that organization can do what it needs to do to help our children, because we will have to save our children, Don’t become comfortable with young lives being lost, she said, urging each attendee to take the next step and stay mad, active and engaged.

“The regular order is for our kids to bury us. Something is out of order when we start to bury our kids and it becomes normal.”

Fielding the question about what young people can do to cause change and address issues such as violence, Fulton suggested that they create a chat room or other online platform to talk amongst themselves. She also suggested that young people donate time and efforts to organizations and pay more attention to people who care about them.

As for her opinion of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” Fulton said there is still progress to be made and that people must stop talking around things.

“If it’s discrimination, we need to say it’s discrimination. If it’s racial profiling, we need to say it’s racial profiling.”

Asked about how to raise African-American sons not be fearful, Fulton emphasized the importance of addressing how other people perceive African-American males. She challenged the audience to discuss issues such as racial profiling with those who are not knowledgeable about such topics.

In the course of working for change, we must never give up, she said.

“We can make positive change. If we don’t fight for our children, no one is going to fight for them. If we don’t fight for ourselves, nobody is going to fight for us. …We have to stand up (and) we have to do it peacefully and with respect, and we can get this done.”

Panel discussion: Respect & redefining being black The symposium included a panel discussion faciliated by Pastor Terrell SEE TRAYVON ON PAGE 2

As the owner of a print publication and multi-media business, I am torn on the Charlie Hebdo saga unfolding in France. I have a profound appreciation for free speech and Bernal E. its liberating Smith ll power, particularly when truth is being brought to light and power.

Clearly a free press and free speech are instrumental in change movements. They allow for exposure – if not the prevention – of anarchy and corruption.

However, nothing is totally free and all things come with a price, especially when abused. Satire for satire sake or to prove some point or (even worse) to antagonize is dangerous.

The team at Charlie Hebdo, Paris’ satirical weekly magazine, pushed and continues to push the envelope in the name of “free speech.” But, at what cost?

Belief is one of the most powerful things human beings hold onto. It can be irrational in the eyes of some yet completely rational and profound to the holder of those beliefs. Challenging one’s beliefs or offending in the name of your own is a dangerous and slippery slope with potential to evoke irrational responses.

The conventional wisdom passed SEE ‘CHARLIE’ ON PAGE 2

MEMPHIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY

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REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

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Friday Saturday Sunday H-54 L-32 H-55 L-35 H-55 L-43 H-49 L-31 H-54 L-33 H-52 L-37 H-54 L-31 H-60 L-38 H-61 L-44

January 15 - 21, 2015

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TRAYVON

CONTINUED FROM FRONT Monger of One Accord Ministries. He asked panelist how young people can start redefining being black as something that’s progressive and positive.

Memphis Police Department Director Toney Armstrong said respect for oneself and others is key in redefining blackness. Many of the 168 homicides last year were instances of black-on-black crime, he said, noting that while police sometimes face criticism and anger from the public, people should also be mad about the black-on-black crime that is claiming lives.

Du Bois Parent Advisory Board Chair Lennell Terrell said an important aspect of respect involves young people respecting themselves enough to take their education seriously. Tamara Bates of “Rock AR

‘CHARLIE’

CONTINUED FROM FRONT on to me in my early days in the corporate world included this: don’t discuss politics or religion at the office. Why? Mainly because of the high potential to offend and evoke emotional and potentially damaging responses.

I am glad to see a print publication sell millions of copies, make money and have impact, yet I take issue with the tactics. If I had a cartoonist on staff that I commissioned in the name of satire or protest to create offensive images of Buddha or of Jewish religious symbols, or even of Jesus, I am confident it would not translate into a movement of support and justification. In-

NEWS

Vote” said youth need to learn to respect their elders. Pastor James Bullock said simple things such as saying “yes, sir and ma’am” could help elevate people’s perceptions of youths.

Mallory Lanier, Takiyah Chillis and Jaliyah Williams are John P. Freeman Optional School students. They attended the event in association with the Leaders of Tomorrow Program at the Raines Police Station.

Lanier, an eighth grader, said the event was a “wake up call” that inspired her to be more active in the community.

Chillis said events such as the symposium are important so that everyone can “do better at what they do.” Her takeaway: not taking her youth for granted.

Williams, a seventh grader, said, “As a community, we

need to come together and be more open, and we need to just come together as a family.”

Patricia Lee, co-host of 1600 AM and chairwoman of the Umoja Foundation in Memphis, reflected on the need to rebuild unity in the community.

“For anything to begin we have to have unity,” said Lee. “We are all one, and once we begin to realize that we are one and that what I do affects you and what you do affects me, we can begin to see change.”.

LaDell Beamon, CEO of Heal the Hood, said the symposium provided the opportunity for a much-needed conversation to happen in Memphis.

“Today was one of those huge conversations that (was) started to not only save lives but to change lives, to get people motivated (and) to get people’s minds moving in a new direction,” Beamon said.

“It’s needed in Memphis because of all the crime and vio-

stead, serious repercussions would most likely manifest themselves in various ways. If not physical violence, certainly financial violence towards our business would be one of the results.

I condemn the acts of violence that wiped out so many lives and pray peace and understanding for all the families impacted. Still, all actions have consequence and repercussion. To continue to antagonize in the wake of those terrorist acts and the ongoing tense climate – as opposed to promoting reconciliation and understanding – adds insult to injury. And in the case of those ruthlessly gunned down, it brings no honor to their legacy.

Some might say that the cover of the most recent

Charlie Hebdo edition, which again depicts the Prophet Muhammad, is a symbol of free speech and triumph over tyranny and terrorism. I say it creates an even more dangerous environment for France and its allies, the U.S. included. It unnecessarily antagonizes an already unstable and unpredictable group seeking any reason to exact further harm on those that truly believe in freedom, equality and justice.

Sometimes the price of freedom is the exercising of proper judgment and restraint in the face of an irrational violent enemy. The best examples are the teachings and life work of the man whose accomplishments we celebrate on Monday’s federal holiday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The crowd

Dr. Sidney Malone, pastor of New Growth in Christ Christian Center, gives the benediction. (Photo: George Tillman Jr.)

LUNCHEON

CONTINUED FROM FRONT bias and prejudice is alive and well in every corner of God’s great earth.”

“Against that backdrop we gather to remember the man who reached deep down inside of us all, looking for that better person; that better person that is deep down in each one of us.”

On MLK Day – and days before and after – each of us is called upon to be midwives in the birthing of those better persons, he said, making sure of no breach, no still born birth in the face of prejudice that lurks, seeking to seep in.

Dr. King, he said, chose to come to Memphis to address the “pain and suffering down in the valley” rather than skip the below-sea-level city and seek the promise of a bigger spotlight.

The need now is for each person in Greater Memphis to follow Dr. King’s lead and move to “meet the need in the valley,” putting the dream to work.

Latching onto how the Elvis crowd continues to grow and get younger, he said, “Would it not be just so great that when it comes to remembering Dr. King we never have the occasion to say the crowd is smaller because those who marched with Dr. King have passed on. Let’s take a page out of Elvis’ book.”

Borrowing the phrase that injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, he urged those there to strive for perfection in the pursuit of justice and equality.

The largest law firm in Nashville, Waller recently opened an office in Memphis. In 2011, the firm began granting a Diversity Endowed Scholarship to a recipient whose life is guided by the principles of Dr. King. NyKedra Jackson, a first-year law student at the

NyKedra Jackson accepts the Waller Endowed Scholarship during a presentation by Matthew R. Burstein, chair of the Waller law firm. (George Tillman Jr.) University of Tennessee College of Law, reaped that honor this year. Wharton called the scholarship award an example of putting the dream to work.

For many, the occasion marked an introduction to Terri Lee Freeman, who joined the National Civil Rights Museum as president in November. Earlier, three Kipp Memphis Academy Middle School students had netted salutes as winners of a school-wide essay contest titled “How can YOU build a world without hate?”

“You are the legacy,” Freeman said to the students. “You are not, however, the future.

You are the now. You have to be the now. And for those of us who are my age and have a little bit of wisdom on us, we have to be willing to let them be the now because we are not going to be here for ever. Letting go is something that we must do.”

Young people must be encouraged to be active, she said.

“And we must listen to them and what they are telling us because they have much wisdom of their own…. “Not only is it our turn, its our responsibility. …”

Mark J. Moskowitz, Southeast Regional Director for the Anti-Defamation League, introduced the students and outlined their winning essays.

Brown: don’t bully, try to include everyone, give a compliment everyday; Hale: don’t judge a book by its cover, get to know somebody; Hunt: the golden rule…treat people like you want to be treated.

He praised Waller for its passion and commitment to civil rights work and spoke of the ADL’s ongoing commitment to fight “anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defend democratic values and protect civil rights for all.”

Freeman, who toured the National Civil Rights Museum with Trayvon Martin’s mom, Sybrina Fulton, over the weekend, wishfully spoke of being able to see injustices as things of the past.

“If only we could say it would never happen again. But unfortunately we know that there will be in 2015 stories that will make all of our bloods boil, make the hair stand up on the backs of our necks. But hopefully, more than that, it will move us to action.”

The New Tri-State Defender

The New Tri-State Defender

January 15 - 21, 2015

NEWS

FIGHTING

CONTINUED FROM FRONT words and likeness at the King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., then still under development.

August 2008: Dexter countersues Bernice and Martin III. Of Bernice he demands that she turn over their mother’s personal papers, including several love letters.

These letters are apparently a key selling point in a $1.4 million book deal on the table. As for Martin III, he accuses him of mismanagement of King Center funds, including a quibble over a $55,000 Lincoln Navigator SUV that was lent to the center, which Dexter claims that Martin III kept for personal use. Martin III’s lawyer calls Dexter’s accusations “petty.”

September 2009: Judge Ural D. Glandville orders the siblings to settle their dispute out of court.

Later this month, King Inc. holds its first board meeting since 2004, resulting in an eventual settlement.

October 2009: Bernice and Martin III officially settle their suit against Dexter, avoiding a messy trial that would have exposed the inner details of King Inc. August 2011: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall is complete. It is reported that Dexter negotiated with the government to pay the estate $800,000 for licensing fees regarding the use of King’s likeness and words on the monument. A year later, journalist George Curry criticizes what he sees as the King children’s choice of greed over protecting their parents’ legacy: “Instead of being satisfied with this impressive memorial to their father – the first monument to an African American on the Mall – the King children saw dollar signs.”

September 2011: The King estate files a federal lawsuit in Jackson, Miss., against the son of Maude Ballou. Ballou was King’s secretary in the late 1950s and possessed many documents, including some letters from King.

The children lose this lawsuit, and the documents eventually go up for auction in 2013.

January 2012: Bernice takes over as King Center CEO after her brothers and a cousin, Isaac Newton Farris, took turns running the center. The center has been under constant criticism for being in varying states of disrepair. Atlanta Magazine would report that shortly after Coretta Scott King’s

Page 3

The children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King – Dexter Scott King, Bernice King, Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King – at a tribute to their mother in February 2006 in Atlanta. (Photo: POOL/ AFP/Getty Images) death, most of the King Center’s argues that he is actually in the programs were discontinued and footage with King, making it his the reflecting pool around their footage as well. father’s tomb was cracked, filed It is reportedly the fifth lawsuit with blooming algae. between the siblings in the past August 2013: Martin III and decade.

Dexter sue the Bernice-led King October 2013: Singer, actor Center. They file the suit on Aug. and civil rights activist Harry 28, the same day as the 50th an- Belafonte sues the King estate niversary of the March on Wash- over the rights to several King ington, when their father gave his documents that he had planned iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. to auction. The items, which were They argue that the center has not in Belafonte’s possession, were properly managed the estate’s in- pulled from auction after the King tellectual property, leaving it open children disputed whether or not for possible theft, and demand Belafonte was the rightful owner. that it stop using their father’s The papers include a condolence likeness and image unless certain letter from President Lyndon B. criteria are met.

Johnson to Coretta Scott King Among those demands is that after King was assassinated in MLK’s niece Alveda King and 1968, an outline of a Vietnam former King aide and Atlanta War speech and notes from a Mayor Andrew Young be thrown speech King was never able to off the board of directors. Mar- deliver in Memphis, Tenn. Belatin III and Dexter also state in fonte argued that he has possessed their suit that they want Bernice these items for years and they to go on “administrative leave” were gifts from King and Coretta as director. They accuse Young Scott King. of using footage of their father January 2014: Bernice claims in a documentary he produced that her brothers, Dexter and Marwithout their permission. Young tin III, approached her about selling

their father’s Nobel Peace Prize and Bible – the same Bible lent to President Barack Obama for his swearing-in ceremony in 2013 – to a private buyer. At the time, the brothers are still embroiled in a lawsuit trying to oust Bernice as CEO of the King Center.

