4 2 2014

VOL. 63, No. 13

March 27 - April 2, 2014

www.tsdmemphis.com

75 Cents

Cohen-Wade rift gets fresh airing Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Wiley Henry

The rift between U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and Randy Wade, the congressman’s former district director, had been relatively quiet until it was reported in a story last week in The New Tri-State Defender that the congressman had filed an ethics complaint against Wade for using his congressional title to endorse a Tennessee state representative in his reelection bid.

The congressman did not file an ethics complaint, said Marilyn Dillihay, the congressman’s chief of staff. In fact, Dillihay wants to set the record straight that she communicated with the House Committee on Ethics when she learned of Wade’s endorsement of State Rep. G. A. Hardaway.

“I’m responsible for the ethics of this office,” said Dillihay, noting that she drafted a letter to the ethics committee regarding a possible ethics violation on Wade’s part and that the congressman only affixed his signature to it.

“If Steve didn’t report on what Randy was doing, it would have been an ethics violation against the congressman. He has to report on activities in his office. So it had to be reported.”

It was not a complaint as it had been reported in the media, she said.

When it was explained to Wade that Dillihay took the matter in her hands and apprised the ethics com-

Randy Wade

Rep. Steve Cohen

mittee on what had transpired, Wade said, “That’s apples and oranges.

Marilyn isn’t going to file a complaint against anyone unless Steve Cohen orchestrates it. She’s trying to take the heat off Steve Cohen.”

Dillihay made it unequivocally clear that it is her job to make sure that impropriety does not occur in the congressional office, that employees are not “tripped up,” and that they are safe. All staffers, she said, have to take ethics training annually.

She said Cohen held a staff meeting prior to the infraction and reminded employees of what they could and could not do during an election. Wade, she said, mentioned he was supporting Hardaway as a private citizen over Mike Kernell, Cohen’s choice for House District 93 in the Aug. 2, 2012, Democratic Primary.

“I told him as a private citizen that I can do what I wanted to do,” SEE WADE ON PAGE 3

Judge Joe Brown at Saturdayʼs Black Expo at the Agricenter. (Photo: Shirley Jackson)

Does Brown’s arrest put the Juvenile Court system ‘on blast?’

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Tony Jones

In this together…

First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia and Sasha visited the Great Wall of China on March 23rd. During the official visit, which ended Wednesday, Mrs. Obama emphasized the importance of youth. (White House photo: Amanda Lucidon)

Three days after a Juvenile Court Magistrate had Judge Joe Brown handcuffed and put in jail for violating courtroom protocol, the reverberations – some say aftershocks – are still rumbling.

The former Shelby County Judge, better known as TV’s “Judge Joe Brown,” was arrested at Shelby County Juvenile Court on Monday.

Soon after he was taken into custody, the assertions started flying that Brown, who is running for Shelby County District Attorney in the upcoming Democratic Party Primary, had orchestrated the encounter to boost his campaign.

If he wins the Democratic Primary as many project, Brown likely would face a one-on-one encounter with incumbent Republican Amy Weirich.

Her campaign quickly stamped

Brown’s actions as a Hollywood stunt.

“That sort of disrespectful circus stunt may get Hollywood ratings, but this is real life and real people and Joe Brown knows better. He should be ashamed of himself,” read the statement issued by her campaign.

Shelby County Democratic Party Chairman Bryan Carson dismissed that characterization as unfounded and off base.

“This was not a publicity stunt.

This was the real Joe Brown in real time and in person,” said Carson.

“What this incident has really done has put Juvenile Court on blast to show people how the courts around here operate and how crucial it is for them to step forth and support these candidates. Just watch the facts.”

Brown was ordered jailed by Juvenile Court Magistrate Harold “Hal” Horne, who was overseeing the case in which Brown was attempting to represent “a client.” He was released

on his own recognizance under a judicial order. Brown said his client was being subjected to an “egregious miscarriage of justice.”

In an interview with The New TriState Defender, Brown said, “It was Amy Weirich’s nephew, who is a clerk at the court, that instigated me getting arrested. They made a mistake because the tape was released and it clearly shows how they operate outside the law down there.

“The problem is that here in Shelby County we have the only court that does not require a full review by the other judges to sit on the bench, and (Juvenile Court Judge) Curtis (S.) Person rubber-stamps everything. He hasn’t been there in three years and doesn’t have the decency to retire due to medical reasons. The Judiciary Committee is reviewing it now.”

Person issued this statement: “Anyone who comes before the JuSEE JUDGE ON PAGE 3

Moore back on ballot for County Commission District 6 Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Tony Jones

For the record, Edith Ann Moore is officially – and legally – a District 6 candidate for the Shelby County Board of Commissioners.

What a difference 8 days make.

On March 19th, the Shelby County Election Commission booted Moore off the ballot for the Democratic Primary. That came after looking into her residency and

deciding on a 4-0 vote that Moore should be decertified.

On Wednesday (March 26th), Moore was back on the ballot thanks to a ruling by Chancery Court Judge Arnold B. Goldin.

The district takes in parts of Frayser and Raleigh. The commission’s decertification followed assertions that Moore did not live at the address she listed in the district.

“He (Judge Goldin) found that I was 18 years old, a registered voter in my district at the time of certifi-

• Mitchell High School Coach Faragi Phillips reflects on a state title. See Sports, page 13.

cation and that I was residing in the county for a least a year. That’s it,” said Moore. “I have lived in and out of that house for over two years. I have furniture there. It’s where I live.”

Moore called the earlier move to decertify her “a simple political game,” adding that she was “someone that is trying to be honest, to be up front.”

“It’s you-all’s (the media) to find out who is really behind this,” she said, noting that she had spend a sig-

INSIDE

nificant amount of money “to make sure that my home looks just as good as anybody else’s.”

Moore now is back in the District 6 Democratic Party Primary battling Karl L. Bond, Willie Brooks and Kendrick D. Sneed. David M. Shiffman is the only name on the Republican ballot.

For Moore, her candidacy is actually a move to get back on the Commission. In Dec. 2009, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners selected her to replace Commissioner

Joe Ford, who had been appointed Interim Shelby County Mayor.

“This is a new district and I got in the race beEdith Ann cause it deserves Moore real representation,” said Moore.

“You have a tremendous amount of diversity in this area and one of the strongest immigrant communities.”

MEMPHIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H -75o - L-49o Iso . T-Sto rms

H- 6 2 o - L - 3 6 o P a r tl y C l oud y

H- 6 6 o - L - 4 7 o S unn y

REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

• Working things out at The Memphis Black Expo. See page 14.

• Justin Merrick set the tone at the Freedom Fund Gala. See page 12.

Friday H-73 L-46 H-72 L-55 H-81 L-58

Saturday H-67 L-37 H-58 L-34 H-67 L-39

Sunday H-69 L-46 H-64 L-40 H-72 L-41

NEWS

Page 2

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

Nation suffers because of under-representation of African-American women in politics NNPA News Service

by Jazelle Hunt

WASHINGTON– The gaping under-representation of women of color on the political stage deeply undermines the American ideal of democratic representation.

That’s a conclusion reached by the Center for American Progress and detailed in an article titled, “Why We Need a Political Leadership Pipeline for Women of Color.”

The article, part of the Center’s Women in Leadership project, was unveiled during a panel event featuring prominent women of color scholars, organizers, and professionals.

“The relative lack of women of color serving in elected office raises grave concerns regarding democratic legitimacy and the fundamental issues of political representation,” the article states. “Lack of representation, of course, can mean a lack of attention to and advocacy for issues important to communities of color.

