10 22 2014

VOL. 63, No. 41

October 16 - 22, 2014

www.tsdmemphis.com

75 Cents

ASD targets 12 Memphis schools for possible takeover

by Daarel Burnette Chalkbeat Tennessee

Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael: “I have been doing this for over 21 years and I have seen very few children come before me, or that I have represented, that have been in trouble with the law that came from a structured environment where they were getting taught what was right and wrong.”

The state will seize control of nine chronically-underperforming public schools in Memphis next year and hand them over to privately-run charter school operators, officials with the staterun Achievement School District announced Thursday.

The entire staffs at those schools will be forced to reapply to their jobs, and the chosen charter operators will have the power to change the school’s name, switch out curriculum, and bring in new discipline models, among other things.

The ASD has already decided to hand over South Side Middle School to KIPP Memphis, which runs several charters in Tennessee, and hand Wooddale Middle School and Raleigh Egypt High School to Green Dot Public Schools,

based in Los Angeles.

Over the next two months, the ASD will consider whether to give FloridaKansas Elementary to Scholar Academies or Freedom Prep; Denver Elementary to Capstone Education Group; Airways, American Way and A. Maceo Walker middle schools to YES Prep; Brookmeade Elementary to Libertas; Hawkins Mill Elementary to Libertas or Capstone Education Group; LaRose Elementary to Scholar; and AB Hill Elementary to Freedom Prep. Three of those schools will ultimately stay with the district next year.

The schools named Thursday are virtually all black and all poor and are situated in dilapidated communities dotted with boarded-up homes, burned out store fronts, and littered streets.

The matching process between schools and charter operators in prior years has been emotionally fraught, with

community members and teachers accusing administrators of letting outsiders strip away pillars of historically-disenfranchised communities, and pleading for a second chance.

On Tuesday, two days before the list of targeted schools was publicly released, community leaders had already received phone calls from panicked teachers and parents and were scrambling to set up meetings with district officials.

“I’ve never been a proponent of charter schools,” said Ralph White, the pastor of Bloomfield Full Gospel Baptist Church, which serves several parents and students from Florida-Kansas Elementary School. “They’ve become quite disruptive.”

White said he would do everything in his power to prevent FloridaKansas from being taken over by the state after he witnessed several other schools in his community shuttered by

district officials, a strategy used by the district to save money and improve student performance. Charter schools with checkered records later moved into those buildings.

The schools named Thursday were among the lowest 5 percent of schools in the state, as measured by standardized test scores. In all, 83 schools fall in the lowest 5 percent category among Tennessee public schools. Almost a third of Memphis’ schools, were on that list and are eligible to be taken over by the state within the next three years.

The state is allowed to seize control of those schools and turn them over to a charter school or directly run them, a provision allowed under the state’s waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. SEE SCHOOLS ON PAGE 3

Kroger teen mob trial: The view from the bench

by Tony Jones Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael says he cannot – and will not – allow public sentiment to influence his rulings as he considers the cases of teen offenders, including those accused of mob-lib action.

Michael’s viewpoint moved to the forefront this week (Tuesday, Oct. 14th) as court proceedings began in the prosecution of 10 teens charged with attacking two Kroger employees and a would-be customer on the parking lot of the Kroger’s in the Poplar Plaza Shopping Center. The September incident became a YouTube sensation, as one teen in a lime green T-shirt was shown repeatedly stomping a victim on the ground.

The court has reset the trial to Oct. 28th. The entire group will be facing aggravated riot charges, and two will have to deal with additional charges of aggravated assault. One of the teens tried to plead guilty on Tuesday, but Michael rejected the plea and will look at it anew when the trial begins on the reset date.

Three of the teens will remain in the court’s custody.

The incident at Kroger’s – along with other recent and similar type incidents – has enflamed many area residents, with calls for harsher penalties for teen offenders, increasing the number tried as adults, and stepping up fines for their parents.

Michael cannot discuss any pending matter before the court, but in an interview with The New Tri State Defender several weeks before the trial, he was adamant that he would not allow public sentiment, nor his own, to influence the administration of this trial, or others.

“I try really hard given my charge as a juvenile magistrate or a judge to remember that they are children and our charge is to rehabilitate and not punish,” said Michael. “But I think, as with any human being, when you see a video (depicting youth violence) you’re going to have a gut level reaction, but as a lawyer and a judge I have to temper my reaction according to what the law requires of you and that is what I try to do.”

While some critics are now saying the courts are too lenient with juveniles, Michael says he focuses on doing the job as instructed. “In our juvenile laws there is no mention of punishment, only rehabilitation and SEE TRIAL ON PAGE 3

MEMPHIS WEEKEND FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H-79o - L-52o H-74o - L-54o H-76o - L-57o Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Friday H-81 L-53 H-76 L-49 H-84 L-60

Saturday H-74 L-55 H-71 L-44 H-83 L-55

Sunday H-76 L-57 H-70 L-47 H-84 L-56

Rally for choice…

The Rev. Dwight Montgomery (above), president of SCLC Memphis, helped spearhead a rally in support of school vouchers at Greater Mount Moriah Baptist Church on Tuesday. (Right) The speakers included charter school operator Dr. Willie W. Herenton (center), former mayor and Memphis City Schools superintendent, and City Councilman Lee Harris (right), Democratic nominee for State Senate District 29. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow) See related story on Community, page 11.

OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

‘Overcomers’ – a story of survivors

by Wiley Henry whenry@tsdmemphis.com

Tajuana Clark fought as much as she could to stop the onslaught of verbal, psychological and physical abuse for nearly half of her 8½ years of marriage. After reaching the breaking point, she bolted with her six children and ended up homeless on the streets of Memphis.

More than 11 years of marriage also ended for Dione Pruitt, who was subjected to her husband’s cruelty of verbal, psychological and physical abuse. She vamoosed with her five children, risking it all. With nowhere to turn and no one to turn to, sleeping in the car was her only recourse.

According to The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report, about 1 in 4 women (24.3 percent) and 1 in 7 men (13.8 percent) have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner.

The survey also reported that nearly half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (48.4 percent and 48.8 percent, respectively).

Count Clark and Pruitt among the ranks. They were victimized by men purporting to love them, men with a propensity for violence, the third leading cause of homelessness among families. Their stories are similar and all too familiar. But then they found solace and renewal at LINCS (Ladies In Need Can Survive).

With intense training, they were able to turn their lives around.

From crisis to rehabilitation…

LINCS is a non-profit “home away from home” in the Frayser community for women who have been psychologically and physically abused, incarcerated, or struggling with poverty, substance abuse and homelessness.

Since LINCS opened during the summer of 2013, seven women have completed a structured, intensive

Early voting underway in Tennessee

by Erik Schelzig Associated Press

Tajuana Clark (seated) and Dione Pruitt (left) were victimized by their husbands and ended up homeless on the streets of Memphis until they found LINCS (Ladies In Need Can Survive), a transitional home founded by Wanda Taylor, also a survivor of domestic violence. (Photo: Wiley Henry) training program: Drug and Alcohol feed other women or refers them to Intensive Outpatient Program, Coun- other facilities. seling, Anger Management, Domes“Every woman who comes tic Violence Education, Parenting & through the door, I mentor them and Life Skills Coaching, Job Readiness, provide services to get them back on Career and Financial Planning, Edu- track,” said Taylor. “Other programs cational Guidance, the Health and deal with the addiction. I deal with Wellness Program, First Aid/CPR the core issue, the root cause.” and SIDS Training, and Housing AsWomen in distress are referred to sistance.

LINCS by churches and a number of “We can house four women at a organizations, such as the YWCA, time, but I won’t leave a lady out be- The Salvation Army, Friends For cause I can’t house them,” said Life, Serenity Recovery Centers, Wanda Taylor, LINCS’ CEO and ex- Inc., and Project Homeless Connect ecutive director. If the facility is full, she continues to extend a hand to SEE OVERCOMERS ON PAGE 2

Tennessee voters can now get a head start on casting their ballots for the Nov. 4 general election. Early voting, which began Wednesday, runs through Oct. 30th In Shelby County, early voters can go to the polls in all 21 satellite sites.

Weekday hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Here is a look at some of the state’s top races: U.S. SENATE: Republican Lamar Alexander, a former twoterm governor who also ran for president twice, is seeking a third term in the Senate. The Democratic nominee is Gordon Ball, a Knoxville attorney. The two candidates have waged campaigns heavily critical of each other. Ball has called the incumbent out of touch with Tennessee voters, while Alexander has sought to label his challenger as beholden to the policies of President Barack Obama.

The lone joint appearance of both candidates was scheduled for a Farm Bureau forum Thursday in Cookeville.

GOVERNOR: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam faces little serious opposition from Democratic nominee Charlie Brown, a politically unknown retiree from Morgan County in eastern Tennessee.

Haslam’s re-election bid has largely centered on a minute-long SEE VOTING ON PAGE 2

Page 2

Tri-State Defender

October 16 - 22, 2014

NEWS OVERCOMERS CONTINUED FROM FRONT Memphis.

Tajuana Clark: Failure is not an option “Being at the center taught me that dreams do come true,” said Clark, who underwent a rigorous training program to address her myriad problems.

“I got into a good program so I wouldn’t be stuck in bondage.”

Clark received counseling, went back to high school to get her diploma, got a job, and then matriculated at National College in Memphis to become a pharmacy technician. Then it was on to Tennessee Academy of Cosmetology after National College closed its doors.

“My career goal is to be a nurse practitioner,” said Clark, 30, who never thought any of her dreams would come to fruition. “I felt like I had a learning disability, but I was encouraged that it wasn’t too late for me.”

Once in school, Clark made good grades – A’s and B’s. “I knew I had it, but I felt I’d taken too long to get my diploma.”

“Tajuana has completed the program and has done exceptionally well since she’s been in school,” said Taylor. “Now she has a positive outlook on life, no longer receives public assistance, and was reunited with her children after finishing the program.”

As Clark recalls, “Ms. Wanda” was trying to get the center open when they met.

“She stayed friends with me and loved me where I was. She encouraged me when I was going through not to give up. I felt like I’d failed myself and everybody, but she let me know that failure was not an option.”

Clark fought mightily to turn her life around. “I was empty and had no more fight in me,” she said. “But then I knew I was a winner. I just thank God that I didn’t end up at a dead end.”

Dione Pruitt: ‘There is no turning back’ “I’m free, I got peace, and I’m going to keep it like that,”

PROJECT STAND – ‘An Evening of Hope’ to Benefit domestic violence survivors Recently, Memphis was shaken by two deaths resulting from domestic violence. The growing problem of domestic violence in Memphis has prompted a local organization to become an active part of the solution.

POWER Ministries will host Project STAND, a community outreach event designed to promote awareness and assist agencies with resources for domestic violence survivors. The semiformal event dubbed an “Evening of Hope” will be held on Oct. 26th, beginning at 4 p.m. at 409 South Main.

POWER Ministries’ mission is to “impart Pearls of Wisdom, Enlightenment and Renewal to help women activate the POWER that has been given to them and to effectively walk with that POWER on the path to their promise – based on Ephesians 3:20.”

Project STAND is an effort to provide a vehicle to “do more than simply speak on the recent events on the streets or on social media.” Project STAND will celebrate several survivors of domestic abuse as well as have agencies on hand to provide information on available resources. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales – admission is $30 – will be donated to support local efforts to aid victims of domestic violence. Each attendee will also be able to make an additional contribution at the event.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Karren D. Todd, founder of POWER Ministries and Project STAND, at Karren.Todd@yahoo.com or by phone at 901270-1996. Visit Project STAND (www.project-stand.org). said Pruitt, who has her own home now and a vehicle. Her children also were returned after the threat of domestic violence had ceased and after she was no longer homeless.

Thanks to LINCS, “I’m just blessed.”

Pruitt says she is stronger now than she was before. “I’m still processing and healing on certain things,” she said. “But I’m there. There is no turning back. I’ve come too far. My goal is to get my GED, own my own business, and just live life.”

LINCS may have been Pruitt’s saving grace. She will graduate this month with her GED. “The only people I can really trust is Ms. Wanda and Ms. JoAnn Lee, my godmom,” said Pruitt, 33.

“Dione was very timid because of all the abuse that she’s gone through,” Taylor said.

“Her self esteem is at an all time high and she’s learned to love herself all over again.”

Love had been fleeting or nonexistent, Pruitt claims.