February 2014: Bernice puts out a blistering press release accusing her brothers of being more concerned with profits than with protecting their slain father’s legacy. Writes Bernice: “While I love my brothers dearly, this latest decision by them is extremely troubling. Not only am I appalled and utterly ashamed, I am frankly disappointed that they would even entertain the thought of selling these precious items.

It reveals a desperation beyond comprehension. As Mark 8:36 teaches, ‘For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world

and forfeit his soul?’ Our Father MUST be turning in his grave.”

Bernice’s brothers’ lawyers counter that she has no right to withhold these items because of a 1995 agreement in which the siblings agreed to sign over to the company their rights to their inherited items. The brothers claim that this includes the Nobel Peace Prize and Bible.

December 2014: Ava DuVernay’s film “Selma” is released. It chronicles King’s efforts during the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. Some critics are surprised that the words to King’s speeches have been rewritten, but DuVernay goes on to explain that when she took on the film in 2013, she had to rewrite the speeches because of licensing issues. In 2009 the King estate licensed the speeches to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. for an untitled Ste-

ven Spielberg production about King. Negotiations to use the speeches between the studios and the producers of “Selma” were unsuccessful, resulting in the rewrite. The King children have long fought over a film about their father, stymieing its production.

Two of the King children, Bernice and Martin III, eventually attend screenings, but Dexter reportedly has still not seen the film.

January 2015: After a year of familial fighting, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is set to decide this week – near the 85th anniversary of MLK’s birth on Jan. 15 – whether Bernice must hand over MLK’s Bible and Nobel Peace Prize for sale or whether the case should go to trial.

(Danielle C. Belton is a Washington, D.C.-based satirist and blogger. Follow her on Twitter.)

January 15 - 21, 2015

Page 4

The New Tri-State Defender

OPINION

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Bernal E. Smith II President / Publisher Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku Executive Editor

SPECIAL REPORT

African-American unemployment rate headed for single digits

by Freddie Allen NNPA News Service

After three consecutive months of the economy adding more than 25,000 jobs, the African-American unemployment rate could dip below 10 percent by mid-2015 if current trends continue, says Valerie Wilson, an economist and director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE) at Economic Policy Institute.

When Wilson analyzed the labor force participate rate, which includes people that currently hold jobs or are looking for work and the employment-population ratio for all workers, she found that African Americans had the biggest increase in both measures from December 2013 to December 2014.

“If the same trends in the labor force participation rate and the decline in the unemployment rate that we saw in 2014 continue into 2015, the black unemployment rate should get down to the single digits by the middle of this year,” said Wilson.

The African-American unemployment rate decreased from 11 percent in November to 10.4 percent in December, and the jobless rate for white workers ticked down 0.1 percent to 4.8 percent in December, according to the latest jobs report by the Labor Department.

The unemployment rate for African-American men over 20 years old ticked down from 11.2 percent to 11 percent in December while the unemployment rate for white men fell from 4.6 to 4.4 percent over that period.

The unemployment rate for African-American women over 20 yearsold slid from 9.5 percent in November to 8.2 percent in December and white women saw their unemployment rate inch down from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent during the same period.

The Labor Department also revised the number of jobs added in October (261,000) and November (353,000), accounting for an increase of 50,000 jobs.

American workers found jobs in professional and business services, construction, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing in December.

Wilson said that December’s jobs report signals that the prospect of economic recovery in the African-American community is pretty strong.

She said, “The African American workforce is benefitting from the job growth that is taking place right now and the longer that continues, the better it’s going to be for those communities.”

Bernard Anderson, a nationally-recognized economist and professor emeritus at the Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, agreed.

“Despite the fact that black people have a higher rate of unemployment and lower income, they remain far more committed to the labor market than white workers on average,” said Anderson.

Anderson said that employment is growing more rapidly now than at any time since the recovery began in 2009.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5 percent in the third quarter of 2014, yet wages have not increased significantly.

“We have an anomalous situation in the labor market where employment is beginning to rise, but earnings are still relatively flat,” explained Anderson.

In fact, average hourly earnings for all employees shed a nickel in December.

Anderson observed that wages increased more rapidly during previous recoveries as the unemployment rate fell.

Lawrence Mishel, the president of the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a blog post at EPI.org that stagnant wages hurt more than the workers at bottom.

“Since the late 1970s, wages for the bottom 70 percent of earners have been essentially stagnant, and between 2009 and 2013, real wages fell for the entire bottom 90 percent of the wage distribution,” Mishel wrote. “Even wages for the bottom 70 percent of four-year college graduates have been flat since 2000, and wages in most STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) occupations have grown anemically over the past decade.”

Anderson said that when the labor market tightens the unemployment rate comes down, and employers are forced to compete with each other for available labor. That competition often leads to increased wages.

Unionization also plays a critical role in raising the wages of low- and middle-income earners.

Mishel said that unionization leads to higher wages without harming economic efficiency.

“Collective bargaining also leads to a larger share of corporate income going to wages rather than profits; the fact that corporate profits are at historic highs is a reflection, in part, of the current weakness of collective bargaining and the heightened power of corporate owners and managers,” Mishel wrote at EPI.org.

Even though overall union membership has fallen to record lows, according to a 2012 report on unionization by the Labor Center at the University of California at Berkeley, African-American workers were union members at higher rates than non-African-American workers in the United States.

“In 2012, 13.1 percent of all black workers in the United States were union members; 11.0 percent of nonblack workers in the United States were union members,” the report said. “Among workers in the largest metropolitan areas, blacks were 42 percent more likely to belong to unions compared to non-blacks.”

Wilson said that if workers don’t feel empowered on the job, it’s difficult to go in to negotiate and demand the pay that they deserve.

“As long as workers feel disenfranchised, barring a sudden boom in the economy that drives wages up, I don’t know that it’s going to happen organically,” she said.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

King and LBJ stood together

The education of Dr. King As he labored for social, civil and economic justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was extremely concerned both about the educational inequities that were a function of segregation, and about the purpose and quality of education. As early as 1947, as a Morehouse College student, he wrote an article, “The Purpose of Education,” for the Maroon Tiger, the college newspaper. His article is as relevant today as it was then.

Today, much of the focus of education is on passing standardized tests; and while educational measurement is important, Dr. King suggests that these measures are insufficient. In his article, he pondered the meaning and purpose of education. He wrote that “Education must enable a (person) to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.”

King was critical of the results of specific aspects of education when he wrote, “education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think, incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult.

We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of halftruths, prejudices, and propaganda. A great majority of the so-called educated people does not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths.”

True in 1947, but even more so today with 3-minute commentary passing for news, and some classrooms the site of propaganda delivery. Some Southerners still believe that the South won the Civil War, and they fly the confederate flags to honor it, and teach this falsity in their classrooms.

A friend who lives in Georgia said nearly half of her junior high schoolage daughter’s U.S. history curriculum covered aspects of the Civil War. From that perspective, young King was quite critical of segregationist, their intelligence, ad their prejudice.

“The late Eugene Talmadge, in my opinion, possessed one of the better minds in Georgia, or even America.

Moreover, he wore the Phi Beta Kappa key. By all measuring rods, Mr. Talmadge could think critically and intensively yet he contends that I am an inferior being. Are these the types of men we call educated?”

King said that intelligence is not enough. He said, “Intelligence plus character is the goal of true education.”

We must develop and support young people who are educated in the King tradition – young people with character and discernment. We cannot do this work without a consciousness of people who are committed to breaking down educational barri-

ers, closing the achievement gap, improving the quality of schools and access to education. But while other countries are increasing their commitment to education, the United States is cutting back.

Julianne Said King, Malveaux “The most dangerous criminal may be the man (person) gifted with reason, but no morals.” How moral is it to consign millions to low wages, refusing, even, to increase the minimum wage. How moral is it to cut food stamps and jobs programs in the name of economic growth, although many are still suffering? The art and science of politics is about compromise, but how do we compromise with people’s lives and well-being?

There ought to be a floor under which no citizen is allowed to fall.

Wages, health career, education, and access to housing should not be bargained over, but automatically given.

Too many of our legislators are educated, but lack morals. It is shameful to watch them celebrate the shredding of the safety net.

Budget cuts have made education less obtainable than ever. While many parents hire coaches to help their children write essays and complete their college applications, working class parents don’t have the money to do this kind of hiring.

The American School Counselors says that many states mandate a ratio of between 500 and 750 students per counselor. Even at the lower number, a counselor can spend just an hour per student per semester, hardly enough to get advice about college attendance, the filling out of applications, and other matters. Some states have no mandate at all. They include (but are not limited to) Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Kentucky. Unless parents or civic organizations are willing to step up, some students face major barriers to college attendance and career preparation.

President Obama says he wants the US to be a leader in world education. Others could care less about the education of too many students.

Those who fail to care about the next generation are, in Dr. King’s words, “dangerous criminals.”

Let’s celebrate the King holiday with a commitment to close the achievement gap and to improve the quality of education in our nation.

(NNPA columnist Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist based in Washington, D.C.)

The ‘Real Dream’ speech

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

A suggestion for these days of special attention to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Whenever people cite this sentence from his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech, ask them if they know the rest of the speech.

I’ve long suspected that people who cite that sentence as proof we today should stop taking race into account in the necessary re-ordering of American society haven’t bothered to understand – or, most likely, even read –the rest of the speech. I think that’s because they’ve adopted the let’s-pretendrace-has-no-meaning stance conservatives have been pushing for the last 30 years – ever since losing their all-out effort to defeat the movement for the King national holiday.

So when people refer to that sentence, ask them to explain King’s also saying to the throng, “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas

where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.”

Or, ask them to explain his reminding America “of the fierce urLee A. gency of Now …

Daniels It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. … The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

Those are just two of the extraordinary passages in what is a wonderfully complex sermon, full of hiddenin-plain-sight demands and warnings along with its call to our better selves….

So, this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when people only reference the Dream Speech’s “the content of their character” line and let it go at that, you’ll know they’re just whistling “Dixie.”

(NNPA columnist Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. Read this complete commentary at tsdmemphis.com.)

The new highly-acclaimed motion picture ”Selma” suggests that former President Lyndon Baines Johnson was not an ardent supporter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and that he and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a less than fragile relationship. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Both men worked very hard to create a society in which all people have the right to vote, access to medical care, decent housing and funding for education.

In my view, history will show that no other American president played as a critical a role in the advancement of civil rights, fair housing and education than President Johnson. A number of authors have written that only the acts of President Abraham Lincoln equal what President Johnson did for minorities in America.

Most knowledgeable historians agree that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act, which passed one year later, became law because President Johnson passionately supported them. In addition to the two landmark civil rights measures, the nation also witnessed the passage of legislation that introduced Medicaid and Medicare during the Johnson administration.

In fact, federal legislation that prohibited housing discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing based on race, national origin or religion was signed into law by President Johnson. The federal housing legislation, which became a model for many state legislatures, became law on April 11, 1968, just seven days after the assassination of Dr. King.

In the area of education, President Johnson included in his “War on Poverty” agenda, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Among other things the legislation provided financial assistance to students from low-income families.

Under the law, $1 billion in funding was made available to schools that serviced minority students. The measure was described as the “most significant step of this century” to assist all school children.

Dr. King and President Johnson were born and reared in a segregated South. They understood the political realities of the region, and they worked as best they could to change them. Dr. King was present at the White House when the Voting Rights Act was signed into law. He and President Johnson communicated regularly. Their individual lives impacted the country and each other.

While speaking before a joint session of Congress to propose the Voting Rights Act, President Johnson passionately said, “And we shall overcome.” Dr. King and some of his close aides watched the president on television. One of them, my colleague Congressman John Lewis, said that Dr. King cried when he heard the president use the banner cry of the Civil Rights Movement during his address.

The importance of President Johnson’s work was celebrated at the University of Texas in Austin last year at the library named for him by ordinary citizens and by President Obama who was joined by former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. I will join Congressional colleagues in a celebration of President Johnson’s monumental achievements later this year in the nation’s capitol.

In a few days, the entire nation will pause to acknowledge the contributions made by Dr. King. There will be tributes, parades and speeches made to celebrate his remarkable life which was cut short by a sniper’s bullet.

President Johnson died of a heart attack after deciding not to seek a second term as our nation’s leader. The national debate over the Vietnam War had damaged the soul of this patriot and defender of civil rights. I do not believe that legislation guaranteeing equal rights to minorities would have passed Congress but for his fortitude, and his belief in the equality of all people.

President Johnson, a former teacher and Dr. King, a Baptist preacher, had tremendous respect for each other, and understood the crucial roles that each played in changing our nation, and its laws. They both assumed vital and necessary roles in making America the democracy that it is today. They are owed a tremendous debt of gratitude by all people.

(Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson represents Texas’ 30th Congressional District.)

The New Tri-State Defender

The City of Memphis will celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday with Be the Dream MLK Weekend Jan. 17-19. The Mayor’s Office of Youth Services will host the Youth Empowerment Symposium for area youth (15-17) on Saturday, Jan. 17 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Cook Convention Center in Downtown Memphis. Registration: http://bit. ly/1C7SC6R The Be the Dream Commemorative Celebration – Monday, Jan. 19 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Historic Mason Temple Church – will feature performances from area school and church choirs, as well as recognition of civil rights pioneers. Special awards presented to three youth organizations.

The celebration includes a collaboration with MIFA to deliver meals to senior citizens.

Volunteer drivers must have a valid drivers’ license and car insurance. All registrants will be contacted with details on where to go following the Be the Dream Commemorative Celebration. Space is limited.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Memphis Chapter will commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin L. King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 19th, with a program that begins at 1 p.m. at Cane Creek Baptist Church at 1785 Elvis Presley. Focus: Education and Economic Empowerment. Keynote speaker: Dr. H.K. Matthews, a civil and human rights movement pioneer and an associate Dr. King.

Honorees: Dr. Willie W. Herenton, former Memphis City Schools superintendent and former mayor of Memphis; Dr. Kenneth Whalum Jr., pastor of New Olivet Baptist Church; Dr. Jacqueline Crockett, co-founder of The Word of Faith Christian Academy; Michael Benjamin, national director of Grassroots Advocacy Outreach of The American Federation for Children; Kevin Bradshaw, president of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 252; and Fast Food Workers Campaign.

Special guests: Mayor A C Wharton Jr., Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. and Congressman Steve Cohen.

For more information: The Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president, SCLC Memphis Chapter at 901-488-4798; sclcmemphis@yahoo.com The Memphis Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Monumental Baptist Church will present the inaugural Samuel B. Kyles Community Service Award on Jan. 19 during the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

The award honors individuals who exemplify the level of commitment and service to the Memphis/Shelby County community as did the Rev. Samuel B. Kyles, Monumental’s longtime pastor and a civil rights era icon.

The program begins at 11 a.m. at Monumental Baptist Church, 704 S. Parkway E. Recipients: Mayor AC Wharton Jr. and his wife, attorney Ruby Wharton. Hosts: The Rev. Wade Bryant, Monumental’s new pastor, and Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr, president of the Memphis affiliate.

The National Civil Rights Museum on Monday, Jan. 19, will hold its annual MidSouth Food Bank Drive and Lifeblood Drive, serve as a voter registration site and have representatives from Enroll America on board to assist with healthcare coverage enrollment. Theme: “Marching Toward Freedom.”

Special admission: $5 during the extended hours of 8 a.m.-6 p.m. An optional $3 reduced admission is available for attendees bringing canned goods for the Mid-South Food Bank Drive, and a free admission (for up to a family of four) option is available for blood donations to the Lifeblood Drive.

Outdoor stage performances in Founders Park will feature Ekpe Abioto African drummers, Glory Gospel Singers, Boys & Girls Choir of Memphis, Youth Jazz Ensemble, and spoken word artists. Emcee is DJ Len Williamson. Children’s activities: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information: www.civilrightsmuseum.org.

The Memphis Chapter of the LeMoyne-Owen College Alumni Association will host the 24th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast on Jan. 19 beginning at 8 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Memphis Airport Hotel,

January 15 - 21, 2015

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NEWS

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2240Airport Road atAirwaysBlvd. Keynote address: Apostle Alton R. Williams, senior pastor at World Overcomers Outreach Ministries. Tickets: $50 and may be purchased on the LOC campus in the Office of Institutional Advancement, 807 Walker Ave. For more information: Frankie Jeffries, Alumni Relations, 901435-1530. Proceeds will benefit LeMoyne-Owen College and its scholarship programs.

Alpha Kappa Alpha So-

rority Incorporated®, Phi Lambda Omega Chapter will hold its 107th Founders’ Day Celebration in conjunction with the chapter’s 15th Anniversary Chapter Chartering Luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Sheraton Hotel (Downtown) at 250 North Main St. at 1 p.m. Speaker: Mary B. Conner, 24th South Eastern Regional Director.

Music: Phi Lambda Omega Pearls Ensemble. Luncheon tickets: $40. Chairmen: Dr.

Daphne Jones and Phyllis Jones; co-chairmen: Morgan Hanna and Herronda Harley.

The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center will host 33rd Anniversary gala, Living the Legacy of Nonviolence, beginning at 6 p.m. on Jan. 17 at First Congregational Church in Cooper Young. Speaker: the Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, author/activist/filmmaker/organizer. Evening to included a meal catered by Just For Lunch

and musical performances by Barbara J. Lester and Memphis Drum Tribe and JazzeclecticFolk, featuring Carla Thomas and Khari Wynn. Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1069021.

The Stax Music Academy at 926 E. McLemore will salute Dr. King with conversations about the issues that have invigorated the movement anew: racism, sexism and classism. Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

FedEx volunteers – about 50 in Memphis – will spend the morning of MLK Day packaging 10,000 meals to support Stop Hunger Now, a Raleigh, N.C.-based group dedicated to ending hunger in our lifetime.

They will be part of a core of 300-plus FedEx volunteers packaging 70,000 meals for the world’s hungry on Jan. 19 in Memphis, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., and Boston.

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January 15 - 21, 2015

NEWS

The New Tri-State Defender

From the ‘dream’ of Dr. King Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now historic “I Have a Dream Speech” – including the following excerpt – on August 28, 1963 in Washington DC. “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation…

“But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.”

The Patriot Choir sings the National Anthem during the MLK program at the VA Hospital.

A VA salute to Dr. King…

During a celebration at the VA Hospital in Memphis, Associate Medical Center Director Douglas Southall spoke of Dr. King’s legacy and how he helped pave the way for civil rights for everyone, including the veterans; Gospel recording artist Deborah Manning Thomas sang “Precious Lord,” Dr. King’s favorite song; and the keynote address was delivered by the Rev Dwight Montgomery, president of the Memphis Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, pastor of Annesdale Cherokee Missionary Baptist Church and chairman of the Educational Committee for the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association. (Photos: Warren Roseborough)

The New Tri-State Defender

January 15 - 21, 2015

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INTERNATIONAL

Some 2,000 feared dead after Boko Haram massacre on Nigerian town

A burnt motorcyle lies in a street of the remote northeast town of Baga on April 21, 2013 after two days of clashes between officers of the Joint Task Force and members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram on April 19 in the town near Lake Chad, 200 kms north of Maiduguri, in Borno State. (Photo: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

by Stephen A. Crockett The Root

Last week, Boko Haram entered the northern Nigerian town of Baga and began opening fire on residents. According to news reports, bodies were left bloodied across roadways and for those who fled into the bushes, they were chased and executed. Once the shooting stopped, some 2,000 people were reported dead in what Amnesty International is calling possibly the “deadliest act” from the Islamic extremist group.

“The attack on Baga and surrounding towns, looks as if it could be Boko Haram’s deadliest act in a catalogue of

increasingly heinous attacks carried out by the group,” Amensty International said in a statement.

“If reports that the town was largely razed to the ground and that hundreds or even as many as two thousand civilians were killed are true, this marks a disturbing and bloody escalation of Boko Haram’s ongoing onslaught against the civilian population.”

According to “The Guardian,” most of the victims were children and “elderly people who could not run fast enough when insurgents drove into Baga, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles on town residents.”

CNN notes that Islamic terrorist group stormed the town, in trucks and motorcycles and literally chased residents as they fled spraying bullets indiscriminately.

“Dead bodies litter the bushes in the area and it is still not safe to go and pick them (up) for burial,” Musa Bukar, a local government official told CNN. “Some people who hid in their homes were burned alive.”

According to CNN, some 30,000 people have been displaced since the massacre and authorities are still making arrangements to transports some 10,000 residents to a neighboring town.

January 15 - 21, 2015

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NATION

The New Tri-State Defender

2 Tuskegee Airmen, both 91, die on same day in Los Angeles Childhood friends jumped at the chance to join the now legendary group of all African-American soldiers.

by John Rogers Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Clarence E. Huntley Jr. and Joseph Shambrey grew up running track together in the same Los Angeles neighborhood in the 1930s.

When World War II broke out, they enlisted in the Army and jumped at the chance to join the all-black group of soldiers known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

After the war, they came back home together, married their respective sweethearts and rarely let a month pass without getting together or talking by phone.

So it was ironic but perhaps not all that surprising when both died on Jan. 5 at 91.

“They were friends all the way to the end,” Huntley’s nephew, Craig Huntly, summed up in an interview Monday with The Associated Press.

“As soon as I got the word that my uncle had died,” he said, “one of the first people I began calling was Joe. And I got no answer.”

After their enlistment in 1942, both men quickly set out to be part of what was then called the Tuskegee Experiment – the formation of the U.S. military’s first all-black squadron of pilots.

The group went on to take part in more than 15,000 combat missions, earning over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

As Tuskegee Airmen mechanics, Huntley and Shambrey did what they could to make sure the planes stayed in the air until the mission was over.

“When a pilot would go out, he would say, ‘This is my plane. You bring my plane back, please,’” Ron Brewington said with a chuckle as he remembered Huntley.

Brewington, president and historian of the Los Angeles chapter of Tuskegee Airmen

Clarence E. Huntley Jr. (top) and Joseph Shambrey (Screenshots) Inc., said his group has only 20 members of the elite group left after the passing of Huntley and Shambrey. Most are in their 90s.

Counting pilots and ground personnel, there were perhaps as many as 19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Brewington said, but there are no accurate figures on how many are still alive.

Craig Huntly said his uncle and Shambrey weren’t looking to be pioneers or heroes when they enlisted. They were simply serving their country in a war abroad against fascism and one at home against racism.

“At that time black servicemen were pretty much relegated to menial type work and my uncle didn’t want to do that,” Huntly said. “But he was aware of the Tuskegee Experiment and how important it was.”

Not that it would bring a change in race relations immediately.

Years later, Shambrey would recall getting off a train in segregated Alabama where a hospitality station was welcoming returning white troops with handshakes and free coffee.

“When he and his buddies came off, dressed in their uniforms, of course they didn’t get any congratulations,” said Shambrey’s son, Tim. They even had to pay for their coffee.

By coincidence, Shambrey and Huntley were dispatched to Italy together in 1944 and came back home together.

As the years passed, neither man talked much about his military service, which isn’t unusual for Tuskegee Airmen, Brewington said.

Shambrey would throw barbeques from time to time and invite his old military buddies.

As many as 150 people would attend.

Huntley’s daughter Sheila McGee said he had a ready answer when people asked about his service: “I was doing what I was supposed to do, and that was to serve my country.”

Both men served again during the Korean War, as combat engineers.

After their military years, Shambrey worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Huntley worked as a skycap at airports in Los Angeles and Burbank, a job he held until his late 80s.

(Associated Press writer Robert Jablon contributed to this story.)

New CBC chair vows to work with both parties

by Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA News Service

If you were the new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), beginning your time tenure when the first African-American president of the United States was completing his last two years in office, what would your plan be?

If you were chair at a time when Republicans held a record number of House seats – the most since 1928 – and conditions for African Americans were getting worse, what would your plan be? If that first African-American president on his way out the door wasn’t all that excited about African-American agenda items and rarely connects with members of Congress, what would be the plan?

These are the questions that the new Black Caucus chairman, Congressman G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, has to confront over the next two years. Presidential politics have already begun to take the stage at the start of 2015 as a lame-duck president notorious for not connecting with members of his own party in Congress begins to announce policy objectives.

Butterfield got off to an aggressive start on Jan. 6 with his first speech as Black Caucus Chairman.

“America is not working for many African Americans and we, as the Congressional Black Caucus, have an obligation to fight harder and smarter in the next Congress to help repair the damage,” he said.

The speech included a devastating rundown of current statistics on where African Americans now stand.

“We are fighting generations of indifference on the part of those in power. The statistics tell the story,” Butterfield said. Then he told the audience at the Capitol: • Twenty-five percent of African-American households live below the poverty line, compared to 8 percent for white households; • One out of three African-American children lives in poverty; • African Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed; • African Americans earn $13,000 less per year than their white counterparts; • The unemployment rate of African Americans has consistently been twice as high as for whites over the past 50 years and • For every $100 in wealth of a white household, the Afri-

Congressman G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina got off to an aggressive start with his first speech as Black Caucus Chairman. (Courtesy photo) can-American household only has $6 in wealth.

“What is this if it’s not an emergency?” the new Black Caucus chairman concluded.

In an interview on January 9 with Crewof42.com, Butterfield addressed legislative strategy.