And…translates into a major missed opportunity for the empowerment of underserved communities.”

Today, there are 14 African American women in Congress, less than 3 percent of that body. There is only one woman of color in the Senate, an Asian American. And both delegates to Congress – elected representatives who do not have the right to vote except in committees – are black women.

The picture is the same at the state level. Black women hold about 3 percent of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats, across 40 states.

Among the 100 largest cities, Baltimore is the only one currently led by a black woman mayor.

“What I’ve experienced over these years is that if it’s something that’s beyond black, then it isn’t necessarily obviously seen that a black woman could be the lead of

it,” said panelist Melanie L. Campbell, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Roundtable.

“Because it’s a multi-racial or multi-ethnic, so therefore – ‘No, we’ll get to your issue later.’ There’s the reality that, in a broad women’s movement, for black women and (other) women of color, are we all equal in that opportunity for leadership?”

According to the article, lack of representation in politics results in a lack of attention to issues that affect women and people of color more. Moreover, males and females behave differently in politics.

A 2009 report from the defunct The White House Project notes that on average, women in Congress introduce more bills, attract more cosponsors, and bring home more money for their districts than their male counterparts.

Even in high-stress professions, women can more than hold their own.

For example, Val Demings, the keynote speaker at the Women in Leadership panel, is the first woman to serve as police chief of Orlando, Fla. In her four-year term, violent crime dropped 40 percent.

A 2006 study in the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy found that Latina representa-

tives in f o u r southwestern states w e r e m o r e likely than their m a l e c o u n t e rparts to Val prioritize Demings the needs of African Americans and Asians, as well as women and families.

But women need to be represented in more than token numbers, Demings said.

“I can only speak as a black woman…but if you don’t see a whole lot of folks who look like you doing what you’re thinking about doing, it’s tough to believe that you can do it,” she said in her keynote address.

After she retired as police chief, the mayor urged her to consider running for Congress.

“I was meeting with a member of Congress and he said to me that women have to be asked about seven times to run for public office before they’ll even consider it,” Demings recalls. “I was floored. I felt like I was a pretty assertive, bold, going-into-places-whereothers-would-dare-not-go type

of person – but I was on my seventh ask.”

Demings ran for a House seat in 2012 on the Democratic ticket. She lost the race to the incumbent candidate by 3.5 percentage points, in a district that was 69 percent white.

Currently, Demings is running for mayor of Orange County, Fla. In a 2012 study, American University researchers found that women are both less likely than men to have anyone suggest they run for office, and twice as likely as men to consider themselves “not at all qualified” for the job. Consequently, fewer women – especially women of color – decide to run for office.

“The barriers holding back women of color are undoubtedly much the same as those shown to limit the political ambitions of all women in general: lack of financial resources, weaker social networks, lack of familiarity with the political process, a greater level of responsibility for children and household tasks, and a greater tendency to be more risk-averse than potential male candidates,” the article explains.

“The lack of economic support is perhaps one of the greatest barriers for women of color, as they are often the pri-

mary or sole caregivers of their children and their elders, earn less, and have considerably less wealth than men of color and white men and women.”

But there is some encouraging news.

According to the Center for American Progress, women of color are increasingly showing up to the polls; African-American women voter turnout rose from nearly 60 percent to nearly 70 percent between 2004 and 2008 (Latinas and Asian American women made 20, and 17 percent gains, respectively, in the same time period). This is higher than the 2008 national voting average of 58.2 percent.

If all eligible women of color voted, that would mean more than 41.8 million votes – or, the equivalent of 62.5 percent of President Barack Obama’s 2008 votes, and 71.7 percent of John McCain’s.

“As I worked through voting rights issues, and working in civic engagement…(I was) focusing on what to do to really deal with the power of the sistah vote,” said Campbell.

“I say that as an affirmation, because we have not met that yet. We have the numbers, we turn out, people say we’re the most progressive vote, but we have yet to benefit from that power.”

Methodist North Hospital Annual Health Festival will be April 26th

Methodist North Hospital will host its “I love my health,” Community Health Festival on Saturday, April 26th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3960 New Covington Pike.

“We are concerned about our community’s health,” said Gyasi Chisley, MHA, MBA, PMP, FACHE, Methodist North Hospital.

“This free event will provide awareness of important health issues and inspire families to make healthy lifestyle choices.”

The fair will feature information about the Affordable Care Act, health insurance coverage, free health screenings, CPR classes, fun exercise demonstrations, a healthy cooking demonstration and other valuable health information. There will also be a live radio remote, games for the kids, music and performances by the Shiloh Baptist Church Choir. A free healthy lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, v i s i t www.methodisthealth.org or call 516-5038.

NEWS

Tri-State Defender

SCS, Orpheum to partner in Kennedy Center program

Shelby County Schools (SCS) and the Orpheum Theatre have been selected as one of 12 partnership teams to participate in the Kennedy Center’s 13th annual Partners in Education (PIE) Program.

SCS and the Orpheum are now one of 100 partnership teams nationwide to formally work with the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the nation’s premiere center for arts education.

Through the PIE program, the Orpheum will work with SCS to provide teachers with Kennedy Center-developed professional development, offer arts integration performance opportunities

WADE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Wade said.

It was public knowledge that Cohen was supporting Kernell for the House seat. Dillihay said the congressman explained to Wade that he could not use his official title if he were indeed going to endorse Hardaway.

“We saw the Hardaway campaign mailer with Randy’s endorsement using his official title. That was a clear ethics violation,” Dillihay said.

Wade pointed out that he did not do anything wrong to warrant such a violation. He did acknowledge endorsing Hardaway, but stressed that he did not have control over what Hardaway printed in his campaign mailer.

“I told G.A. I was going to endorse him as a private citizen and that he could not use my title. I couldn’t control what he printed,” Wade said.

If Wade indeed had no control over Hardaway’s use of his flattering remarks and congressional title on his campaign mailer, Dillihay said he should have reported the matter himself to the ethics committee to apprise them that he did not give his consent to use his congressional title.

“I gave him my advice to call the ethics committee,” Dillihay said. “He could have weighed in with the ethics committee, saying, ‘Here is my side of the story.’ Our titles are the property of Congress. We are not supposed to use our titles for political campaigns.”

Meanwhile, two political operatives lambasted Hardaway, claiming he never sought their endorsement before using their names on the mailer. The mailer likewise drew the ire of

Page 3

March 27 - April 2, 2014

to thousands of students and strengthen existing SCS arts integration initiatives.

“The Kennedy Center represents the ‘gold standard’ of content-based arts integration training, and the Orpheum has a longstanding commitment to arts in education programming and teacher professional development,” said Bradley Foust, Fine Arts Instructional Advisor at Shelby County Schools.

“Through our formal partnership with the Orpheum and the Kennedy Center, we can provide our teachers the very best in arts integration training and support.”

The SCS-Orpheum team

the congressman, who was taken aback when he saw Wade’s official title printed on the mailer.

After discovering the mailer, Dillihay said she called the ethics committee. “I asked for their advice. They told me the congressman needed to self-report. I composed a letter for the congressman to sign. Then I hand-delivered it to the ethics committee. He never talked to the ethics committee.”

The letter was dated July 31, 2012, informing the ethics committee about Wade’s endorsement of Hardaway, his remarks on the mailer and the use of his title. Wade said the letter, which he possesses, was sent to the ethics committee by Cohen and signed by him, not Dillihay.

Wade pointed to the last paragraph of the letter as verification that Cohen, not Dillihay, sent the letter to the ethics committee. It reads in part: “Early today my Chief of Staff consulted with the Ethics staff about the situation; however, I feel it is appropriate that I personally inform you of this situation which I learned of today.”