“When I left my husband, I was homeless and slept in my car. My oldest child was with me; the other children stayed

with their fathers,” she said. “I stayed six months at the YWCA and got a referral to LINCS.” When Pruitt finally got herself together, her bearings straight, she surprised her daughter. “She was the first to see the house. The others came after a month. They were happy and running everywhere. So I just let them have a good time.”

Pruitt said she was never told she was beautiful. “Now I know I’m beautiful,” she said confidently. “Nobody can take that away from me.”

Wanda Taylor: ‘I’m an overcomer’ The women that Taylor has helped to get back on their feet are mirror images of herself.

She grew up in a single parent household in public housing and likewise endured verbal, psychological and physical abuse.

“My mom battled alcohol and my dad was addicted to drugs. So I was raised in the streets and grew up with gangsters, prostitutes and drug deal-

ers,” said Taylor, who once lived with her brother and sister in both the Claiborne Homes and LeMoyne Gardens housing projects.

The environment that Taylor was accustomed to was dangerous. She’d endeared herself to the underbelly of life and engaged in the type of illicit behavior that could’ve cost her life.

“At 11, I was introduced to cocaine, alcohol and sex,” she said. “I started experiencing domestic violence at 15, dropped out of school in the 11th-grade, and became a teen mom. I had no morals and values.

“I was so confused. I was selling drugs, stealing, in and out of the court. I’m the face in incest, homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration – everything. I lived at The Salvation Army twice, in a vacant apartment with my children, and out of my mom’s car.

“I was shot at, stabbed, almost burned alive, and tied up.

Guns were pulled on me countless times. And I also went through an abusive marriage – almost three years,” said Taylor, the mother of two adult children and three grandchildren.

In 1992, Taylor made a decision to transform her life. She found Jesus Christ. In 2002, at the age of 28, she received her high school diploma. At 35, she’d received a cosmetology diploma, technical certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling, and an Associate of Science degree in Human Services both from Southwest Tennessee Community College. She also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management at the University of Phoenix.

“I’m an overcomer,” she said.

VOTING CONTINUED FROM FRONT TV ad featuring children espousing his qualities.

The governor has shied away from making the campaign about difficult political decisions he might face if re-elected — such as Medicaid expansion, Common Core education standards or a gas tax increase.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: Voters will decide on four proposed changes to the Tennessee Constitution. To be adopted, they would need a majority of the number of votes cast in the governor's race. The amendments would grant the legislature more power to regulate abortions in the state; underscore the current merit selection process for Supreme Court and appeals judges; ban a state income tax in Tennessee; and allow nonprofit veterans groups to hold charitable gaming fundraisers.

CONGRESS: While all nine U.S. representatives are on the ballot, only Rep. Scott DesJarlais in the 4th District appears to face a serious challenge. DesJarlais, a Jasper physician who now opposes abortion rights, won the GOP primary by 38 votes in August, despite a series of personal scandals that included affairs with patients, urging a mistress to seek an abortion and once holding a gun in his mouth for hours outside his ex-wife's room. He faces Democrat Lenda Sherrell of Monteagle.

WINE IN SUPERMARKETS: A multiyear legislative fight resulted in a law that allows cities and counties that already allow liquor by the drink or package store sales to hold referendums on whether to allow wine sales in supermarkets. Under the old law, grocery stores couldn't sell any alcohol stronger than beer, while liquor stores were banned from selling anything other than booze and lottery tickets.

Dozens of communities around the state will vote on the supermarket wine referendum.

LEGISLATURE: All 99 members of the House and 17 of 33 Senate seats are up for election this year, though Republicans hold such vast majorities in both chambers that the results are unlikely to make a big difference in the partisan landscape at the state Capitol. Among the familiar faces not returning are longtime Democratic Sens. Douglas Henry of Nashville, who is retiring, and Jim Kyle of Memphis, who has been elected to a judgeship. Meanwhile two controversial Republican lawmakers, Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville and Rep. Tony Shipley of Kingsport, were defeated in their primaries.

Originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18th, The New Tri-State Defender’s Men’s Heath Summit has been POSTPONED until 2015.

We are working diligently to conduct a quality health summit for the men of Memphis and the surrounding area.

To ensure that the summit

completely focuses on the physical, mental, financial and spiritual aspects of the men’s health, we are retooling the event to provide even more information and a greater array of services in order to add to the quality of life for the men of Greater Memphis.

Tri-State Defender

Page 3

October 16 - 22, 2014

NEWS SCHOOLS

F.F.U.N. to celebrate ‘our differences’ with 5th annual picnic

CONTINUED FROM FRONT ASD officials said Wednesday they picked the 12 schools based on their recent track record, their feeder pattern, and academic models they thought were needed to turn the schools around.

At Raleigh Egypt High School, on the short list of schools to be taken over for the second consecutive year, half the students dropped out in 2010, according to its 2011 school improvement plan. At LaRose Elementary, a school located just a mile from downtown Memphis, barely 9 percent of students met state English Language Arts standards.

ASD officials said Wednesday that the takeover model they employ is the most appropriate intervention for these kinds of school.

“One of the things we’ve learned …is that the individual students that have been underserved have very unique needs and the intervention that’s required to support them have to be as unique as the students,”said Malika Anderson, the chief portfolio officer of the Achievement School District. “When large districts are focused on centralized decision-making…sometimes schools don’t have the flexibility that they need to make decisions that best serve their students.”

Student groups at some of the schools taken over by the ASD in recent years have made modest gains while others have performed worse than when they were taught by the traditional public schools. At Brick Church College Prep in Nashville, students saw their scores increase by more than 20 percentage points in both math and English last year. But during that same year barely 6 percent of students at Memphis’Aspire Hanley 2 Elementary School performed at the state’s required math standards, a 16 percent drop from when the school was run

by Memphis City Schools.

ASD officials said they will be revising their takeover model based on prior experiences and are considering new ways to better engage with community stakeholders, and to determine which charter schools have earned the right to expand.

Earlier this week, ASD and Shelby County Schools officials held meetings with the staff at each of the 12 schools on the intervention list to

explain the matching and subsequent takeover process. Meanwhile, parents received letters and phone calls from the district.

Over the next several weeks, a series of community meetings will take place between charter operators, teachers, parents and students, a sort of get-to-knowyou process.

Several teachers at the targeted schools said Wednesday they were worried about their employment status and knew little about the charter operators.

Parents at the schools described drastic changes in recent months, including entirely new teaching staffs, changed class schedules, and principals abruptly resigning in the middle of the year. Rumors had been floating in recent days of a looming takeover.

Most parents seemed pleased with the education their children had received and said more change would force them to leave.

Teachers tutored students over the weekend and seemed engaged and committed, they said.

“They’ll lose a whole lot of kids if they get rid of these teachers,” said Margaret White who had two children graduate from Florida-Kansas Elementary and two currently attending. “That’ll hurt so many kids here.”

A few parents and students complained of discipline problems and the feeling that their school wasn’t getting its fair share of resources. Change could be good, they said.

“No matter who is running the school, parents have to do what they have to do,” said Toreko Rowell at Airways Middle School as he reviewed his daughter’s report card, full of A’s and B’s.

Final takeover decisions are expected in December.

(Tajuana Cheshier contributed to this story.)

(Contact Daarel Burnette II at dburnette@chalkbeat.org or 901260-3705.)

Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives (F.F.U.N.) will host its 5th Annual Multicultural Unity in the Community Picnic “Celebrating our Differences” on Sunday (Oct. 19th) in Audubon Park, corner of Park and Goodlett, from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.

October is National Crime Prevention Month, National Anti-Bullying Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The community and family picnic is F.F.U.N.’s “Stop the Killing” initiative. Its objectives include: Increase awareness about the impact of crime and senseless killings; Educate youth about how to have positive behavior, respect and appreciation of our differences (opinions, cultural, physical and socioeconomic); and Reiterate the importance of family and safe neighborhoods.

“This alternative prevention tool is designed to help young people learn how to break down barriers, resolve conflicts, become future leaders, and deter crime and deadly confrontations,” said Stevie Moore, president and founder of F.F.U.N. The day of free fun will feature fellowship, free food and entertainment. Myriad local officials are expected, along with numerous choirs, singers, dancers and others.

For more information, visit ffunsaveyouth.org, call Stevie

TRIAL CONTINUED FROM FRONT that is what I am going to continue to do.”

Once asked by a reporter whether he had a cure for juvenile crime, Michael said “my direct answer was ‘no’. I do not have one solution that is going to work, but I do have a lot of ideas that might work because it is going to take more than one idea.”

The basic problem starts in the home, he said.

“I have been doing this for over 21 years and I have seen very few children come before me, or that I have represented, that have been in trouble with the law that came from a structured environment where they were getting taught what was right and wrong,” he said. “I can probably count on one hand those children that got out of line despite all the training they received as children.”

The vast majority of children that he has represented or seen are from toxic environments where the parents have lost control or have just given up and children are left to fend for themselves, he added.

“Frankly, if society is going to solve that problem, they’re going to have figure out a bet-

ter way for parents to do a better job, and I don’t have an answer for that right now. But I’m working on it.”

Michael says Juvenile Court employs a system of “graduated sanctions” in dealing with youth.

“A child can skip through the levels based on the charge, but they are put in place to try to provide correction. As the offences escalate we escalate our involvement. We may start with a simple case of criminal trespass or minor vandalism. A child may get a warning letter from the court saying in essence ‘Don’t do that again.’”

The second step is a “Family Conference,” where the child and his/her family comes in to speak with a probation officer who waves their finger at the child and warns them not to do it again, handling the issue non-judicially.

“Then, we have what is called Supervised Probation.

The child is left with the parents but they have a probation officer. From there you go to the Youth Services Bureau, where the court becomes involved in the youth’s and the family’s lives on a daily basis.”

With a hesitation, Michael outlined the ultimate step.

“After we have exhausted all resources we then contact the

Moore at 901-502-7387 (email stevie@ffunsaveyouth.org) or Rosiland Moore at 901-527-3149 (email rosiland@ffunsaveyouth.org).

Department of Children’s Services corrective arm, where they go into the DCS and are treated in a youth development center. We have three facilities in the state. If their behavior continues to escalate, we have no choice but to transfer them to adult facilities to try them as an adult.”

It is painful, Michael said, because he has come to know the children and their families.

“It is the absolute hardest thing I have to do as a judge.

You look back, but you can’t second-guess yourself when you’re in the middle of the process because you have done everything you can to keep it from happening. I call those my lost children because there’s just nothing else you can do for a child that has stepped out on a limb and committed a serious aggravated assault, wounded somebody or almost killed them. It’s just sad. We do have those cases. About 90 a year.”

There are instances of success.

“I have been in the grocery store and had children come up to me and say ‘thank you, you saved my life.’ We give 99 percent of the credit to the families because all we can do is direct them through the programs. I couldn’t do this if we didn’t have those successes.

But that is only 0.83 percent wind up going downtown. The vast majority of children we deal with don’t ever go downtown to 201 (Poplar) unless they get in trouble as an adult.”

His summation?

“I’m on the Crime Commission and crime in Shelby County is actually going down.

We have had a recent spike in juvenile delinquent acts. I don’t know what is causing that spike. We have about twice the number of kids in our detention center than we had two months ago. The offenses of the children there are much more serious. We’re working one child, one family at a time.

As a court of law that is our charge,” he said.

“We have to slow down, listen to the facts, make sure the facts are there to support the charge. If the child has committed a delinquent act, figure out how best to treat them, and rehabilitate them to become a productive citizen. Remember that commercial that used to ask, ‘Do You Know Where Your Child Is?’ When was the last time you saw that commercial?”

Ultimately, he said, “I tell parents to just be parents. You love your child. You pay attention to your child. You read to your child. Know who your child’s friends are.”

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Tri-State Defender

October 16 - 22, 2014

OPINION John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951 - 1997)

The Mid-South’s Best Alternative Newspaper

Amendment 1 ruffles the feathers of my faith

FLASHBACK: 2007

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

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SPECIAL REPORT

Deadly force in black and white An analysis of killings by police shows outsize risk for young African-American males

by Ryan Gabrielson, Ryann Grochowski Jones and Eric Sagara NNPA News Service

Young African-American males in recent years were at a far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts – 21 times greater, according to a ProPublica analysis of federally collected data on fatal police shootings.

The 1,217 deadly police shootings from 2010 to 2012 captured in the federal data show that African Americans, age 15 to 19, were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million, while just 1.47 per million white males in that age range died at the hands of police.

One way of appreciating that stark disparity, ProPublica’s analysis shows, is to calculate how many more whites over those three years would have had to have been killed for them to have been at equal risk.