“I think we can negotiate with the Democratic Caucus or the Republican conference or both, right now. I’m not ruling out working out any bi-partisan deals with the majority. John Boehner’s in charge. And he has 246 members,” he said.

The Black Caucus has a block of 42 voting Democrats in the House, the most in history. But of the 48 African Americans who will serve in the 114th Congress over the next two years, 45 of them will be serving in the minority Democratic Party. Though there is talk of being more aggressive, legislative wins will require loads of backdoor negotiation.

It will also require President Obama to be more aggressive in his negotiations with the GOP before legislation is brought to Congress for consideration. Unfortunately for Democrats, tough negotiation is not something President Obama is known for.

As Chairman Butterfield deals with the known and the unknown, he’s focused on what he can control.

“He’s indicated that he wants to be the conductor of the orchestra and give each person an individual opportunity to shine. He also wants to connect every black organization across the country with the CBC,” noted Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) “A plan is put in place where the previous chair (Rep. Marcia Fudge) will take some responsibility when dealing with the White House. As is widely known, she takes no prisoners, so that will be a help to him and he can spend time dealing with them

on legislation and initiatives that they need us to support,” said Rep Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).

Joy Reid, host of The Reid Report, was the master of ceremonies at the Congressional Black Caucus’ ceremonial swearing-in event where Butterfield spoke as CBC chair for the first time.

“I thought Congressman Butterfield made it really clear that the CBC is going to be really aggressive about pushing their agenda,” Reid said. “They’re definitely not backing down in the face of the larger Republicans majority. He came out swinging.”

What the New CBC Chair said on Jan. 6 was pointed and reflective.

“In my hometown of Wilson, North Carolina, the railroad tracks divided our town; a town where 23 miles of unpaved streets greeted black citizens every day. They were relegated to second-class citizenship. Our mothers and fathers; grandmothers and fathers; our aunts and uncles worked every day to support the Jim Crow economy,” Butterfield said.

“The CBC was formed in 1971 because its founders understood that black lives matter. Black boys matter. Black girls matter. The black family matters. The black church matters. Black America in its totality matters. In 2015, we are still fighting generations of discrimination. We are fighting generations of indifference on the part of those in power.”

Cleaver said of the new CBC chairman: “He is methodical and does not tend to act impetuously – whether we planned it or not – he’s the right one for the season.”

(Lauren Victoria Burke is a freelance writer and creator of the blog Crewof42.com, which covers African American members of Congress. She can be reached via laurenvictoriaburke.com, or Twitter @Crewof42 or by e-mail at LBurke007@gmail.com.)

Sheryll Cashin, a professor of law at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. advocates for “place-based” affirmative action policies in education. ( Photo: Freddie Allen/NNPA)

Is it time for a race-neutral approach to affirmative action?

by Freddie Allen NNPA News Service

WASHINGTON – In the wake of unrelenting law suits seeking to abolish affirmative action coupled with nearly half of all universities dropping consideration of race as a factor in college admissions, it is time to shift gears and devise a less objectionable race-neutral approach that will diversify higher education, says a noted African-American law professor.

During a recent discussion on affirmative action at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Sheryll Cashin, a professor of law at Georgetown University and author of “Place, Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America,” said that as long as race-conscious affirmative action remains a factor in college admission, there will always be white students challenging affirmative action.

Cashin, who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, said “that law or politics will render racebased affirmative action extinct” and argued that it makes “sense to get started on race-neutral reforms that have the potential to create diversity and more social cohesion.”

She said that the percentage of fouryear colleges that consider racial, ethnic or gender status in admissions has fallen from about 60 percent to 35 percent.

Others, however, do not favor a switch to de-emphasizing race and point to race-neutral affirmative programs in Texas and California that have not achieved the same results as previous race-conscious approaches. Even Texas’ 10 Percent Plan that guarantees the top 10 percent of each high school graduating class in Texas will be accepted at the University of Texas, the flagship campus, was challenged by a white applicant who had been rejected.

Backed by the Edward Blum’s Project for Fair Representation, a nonprofit group that wants to ban race-, gender- and ethnic-conscious affirmative action, Abigail Fisher a white woman, alleged that the University of Texas at Austin refused to accept her, because she was white, while black and Latino students that she outperformed were admitted Admission officials look at factors in addition to grade to determine the composition of an incoming class, not just grades.

In its “Brief of Opposition,” the university said: “The undisputed evidence demonstrated that Fisher would not have been offered fall admission in 2008 even if she had scored a perfect ‘6’ on her PAI – the portion of the admissions process where race is considered as ‘a factor of a factor of a factor.’”

Investigating Fisher’s claims, Pro Publica reported that 42 white students with less impressive grades than Fisher got in compared to just five African-American and Latino students with similar academic achievement. Meanwhile, almost 170 African-American and Latino students with the same or better grades as Fisher were also turned away.

In the 2012 term, the Supreme Court punted in Fisher v. University of Texas, sending the case back to the lower court for reconsideration. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the 7-1 majority, said: “…Strict scrutiny imposes on the university the ultimate burden of demonstrating before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice.”

In other words, the university had the burden of showing that gender- ethnicity- and race-conscious affirmative action admission policies are the only way to effectively achieve diversity on campus.

After the case was remanded, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit again ruled in favor of the University of Texas.

In 2003, the Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings involving University of Michigan that many thought had settled the issue.

By a vote of 6-3, the justices outlawed an undergraduate admissions process that,

among other things, automatically awarded 20 points to people of color. But on a 5-4, the Supreme Court ruled that race could still be a factor in admissions as long as it is not given too much weight.

However, led by anti-affirmative action foe Ward Connerly, in 2006, Michigan voters banned the use of race in public education and employment, a state constitutional amendment that was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

In the May/June 2014 issue of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) journal, Cashin, who is also a PRRAC board member, wrote that “place rather than race in diversity programming will better approximate the structural disadvantages many children of color actually endure, while enhancing the possibility that we might one day move past the racial resentment affirmative action engenders.”

Cashin said that when college graduates sequester themselves it can lead to a phenomenon known as “opportunity hoarding,” when a well-resourced, educated ingroup sanctions practices that exclude outgroups.

“And the exclusion does not have to be intentional,” said Cashin.

Cashin said that place, or where you live, locks in advantages and disadvantages that are reinforced over time.

“What has happened increasingly is the affluent and the highly educated are separated from everyone else and that often determines who has access to high quality elementary and secondary education,” said Cashin.

“And when you have geographic concentration of highly educated affluent people in direct horizontal competition with people from lower-income impoverished settings for finite public resources you get savage inequality in the allocation of public resources,” said Cashin. “College-bound students from middle- and low-income environments, particularly African-American students, disproportionately attend segregated schools and they have to be superhuman to overcome the structural disadvantages of place.”

In Cashin’s article on affirmative action published in the PRRAC journal, she concedes that, “Fewer African Americans may enter elite institutions under an affirmative action system based on structural disadvantage rather than under race-based affirmative action.” However, she argued that the social costs of racial-conscious programs outweigh any marginal benefits when race-neutral alternatives are available.

Lia Epperson, a law professor at the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C., said that addressing racial disparities is not about totally abandoning policies that use race.

She said it’s about the robust enforcement of laws that bar discrimination and inequality, existing compliance reviews that have proven helpful at the elementary and secondary education levels and expanding the role of data collection and the dissemination of data.

“The reality is that we are in a time that is difficult, because we do have this societal indecision with respect to matters of race,” said Epperson, who formerly led the education law and policy group of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “The reality is also that we have a Constitution that supports remedying a history of slavery and Jim Crow. We have to expand our political imagination beyond the reality of the moment.”

Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute said on the panel: “There’s no doubt that we need to pretend to be colorblind in the current legal climate, but it’s also very important to realize that we have a separate challenge from the challenge of enhancing equity. And that is the challenge of increasing justice.”

Rothstein added, “We have a constitutional obligation to undue centuries of slavery, segregation and exploitation. As recent events have demonstrated to everybody, we have made very little progress in undoing that unconstitutional placement of African Americans in a caste system in this society.”

The New Tri-State Defender

January 15 - 21, 2015

Page 9

BUSINESS

ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

Regardless of your occupation, business or job, stress of some kind is present. As an entrepreneur, stress is never ending.

Whether the stress if from work, growing or maintaining the business, or simply running after the kids...stress is stress. To aid in relieving stress, there is nothing like a relaxing message. If your schedule is anything like mine, the problem is fitting it in. But Relax with Rita is a mobile massage service that caters to those on the run. Sherita Mosby’s shares her experience with us this week.

Carlee McCullough: Thank you for taking the time to share with our readers your experience and knowledge. How and when did you get into the massage therapy business?

Sherita Mosby: I began working in 2009 as a part-time sales associate at a well-known massage spa here in Memphis.

After observing the therapists and their rapport with the clients, I developed an interest in becoming a licensed massage therapist.

C.M.: How did you start Re-

lax with Rita Mobile Massage?

S.M.: “Relax with Rita Mobile Massage” started from an idea that conveCarlee n i e n c e McCullough, to clients Esq. is just as important as the massage services that are rendered.

Many professionals may not be able to break away from their Sherita locations.

Mosby So we bring the services to them.

C.M.: Where did you get the

Relax with Rita

concept to be mobile?

S.M.: Due to the high demands of a required schedule and extended hours on the job, most people find it difficult to schedule a massage at a spa. But they are willing to entertain the concept of a mobile massage.

C.M.: What services do you offer?

S.M.: I specialize in “Deep Tissue Massage!” However, I also service: Swedish-Massage, Pre-Natal Massage, Sports Massage, Foam Rolling Massage, Abdominal Massage with Castor Oil & Ginger, Adult & Children Pamper-Parties, and the On-Site Chair Massages.

C.M.: What does it take to maintain a business in massage therapy?

S.M.: It takes being educated, licensed and prepared with the proper tools that are needed and above all the development of a strong work ethic to maintain a business in massage therapy. Be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and work hard to maintain your business as it grows!

C.M.: What inspired you to get into the massage therapy business?

S.M.: I enjoy being pampered. Therefore, I thought that others would enjoy the same experience that a massage has to offer.

C.M.: How did you get into the business full time?

S.M.: I was laid off from my full-time job of seven years with SCS Schools. Instead of accepting another temporary job, I placed my faith in God and decided to develop and managed my own business.

C.M.: What are the necessary elements that go into a successful business?

S.M.: A clear vision and an intense passion that is ongoing to create a quality customer-client relationship can go a long way in business. The high level of professionalism delivered with each service and maintained through the quick feedback of the clients also helps.

Time and Cost Management is of the utmost importance to

MONEY MATTERS

safeguard your profits while projecting your unique style that separate your service from your competitors. A strong support group that allows you to be flexible when setting time schedules becomes invaluable.

C.M.: How would you describe your overall vision?

S.M.: My overall vison is that I want to help each client achieve good health and overall wellness by providing a relaxing therapeutic experience.

C.M.: What is next for Relax with Rita or Sherita?

S.M.: Creating a team of other passionate massage therapists to expand my mobile services Nationally and Internationally, as well as opening my own spa in the future.

C.M.: As a business owner, what is the greatest reward?

S.M.: Satisfied, repeat and regular clientele that promote my business in a positive way really makes my heart flutter with a spirit of gratitude!!!

That gives me an extra reason to continue working smarter

and not necessarily harder, but more creatively, for each client.

C.M.: What’s most challenging as a business owner?

S.M.: The management of my time between my business and my children. Without the support of my family, I would have a very difficult time honoring the schedules of several clients.

C.M.: Any closing remarks?

S.M.: I would like for everyone to know that “Relax with Rita Mobile Massage,” is an elite personal care service that brings luxurious professional pampering, into the convenience and privacy of your home, hotel or office.

(To contact Sherita Mosby, LMT, call 901-264-1369; email: relaxwithrita@gmail.com; visit www.relaxwithrita.abmp.com.)

(Contact Carlee McCullough, Esq., at 5308 Cottonwood Road, Suite 1A, Memphis, TN 38118, or email her at jstce4all@aol. com.)

Money moves everyone should make in 2015

Whether you’re happy with the direction you’re headed or not, nearly everyone has some room for improvement.

Fortunately, the dawning of the brand new year can serve as an opportunity for a fresh start when it comes to your financial goals. Here are five financial moves everyone should consider making in 2015: Raise your standards (and your savings rate). According to the Fidelity 2014 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, which surveyed over 2,000 adults ages 18 and older, the biggest financial goals for Americans consistently involve saving more money. And it’s easy to see why. Having more money saved and invested could lead to increased financial security, the ability to weather financial storms and even the privilege to retire earlier than planned. No matter your financial situation, raising your savings rate is always a noble goal -- and one worth exploring.

