January 29 - February 4, 2014
VOL. 64, No. 4
www.tsdmemphis.com
75 Cents
Alcenia’s to keep rolling in the Pinch District Legislative threat looms to district’s historic designation by Tony Jones
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
What’s Happening Myron? Bust a Move Monday is Feb. 2nd Put your dollars on literacy and support local authors by Myron Mays
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
If you’ve been a Memphian for at least a short amount of time, you may have heard of something called “Bust a Move Monday” or simply “B.A.M.M.” This impactful ministry has Myron been supporting Mays African-American-owned businesses in Memphis for over 13-plus years, even helping some of them to keep their doors open. Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum Jr., pastor of The New Olivet Baptist Church, created the B.A.M.M. ministry to empower black-owned businesses. How is how it works: B.A.M.M. targets a Memphis-area business on the first Monday of every month and directs supporters to place their dollars in that business for that day. Outside of the cooperation of the business owner, the ministry asks for nothing in return except for the sales receipts of the patrons to measure the success of the day’s events and to document the impact. The Black Business Association of Memphis is also a partner and strong supporter of B.A.M.M. The February B.A.M.M. event takes place on Monday (Feb. 2nd) and the recipient is something I am very familiar with, the “What’s Happening Myron Book Club.” I’ve decided to bring along a few of my literary friends to present the event in grand style. This Monday, the New Olivet Baptist Church at 3084 Southern Ave. will convert its gymnasium into a “bookstore” that will house over 30 local authors who will have their books and merchandise on sale from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. All books and merchandise will be priced at $10.99 and under. Throughout the day there will be entertainment, as well as door prizes and other giveaways. In the spirit of the mission of the What’s Happening Myron Book Club, this is an opportunity for our local authors to reach new readers. And it’s a chance to introduce our local authors to those who read and purchase books on a regular basis. Call it a triple-win situation. Sheila E. Bell, an author, book publisher and acquisitions editor, adds even more context. An advocate for eradicating illiteracy “one community at a time,” Bell helps paint a
B.J. Chester-Tamayo, owner of Alcenia’s Southern Style Cuisine in the Pinch District, has carved out a respectable niche for herself as the proprietor of what many declare the most unique and friendly intimate restaurant in Downtown Memphis. For 17 years, Chester-Tamayo has been cooking and serving traditional soul food in a way that has made her restaurant a treasured local attraction, drawing national and local media attention, some of which is grandly displayed on the walls throughout her place at 317 N. Main. Alcenia’s décor carries a funky little groove like a modern art replication of grand mama’s house, and when we walked in we got the full treatment just like we were a family member, but with a decided twist this time. Noted by the tons of aforementioned feature articles about her, one of Chester-Tamayo’s charming hooks is that she greets her customers with a warm hug when they come through her door. But not this day. She was hopping mad after learning that there is a move in the state legislature to remove the Pinch District’s historic designation. She had been interviewed by a local television station about it a few hours earlier. “And I will tell you exactly what I told them, it’s just stupid. Why in the world is this city always tearing something down instead of trying to come up with solutions to get the best out of what we have?” she steamed. “It sounds like another case where
Hopping mad after learning that there is a move in the state legislature to remove the Pinch District’s historic designation, Alcenia’s B.J. Chester-Tamayo said she would keep her Southern Style Cuisine restaurant going regardless of the outcome in Nashville. (Photo: M.J. Branch) the big money in this town gets what it wants and forget everybody else. I just don’t understand this place.” Memphis Downtown Commission President Paul Morris says he understands the sentiment of those who would like to preserve the Pinch Dis-
trict’s historic designation. “It’s really unfortunate that we allowed the Pinch to lose so much of its historical character by allowing so many buildings to get knocked down to make room for parking lots. But recognizing that fact today, I don’t
by Erik Schelzig
Brief stint ends for Don Thompson; One of few African-American execs at helm of a Fortune 500 company
Associated Press
by Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele Don Thompson, the 51-yearold CEO of McDonald’s, is stepping down on March 1, according to CNBC. The transition comes amid reports that the “world’s biggest restaurant chain” is trying to revamp its U.S. operations after closing out a financial period that was “tumultuous,” the financial news site explained. “McDonald’s stock is nearly flat during Thompson’s tenure as CEO,” CNBC reported, saying that in 2014, an important sales metric “rose just 0.2 percent” – a clear sign of trouble. Thompson’s stint as CEO was impactful and yet fairly brief. Thompson, who assumed the position in July 2012, was one of the few Afri-
Don Thompson (YouTube)
can-American executives at the helm of a Fortune 500 company. He was previously the corporation’s chief operating officer. Thomson came to work at McDonald’s in the early 1990s as an engineer. In addition to its bottom line, the fast-food franchise has had a problem with the public’s perception of its products. In addition to “stressing the quality of its food to consumers” as one of its primary goals moving forward, CNBC found that McDonald’s is also hoping to make logistical changes to its menu, like doing away with some of the items in order to make the menu more efficient, and also creating a “build-your-own
sandwich” vertical to give consumers more options. Also notable during Thompson’s tenure: a group of African-American former employees of a McDonald’s franchisee in Virginia filed a civil rights lawsuit in May 2014 claiming that they were mistreated and fired because of their race. Ten former employees said that when they communicated their concerns to McDonald’s corporate headquarters, they were told that the issue should be taken up with the franchisee. McDonald’s chief brand officer, Steve Easterbrook, will take Thompson’s place as CEO.
SEE BAMM ON PAGE 3
MEMPHIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
H-47o - L-32o
H-51o - L-41o
H-46o - L-28o
Sunny
REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS
Cloudy
SEE ALCENIA’S ON PAGE 2
Revised projections: Insure Tennessee would cover 280K
McDonald’s dumps CEO
The Root
think the historical designation matters that much,” said Morris. “I’m in support of shrinking the district as I heard it advanced so far. My priorities are to get the Pinch de-
Showers
Friday Saturday Sunday H-53 L-33 H-50 L-39 H-48 L-29 H-40 L-28 H-48 L-37 H-43 L-28 H-56 L-34 H-58 L-44 H-57 L-37
A show of respect… President Barack Obama participates in a traditional greeting with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, India on Sunday (Jan. 25.) See related story, photo on page 3. (White House photo: Pete Souza)
NASHVILLE – Projections for enrollment in Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to cover low-income Tennesseans have been revised upward to 280,000 people in the first year. Gov. Bill The RepubHaslam lican governor’s chief of staff, Mark Cate, said Wednesday that new number reflects the results of independent studies and comparisons with Medicaid programs in other states. The original estimates for the Insure Tennessee plan had pegged the expected enrollment at 200,000 or less. Cate added that while the enrollment projections have gone up, the estimated cost per enrollee has gone down enough to keep cost expectations at their original level. The Insure Tennessee proposal would be available to people whose earnings are below 138 percent of the federal poverty level – which works out to $16,100 for an individual or about $33,000 for a family of four. Cate and other members of the Haslam administration presented details about the plan to state lawmakers in advance of next week’s special session to decide its fate. The officials stressed that the plan wouldn’t come with any cost to Tennessee taxpayers because state hospitals have agreed to cover any extra expenses. The federal government would pay about $1.4 billion per year for the program, while the state share to be made up by hospitals would be about $36 million beginning in 2017. Several Republican legislators raised questions about committing to the program that draws on federal money available under President Barack Obama’s health care law, and suggested that participating would contribute to country’s fiscal issues. “If we don’t participate and it doesn’t increase the national deficit, then that’s money that doesn’t have to be paid back in the future by Tennesseans,” said Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield. Cate declined to speculate on whether approving the program would add to the federal deficit, but SEE INSURE ON PAGE 2
January 29 - February 4, 2014
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NEWS
Chester-Tamayo says Alcenia’s will roll on. “People thought I was crazy CONTINUED FROM FRONT veloped, more so than retain- when I told them I was going to open a nice, sit down soul ing the designation.” The historic designation food restaurant in downtown doesn’t have as much of an Memphis, but I’ve been here effect as some people think it 17 years and I’m going to keep going.” does,” Morris said. After greeting a patron, she “(It) means if you’re asking shared some good news that for federal money to do something, you have to go through had just come to her attention. “I just got this notice in the an extra process, but it doesn’t mean you can’t tear buildings mail today, check this out,” down or do what you want Chester-Tamayo said, flashing her well-recognized smile. with your property.” No matter what happens, The letter was a notice from the New York Times informing her that she would be featured Alcenia’s owner, B.J. in the upcoming 2nd edition of Chester-Tamayo, learned a Times best selling hard cover this week that her 17-year- travel book, “36 Hours: USA old restaurant will be and Canada.” featured in the upcoming As the letter was being read, 2nd edition of New York in walked another customer, Times best-selling hard Shelly Michelle, a professioncover travel book, “36 al cosmetologist with her own Hours: USA and Canada.” business at 525 N. Main. (Photo: M.J. Branch) “It’s my first time here. It’s
ALCENIA’S
Is dinner ever going to be ready at Sweetie Pie’s?
by Tony Jones
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
While we’ve all experienced the frustration of waiting on a dinner that doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to be ready, those eager to step down to Beale Street to taste the famous soul food at Sweetie Pie’s have some more waiting and anticipating in their immediate future. That’s the latest update available from Paul Morris, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission. He’s leading the city’s effort to help usher the deal into place. There was little indication of progress late Wednesday by the two companies involved in the deal. Still, Morris was hopeful. Central Foods Incorporated, which sublets the property for the city, filed a complaint in court alleging Sweetie Pie’s had not made agreed improvements to the building. Sweetie Pie’s attorney claims Central Foods failed to live up to its part of the improvements bargain. “I can’t comment too much in detail, but I can state that the process of mediation is ongoing and that both sides want it to work out so that Sweetie Pie’s can open up on Beale Street,” sad Morris. “Mayor (A C) Wharton (Jr.) is particularly interested in pushing that along, so I am keeping him updated. Both sides are putting responses back and forth in a positive manner, so I’m hopeful we will get this resolved in a positive way.” Attorney Robert Spence represents Sweetie Pie’s. He had not been reached for comment by The New TriState Defender’s print deadline. “We’re hopeful. …We are
waiting for a response from Sweetie Pie’s to our last proposal to see if we can get the restaurant open,” Central Foods attorney Jack Magids told the TSD. “We really are not very far along, but frankly, that is not a criticism of Robert Spence. He has been involved in a jury trial for the last couple of weeks and he hasn’t been able to deal with this matter. And I perfectly understand. When you have a jury trial you’ve got your hands full day and night to get ready for the next day. So we are hoping to hear something from his office soon.” When the announcement came last year that Sweetie Pie’s would take over the location at 149 Beale Street it was seen as a major win for the city. Vacant now for 12 years, and still fondly remembered by many as the site of the rollicking Club Royale, putting Sweetie Pie’s in the location would give Beale Street a blackbased nationally known name to promote. The restaurant’s sign is still up, but the tables and chairs were removed in December. Contractors that had done work on the renovation have said they were still waiting to get paid. Meanwhile, Morris said, “I think the ingredients are there for the Sweetie Pie’s deal to work.”
“Our clear point is we are already paying for this,” Cate said. “And we’re not getting anything in return.”
responded that a large percentage of those unemployed CONTINUED FROM FRONT adults have physical or mental health conditions and noted that Tennessee already “perhaps with good medical receives a wide range of fed- care could return to the workeral funding in areas like ed- force.” ucation and transportation. The governor has been on About 40 percent of the state’s the road to promote his Insure current $32.9 billion spend- Tennessee proposal and wraps ing plan comes from federal up the statewide tour with stops sources. in Johnson City, Sparta and Cate emphasized that the Murfreesboro on Thursday. state contributes taxes and fees related to the federal health care law regardless of whether it draws down money for Medicaid expansion. “Our clear point is we are already paying for this,” Cate said. “And we’re not getting anything in return.” Republican Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden appeared unconvinced by the presentation. “Even though we say it’s free market system, or a market-based system, we’re still buying in to a losing book of business,” Holt said. Holt took issue with estimates that about 46 percent of those covered under the proposal would be unemployed. Wendy Long, the chief medical officer for TennCare,
INSURE
The New Tri-State Defender
been on my mind to come in here for so long, so I made it a point to stop today,” said Michelle, pausing to look around. “And this is really great. I met her (Chester-Tamayo) at the Farmer’s Market and I’ve tasted her desserts and they were really good. So I promised to myself I would come by. And I’m really glad I did.” Alcenia’s cooks to order. Pretty soon, cook and server Sheila Chandler brought out Michelle’s order in Alcenia’s signature multi-color plastic serving dishes, with a large yellow tumbler of water. In the down-home theme, Chester-Tamayo makes great KoolAid and there are many testaments on the wall praising her sweet cornbread. Historic district or not, a visit to Alcenia’s reminds one that a family meal is supposed to feed the soul and fuel the engine.