The number is jarring – 185, more than one per week.

ProPublica’s risk analysis on young males killed by police certainly seems to support what has been an article of faith in the African-American community for decades: African Americans are being killed at disturbing rates when set against the rest of the American population.

Our examination involved detailed accounts of more than 12,000 police homicides stretching from 1980 to 2012 contained in the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Report.

The data, annually self-reported by hundreds of police departments across the country, confirms some assumptions, runs counter to others, and adds nuance to a wide range of questions about the use of deadly police force.

Colin Loftin, University at Albany professor and co-director of the Violence Research Group, said the FBI data is a minimum count of homicides by police, and that it is impossible to precisely measure what puts people at risk of homicide by police without more and better records. Still, what the data shows about the race of victims and officers, and the circumstances of killings, are “certainly relevant,” Loftin said.

“No question, there are all kinds of racial disparities across our criminal justice system,” he said. “This is one example.”

The FBI’s data has appeared in news accounts over the years, and surfaced again with the August killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. To a great degree, observers and experts lamented the limited nature of the FBI’s reports.

Their shortcomings are inarguable.

The data, for instance, is terribly incomplete. Vast numbers of the country’s 17,000 police departments don’t file fatal police shooting reports at all, and many have filed reports for some years but not others.

Florida departments haven’t filed reports since 1997 and New York City last reported in 2007. Information contained in the individual reports can also be flawed. Still, lots of the reporting police departments are in larger cities, and at least 1000 police departments filed a report or reports over the 33 years.

There is, then, value in what the data can show while accepting, and accounting for, its limitations. Indeed, while the absolute numbers are problematic, a comparison between white and black victims shows important trends. Our analysis included dividing the number of people of each race killed by police by the number of people of that race living in the country at the time, to produce two different rates: the risk of getting killed by police if you are white and if you are African American.

David Klinger, a University of Missouri-St. Louis professor and expert on police use of deadly force, said racial disparities in the data could result from “measurement error,” meaning that the unreported killings could alter ProPublica’s findings.

However, he said the disparity between African American and white teenage boys is so wide, “I doubt the measurement error would account for that.”

ProPublica spent weeks digging into the many rich categories of information the reports hold: the race of the officers involved; the circumstances cited for the use of deadly force; the age of those killed.

Who gets killed?

The finding that young AfricanAmerican men are 21 times as likely as their white peers to be killed by police is drawn from reports filed for the years 2010 to 2012, the three most recent years for which FBI numbers are available.

The African-American boys killed can be disturbingly young. There were 41 teens 14 years or younger reported killed by police from 1980 to 2012. Of that total, 27 were African American, 8 were white, 4 were Hispanic and 1 was Asian.

That’s not to say officers weren’t killing white people. Indeed, some 44 percent of all those killed by police across the 33 years were white.

White or African American, though, those slain by police tended to be roughly the same age. The average age of African Americans killed by police was 30. The average age of whites was 35.

Who is killing all those AfricanAmerican men and boys?

The answer is mostly white officers, but in hundreds of instances, African-American officers, too.

African-American officers account for a little more than 10 percent of all fatal police shootings. Of those they kill, though, 78 percent were African American.

White officers, given their great numbers in so many of the country’s police departments, are well represented in all categories of police killings. White officers killed 91 percent of the whites who died at the hands of police. And they were responsible for 68 percent of the people of color killed. Those people of color represented 46 percent of all those killed by white officers.

What were the circumstances surrounding all these fatal encounters?

There were 151 instances in which police noted that teens they had shot dead had been fleeing or resisting arrest at the time of the encounter. African Americans were 67 percent of those killed in such circumstances. That disparity was even starker in the last couple of years: of the 15 teens shot fleeing arrest from 2010 to 2012, 14 were African American.

Did police always list the circumstances of the killings? No, actually, there were many deadly shooting where the circumstances were listed as “undetermined.” African Americans were 77 percent of those killed in such instances.

Certainly, there were instances where police truly feared for their lives.

Of course, although the data show that police reported that as the cause of their actions in far greater numbers after the 1985 Supreme Court decision that said police could only justify using deadly force if the suspects posed a threat to the officer or others. From 1980 to 1984, “officer under attack” was listed as the cause for 33 percent of the deadly shootings. Twenty years later, looking at data from 2005 to 2009, “officer under attack” was cited in 62 percent of police killings.

Does the data include cases where police killed people with something other than a standard service handgun?

Yes, and the Los Angeles Police Department stood out in its use of shotguns. Most police killings involve officers firing handguns. But from 1980 to 2012, 714 involved the use of a shotgun. The Los Angeles Police Department has a special claim on that category. It accounted for 47 cases in which an officer used a shotgun. The next highest total came from the Dallas Police Department.

(Special to the NNPA from ProPublica.)

Your vote is a really big deal The mid-term elections will take place in a precious few weeks and even with my ear to the ground, I can’t hear very much. There doesn’t seem to be a buzz, urgency, or very much interest coming from our communities about the importance of, and the responsibility we have to vote and…get the vote out.

Actually, what I have noticed in many conversations is that the majority of people I talk to are not actually aware of what is at stake if we don’t go to the polls in droves this time. I sense quite a bit of apathy as so many are of the opinion that their one vote won’t count for a variety of reasons, the main one being that “the 1 percent, Koch brothers, and unlimited PAC money, even if it is dark, will prevail.”

So for those who only get their facts from the media and believe that money buys elections, I have a news flash.

Unity, hard work, and the voting strength and power of “we the people” who come together for a common cause and social justice, is what WINS elections. President Obama proved that there wasn’t enough money to buy the ballot box when we decided that enough is enough, and we gave millions in $5 donations to the party, then went out to do our duty…work hard and get the vote out.

But as a pastor, activist, and political writer, what is shocking to me is that far too many of “us” just don’t want to “mix religion and politics,” or “would prefer to not talk about all that.” But one of my faves (or not so fave) is… “It’s all in God’s hands.” And while I do know that it’s all in His hands, I also know that He expects us to use our hands to pull the lever on the voting machine to express His will, and be His witnesses in the earth.

Let me tell us why it is imperative that we vote in the upcoming election and not allow “them” to take control of both branches of Congress. If we do not show up: Our President will possibly be sued and impeached by mean-spirited and racist power brokers simply because he is black.

The Affordable Care Act, which has helped so many of us, will be repealed and replaced by something that benefits them…or maybe not at all.

A comprehensive jobs bill (which benefits us) will never make it to the

floor and the unemployment rate will continue to increase only because they don’t want any more jobs for us to have any more economic power.

Immigration reform and real border security will Rev. Rodney be on the “backBeard burner,” never to be resolved as our country continues its downward slide toward basic human rights, even as it relates to children.

The Paycheck Fairness Act, which holds employers more accountable for wage discrimination against women, will never happen and women will continue to make 16 percent less than men.

An increase in the minimum wage will be only a memory as in…no way.

They love slavery to a fault.

The long-term unemployed, whose benefits have been denied, will be forever that way as a strategy to destroy those who have no power to change their situation, no matter how much education and ability they have.

If there are vacancies in the mostly racist Supreme Court, they will be filled with more racist “Justices” who wreak havoc on all of us.

Foreign policy will lead us into more un-winnable wars that line the pockets of corporations such as Halliburton once again, and the loss of innocent American and others lives will be obviously for the profit of others.

Last and most important of all…they will fight President Obama in an effort to discredit our viability as a “people” only because they cannot take the fact that enough is enough when it comes to race and racism in this country. “Together we stand…united we fall.” And that is not about color…it’s about doing what is right Let us stand our ground together for justice and GO VOTE! Enough is enough. Tell me what you think.

(The Rev. Rodney Beard is pastor of The Living Word Community Church in Nashville. Contact him at pastorbrard@comcast.net.)

Midterm trends are defying predictions of ‘experts’ Midterm elections are invariably a downer for the political party holding the White House. One can usually expect losses. And so it has seemed as we entered into 2014. In fact, up to a few months ago, the Republican Party was crowing that they were going to sweep the November 4 elections. Suddenly, a few weeks ago, something changed. There was no longer the hubris from the Republicans. In fact, something started to happen that was not – at least according to the so-called experts – supposed to happen. The elections began to tighten up.

There is no way at this point to know the outcome of the November 4 elections. However, poll after poll seems to be indicating that nationally things could go either way. In practical terms this means that voter turnout will be more than essential.

A major “get out the vote” effort will be critical if the Democrats wish to retain control of the Senate and flip some House and gubernatorial races. Quite literally, we are looking at a situation where every single vote counts.

Given this, Republican trickery remains a dangerous challenge in terms of voter suppression. The various laws that have been passed over the past several years to protect against imaginary voter fraud have, quite predictably, hurt the participation of historically disenfranchised populations (such as the elderly,

youth, people of color). This fact is what makes state legislative races so important. It has been Republican-controlled state legislatures that have passed draconian measures restricting the Bill right and ability Fletcher Jr. of the citizens to vote.

The most immediate task is to ensure that those of us concerned about the poor, working people, people of color, women, the environment, peace, etc., not become despairing or complacent. … We have to mobilize to vote.

We also have to be clear that part of what we are seeing in this preelection moment is another glimpse of the future. There are growing numbers of people who are tired of the politics of intolerance and the politics of inequality and greed.

They have come to recognize that the Republicans seek to hold back the future and that this is not only futile, but it is dangerously futile. …

(NNPA columnist Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the host of “The Global African” on Telesur-English Follow him on Facebook and at www.billfletcherjr.com.)

I come from a tradition of prophetic Christianity. Within that tradition, religious extremism (or what I have come to describe as theological terrorism) has always been disturbing and Rev. Earle counterproducJ. Fisher tive. Therefore, when I consider the impact of Amendment 1 on women’s health, I confess, the amendment ruffles the feathers of my faith.

Extreme is an understatement.

Draconian is insufficient. This Amendment would limit a woman’s access to safe and compassionate abortion care, with no exemptions to save the life of the mother or even when the pregnancy has resulted from rape. There is not a faithful bone in my body that finds this amendment in alignment with religious righteousness.

I compassionately serve a local congregation. Several of my parishioners are women and children. I’ve seen firsthand some of the peculiar and perplexing circumstances women encounter. In these types of circumstances people of faith need to be guided by their faith but not guilted by their faith. To that end, I CANNOT, in good faith, support such a harmful policy, which would disproportionally impact the most vulnerable people made in God’s image.

To be frank, as I hear arguments of theological convenience by some of my ministerial colleagues, I’m repulsed. Sadly, some clergy are presenting their perspectives from what they claim to be a pro-life perspective. However, many of my brothers and sisters in the faith are beholding to both pro-life and pro-death-penalty claims.

Too often pro-life ideology is also pro-ignorance. One would pray that proper education would enlighten those who are misguided. Nevertheless, currently, Tennessee refuses to allow comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education (including abstinence training) in our schools, which would teach children what they need to know about their bodies. This could potentially reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. But many religious extremists don’t want that. From where I stand, these claims are incompatible with liberating logic and equally incompatible with the ideology of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To live faith practically means to communicate God’s love for all humanity. God has divinely endowed all of us with the freedom to make choices. These choices are often complex. Those who make complex choices need unconditional love and support. But Amendment 1 is a continuation of a larger trend that demonizes women and denies access to the basic education, care and services that they most desperately need.

As a prophetic Christian, I cannot resolve this amendment with my faith. Jesus made a choice to live prophetically. This choice placed him in constant tension and conflict with the hyper-privileged politicians of his day. The living legacy of Jesus shows us that it is neither faithful nor just to continually and oppressively restrict peoples options and claim it to be God’s will. This oppression in the name of faith is ungodly.

Amendment 1 is simply too extreme, insensitive and short-sighted.

For this reason, I am voting HELL NO on Amendment 1. I pray EVERYONE else will do the same.

(The Rev. Earle J. Fisher is pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church.)

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Tri-State Defender

Page 5

October 16 - 22, 2014

NATIONAL New player joins marketing communications industry First minority-owned holding company (BLACK PR WIRE) – NEW YORK – The formation of the marketing communications industry’s first wholly minority-owned holding company was announced on Tuesday (Oct. 14th).

Determined to “transform the industry” is a group trailblazers who formed Commonground/MGS. The partnership unites the strengths of eight multicultural companies covering several disciplines.