Disputing Dillihay’s assertion that she was the one who sent the letter to the ethics committee, Wade said, “It was both of them. She’s trying to take the heat off Cohen. She consulted them (ethics committee), but he filed it. He personally filed it because he’s a member of the House.”

“I complied with what the ethics committee told me to do,” said Dillihay, adding that Cohen had to be in compliance with his duties as congressman.

“That complaint was filed in July (2012) while I was still working and campaigning for Cohen, telling people to ‘Keep Goin’ with Cohen,’” said

was selected for the program by effectively demonstrating the potential to initiate and expand programs for teachers.

A team of SCS and Orpheum representatives will attend the Partners in Education Institute, which takes place April 23-26. While at the Kennedy Center, the team will develop a plan specific to the Memphis-Shelby County area to help establish and/or expand arts-based professional development programs for teachers.

The team will also receive a detailed planning guide, attend performances and meet with national education leaders and guest artists.

Wade, who resigned from his position on Feb. 11, 2013.

Wade received a letter from the ethics committee dated July 1, 2013, more than a year after it was filed. He said he wasn’t aware he was being investigated, but noted that the ethics “complaint” had nothing to do with him taking an early retirement.

“Marilyn and Steve know why I took the early retirement,” he said.

Dillihay said Wade left on his own volition not knowing about the letter and pointed out that the ethics committee wasn’t going to take any action against Wade. She also said the committee wasn’t going to make any public statements either.

It was Wade’s decision to go public, she said, adding, “This was 100 percent confidential.

No one knew about this for a whole year but Congressman Cohen, the ethics committee, and me.”

Wade said he didn’t do anything wrong and held a news conference on July 30, 2013 to express his dissatisfaction with Cohen. He made it known that he had been the congressman’s friend.

Dillihay said she only wanted to get the facts out and not reignite tensions between the former friends. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have addressed the issue.

“I only deal with facts,” she said. “I got a load of facts at my fingertips.”

Since Wade is no longer a congressional employee, the matter remains closed. However, if he should return, the matter could be resurrected and Wade could be censured or reprimanded, Dillihay said in her interpretation of the rules.

“That complaint is not worth the paper it’s written on,” said Wade. “It’s a moot issue.”

JUDGE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

venile Court of Memphis and Shelby County will be treated fairly, with dignity and with respect. Anyone who acts in a contemptuous manner toward this Court, toward any member of this Court, toward any employee of this Court or toward any visitor of this Court will be dealt with appropriately according to the laws of the State of Tennessee.”

Brown said his client’s case should never have been scheduled.

“I was there on a pro-bono basis to represent a client that had no reason to be brought before the court. She was there to respond to a charge by someone that she dated 20 years ago claiming that she was the mother of his daughter. In the first place, the child does not exist. There was no birth certificate, no DNA evi-

dence, so it was a defective complaint that was rubber stamped. The law requires that the order must be signed, which it was not, and under Tennessee law it should have been declared null and void and summarily dismissed.”

Such occurrences are common, Brown said.

“They have been appointing people to generate fees to be paid to them to represent out-of-state interests. As a convenience to this out-ofstate interest they wanted to continue this woman’s case another 30 days, which could cause her to lose her job. It should have been dismissed.”

Brown asserts that a crucial factor to the issue is the appointed referee’s lack of authority.

“He could not order me arrested, only fine me,” said Brown. “I didn’t get a hearing as required, and to compound it all, once I was (illegally) arrested they couldn’t find me

in the system to order my release.

“Five judges called in to order it (his release), but they had me filed in the child support category. This case proved exactly what I’ve been saying about how this court operates outside the letter of the law.”

Meanwhile, the news of Brown’s arrest has made national headlines and put a local contest into a much brighter spotlight.

“Judge Joe Brown Doesn’t Think He Was Out of Line, Contests Charges,” read the headline at TheRoot.com “Judge Joe Brown released from jail in Tennessee,” topped the account at theGrio.com.

And then there was ABC’s “Good Morning America” and a flood of other media outlets reaching out to Brown to get a fuller version of his reaction the encounter.

The Primary Election is May 6th.

Page 4

John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951 - 1997)

The Mid-Southʼs Best Alternative Newspaper

Powered by Best Media

OPINION

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

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

LIVING THE LIFE I LOVE

FLASHBACK: 2006

Uplift another woman today; be glad for the voice to do so!

Obama worse than George W. Bush on SBA Loans

When I interviewed Marie Johns, then the outgoing deputy secretary of the Small Business Administration, a year ago, she said the SBA does not separate figures by race, though it hopes to do so at some point.

Technically, she was correct in saying the SBA does not separate agency-wide figures by race. But the SBA’s 8 (a) program figures can be broken down by race and that’s where she was being disingenuous. I specifically asked her twice about the status of black businesses under Obama and twice she was less than forthcoming.

Now, I know why: The Obama administration’s record of guaranteeing loans to black businesses is worse than it was under George W. Bush.

Yes, that was documented recently by the Wall Street Journal in its analysis of data for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

“Black borrowers received 1.7 percent of the $23.09 billion in total SBA loans. The percentage is down sharply from 8.2 percent of overall SBA loan volume in fiscal 2008. By number of loans, black-owned small businesses got 2.3 percent of the federal agency’s roughly 54,000 loans last year, down from 11 percent in 2008,” the newspaper reported.

Major banks are encouraged to make SBA loans to small businesses for up to $5 million, with the federal agency agreeing to cover as much as 85 percent of any loss.

Financial institutions share responsibility for the drop in loans to African Americans.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bank of America made 1,400 SBA loans in fiscal 2007. For the latest fiscal year, however, that figure fell to just 247 borrowers. But the total loan amounts remain relatively unchanged, reaching $40.2 million in 2007 to $40.7 million for the last fiscal year.

That’s part of a larger trend by banks coming out of a recession to favor larger deals over smaller ones.

According to the SBA, their average loan is $426,796, more than double the average of $192,919 in 2005.

That’s problematic for African Americans because 80 percent of the loans to fund black business are for $150,000 or less.

The housing market decline has also had an adverse impact on African Americans.

Of course, everyone acknowledges that the Great Recession was a drag on business, both big and small. Other ethnic groups had a hard time obtaining business loans in a depressed economy, but they are recovering at a faster rate than blacks.

“This is the fallout from the recession and housing bust,” J. Patrick Kelley, a deputy associate administrator of the SBA, told the Wall Street Journal. “The borrowers hardest hit…are the last to see a recovery come to them.”

According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, black business owners made up 49.9 percent of all minority owners in 2012. Asians made up 29.6 percent and Hispanics 10.3 percent.

Overall, Blacks own 14.6 percent of

U.S. businesses and women own 36 percent.

When it comes to black businesses, there is good news and bad news.

A Census Bureau press release, dated Feb. 8, 2011 stated: George E. “From 2002 to Curry 2007, the number of black-owned businesses increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million, more than triple the national rate of 18.0 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. Over the same period, receipts generated by black-owned businesses increased 55.1 percent to $137.5 billion. “’Black-owned businesses continued to be one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, showing rapid growth in both the number of businesses and total sales during this time period,’ said Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg.”

Now the bad news: Of the 1.9 million black-owned businesses, 1.8 million had no paid employees in 2007.

Because 82 percent of business startups, both large and small, require capital beyond the owners’ personal assets, access to capital remains a major concern.