Leave debt behind. For most people, 2015 will be brighter and more prosperous if they can leave their debts behind for good. If becoming debt-free is one of your goals, start by taking a hard look at your monthly spending and seeing if there are any obvious expenses you can cut. Look for the low-hanging fruit -- how much money you’re spending at restaurants, for example, or how much money you’re shelling out for entertainment. Look for places you can save, and throw any extra money you can find toward your debts until they’re gone for good.

Revisit your retirement plans. A recent study from Bankrate found that 36 percent of Americans aren’t saving for retirement at all. So if you’re saving for retirement in any sort of capacity, you’re already ahead of the game. Still, it might not be enough. If you save for retirement in a work-sponsored 401(k) plan, start by making sure you’re saving at least enough to get your full company match. After that, push your retirement saving percentage upward as far as it can go -- just until it feels uncomfortable.

Save, save and keep saving. One day you’ll be glad you did.

Create a monthly budget.

A monthly budget is the cornerstone of any successful financial plan. Why? Because having a budget forces you to plan how you spend your hard-earned dollars -- before they accidentally spend themselves. To get started, sit down and list your monthly expenses and compare it against your monthly income.

Create reasonable spending limits for the categories that cost you the most -- things like groceries, entertainment and transportation. Explore any areas where you might be able to save, and make

plans to do just that.

Start an emergency fund. If you don’t have an e m e rg e n cy fund, you’re already at disadCharles Sims a vantage.

Jr., CMFC, Because LUTCF as we all know, life happens: cars break down,

furnaces quit working and surprise medical bills materialize when we least expect them to. Having an emergency fund with three to six months’ worth of expenses can protect you from falling victim to life’s uncertainties. So when life happens, you’re prepared.

This can be a new beginning -- a time to think about what you really want out of life and create actionable goals to help you get there.

So craft your goals wisely and set yourself up for a

year of success. Meanwhile, don’t let last year’s failures continue into 2015 and beyond -- the past should stay there.

Make the right moves, and you could end 2015 in a much better place than where you started, but only if you keep moving forward.

(Charles Sims Jr., CMFC, LUTCF, is President/CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901682-2410 or visit www.

SimsFinancialGroup.com.)

January 15 - 21, 2015

Page 10

RELIGION

The New Tri-State Defender

Brown Baptist stands in the gap for cancer survivors

“We believe that ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me,’” said Dr. Bartholomew Orr, the church’s senior pastor.

by Wiley Henry

whenry@tsdmemphis.com

“We want you to get well, stay well, and be healthy,” Pam Taylor Verdung told a group of cancer survivors and supporters recently at the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) MidSouth Division’s first monthly meeting at Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Miss.

More than 20 women, including two men, reflected on the past year, discussed new business, and remembered those among the group who recently lost the battle to cancer – Jackie Evans and Joe Harvey.

Although the death rate from cancer has fallen 22 percent since 1991, there will be 1,658,370 new cancer cases this year and 589,430 deaths from cancer, the American Cancer Society’s journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians reported recently.

“We’re diagnosing cancer earlier,” said Verdung, the senior director of community engagement for the ACS’s MidSouth Division. “That’s why you’re seeing better treatment.

And it’s because the volunteers and doctors help us to get the word out.”

Brown MBC is playing an active role in disseminating information through its partnership with the ACS and expanding its reach in “the communities to support those that are dealing with this dreadful decease.”

“We believe that ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me,’” said Dr. Bartholomew Orr, the church’s

The Brown Missionary Baptist Church Cancer Support Group works in partnership with the American Cancer Society’s Mid-South Division to help those grappling with the deadly disease of cancer. (Photos: Wiley Henry) Bert Fayne (center), a health initiatives representative for the American Cancer Society of Tennessee, presents Derrick Anderson (left), Brown Baptist’s senior associate pastor of operations and administration, with a plaque for Dr. Bartholomew Orr, the church’s senior pastor. Pam Taylor Verdung, the senior director of community engagement for the ACS’s Mid-South Division, helps with the presentation. senior pastor, referencing a Bible verse that denotes his belief in the power of healing through faith and prayer and his support of the church’s Cancer Support Group.

“Our belief here at Brown Missionary Baptist Church is to watch over one another in

brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and, mindful of the rules of our Saviour,

(and) to obey it without delay,” Dr. Orr said.

In 2011, the Cancer Support Group sponsored a Cancer Prevention Study, or CPS-3 study, of which Danita Brown, an ACS volunteer, coordinated. Brown is also a breast cancer survivor and member of the “Community Action Team of Shelby County” CHA program. CHAs (Community Health Advisors) are volunteers who advise, advocate, mentor, assist and refer women to appropriate resources for screenings, treatment and care.

“We reach out to men and women with all cancers,” Brown said.

“The support group promoted the study through the churches internal organizations and health ministry,” said Bert Fayne, a health initiatives representative for the

ACS of Tennessee. “Pastor Bartholomew Orr made announcements at all three services encouraging members to participate in the study.”

Dr. Orr enrolled in the CPS3 study himself, Fayne said.

“After Pastor Orr came down from the pulpit and enrolled, additional members followed. The event was so successful, we ran out of screening supplies.”

Without the church’s support, Fayne believes the ACS would not have made its goal of African-American enrollment and participation. Because African-Americans have a higher mortality rate of cancer than whites, their participation is essential for cancer prevention studies.

The ACS is second in the nation to the federal government in supplying funds for cancer research. Breast cancer is among the cancers that ratchet up the mortality rate and drive Brown MBC’s support of cancer survivors and its advocacy of cancer research.

African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer before age 40 than non-Hispanic white women, the ACS reported in its Surveillance and Health Services Research in 2013.

The support group is very active in the community, steering women to get help and participating in such initiatives as the annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” (MSABC) walk to “finish the fight against breast cancer.”

MSABC unites the community to honor and celebrate breast cancer survivors while raising money to fund

life-saving research, support programs, and provide free resources to help women through every step of the cancer journey.

In 2013 and 2014, the support group donated to benefit MSABC. The group also sponsors an annual brunch for breast cancer survivors from Memphis and Mississippi.

Free mammogram information also is given to women who are uninsured and in need of a mammogram, Fayne said.

“We go out into the community and educate women and men on the importance of knowing their bodies,” added Brown, who participates in community educational programs at local churches. She also makes media appearances to reach African-American women and the underserved population.

Fayne attends meetings each year, too, at the behest of the support group. She keeps them updated on the latest information and services of the ACS. Community Health Advisorys also make their rounds at church events throughout the year. Besides advocating for women, they set up educational displays on cancer awareness and detection, programs and services, such as transportation to the doctor’s office for cancer patients.

Although cancer can be successfully treated, Brown said, “We’re determined that if cancer comes back, it just has to catch us.”

(For more information about the American Cancer Society, contact Bert Fayne at (901) 725-8629.)

Passing the leadership gavel...

Celebrating 50 years...

The Memphis District Association held its January board meeting of officers and appointees on Thursday (Jan. 8) at Eastern Star Baptist Church. The Rev. O.C. Collins Sr. (left), pastor of Progressive Baptist Church, served a term as moderator and passed the gavel to the recently elected moderator, the Rev. Dr. Eric Winston Sr., senior pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

Morning Star Church Worldwide Ministries celebrated its 50th anniversary Sunday (Jan.11) and reflected on how far the church has come since its founding by the Rev. W.A. Sesley (right) in 1965. There were five choir members, three deacons and five ushers when the church held its first service that year in January. The Rev. Dr. Bartholomew Orr, pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church, was a special guest.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

ENTERTAINMENT The New Tri-State Defender, January 15 - 21, 2015, Page 11

WHAT’S HAPPENING MYRON

2015 Golden Globes recap

Me and a month of milestones

Twenty-one years ago this month I walked into a radio station for the very first time. I got the opportunity to sit in on one of the most popular morning radios shows in the city, “Mike Evans in the Morning.”

What an experience that was. Talk about being amped, I was beyond amped. So much so that I didn’t bother going to work that morning. I decided that changing oil and washing automobiles was not gonna be the way I spent my day. Skipping work that day would become my most important career decision to date.

As I left the building I could hardly contain my excitement. I wanted to be on the radio and there was something growing inside of me and it wouldn’t let go.

Addicted after only one visit, I had to go back. I had to get inside of that radio station again. The next week, just as I had before, I called Mike and asked if I could come by. Once again, I told him I wouldn’t touch anything and that he would hardly know I was there. He said yes.

The next morning, I was back, listening and watching them in action.

It was so amazing to be able to see what you’ve long listened to actually take place right in front of you. At the end of his shift, I asked Mike how I could get on the radio.

The advice Mike gave me was golden: find the smallest station that I didn’t think anyone was listening to, walk in and offer to work for free to get some experience.

I’m thinking to myself, “OK, I can do that.”

I left the station right after we got through talking, drove to Senatobia, Miss. and parked my car in front of the “smallest station that I didn’t think anyone was listening to.” I walked in and literally did exactly what I had been told – offer to work for free to get some experience.

It worked. I was actually offered an hourly wage and a set amount of hours per week. It was only $5 per hour, however, not bad for a 20-yearold kid who had only been inside of a radio station twice in his entire life… and those two times had only taken place in the previous nine days.

I never did another oil change after that.

Fast forward to 2015 and you find me marking my 7th year at 103.5 WRBO. That 7-year stretch has passed by quicker than I can explain, yielding enough fun to prove that time does indeed seem to fly when such is the case.

Often, people do not get the opportunity to do – for a living – many of the things they love. I consider myself lucky and blessed. I could’ve been content changing oil and washing cars. However, I knew that there was another purpose on the earth for me.

I do a lot of things, but at the end of the day I am a “radio” man and it will always have a space in my heart. Without it. I have no idea where I’d be. Which leads me to my 3rd and last milestone. I began writing for The New Tri-State Defender one week after I was hired at 103.5 WRBO. And had I not been on the radio first, I likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to write this column.

I have enjoyed entertaining you via my various media outlets and I look forward to entertaining you for many more.

Myron Mays

by Kam Williams

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Arlen Escarpeta portrays Bobby Brown alongside Yaya DaCosta as Whitney Houston in the biopic “Whitney.” (Photo: Jack Zeman © 2014 – Lifetime Television)

‘Whitney’ – definitely worth the watch!

by Brianna Alexis Smith

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Lifetime is returning with another singer’s biopic – “The voice” herself, Whitney Houston.

Many questions surfaced when Lifetime announced that it was authorizing a made-for-TV biopic on the late pop supernova.

Well, after having viewed “Whitney” prior to its release I’m ready to share my take.

The movie, scheduled to premiere Saturday (Jan. 17), digs deep and enlightens the audience about segments of the singer-and-actress’ life that have not been covered in half a dozen music documentaries and specials. “Whitney” illustrates the passionate relationship between Houston and R&B singer- songwriter Bobby Brown — from the time they initially met at the very height of their celebrity to their courtship and often-turbulent 14-year marriage.

Yaya DaCosta (“America’s Next Top Model” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”) is winsome in her portrayal of Houston and perfectly believable as an ambitious, small-town church choir singer on the verge of international fame and acclaim.

Although Houston’s original music is not used in the film, Grammy nominee Deborah Cox did a great job singing some of Houston’s greatest hits, such as, “I’m Every Woman” and “I Will Always Love You.” The music overall is exceptional.

The script was well written and the acting was phenomenal, with the actors actually resembling their characters.

Houston‘s “Waiting to Exhale” co-star Angela Bassett directed

Angela Bassett directs and Yaya DaCosta stars in “Whitney.”

(Photo: Jack Zeman © 2014 – Lifetime Television) the movie. Though this marks Bassett’s directorial debut, she has previous experience with Lifetime, having co-starred with Mary J. Blige on the Lifetime movie “Betty & Coretta” last year.

“I have such regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents

and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story,” Bassett has said. “Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world.”

Definitely worth the watch!

The 2015 awards season was officially underway with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual recognition of the best in film and television.

An early indicator of Academy Award potential, the Golden Globes established “Boyhood” as the early Oscar favorite. Directed by Richard Linkater, the time-lapse coming-ofage drama won in the Best Picture, Drama, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette) categories.

The festivities were co-hosted

by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who again toned down their act in comparison to their raunchy predecessor, Ricky Gervais. The celebrity-friendly emcees’ only exception involved a couple of potshots taken at two-time Golden Globes-winner Bill Cosby (for “The Cosby Show”).

During an opening monologue mention of the movie “Into the Woods,” Poehler stated that “Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby,” a reference to the dozens of women claiming the comedian once raped them after slipping a knockout drug into their drinks. Fey followed that joke with an uncanny imitation of the conspicuously-absent Cosby in which he confesses, “I put the pills in the people.”