They key players are: Al Garcia-Serra, chairman/cofounder, MGCCOMM; Ahmad Islam, co-founder/managing partner, Commonground; Manuel E. Machado, CEO/cofounder, MGSCOMM; Manny Vidal, president/cEO, The Vidal Partnership and Sherman Wright, co-founder/managing partner, Commonground.

The new holding company is in phase one of a multi-phase rollout. The business model, a holding company without walls, leverages each of the players’ expertise in multicultural and millennial consumer groups to help client partners meet marketing and business objectives.

The strength of Commonground/MGS is said to rest on the “unequaled owner management team’s hands-on approach, their unique lens and understanding of the new marketplace – including the role of diverse populations and millennial culture, and a holistic approach to a truly integrated agency – one company, one bottom line.”

The formers of Commonground/MGS see a world where America is approaching a watershed moment; the tipping point when multicultural is the new mainstream.

“We all realize successfully connecting with diverse audiences and the ability to provide cohesive total market solutions is more than a ‘nice to do’ – it has become a critical component of any successful organization’s strategic imperatives,” said Islam. “Our vision is to create a unique company that lives at the intersection where culture, content, technology and creativity meet.”

Machado said many companies are well intentioned but need a partner and guiding light when it comes to understanding the importance and impact of culture and diversity to the bottom-line. “Moreover, with millennials being the most diverse, evasive and critical consumer group – understanding cultural context is a must,” he said. “We believe Commonground/MGS provides solutions to these challenges.”

Commonground/MGS will have full service offices in New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, with nearly 300 marketers. The new entity maintains 100 percent minority ownership and management, with projected net revenues of $50 million.

The new entity includes: Commonground – founded in 2004, a leading cross-consumer marketing agency committed to helping brands create authentic connections with consumers.

MGSCOMM – founded in 2003, an integrated consumer marketing communications agency offering a suite of services including: traditional and digital advertising, strategic planning, research, media planning and buying, creative development and account management.

The Vidal Partnership – founded in 1999, a full-service agency created to challenge the brightest minds at the C-suite level to earn their respect and business.

Cunningham Group – founded in 1998, an award winning communications firm offering multilingual public engagement and communications services for the public sector.

SWAY Public Relations – founded in 2003, a full spectrum of public relations services including: media relations, community relations, grassroots and event marketing, crisis management, blogger relations, social media, websites and content development in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America CG Works – founded in

2012, an independent production company focused in digital production of an array of digital media – web sites, banner ads, rich media applications, HTML emails, mobile and social media applications, also photo/video production, Illustrations, event production and print production.

Post Master – founded in 2003, provides post-production services, utilizing state-of-theart software and hardware to edit and render images and audio. The company offers on and off-line editing, compositing, 3-D animation, special effects, broadcast and rich media.

Run Wild Productions – founded in 2003, offers full film and HD broadcast production services including: customized selection of national directors, lighting and sound experts, location scouting, permit clearances, set crew, talent casting, wardrobe specialists, lighting a camera equipment packages, coordination and logistics and total project management.

“At the end of the day, we are all entrepreneurs who have seen steady growth in arguably some of the most tumultuous times the industry has seen, because we aren’t afraid to evolve. When we look to where the opportunities for growth are, our business model is in stride with what’s happening today and what’s coming tomorrow for both clients and talent,” said Wright.

“We will continue to invest in the next phase of incremental growth for Commonground/MGS to morph into a total market super power,” added Garcia-Serra. “We will seek to acquire companies and talent driven by an entrepreneurial spirit that, like us, want to dominate this new consumer space.”

Record number of African-American candidates seeking office Post-Reconstruction record a byproduct of President Barack Obama’s historic presidency, some observers say.

by Jesse J. Holland Associated Press

WASHINGTON— More than 100 African-American candidates will be on the ballot in statewide and congressional races next month, a post-Reconstruction record that some observers say is a byproduct of President Barack Obama's historic presidency.

At least 83 African-American Republicans and Democrats are running for the U.S. House, an all-time high for the modern era, according to political scientist David Bositis, who has tracked AfricanAmerican politicians for years.

They include Mia Love in Utah, who is trying to become the first African-American Republican woman to be elected to Congress.

Four other African-Amerian women — Bonnie Watson Coleman in New Jersey, Brenda Lawrence in Michigan, Alma Adams in North Carolina and Stacey Plaskett in the Virgin Islands — are expected to win seats as Democrats, Bositis said. If they all win, and no black female incumbents lose, there should be 20 AfricanAmerican women among House members, an all-time high, Bositis said.

There are at least 25 AfricanAmericans running for statewide offices, including U.S. senator, governor or lieutenant governor, also a record number.

The prev i o u s record for AfricanAmerican candidates seeking H o u s e seats was 72 in 2012, the y e a r Alma Obama, Adams the nation's first AfricanAmerican president, was reelected to a second term. The previous record for statewide contests Brenda was 17 in Lawrence 2002, said Bositis, formerly of the Joint Center for Political and Econ o m i c Studies, a think tank in Washington that focuses Mia primarily Love on issues a ff e c t i n g African-Americans.

Those statewide numbers include Democrat Cory Booker

of New Jersey and Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina, the U.S. Senate's only AfricanAmerican members.

Booker is seeking a full term next month, having won a special election last year to replace the deceased Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Scott, appointed last year, is seeking to finish out the two years remaining in the term of former Sen. Jim DeMint, who resigned from the Senate in 2013.

An Obama "coattails effect" is partly responsible for this large candidate pool because it spurred blacks to vote, and encouraged them to pursue offices they might not have sought in the past, said political science professor Fredrick C. Harris, director of Columbia University's Center on AfricanAmerican Politics and Society.

America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"It may be that this is a reflection of political opportunity," Harris said. He noted a similar increase in black candidacies in 1988, when Jesse Jackson made a second, unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Bositis said the increase may also be a result of changing political demographics in regions like the South. "The fact is that many of the increases are occurring in states

(especially in the South) where most whites are withdrawing from Democratic Party politics — leaving black candidates the nominations by default," Bositis said.

Republicans have been heavily courting minorities, spending millions to woo African-American voters and to recruit women and minorities to run for state and local office. "If elected, these candidates will be great representatives for all their constituents and will continue to play a major role in the party's efforts to expand the electorate," said Republican National Committee spokesman Orlando Watson.

While the GOP is building up its numbers, the Democrats have a record number of African-Americans running for statewide and congressional offices, according to Bositis. There are at least 65 Democratic nominees, surpassing the previous high of 59 in 2012.

"The historic number of black Democrats running for office at all levels this year once again confirms that the Democratic Party is a broad coalition of Americans from diverse ethnic and professional backgrounds, focused on expanding opportunity for all and building ladders to the middle class," said Kiara Pesante, Democratic National Committee spokeswoman.

(Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland.)

Page 6

Tri-State Defender

October 16 - 22, 2014

BUSINESS ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

MONEY MATTERS

On body at a time

Small-business owners deserve a vacation

The holidays are fast approaching, w h i c h means that we will have days filled with H a l loween candy, Carlee T h a n k s - McCullough giving turkey and pies and Christmas. While enjoying the feasts of the holidays remember those waistlines will ultimately pay the price. But have no fear, even if you over do it on the portions. Jack Douglas is waiting in the wings to train you – before or after. With years of experience and a physique that would rival men half his age, Jack practices what he preaches.

Carlee McCullough: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.

Jack Douglas: I am a father, grandfather and husband. I have been a personal trainer for 15 years and a fitness instructor for 25 years. I am a certified fitness trainer and personal trainer through AFAA Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. I currently train 48 clients in the personal training studios of Forever Fit located at 6745 Lenox Center Drive, Suite 112 Memphis, Tennessee 38118.

CM: What was your background prior to personal training?

JD: I worked in corporate America for the last 25 years as a sales representative, manager, human resources specialist and account representative. I worked as one of the first account reps for the Memphis Grizzlies. However, for the last 25 years I also worked as a fitness instructor and personal trainer.

CM: How did you get into training?

JD: I got into training in the late 80’s working at French Riviera Spa. Mary Sudduth saw my potential and allowed me to enter the industry at a time when African-American men were not making an impact on the fitness world. I taught one of the most popular classes at the old Midtown spa for French Riviera Spas. Step aerobics was a really hot commodity and we had the windows of the class steamed almost every night. I started teaching a Taebo style class at the French in the mid-90s. It happened to be the new wave and every one came to have fun. I teach a style of dance, high intensity cardio and strength that allows you to lose weight and fight stress.

CM: When did the personal training begin?

JD: I started developing a personal training client list in 1998. But in 2003 I focused on the business as a full time trainer with a client list that included News Channel 3’s Markova Reed and Peggy Fryer. Additionally I taught classes for the employees at

Less than half of small-business owners said they would take a summer vacation lasting at least one week in 2013.

Many self-employed individuals are reluctant to take time off because they worry about disappointing clients, missing opportunities, or losing income while they are away.

Unfortunately, working too hard and waiting too long between vacations may not be good for your health or the future of your business. One long-term cardiovascular study reported a link between frequent vacations and longer, healthier lives, and another found that men who skipped vacations for several years were 30 percent more likely to have heart attacks than those who took at least one week off from work each year.

A little bit of rest and relaxation could help you reduce stress, refresh, and become a more productive leader upon your return, and it also may allow your employees to grow.

Moreover, a company that runs efficiently in your absence might be more valuable if or when you decide to sell.

Give Yourself a Break Some advance preparation could make it easier to fit a

personal vacation into your business plans.

Schedule trips carefully. Your business may have Charles Sims p r e dictable Jr., CMFC, slow or LUTCF busy periods, so choose a timeframe when your presence may be less critical. Plan ahead so you can work around these dates when setting up important meetings or events.

Decide how to delegate.

Train one or more key employees to cover specific responsibilities while you are away. Have each person take over those tasks about a week before you leave. This process may help you anticipate potential problems and provide guidance for how they might be handled.

Manage client expectations. Tell important clients that you will be away and reassure them that their projects and needs will not be neglect-

ed. Give them names of people to contact if they should need assistance. Set up an automatic email response that includes the same information.

Few business owners are able to avoid communication with the office completely. To get the respite you need and deserve — and keep from disappointing family or friends — you may want to schedule a short window of time to check emails and make business-related calls.

The information in this article is not intended as tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.

(Charles Sims Jr., CMFC, LUTCF, is President/ CEO of The Sims Financial Group.

Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.com.)

At 60, fitness trainer and personal trainer Jack Douglas says he is “walking and living proof that fitness and nutrition works.” (Courtesy photo) the studio.

CM: What was it like starting out full time?

JD: I had a very rough first two years. The personal training industry was still in developmental mode. So I went to work for a large gym in Collierville called Prairie Life Fitness. So from 2005-2010 I trained clients and instructed classes. Unfortunately in April of 2010 the gym abruptly closed. But all was not lost, because the owner of Forever Fit, Brian Miles, a legend in the Memphis personal training industry, gave me an opportunity to come into a gym where I control my own destiny.

CM: What is your typical clientele?

JD: I train a cross section of the Memphis, Germantown and Collierville community. My client list includes business people, political candidates and housewives.

CM: What makes you unique from other trainers?

JD: One of the things that really set me apart from other trainers is my age. I will be 60 years young next month. Sixty truly “is the new” 40 and I am walking and living proof that fitness and nutrition works. I train people that have the disposable income to afford the services and since I am more in their age range, most people are comfortable with the type of workouts I give them. I only ask a person to do what has worked for me for 30 years. My clients range from ages 18 to 73. Most of

the clients are 50-plus baby boomers.

CM: What are some of latest trends in your industry?

JD: One of the latest trends that I follow in the industry is a departure from what I call old-school methods of training. The new trend is to do total body training and more and more it is about training of the core. Also, there is an increased emphasis in the TRX training techniques. Since I changed my training formats to total body and body weight training techniques, my client satisfaction ratings have improved drastically.

CM: What is your ultimate goal with training?

JD: My goal in training is to provide the best customer service possible. I try to be the Nordstrom’s of personal training. My clients will tell you that I have set the bar extremely high for myself. I meet them at the appointed time, and I have rarely missed an opportunity to take a person to their best next level.

CM: How potential clients contact you?

JD: I can be contacted by phone or text at 901-5961125. I can also be reached via email at grandslamfitness@aol.com.

(Contact Carlee McCullough, Esq., at 2887 S. Mendenhall Road, Suite 2, Memphis, TN 38115. Call her at 901-795-0050 or email her at jstce4all@aol.com.)