January 29 - February 4, 2014
The New Tri-State Defender
BAMM
CONTINUED FROM FRONT picture of the literacy challenge in the Memphis Area with these references: • More than 70 percent of Tennessee’s eighth-graders read at or below the basic level of proficiency for that grade, according to a report by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Offices of Research and Education Accountability. • According to Dr. Joy Singleton Stevens (elementary school teacher and statistician), 60 percent of our third graders come into the classroom reading at or below grade level. More than 6,000 students, in Shelby County alone, leave third grade missing learning skills critical to their success. And 74 percent of third graders who read poorly still struggle in ninth grade. Third-grade reading scores can reasonably predict a student’s likelihood to graduate high school. • A recent study by Literacy MidSouth shows that between 20 percent and 30 percent of adults in the Memphis metropolitan area are functionally illiterate. The author of 15 titles and recipient of numerous literary awards, Bell’s commitment to wiping out illiteracy “one community at a time” led her to found and host the annual BWABC Literacy Festival. The free festival, which is held every year during National Literacy Month, brings close to 100 African-American authors and book clubs to the City of Memphis with a common goal: to help her organization promote literacy. I am honored to be a part of the B.A.M.M. ministry, which I have long supported. I applaud Dr. Whalum for setting the example for so many of us when it comes to economic empowerment. It really doesn’t take a lot individually to make a difference. It just takes a lot of individuals with the right spirit… and B.A.M.M. is just that. And for a city such as Memphis, the B.A.M.M. ministry is a much-needed voice speaking directly to the ongoing fight for economic empowerment, not only in our community but communities all over the country. Truthfully, I never thought that one day I would actually be a B.A.M.M. recipient. Four years ago, I started a little book club looking to make a positive impact on other people. I wanted to help our local authors while building my brand. Now, I am now doing both on a larger scale. On Monday, not only can you purchase books and merchandise, you may also leave a donation as well. I look forward to seeing you. It’s gonna be a day well spent!
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NEWS
COMMENTARY
Michelle Obama headscarf ‘scandal’ draws fire by Lynette Holloway The Root
Michelle Obama’s absent headscarf on a visit with President Barack Obama to pay respects to the late Saudi King Abdullah Tuesday has sparked outrage among some members of the U.S. media, who called it disrespectful. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the first lady did not wear a headscarf or veil, noting that it was an unusual move in Saudi Arabia because it’s one of the few countries on Earth where women are expected to cover their heads. The story went on to cite more than 1,500 tweets using a hashtag that roughly translated to #Michelle_Obama_unveiled. But Vox’s Max Fisher points out that the first lady was merely following in the footsteps of her White predecessors, who never experienced media backlash. Further, he notes that the controversy is fundamentally racist and “rooted in the idea that Arabs are such inherently backward cavemen that even top government leaders would somehow be shocked to see an unveiled woman.” Vox reports: 1. American officials in Saudi Arabia typically do not wear headscarves, including at formal government functions. Michelle was following normal protocol. 2. Former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton did not wear headscarves on similar official visits to Saudi Arabia. Neither did former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. 3. Saudi Arabia is officially ultra-conservative, but it is also heavily integrated into the global economy; unveiled Western women are extremely common in elite government circles like this one. Unveiled female Western leaders are common sights on Saudi media. Vox also notes that Saudi’s twitterverse is rather large and the number of complaining social media users barely tips the scale toward a mass reaction. Despite reports of a Saudi social media backlash against the
Saudi new King Salman walks alongside President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama after the Obamas arrived on Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on January 27, 2015. Obama landed in Saudi Arabia to shore up ties with King Salman and to offer condolences after the death of his predecessor Abdullah. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) The American media’s assumption that Saudis are all cavemen whose faces would melt on seeing an unveiled woman is not just overly simplistic, but is rooted in racist assumptions about Arabs and Muslims as inherently and universally backwards. first lady for going unveiled, tweets complaining about her appearance appear to have been quite limited. As the Wall Street Journal’s Ahmed Al Omran put it, “Saudi has millions of Twitter users. When a few hundred of them talk about something, that’s not a backlash. It’s hardly a flicker.” The piece went on to slam social media users who seized the moment to promote stereotypes and Muslim fearmongering. The American media’s assumption that Saudis are all cavemen whose faces would melt on seeing an unveiled woman is not just overly simplistic, but is rooted in racist assumptions about Arabs and Muslims as inherent-
ly and universally backwards. Unsurprisingly, many in the US have seized on this to perpetuate Islamophobic fearmongering about Muslims, such as when US Senator Ted Cruz tweeted, “Kudos to @FLOTUS for standing up for women & refusing to wear Sharia-mandated head-scarf in Saudi Arabia.” If she had worn a headscarf, just imagine the momentum it would have given to the birther movement, Vox notes, citing an excerpt from a Facebook post by Nidal Diaz, an Ottowa-based analyst: The unfortunate truth is that this had little to do with her making a stand for a woman’s right to not wear a veil and/or the Saudi government’s institutionalized sexism but more to do with attempting to avoid further perpetuating the American Right’s obsession for stigmatizing Obama and family as Muslims, and, approaching an election year, to prevent the Democrat administration from appearing to submit to the way of life of the vilified Saudis/Wahhabis. Beyond that, I
highly doubt that whatever vitriol she got on Saudi social media and blogosphere would have even compared to the backlash she would have gotten had she been pictured wearing a veil at Abdullah’s funeral. Vox notes that in its rush to find fault with the first lady, the media ended up focusing on the wrong issues: The Saudi government is indeed a despotic dictatorship and horrific human rights abuser – it has beheaded three people in the week since the king died – particularly when it comes to women. It is unfortunate and ironic that, in an attempt to highlight this problem, much of the American media has instead only perpetuated the different but very real American problem of Islamophobic and anti-Arab stereotyping. Indeed, this is not an issue about the absence of the first lady’s headscarf, but a push to find fault where there is none to avoid tackling weightier matters like human rights abuses. Stay strong, first lady Obama!
January 29 - February 4, 2014
Page 4
OPINION
John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951-1997)
The Mid-South’s Best Alternative Newspaper Powered by Best Media Properties, Inc.
The New Tri-State Defender
“The Republican Par-
FLASHBACK: 2010
ty is bent on opposing anything President Obama may advocate, even if it’s good not only for the country, but the rest of the world.”
Bernal E. Smith II President / Publisher Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku Executive Editor
The ‘stench’ of education reform and the need to respond now
There is a stench in the air in Memphis and it’s a smell that is permeating throughout black school districts. One can get a whiff of it in Newark, N.J., Philadelphia, New Orleans and most urban areas that received Race To The Top federal dollars for education. This awful stench derived from education reform and it’s been perpetrated on minorities with lower incomes and those who live under a lower socio economic status. This stench has led corporations and politicians to the belief that they can control the education of African American and minority children (black and brown students) simply because they were granted millions of dollars by the government. They want to buy our children and they believe the federal government has given them the power to do so with the money allotted to improve student achievement. So these Nashville politicians have neatly packaged the Shelby County School District, which is 85 percent African American, in a box where students are behind, teachers are ineffective, teaching jobs are tied to test scores, and student scores are tied to whether a school is slated for takeover or is closed altogether. These politicians have aligned themselves with rich corporate types and they have passed laws that will give themselves total and complete power over urban schools, urban teachers, urban children, and young black and brown minds from K-12 grades in Memphis, which will lead to generational control. We have seen this before, Memphis. We have fought this fight before and now 50 years later, we are facing the same thing our grandparents faced when they went against a power structure designed to have access and control over the minds of our children. It was called the civil rights era and the legal case was Brown vs. Board of Education. That is where the state would like to take us, but we’re not going back there. Let me explain how we got in this predicament. The first step in the reform game came about a decade ago when there was a law passed by the government, carried out by the state and enforced throughout the Memphis City Schools district allowing the social promotion of our children. This meant that Memphis children were advanced to the next grade whether they had mastered the required skills for their present grade or not. This process was supposed to keep students from falling behind their age group, and it went on for 10 long years and now we find that our children are grade levels behind in their core subjects. Teachers had nothing to do with those bureaucratic decisions; but, somehow, teachers have been the subject of blame, shame and labeled ineffective because of the educational decline in Memphis’s children. Once our students got behind by several grades, the state ushered in the next step in the education reform game. The state tied the student test scores to the teachers’ jobs. The school board, the politicians and
the corporations know full well that their decisions are to blame for the dismal education standing of our inner city kids; yet they continue to push forward with the reform game. In the final step, we have the influx Tony of corporate monJackson ey, the banning of labor unions, and the passage of new laws granting the state total power and control over the children in Memphis because they received federal money which they believe gives them total power. To sum it all up, there is a system at work where the state has its own people who make the test, its people who grade the test, the state decides what schools to take, and then it puts the school of their choice in its politically and corporately controlled school district, the ASD. So what we have is a political and corporate power structure using federal dollars to gain access and control over our black and brown children from the time they enter school until they leave. We fought against this in the civil rights era because the people in charge of educating our kids, the same structure who wants total power now, abused their power back then and failed to properly and equally educate our children. Brown vs. Board of Education forced them to do right by black kids in the 60s, but we Memphians must force them to do the right thing now. We cannot leave them to their own devices and expect them to do the right thing. History has shown us that they never have and never will, and the path they have led us down to this point has shown that the state does not care for black and brown children in Memphis. Those Nashville politicians who now care so deeply about the children in Memphis are the same politicians who fought tooth and nail, then changed the laws, so that the municipalities could create their own school district and our kids could remain segregated from white kids. Those politicians accomplished that and now they are back to take our Shelby County School District. They are perpetrating racial discrimination, segregation and classism on our black and brown children and their plan is being carried out by our own school board. Memphis, they must be stopped. If the state wants to take us back, let’s go all the way back – to sit-ins, boycotts, protests, marches. And if need be, in order to save our schools and save our children from the political and corporate power structure, we might have to shut the whole system down to remove the stench. It takes a village with every villager involved. If it worked then, it will work now. (Tony Jackson is a South Side physical education teacher, who has been active in opposing state efforts to take over the school.)
Beyond #OscarsSoWhite, seeing the bigger picture A little over a week ago, the Oscar nominations created quite the buzz. Many people were up in arms regarding the fact that there wasn’t an acknowledgement of the actors and directors of color Janaye who made an imIngram pact in film this year. News outlets and people everywhere started saying this was the “whitest Oscars” in years. The hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite started trending on Twitter. In the case of director, there was also the gender diversity problem that had many people questioning how Ava Duvernay left the building without a nod. Advocacy organizations representing people of color were outraged, as they should be. But the larger issue goes much deeper than whose names were called as nominees. While most people were focused on who is on the nomination list, the larger issue is: who are the people behind the scenes? Specifically, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is 94% white and 76% male. This is the body that decides who gets nominated and who wins, so it’s no wonder why the nominees lack the diversity we want to
see reflected. The recent issues facing Sony Films after leaks of their email accounts went public, show just how much diversity is an issue in the industry – so much so, that even a meeting with the President of the United States was not handled with cultural competence. There is a great failure on the part of Hollywood to fully embrace people of color. That cultural tone deafness bleeds not only into the films that are shown in movie theatres, but the shows that we see on television, the ads we see in magazines and the awards that honor people doing the work. Far too often, people of color struggle to find themselves represented on any screen and even when they do, it’s often in stereotypical depictions that offer only a fractured view of their real life narrative. It’s a problem that not only impacts the people of color with a limited reflection, but also impacts the greater society. … For most people of color, we live every day having to see or identify ourselves with white characters, while most white people can never find themselves identifying or seeing themselves in black characters. That difference is simple yet significant. It is the thing that blocks us from understanding each other and it blocks us from truly embracing diversity. (NewsOne columnist Janaye Ingram is the acting national executive director of National Action Network.)
America’s racism is a world problem Haslam, health care options and personal responsibility It is not surprising that few people bristled when Governor Haslam introduced his idea for Insure TN, which, according to the TN.gov Newsroom page, “rewards healthy behaviors, prepares members to transition to private coverage, promotes personal responsibility and incentivizes choosing preventative and routine care instead of unnecessary use of emergency rooms.” Who doesn’t want people to behave healthily, right? No one would disagree that taking personal responsibility for one’s own health is an idea that should continue to be encouraged and celebrated. It is only right, however, that we take a brief pause before we write it into policy as a determinant for whether people get access to the fullest health coverage available. There are some questions that we must ask of our politics of personal responsibility before we fall headlong in love with using health coverage as a reward for healthy behaviors. As we begin to craft policy that holds people to a standard of personal responsibility for performing healthy behaviors, we must ask ourselves who defines healthy behavior and the standards by which it will be measured. How qualified are the people who support this law to have a full conversation about what personal responsibility and healthy behavior mean for ALL Tennesseans? Can they even begin to fathom life at the intersection of poor education, low-to-no income, racism and sexism? Are they even willing to try? Having seen Gov. Haslam’s decision-making and trend of supporting policy that threatens and oppresses poor families under the guise of promoting personal responsibility, I am fearful of the impact of this new move on the most vulnerable populations in our state – women, young people, low-wage workers and those already impacted by chronic illness. Instead of encouraging more people to act within their power to become and stay healthy, I can see standards that fail to “reward” vulnerable populations for making the responsible decisions that people with more privilege never even have to consider. I can imagine exclusion from the
reward of full health coverage for the poor working woman who spends her small grocery budget on foods that will stretch to feed her family because the myopic standards set by this administration suggest Rev. Faye feeding her chilLondon dren more fresh foods (which she cannot afford) would have been healthier than buying what will feed them every day until the next grocery money is available. In continuation of our already punitive orientation, I see the exclusion of people who suffer from addiction because of the unhealthy activity the illness of addiction might cause and perhaps even MORE unnecessary and expensive drug testing to “prove” that poor people are behaving unhealthily and therefore should be excluded from the reward of full healthcare. I see standards of “responsible” medication compliance that will penalize poorer citizens for being unable to afford all of their medications on time all the time. Healthy behaviors are a good thing as long as we are honest about the ways in which differences in circumstances impact our ability to make decisions that would be considered responsible by the arbitrary standard of a government agency. While, like Governor Haslam, I am a Christian, we differ on this point. I believe access to healthcare should NOT under ANY circumstances be mediated by the moral standards of one small group of people. Healthcare is too important for my opinions to affect your access. And somehow, I believe that by the standards of most spiritual traditions, caring for the most people at the best level is more important than being able to say you didn’t cave to pressure from the Left. (The Rev. Faye London is the Interfaith Outreach Coordinator for SisterReach, a Reproductive Justice Organization serving women and girls across Tennessee.)
