2 8 2012

Page 1

VOL. 61, No. 6

One Section/Inserts

February 2 - 8, 2012

www.tristatedefender.com

75 Cents

Is this Whitehaven’s time?

Don Cornelius to net ‘Soul Train’ marathon $16 million sought for Elvis Presley Blvd. ATLANTA (PRNewswire) –Bounce TV (http://www.bouncetv .com), the nation’s first and only broadcast television network for African Americans, will pay tribute to the life of the legendary Don Cornelius with “Bounce TV Remembers Don Cornelius,” a seven-hour marathon of “Soul Train” episodes on Saturday (Feb. 4) beginning at 6 p.m. (CT). Cornelius, creator of the long-running television dance show “Soul Train,” shot himself to death We d n e s d a y morning at his home, Los Angeles police said. “Bounce TV Remembers Don Cornelius” will feature memorable and starDon studded episodes Cornelius from the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s – all hosted by Cor- R.I.P. Don nelius, including Cornelius, see the very first syn- Opinion, page 4. dicated episode of “Soul Train” (1971), which kicks off the marathon as well as the last episode Cornelius hosted (1993) as the marathon’s finale at noon. Chilli from TLC, one of the most successful female groups in music history, will host “Bounce TV Remembers Don Cornelius.” TLC appeared on Soul Train in 1992. Bounce TV, which airs “Soul Train” weekdays at 5 p.m., is also adding the series to its primetime line-up beginning Monday (Feb. 6). Monday Night Soul will feature four classic episodes of “Soul Train” back-to-back from 7 p.m. to 11CT every week.

Employment discrimination complaints hit new EEOC high Tri-State Defender staff

The EEOC – typically thought of as an agency that benefits protected classes such as minorities, women and the disabled – received a record 99,947 charges of employment discrimination in Fiscal Year 2011, and secured a chart-topping $455.6 million in relief. Once again, charges alleging retaliation were the most numerous. Of all charges the EEOC received, 37,334 or 37.4 percent, fell into that grouping. Following closely behind were 35,395 charges (35.4 percent) involving claims of race discrimination. While the numbers of charges with race and sex discrimination allegations declined from the previous year, charges with the two other most frequently-cited allegations increased: disability discrimination – 25,742; age discrimination – 23,465. The agency’s enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) produced the highest increase in monetary relief among all of the statutes. Administrative relief obtained for disability discrimination charges increased by almost 35.9 percent to $103.4 million compared to $76.1 million in the previous fiscal SEE EEOC ON PAGE 2

MEMPHIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H- 6 5o - L - 6 0o T-Sto rms

H- 6 7o - L - 4 7o Sho wers

H- 5 5o - L - 4 2o Most ly Clo ud y

REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Friday H-65 L-60 H-66 L-51 H-73 L-61

Saturday H-66 L-43 H-61 L-51 H-74 L-56

Sunday H-58 L-42 H-60 L-41 H-63 L-48

Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Tony Jones

City Councilman Harold B. Collins plans to introduce a resolution at the next council meeting (Feb. 6) requesting $16 million to spruce up Elvis Presley Blvd. The idea was previewed Tuesday night (Jan. 31) at Grace United Methodist Church on Raines Rd. in

Whitehaven. Collins is requesting $8 million in 2013 and 2014, which would be coupled with $27 million the state has dedicated to the project. He gives a rosy projection of a fully refurbished Elvis Presley Boulevard to present to the world in 2015. “The council voted to give Overton Square $16 million several weeks ago and I spoke up about this then. I opposed it (Overton Square) because

it had been closed for many, many years, discussed, drafted, restarted and redone and still there’s nothing to show for it,” said Collins. “Now, contrast that to what we are proposing. Here is a project (Graceland) that has been tested for 35 years, is the number one tourist attraction in the state, number two in the nation, bringing in $170 million annually in tourist dollars. Why

wouldn’t a councilman support this initiative?” For Tuesday’s presentation in Whitehaven, Collins brought in civil engineering firm Powers Hill Design as conductors. Invitations were sent out to several hundred licensed businesses on Elvis Presley and the immediate surrounding area. A little more than two dozen were in attendance, not a real disappointment, Collins says. SEE WHITEHAVEN ON PAGE 5