Helping hand…

The Kroger Delta Division and Bridges USA have embarked on a three-year partnership that includes a $50,000 donation to help promote youth leadership. Teresa Dickerson (left), the division’s community affairs and public relations manager, noted recent trouble involving area youth and said, “We’d like to step up as a part of this community to extend a helping hand to our young people.” (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow)

Tri-State Defender

Page 7

October 16 - 22, 2014

RELIGION

The a cappella choir of Wiley College to perform The fall tour begins Nov. 9 with concerts at two area churches The a cappella choir of Wiley College will be in concert this fall at Metropolitan Baptist Church, 767 Walker Ave., at 10 a.m. during the church’s morning worship service, and again at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 60 South Parkway East, at 4 p.m. for George Washington Carver High School. The tour begins Nov. 9.

This is the 5th annual concert benefiting the high school. The evening program will honor the Carver Class of ’64, which will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Also, as an extra added highlight this year, Carver’s contributions to Stax Records, along with some special guests, will be recognized.

Stephen L. Hayes (Photo: Venson Warren) The musical repertoire will feature a diverse program highlighting European com-

posers, traditional Negro spirituals, contemporary gospel and other works of vocal art.

The public is invited to attend.

The a cappella choir has a rich history of singers and composers dating back to the 1800’s. From the school’s founding, the role of music was integral to its continued growth and success.

According to historical documents, The Wiley Jubilee Singers was the first group of singers at the college. R.E. Brown organized the jubilee singers in 1897.

The a cappella choir travels throughout the country singing soul-stirring spirituals, and moving audiences of diverse ethnicities and culture.

The choir has made its voice a

prominent one amongst institutions of higher education and instilling respect, pride, and prestige to the name of Wiley College.

The movie, The Great Debaters, cast worldwide attention on the east Texas institution, along with recent performances in Hiroshima and Tokyo, Japan, at the White House in Washington, D.C., and at the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas.

Also, a cappella choir is featured as guest artist on the soon-to-be released CD by the Grammy Award-winning group, Sounds of Blackness, the vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

Carver alumnus Stephen L.

Hayes, the assistant professor and director of music at Wiley College, is the choir’s conductor. His talent and commitment to education and civic activity has promoted culture in the great Historically Black College and University choral tradition for a quarter century.

Hayes’ achievements as a chorale director include conducting the anthem at the 52nd Inauguration of the president of the United States, Bill Clinton, and the Tuskegee University choir in the East Room of the White House.

Hayes’ choirs have been cablecast around the world and featured on major networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and BET. He made his

RELIGION BRIEFS

conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in 1999 and presented his choirs in concerts at Yale University, UMASS-Amherst, and Mt. Holyoke College.

He’s also prepared or conducted choirs to sing with many celebrities such as Rita Coolidge, Take 6, Jester Hairston, Barry Manilow, Melba Moore, Michael Bolton and Judy Collins.

Wiley College is one of 11 historically black colleges and universities affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Founded in 1873 by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it is the oldest, continuously operating accredited, historically black college west of the Mississippi River.

Annual Tea...

The Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ held its Annual Calendar Tea Sunday, Oct. 12th, in the church’s gymnasium.

Here, General Sessions Court Clerk Edward L. Stanton Jr. chats with Bishop Designee Charles H. Mason Patterson Jr., senior pastor. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Brown Missionary Baptist Church to host race for life The Women’s Ministry and Men’s Ministry at Brown Missionary Baptist Church, one of the largest congregations in the Memphis metropolitan area, will host the second annual Race for Life 5K Run/Walk Saturday, Oct. 18, at Snowden Grove Park’s main pavilion, 6450 Getwell Rd., in Southaven, Miss.

Check in begins at 7 a.m., followed by the race at 8 a.m.

The Race for Life 5K Run/Walk is designed to raise awareness and funds for the fight against all cancers that affect Mid-South residents. All proceeds from the race will benefit the American Cancer Society.

Individuals and groups can register for the race at www.racesonline.com and enter the name “D.I.V.A.S. and D.U.D.E.S.” The registration fee is $20 and includes a race t-shirt.

Castalia Baptist Church celebrates men’s day Castalia Baptist Church, 1540 Castalia Rd., will celebrate Annual Men’s Day, Sunday, Oct. 19 during the church’s 8 a.m. worship service. The Rev. Anthony Morris, the church’s associate minister, will be the morning speaker.

Dr. Randolph Meade Walker, the church’s senior pastor, will follow with a message at the 11 a.m. morning worship service. Alford Thomas and Darron Wiley are the men’s day chairpersons.

Celebrating 55 years...

The Rev. Dr. H.O. Kneeland Jr. (left), pastor of Union Valley Baptist Church, and his wife, first lady Angela Kneeland, celebrated 55 years of service on Oct. 12.

The Rev. Lenwood Reed, of New First Baptist Church, joined the celebration. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

PRAISE CONNECT -A WEEKLY DIRECTORY OF MINISTERS & CHURCHESMETROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH Dr. Reginald L. Porter Sr., Pastor 767 Walker Avenue Memphis, TN 38126

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

ASSOCIATE MINISTERS Rev. Davena Young Porter Rev. Linda A Paige Rev. Luecretia Matthews

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES SUNDAY Sunday School .....................8:30 am Morning Worship Service ....10:00am WEDNESDAY Bible Study .........................10:30 am Mid-Day Prayer Meeting .....12 noon Evening Prayer Meeting........7:00pm FRIDAY Cable Channel 17 ............... 8:00pm

Dr. & Rev. Mrs. Reginald Porter

“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

– Psalm 55:22

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ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, October 16 - 22, 2014, Page 8

WHAT’S HAPPENING MYRON?

A moment with ‘Mr. Wonder’

Soul-satisfying weekend offsets Monday challenge

Stevie Wonder receives Epitome of Soul Award

Ever woke up on a Monday morning and felt so tired that you were absolutely sure that getting out of bed was one of the hardest things you ever had to do? Of course you have, that’s what hapMyron pens to most of us Mays on Monday.

Occasionally, the challenge of Monday is muted by a mitigating factor – the lingering vibes and memories from a busy, soul-satisfying weekend like the one I just experienced.

There was so much excitement going on in the city. With the Ginuwine show at the Orpheum, the Stevie Wonder tribute at the Cannon Center, Guy Torry at Chuckles and the All Black Affair at Perignons, I only wish that I could have cloned myself so that I could have gone to everything.

If New York is the city that never sleeps, then Memphis is certainly the city that didn’t sleep this weekend.

And while the “What’s Happening Man” – that’s me – is only one person, I have my correspondents out and about funneling the 411 on those events that I cannot make it to.

So, here are a few highlights from this past weekend’s events.

Ginuwine, 112 and Lyfe Jennings took the stage at the Orpheum Saturday night for the Ladies Choice Tour. This is the only concert I have ever been to where I stood up the whole time, meaning that it exceeding my expectations 112 These guys still have it! For many musical acts its hard to do the same thing you did when you were on the charts, such as sing and dance at the same time.

I mean they didn’t do the same moves with the same zeal they had back in the 90’s. However, I was very impressed that they were able to keep up the energy without giving out. Their mini tribute to the Notorious BIG was a pleasant surprise. It really felt like the 90s again.

Lyfe Jennings Lyfe Jennings could have actually headlined the show himself. I’ve always liked and followed his music, but I had no idea that the guy could put on such a quality show the way he did. I have a new-found respect for this guy and his talents. If he ever comes back to Memphis and headlines a show, I will be there.

Ginuwine On the scene for nearly two whole decades and it does not seem as if this guy has gotten any older. He still looks the same! As to be expected, he had the ladies excited with his brand of R&B. Good thing they had security at both sides of the stage. Otherwise, they would have rushed the guy for sure.

Arnez J. The party continued Sunday night as comedian Arnez J. headlined a second show at the Fitz Casino Tunica. This was my first time catching him in person. Man, he is very funny! I’ve never left a comedy show where my jaws hurt the remainder of the night. Memphis’ very own Funnyman Prescott opened the show for Arnez J. and, as he always does, got the crowd in motion.

Here’s What’s Happening If you wanna get out this weekend and have some good family fun without spending a lot of money, the Memphis Urban League presents the Heartbeat of Memphis Empowerment Concert on Saturday (Oct. 18th) at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. Round up the family and come on out to enjoy the evening. I will be the host and emcee and I look forward to seeing you there.

Next Saturday, Oct. 25th, I’ll be taking a road trip down Highway 78 to Tupelo, Miss., to check out R. Kelly at the BancorpSouth Arena. You know how “Mr. R.” does it, right? You should be making that trip too. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.

Until that’s What’s Happening!

(Get the What’s Happening Report in your email box each and every week and never miss out on what’s going on in Memphis. Sign up today at www.whatshappeningmyron.com.

Got an event you’d like for me to cover or attend? Email me at Myron@whatshappeningmyron.com.)

Stevie Wonder, Eddie Levert, Sharon Jones, Chaka Khan and Jordin Sparks close out the award show singing “Higher Ground.” (Photos: Warren Roseborough)

by Kelvin Cowan Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Consortium MMT honored one of the most legendary artists of all-time on Saturday night at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, with Stevie Wonder receiving the Epitome of Soul Award and what amounted to the red-carpet treatment.

Every single aspect of the evening seemed fitting for a talent unparalleled in our time. There were piano cookies and cupcake records that accented the color scheme of the pre-reception area.

The fall-orange tablecloth’s swayed in unison with the fire of the lit candles placed upon them. The Mississippi River was within view and rolling as if positioning itself for the arrival of a king.

Stevie Wonder’s music played softly as the crowd began to pour into one of at least three areas that he’d visit before taking the stage a bit later to be honored as well as perform. Some of the best singing voices on the planet preceded him as David Porter and the all-class team from the Consortium MMT put in place a musical lineup to cover Stevie Wonder’s classics. That alone should’ve cost a minimum of $300, two of your children and a book of postage stamps.

There was the soulful Eddie Levert and the timeless Chaka Khan, the graceful BeBe Winans and the powerful Sharon Jones. Ledisi was as pure as she’d ever been and Jordin Sparks’ voice was full, engaging and electric. Not to mention that someone obviously stole that angel out of heaven and put her on earth and told her to, “Blend in, I’ll be back.”

Standing in a room with well over 200 million album sales you’d think that maybe one of the artists would have an attitude, but what I experienced was an unmatched humility across the board as stars showed there respect for a man well deserving of such an honor.

Eddie Levert: I’ll be singing “You are the Sunshine of my life” tonight. It’s one of my favorites and I can’t wait to get on the stage to sing as well as sing with Stevie.

BeBe Winans: I’ll be singing “I Wish” and it is my most favorite song that Stevie has written. I’m honored to sing songs that I believe in and I just remember when I was a nappy-headed boy. I grew up around the corner from Mr. Wonder in Detroit.

He lived on Greenlawn and we lived on Woodingham, which was a block away. We use to go shovel his snow and Smokey Robinson’s snow as well.

He’s been a friend of the family for along time.

David Porter: Stevie Wonder respects Memphis as one of the cornerstones of music in America and that is a wonderful thing. Not only does he feel that way, there are several other artists that feel the same way. All of these great talents that you will see tonight will prove that Memphis is a mecca of music.

Tonight we are honoring Mr. Wonder for his

Stevie Wonder (center) receiving his Epitome of Soul Award from David Porter (left) and Chaka Khan. contributions to music. It was a no-brainer that I would be a part of The Consortium MMT as I myself am from the LeMoyne Gardens and I’ve had a great career. I started from small means. I had people encouraging me and pushing me to become a success. People like Isaac Hayes and William Bell and myself, that’s how we started out. People took time out to show that they care.

They listened to my songs and gave me feed back. I felt that it would be a shame if I didn’t give back to a city that gave so much to me. I’ve done that quietly but I wanted to do it on a more magnificent scale.

‘Mr. Wonder’ – the interview Kelvin Cowans: Good evening, Mr. Wonder.

The definition of your last name means amazement, admiration, surprising and rare. At what age were you when you realized that your last name would literally define your future in music?

Stevie Wonder: Wow, good question. I hadn’t thought of that one. (Room erupts with laughter.)

When I think of my future, my past and my present, I think of God and I say thank you. And that’s far bigger than any name or anything. I’m honored to have met some great people. I’m happy to be able to celebrate Him. Or Her for those that believe God is a female. To me God is a spirit. Basically to be able to celebrate God through all of this and to encourage people where it all began and where it all must end.

It’s not about the religion to me but more so about the relationship. And the reason I’m carrying on so long with this is because with everything I’ve been blessed to do I know there are so many young kids who desire to create that form

of expression and you have those that are haters of life that are blocking our blessings. So we have to be strong in our positions, which is why we are here today and that is to give motivations.