“Minority small business owners are disproportionately denied credit when they apply for it even after controlling for other variables such as business credit scores, personal wealth, and revenues. These findings hold true particularly for black and Hispanic business owners,” according to an issue brief by the SBA. The variation of home ownership can also be a factor.

“Home ownership may provide an important catalyst to small business growth, but it may also serve as a barrier to entry for prospective entrepreneurs,” the SBA said. “For instance, business growth can bridge the wealth gap between minorities and non-minorities across geneder.

Among existing businesses, home ownership significantly decreases the probability of loan denials and can be critical to such growth.”

According to Census data, 78.2 percent of business owners owned homes in 2012. Research shows that 72.6 percent of whites own homes, 58.7 percent of Asians, 47.2 percent of Hispanics and 43.8 percent of blacks.

Clearly, a number of factors contribute to whether blacks own their own businesses. The SBA must play of stronger role in opening the doors for blacks, not just “minorities.”

(George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He can be reached via www.georgecurry.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.)

FACEBOOK FAN OF THE WEEK Name: Clarissa Tye-Jones

Tri-State Defender Platform

1. Racial prejudice worldwide must be destroyed.

2. Racially unrestricted membership in all jobs, public and private.

3. Equal employment opportunities on all jobs, public and private.

4. True representation in all U.S. police forces.

5. Complete cessation of all school segregation.

6. Federal intervention to protect civil rights in all instances where civil rights compliance at the state level breaks down

Clarissa Tye-Jones is this weekʼs TSD Facebook Fan of the Week! A native of Middleton, Tenn., Clarissa graduated from Middleton High School and later earned a degree from Tennessee State University. She is a merchandiser for Driveline Retail Merchandising, and also an independent consultant for Arboone.

Clarissa enjoys sports, especially racing, and loves to listen to music by artists such as Jill Scott and John Legend.

Thanks Clarissa Tye-Jones for excelling in Memphis and for being a part of the TSD Facebook family!

DISTRIBUTION: Tri-State Defender is available at newsstands, street sales, store vendors, mail subscription and honor boxes throughout the Greater Memphis area. No person may, without prior written permission of the Tri-State Defender, reprint any part of or duplicate by electronic device any portion without written permission. Copyright 2014 by Tri-State Defender Publishing, Inc. Permission to Publisher, Tri-State Defender, 203 Beale Street, Suite 200, Memphis, TN. 38103. Back copies can be obtained by calling the Tri-State Defender at (901) 523-1818, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Dear Lucy: Is it my imagination or is there a new level of interest in things that pertain to women? Everywhere I look, there is something about women’s rights or beauty or abuse. There is just so much attention on women now. I don’t know whether to be sad or glad. What is going on?

– Confused Woman

A proud black feminist

In a world that is dominated by men, especially white men, feminism is, for me, an empowering concept.

It is a movement, which in the United States, according to Wikipedia, is aimed at “defining, establishing and defending equal social, economic and political rights for women.”

It is certainly possible to argue that women have come a long way, but while we out-enroll men in college attendance, we don’t out earn them, no matter our level of education. We don’t out-represent them in elected office, or even in the higher echelons of employment, such as the Fortune 500 corporations. Women are doing better than we ever did and we still have a long way to go.

The feminist movement shows up differently in the African-American community. Our nation’s antipathy toward black men suggests that men of African descent are not the same oppressors that white men are, bearing the burden of oppression themselves.

At the same time, who rapes and beats and black women? Dare I say that the oppressors of African-American women are likely to be AfricanAmerican men? Do I dare say that sisters need to step up and raise their voices without risking the inevitable backlash that comes from black men?

When African-American women embrace the title “feminist” we are somehow seen as attacking black men. Actually, we are simply standing up for ourselves and for our communities.

African-American people can’t fight the war against racism if half of the army is disabled. We can’t fight for our boys and, yes, our girls unless more of us speak up, stand up, and surround our babies with tender loving care. We can’t build whole and healthy communities unless the needs of both women and men are addressed. President Obama has addressed “My Brother’s Keeper. Who will be my sister’s keeper?

When African-American women, and especially our young girls, see attention focused on black men, won’t they wonder, “What about me?” All of our young people are under attack, but while black men explode into riveting headlines, black women implode eating too much (obesity among us is nearly 50 percent), giving too much, and not taking care of self at all. Who takes care of these women and reminds them that it is OK to stand up for themselves?

That’s why through it all, I stand

firm on my feminism. I want women to know that they are enough. I tell young women that men are like icing, and women like cake. You can have cake without icing, but not icing without Julianne cake. Nobody is Malveaux kicking our brothers to the curb, and women need the affirmation that they are OK, partner or not, child or not. And that we, women, can lean on our sisters, and ourselves when other support is not there.

Of course, we are inextricably intertwined, the women and the men and the children who must support each other and live out our dreams in tandem. These dreams only work in tandem when the dreamers consider themselves equal partners in this game called life. The same patriarchy that allows White men to oppress women shows up in a twisted form when Black men, with much less power than White men, oppress women.

During this Women’s History Month, I write in the name of Maria Stewart, a sister who, in the early 19th century, spoke about women’s rights and supported the anti-slavery movement. She was the first American woman who spoke to a mixed audience of men and women (according to Wiki and other Internet sources) and the first African-American woman to speak about women’s rights. She started her professional life as a maid, and ended it in Washington, D.C. as a teacher and a matron at Freedman’s Hospital. In the middle, she shook it up, earning both the respect and the ire of her colleagues.

If you stand on the shoulders of Maria Stewart, you are undergirded by this amazing feminist who took to the stage before the White Grimke sisters did. What price did she pay?

How was she affected?

Even as we passionately support Black men we must, in the name of Maria Stewart, embrace and support Black women. We lift as we climb.

Let’s lift us all!

(NNPA columnist Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.based economist and writer. She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.)

How simple a thing itseems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers names – Alice Walker SUBSCRIPTIONS: Mail subscriptions to the Tri-State Defender are available upon request.

One Year, $30.00; Two Years, $55.00. Domestic subscriptions must be addressed to: Subscriptions, Tri-State Defender, 203 Beale Street, Suite 200, Memphis, TN. 38103. Delivery may take one week.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tri-State Defender, 203 Beale Street, Suite 200, Memphis, TN. 38103.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Any and all inquiries can be made in writing, by calling (901) 523-1818 or by e-mail.

TELEPHONE: Editorial and Administration: (901) 523-1818. Display Advertising (901) 523-1818. Classified Advertising (901) 523-1818. Fax: (901) 578-5037.

E-MAIL: Editorial e-mail (press releases, news, letters to editor, etc.): editorial@tristatedefender.com; Display advertising e-mail (ads, advertising price requests, etc.): advertising@tri-statedefender.com; Classified advertising e-mail (ads, advertising price requests, etc.): classifieds@tri-statedefender.com; Subscription/Circulation e-mail (subscriptions, subscription price requests, etc.): subscriptions@tri-statedefender.com; Production e-mail (technical questions/specs, etc.): production@tri-statedefender.com.

The Tri-State Defender (USPS 780-220) is published weekly by Tri-State Defender Publishing Co., 203 Beale Street, Suite 200, Memphis, TN 38103. Second Class postage paid at Memphis, TN.

Dear Confused Woman: I notice it too. But what I see looks like a long overdue push back.

There is nothing new about feminism and there have been lots of myths around about Lucy what it means to Shaw be a feminist. To stand up for equal treatment of women does not mean that you have to be female or gay, or liberal or support abortion or atheists or any thing of the sort. I think it is simply enough to expect to be treated respectfully, to be treated equally and to be able to speak your mind without fear of censure.