“We have to eat ourselves back to good health.” – Ruby Johnson

Soul food lite: Ruby Johnson says soul food does not have to be dripping with fat or loaded with salt to taste delicious, and she has the Orange Mound restaurant to prove it. (Photo by Warren Roseborough)

Will Memphis show up New York & LA? At stake: a healthy soul food restaurant Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Linda S. Wallace Ruby Johnson, owner of Ruby’s Sizzling Skillet, is a foot soldier in the war against obesity, even though she owns and operates a soul food restaurant in Orange Mound. Soul food does not have to be dripping with fat or loaded with salt to taste delicious, says Johnson, a trim woman, who at age 64 does not take any prescription medicines. By contrast, her mother, at one point, took 14 types

of medications at the same time. “People are getting wiped out because of this,” Johnson says. “We have to eat ourselves back to good health. Once you start taking those pills, you gotta do it for the rest of your life. Eat a well-balanced meal, drink water and exercise!” Johnson used about $35,000 from her savings to open Ruby’s Sizzling Skillet in June 2010, and keep it afloat, thus far. She also received a $5,000 loan from the Small Business Administration. “My vision (for the restaurant) is a gift

from God,” says Johnson, who worked previously as an accountant and honed her culinary skills cooking for her church. “It was a gift from Him. He is using me.” Winter is traditionally a slow season for the industry and Ruby’s has been struggling lately to attract customers. Unable to find a bank or public agency to give her a business loan, Johnson sat a table last week and told The New Tri-State Defender that she was SEE RESTAURANT ON PAGE 2

- INSIDE -

Christmas Day baby brings joy to unlikely couple

• Market opportunity: disrepect for President Obama, First Family. See Opinion, page 4.

Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell “…I already have six grown children. The youngest is 35. But little David brings us such joy that we can’t fully express it. Starting all over again with a newborn is the greatest blessing imaginable – even at age 72. I am happier than I’ve been in years...” Dr. William Owens, Newly adoptive father

Ask any question at all about his new baby and Dr. William Owens sounds like any other typical, doting father. Except for the fact that he is a 72-year-old retired educator and father of six grown children. “My son has many of my characteristics,” he says. “He has a head like mine; he rests on his arms, and crosses his legs when he’s asleep. That’s exactly how I sleep. I feel that David came to us straight from heaven, the greatest blessing God could bestow. And he is, in every possible way, our child.” His wife, Dr. Deborah Owens, concurs that David Barak (pronounced bear-wreck), their new child, has brought “unspeakable joy” into their home. The adoption

• ‘Desire’ is a ‘holy thing,’ so own up to it and create. See Religion, page 9. • African-American History Month calendar See page 14. The marriage of Dr. Deborah Owens and Dr. William Owens – already distinguished by a 25-year age gap – now includes a recently adopted infant son born on Christmas Day, 2011. (Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)

of their six-week-old son is teaching them both to live every day with exuberance and gratitude. “My husband and I are 25 years apart in age,” said Dr. Owens. “As we considered adopting, it occurred to us, of course, that Bill may not have as many years with him as we would like. But if God should give us five years with David, we will be grateful. We married back in 1995. The Lord has already granted us 16 wonderful years. Each day is a precious gift from God that we happily embrace. Bill and I are making the best of this incredible journey.”

William Owens acknowledges that he has more years behind than ahead, but says, these latter years will be his best years. “Many children, especially in the African-American community will never experience even one day with their father,” he said. “I have a tremendous opportunity to nurture my son and pour into him what he will need to grow in the fear and admonition of the Lord. By the age of four, many aspects of home and family values have already been inSEE ADOPT ON PAGE 5

Preston Shannon

• Preston Shannon brings Memphis sound to ‘The Voice.’ See Entertainment, page 12.


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