Something to let them know that this is yours; you can do it as well and even better.

Kelvin Cowans: What does it mean to receive an award like this in this particular city?

Stevie Wonder: So much great music has come from this city. As a little boy I was influenced by the writings of David Porter and Isaac Hayes. It’s a wonderful thing. Life is a circle and we have to connect to make it a bigger circle so that we can encourage other people to do greater things.

Kelvin Cowans: Who do you celebrate in music?

Stevie Wonder: I celebrate all of those that celebrate me and even those that don’t. I’m a lover of music, so I listen to the music of today, yesterday and the future. My greatest influences are those that are in this room.

Now I do have an advantage because I own a radio station and we play a lot of artists, but a lot of soul. Soul originated in America and you must understand that it was by soulful people. When you are close to the Almighty and understand the value of what He does, it allows that spirit to move you … whether you’re in the back of the church or where ever you’re from, if your soul moves you and moves you to write, you can be soulful and do classical music or be soulful and do jazz music, or soulful and do hip hop or rap or country music. Now what you can’t be is, you can’t be soulful and be a hater.

(Kelvin Cowans can be reached at (kelvincowans@hotmail.com or www.speedlimit64.com)

FRE&H FRUIT Four-year-old model Jevin Crochrell – too cute to lose

by Kelvin Cowans Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Jevin Michael Crochrell is a veteran in the field of modeling, never mind that he’s only four. (Photo: Kelvin Cowans)

He is currently signed with five agencies, including an agreement with the Donna Groff Agency this past January. Parent Magazine featured him on its cover after winning the cutest kid award. He reaped the Child Model of the Year Award, Finale Award and Comedian Award en route to winning the Actors Model Talent for Christ competition in Orlando, Fla., where he beat out 900 contestants. That’s 899 Nos and 1 Yes! Continuously busy for showcases, photo shoots and plays, he’s also been the weather kid for Action News 5. In October, Parent Magazine had him back on the cover, this time dressed as pirate pitching Halloween costumes.

Jevin Michael Crochrell is a veteran in his field, never mind that he’s only four. There are big thing’s right around the corner for this youngster but first he stopped in at The New TriState Defender – with his parents, Jason and Kim Crochrell – to chat a little bit. It was set up as a

newspaper interview and turned into a television show taping at the last second. No problem, said the four year old.

Jevin Michael Crochell: I don’t want to sit on a pillow.

Kelvin Cowans: OK, let’s remove the pillow.

Jevin: That’s better. You wanna hear a joke?

Kelvin: Sure.

Jevin: What’s a bear without teeth?

Kelvin: I don’t know, what is it?

Jevin: A Gummy Bear.

Kelvin: LOL! Kelvin: Mr. Jason Crochrell, how did he (Jevin) get into modeling.

Jason Crochrell: Jevin got into modeling through all of his fans we would meet out in the public. People would also say that he should be on TV; that he had the personality or the eyes or the look and things like that. So my wife and I SEE JEVIN ON PAGE 9

Tri-State Defender

Page 9

October 16 - 22, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

by Kam Williams Special to The New Tri-State Defender

For movies opening Oct. 17, 2014 BIG BUDGET FILMS

“Dear White People” (R for profanity, sexuality and drug use) Social satire following the diverging fates of four African-American students (Tyler James Williams, Brandon P. Bell, Tessa Thompson and Teyonah Parris) attending an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out in the wake of a ghetto-themed, blackface party thrown at a lily-white fraternity house. With Kyle Gallner, Dennis Haysbert and Peter Syvertsen.

“Fury” (R for sexuality, graphic violence, grisly images and pervasive profanity) Brad Pitt stars in this World War II flick, set in Germany in April of 1945, as the hardnosed commander of a Sherman tank leading an urgent rescue mission behind enemy lines.

With Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Scott Eastwood. (In English and German with subtitles) INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

was like, ‘Let’s try it and see what happens.’

So we got with some agents here in Memphis and we started to get opportunities. The first was when we sent his picture in to Parent Magazine and he was immediately chosen for last year’s December edition. Following that up, we went down to Orlando, where he won the competition there besting 900 contestant’s.

Jevin Michael

Kelvin: Do you or his mom have a background in modeling.

Jason: I’m not sure but I guess in high school my wife was a cheerleader and I was in drama, so I guess our personalities gelled together and that’s where he get’s it.

Dennis Haysbert stars in “Dear White People.”

“Camp X-Ray” (R for profanity and brief nudity) Unlikely-buddies drama about a prison guard (Kristen Stewart) at Guantanamo Bay who fails to follow protocol by befriending a suspected terrorist (Peyman Moaadi) detained there for eight years. With Cory Michael Smith, Tara Holt, Marco Khan and John Carroll Lynch.

“The Culture High” (Unrated) Pot doc debating the pros and cons of making marijuana legal. Featuring commentary by Snoop Doggy Dogg, Sir Richard Branson and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

“Felony” (Unrated) Aussie crime drama, set in Sydney, revolving around three police detectives (Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney and Tom Wilkinson) involved in the cover-up of a cop’s culpability in a car accident that left a kid riding a bike in a coma. With Melissa George, Sarah Roberts and Rosie Lourde.

“America the Beautiful 3” (Unrated) Latest installment in Darryl Roberts’s series of incendiary documentaries indicts pop culture’s sexualization of today’s youth.

“A Matter of Faith” (PG for mature themes) Christian-oriented drama about the Born Again father (Jay Pickett) of a college freshman (Jordan Trovillion) who decides to intervene when his daughter (Harry Anderson) becomes influenced by a biology professor pushing the theory of evolution as the only explanation for the origins of life. Support cast includes Jay Pickett, Chandler Macocha and Clarence Gilyard, Jr.

“Birdman” (R for sexuality, brief violence and pervasive profanity) Midlife crisis dramedy about a washed-up matinee idol’s (Michael Keaton) attempt to stage a comeback on the Broadway stage. With Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis.

“Private Violence” (Unrated) Domestic abuse documentary highlighting the case of a female cop from Oklahoma who was abducted by her estranged husband and beaten for four days while being held captive in the cab of his truck.

“Algorithms” (Unrated) Inspirational documentary highlighting exploring India’s littleknown world of competitive chess for the blind.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Kelvin: How did that feel.

Jason: It felt good. It was awesome. It took a lot of practice and he’d have different coaching sessions with his agent and we were really excited about it. There would be times that we’d be out at Kroger and I’d let him do his commercial’s there and just break the ice and really get prepared for acting in front of people and not being nervous

“The Best of Me” (PG-13 for sexuality, violence, brief profanity and some drug use) Romance drama based on the Nicholas Sparks best-seller of the same name and revolving around the reunion of a couple of high school sweethearts (James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan) for the first time in years when they return to their hometown for a friend’s funeral. With Liana Liberato, Luke Bracey and Caroline Goodall.

“The Book of Life” (PG for mild action, rude humor, mature themes and scary images) Animated adventure about a young man (Diego Luna) who finds himself torn between fulfilling his family’s expectations and following his heart. Ensemble voice cast featuring Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman and Cheech.

JEVIN

“A Requiem for Syrian Refugees” (Unrated) Black & white expose’ detailing the dayto-day ordeal of traumatized refugees trying to survive as they flee the violence of the Syrian civil war. (In Kurdish with subtitles) “Rudderless” (R for profanity) William H. Macy makes his directorial debut with this bittersweet drama revolving around a grieving advertising executive (Billy Crudup) who forms a rock band in order to play songs written by his recently-deceased son. With Macy, Anton Yelchin, Laurence Fishburne, Selena Gomez, Felicity Huffman and Jamie Chung.

“The Town That Dreaded Sundown” (R for profanity, explicit sexuality, graphic violence and grisly images) Remake of the 1976 slasher flick about a copycat who embarks on a murderous rampage 65 years after a hooded serial killer terrorized the same town. Co-starring Addison Timlin, Gary Cole, Edward Herrmann and Denis O’Hare.

“Watchers of the Sky” (Unrated) Reverential retrospective revisiting the legal career of Ralph Lemkin (1900-1959), the attorney credited with coining the term “genocide” and laying the groundwork for the Nuremburg trials of Nazi war criminals.

“Young Ones” (R for profanity and violence) Futuristic sci-fi, set in a dire dystopia with a dwindling amount of water and other natural resources where we find a resourceful teen (Nicholas Hoult) willing to go to great lengths to provide for his thirsty and starving family. With Elle Fanning, Michael Shannon and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Kelvin: So Jevin, how do you feel about modeling. How does it make you feel.

Jevin: Happy, it makes me feel happy.

Kelvin: What do you like most about it?

Jevin: We do fun stuff, we dress up.

Kelvin: I’ve heard you’ve done commercials as well. You mind doing one of your commercials for us.

Jevin: I don’t mind.

Kelvin: So what you need me to do? You need to stand up, or do I need to just get out the way?

Jevin: Get out the way.

Kelvin: Gotcha, let’s see this commercial.

So what’s the name of this one?

Jevin: It’s called Popcorn…I like popcorn with butter, I mean what’s popcorn without butter. Jolly Time Popcorn, it’s flavored with real butter…POP! It’s the coolest popcorn around, everyone likes to eat popcorn every day! (Applause) Kelvin: You look like you might be a natural entertainer.

Jevin: I might be.

Kelvin: So what’s next for you, you think you might want to be in a movie?

Jevin: Ha…yes sir, I’m already in a movie.

Kelvin: So you’re already in a movie, wow.

What’s the name of the movie.

Jevin: I don’t know.

Kelvin: That’s all right son, just as long as you’re in there. Give me a high five on that.

(Fresh Fruit is Kelvin Cowans' periodic look at upcoming and rising talent from Memphis and the surrounding areas. He can be reached at kelvincowans@hotmail.com or www.speedlimit64.com)

Page 10

Tri-State Defender

October 16 - 22, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS Legal Notices NOTICE TO BIDDER(S) Sealed bids will be received by the Shelby County Government in the Department of Housing, 1075 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38134 until 9:30 a.m. on October 30, 2014 as shown below: mULTIPLE AND ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REHABILITATION JOBS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS BID NOTICE. BIDDER(S) mAY ELECT TO BID ON ANY OR ALL OF THE JOBS IN THE NOTICE. SEALED BID SBI-000285 DUE: October 30, 2014 1. Rehabilitation of Owner-Occupied Housing Units throughout Shelby County some of which may require the use of lead based paint safe work practices and techniques; and 2. Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Jobs.

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

TRI-STATE DEFENDER CLASSIFIEDS 203 Beale Street, Suite 200 Memphis, TN 38103 PH (901) 523-1818 FAX (901) 578-5037 HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm DEADLINES: Display ads Monday 5 p.m.

Classified ads Monday 5 p.m.

RATES: Standard rates: $9.50 per line for 1 column ad.

Rates are non-commissionable and are quoted at the net rate. No refund for early cancellation.

For additional information contact Sales Dept. at (901) 746-5201 or email: advertising@tri-

statedefender.com BEER PERmITS Flat Rate $30 GENERAL INFORmATION: Some categories require prepayment. All ads subject to credit approval. Tri-State Defender reserves the right to correctly classify and edit all copy, or to reject or cancel any ad at any time. Only standard abbreviations accepted. Copy change during ordered schedule constitutes new ad & new charges. Deadlines for cancellation are identical to placement deadlines. Rates subject to change.

ADJUSTmENTS: PLEASE check your ad the first day it appears. Call 901-523-1818 if an error occurs. We can only offer in-house credit and NO REFUNDS are issued.

TRI-STATE DEFENDER assumes no financial responsibility for errors nor for copy omission. Direct any classified billing iinquiries to 901-523-1818.

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

tors must be certified through EPA as an RRP contractor and/or show proof of application to EPA for said certification and be certified through the State of Tennessee as a Lead Based Paint Firm. Proof of licensing at time of bid submission is required by the Shelby County Department of Housing.

As a condition precedent to being awarded jobs involving Lead Based Paint, contrac-

The label, which is attached to the specifications shall be completely filled out and

Memphian cast in ‘The Suburban Itch’ comedy short Sophia Livingston of Memphis will play Margaret Miles, a mom who can’t be fooled and a wife who knows how to out-flank her husband, in ‘The Suburban Itch,’ a comedy short which will be filmed in Memphis in coming weeks.