Sure, there are other important issues such as race, culture, poverty and so on. But gender is pretty significant. After all, it takes a female to get other humans into the world...good, bad or indifferent, we all have mothers.

As I am on the latter edge of being a baby boomer and the verge of whatever it is that comes after “boomers,” I know that I am a lot more vocal than ever before about what it means to be a female. I am somewhat resentful of the commercialization of aging and the burden to be skinny, athletic, cute, have skin without pores, wear shoes that hurt, dresses with too much spandex, apply a cream for my face, one for my hair, one for my feet and one for my hands.

And when you don’t participate in the game, you get to stand in line at the check-out and read the front of all the magazines reminding you of what a loser you must be because you don’t look like the twenty one year old advertising the latest antiaging product.

And as a “boomer” I am very sensitive to all of the media messages that target my eight-year-old granddaughter. She is being systematically programmed not to like herself or not to ever be enough. It’s in the games that she has downloaded on my iPad. There is one for creating bizarre outfits, making multi-colored hairstyles, applying weird looking makeup and painting nails in decorative designs. While I appreciate the encouragement of creativity in her, I feel compelled to be certain that she still has the capacity to read, write and do arithmetic.

So, in retaliation, I have become very conscious, as is her mother, of what she is thinking about who she is, who she can become and what we affirm that she is. I did not have the Internet to provide instant news and opportunities to compare myself with folk I don’t know and may never know. No Instagram, tweets or texts either.

I think that today, in many ways, every generation of women is finding its own way to fight back. The expectations of women to be a certain way have simply gotten out of hand. Ask yourself how much time you spend getting dressed, getting made up, getting nails and hair done, shopping for the new outfit, surfing the net looking at styles and unrealistic models of beauty. How many men do this? Really?

We don’t have to fight back by not taking care of ourselves. We can begin by loving, supporting and encouraging each other. Stop criticizing, condemning and judging other women. Celebrate yourself and uplift another woman today and be glad for the voice to do so!

Lucy

(Check out Lucy Shaw’s website at http://www.heartworks4u.com. Send your questions to lucy@heartworks4u.com.)

Your letters to the editor are welcome. For verification, please include your name, address and telephone number.

Mail to: In The Mail, Tri-State Defender, 203 Beale St., Ste. 200, Memphis, TN 38103 E-mail: inthemail@tri-statedefender.com Maximum length: 300 words (subject to editing for clarity)

IN THE MAIL

Tri-State Defender

NEWS

March 27 - April 2, 2014

Tracing family’s roots gives a ‘broader sense of self’ NNPA News Service

by Jazelle Hunt

WASHINGTON– For African Americans, the quest to trace one’s origins is fraught with mystery and dead-ends.

But with time and a willingness to dig, it’s totally feasible – and often rewarding.

“Now that I know or have an idea about my family and genetic past, it gives me a broader sense of self,” says James Morgan III, who has been tracing his lineage for the past six years. “To be able to view myself more – not as a one-dimensional person, just American – but as a citizen of the world, of space and time, is something that I think everyone deserves.”

Morgan, a New Jersey native, began researching his ancestry in college. But his interest in topic began much earlier.

“I had an experience when I was in second grade that always stuck with me. I needed some family history and didn’t have any that I knew of,” he explains, recalling a family tree-related assignment. “I’m doing this primarily for my unborn children, grandchildren, and great-grand children. I didn’t want them to feel like they didn’t come from anything.”

To date, Morgan has gone as far back as 10 generations on his mother’s side and nine generations on his father’s, gathering and digitizing as many photos, names, places, and stories as he finds.

Diving into his bloodlines, Morgan has discovered family members who fought in the Revolutionary War, the 19thcentury equivalent of an interracial marriage, a great great-uncle who worked for Al Capone, and a slave-owning black doctor.

Through his research, he has met descendants of the family that owned his ancestors, as well as the European descendants he’s related to through marriage.

He’s even learned that Afrocentric psychology scholar Na’im Akbar, and Rosa Parks are his not-so-distant cousins.

But for African Americans, genealogy only goes so far.

Thanks to the mainstreaming of DNA testing, more African Americans can dig to the roots of their family trees. African Ancestry, the only blackowned genetic ancestry company in the country, garnered acclaim for tracing the African genes of Oprah Winfrey, Dick Gregory, Dorothy Height, and a host of other prominent African Americans.

“Like most African Americans, you always have the question of where we’re from.

And what better way to find out than genetically,” says Antoine Quichocho of Colorado.

He had been inspired by Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s PBS series, “Finding Your Roots,” which used the company’s services.

“A majority of people I talk to are hesitant because of the cost, and honestly I was too.

But I’d say, save up if you have

to.”

L i k e most DNA testing companies, African Ancestry can assess how much of a DNA sample has African, James Asian, NaMorgan III tive American, and/or European origins.

Unlike other DNA testing companies, African Ancestry has spent more than a decade compiling Gina the world’s Paige largest database of indigenous African DNA samples. The company compares clients’ DNA to database samples, and determines which country’s samples the DNA matches most closely.

“Our mission is to transform the way people view themselves and Africa,” says African Ancestry CEO, Gina Paige. “Knowing the group of people you share your history with plays a huge role in family legacy. Right now, Black Americans are the only people in the United States that can’t point to their exact origin.”

Quichocho believes that this is a very important aspect of genetic lineage, as some African nations offer citizenship, land, and/or rights to displaced African descendants.

But more importantly, testing his DNA answered questions for him and his family. “(I knew) absolutely nothing. I had started doing some Ancestry.com kind of services but I never completed it. Beyond that, we just (had) family stories,” he says. “There’s only so much you can get from oral stories because it’s limited to someone else’s memory and perception, and how that story was passed down to them. It’s like a historical game of telephone, and you’re trying to figure out what part of it is true.”

On the other hand, Paige, who comes from a family of genealogists, thinks a combination of genetic and genealogical research is useful.

“Depending on your goals, continue with the paper trail.

Once it ends, you can use African Ancestry to bridge the gap,” Paige says. “There’s value in both. I don’t think you necessarily have to do one and not the other.”

Oral history is a good way to find a family’s paper trail – in fact, much of what is known about the African-American experience is a result of the preservation of first-hand accounts. For this reason, African American oral history projects of varying sizes have proliferated in nearly every state.

The National Visionary

Leadership Project (NVLP) is one such organization. The project, founded in 2001 by Camille Cosby and Renee Poussaint, seeks to record, preserve, and share the stories of African Americans elders who have transcended barriers in their communities and/or in society at-large. The resulting records are housed at the Library of Congress for posterity.

Florida native Victoria Kirby participated in the project by recording the experience of Vada Butcher, the first female dean of the Howard University School of Fine Arts. A piano prodigy, Butcher’s legacy also includes pioneering the study of ethnomusicology, in general, and as a niche program at Howard. Although Kirby believes Butcher’s immediate family and friends know about her accomplishments, that knowledge might have remained in that small circle if not for the record they created.

“There isn’t a whole lot of information about her available on the Internet, I think largely because she ended her career before the age of the Internet,” Kirby says. “If she were doing the things that she did 50 years ago, now, she’d be up there with the Michael Eric Dysons and Cornell Wests. She’s probably talked about her experiences with others, but no one ever recorded it.”

For those interested in starting this process in their own lives, Kirby, Paige, and Morgan agree that talking to the eldest person or people is the first step. Paige also recommends getting children involved, as elders are often more comfortable sharing stories with the young people in their family.

Kirby adds, “I wouldn’t wait too much longer. If you’re interested you should just do it now. The older your family members get, the less likely they’re going to remember important details about your family history, and once they pass away the opportunity is gone.”