IN THE MAIL
We need Insure Tennessee Hats off to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for thinking about the welfare of the people of the great state of Tennessee. Per the December 29, 2014 article “Republican Govs rethink stiff-arm of Obamacare,” many governors who once opposed this solution to help those less fortunate in their state are finally seeing the light. The light that now many of our elected officials and Tennessee legislators must find. This letter is to employ the support of those that we put trust in to do the right thing for us as citizens in all counties. Both Democrat and Republican legislators must come together to say “YES” to this federal funding that will help the working poor of our state. Whether the dollars coming to the people of Tennessee
were initiated by President Obama and The Affordable Health Care Act, or not, our Republican legislators must remember their oath and put the people of Tennessee first. We need INSURE TENNESSEE to help the uninsured and working poor. Republicans and Democrats please come together to work with Governor Haslam as he promotes wellness for Tennesseans. Some low-income families can now take preventive measures as well as use the Medicaid money to purchase private insurance through their employees. We need this legislation for Tennessee. Republican legislators do the right thing and VOTE Yes for the federal funds. Maryetta Pollard Memphis
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In a previous article I mentioned that the “wrong” (some call it the “right”) really brandished its disrespect by embracing what I would call an enemy, Russian Prime Minister Rev. Rodney Vladamir Putin, Beard over Commander and Chief Barack Obama, the president that “we the people” elected to a second term. OK, so let’s not use the term “treason” for now. Still, I think that we can easily call what the “wrongs” are doing “treachery,” which according to the dictionary is “harmful things that are done usually secretly to a friend (our duly elected President), your own country, etc.” John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the “Rethugs” have operated in treachery from day one. It began the night of President Obama’s inauguration for heaven’s sakes when they vowed (secretly) to do “harmful things” to all of us by not working with the American public’s clear choice. In targeting President Obama they also targeted their “own country, etc.” Etcetera (etc): “a number of unspecified additional persons or things.” I would say that the “number of unspecified additional persons” would be the rest of the world when it comes to peace. Those Boehner-like cats seemingly are itching for a war anywhere they can get one. These small minded and impetuous elected officials (and I use that word loosely) are willing to tip the balance of peace to go to war yet again, and make money for their constituents just like they always have. They have now escalated and elevated their blatantly treacherous plans by blind-siding the White House with a secret invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress. How so? In diplomatic relations and foreign policy, which is the job of the President, not Congress, our country’s guideline is to not interfere with the possible outcome of the elections of any other country. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry did what is diplomatically appropriate and took a “hands off” approach relative to upcoming elections in Israel. But what did the “wrongs” do? They issued a behind-the-back invite to Netanyahu in an obvious effort to discredit and undermine the President. Sounds pretty much like sedition: the “undermining of constituted authority.” With one hand extended to the U.S., Netanyahu gets military aid and support that no one else in the world can expect to receive, financial aid that no one else can imagine, and moral support that no one else in the world can understand, or would give. Meanwhile, he wants to slap President Obama – unhappy with the way the President wants to go about dissuading Iran to abandon its nuclear-bomb interests. Here is the picture I see: Netanyahu is acting like an impulsive child running to a parent (the Republican Party) for support already denied by the first parent. The Republican Party is bent on opposing anything President Obama may advocate, even if it’s good not only for the country, but the rest of the world. Their disrespect, which has to be examined in the context of America’s ongoing racial quagmire, is disgusting to all of us who are aware of it. It tramples on the concept of “loyal opposition” and indicates that the reality of racism in America can affect the development of foreign policy and needs to be eradicated…now! Enough is enough! Tell me your thoughts.
The New Tri-State Defender
January 29 - February 4, 2014
Page 5
OPINION
Neither President Obama nor the Republicans have vision Last week I thought Stevie Wonder gave a great State of the Union Speech. Oops, did I say Stevie Wonder, I meant to say President Obama. But like Stevie Wonder, I couldn’t see the America the president was describing in his speech. Listening to Obama, you would have thought that America, especially blacks, had full employment. But according to the Labor Department, the national unemployment rate is 5.6 percent and 10.4 percent for blacks – nothing to brag about in either case. The Hispanic unemployment rate is 6.5 percent. Well, this stands to reason since Obama has bent over backward to address issues uniquely impacting Latinos, but has done nothing to address the myriad of pathologies negatively affecting the black community. Am I really the only one who has noticed that the black unemployment rate is almost twice that of the Hispanic community? If not, why does no one seem to be angry? How ironic it is that the first black
president has done more to help every other community more than his own – Hispanics, illegals, homosexuals, etc. Raynard When Jackson Obama began talking about the obstructionist Republicans, I thought he was talking to an all-black audience. He was condescending, arrogant, dismissive, and professorial in his lecture to Republicans. Listening to Obama, you would have thought the Democrats had just won a resounding victory in the November elections. While Obama has failed Democrats and blacks, Republican leaders in Congress have proven that they are equally blind to the needs of their followers. They have done absolutely nothing to inspire confidence within the rank-and-file
of the party. They have caved on bedrock issues, including homosexuality, amnesty for illegals, and foreign labor at the expense of American workers just to name a few. If Republicans are going to be “Democrats light,” why settle for a knockoff when we can have the real brand? It is becoming more difficult to distinguish the Republican leadership from the Democrats because Republicans are too busy trying to be liked instead of standing up for the party’s beliefs based on a core set of principles. For example, Obama wants to mandate paid leave for those who have a baby or adopt. While this sounds good and all touchy feely, can someone explain to me what is the rationale or legitimate role for government intervention on this issue? I thought Republicans believed in keeping the government out of our lives. Republicans are so obsessed with trying to garner the female vote that they lose sight of their principles. All they
need to do is to explain that based on a Republican view of the world, the government has no legitimate role to mandate that an employer provide certain benefits. It is up to the employer to do what he or she deems is in the best interest of the company and its workers. If the employer is on the wrong side of a given issue, the marketplace will make it known through good employees leaving for a better company that will give them all the perks they feel they deserve. This is a real-world example of a practical “conservative” principle in action. Having a child is strictly a personal, private issue and there is absolutely no role for the government in this area of one’s life. Having a child is a responsibility, not a right. If you can’t afford a child, you should delay childbirth until you can afford it. Obama wants to increase minimum wage. He said, “If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $ 15,000
a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.” Well, maybe these “hardest-working” people should have worked harder to reach for some birth control to avoid having kids. Minimum wage was never meant for adults; it was created to give high schoolers their first job to prepare them for adulthood. On the surface, offering a free community college education sounds like a great idea. But how is it going to be paid for? Will Congress allot new money or merely re-direct what’s already in the pot, meaning other programs will suffer. It’s quite obvious that Obama doesn’t care that this program will further destroy Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Obama has done more to harm HBCUs than any president in modern history. On the other hand, Republicans have been among the staunchest supporters of HBCUs. Why haven’t
they stepped up on this important issue? Is this how they “reach out” to African Americans? And what about Obama’s point about equal pay for women? He said, “That’s why this Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. Really. It’s 2015. It’s time.” Obama should clean up his own home before pointing to dirt in others. The Washington Post reported last July that males get paid 13 percent ($10,200) more than women in the Obama White House. Even when it comes to politics, both Obama and Republicans are short-sighted.
(Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his Web site, www. raynardjackson.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.)
Longing for ‘conversation without abbreviation’ The dominance of social media and our never-ending thirst for faster ways to communicate have relegated many of our people to a 140-character mentality, a nano-second way of thinking, and new ways of saying old things. Using letters instead of words to express ourselves, i.e. LMAO, OMG, SRS, SMH, has propelled us into an esoteric realm of information that in many cases has caused a communication gap between generations. The art of writing is steadily falling by the wayside and, in my opinion, it is to our detriment. I understand trends, evolution of language, and new ways of expression. We did the same thing in my generation. Of course, we did not have instant access to one another via the Internet, but we did make up new words and phrases sometimes just to throw the adults off and keep them from knowing what we were talking about. But with all of our “jive-talk” and slang, we never lost the appreciation for language, reading, and
writing. We also continued to hone our skills at expressing o u r thoughts through words, w h i c h resulted James in many Clingman excellent and timeless books, poems, and spoken word. Just listen to Gil Scott-Heron. I love the young brother, Richard Williams, better known as Prince EA, and his YouTube video titled, “Can we auto-correct humanity?” He speaks to issues related to our capitulation to brevity in our communication with one another. He says, “Touchscreens have made us lose touch.” He says we rely too heavily on the “Antisocial network.” He longs for, “Conversation without abbreviation,” and points out the, “Attention span of the average adult is one second lower than that of a goldfish.”
This is from a young man who sees the danger of our constricted conversations and lack of time to read, write, and actually talk to one another. Simply put, we must not discard our great writers and the vaults of information and knowledge they have left us. We must not overlook those who are writing great books, articles, and essays today. We must not turn our backs on our print media, or refuse to listen to conscious radio, both terrestrial and Internet-based. We must continue to empower ourselves with history, current events, and spoken word by young folks such as Prince EA, JANETTE…IKZ, and others who are worth spending more than a few seconds listening to. I am sure they write down their words before performing them. We must not allow writing to become obsolete; that would be an affront to the pantheon of black writers who have passed on and those who continue in that tradition. With that in mind, and in light of the fact that we have allowed our black bookstores to close
all across this nation, let’s recommit to the oral tradition of our ancestors and to the written traditio After all, where would we be without the cavalcade of stars that include Alain Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Maya Angelou, Ralph Ellison, Robert Maynard, and hundreds of others? In order to teach our children and grandchildren the importance of taking the time to read and write, we must, ourselves, take the time to learn what we want them to know. While we are now able to find virtually anything
on the Internet, and while we are able to “tweet” our way through life without regard to expanding our minds and our abilities, we must slow down. We must reclaim our penchant for reading a good book and writing down our thoughts that could turn into a good book. Where is the Blackonomics application in all of this? Glad you asked. Buy a black book from a black bookstore, and if it’s available, have a cup of coffee or tea and stay a while to read that book. You know, the way you do at Starbucks and other places. Support black book fairs not only by attending but also by buying the authors’ books. Subscribe to black newspapers and periodicals, and promote them by insisting that firms
with whom you do business advertise in those media. If, 50 years from now, all you have left are Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook messages to read, you will have denied yourself the pleasure of enjoying and sharing with your progeny your own stories, your own knowledge, your own history, in your own words. Just as “Reading is fundamental,” so is writing. Support black writers.
(NNPA columnist Jim Clingman is the founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce and an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati. He can be reached via blackonomics.com.)