Livingston has wide experiences as a Mid-South actor, from feature films to local stages, including many productions at Hattiloo Theatre. She portrayed Clairee Belcher in Hattiloo’s production of “Steel Magnolias” and was nominated for an Ostrander Award for her supporting role as Mrs. Pauline Breedlove in “The Bluest Eye.” Livingston grew up in Trenton, N.J., and says she mostly put her acting dreams on hold while being a single mom of four. But it was her first stage performance in Memphis, “Never Too Late,” written

by Kenyon Cook that hooked her on acting.

Since then, Livingston has been a frequent presence on stage at Hattiloo Theater, having performed in six plays there, and at other Memphis venues.

“Prison Stories IX” at TheatreSouth led Livingston to an especially meaningful performance.

The pla sprang from the writing of women imprisoned in Shelby County.

“Hearing stories of women who were very similar to me touched me deeply,” said Livingston.

“Although I was separated from these women by bars, some of our experiences were similar. These

women were touched by the performances and proud to have their stories heard by the public.”

Among Livingston’s film credits are “Como Hunt Club,” “The Grace Card,” Internal Mist of Love” and “Paradigm Love.”

‘The Suburban Itch’ is a comedy short that uses role reversal to examine how we Sophia treat one another.

Livingston When an African-American college girl comes to the aid of a white jogger being hassled by police in a black neighborhood, police handcuff her to the young man as “street justice.” When she brings home a young man in handcuffs, things get way more complicated as she must face her irascible father, insightful mother and diabolical little sister.

‘The Suburban Itch’ is produced by Moore Media & Entertainment. The Film website is www.TheSuburbanItch.com.

“We expect to submit ‘The Suburban Itch’ to domestic and foreign film festivals,” said producer Gary Moore. “Potentially, this story could be developed into a feature film or TV series.”

attached to the bid submission envelope.

You must display your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number or your Locally Owned Small Business (LOSB) Number on the outside of your envelope and a copy of all licenses and insurance policies must be included in your submitted bid package.

Unless the label is completely filled out and your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number is noted thereon your bid may be returned to you unopened. Should your label be lost or misplaced, please note the appropriate information in the lower left-hand corner of your envelope. The Department of Housing encourages participation from WBE, mBE, LOSB, and Section 3 Contractors under these rehabilitation programs.

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

By order of mARK H. LUTTRELL, JR., mAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNmENT Jim Vazquez, Administrator

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Tri-State Defender

Page 11

October 16 - 22, 2014

COMMUNITY BRIEFS & THINGS 2014 Block Party and Picnic for Peace set for Oct. 24-26th “Social Responsibility” will be the focus of the 2014 Block Party and Picnic for Peace, which is set for Oct. 24-26th.

“Coming on the heels of such serious incidents as the mob attacks and domestic violence tragedies in our city, we feel it’s the right thing to do in focusing this year’s event on social responsibility,” said State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, Block Party founder and organizer.

“Some of our programming will be built around educating our attendees on what our basic roles and responsibilities are to our community.”

The eight-year-old event was created to “promote peace, empowerment, and opportunity within and surrounding the communities of Memphis.” Job, college and health fairs accent the three-day affair, which is presented by Simos.

According to the event’s website, the Block Party for Peace team weighed extensive research in coming to this position: “Most crimes are committed with the intent of some form of economic gain, i.e. illegal drug sales, burglary, etc. With this in mind, we have decided to take a progressive approach that cuts to the core of crime and violence in our city through job creation, workforce development, higher education and healthy living. In improving one's quality of life, we believe that we will decrease the desire for one to commit crime.

“The best way to stop a bullet is a JOB!” 5th Annual A Pink Affair gala set Staci and Friends For A Cure will host their 5th Annual A Pink Affair gala in recognition of breast cancer awareness month in an effort to raise funds for the local Wings Cancer Foundation.

The Oct. 18th event is set for 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Bridges Center, 477 North Fifth St. Proceeds will support the Foundation's Lymphedema and FormFitting programs, which assist medically underserved breast cancer survivors.

The Staci and Friends For A Cure team was created in 2009 in honor of Staci Franklin, who was diagnosed and treated for Stage 1 Triple Negative breast cancer.

The evening will feature great food, entertainment by DJ Stan Bell of V101.1 FM, a silent auction, and a raffle for a seven-day vacation package. Individual tickets are $25 and reserved tables for 8 are $200.

To purchase tickets, visit www.apinkaffair.com or call 901-229-0487. For more information: visit www.apinkaffair.com.

At rally, Memphis activists push vouchers as civil rights issue

by Daarel Burnette Chalkbeat Tennessee

Nicole Gates was at her wit’s end with her nine-year-old twin daughters’ public education. Their reading skills had suffered, their classes were overcrowded and teachers were apathetic, she said. So the single mother scrounged up $4,500 and this year they’re attending St. John’s, a Memphis-based private school.

On Tuesday night, she joined about 350 parents, activists and political leaders at Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church to advocate for legislation that stands to give Gates and parents like her governmentbacked scholarships known as vouchers to attend private schools. They say they’ve already paid that money, around $9,000, in sales and property taxes, and they should get it back in the form of a voucher to spend on schooling that best suits their children.

Tuesday’s rally featured social justice poetry, rousing gospel music, a call to the altar and fiery speeches from former Memphis City Schools board member Pastor Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. and former Memphis schools superintendent and mayor Mayor Willie Herenton. Both Whalum and Herenton were credited Tuesday with building strong schools using some of the earliest versions of school choice — magnets and intradistrict transfers — only to be later “crucified” by opponents.

“Public schools for too long had a monopoly and children of lower income status didn’t have the option of going to a private school,” Herenton said to shouts of amen from the audience. “Every parent deserves the right and the opportunity to have choices in the educational market place. I’m an advocate of public schools, a strong advocate, but I’m a stronger advocate for options and choices for parents.”

Voucher activists are largely focus-

Nicole Gates and her daughters Brooklyn and Bheanna, who attend St. John’s Catholic School. (Photo: Chalkbeat Tennessee) ing their organizing efforts in Memphis this year, where any proposed voucher bill in the 2015 legislative session would likely have a disproportionate impact. If several legislators have their way, vouchers would be given to low-income students at the state’s lowest-performing schools, the majority of which are clustered in Memphis.

Several Catholic, Christian and Muslim private schools in Memphis that already serve low-income students stand to gain millions with vouchers if they can fill their empty seats. Many of those schools’ leaders were there Tuesday to tout their academic successes using a model that includes spiritual teachings, corporal punishment, and small class sizes.

Opponents of vouchers point to several studies that show students with vouchers perform no better at private schools than at public schools (they sometimes perform worse), that public dollars should not be used for religious indoctrination and that

vouchers take money from already cash-strapped public schools.

Tuesday’s event was sponsored by the American Federation for Children and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a civil rights organization once lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 2010, the two organizations galvanized thousands of African-American parents in Florida to push through voucher legislation that now provides $357.8 million in scholarships that fund about 69,000 students’ private school educations. The program is currently being challenged in court by Florida’s NAACP branch, the teachers’ union, and PTA. The SCLC and the American Federation for Children want to bring those same tactics to Tennessee, another Republican-dominated state where voucher legislation has a strong chance of passing. They held a rally at the capitol this January that 1,200 people attended to help

push through voucher legislation that would have made vouchers available to students zoned to the bottom 5 percent of schools in Tennessee.

The voucher bill ultimately failed.

“This year, we decided we wanted to organize people in Memphis on their own turf instead of taking them to Nashville,” said Carra Powell, a lobbyist with the American Federation for Children, a national advocacy organization that advocates for school choice, particularly vouchers in low-income communities.

Powell recently started hosting a weekly 30-minute radio program on WLOK to discuss school choice, holding regular community and government meetings with education advocates and holding several rallies here in Memphis.

“We’re thinking outside the box this year,” she said.

On Tuesday, speakers cited failing traditional public schools and the threat of a state takeover as reasons for expanded school choice. They also pointed to Memphis City Schools’ 2011 charter surrender which sparked a historic merger between suburban and city schools and a subsequent municipality split as evidence that the government has failed black children.

“We recognize that the children have to be educated, trained, enriched, and nurtured,” said the Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president of Memphis’ SCLC chapter.

Gates’ daughters, Brooklyn and Bheanna, are being tutored this year and their reading scores have improved at St. John’s. But the price tag isn’t getting cheaper. She’s had to pay for field trips, school supplies and “just about everything else you can think of.”

“I’ll be glad when this (voucher legislation) passes,” she said. Her other daughter, Yolanda, attends a charter school because she couldn’t afford private school for her. “They need to quit playing around. This couldn’t come soon enough.”

Deadline extended for Second Chance program The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Re-entry has extended the Second Chance program application deadline until midnight, Friday, Oct. 17, 2014.

The City of Memphis Second Chance program focuses on reducing recidivism through training, job readiness, and job development in an effort to prepare ex-offenders for employment. The application process has been extended to give potential program participants additional time to apply.

The Memphis & Shelby County Office of Re-entry serves as a “one-stop” interactive resource center for ex-offenders. It is a collaborative effort of three government entities – the Shelby County Division of Corrections’ Re-entry Program, the City of Memphis Second Chance program and the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole.

Collaborative services among the three agencies include: case management, lifecoaching, job training and job placement which are designed to create lasting change for the individual and ultimately for our community.

For more information about the Second Chance program, contact Phyllis Fickling, Program Director, at Phyllis.Fickling@shelbycountytn.gov or call 901-222-2018. Also, visit http://www.memphistn.gov/scp/ninesteps.html or go to https://reentry.shelbycountytn.gov/SecondChanceJob to start the application process.

Voice your vote for a Healthy and Free TN Healthy & Free Tennessee invites the Memphis community to a statewide early voting event, Voice Your Vote for a Healthy and Free Tennessee, on Saturday (Oct. 18th). Voice Your Vote events will take place in Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, with the Memphis event from 11a.m.-2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 166 Poplar Ave. In Memphis, the event will include music from Mighty Souls Brass Band and Hope Clayburn’s Soul Scrimmage, free food from Central BBQ and the Women’s Worker Collective, a moon bounce and face painting for the kids, and live marching band escorts to go vote at the Election Commission across the street. Speakers will include candidate for State Senate Lee Harris, Rep. Raumesh Akbari and Sen. Beverly Marrero. The event will also feature a free LGBT Health Fair presented by the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.

“These events are designed to make early voting fun by being held in locations that are within easy walking distance to early voting locations,” said Rebecca Terrell, HFTN Chair. “Attendees should bring their photo IDs so they can cast their votes that day.”

Local co-sponsors include CoreAlign, First Presbyterian Church, First Congregational Church, Calvary Church, SisterReach, UniteWomen TN, Memphis Area Women’s Council and the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.

(More info at www.HealthyAndFreeTN.org)

NAACP Teenager of the Year contestants with their parents and sponsors as they kick off the annual NAACP membership campaign. (Photo: Tyrone Easley)

Youth step up for the NAACP Memphis area youth signed up to represent their churches in a citywide campaign for NAACP memberships. The annual membership effort is being led by high school students with the help of their parents and sponsors.

“Youth Are in for Justice and Equality” is the theme of the community outreach effort.

The young person who brings in

the highest membership report will be named NAACP Teenager of the Year and receive a $1,000 scholarship and assorted gifts donated by Memphis area businesses.

The contestants in the 2014 competition are: Alyssa Crowe – Olivet Fellowship Baptist Church Essence Davis – Brown Missionary Baptist Church

Danielle Gipson – Mississippi Christian Church Jonathan Jones Jr. – St. Augustine Catholic Church Roosevelt Jackson – Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church Christa Knight – First Baptist Church Broad Avenue Taymon Lester – Mt. Olive CME Cathedral Church Kennedy Peete – First Baptist

Church Lauderdale Undrea Porter – Parkway Gardens Presbyterian Church Brandon Taylor – Greater Middle Baptist Church Joelle Thompson – Metropolitan Baptist Church Autumn Thomas – Castalia Baptist Church Angel Walker-Lee – Greater White Stone Baptist Church

Judge Sugarmon to keynote MSPJC event

Having a ball…

The Northside High School Alumni Association celebrated alumni weekend Oct. 10th-12th to mark the school’s 46th anniversary. Each graduating class fellowshipped and reminisced about the days when “Cougar Pride” was exhorted. On Friday, the alumni met at Privé Restaurant on Winchester for a “meet and greet” and then on Saturday at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis for the banquet (above).

On Sunday, the group worshipped at Bethlehem Baptist Church. (Courtesy photo)

The People's Conference on Equal Justice!