Technology has also done wonders in allowing families to dig better, and faster. Many state and local archives, some Library of Congress resources, and other historical collections can now be accessed online.

And with the ubiquity of social media, it’s easier to find and contact distant family members to confirm and pool existing knowledge.

Other helpful resources include local and state historical archives and collections, the 1890 Census (which was the first to count Black Americans), the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., the National Archives’ African American Heritage Collection, the Library of Congress, and in limited cases, the Moorland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University.

“I’m not unique. My story, having all these relatives, is not unique,” Morgan shares. “It’s just, if you don’t take the time out to look, you will never find it.”

Page 5

NATIONAL

Page 6

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

Parents of Hadiya Pendleton ‘still mourning’ NNPA News Service

by Jazelle Hunt

WASHINGTON – After a long day of traveling, then networking on Capitol Hill, Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton returned to their downtown Washington, D.C. hotel and dressed for a dinner in their honor. Later that evening, they shook hands and smiled for photographs as they accepted the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year Award, an accolade they earned as a result of their work against gun violence in the aftermath of their 15-year-old daughter’s death. They shared the honor with the parents of Jordan Davis, a black teen killed in Jacksonville, Fla. “We are mourning still. We still wake up every day and have to determine what to do, whether what we’re doing is right for us,” Cleopatra says.

“So many people want to see something positive come from this, a lot of people came to us and said we need to do something. They empowered us.”

Not as much as the parents have empowered Black America.

On Jan. 29, 2013 their daughter, Hadiya Pendleton, went to the park with friends to enjoy an unseasonably warm Chicago afternoon after a day of final exams. There, her life was taken by a pair of gang-affiliated young men not much older than she, who fired into the group of teens sheltering

from a passing rain after mistaking one of them for a rival gang member. Hadiya was hit in the back and passed away in the arms of two friends.

For months afterward, her name was emblazoned in headlines, sometimes with a daysold photo of her performing in President Barack Obama’s second Inaugural Parade. Other times, the headlines accompanied a video of her parents, evenly imploring the nation to honor Hadiya and other victims by passing common-sense gun laws.

Hadiya’s death was the last of 44 homicides that month in Chicago.

In the black community, gun violence is horrifyingly common.

Homicide is the number-one cause of death for black males ages 15 to 34, according to 2010 data collected by the Centers for Disease Control.

Between 2008 and 2009, black teenage boys were eight times as likely to die (and 25 times as likely to be injured) at the barrel of a gun than White teen boys.

Globally, a report released last year by the Institutes of Medicine and the National Research Council finds that the rate of firearm-related homicide is 19.5 times higher than the rates in other industrialized countries.

“Sometimes a person that’s just interested (in reducing gun violence) can be a little more insensitive without knowing they are. But people who’ve

Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr., father of Hadiya Pendleton, speaks about his daughterʼs death as his wife, Cleopatra, looks on (Photo: NNPA/Roy Lewis).

been there – you don’t even have to say certain things,” Nathaniel says. “…They can look into our eyes and see when we’ve had enough,” Cleopatra adds, finishing his sentence.

Like Ronald Davis and Lucia McBath (Jordan Davis’ parents), and Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin’s parents) before them, the Pendletons join a growing movement of parents who have

(NNPA) – Marissa Alexander, the Jacksonville, Fla. woman denied immunity under the state’s Stand Your Ground Law, will stand trial again on July 28th. She is under house arrest after serving three years of a 20-year sentence in prison

Black economics, growing income gap focus of NNPA luncheon NNPA News Service

WASHINGTON – The economic status of African Americans and the “crisis-level” income gap between the rich and the poor was the agenda of this year’s State of the Black Press luncheon at the National Press Club in D.C. The event (March 21st) sponsored by the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation featured discourse among journalists and financial experts.

They weighed in on different factors affecting black economics, including the crippling recession that some said wiped out gains made by middle-class blacks during the recent recession.

“The recession supposedly ended in 2009 but there are still adverse effects,” said economist Valerie Wilson, who works with the D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute. “At the rate of recovery that is taking place we will not reach prerecession employment levels possibly until 2018.”

Wilson took part in the panel, “Access to Economic Opportunity,” which was moderated by NNPA News Service Editor-in-Chief George E. Curry. Author Maggie Anderson and William Spriggs, former Assistant Secretary of

heal Chicago by creating a community of support and embracing at-risk youth. Two weeks ago, they received the keys for their new office space; currently, they are seeking funding and skilled individuals to help actualize and grow the organization.

“Us trying to reach and help other at-risk young adults is our way of trying to find some sort of forgiveness. In the end, you’ve got to have some sort of

Marissa Alexander back on trial in July

Author Maggie Anderson (center) talks about buying exclusively from African Americans. She shared the “Access to Economic Opportunity” panel with economist Valerie Wilson and William Spriggs, former Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration and chairman of Howard Universityʼs economics department.

(Photo: NNPA/Roy Lewis)

by James Wright

lost their children in a country that makes it easy for anyone to obtain guns, legally and illegally. The Pendletons are using their still-fresh grief as a platform, telling their story in TIME, “The Chicago Tribune,” the Associated Press, MSNBC, and more media outlets in the hopes of spurring change.

In addition, the family is launching the Hadiya Foundation, a non-profit that hopes to

Labor in the Obama administration and chairman of Howard University’s economics department, also sat on the panel.

Spriggs said income inequality is fast becoming an unfortunate fact of life.

“The collapse of the economy in the late-2000s affected the lower 99 percent of the population but the 1 percent still did well,” he said. “The top 500 (Standard & Poor) corporations got 30 percent of the income while the middle class is increasingly on a down escalator. The growing income inequality is at a crisis level.”

Income inequality, said Spriggs, started when President Reagan claimed that middleand low-income Americans were hampering the economic growth of the country.

“Reagan told the 80 percent at the top of the economic ladder that they were being hurt by the 20 percent on the bottom because of the government,” Spriggs said. “That is an example of class warfare and there are some people now trying to recreate that Reagan moment.”

Anderson received national attention in 2009 when she and her family decided to live for a year solely on products and services provided by black businesses. Her, “Our Black Year,” chronicled the struggle

for black businesses in the Chicago metropolitan area despite its huge black population and spending power. ”There was only one black grocery store in all of Chicago and it was very nice,” she said.

“It only lasted eight months.”

Anderson managed to buy gas from a black-owned Citgo service station that was miles away from her home and frequently bought produce from black farmers in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. She said the experience taught her that black businesses do not engage black consumers enough and that the services of black professionals must be used.

“In order to find a black business, one should go to their area Black Chamber of Commerce and Urban League,” she said.

Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., said that sometimes Black businesses do not want to be identified as such, which he said is a mistake.

“There is a stigma about black businesses not being good enough to provide quality services and products and that is not true,” Busby said.

“Businesses should be proud to be black.”

(Special to the NNPA from the Washington Informer.)

for firing what she called a warning shot to stop the attack of her estranged, abusive husband. Alexander, who had no criminal record, had a restraining order against her former husband and said she feared for her life.

closure,” Nathaniel explains.

“I’m learning to understand the younger generation…the best way to understand is to try to talk to and interact with them.

I’ve learned a lot of them just need someone to talk to, to vent to. A lot of them are raising themselves.”

The Newsmaker of the Year Award is awarded to someone who has made significant news in the Black Press during the previous year. Only one person is usually awarded, but an exception was made this year to honor both the Pendletons, and Ronald Davis and Lucia Mcbath for their tireless work on gun control in the wake of their children’s deaths.