January 29 - February 4, 2014
Page 6
NATION
The New Tri-State Defender
New education official wants to reform No Child Left Behind by Freddie Allen NNPA News Service
WASHINGTON – John King Jr., a highly-respected educator from New York City, says that teachers saved his life and in his new post as the deputy secretary at the Department of Education, he wants all children to have the support in school that he had growing up. Both of King’s parents were life-long educators. His father, John King Sr., was the first African-American principal at an integrated school in Brooklyn, N.Y. and also served as a the deputy superintendent for New York City schools after the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education banned “separate, but equal” practices in public schools. In elementary school, King used to ride to work with his mother, Adalinda, who worked as guidance counselor at the middle school. When King was in the fourth grade, his mother suffered a heart attack at work. That night he went to the hospital with his father and the next morning, his father broke the news to him. His mother was gone. She was just 48. It was hard for the younger King to understand at 8 years old. “Losing my mom in a lot of ways was the moment when school took on this much larger importance in my life,” said King. School became the safe harbor from the turmoil in his home life that slowly deteriorated after his mother passed away. His father, then in his 70s, started to forget things. “I didn’t know why he would forget things,” King recalled, though he later learned that his father suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. “I didn’t know why he would be upset one moment and not upset the next.” In an environment where there was a lot of instability, King said school was a source of stability, structure and support and for three years, from
As the new deputy secretary for the Department of Education, John King Jr. will manage the agency’s major initiatives and that includes working to revise President George W. Bush’s 2002 “No Child Left Behind”. (Freddie Allen/NNPA) the fourth grade to the sixth grade, Alan Osterweil’s classroom anchored that stability. In that class, King read the New York Times every day, memorized the capital and leader for every country in the world and performed Shakespeare. King said he felt free to be a kid. “He set very high expectations for us,” said King. “Sometimes people think that kids will be overwhelmed by higher expectations, but I think that kids rise to higher expectations and one of the things that I experienced in his classroom was that his high expectations were motivating and encouraging to all of us. He also paid a lot of attention to a full range of subjects.” King said that Osterweil saw his role as a teacher wasn’t just about conveying knowledge, but it was also about mentoring and supporting students. John Sr. died at 79, when John Jr., was 12 years old. He
then lived with a half brother on Long Island and later, an uncle and aunt in Cherry Hill, N.J. King said that he carried the lessons he learned in Osterweil’s class with him when he taught his own social studies class and co-founded a charter school in Boston, Mass., after attending Harvard University and earning a master’s degree at the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York. Following in his parents’ footsteps, King dedicated his life to education, rising through the ranks to become the first New York State education commissioner of African American and Puerto Rican descent in 2011. King was recently selected to become the deputy secretary of the Department of Education. “Not only am I here doing this today because of that teacher, but I’m alive, because (Osterweil) provided stability during that period in my life,”
want more federal oversight. Nearly 30 civil rights and education advocacy groups united to express their concerns about the reauthorization of the ESEA in a joint statement. The coalition recommended that each state provide annual assessments for all students in the third grade through the eighth grade and high school and that targeted funding be used to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children in our nation’s schools, including youth in juvenile and criminal justice system. The group also said that states should expand data collection and reporting to parents and the public on student achievement, course-completion and graduation rates. Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said his organization is deeply opposed to Senator Alexander’s approach to reauthorize ESEA. “This partisan bill, drafted with little input from civil rights partners, cannot be tweaked to meet the needs of the communities in which we serve. We believe that Chairman Alexander’s ESEA draft moves us backwards – it ignores equity, guts federal accountability and shifts resources away from children in most need,” said Morial. King echoed Morial’s concerns and said that the fear is that some of what has been proposed would be a step backwards from equity and opportunity. “We know that for our kids, their best shot is if they have a high quality education that prepares them to be successful after they graduate from high school,” said King. “We have no future as a country if we don’t ensure that African American students get a high quality education, that Latino students get a high quality education, that our English language learners get a high quality education. “Our future depends on ensuring that every student has the full range of opportunities.”
Marissa Alexander released from prison the two-year house arrest plea deal. According to the news station, Alexander’s freedom does not come cheap. The monitoring system will cost around $105 a week, and will run some $11,000 for the two years that Alexander will be under house arrest. Donations collected since Alexander’s arrest will cover the cost of the monitoring and the news station notes that Alexander already has a job offer from a local pastor under his ministry. Alexander ended her statement detailing the daily life routine she can’t wait to return to.
House arrest for Florida mom at center of state’s controversial stand-yourground law by Stephen A. Crockett Jr. The Root
Marissa Alexander, the Florida mother who fired warning shots to stop her abusive ex-husband’s attack in 2010, may finally see the dark days of prison behind her as a judge released Alexander late Tuesday allowing her to serve the rest of her sentence on house arrest. “Today, after the sentence given by Judge Daniel, my family and I will be able to move on with our lives,” Alexander, reading from a prepared statement, said shortly after her release, News 4 Jax reports. “Although the journey has been long and there’s been many difficult moments, I could not have arrived here, where I am today, without the thoughts, many thoughts and many prayers of so many people who voiced their support and encouragement. Words can never express my gratitude for those who stood beside me, including my children and family. I am also grateful that Judge Daniel approached this case with such care and diligence.” According to the news station, Alexander will have to wear a GPS monitor for the next two years and “will only be allowed to leave her home to go to work, job interviews, church, family medical and dental appointments, and to visit her children’s schools.” She will have to seek a judge’s permission to do anything else. Alexander’s story and subsequent prison sentence became apart of a national debate for Florida controversial stand your ground law. In August 2010, just some nine days after giving birth to her daughter, Alexander claims that her estranged husband Rico Gray assaulted her. She retrieved a gun and fired what she claimed was a warning shot in the direction of her husband, who was near his two young sons. A jury disagreed with Al-
said King. In his new role, King will manage the agency’s major initiatives and that includes working to revise President George W. Bush’s 2002 “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) law. King noted that, by some measures, student achievement has improved since NCLB updated the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), originally signed into law in 1965. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, high school graduation rates for black students (measured as the average freshman graduation rates) increased from 59 percent in 2006 to 68 percent in 2012, compared to white students who saw their graduation rates rise from 80 percent to 85 percent over the same time period. The 2014 study “Building a Grad Nation” reported that when researchers began analyzing the effects of “dropout
factories,” defined as schools where less than 60 percent of the students were graduating, almost half of all black students attended one of them. By 2012, the report said, the number of black students attended one of those schools had been slashed in half to 23 percent. King said ESEA is really a civil rights law that was intended to ensure equity for all students across the country and there is still a lot of work to do. “One of the problems with the NCLB law is that it focused just on absolute performance,” said King. “What we’ve tried to do at the department with the ‘waiver process’ is to focus on growth.” Through the waiver process, the Obama administration freed more than 30 states and Washington, D.C. from NCLB’s stringent testing requirements, which often faced sharp criticism from educators and school administrators. Exempt school districts tracked the individual progress of students independent of how they ranked against other students on a standardized test. More than a decade since NCLB was enacted, civil rights groups and Washington lawmakers are now focused on improving it. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, recently issued a draft proposal aimed at reforming NCLB. He suggested shifting more responsibility for designing programs that measure student achievement to state and local jurisdictions and also proposed limiting the Education Secretary’s ability to craft guidelines that direct instructional material, evaluation systems and “definitions of teacher, principal, or school leader effectiveness.’’ While Alexander’s proposal shifts responsibility for targeted funding for at-risk students and teacher evaluation tools back to the states, civil rights groups
Marissa Alexander (Photo: WJXT Screenshot)
“I look forward to the full-time challenge of getting my two teenagers through high school and into college, as well we preparing my 4-year-old daughter for nursery school.”
exander’s claim and convicted her on all charges. “She was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Florida’s minimum sentencing guidelines for using a firearm,” according to the news station. That conviction was overturned but she was a facing a retrial that would have put her back in prison when she accepted
“I look forward to the fulltime challenge of getting my two teenagers through high school and into college, as well we preparing my 4-yearold daughter for nursery school. “My goal is to continue my education beyond my master’s degree and to continue my professional career. Also, I will continue to learn lessons from the events of the past, but I will not live in the past. At the age of 34, life is too short and there’s too much I have to accomplish in the years ahead. It’s my hope and prayer that everyone associated with this case will be able to move on with their lives.”
January 29 - February 4, 2014
The New Tri-State Defender
BUSINESS
BIZ BITS
ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY
Strange but profitable
Wyatt taps Ahsaki E. Baptist and William S. Parks as partners Ahsaki E. Baptist and William S. Parks have become partners in the regional law firm of Wyatt, Ta r r a n t & Combs Ahsaki E. LLP, a Baptist full-service, regional law firm with 200 lawyers. Baptist concentrates her legal practice in the areas of William S. commerParks cial litigation and commercial real estate and is a member of the law firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. Parks concentrates his legal practice throughout the range of intellectual property and is a member of the law firm’s Property Protection & Litigation Service Team. “We are pleased that Ahsaki and Bill have become partners at Wyatt,” said Robert E. Craddock Jr., partner in charge of the firm’s Memphis office. “Ahsaki and Bill are highly motivated lawyers who are respected by their clients for their legal experience and for obtaining creative and successful results.” Baptist received her law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2007. She received her undergraduate degree from Spelman College in 2004. Parks received his law degree from The John Marshall School of Law in 1997. He received his undergraduate degree from Rhodes College in 1990. For more information about Wyatt, please visit www.wyattfirm.com or contact Shelia Webster, Client Services Manager, at 901-537-1017 or swebster@wyattfirm.com. USDOT selects U. S. Black Chambers, Inc. for resource grant Washington D.C. – The U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. Community Economic Development Corporation (USBC-CEDC) announced recently that it has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as a Capital Region Small Business Transportation Resource Center. USBC, along with the Native American Development Center, were chosen in an effort to further the mission of USDOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) and increase its impact on the small business community. Focusing on advocacy, access to capital, contracting and entrepreneur training, USBC-CEDC was chosen based on an impressive background of assisting minority business owners and developing strong stakeholder relationships. As a Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SBTRC), USBC-CEDC will develop and manage two annual Bonding Education Programs, support eligible businesses through USDOT’s Short-Term Lending Program, and facilitate a Women in Transportation Initiative, dedicated to placing college students in transportation internships during the summer. These programs will provide small minority women-owned businesses bond readiness training, access to capital lending options up to $750,000 for transportation specific projects, and hands on experience within the transportation industry. “The USBC-CEDC will now have the ability to help more minority and women-owned businesses, including current members, gain more access to capital and secure contracts with USDOT,” said Ron Busby Sr., president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., “We are proud to partner with the Department, and look forward to the Chambers and our members sustained growth over the next three years.” USBC’s partnership with USDOT will increase awareness of resources, and financial assistance programs in the Capital region. For more information regarding SBTRCs near you, contact the OSDBU Regional Assistance Division at (202) 366-1930 or visit www.dot.gov/osdbu.
Page 7
Business around the world is known to have copycats. Once it is known that a concept is working, a flock of others will soon be in the marketplace with competitive businesses. Coke has Pepsi. McDonalds has Burger King and Wendy’s. Kentucky Fried Chicken has Jack Pirtle’s and Church’s Chicken. Target has Wal-Mart. Pizza Hut has Domino’s and Papa John’s. So competition is inevitable. Being an entrepreneur requires some level of creativity just to survive, grow and promote the product or service. While copying is a way of life in many businesses, a brave few walk out on faith by being the first to market a product or service. Call them crazy if you want. But their gross receipts prove they are “crazy like a fox” because their businesses are very profitable. SneakerPawnUSA.com What do Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kanye West and Kobe Bryant have in common? They all have their own athletic shoes named after them. But absolutely no one does it like Michael Jordan. Years after retiring from the game, his shoes have become collectors’ items and are still being released. Kanye
Carlee McCullough, Esq.
is in a lane of his own with the Nike Air Ye e z y s . His shoes were sold at retail for $263 per pair. Now they are sold as a collector’s item online for as much as $17,000
on eBay. SneakerPawnUSA.com was developed to take advantage of the rising popularity of sneakers and the rising price that collectors are willing to pay for them. By completing a quick loan application and uploading photos of the sneakers for inspection and approval, SneakerPawnUSA.com will provide a quote within 45 minutes for the pawn or sale of sneakers. Once the sneakers are mailed and received by the company, the funds are sent within 24 hours via Bank Wire, Pay Pal, Western Union, Money Gram or Green Dot. In places like New York, the return on invest is greater on sneakers than with stocks.
Positives dating According to Brighthub. com, Paul Graves and Brandon Koechlin, two ingenious entrepreneurs, decided to capitalize on the community living with HIV by creating and marketing an online dating site, www.PositivesDating.com. With over 50,000 registrations in their first few years in business, their revenue has easily surpassed $1,000,000. Dating website for the married Noel Biderman also decided to start a dated website. He created the website www.AshleyMadison.com, which only allows you to register if you are married or willing to date a married person. Whether you agree with the concept or not, he already has over 3,000,000 members and millions of dollars in revenue. While we certainly do not condone or encourage the behavior, who would have thought such a concept would be so fiscally lucrative. Bacon makes everything taste better According to their website, J&D’s Foods sold all 6,000 jars
of Bacon Salt in five days to people in 15 countries and 25 states from their website and out of a garage without spending a dime on marketing or advertising. From popcorn to croutons, J&D’s Foods creates a wide variety of products that all taste like bacon. Started in 2007, their products include bacon flavored mayonnaise, envelopes, shaving cream and lip balm. Their products can be purchased at www.jdfoods.net. Hangover Heaven.com We have all heard the saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!” Las Vegas is never short on the parties or the cocktails, both of which can equally result in a hangover. Per Brighthub.com, anesthesiologist Jason Burke created the Hangover Heaven, which is a luxury bus that will administer a potion of amino acids, medications and vitamins to those battling a hangover. Book an appointment and Hangover Heaven will pick you up near the Vegas strip. Posthumous message delivery While this business is defi-
nitely a special one, I don’t know if the receiver of the message will be happy, surprised or sad all over again. But it appears to be a concept that is making money. Immortum. com is the website that offers a loved one the opportunity to leave a message that will be delivered well after their death, which may be months or years later. The messages are designed to help family and friends remember loved ones. Their services include digital obituaries and e-tributes. Disposable underwear
For those that hate to do laundry, DNA Products, LLC has created disposable travel underwear for men and women. Danita Harris simply brought a product to the United States that had been used in Europe and Asia for many years. The undergarments are designed to wear once and then discard. These businesses have shown that creativity can be lucrative. So when thinking about starting your business, being the first to market may not be so bad after all.
(Contact Carlee McCullough, Esq., at jstce4all@aol.)