– sponsored by the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center – will be held Saturday (Oct. 18th) from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The LeMoyneOwen College.

Judge Tarik B. Sugarmon will be the keynote speaker during a day full of issuebased and skill-based workshops, including: • "Media 101" with Wendi Thomas; • "Intro to Community Organizing" with the MSPJC's Bennett Foster and Paul Garner; • "Lady Justice: Removing the Blindfold" with Briana Perry, Meaghan Ybos and Ace Madjlesi; • Updates from the Memphis delegation that traveled to Ferguson, Mo. to participate in “Ferguson October.”

The conference is free to current MSPJC members. You can renew your membership online or sign up the day of the conference. A sliding scale is used for membership dues, and no one will be turned away from the conference for financial reasons.

On-site childcare will be available.

SPORTS Tri-State Defender, Thursday, October 16 - 22, 2014, Page 12

GRIZZ TRACK

‘A LITTLE R & R ON SPORTS’

Grizzlies take note of rhythm as preseason rolls on

Derek Jeter: Real deal, real class

by Kelley D. Evans kdevans@tsdmemphis.com

by Howard Robertson and Larry Robinson Have you stopped to think lately about how totally used and abused the words “real” and “reality” are on things and people that aren’t? The spate of television shows with misnomers of the “real” this and that as well as “reality” shows of every ilk do not fool the public. They know better.

Derek Sanderson Jeter during a 20-year major league Howard baseball career has been the Robertson personal and professional antithesis of the phony reality that has seeped into sports much in the same way it has contaminated primetime television over the same time.

Derek was the biracial lovechild of a white mother and a black father. But his dad left the family, abandoning his two children. So Derek struggled growing up, missing his deadbeat father. He found soLarry lace in playing baseball, Robinson which he learned from a former, washed-up major league player turned coach who recognized his talent early on amidst his rag-tag team of misfit kids.

Always a good looking young man, Derek easily had his way with the ladies so understandably but inadvertently a few babies and baby mommas were created along the way. Obviously, given his fame and fortune, there were child support issues and an abundance of baby momma drama because females be hatin’ on a brother for getting’ paid and think he ought to be their ticket out the hood just cause they had a baby. His support system was his homeboys from the neighborhood whom he hired as his entourage to help him keep it “real.”

Of course, nothing in the previous paragraph is true. Although that is an unreal scenario for the life and career of Derek Jeter, it is unfortunately the reality script for the lives of far too many professional athletes. But we’re not willing to make that scenario a reality show for the norm of professional athletes. We believe Derek Jeter has kept it real his entire two-decades-long career.

The REAL story is that he was actually raised in a strong two-parent home by his mother Dorothy Jeter, an accountant, and father Sanderson Jeter, Ph.D., who played shortstop in college at Fisk University and taught his son Derek the game. Derek was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1992, right out of Kalamazoo Central High in Michigan. He was only 18 years old.

A baseball prodigy, he had received lots of scholarship offers. But, as a major league baseball scout once told anybody who’d listen, “Jeter’s not going to college, he’s going to Cooperstown.” He signed for $800,000. He struggled his first two seasons with Yankees’ Class A minor league teams in Tampa and Greensboro as a 156pound kid stinking it up, going 0-7 with five strike outs in his first game. He had 9 errors in his first 11 games with the Greensboro Hornets. He ended year one with a pitiful .202 batting avg.

After those disastrous first two seasons, he got his major league debut with the Yankees in 1995 and won Rookie of the Year as well as helped the Yankees win the World Series in 1996. The little skinny boy that started with a .202 batting average and a multitude of errors, finished his career with: a .310 avg., a 14x All-Star selection, a 5x World Series Champion, a 5x Golden Glove Award winner, a 5x Silver Slugger Award winner, a 2x Hank Aaron Award winner and he was “The Captain” of the most fabled team in baseball for 12 years.

When he was a child, Derek’s parents made him sign a contract every year setting acceptable and unacceptable behavior. He was raised right and raised to do right. During his career as a high profile, highly paid, highly marketed athlete in the top media market on the planet, he has been personable, professional and classy all while being one of baseball’s greatest ever.

Hopefully you witnessed the outpouring of appreciation from fans and teams in cities all around the league during his final season. That was real respect. Derek Jeter’s career is a reality that should be shown, mentioned and modeled by athletes everywhere. We’re proud to have witnessed real greatness. (“A Little R&R on Sports” (randronsports.com) is a nationally syndicated radio show available on hundreds of radio stations and digital platforms. In Memphis, tune to AM 990 KWAM at 10 on Saturday mornings or online at kwam990.com or stream R&R live on Saturdays at 11 a.m. EDT/10 a.m. CDT on sportsbyline.com.)

Derek Jeter

Grizz fans were eager for the debut of NBA veteran Vince Carter, who finished with nine points, including two threepointers, while clocking 13 minutes against Atlanta in the first preseason home game. (Photo: Lance Murphey/NBAE via Getty Images)

As the preseason grinds on, the Memphis Grizzlies take on Rio de Janeiro Flemengo on Friday (Oct. 17th) at FedExForum. It will be the second preseason home game, following a 93-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks last Saturday (Oct. 11th).

The Grizz will take the home-court after falling on the road to the Kevin Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. It was OKC’s first game since perennial All Star Durant went down with an injury that will keep him sidelined for several weeks.

Kelley D. Memphis’ starters did not play against the Evans Thunder but they did log significant minutes against the Hawks before the 11,867 fans who came out for their first glimpse of the 2014-15 team. Mike Conley led all scorers with 23 points.

“I think we needed a game like this where we kind of pushed through our first and second winds and just got in a good rhythm, play a full game, play it ’til the end as if it was a regular season game and see where we’re at,” Conley said.

Marc Gasol finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Randolph pitched in 10 points, logging eight rebounds and five assists.

Head coach Dave Joerger made note of “a better job defensively” by the Grizzlies. “I thought our three guys (Randolph, Conley and Gasol) were great leaders tonight and that’s just how it is going to have to be for us to be successful.”

Grizz fans were eager for the debut of NBA veteran Vince Carter, who finished with nine points, including two threepointers, while clocking 13 minutes.

“It felt great to get out there,” Carter said. “I felt like a little kid in a candy store. It’s all about us right now fine-tuning for the real thing.”

Rookie Jordan Adams played 21 minutes along side the veteran players, scoring six points.

“He’s a sponge,” Carter said of Adams. “He is taking it all in.

He’s asking questions, but at the same time he’s learning. I think by us being in his ear and just trying to make the game easy for him, he can go out there and be the player that he is. He’s very active defensively. He gets his hands on the ball.”

Roster note: The Grizzlies waived forward Michael Beasley and guard Luke Hancock. Both were trying to make the team as free agents.

Outscratched by Houston’s Cougars, Tigers eye SMU when Lynch, who had 243 yards passing on the night, threw another interception – his third..

Memphis only surrendered 15 first downs and 354 total yards, but just could not overcome the miscues and lack of ball protection.

by Anthony Sain Special to The New Tri-State Defender

In a fashion more in keeping with teams of the past and one not readily associated with this year’s promising start, the University of Memphis Tigers lost to Houston 28-24 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium last Saturday.

Following an impressive victory the week before against Cincinnati, the Tigers entered the game looking to take another positive step towards their first bowl bid since 2008 and the American Athletic Conference crown. Instead, they blew a golden opportunity against conference foe Houston and now look to rebound against winless SMU on the road on Saturday (Oct. 18th).

Memphis jumped out to an early 14-0 lead on the Cougars, with quarterback Paxton Lynch connecting with Tevin Jones for an 18-yard touchdown and then rushing for a 6-yard touchdown score one possession later. The Tigers’ second touchdown of the first half was set up by the recovery of a fumbled punt.

Then things started to go askew. Riding the feet and moves of quarterback Greg Ward Jr., Houston scored on a 64-yard run. Ward, who mostly has played wide receiver and as a kick returner, made his first

Memphis-SMU: The Four P.A.W.S.

Wide receiver Roderick Proctor plants and makes a move against a Houston defender. (Photo: Christopher Hope) start at quarterback.

Ouch!

Then came a glimpse of the all-to-familiar from previous seasons. The Tigers committed the first of five turnovers on the night, as Lynch threw an interception midway through the 2nd quarter. Houston turned the turnover into a touchdown, with running back Kenneth Farrow scoring from from two yards out, capping a drive that started at Memphis’ 21-yard line of Memphis.

With 1:05 left in the half, the Tigers’ Lynch found threw his second touchdown pass of the evening, this time to Daniel Montiel.

An uncomfortably close game

for the Tigers continued in the second half, with each team holding the other scoreless for the first few drives of the third quarter. Houston than launched an 85-yard, eight-play drive, with running back Ryan Jackson cashed in on a 2-yard run with 4:31 remaining in the quarter.

On its next possession, Houston scored again before Memphis Tigers added a field goal to make the score 28-24.

The Tigers would get two more possessions, with both resulting in turnovers. Tevin Jones fumbled after a 14-yard pass reception, derailing a Memphis drive. What had the makings of a comeback drive to victory ended

Possibilities: SMU is 0-5 and it is certainly possible that Memphis can ride into Dallas get out with a relatively easy win. The Mustangs have been blown out in every game this season and nothing suggests that they will do any better against a Tigers’ offense that can be potent with careful ball handling. A win by the 3-3 Tigers could get them back over .500 for the season.

Assumption: Here’s a fairly safe bet: SMU will have a hard time running against the Memphis defense. The Mustangs average less than 50 yards per game rushing, one of the worst averages in the country.

Weaknesses: An argument can be made that the SMU defense is even worse than the team’s offense. With the Mustangs allowing nearly 50 points per game, the Tigers should be able to score often, if they take care of the ball.

Strengths: The Memphis defense may be able to overpower SMU, which is averaging less than 200 yards per game.

LOC goes ‘midnight mad’ in basketball showcase

by Nick Eley Special to The New Tri-State Defender

On Tuesday evening and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, The LeMoyne-Owen College hosted Midnight Madness, a showcase of its 2014 men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The event was part skills showcase, part rap concert, part Greek step show, and all around “a lot of fun, and good for the students,” said second year athletic director Clint Jackson. “It’s good to get the students out of the dorms and here to support our teams.”

Even before the main event began, members of the crowd, comprised primarily of students, put on an impromptu dance competition to an array of popular hip-hop tracks. Students, singing their love for “L-O-C” showcased their school spirit and Greek-life enthusiasm, as members of many frater-

nities and sororities did their steps around the outer edges of the court. The cheerleaders were introduced, followed by the women’s and men’s basketball teams.

The scheduled events started with a head-to-head three-point shooting contest pitting the women’s team against the men’s team. With the women at one end of the court, and the men at the other, the two teams were tied after three rounds of shooting. In a final round shootout, senior guard Latrice Sears outshot senior guard Jean Mathieu for the win.

After the three-point shootout came the dunk contest. After one fan, the self-proclaimed “best dunker on campus,” failed to live up to his moniker, senior forward Marcel Hawkins quickly made it apparent who the title truly belonged to, sealing the deal with an off-the-bounce 360 that brought

the crowd to its feet.

At the end of the event, the two teams each engaged in 20-minute scrimmages. The women’s team held the first purple vs. white scrimmage, with assistant coach Latear Eason coaching the purple squad against second-year head coach Antony Partee’s white team.

“It’s cool to enjoy (the event), but we’re here to do a job and do it right,” Partee told his team. “We have to use every opportunity to get better.”

That mindset was echoed by LOC’s athletic director, Clint Jackson, who pointed to the work ethic of Partee and Eason as major factors in his decision to hire them.

Partee said guards Crystal Shields and Montique McConnell, as well as center Rachel Hughes, all juniors, stood out to him in the scrimmage. He also gave votes of confidence to senior Latrice Sears, and sophomore Tenesha Wright,

for their skills as well as their leadership abilities.

While the men’s scrimmage was much less revealing, head coach Anderson said he is “expecting good things” from his team this year. Juniors Jerry Hampton and Daequan Mitchell-Fields, along with sophomores Demba Konate and Hawkins, are players he is looking forward to seeing play together, along with junior point guard Byron Ray. Mitchell-Fields returns after leading the team in scoring last season, and Konate is last year’s SIAC Freshman of the year.

Both teams will play in exhibition action against Rust College on Nov. 8th. The men’s team will open the regular season at Shorter University on Nov. 14th. The women will play a second exhibition game at Robert Morris on Nov. 15th before opening their regular season at Missouri University S&T on Nov. 21st.