And the fight is far from over. Last April, three key gun control bills – a ban on assault weapons, a ban on high-capacity magazines, and expanded background checks – all died in the Senate, as survivors of recent mass shootings looked on from the Senate gallery. It was perhaps the last opportunity for the Obama administration to legislate gun control. “(Gun control) is a very real issue for us. Hadiya was just a kid in high school hanging out with her buddies,” Cleopatra says of her daughter, a loved older sister, drum majorette, and honors student who was just beginning to think about her future. “It’s not just those in the element being harmed.

(Her death) is like a banner that reads, ‘Coming to a Porch Near You.’”

BUSINESS

Tri-State Defender

Page 7

March 27 - April 2, 2014

ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

President Barack Obama has been very vocal about the significance of small businesses to our economy. According to the White House website, www.Whitehouse.gov, the President views small businesses as “the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our communities”.

Unlike their Fortune 500 business counterparts, whose heavily entrenched internal culture makes swift change difficult, small businesses are agile, more flexible and can adapt more readily when the economy requires or the business model no longer works. So it comes as no surprise that we as a community put forth every effort to support and grow our small businesses.

Frequently forced to wear many hats, small business owners often juggle legal, accounting, marketing, operations, hiring, firing, manufacturing and distribution duties.

Some do it all of this while

Building ‘The Team’

maintaining a full time job and family.

The idea is to grow the business enough so that the entrepreneur can leave the job and Carlee McCullough focus on the business.

But how do you get the support to build the business? Often the answer comes in the form of other small businesses such as lawyers, accountants, marketing, insurance and real estate professionals. Building a team is the first step.

Legal: Structure, trademark, partners

Legal should be first on the

team. Why? Because the first step to starting a business is to create the business structure.

Too many times startups begin as sole proprietorships rather than as a corporation, S-corporation, or limited liability company. As a sole proprietor, the individual business owner exposes personal assets to creditors of the business. Personal bank accounts, equity in the home and any other personal or real property owned is fair game to a creditor or plaintiff in a lawsuit.

Depending on the service or product, there may need to be protection in the form of a patent, trademark or copyright. If the service or product is not protected properly, the result may be dilution in sales when others copy it.

Additionally, the early creation of contracts that identify ownership share, continued contribution effects and orga-

nizational structure will be invaluable as the business begins to grow and flourish.

Marketing

While all professional services are important, marketing is the key to growth. The business can have a great product capable of solving all the world’s problems. However, if no one knows that the product exists or how to get it, there will be no sales and no problems solved.

Marketing provides that much needed boost to the business and cannot be ignored or delayed. Marketing should be a component from the beginning throughout the life of the business in some form or fashion.

Insurance

If the business has assets or

employees, insurance needs to be a priority. Not only does the business need to protect the uniqueness of its products and services, but the assets need to be protected.

There are so many types of insurance available that having an insurance professional on your team is crucial.

Whether it is life insurance, health insurance, income replacement insurance, workers compensation insurance or disability insurance, understanding the options, pricing and priority can have a major impact on the business.

Real Estate

Deciding where to place the business is critical to the longterm and short-term success of the business. The services of a real estate professional to aid in finding the best location for the budget available may

come at a surprisingly low cost.

Typically, the real estate agent or broker is paid from a percentage of the lease by the leasing company or from the closing costs, if a purchase is made. The real estate professional is trained to evaluate traffic, population, income levels of the population, and negotiate pricing.

NOTE: Learn more about building the team this Saturday, March 29th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during a business seminar titled “The Team” at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library at 3030 Poplar Ave. Seating is limited. Call 901-795-0050 to reserve a seat.

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

MONEY MATTERS

Linking traditional IRAs, tax management and retirement

Traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can be a good way to save for retirement. If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan or would like to supplement that plan, a traditional IRA could work for you.

A traditional IRA is simply a tax-deferred savings account that has several investing options and is set up through an investment institution. For instance, an IRA can include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cash equivalents, real estate, and other investment vehicles.

One of the benefits of a traditional IRA is the potential for tax-deductible contributions. In 2014, you may be eligible to make a tax-deductible contribution of up to

$5,500 ($6,500 if you are 50 or older).

Contribution limits are indexed annually for inflation.

You can contribute Charles Sims Jr., CFP directly to a traditional IRA or you can transfer assets directly from another type of qualified plan, such as a SEP or a SIMPLE IRA. Rollovers may also be made from a qualified employersponsored plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), after you change jobs or retire.

Not everyone contributing to a traditional IRA is eligible for a tax deduction. If you are an active participant in a qualified workplace retirement plan – such as a 401(k) or a simplified employee pension plan – your IRA deduction may be reduced or eliminated, based on your income.

In 2014, for example, if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is $60,000 or less as a single filer ($96,000 or less for married couples filing jointly), you can receive the full tax deduction. On the other hand, if your AGI is more than $70,000 as a single filer ($116,000 for married couples filing jointly), you are not eligible for a tax deduction. Partial deductions are allowed for single filers whose

incomes are between $60,000 and $70,000 (or between $96,000 and $116,000 for married couples filing jointly). If you are not an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you are eligible for a full tax deduction.

Nondeductible contributions may necessitate some very complicated paperwork when you begin withdrawals from your account. If your contributions are not tax deductible, you may be better served by another retirement plan, such as a Roth IRA. (The maximum combined annual contribution an individual can make to traditional and Roth IRAs is $5,500 in 2014.)

The funds in a traditional IRA accumulate tax deferred,

which means you do not have to pay taxes until you start receiving distributions in retirement, a time when you might be in a lower tax bracket. Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. Withdrawals taken prior to age 59½ may also be subject to a 10 percent federal income tax penalty. Exceptions to this early-withdrawal penalty include distributions resulting from disability, unemployment, and qualified first home expenses ($10,000 lifetime limit), as well as distributions used to pay higher-education expenses.

You must begin taking annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a traditional IRA after you turn 70½ (starting no later than April 1 of the year after the year you

reach 70½), or you will be subject to a 50 percemt income tax penalty on the amount that should have been withdrawn. Of course, you can always withdraw more than the required minimum amount or even withdraw the entire balance as a lump sum.

An IRA can be a valuable addition to your retirement and tax management efforts.

By working with a financial advisor, you can determine whether a traditional IRA would be appropriate for you.

(Charles Sims Jr. is president/ CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.co m.)

WORKFORCE READY!

Making a living or making a life?

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Herbert Lester

Today’s employers are not looking for people who want to work to make a living, they are looking for people who, more importantly, want to make a life.

Consider our parents and our grandparents and how they were able to do so much with so little for so long. They knew the difference between making a living and making a life. While it may seem like purely a matter of semantics, believe me, it’s more than just a play on words.

Knowing which you are focused on can make the difference.

Making a living focuses on acquiring and managing material resources. The majority of your time, energy and talent(s) are focused on just that; satisfy-

ing your basic material needs and the gratification that comes with it; making a living.

You are constantly in survival Herbert m o o d .

Lester F o o d , clothing, shelter, and the other fundamentals are all that matter.

When you have more resources, you simply survive at a higher level. You might live “better,” but your focus is still on making a living. You may wear nicer work clothes, drive a more expensive car, live in a more affluent neighborhood or send your children to superior schools, but your focus is still on making a living. The

more tools you have your in moneymaking toolkit, i d e a l l y, the more money you can m a k e .

However, Charles L. you make Ewing Sr. money as part of moving toward your goal, which has not changed: to make a living.

Making a life, on the other hand, most certainly involves making a living, but making a living is not the end goal. It is rather one of many means toward another end, and not an end in itself.

Making a life is the goal.