Turns out there was no truth to the rumor that “Selma” would win for Best Picture despite an accidental, early posting on Friday to that effect on the official Golden Globe website. The stirring civil rights saga’s only trophy came for Best Song, “Glory,” a hip-hop anthem by John Legend and Common. It looks like “Selma’s” prospects might have been diminished by the allegations that it contains a couple of historical errors in its portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson.

2015 Golden Globe Winners

FILM

Best Picture, Drama: “Boyhood” Best Picture, Comedy or Musical: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Best Director: Ricard Linklater, “Boyhood” Best Actor, Drama: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” Best Actress, Drama: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Michael Keaton, “Birdman” Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams, “Big Eyes” Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” Best Original Score: Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything” Best Original Song: “Glory” (music by John Legend, Common), “Selma” SEE RECAP ON PAGE 12

Beyoncé shuts down pregnancy rumors Shows off flat stomach at Brooklyn Nets game

by Chris Witherspoon theGrio

By now, you’ve probably heard all the speculation that Beyoncé is pregnant again after she posted a photo on Instagram over the weekend of herself buried in sand with what appears to be a small baby bump on her stomach.

Well, clearly Beyoncé wanted to send a subtle message that she doesn’t have a baby bump as she rocked a form-fitting ensemble, seated alongside her hubby, Jay Z, at Monday night’s Brooklyn Nets game.

Former Destiny’s Child bandmate Michelle Williams also weighed in on the pregnancy rumors during a guest co-hosting appearance on The View Monday morning.

Williams cleared the air about her BFF’s belly, claiming that Beyoncé is not pregnant.

“You know, when she was pregnant people said that she wasn’t pregnant and you know, it’s just no truth to it. Sorry!”

(Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.)

TOP: Speculation that Beyoncé is pregnant again surfaced after she posted this photo on Instagram over the weekend.

LEFT: Beyoncé – with no baby bump in sight – rocked a form-fitting ensemble at Monday night’s Brooklyn Nets game. (Photo: James Devaney/GC Images)

Page 12

January 15 - 21, 2015

ENTERTAINMENT

The New Tri-State Defender

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Michael Keaton, “Birdman.”

RECAP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 Viola Davis stars in “Blackhat,” a cybercrime thriller about a furloughed convict.

(Courtesy photo)

by Kam Williams

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

For movies opening January 16, 2015 BIG BUDGET FILMS “American Sniper” (R for graphic violence, sexual references and pervasive profanity) Clint Eastwood directed this adaptation of the best-selling memoir by Navy Seal Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), the most successful sniper in the history of the U.S. military. With Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes and Jake McDorman.

Blackhat (R for profanity and violence) Cybercrime thriller about a furloughed convict (Chris Hemsworth) who collaborates with American and Chinese authorities to track down the mysterious hacker attempting to cripple the international banking network.

With Viola Davis, Wei Tang, John Ortiz and William Mapother. (In English and Spanish with subtitles) “Paddington” (PG for mild action and rude humor) Family-oriented adventure about a British family that befriends a talking bear from Peru (Ben Whishaw) who’s on the run from a cold-hearted taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) determined to put him on display at London’s Natural History Museum. Cast includes Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters and Hugh Bonneville.

“The Wedding Ringer” (R for crude humor, pervasive profanity, coarse sexuality and brief graphic nudity) Kevin Hart stars as the title character in this bromantic comedy as a faux Best Man hired by a socially-awkward groom-to-be (Josh Gad) in need of a BFF. With Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Alan Ritchson, Catherin Chen, Nicky Whelan, Olivia Thirlby and Cloris Leachman.

Best Animated Feature Film: “How to Train Your Dragon 2” Best Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman” Best Foreign Language Film: “Leviathan” (Russia)

TELEVISION

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS “Escobar: Paradise Lost” (Unrated) Romance thriller, set in Colombia in the summer of 1991, about a Canadian surfer dude (Josh Hutchinson) who is pressured to serve as a hit man after falling for the niece (Claudia Traisac) of drug cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar (Benicio del Toro). Support cast includes Anne Giradot, Carlos Bardem and Brady Corbet.

“Giuseppe Makes a Movie” (Unrated) Vanity documentary chronicling the making of Garbanzo Gas by former child actor-turnedlow-budget filmmaker Giuseppe Andrews in the trailer park where he was raised.

“Human Capital” (Unrated) Ensemble drama, set in Lombardy, about two families whose lives intertwine following a Christmas Eve hit-and-run accident that knocks a waiter off a bicycle and leaves him comatose. With Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Valeria Bruno Tedeschi, Matilda Gioli and Fabrizio Gifuni. (In Italian and English with subtitles) “Little Accidents” (Unrated) Serendipitous drama about three strangers (Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook and Jacob Lofland) who form an unlikely bond in the wake of the mysterious disappearance of a teenager (Travis Tope) from a town already reeling from a coal mine tragedy. Co-staring Josh Lucas, Chloe Sevigny and Beau Wright.

“Match” (R for profanity, drug use and sexual dialogue) Hidden agenda dramedy about a doctoral student (Carla Gugino) working on her dissertation who travels with her husband (Matthew Lillard) from Seattle to NYC to interview an eccentric, Juilliard professor (Patrick Stewart). With Rob Yang, Maduka Steady and Jaime Tirelli.

“Son of a Gun” (Unrated) Cat-and-mouse crime caper, set in Perth, about a 19 year-old petty thief (Brenton Thwaites) who, against his better judgment, becomes the protégé of Australia’s Public Enemy #1 (Ewan McGregor) after the two stage a daring jailbreak.

With Alicia Vikander, Matt Nable, Tammie West and Jacek Koman.

“Spare Parts” (PG-13 for profanity and violence) Overcoming-the-odds saga inspired by the real-life exploits of four undocumented aliens (Carlos PenaVega, David Del Rio, J.R. Villarreal and Jose Julian) who, with the help of their high school teacher (George Lopez), manage to compete against a team from MIT in a national robotics competition. Ensemble includes Marisa Tomei, Jamie Lee Curtis and Alexa PenaVega.

“Still Alice” (PG-13 for mature themes, brief profanity and a sexual reference) Julianne Moore portrays the title character in this poignant portrait of a linguistic professor suffering from Early-Onset Alzheimer’s. With Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish.

Best Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie: “Fargo” Best Comedy Series: “Transparent” Best Dramatic Series: “The Affair” Best Actor, Drama: Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards” Best Actress, Drama: Ruth Wilson, “The Affair” Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin” Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent” Best Actor, Miniseries or Made–for-TV Movie: Billy Bob Thornton, “Fargo” Best Actress, Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie: Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honorable Woman” Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie: Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey” Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie: Matt Bomer, “The Normal Heart”

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: George Clooney

“Underdogs” (PG for mild epithets) Factbased football drama, set in Ohio, recounting how a perennial, cellar-dwelling, high school team, with the help of a new coach (D.B. Sweeney), prevailed in a big showdown for bragging rights against their powerhouse, crosstown rivals. Cast includes William Mapother, Richard Portnow and Logan Huffman.

“Vice” (Unrated) Sci-fi thriller about a businessman (Bruce Willis) who opens an “anything goes” resort with life-like robots that look human. The plot thickens when a selfaware android (Ambyr Childers) with a mind of her own escapes from the compound and makes a break for it. With Thomas Jane, Bryan Greenberg and Charlotte Kirk.

Best Original Song: “Glory” (music by John Legend, Common), “Selma”

January 15 - 21, 2015

The New Tri-State Defender

Legal Notices

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REQUEST FOR BIDS Legal Notice MSCAA Project Number 13-1363-00 General DeWitt Spain Corporate Hangar Sealed bids for the General Dewitt Spain Corporate Hangar Construction, MSCAA Project No. 13-1363-00 will be received by the Staff Services Division of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA), 3505 Tchulahoma Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38118, until 2:00 PM local time on Thursday, February 5, 2015, and thereafter will be opened and publicly read. No bids will be accepted after the stated deadline. BIDS WILL NOT BE RECEIVED AT ANY OTHER LOCATION. The scope of work generally consists of construction of a 100’ x 100’ pre-engineered metal hangar at the General DeWitt Spain Airport. Work efforts include, but are not necessarily limited to, site surveying, earthwork, erosion prevention and sediment control, concrete and asphalt paving, pavement base installation, concrete foundations, metal building construction, site/building utilities (including electrical, gas, water, radiant tube heaters, sanitary sewer, irrigation, and storm sewer), and all services as necessary to construct a complete hangar as detailed in the construction documents.

Bid Documents may be obtained and found on our website (www.mscaa.com) on or after Friday, January 16, 2015. Bid documents may be examined at the following locations in Memphis, TN: Builder’s Exchange Plans Room, McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge Plans Room, Memphis Area Minority Contractor’s Association, Mid-South Minority Business Council, National Association of Minority Contractors, and Renaissance Business Center Bid Room.

All Respondents are hereby notified that all updates, addenda and additional information, if any, shall be posted to the MSCAA website (www.mscaa.com) and Respondents are responsible for checking the MSCAA website up to the time of the Bid submission deadline.

A MANDATORY Pre-Bid Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. local time at the General Dewitt Spain Terminal, located at 2787 N 2nd St, Memphis, TN. Immediately following the meeting a tour of the project site will be available. Only those attending will be allowed to submit responses to this Request for Bids.

The MSCAA hereby notifies that it will review and award contracts in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4a and Title 49, Part 26, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act. MSCAA further notifies all Bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of age, race, sex, color, national origin, creed, religion, sexual orientation or disability in its hiring and employment practices, or in admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services and activities. The DBE participation goal for this contract is 21% in accordance with the requirements of the Contract Documents. This project is Federal Grant Funded. Therefore, the only participation that will be counted toward meeting this goal will be participation by certified DBEs, the owners of which have been certified as having a personal net worth less than $1.32 million.

Each bid must be by a contractor licensed in Tennessee and accompanied by a 5% Bid Guarantee. In accordance with TCA §62-6-119, the Bidder, and where applicable, one contractor/subcontractor performing electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or masonry work must have its license number, expiration date of the license, and that part of the classification applying to the bid shown on the outside of the envelope containing the bid. Failure to supply all information on the outside of the envelope will result in the return of the unopened envelope to the Bidder. The successful Bidder will be required to execute a Performance Bond and a Payment Bond, each in the amount of 100% of the Contract Price. Liquidated damages for delay in contract completion shall be as stated in the Contract Documents.

No Bidder may withdraw an opened bid within the defined period following actual bid opening without MSCAA’s consent.

Award will be made to the lowest and best responsible qualified Bidder, if any contract is awarded, based on the best combination of base bid plus individual add-alternates deemed, at MSCAA’s sole discretion, to be in MSCAA’s best interests regardless of whether the individual add-alternates are ultimately constructed or not constructed.

MSCAA reserves the right to reject any or all bids in whole or in part and to waive any informalities, technicalities or omissions therein. MSCAA also reserves the right to reject bids from bidders that have pending litigation or claims with MSCAA, or if such bid includes a proposed subcontractor or supplier that has pending litigation or claims with MSCAA, if MSCAA determines, in its sole discretion, such litigation or claims may adversely affect the ability of the parties to work efficiently and effectively under this contract, or for any other reason as determined by MSCAA. Any such bid will be returned to the bidder.

See Instructions to Bidders in the project specifications for a further description of this and other reservations of rights.

MEMPHIS-SHELBY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

By Scott A. Brockman, President & CEO NOTICE TO BIDDER(S) Shelby County Government is soliciting proposals on a competitive basis for In-

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stallation of a Stairwell Cover, Civic Center Plaza, Memphis, TN 38103. Information regarding this RFP is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn. gov. At the top of the home page, click on the links “Department,” “P” for the Purchasing Department and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described RFP. Copies of the bid, bid form drawing are posted at this location and can be downloaded at no cost to prospective bidders.

February 5, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DUE FEBRUARY 6, 2015 AT 4:00 PM

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Byron Strong Tax Parcel # 04102000000850 Tax Sale #1002 Exhibit #771 Price Offered: $7,000.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on February 11, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

RFP 15-001-21 INSTALLATION OF STAIRWELL COVER CIVIC CENTER PLAZA A VOLUNTARY pre-bid conference will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, January 23, 2015 at Shelby County Purchasing Department, 160 N. Main Street, Suite 900, Conference Room, Memphis, TN 38103.

Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS IS RESERVED By order of MARK H. LUTTRELL, JR., SHELBY COUNTY MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT NOTICE TO BIDDER(S) Sealed bids will be received by the Shelby County Government in the Department of Housing, 1075 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38134 until 9:30 a.m. on January 29, 2015 as shown below: MULTIPLE AND ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REHABILITATION JOBS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS BID NOTICE. BIDDER(S) MAY ELECT TO BID ON ANY OR ALL OF THE JOBS IN THE NOTICE. SEALED BID SBI-000293 DUE: January 29, 2015 1. Rehabilitation of Owner-Occupied Housing Units throughout Shelby County some of which may require the use of lead based paint safe work practices and techniques; and 2. Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Jobs.