MONEY MATTERS
What is a financial plan and why have one? Having a financial plan is a lot like having a travel plan — it identifies where you’re going, how and when you’ll get there, how much it’ll cost, and things do along the way. Like planning a vacation, your financial plan can be loosely structured or highly detailed based on your individual needs. But having no plan at all could leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. A financial plan answers three primary questions: 1. How much, when, and where should you save while you’re spending less than you earn? Examine your wages, debt payments, living expenses and other budget items to determine how much to contribute to your plan (when you have a cashflow surplus), and decide which account the money should go in. 2. How should your savings be invested until they’re needed? Identify which asset
classes to invest in, how much to put in each, and which actual investments to use. Diversification Charles Sims helps you manage Jr., CMFC, investment LUTCF risk. 3. How much, when, and from where will you access savings when it comes time to spend them? Address situations when financial needs exceed available cash from income (a cash-flow deficit) and must be supplemented by withdrawing savings from your plan. This might be a limited-term need such as paying for a child’s college education, or a lifetime need such as partial or full retirement. To properly address these
questions, identify your financial goals. Questions to ask include: • What kind of current lifestyle do you want or need? How much will that allow you to save? • What kind of future lifestyle do you want or need? How much will you need to spend? • When do you want or need to stop contributing and start using savings? • How much investment risk do you want or need to take? • Do you want or need to leave a specific amount of money after you’re dead? • What else do you want or need? It helps to think in terms of both want and need. This may allow some goals to lean toward the “want” side, while others can be closer to the “need” side. For example, you may choose to
work and save for a longer period of time so you can lower your savings rate to take nicer vacations now, or you might plan on spending less in the future so that you can lower your investment risk now. Planning can help you balance comfort and compromise. A financial plan should have a constant method of evaluating whether it’s working, so that you can check it on a regular basis to monitor progress. Once you have a working plan, you can use it to make informed choices. Check to see what a sacrifice really gets you so you can decide if it’s worth making. Change the plan up to see how it would look if you lost a job, became disabled or died; this may help define your insurance needs. Figure out what to do with a bonus or unexpected tax refund. There’s a lot if useful information you can obtain from a measurable financial plan.
Lastly, here are a few tips and some common mistakes to avoid when maintaining your own plan. Even small errors can compound over time. • Be realistic with investment returns; don’t plan to outperform the markets. • Account for market risk; don’t assume the same return will occur every year. • Don’t forget to plan for fees, taxes, and inflation. • Don’t plan on dying too young. • Revisit your plan regularly to see if it’s still working. • Ask someone else to check your work, whether it’s a close friend, family member, or a professional planner.
(Charles Sims Jr., CMFC, LUTCF, is President/CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.com.)
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January 29 - February 4, 2014
RELIGION
The New Tri-State Defender
Young men flock to ‘church’ with a different kind of Christian doctrine
Israel United in Christ, founded 12 years ago, teaches black people that they’re descendants of ancient Israel by Wiley Henry
whenry@tsdmemphis.com
Super Sunday praise and worship... Dr. Melvin Charles Smith, senior pastor of Mt. Moriah East Baptist Church, 1248 Haynes Street, celebrated “Super Sunday” all day-long on Jan. 25. Worshippers were privy to praise and worship, musical selections, dinner, a concert from Mt. Moriah’s music ministry, and messages from a number of speakers.
Joining Dr. Melvin Charles Smith (second from right) for Super Sunday were, from left, Apostle Boaz R. Futch, who has been involved in a number of outreach ministries; Bishop Brandon B. Porter, senior pastor of Greater Community Temple COGIC; and Bishop Fred E. Harris, senior pastor of Oasis Christian Ministries International. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)
Celebrating 15 years... “The Year of the Open Door” was the theme of Anointed Temple of Praise’s (ATOP) 15th church anniversary celebration Saturday (Jan. 24) at the U of M Holiday Inn. Saxophonist Kirk Whalum was among the special guests. Awards were presented as well to Connie J. Booker (left), the anniversary coordinator; Dr. Thomas L. Murray, ATOP’s senior pastor, and Dr. Cynthia Calhoun. First Lady Kim Murray (right) welcomed the participants. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
After the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. and the resulting media firestorm, old racial wounds between African Americans and law enforcement quickly resurfaced. Israel United in Christ, however, was there in Ferguson, Mo., trying to quell the frustrations that African Americans were feeling by spreading “the word of God.” Israel United in Christ is not your average Protestant church, where worshippers sing traditional and contemporary gospel songs. It also is not a church where a charismatic preacher delivers the sermon using pulpit theatrics and the age-old practice of “call and response.” “It’s a (faith-based Christian) church/school. And we focus on the laws, statues and commandments of the Bible,” said Michael McVay, a 31-year-old mental health case manager calling himself Michael Ben Israel, a surname the members adopt meaning “son of Israel.” The church/school also recognizes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, said McVay, who once worshipped in the Baptist faith with his mother and sister. His grandmother, he said, is a member of the Church of God in Christ. “I’ve done my research and I felt the teaching I was getting in the Christian church didn’t touch me as a person,” said McVay. “I left the Christian church in 2010, and was studying (the word of God) on my own since that spring.” McVay joined the church/ school last year in November after surrendering the tenets of the Baptist church for a “black” focus taught by Israel United in Christ, which is located at 1661 Lamar in the Glenview community. Members meet on Saturday for worship and/or study sessions. Bishop Nathanyel Ben Israel, the principle teacher, founded the church/school in New York 12 years ago. Within that time span, he’s planted other church/schools in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Virginia, and Tennessee. “We’re working on getting schools in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Jamaica,” said Hoshaiah Ben Israel, one of the top “officers” overseeing the Midwest region – about eight states total, including Canada. “As the truth becomes widespread, more schools will be opened,” said McVay, sub-
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
Members of Israel United in Christ and others from their sister churches were in St. Louis recently spreading the teachings of the church/school’s founder, Bishop Nathanyel Ben Israel. (Photo: IUIC Tennessee) scribing to the ideology and school were taught that we’re tenets that black people are African-American. But we’re “the chosen people that the Bi- taught in the Bible that we’re Israelites. We can’t be two people ble speaks of.” “We teach everybody to from two different continents.” McVay pointed out Deuterlearn the truth for himself or herself,” said Ben Israel, 31, an onomy chapter 28, verses 15entrepreneur and recent con- 28 to support his argument. He vert who was around 8 years said black people and brown old when he last attended Mis- people throughout world hississippi Boulevard Christian tory have suffered through slavery and degradation beChurch with his mother. “When I started following cause of their disobedience. “We are here to wake up the commandments, I got an understanding,” he said. “It the so-called blacks, Native changed my life when I ap- Americans, and Latinos to our true heritage – Hebrew Israplied the laws to my life.” Before Ben Israel committed elite,” he said. “The one way to the church/school, he trekked for the so-called blacks, Nato Orlando, Fla., to meet the tive Americans, and Latinos to church/school elders. “I read identify with our true heritage the entire Bible and watched a is to turn to the Holy Bible.” Referring to the King James video that showed we are the true Israelites,” he said, and em- Version and the “1611 King braced the teachings with a de- James Version,” McVay said members of the church/school termination to teach others. Although the Bible refers to derive knowledge from the latthe Jewish nation of Israel as ter version because it includes God’s people, both Ben Israel the “Apocrypha,” or “the and McVay surmised that to- missing books of the Bible.” Although Israel United in day’s Jews are not descendants Christ is fairly new to this area of ancient Israel. “They do not fit the prophe- – about 2,000 members total cies concerning Israel and they across the country – Ben Israel do not suffer the curses that said the church is growing. “We got a lot of young men were placed upon Israel by the Most High,” said McVay, with us,” he said. “We got the motivated by self-study and solution to change people. the “knowledge” that he’s ac- Young men catch on to this quired since he first joined the quickly because they’re looking for a solution.” church/school. For more information, visit “It’s important to my faith,” he said, adding, “In grade- wakeupisraelites.org.
ENTERTAINMENT The New Tri-State Defender, January 29 - February 4, 2014, Page 9
Getting to know ‘Sir Walt’
by Brittney Gathen
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Like so many of us, Walter “Sir Walt” Andrade felt a connection to the tragic death of Florida teenager Trayvon Marton in 2012. So the Memphis artist took brush in hand and painted a picture of Martin in a hoodie with a bloody teardrop running down his face. Three weeks ago, Andrade found himself a few feet away from Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, presenting the picture during the Heal the Hood Foundation’s Citywide Anti-Violence Youth Symposium at Unity Christian Church in Whitehaven. “I’ve had several relatives and friends die from gunshots, whether from private citizens or police. So, I just wanted to do something that would make people think and that would resonate in people’s minds for a long time, because there’s too many of our young people who are getting killed,” said Andrade. He displayed the painting at a couple of events, including an earlier rally in Memphis. Several people asked to buy it, but Andrade refused, thinking that divine intervention would help him get it to his preferred destination. “I really wanted to get it to his family. That was kind of the reason why I created it. I wanted to be part of their legacy,” Andrade said. “I knew that one day the Creator would allow me to come in contact with Miss. Fulton.” After learning that Fulton would be the keynote speaker at the Heal the Hood symposium, Andrade contacted the group’s CEO, LaDell Beamon, and emailed a copy of his painting. Beamon agreed to make the connection “After hearing her speak, I was totally impressed and inspired by her strength and her other son (Jahvaris Fulton) graduating from college and not letting this turn of events put a negative spin on their lives,” Andrade said. “I really wanted them to have this gift just to show my gratitude for what they’ve done, what they’re going to do and the positive message that they’re putting out.” Andrade plans to ship the painting to Sybrina Fulton, along with a photo of it and a copyright release. A Connecticut native, Andrade long has had an interest in art. He was hesitant, however, to chose it as a career. He didn’t believe in himself
On stage with Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and her son, Jahvaris Fulton, Walter “Sir Walt” Andrade presents his painting of Trayvon during the Heal the Hood Foundation’s Citywide Anti-Violence Youth Symposium at Unity Christian Church in Whitehaven. (Photo: George Tillman Jr.)
The evolution of Walter Andrade Walter “Sir Walt” Andrade. (Courtesy photo) and there were those around him who advocated for a more stable, moneymaking career. While living in Detroit, Andrade met artist Chaz Miller. After seeing a painting Andrade made of President Obama, Miller encouraged him to pursue artwork and helped orchestrate his first art show. An out-of-work construction laborer at the time, Andrade had a lot of sheetrock, mud and wood on hand. He used the materials to make 18 pieces for his first “Mudworkz” show, which featured individuals who had influenced him such as Malcolm X, President Obama, Tupac, Biggie and Miles Davis, as well as some of his
relatives. Later, Andrade earned a degree in graphic design from Bauder College befor eventually moving to Memphis, where his grandparents had roots. In 2009, he started Mudworkz – a company that specializes in interior design and 3D graphic art made from building materials. His Mudworkz creations include paintings of Robin Thicke, Larry Dodson of The Bar-Kays, Myrlie Evers-Williams and Beverly Robertson, former president of the National Civil Rights Museum. Andrade also works with the Stone Awards, which honors outstanding Memphis community members,
businesspeople and entertainers, by painting portraits of the main recipients. “I still make a living working on houses and commercial buildings,” he said. “I’ll probably do that until the day I die, but the artwork is another outlet for me to get my artistic inspiration out,” said Andrade, who has 30 years of experience in interior design and remodeling. Along the way, his focus has shifted. “Now, my mission is not just to get paid, but to inspire people through my artwork and to hopefully pass that on to someone else,” Andrade said. A witness to Andrade’s evolution is his girlfriend, 88.5 radio personality Asia Raison. “I’ve seen him evolve as an artist, where it’s more than just putting out greatness,” said Raison. “He’s actually really been able to experience a lot of beautiful moments. (The moment with) Ms. Fulton was one of
them,” Raison said. “At first, it was just him trying to push his art, now the art is moving by itself. People know who Walter is.” Andrade’s artistic evolution has influenced his personal evolution, said Raison, describing Andrade as “a very great person who wants to give back to the community, who wants to not only show his art but to show his appreciation for the people around him. Raison and Andrade met in September 2012 at an event called “Singles Ready to Mingle.” She’d seen his artwork and decided to help him promote it. Together they’ve weathered Raison the ups and downs of his art career. “I’ve seen his madness where he’s gone and he’s put in all this work, we’ll go out of town and he’s sold absolutely nothing,” Raison said. “We come back broke, but our spirits aren’t broken. Now, he sells pieces, and we celebrate because we know it’s going somewhere and to a great place.” Andrade says he continues to do artwork “based on greatness and hope that it can make a change. …With every piece that I present to someone and they have it in their possession, I think I’ve achieved part of my legacy with that. “After I’m long gone, my artwork will live on. I think there’s no greater legacy than to have touched someone with part of your passion.”
‘Rise’
a showcase of Collage’s professional company dancers alongside dance stars of tomorrow Collage’s performance of “Rise” at the Cannon Center was a preview of sorts of a performance of the show set for the THEARC Theater in Washington, D.C. on Saturday (Jan. 31). Visit: www. collagedance. org.
The Collage dance Collective presented “RISE” at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Downtown last Sunday (Jan. 25). (Photos: George Tillman Jr.)
Art Director Kevin Thomas gives some back stage advice and support.