Detailed specifications for items above may be obtained in the Shelby County Department of Housing at the aforementioned address. All bids will be opened and publicly read by the Shelby County Government at the time mentioned above at the Department of Housing, 1075 Mullins Station Road Memphis, TN 38134, (901) 222-7600; TTY Number (901) 2222301; or for information in Spanish 901222-4289.

As a condition precedent to bidding, each bidder must apply and qualify for a Vendor Number and Equal Opportunity Compliance Eligibility Number prior to the submitting your response. Your EOC number must be displayed on the outside of your envelope for each bid submission.

As a condition precedent to being awarded jobs involving Lead Based Paint, contractors must be certified through EPA as an RRP contractor and/or show proof of application to EPA for said certification and be certified through the State of Tennessee as a Lead Based Paint Firm.

Proof of licensing at time of bid submission is required by the Shelby County Department of Housing.

The label, which is attached to the specifications shall be completely filled out and attached to the bid submission envelope.

You must display your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number or your Locally Owned Small Business (LOSB) Number on the outside of your envelope and a copy of all licenses and insurance policies must be included in your submitted bid package. Unless the label is completely filled out and your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number is noted thereon your bid may be returned to you unopened. Should your label be lost or misplaced, please note the appropriate information in the lower left-hand corner of your envelope. The Department of Housing encourages participation from WBE, MBE, LOSB, and Section 3 Contractors under these rehabilitation programs.

The Shelby County Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities therein.

By order of MARK H. LUTTRELL, JR., MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Jim Vazquez, Administrator NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Todd Frankel Tax Parcel # 01803500000050 Tax Sale #1002 Exhibit #83 Price Offered: $2,500.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Isaiah Douglas Tax Parcel # 05007200000010 Tax Sale #0803 Exhibit #324894 Price Offered: $3,300.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:00 p.m. on February 6, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Kevin Woods Tax Parcel # 02107900000210 Tax Sale #0201 Exhibit #1752 Price Offered: $100.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Jenetha B. Brown Tax Parcel # 01303200000290 Tax Sale #0603 Exhibit #402 Price Offered: $750.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

1. Purchaser: Tracy James Tax Parcel # 05908400000050 Tax Sale #1002 Exhibit #1266 Price Offered: $6,000.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on February 6, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: James Jackson, Sr. Tax Parcel # 08205800000650 Tax Sale #0703 Exhibit #16914 Price Offered: $2,250.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 11:30 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Brian Tillman Tax Parcel # 05206800000030 Tax Sale #1002 Exhibit #1155 Price Offered: $7,000.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 11:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907300000140 Tax Sale #0604 Exhibit #2553 Price Offered: $400.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907500000190 Tax Sale #0505 Exhibit #3425 Price Offered: $200.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:15 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907900000120 Tax Sale #0903 Exhibit #1406 Price Offered: $1,100.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:30 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK

584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 0290790000013C Tax Sale #0903 Exhibit #1283 Price Offered: $1,200.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908000000190 Tax Sale #0505 Exhibit #3458 Price Offered: $200.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:50 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908000000280 Tax Sale #0702 Exhibit #0601 Price Offered: $600.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 0290790000027C Tax Sale #0903 Exhibit #2300 Price Offered: $1,300.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:15 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 04502200000020 Tax Sale #0901 Exhibit #4442 Price Offered: $1,300.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:30 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907400000350 Tax Sale #0602 Exhibit #2565 Price Offered: $400.00

Terms: Cash

January 15 - 21, 2015

Page 14

The New Tri-State Defender

CLASSIFIEDS

Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:45 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser:Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908100000270 Tax Sale #0703 Exhibit #3827 Price Offered: $500.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908000000130 Tax Sale #0602 Exhibit #2599 Price Offered: $500.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:15 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Pur-

chaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908100000210 Tax Sale #0505 Exhibit #3464 Price Offered: $300.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:30 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908100000220 Tax Sale #0603 Exhibit #2605 Price Offered: $600.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:45 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908100000230 Tax Sale #0701 Exhibit #3826 Price Offered: $500.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 11:00 a.m. on February 10, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 04502100000310 Tax Sale #0701 Exhibit #8123 Price Offered: $900.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:00 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907400000170 Tax Sale #0804 Exhibit #2257 Price Offered: $800.00

Terms: Cash

Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:15 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02908100000150 Tax Sale #0701 Exhibit #3823 Price Offered: $900.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:30 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 04501900000600 Tax Sale #0306 Exhibit #7220 Price Offered: $300.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 8:45 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Pur-

chaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: 1. Purchaser: Ladder Partners, LLC Tax Parcel # 02907200000200 Tax Sale #83.1 Exhibit #02737 Price Offered: $50.00

Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) days of the initial publication of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on February 9, 2015, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

SHELBY COUNTY LAND BANK 584 ADAMS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TN 38103 MIKE BLACKWELL (901) 222-2581 LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC MEETINGS

The Memphis Housing Authority in partnership with the City of Memphis development partners McCormack Baron Salazar will hold public meetings to update the community and seek ongoing input for the development of a Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Implementation Grant Application for the revitalization of the Foote Homes Public Housing Development and the surrounding Vance Avenue community.

The MHA will apply for a federal CNI Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The community is invited to attend the following public meetings to be held at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Transition Academy, 620 Lauderdale Street. Memphis, TN 38126: Thursday, January 22, 2015 Session 1 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Session 2 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

All meetings are opened to the public and participation is encouraged.

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January 15 - 21, 2015

The New Tri-State Defender

COMMUNITY

Page 15

BRIEFS & THINGS Deadline near for Memphis NAACP ACT-SO entries The application deadline for the Memphis ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics) competition sponsored by the Memphis Branch NAACP is Friday, Jan. 16.

High school students from Memphis area public, private, and parochial schools will compete in the broad categories of science, humanities, visual arts, performing arts, filmmaking/video and business. Local winners receive Olympic-like medals and the first-place winners net an all-expense paid trip to the National ACT-SO competition for five days in a major U.S. city. Competitors are mentored and groomed by professionals in their respective fields.

Students may compete in up to three sub-categories, including entrepreneurship, original essay, playwriting, poetry, dance, dramatics, oratory, music composition, instrumental music/ contemporary and classical, vocal music/contemporary and classical, biology/microbiology, chemistry/biochemistry, computer science, earth & space sciences, engineering, mathematics, medicine & health, physics, architecture, drawing, filmmaking/video, painting, photography and sculpture.

The competition is open to Grades 9-12. For information and applications see your school guidance counselor. Visit www.NAACPMemphis.org MEMFix in the Pinch The fifth MEMFix event – a collaboration between the Downtown Neighborhood Association and Livable Memphis – will be held in Downtown Memphis’ Pinch District this spring.

MEMFix seeks to reenergize and reimagine the Pinch district and prepare the neighborhood to capitalize on the projected influx of visitors to the area when Bass Pro Shops opens this spring. A kickoff public meeting for MEMFix in the Pinch will be held Friday, Jan. 16, from 3:30 pm to 5 p.m. at Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Pub, 111 Jackson Ave. Over the past three years, MEMFix has “reintroduced” several Memphis neighborhoods in transition. Through MEMFix, art, culture, and music combine with temporary street redesigns, pop-up shops, and other ‘activations’ to demonstrate the neighborhood’s vision for a vibrant future.

For more information, please visit www. memfix.org.

Women’s Foundation to divvy up $510,000 for grant winners The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis (WFGM) has selected 29 recipients to receive grant funding for its 2014-2015 funding year, with allocations totaling $510,000.

Each year, WFGM selects organizations whose projects or continuing programs fall within the WFGM’s mission, vision, and one or more of five areas of focus –economic and financial literacy, entrepreneurship, job readiness/career development, leadership development, and non-traditional job training. The 2014-15 WFGM grantee partners are: Advance Memphis; Booker T. Washington High School; Citizens for Community Values; Community Legal Center; DeNeuville Learning Center for Women; Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County; Girl Scouts Heart of the South; Girls Incorporated of Memphis; Hope House Daycare Center, Inc.; HopeWorks; Karat Place, Inc.; Latino Memphis; Lighthouse Mission Ministries; Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc.; Memphis Urban League; Neighborhood Christian Centers, Inc.; New Ballet Ensemble and School; New Memphis Institute; RISE Foundation, Inc.; Shelby Debate Commission; Southwest Tennessee Community College Foundation; The Exchange Club Family Center; The Salvation Army; United Housing; University of Memphis Research Foundation – Herff CE; Urban Strategies/Memphis HOPE; W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Catalyzing Community Giving; and Youth Striving for Excellence.

For more information, contact Shante K. Avant, deputy director, Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, at 901-578-9346 or via email shanteavant@wfgm.org.

BRIEFLY: Shaquita Starks, a PhD candidate at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), is the recipient of the Minority Fellowship Program Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Association. Starks will receive a $5,000 award towards her tuition and a stipend. The program is a part of the American Nurses Association. A certified family nurse practitioner, her research focuses on determining what affects the quality of life for African-American women caring for patients with End Stage Renal Disease.

BRIEFLY: Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and his wife, attorney Ruby Wharton, are seeking nominations for the Ruby R. Wharton Award to honor exceptional women who have made outstanding contributions to the Memphis area. The awards will be presented during the Thirteenth Annual Tea and Talk at the Top on Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Nomination forms: visit www.memphistn.gov. Deadline: 4 p.m., Jan. 28. Return nomination info to Catherine.green@ memphistn.gov; fax: 901-636-6588.

BRIEFLY: The Girls Will Be Girls Ministry will host its inaugural E²= Empowerment & Exhortation Summit at the Fogelman Executive Center-University of Memphis on January 31 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here is the link for tickets: http://bit.ly/1nXCMdj. Check out Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1pInbt6.

BRIEFLY: Literacy Mid-South is recruiting volunteer tutors for its new English for You program, which will allow trained volunteer tutors to meet with students throughout the week for small group learning at the East Shelby Library, Whitehaven Library, Germantown Community Library and the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, the site of the next training on Feb. 28.

Volunteers should apply online at www.literacymidsouth.org. Potential students are encouraged to call or text 901-327-6000 or visit www. literacymidsouth.org.

Before you go…

The Redwing Group, LLC hosted a reception for new State Sen. Lee Harris (District 29) at the firm’s office in One Commerce Square on Jan. 8. Harris and the 109th Tennessee General Assembly kicked off the 2015 session on Tuesday. Pictured (right to left): Ron Redwing, Harris, Jerry Hall, Ryan Carson and Marcus Lewis. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Bus riders group salutes Dr. King with ‘Living My Dream’ award day

by Tony Jones

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Community service was the order of the day at the Citizens For Better Service 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Award program this past Sunday (Jan. 11) at Bloomfield Full Gospel Church, 123 S. Parkway West.

Under the theme “Living My Dream,” the 2015 recipients are: Principal of the Year, Kelly Henderson (Hamilton Middle School); Teacher of the Year, Dr. Rosalyn Nichols (Dr. Henry Logan Starks Advancement Director-Memphis Theological Seminary); Student of the Year, Victoria Pereyra (Bartlett Academy School); Pastor of the Year, (The Rev. Stephen Brown, Light of Glory International Church); Choir of the Year, The Colors of Gospel Choir; Extraordinary Person of the Year, Albert Langston, Jr., (director, The Colors of Gospel Choir); Missionary Cleola Mosley Humanitarian Award, Tiernary Morgan (corporate recruiter); Rosa Parks Award, Shelia Bell (Fiction author and publishing entrepreneur); Lifetime Award, Dr. James Netters (senior pastor, Mount Vernon Baptist Church-Westwood).

Entertainment was provided by L ’Tonja Henderson, Barbara “Sissy” Davis, Colors of Gospel Choir, and gospel spiritualists the Traveling Kings. Representatives of the Miss Memphis Organization presented the awards to the honorees.

Johnnie Mosely was the chief organizer when Citizens For Better Service, which now has a dozen regular members, was founded in 1993 to advocate for better service for citizens that regularly ride city buses. Mosely was inspired by his mother Cleola Mosley, whom he describes as “a strong woman dedicated not only to her family, but to her community as well.”

“Our main goal is to advocate and keep our elected officials informed on the need to provide adequate funding for public transit. And equally important, to engage with the administration at Memphis Area Transit Authority to bring our voices to the table to make sure that the people who regularly use the service get the best service possible from all levels of MATA,” said Mosely.

The awards program grew from the mission “So many people and so many lives are impacted by public transit that we came to learn and hear stories about people doing good things in the communities that the buses serve, which is all of us really. So we came up with the awards to salute Dr. King’s mission. Remember, he was here to advocate and bring improvement to the so-called lowest members of society. People in Memphis don’t realize or appreciate how important the bus system is to the city’s lives, but people go to work, go to school, build families and manage their homes everyday by riding the buses.”

Citizens For Better Service heavily lobbied for the gas tax referendum voted down by the public in November 2012. The referendum asked voters to weigh in on a proposed one-cent tax to

The Citizens For Better Service 22nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Award included these attendees (l-r): Dr. Priscilla Williams, Alexis Nesbitt of Whitehaven High School, Bishop Anthony Moton, vice-chairman of Citizens For Better Service, and Dr. Cheryl Golden, vice president of Academic Affairs/Chief Academic Officer, The LeMoyne-Owen College. (Courtesy photos)

Johnnie Mosley, chairman of Citizens For Better Service, and Dr. Cheryl Golden, vice president of Academic Affairs/chief academic officer, The LeMoyne-Owen College. every gallon of gasoline sold within city limits, with the proceeds going to MATA. Mosley said the thumbs-down vote reflected one of the main criticisms he has of MATA. “The public perception is that the public transportation here is just a bad system. Unless they do a better job of educating the public of the importance of MATA to the entire city it’s going to be real tough to get more public support to improve public transportation with their dollars,” he said.

A professional librarian, Mosley is a regular bus rider. He and his wife own a car but he doesn’t like to drive.

“I’m what you call a rider by choice. And there are a lot more like me that ride buses everyday,” said Mosby, who advocates more effective pitching of the overall value of MATA to those who use the buses as a shuttle service for Grizzlies

games and UOM games.

Customer service remains a key concern, said Mosely, who has hopeful that MATA’s new general manager, Ron Garrison, can make a difference.

“He’s reached out to the business community, stated (that) he’s planned on going to the Chamber of Commerce, going to wider areas of the city to ask for help for the transit authority.

That hasn’t been done enough in the past. I think it’s the right thing to do. If the administration doesn’t create an image that public transportation is important, the general public isn’t going to think it’s important.”

MATA’s spokesperson, Alison Burton, spoke admirably of Citizens For Better Service and cited Mosley as an example of citizen advocacy.

“We always welcome citizen input and they have been consistent and concerned advocates through the years. They have never wavered.”

The possibility of increasing public funding support for MATA was a hard fight, she said.

“Referendums like that really take from 12 to 18 months to get the information and awareness out there to show people why they really should support it, and we had about 5 to 6 weeks. If you study what has been done in other cities, you will see that you need at least a year and a coalition of citizens from all walks of life. We definitely appreciated the efforts.”

MATA is adapting daily, said Burton, who describes such public transportation as a lifeline for any city.

“MATA Plus is growing (the service that transports special needs citizens), and we service so many sectors of the public, from professionals to blue collar workers,” she said.

TSU ready to host annual conference on unsung heroes

NASHVILLE – The 34th annual Nashville Conference of African-American History and Culture will take place on Feb. 13, at the Tennessee State University Avon Williams campus.

Co-sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, and the Metropolitan Historical Commission, the conference will focus on the educational and musical legacies of Nashville’s African-American community. For more than 30 years, the award-winning conference has brought together historians, students, educators, community leaders and others interested in African-American history and culture.

The 2015 conference continues the long-standing tradition of focusing on unsung heroes in Tennessee’s cultural history from slavery through the 20th century. Those highlighted at this year’s conference include John McCline, a former slave at Cloverbottom Plantation in Donelson, who escaped from bondage, worked for the Union Army in the Civil War, and eventually found a new life in the American West.

Also highlighted during the daylong conference is journalist, author and educator Samuel Yette, an English graduate from Tennessee State University, who became an influential and sometimes incendiary voice on civil rights, and was the first African- American Washington correspondent for Newsweek.

The life and work of King Daniel Ganaway will also be explored. Ganaway, an African-American from a Rutherford County family, was an award-winning photographer, working in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Chicago.

His portraits were exhibited during the 1920s and 1930s in Los Angeles, Chicago, and as part of the Harmon Foundation’s traveling exhibit of African-American artists.

This year’s speakers include Belmont University professor and noted author, Dr. Sybril Bennett, who will speak to the lessons of the Underground Railroad and how its innovative network can be adapted for networking in the 21st century, and Tennessee State University historian, Dr. Carroll Van West, who

will present “Where giants walked: American Baptist College and Selma’s voting rights movement.”

Building on the conference’s long-standing commitment to honoring the contributions of African Americans to the city’s cultural scene, the Nashville Public Library’s Wishing Chair Productions will stage “Anasazi the Spider,” in honor of the rich story-telling traditions of the African-American community.

Conference participants will also have the opportunity to view the winning student video documentaries from the 2014 Tennessee History Day competition. Honored for the best projects in African- American history, middle- and high-school students and their teachers will show their documentary shorts from the 2014 Nashville Conference Committee competition.

Feb. 13th is a Friday, with the conference beginning at 9 a.m. Registration is $20, with lunch and parking included. To register, visit www.nashville.gov/mhc, or call 615-8627970.

SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, January 15 - 21, 2015, Page 16

Year of the African-American quarterback

by Omar Tyree NNPA News Service

African-American quarterbacks have come a long way in American football, not just to play and to start, but to win and win big. I remember watching my hometown Philadelphia Eagles in the mid- to late-1980s when athletic quarterback, Randall Cunningham, would only see action off the bench during the third-downand-17 plays, with the hope that he would run around and make miracles happen. We had four major universities vying for the first NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Playoff Championship title, while starting three African-American quarterbacks and one Samoan.

Alabama started a fifthyear senior in Blake Sims out of Gainesville, Ga.; second-ranked Oregon started the current Heisman Trophy winner and Hawaiian-born and raised Samoan, Marcus Mariota; Omar third-ranked Florida State Tyree started last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and champion, “Famous” Jameis Winston out of Bessemer, Ala.; and the fourth-ranked Ohio State started Cardale Jones, a third-string redshirt sophomore from Cleveland, who stepped in for only one game after first-string starter J.T Barrette and second-string starter Braxton Miller both went down to season-ending injuries. And get this, all three Ohio State quarterbacks are African-American.

That’s unbelievable. I’m old enough to remember when African-American quarterbacks were still not considered smart enough to lead their teams to championships. I even rooted against Doug Williams out of Grambling University when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 9-0 NFC Championship loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 1980. What can I say? I was 10 years old and a huge Wendell Tyler, Vince Ferragamo, Billy Waddy, Jim and Jack Youngblood, Nolan Cromwell and the Los Angeles Rams fan that year. But when Williams later led Washington to a 42-10 NFL Super Bowl XXII win over John Elway’s Denver Broncos in 1988 and became the first African-American quarterback to win it all, I rooted for him then, even though Washington was enemy territory for us Philadelphians.

As a freshman in college that year, I final-

Cardale Jones

ly understood how big of a deal it was for an African-American quarterback to win it all.

And I actually liked John Elway. He was one of my favorite quarterbacks of the 1980s and 90s. However, Williams’ MVP performance and big win was about more than just playing football. His victory represented national pride in our African-American race and culture, along with respect for our continued struggle to fight against stereotypes and discrimination as professionals competing at the highest levels of American society.

So I rooted for Warren Moon in all of his record-breaking years with the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings with no championships. I rooted again for Cunningham and his high-scoring, 16-1 Minnesota Vikings team in their disappointing 30-27 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 NFC Championship. I rooted for Kordell “Slash” Stewart in his years of doing everything in Pittsburgh. And I rooted for Steve “Air” McNair when his upstart Tennessee Titans lost Super Bowl XXXIV in a nail-biting 23-16 game against the St. Louis Rams. Until, finally, Russell Wilson was able to win it all for the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s 43-8 demolition of Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. On the college level, African-American quarterbacks have had a lot more success, partic-

Jameis Winston

ularly over the past 20 years. Who could ever forget Tommie Frazier and his back-to-back championships for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1995 and 1996? What Peyton Manning was unable to do – bring home a University of Tennessee championship title while quarterbacking the Volunteers from 1995-1998 – was achieved

by Tee Martin with MVP honors after an undefeated 13-0 season and a 1999 Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State. Vince Young did the same for the Texas Longhorns in a classic 2006 Rose Bowl Championship win over the heavily favorite USC Trojans.

Then we had Cam Newton, who led the Auburn Tigers to an undefeated season through the torturous SEC for a National Championship title over the high-scoring Oregon Ducks in 2011.

Newton won the Heisman Trophy, became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and changed the way the quarterback position is now played at the professional level.

Last year we had Winston, a quarterback just as big and as strong as Newton, who led the ACC’s Florida State Seminoles back to a BCS National Championship title by finally dethroning the mighty SEC school’s domination with another great game and a win over Auburn, mostly using his arm.

And please don’t forget Charlie Ward, the all-athletic, 1993 Heisman Trophy winner and

Blake Sims

1994 Orange Bowl Champion from Florida State, who eventually went on to play professional basketball for the New York Knicks. Or, the Florida Gators’ Chris Leak, who won the BCS National Championship Game in 2007 over Ohio State in the middle of early Tim Tebow excitement – who only came in for short yardage running plays or jump-passes at the goal line.

So here we had it in 2015; Blake Sims, Jameis Winston, Cordale Jones and Marcus Mariota in the first 4-team, NCAA Playoff Championship series of FSU Division 1 football.

Diversity is exciting, pulling millions of inspired people to the games for much more than just sports, but for cultural identification, pride and the continuous struggle to compete and win regardless of your race, creed, gender, economics or historical circumstances. That’s what makes sports so great an international equalizer.

We all get a chance to line up and go for it. Next year, they all start over again with 0-0 records.

(NNPA columnist Omar Tyree is a New York Times bestselling author, an NAACP Image Award winner for Outstanding Fiction, and a professional journalist, who has published 27 books, including co-authoring “Mayor For Life; The Incredible Story of Marion Barry Jr.” View more of his career and work @ www.

OmarTyree.com.)

Southwest Saluqis rise to No. 6 in nation

Johnathan Burroughs-Cook

Boasting its highest ranking since taking the 4th spot in the 2008-09 final poll, the Southwest Saluqis entered the national arena as 6th in the latest NJCAA Division 1 Poll. Under the direction of head coach Jerry Nichols, Southwest has amassed an overall record of 11-1.

“I’m very honored and humbled with our standing in the latest NJCAA poll,” said Coach Nichols. “The ranking is a vote of confidence in the direction that we are headed and I couldn’t be more proud of my student-athletes and staff. This is a testament to all of the hard

Next games this weekend

work that they put in on a daily basis and it’s refreshing to see them recognized nationally.

“I’m blessed to be working with a great group of kids that are not only leaders on the court but also in the classroom and in our local community. They are truly deserving and I’m looking forward to more great things to come from them.”

The robust Saluqi squad is extremely balanced this season with 11 players pounding the court for as many as 10 minutes

Have your cake and win…

During a timeout at Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, the Grizz (right) presents Tony Allen with a cake to celebrate his birthday. Allen and the Grizzlies won a double-overtime thriller (122-110) at the FedExForum. (Photo: Warren Roseborough)

per game. The Saluquis started the season ranked number 11 and have been in the Top 10 for the last four weeks. Their only lost was to number two-ranked Northwest Florida State on November 26.

Southwest’s premier player is sophomore guard Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, a former Ridgeway High standout and College of Charleston transfer.

He leads the team with 13.8 points per game. Second on the Saluqi winning roster, with 12.9

points and 3.1 assists per game, is impressive sophomore wing Rasheed Brooks, an Ole Miss signee.

The Southwest men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled just across the Mississippi River to West Memphis on January 8 to take on Mid-South Community College in their first games of the new year and came back home with a sweep.

Burroughs-Cook led Southwest to an 88-63 victory with 22 points. Eleven different players scored for the Saluqis. Earl Bryant added 16 points and led the team with six assists and De-

Andre McKinnie came off the bench to score 15 points. Keion Alexander was the top rebounder with eight and three blocked shots, also a team-high.

The Lady Saluqis – winners of five of their last seven games have a 6-7 overall record.

NOTE: The Southwest basketball teams return home to the Verties Sails Gymnasium for conference games against Volunteer State on Friday (Jan. 16), with the women at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the teams play against Motlow State (women 2 p.m., men 4 p.m.)

Hello and goodbye…

The Memphis Grizzlies have picked up Jeff Green from Boston in a move to boost offense and gain an edge in the tight Western Conference. The Grizz sent Tayshaun Prince, shown guarding Green at the FedExForum, to the Celtics and forward Quincy Pondexter to New Orleans. They also picked up point guard Russ Smith, a 2014 second-round pick, from New Orleans, and a traded player exception. Memphis gave a 2015 second-round pick to New Orleans and a protected future first round pick to Boston. (Photo: Warren Roseborough)