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January 29 - February 4, 2014
ENTERTAINMENT
The New Tri-State Defender
BOOK REVIEW
‘Dark Girls’ for your coffee table by Kam Williams
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Kevin Costner, Jillian Estell (Eloise) and Octavia Spencer (Rowena) star in “Black or White,” the story of a successful attorney battling an entrepreneur for the custody of their biracial grandaughter. (Courtesy photo)
by Kam Williams
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
For movies opening January 30, 2015 BIG BUDGET FILMS “Black or White” (PG-13 for profanity, fighting and mature themes involving drugs and alcohol) Cross-cultural drama chronicling the bitter custody battle between a black grandmother (Octavia Spencer) and a white grandfather (Kevin Costner) over their motherless, biracial granddaughter (Jillian Estell). With Anthony Mackie, Andre Holland, Gillian Jacobs and Jennifer Ehle. “The Loft” (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity, drug use and graphic violence) Remake of the 2008 Belgian thriller of the same name revolving around five married suburbanites (Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet and Matthias Schoenaerts) who purchase a penthouse in the city for secret rendezvous with mistresses only to become suspicious of each other after a female corpse is found inside their pied-à-terre. Cast includes Rhona Mitra, Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas. “Project Almanac” (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality) Found-footage sci-fi thriller about a brilliant teen brainiac (Jonny Weston) who gets more than he bargained for after building a time-travel machine with the help of his sister (Virginia Gardner) and his egghead BFFs (Sam Lerner and Allen Evangelista). With Sofia Black-D’Elia, Amy Landecker, Agnes Mayasari and Katie Garfield.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS “Amira & Sam” (Unrated) Romantic dramedy about a returning war vet (Martin Starr) who takes a shot at stand-up comedy back in the States while dating the niece (Dina Shihabi) of his former Iraqi translator (Laith Nakli). With Paul Wesley, David Rasche, Ross Marquand and Taylor Wilcox. “Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of” (Unrated) Rockumentary chronicling both the career of the iconic boy band as well as its 20th anniversary reunion to record a new album. Featuring Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, A.J. McLean, Kevin Scott Richardson and Howie Dorough. “Girlhood” (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama about a troubled 16 year-old (Karidja Toure) who joins an all-girl gang after becoming fed up with being abused both at home and around the ‘hood. With Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Marietou Toure and Idrissa Diabate. (In French with subtitles) “Hard to Be a God” (Unrated) Outer space adventure about a team of scientists sent from Earth to a distant planet to help put its primitive inhabitants on a path of progress. Co-starring Leonid Yarmolnik, Laura Lauri, Dmitriy Vladmirov and Aleksandr Ilin. (In Russian with subtitles) “My Name Is Hmmm…” (Unrated) Unlikely-buddies road drama about an 11 yearold French girl (Lou-Lelia Demerliac) who stows away in the cab of a Scottish truck driver (Douglas Gordon) after being sexually-abused by her own father (Jacques Bon-
naffe). With Sylvie Testud, Emile Gautier, Noemie Ducourau and Marie-Christine Barrault. (In French and English with subtitles) “Suburban Gothic” (R for sexuality, profanity, violence and drug use) Horror comedy about a down-on-his-luck MBA (Matthew Gray Gubler) who moves back in with his parents (Barbara Niven and Ray Wise) when he can’t find a job. Plot thickens when he enlists the assistance of a ballsy bartender (Kat Dennings) to engage the ghost terrorizing their hometown. Cast includes Muse Watson, Sally Kirkland and John Waters. “Supremacy” (Unrated) Abduction drama about a white supremacist (Joe Anderson) who kills a police officer and takes a black family hostage with the help of his girlfriend (Dawn Olivieri) on the day of his parole from prison. With Julie Benz, Mahershala Ali and Jenica Bergere. “Timbuktu” (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Oscar-nominated drama (in the Best Foreign Film category) about the occupation of Timbuktu in 2012 by Islamic jihadists known as the Ansar Dine. Starring Ibrahim Ahmed, Abel Jafri and Toulou Kiki. (In French, Arabic, Bambara, English and Songhay) “Wild Card” (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and graphic violence) Jason Statham stars in this action thriller about a bodyguard bent on revenge after his friend (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) is sadistically beaten by the son of a powerful mob boss. Ensemble includes Sofia Vergara, Milo Ventimiglia, Jason Alexander, Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche and Max Casella.
Last year, the documentary “Dark Girls” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Now, the film’s director, Bill Duke, has published an equally-valuable companion piece celebrating the beauty of ebony-hued black women. The classy coffee table book is comprised of over 80 full-page portraits of sepia-skinned sisters of every age and from every walk of life. Besides breathtaking photographs by Barron Claiborne, the opus includes the heartfelt reflections of each of the subjects about her coloring. Retha Powers recalls being teased in grammar Bill Duke school by a mean classmate, (Photo: Lester before she expresses her Cohen © concern about the welfare WireImage. of her 6 year-old daughter, com) Isa. Sensitively answering her curious child’s questions about hair texture and styling, the supportive mom asserts that “90% of beauty is between the ears. It’s an inside job.” Another contributor is Camille Winbush, best known for playing niece Vanessa on “The Bernie Mac Show.” She admits that her feelings were hurt at the age of 12 while participating in a fashion show, when she was asked “What’s wrong with you?” backstage by a white girl pointing out her pigmentation. Fortunately, the gorgeous child actress had already been taught that “dark was normal and beautiful.” Among the other luminaries weighing-in, here, are the comedienne Sommore, TV Judge Mablean Ephraim, Hip-Hop star Missy Elliott, actress Loretta Devine, Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson, and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, to name a few. Artist/communications strategist Floydetta McAfee probably sums it all up best when she says, “I know and understand my history as an African-American. I come from the bloodline of many proud and self-assured people who are dark like me. I embrace that bloodline and our skin tone. In this dark skin I was born, grew up, traveled the world, and live proudly.” An uplifting collection capturing both the intelligence and elegance of darker-skinned sisters. “Dark Girls” By Bill Duke Interviews by Shelia P. Moses Photographs by Barron Claiborne Hardcover, $35.00 192 pages, Illustrated ISBN: 978-0-06-233168-7
(To order a copy of “Dark Girls,” visit: h t t p : / / w w w. a m a z o n . c o m / e x e c / o b i d o s / ASIN/006233168X/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20.)
January 29 - February 4, 2014
The New Tri-State Defender
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Shelby County Government is soliciting written proposals on a competitive basis for Construction Services for Roof Replacement, Bellevue Warehouse, 994 South Bellevue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. 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 project manual and drawing are posted at this location and can be downloaded at no cost to prospective bidders.
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DUE FEBRUARY 20, 2015 AT 4:00 PM RFP #15-001-22 ROOF REPLACEMENT, BELLEVUE WAREHOUSE, 994 SOUTH BELLEVUE A VOLUNTARY pre-bid conference will be held at 9:00 AM, Monday, February 9, 2015 at Bellevue Warehouse, 994 South Bellevue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. 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) Shelby County Government is soliciting proposals for the provision of Construction Services to provide for the Replacement of Fuel Storage Tanks located at Shelby County Service Station, 6411 Haley Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38134. 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”
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to locate the name of the above-described RFP. Copies of the project manual and drawing are posted at this location and can be downloaded at no cost to prospective bidders. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DUE FEBRUARY 20, 2015 AT 4:00 P.M. RFP 15-001-23 “REPLACEMENT OF FUEL STORAGE TANKS” A VOLUNTARY pre-bid conference will be held at 2:30 P.M. Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at Shelby County Road Department, Conference Room, 6449 Haley Road, Memphis, TN 38134.
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
The Shelby County Board of Education will accept written proposals (RFP) for Wired and Wireless Lan Equipment and Services and for Waste Collection Services. Visit our website for additional information: http://www.scsk12.org/uf/procurement/bids.php Questions concerning proposals should be addressed to Procurement Services, @ 901-416-5376. Thank you for supporting Shelby County Schools. Cerita Butler, Director Procurement Services 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: Izaac Merriwether, Jr. Tax Parcel # 06010600000160 Tax Sale #0901 Exhibit #3016 Price Offered: $5,600.00 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 19, 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: Jannie Douglas Tax Parcel # 05203300000180 Tax Sale #89.5 Exhibit #6266 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 1:30 p.m. on Feb-
ruary 18, 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: Purchaser: JP Investments Company Tax Parcel #05801600000090 Tax Sale #1002 Exhibit #1193 Price Offered: $8,000.00 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 1:30 p.m. on February 20, 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: Jonathan Shipp & Joyce Shipp Tax Parcel # 08206200000540 Tax Sale #0404 Exhibit #14990 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 10:00 a.m. on February 19, 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
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The New Tri-State Defender
TRI-STATE
State board votes to take over Little Rock School District
Michael Eric Dyson to keynote UM Black History Month event OXFORD, Miss. – Renowned author, educator and syndicated radio host Michael Eric Dyson is the featured speaker for University of Mississippi Black History Month in Michael Eric observances February. Dyson Dyson, a sociology professor at Georgetown University, will deliver the keynote address at 6 p.m. Feb. 19 in Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom at the Inn at Ole Miss. Admission is free and open to the public. “I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Dyson speak at an MLK Day celebration several years ago,” said Shawnboda Mead, director of the UM Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement and coordinator of the events. “He is a dynamic and engaging speaker who offers a provocative and fresh perspective on issues of race, politics and popular culture. The opportunity to hear his powerful message and voice is one our community won’t want to miss.” The observance officially begins Feb. 3 with a noon Kick-Off Celebration in the Ole Miss Student Union lobby. Featured participants are Brandi Hephner LaBanc, UM vice chancellor for student affairs; Rosusan Bartee, professor of leadership and counselor education; and the UM Gospel Choir. Donald Cole, assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs, will present the 2015 Lift Every Voice Awards, which honor faculty and staff who have contributed to inclusion and diversity at the university. A reception follows. Union Unplugged performances are scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Feb. 5, 10, 19 and 24. Entertainment will include the Gospel Choir on Feb. 19 and the Ole Miss African Drum and Dance Ensemble on Feb. 24. Several film screenings are also scheduled. “Dear White People” shows at 5 p.m. Feb. 5 and again at 3 p.m. Feb. 8. Both screenings will be in the Turner Center auditorium. The satire on race relations at an Ivy League institution will be followed by a public discussion. On Feb. 7, a group of up to 30 UM students will travel to Memphis to see the Golden Globe-nominated feature film “Selma” and visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. A third film, “The New Black,” will be shown at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 in the Ole Miss Student Union Ballroom, Room 404. The Luckyday Residential College dining hall will host a soul food luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17. Students will be able to use their meal plans and faculty and staff will be able to purchase lunch at the regular rate. Complimentary tickets will be awarded throughout the month to students, faculty and staff in attendance at Black History Month events. The observance continues Feb. 26 with an “Are You Ready?” dialogue at 5 p.m. at a location to be announced. Co-sponsored by the CICCE and the African-American Male Initiative, the discussion will focus on “Telling Our Stories: Living While Black-The African-American Male Experience.” The events conclude at 7:30 that evening with the Black History Month Concert in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, sponsored by the UM Department of Music. “The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement has worked to collaborate with other departments and student organizations to host Black History Month,” said Courtney Pearson, graduate assistant. “We have worked really hard to ensure that the events surrounding Black History Month are inclusive and engaging and are looking forward to interacting with those who come out.” (For more information about UM Black History Month events, visit http://inclusion.olemiss.edu/ or call the Center for Inclusion at Cross Cultural Engagement at 662-915-2191.)
by Allen Reed Associated Press
JazzReach (Courtesy photos)
Jazzanooga 2015 Headliners include: Take 6, Gretchen Parlato, Eric Roberson Chattanooga – Jazzanooga this week announced that Take 6, Gretchen Parlato, Eric Roberson, JazzReach, and bassist Alan Hampton will be among the headliners for annual music festival scheduled for April. Held during Jazz Appreciation Month, Jazzanooga draws fans from across the region for a month of intimate performances, educational opportunities and good times. The 2015 Jazzanooga Festival includes an exhibit on the Life of Dave Brubeck, a performance for youth and families by JazzReach, a week of jazz and blues at various MLK Boulevard venues and opportunities to mingle with regional jazz fanatics. More than 4,000 people of varying ages came out to Jazzanooga events last year. A limited number of Jazzanooga JAM Passes, which offer patrons, VIP access and priority seating to all festival events and headline concerts, are available at www.jazzanooga.org. Jazzanooga, started in 2011 as a one-day community festival and has grown into an organization that promotes music education and performance throughout Chattanooga. Jazzanooga is supported by the Benwood Foundation, the Lyndhurst Foundation, EPB and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Community Trust. Here is a snapshot of the announced headliners: Eric Roberson, April 24th, The Camp House. Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, Eric Roberson comes to Jazzanooga Festival 2015 in partnership with Jam Session Nights. Roberson continues to break boundaries as an independent artist in an industry dominated by major labels, manufactured sounds and mainstream radio. Eric’s music is very accessible, and allows him to form personal connections with each of his listeners. His music is influenced by soul, rhythm and blues, house, hip-hop, jazz and rock. Erro, as he is affectionately known by fans and friends alike, has achieved major milestones in his career, from being a successful songwriter and producer for notable artists like Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Dwele, Vivian Green and countless others, to releasing 9 albums under his Blue Erro Soul imprint. Visit www.jazzanooga.org for ticketing information. Take 6, Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton, April 26th, The Robert Kirk Walker Community Theater: Memorial Auditorium. The most awarded vocal group in history (10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award, and more) celebrates their 25th Anniversary with a stop in Chattanooga. Many consider Take 6 the quintessential a cappela group and model for vocal genius. Six virtuoso voices united in clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves that bubble into an intoxicating brew of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop. This multi-platinum selling sextet has toured across the globe, collaborated across genres, and is recognized as the pre-eminent a capella group in the world. Parlato is a jazz vocalist at the top of her game and her project “Live in New York” is nominated for a 2015 Grammy for best jazz vocal album. Parlato has won numerous awards and been named best female jazz vocalist by DownBeat Magazine, JazzTimes, and the Jazz Journalists Association. In the ten years since her arrival on the jazz scene, Parlato has emerged as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing vocalists of her generation. Ticket information for the Take 6 and Gretchen Parlato performances at www.jazzanooga.org.
Gretchen Parlato
Take 6
Eric Roberson
LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Board of Education voted We d n e s d a y to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal Sen. Joyce judge granted Elliott more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration. The state last year classified six of Vicki the district’s Saviers 48 schools as being in academic distress after fewer than half of the students attending them scored at proficient levels on achievement tests. About 45 percent of high school students in the district are at campuses designated as underperforming. The Little Rock School District is the state’s largest with nearly 25,000 students. The board’s 5-4 decision at a special meeting in Little Rock followed nearly four hours of public testimony from students, teachers and community members who overwhelmingly opposed the takeover. “If I break my arm, you don’t put my whole body in a cast,” said state Sen. Joyce Elliott, a Little Rock Democrat. “That’s kind of where we are with six schools; it’s not the entire district.” The education board voted to immediately remove the seven-member Little Rock School District board. The superintendent, Dexter Suggs, will remain on an interim basis and report to the state Department of Education commissioner. State education officials also voted to create an advisory committee of parents, students, business leaders and other community members. The judge in August signed an order that will stop payments the state has been making to the district since 1989. The district sued the state in 1982, alleging state policies were still creating a racial imbalance despite changes made since nine black teenagers were escorted into Central High School by federal troops in 1957. State board members who advocated the change said they want to provide a better education to the students in the underperforming schools and expressed concerns about the district’s ability to budget properly after the integration payments stop in 2018. “The district will be forced to make many difficult decisions in the future including the removal of staff and closing of schools,” said board member Vicki Saviers, who submitted the takeover motion. Board chairman Samuel Ledbetter, who cast the tiebreaking vote, said students won’t see an instant change but he hopes to quickly improve the distressed schools. He said the state’s takeover only concerns the board’s wish to improve each of the six schools, and is not a statement on the Little Rock district’s lingering racial issues, which have provided a backdrop in the district for decades. “It’s a dark past in our state but we’re so far past that,” Ledbetter said after the meeting. “It’s a diverse board and no vote in this board has taken place along racial lines.”
Sexual-assault summit feels impact of Vanderbilt trial by Travis Loller Associated Press
NASHVILLE – While a jury in downtown Nashville was declaring two former Vanderbilt University football students guilty of raping a fellow student, administrators from about 80 public and private colleges across Tennessee were meeting just three miles away about sexual assault on campus.
The timing was coincidental, but the verdict added a level of intensity to the summit’s PowerPoint presentations and panel discussions. Katie High is the University of Tennessee vice president for academic affairs and student success. She said about 450 people attended the twoday meeting on the campus of Tennessee State University. Not everyone was even aware of the Vanderbilt case
when the summit started Tuesday morning, High said. “But once the verdict came down, I think we all sat up a little bit straighter. ...It intensified the importance of everything for us.” High said the summit was first envisioned last fall as a way to educate college and university staff about changes to the federal Clery Act that affect how campuses are required to respond to sexual
assault and relationship violence. S. Daniel Carter, with the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative, told attendees that new regulations place the emphasis for sexual-assault education on the changing behavior of potential perpetrators, rather than victims. The idea is no longer teaching students “how not to get raped,” he said, “but teaching students not to rape.”
Another new area of emphasis is bystander intervention. That is particularly poignant given the testimony that came out during the Vanderbilt case that at least five Vanderbilt athletes saw the victim in distress and did not report it. Marlene Hall is the Tennessee Tech University compliance coordinator for the Clery Act and other federal regulations involving sex discrimination. She said the cultural
changes schools are talking about today may seem impossible, but she likened them to the campaign against drunken driving. “We’ve seen that it can be done,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with this situation much of my career, and sometimes you think, ‘How many decades is it going to take?’ But you have to see that there is progress and not give up.”
January 29 - February 4, 2014
The New Tri-State Defender
BRIEFS & THINGS TSU President Glover to speak at AKA chapter’s Founder’s Day celebration Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, president of Tennessee State University and International first vice president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., will be the guest speaker Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover at the Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter’s 2015 Founders’ Day celebration at 3 p.m. on Feb. 22 at First Baptist ChurchBroad, 2835 Broad Ave. Approximately 400 members of the Beta Epsilon Omega (BEO) Chapter will be in attendance, as well as representatives of other major African-American fraternities and sororities. Established in 1908 on the campus of Howard University, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) is the first Greek-lettered sorority founded by African-American college women. BEO was chartered in 1934. It was the first AKA chapter chartered in Memphis and the 55th graduate chapter to be established. For more information, contact Veronica Jackson-Ratliff at vratliff08@gmail.com, or Pam Crittendon Roberson at pamcroberson@ gmail.com. ‘New Year Celebration’ set for Douglass and neighbors A New Year Celebration on Saturday (Jan. 31st) is designed to “bring the people of Douglass and adjacent communities back together as they were in the past.” The event involves reaching out to residents of the Douglass, Bungalow and Crump communities. It will be highlighted by a parade, featuring marching bands, majorettes, cheerleaders, floats, McGruff the Crime Dog, and several Camaro and Corvette car clubs. The Grand Marshal is Elmore Nickelberry, one of original members of the 1968 striking Memphis sanitation workers. The parade is set to begin at 11 a.m. It will begin at Warford and Calvert and end at the Douglass Community Center, 1616 Ash, where there will be speeches and performances. The rain date is Feb. 7th. For more information, contact Donna Houston-D’Doyata at 901302-7613. Enrollment begins Jan. 31st for The Excel Center The Excel Center – a new charter high school that will serve Shelby County adults 18 and older – will officially kick off enrollment Jan. 31. School Director Eric H. Cooper said Excel Center representatives will be at the Jan. 31 Memphis Charter School Enrollment Fair, and online registration at www.goodwillmemphis.org/excel-center/ will open that day. “Shelby County adults who dropped out of school now have the chance to earn their high school diploma and plan for a better future,” said Cooper. Classes will begin in August 2015 at 1490 Norris Road, site of the former Norris Road Elementary School. Features of the school include an environment geared to adult learners, day & evening classes, life coaches, a free on-site dropin center for students’ children, and college and career counseling. The Memphis Charter School Enrollment Fair will be held at the Pipkin Building, Mid-South Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Sat., Jan. 31. Cooper said the Excel Center, which was started in Indianapolis by Goodwill of Central Indiana in 2010, would announce several community meetings in the near future. Memphis Goodwill has adopted The Excel Center model as part of its mission to help individuals move beyond barriers to employment. For more information, visit www. goodwillmemphis.org/excel-center/. BRIEFLY: Improving race relations with an eye on education, communication and understanding will be the focus during the Whitehaven Kiwanis Club Dutch Treat Luncheon which is set for noon to 1:30 on Feb. 3rd at Methodist South Hospital, 1300 Wesley Drive (Whitehaven) in Meeting Room A & B. For more information, contact Calvin Burton at 901-412-2757 or email cburton615@hotmail.com. BRIEFLY: The Cossitt Library Downtown will host a meet-andgreet session with Dr. Carnita Atwater – curator of the “Sammy Davis, Jr. the Truth” exhibit – from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, Jan. 30th. The exhibit will be at Cossitt for the entire month of February.
COMMUNITY
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Shelby County teachers protest merit pay plan State’s largest public school district grapples with sticky issue by Daarel Burnette Chalkbeat Tennessee
Hundreds of teachers decked in red attire packed a Shelby County School Board meeting Tuesday night to protest the district’s plan to tie teacher pay raises to classroom performance. “We do not want this!” said Ethan Randall of Kingsbury High School, one of 15 teachers to speak against the new compensation plan. “It is not equitable and it is not fair.” The change is designed to attract and retain the nation’s best teachers and weed out the poor ones. However, teachers worry the new pay structure will reduce their lifetime earnings and retirement and are wary of tying their salaries to the state’s teacher rating system, which relies heavily on student test scores. The board will vote on the matter this spring as part of the district’s budget negotiations. Shelby County Schools, which is the state’s largest K-12 public school district, is one of the largest employers in Memphis and spends the majority of its estimated $1 billion budget on teacher salaries. “We do understand that compensation is not the magic bullet that helps attract and retain teachers,” said Trinette Small, the district’s chief of human resources. “But we think it’s an important component. This is an opportunity for teachers to earn more. It’s an attractive option.” Currently, teachers receive raises based on years of service, but administrators are looking to tie pay to performance and recruit effective new teachers wanting to climb the pay scale quicker. While the district has the highest pay in Tennessee, it ranks near the bottom academically, with only a third of its third-graders reading on grade level. Because of chronic academic underperformance, 30 Shelby County schools have been taken over by the state, and several more are at risk. “We’ve been through a lot in the last three years but we have a long way to
Hundreds of teachers decked in red showed up to protest teacher merit pay at Tuesday night’s board meeting. (Photo: Daarel Burnette/Chalkbeat Tennessee) go,” Superintendent Dorsey Hopson told attendees amid cackles and boos from teachers. “When you look at the overall performance of this district, we have to do something different. We’ve got to drastically improve student achievement in Shelby County.” Specifically, the new plan ties teacher pay to the state’s Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM) scores. Teachers can earn increases of $1,200, $1,000 or $800 for scoring at the top three levels. Salaries would remain the same for teachers scoring in the bottom two levels. Under the present pay plan, teachers receive raises of $950 to $1,200 annually based on years of experience, although they’ve gone without salary increases for the last two years due to district budget constraints. During the last month, the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association has mobilized its teacher members to fight the new plan. Union leaders complained that they weren’t involved in the latter stages of developing the compensation plan and are pushing instead for continued step increases based on years of experience and cost-of-liv-
ing increases for all teachers. Under state guidelines approved in 2013, all Tennessee school districts must adopt a new form of differentiated pay, which could reward teachers based on classroom performance, leadership positions or working at high-needs schools. Last year, Metro Nashville Public Schools unveiled its own performance-based pay plan, but tabled the idea after teachers balked. Director of Schools Jesse Register said the district may revisit the proposal as evaluations are refined. In Memphis on Monday, district leaders increased the maximum amount a teacher can make under the new plan from $70,000 to $73,000 after discussions with union leaders. District leaders also went on the offensive, releasing “fact sheets” noting that more than 73 percent of the district’s teachers earn a 4 or 5 on the TEM scale. At Tuesday night’s meeting, Hopson attempted to squash rumors that the district might adjust evaluation scores to save money, while board chairwoman Teresa Jones called for transparency from the district and improved perfor-
mance from teachers. “We need to do work to have an evaluation that teachers have confidence in and don’t feel like it’s not a ‘gotcha’ moment or is too subjective,” Jones said. “We need to work those issues out and I hope we do, but equally … we can’t ask for more money and better pay and not have the test scores reflect that.” Two teachers spoke in favor of performance-based pay, which they said works for traditional corporations and can work for schools as well. Researchers say that boosting student test scores is a complex task that depends on numerous factors from teaching strategies to child preparation to the time of day a test is administered. A recently published study by Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development showed that incentivized pay at schools in Austin, Texas, resulted in higher test scores the first year because of more clearly defined institutional goals but it’s too soon to tell if the model will retain high-performing teachers. Since at least 1921, teachers across the nation have been paid mostly based on seniority and degree attainment. But research has not always supported this approach either. Tennessee began experimenting with incentive pay in 1984, giving teachers $3,000 bonuses based on years of experience, portfolios, classroom observations and test scores. Lawmakers eventually scrapped the plan but revived the approach in 2007 along with several districts in response to federal and local grants worth millions of dollars. In 2013, Shelby County Schools stopped rewarding bonuses for additional degrees, significantly draining the pipeline of students seeking graduate degrees in education from the University of Memphis.
(Contact Daarel Burnette II at dburnette@chalkbeat.org or 901-260-3705.)
(Follow on Twitter: @Daarel, @ chalkbeattn.)
Elder abuse in Shelby County and the need for a coordinated response A series of training events will be popping up in Shelby County over the next 18 months with a laser focus – increase awareness of the forms of elder abuse, the key indicators and how to respond. The Plough Foundation launched the Coordinated Response to Elder Abuse (CREA) as part of the first phase in a comprehensive plan to address elder abuse in Shelby County on Wednesday. The initial training was dubbed a critical step toward building a community wide continuum of care for victims of elder abuse. The initiative, which will be funded through a three-year, $3.45 million grant is one of the first of its kind in the U.S. “Memphis is embarking on a unique initiative that is groundbreaking. This project will not only improve the response to elder abuse victims in the Memphis area but will be a model for other com-
Plough Foundation launches phase one of a new plan
munities throughout the United States,” said Bonnie Brandl, M.S.W., executive director of the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). Brandl, a widely recognized and respected player in the arena of those focused on addressing the abuse of elders, was the guest speaker at the kickoff event, which was designed to showcase and inform the community about services available around the clock to those 60 and over who are victims of abuse. The services include advocacy, healthcare, legal and emergency housing to meet the needs of the victims 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “The Plough Foundation’s initiative to address elder abuse in Memphis is unprecedented and extraordinary,” said Brandl.
“The Plough Foundation is the first private foundation in the United States I am aware of to commit substantial resources to enhance collaboration and partnerships among key stakeholders who respond to elder abuse cases.” Thirty-plus local and national partners have embraced the initiative. At its core is a system that begins with coordinated communication across the community’s frontline crisis centers, including the 911 system, Adult Protective Services, ElderLifeLine and the Family Safety Center. “By coordinating communication and triaging calls related to elder abuse our partners are able to work together and assess the need for an emergency response and provide various services around the clock to support older adults,” said Patti
Tosti, CREA director. Services are focused in four critical areas: victim services, housing, health care and legal assistance. Individuals needing support will be able to access 24-hour assistance tailored to the needs of the victim and to ensuring the continuing protection of their well-being. The kick-off Wednesday at Rhodes College also featured: Laura Mosqueda, M.D., the co-director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, a federally-funded initiative that serves as the nation’s coordinating body and clearinghouse for information on research, training, best practices, news and resources on elder abuse, neglect and exploitation; and Rhonda Martinson, J.D., a criminal justice response expert and advisor to Emerge’s Abuser 201 Training Project Center Alliance.
Joint Founders’ Day… Unbreakable was the theme of the Joint Founders’ Day program celebrating the bond between Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (1914) and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (1920) at Bethlehem M.B.C. last Saturday. Pictured (l-r): Corey Johnson, president of the Tau Iota Sigma Chapter; guest speaker Ernestine Wilson, South Central Director of Zeta Phi Beta; and Charlotte Ghoston, president of the Alpha Eta Zeta chapter. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
Memphis CARES Mentoring Movement to mark anniversary Mentors, mentees and their supporters will gather at the Memphis Education Association Building (126 Flicker St.) to celebrate mentoring in Memphis beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday (Jan. 31st). Grand Master Arvin w. Glass, Prince Hall Mason for the State of Tennessee, will be the keynote speaker during the event, which celebrates the seventh anniversary of the Memphis CARES Mentoring Movement. The highlight of the program will be presentations of mentoring awards. Memphis CARES is an affiliate of the National CARES Mentoring Movement founded by Susan L. Taylor. The mission is to recruit mentors for organizations already mentoring children. The local movement was established in 2007 when Sheila Flemming-Hunter, founder and president of The Black
Rose Foundation for Children, elicited Taylor’s assistance from her national organization, then located in Atlanta with a half dozen affiliates around the country. With national offices now located in New York and Washington, DC, the National CARES local affiliates have expanded to more than 60plus. “Mentoring is all about caring,” says Taylor. “It’s caring enough to commit just one hour a week to advise and help a vulnerable young person. I hope Memphians will increase their commitment by coming out to the celebration so they can volunteer to be mentors.” Memphis CARES uses its anniversary as an annual celebration of mentoring in the community, says Willie Brooks, chairman of the Board of Directors of Memphis CARES, “and as an opportunity during national mento-
ring month to remind the community about the benefits of mentoring.” The benefits of mentoring will be highlighted when Calvin Williams, a mentee from Hope Academy, shares his experience with mentors. The annual awards include four categories of recognition: institution, individual, corporate and a couple. The nominees for the Imani (Faith) Mentoring Award are: Hope Academy; Operations Hope; Porter-Leath’s Generations Program; REACH Memphis; The Memphis Chapter of the Links and UCAN (YOU CAN ACHIEVE NOW) of Memphis. The nominees for the Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) Mentoring Award are: Belinda Campbell – Youth United Way Leadership Program; Edward Cooley-Shelby Coun-
ty District Attorney Office; Latosha Dexter – Girls, Inc.; Dustin Fulton – Memphis Kappa League; Jennifer Hogan – Memphis Urban League; Vicki Johnson – Pinky Promise; LaShaundra Robinson – Grizzlies Team Up; George Watson – Porter-Leath’s Generations Program; and Lillian Whitmore – Porter-Leath’s Generations Program. The nominees for the Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) Corporate Mentoring Award are: Lewis Help Today Foundation; Medtronic and SCS Legacy MCS Connect Mentoring Program. The nominee for the Mayor A C and Attorney Ruby Wharton Mentoring Award is Rev. Kenneth S. Robinson, M.D. and Rev Marilynn S. Robinson, MPH. The event, which is free, is sponsored by Memphis CARES and the African American Network at FedEx.
SPORTS
The New Tri-State Defender, January 29 - February 4, 2014, Page 14
SUPER BOWL TALK
If speech is free, shouldn’t silence be? by Howard Robertson and Larry Robinson The First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech.” The National FootHoward ball League Robertson s a y s : “Players must be available to the media following every game and regularly during the practice week as required under league Larry rules and Robinson their contracts.” So, our Constitution guarantees that by law, we will always be free to say what we want. We’re also free to be quiet. But
Although he showed up Tuesday on Super Bowl XLIX Media Day and answered (sort of) questions for the prescribed time, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch reportedly could be fined for wearing an unauthorized Beast Mode hat to the event. Marshawn Lynch (Photo: Twitter Screenshot) then the NFL mandates that players be available to the media. Does “available” mean talking and what if you don’t want to talk or don’t have anything worthwhile to say? Must you talk anyway? If you don’t talk, what happens?
Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch is the All-Pro, Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks’ running back who does his job advancing the football extremely well. He’s by no means eloquent. He’s not auditioning to be an ESPN commentator now or later. He doesn’t
like speaking into microphones or answering repetitive, mundane, often idiotic questions from often smarmy sports reporters. He has said that he would much rather let his performance on the field speak for itself and for him. So, why is there a problem?
Which begs the next question: If a player is doing his job well on the field and not violating the personal conduct policy off the field, why does the NFL care if a player doesn’t want to speak? Broadcast media is the NFL’s biggest, most valuable client. They pay the NFL gazillions of dollars every year for rights, access, availability and participation. We call it big pimping and apparently players not talking are like “hoes not walking.” After all, media has a 24-hour sports news cycle to fill. How in the hell can they do that with people who don’t want to talk? Marshawn had to be made an example of before his “zipped lip” syndrome spread to others. So Beast Mode gets punished. First it’s a $50,000 fine for refusing to talk to the media in 2013. Then in November 2014 he was fined $100,000 for refusing to speak. After that, teammates Doug Baldwin and Richard Sherman – the articulate, Stanford-educated Seahawk that some media pundits say talks too much – held a brilliant mock press conference lambasting the NFL’s hypocrisy. Since then, Marshawn has had compelling answers to me-
dia questions including: “Yeah,” “I appreciate you asking,” and during Super Bowl media day 29 times he gave the greatest of all time answer: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.” Marshawn Lynch should not be forced to speak to the media or fined for not doing so. The last time we checked, that isn’t required of murderers, rapists, convicted felons or anybody else, so it shouldn’t be forced on professional athletes. If you are free to say intelligent, insightful or even crazy, ignorant things... silence should not cost you. And please don’t say anything in the vicinity of, “That comes with getting paid all that money.” Roger Goodell makes $44 million a year and he didn’t get fined for not talking to the media during the Ray/Janae domestic violence fray until he got good and ready. Don’t forget that.
(“A Little R&R on Sports” is nationally syndicated on the Sports Byline USA network, every Saturday 11 a.m. EST/ 10 a.m. CST on sportsbyline.com. In Memphis tune in to KWAM 990 every Saturday at 10 a.m. Plus, log onto randronsports. com.)
Saluqis split conference games Lady Saluqis lose twice
The Zach factor... Zach Randolph, who has been on a tear since missing several games because of an injury, stakes his claim on this loose ball against the Orlando Magic on Monday night at the FedExForum. (Photos: Warren Roseborough)
Z-Bo plays ‘run killer’ in Dallas
by Schuyler Dixon Associated Press
DALLAS – Who needs timeouts when you have Z-Bo. Zach Randolph scored 22 points, including several high-arcing jumpers over defensive stalwart Tyson Chandler in the second half to answer Dallas scoring spurts, and Memphis handed the Mavericks their first three-game losing streak of the season with a 109-90 win Tuesday night. “We only had to call one timeout to stop a run,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said. “We executed, and you can’t say enough about what Zach got going in the second half.” The Mavericks had trailed by as many as 16 points but were within nine late in the third quarter when Randolph had the ball on the right wing late in the shot clock. He hit a 20-footer over Chandler, and the Grizzlies led by double digits the rest of the way to win their fourth straight and eighth in their past nine games a night after finishing a season-long five-game homestand. The only loss in that stretch was to Dallas last week at home. “That ball was dropping,” said Randolph, who made seven straight shots in the second half and was 10 of 15 from the field. “My teammates kept coming to me and believing in me, and I just kept getting aggressive.” Chandler Parsons and Monta Ellis scored 19 apiece to lead the Mavericks, who failed for the third time to get coach Rick Carlisle his 600th career victory in the first of four games in five nights – the first three against playoff contenders. “We’ve got to sustain effort during defensive possessions,” said Carlisle, whose team fell 3 1/2 games behind Southwest Division-leading Memphis. “Right now it’s a hard conference. It’s a hard stretch of schedule.” Marc Gasol added 15 points and a game-high six assists for the Grizzlies, while Nick Calathes had season highs with 13 points and 27 minutes with guard Mike Conley sidelined a night after spraining his left wrist in a win over Orlando. The Mavericks fell behind 54-44 at halftime thanks to 14 turnovers, including a steal in the backcourt and layup by Calathes right after he made two free throws to give the Grizzlies four points in the last 5 seconds of the first quarter.
Zach Randolph appears unconcerned about the defensive effort of Luc Mbah a Moute of the 76’ers. Z-bo tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds in Memphis’ 101-83 romp over Philadelphia at the FedExForum on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies didn’t trail again after Calathes hit a 3-pointer early in the second. Two minutes later, Jordan Adams scored all five of his points to start a 9-0 run that broke a 36-36 tie. Tip-ins Grizzlies: Guard Tony Allen missed his second straight game a left ankle sprain. ... Vince Carter scored 12 points in his first visit to Dallas since signing with Memphis as a free agent in the offseason. Carter, who spent three seasons with the Mavericks, got a warm ovation when he came off the bench late in the first quarter. Mavericks: Ellis got a technical foul for arguing after he was called for charging late in the first half. Carter made the free throw to give Memphis its first double-digit lead at 52-42. ... Before Tuesday, Parsons was limited to one rebound in consecutive games for the first time since his rookie year in 2011-12. He had two against the Grizzlies. Another double-double
Marc Gasol, who is the first Memphis Grizzlies player named to start in an NBA AllStar game, is congratulated by his teammates and fans during a timeout at the game between the Grizzlies and the 76’ers at the FedExForum on Saturday night.
Randolph also had 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double in the past 16 games. He’s had 10 straight since returning from a nine-game absence because of a sore right knee. His latest came a night after he and Gasol won their 30th game in which they both had double figures in points and rebounds. That’s tops in the NBA, one better than Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers. Florida reunion Calathes’ best – and busiest – game of the season came against Parsons, his former high school and college teammate in Florida. They made the high school final four three times and won a Class 5A state title at Lake Howell. They played two seasons together at Florida before Calathes left to play in Greece. His draft rights were traded from Dallas to Memphis in 2013. Up next The Grizzlies defend their home court at the FedExForum against Denver on Thursday.
T h e Southwest men’s and w o m e n ’s basketball teams took to the road for conference games this past weekend with Shaunda games at Durden Wa l t e r s State and R o a n e State. T h e men split the two games, losing on January 23 to Walters State 66-64 on a Keion last second Alexander tip-in and defeating Roane State 85-65 on January 24. The women were defeated by Walters State 74-42 and by Roane State 79-51. For the seventh-ranked Southwest men (15-2), Johnathan Burroughs-Cook was the leading scorer in the Walters State game with 20 points and DeAndre McKinnie was the only other double figure scorer with 17 points coming off the bench. Keion Alexander was the top rebounder with nine. In the Roane State victory, Saluqi reserves accounted for 62 of the team’s 85 points, led by McKinnie (15), Kennedy McKinney (10), James McPherson (9) and Jalen McGaughy (8). Rasheed Brooks scored 11 points and was the only starter in double figures. As a team, the Saluqis shot 52.7 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Shaqunda Durden was the Lady Saluqis’ only double figure scorer in the loss to Walters State with 13 points and was also the top rebounder with six. Against Roane State, LaKyesha Stennis led the team with 18 points and Keoshia McGhee had another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. NEXT: The Southwest basketball teams will play Mississippi Delta on January 29 in a non-conference doubleheader (women 6 p.m. and men 8 p.m.) On January 31, Southwest will return to conference play at Dyersburg State (women 2 p.m. and men 4 p.m.)