If you’ve ever heard local entrepreneur Charles L. Ewing Sr., founder, CEO and

President of Ewing Moving, tell his story, then you can visualize what I mean.

Ewing started in maintenance at a local publishing copy, but was determined to move up in the company so that he could own his own business one day. At a time when race was a barrier and nobody of his race had ever done what he proposed to do, he stuck to his guns and did the unthinkable: he succeeded.

With perseverance and persistence, Ewing bought one truck to work with through his credit union even though his co-workers told him it could not be done.

He then bought another, and the rest, as they say, is history.

If Abraham Maslow can be believed, and I think to some degree he can, the person intent on building a life (such as Ewing) is the person moving toward “selfactualization.” In Maslow’s classic Hierarchy of Needs, the self-

actualized person is a critical thinker, a creative problem solver, lacks prejudices and is thus great at collaboration, and is grounded in the here and nowness of any situation.

These are the people employers want to hire. These are the tools needed for a global workforce.

(To reach Herbert Lester, email WORKFORCE READY at inthemail@tri-statedefender.com.)

RELIGION

Page 8

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

RELIGION BRIEFS Last Sunday of Men’s Month at The New Olivet Baptist

The annual Men’s Month celebration at The New Olivet Baptist Church concludes Sunday with two services.

At 11 a.m., the Rev. Michael Williams will be the featured speaker. The special guest at 6 p.m. will be Dr. Thomas L. Murray with the ATOP Male Chorus.

The New Olivet’s monthlong celebration is designed to raise money for the King Solomon Scholarship Fund for young African-American male college freshmen. It features a

series of speakers and began March 2nd.

The New Olivet Baptist Church is located at 3084 Southern Ave. The host pastor is the Rev. Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. For more details regarding Men’s Month and the King Solomon Scholarship Fund, call 901-454-7777.

BRIEFLY: First Cumberland Presbyterian Church’s Branch Out Spring Music Festival will be held April 5th at 8161 Germantown Rd. in Olive Branch, Miss. The free festival is set to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.

March bestsellers: Van Moody and Patricia Haley Bestselling authors, Van Moody (“The People Factor” – Nonfiction) and Patricia Haley (“Humbled” – Fiction) lead the bestsellers list of Black Christian authors on the March 2014 edition of the Black Christian News/Black Christian Book Company National Bestsellers List.

Top 10 Black Christian Bestsellers List (Non-fiction) 1. “The People Factor: How Building Great Relationships and Ending Bad Ones Unlocks Your God-Given Purpose” by Van Moody (Thomas Nelson) 2. “Uncommon Marriage: Learning about Lasting Love and Overcoming Life’s Obstacles Together” by Tony Dungy, Lauren Dungy and Nathan Whitaker (Tyndale Momentum) 3. “America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great” by Ben Carson (Zondervan) 4. “Captivated: Beholding the Mystery of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection” by Thabiti Anyabwile 5. “Kingdom Woman: Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities” by Tony Evans and Chrystal Evans Hurst (Tyndale) 6. “United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity” by Trillia J. Newbell (Moody Publishers) 7. “Reclaim Your Soul: Your Journey to Personal Em-

powerment” by Cindy Trimm (Destiny Image) 8. “Gifted Hands” by Ben Carson (Zondervan) 9. “The Uncommon Life Daily Challenge” by Tony Dungy (Tyndale) 10. “The 21-Day Financial Fast: Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom” by Michelle Singletary

On Women’s Day…

The Rev. Elaine Y. Sanford delivers her keynote address at the Annual Womenʼs Day Program at St. John Baptist Church at 640 Vance Ave. last Sunday (March 23rd). (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

PRAISE CONNECT

METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH Dr. Reginald L. Porter Sr., Pastor

ASSOCIATE MINISTERS

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

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

Evangelist Betty Owens gets a two-armed escort during the celebration of her 75th birthday last Friday (March 21st) at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Top 10 Black Christian Bestsellers List (Fiction) 1. “Humbled” by Patricia Haley (Urban Books) 2. “Fortune & Fame” by Victoria Christopher Murray & ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Touchstone) 3. “You Can Do It!” by Tony Dungy (Little Simon Inspirations) 4. “Casting The First Stone”

by Kimberla Lawson Roby (Kensington) 5. “A House Divided” by Kimberla Lawson Roby (Grand Central Publishing) 6. “Scandalous” by Victoria Christopher Murray (Liza Dawson Associates) 7. “A Family Affair” by ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Gallery Books) 8. “The Other Side of Dare”

by Vanessa Davis Griggs (Dafina) 9. “The Other Side of Divine” by Vanessa Davis Griggs (Dafina) 10. “Sister Betty Says I Do”

by Pat G’Orge-Walker (Kensington)

-A WEEKLY DIRECTORY OF MINISTERS & CHURCHES-

767 Walker Avenue Memphis, TN 38126

This is your time…

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

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

—Matthew 7: 1-2

Attend the Church of your choice

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

—Phillipians 4:13

ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, March 27 - April 2, 2014, Page 9

FRE&H FRUIT

E BRIEFS Memphis NAACP sets finals for Act-So competition

High school students will enter the final competition for ACT-SO (African-American, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics) sponsored by the Memphis Branch NAACP on Thursday (March 27th) at 4 p.m. at First Baptist ChurchBroad located at 2835 Broad Ave. Students will compete for medals in dance, dramatic, oratory, instrument and vocal music, original essay, poetry, filmmaking, drawing, painting, sculpture and photography. First place winners will be eligible to compete in the National ACT-SO competition in Las Vegas, Nev. sponsored by the local branch in July.

“The local competition serves to showcase the hard work students have put in all year long,” said Madeleine Taylor, executive director of the Memphis Branch NAACP. For the past 35 years, the Memphis Branch has consistently sponsored an ACT-SO team for the national competition and has been proud to bring home winners. ACTSO participants that are graduating seniors are eligible to compete for the Maxine A. Smith Scholarship, which was designed to further encourage their pursuit of academic excellence.

The awards program will be held at 6 p.m. Th event is free.

U Can of Memphis presents ‘Let’s Rap’ panel discussion

U Can of Memphis presents the “Let’s Rap” Dream Big Empowerment Panel Discussion at the House of Mtzenzi Museum at 1289 Madison Ave. on Saturday (March 29th).

The goal of “Let’s Rap” is to give teens a creative outlet to unplug hidden talents and discuss today’s issues.

Saturday’s event is from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will be hosted by James Wesby, co-founder/VP Business Development, Blocally.

Panelists include: Cynthia Daniels, president, Memphis Urban League Young Professions; Bernal E. Smith II, president/publisher, The New TriState Defender; Cathy Walton, state director of SCORE and owner of Bounce-N-Fun Events; Summer Owens, author, founder of “S.O. What”; Audrey P. Jones, CEO/cofounder of Kids360; and Marcus Dorris, owner of the Evergreen Grill.

For more information, call 901262-8642; visit www.ucanofmemphis.org.

New storyline and characters for ‘Black Soap’

Memphis playwright Florence “Flo” Roach will offer a new series of episodes in her highly successful “Black Soap” stage play beginning this May. “Black Soap” will kick off a new storyline with new characters in three shows at the Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center at St. Mary’s Episcopal School, 60 Perkins Ext. Opening night for the first episode of the new season is Friday, May 23rd at 7 p.m., with a VIP reception at 5:30 p.m. Other show times are 7 p.m. on May 24th and 3 p.m. on May 25th.

General admission tickets are $20 per person and $35 for VIP tickets, which will include reserved seating and a reception with fine food, drinks and more. For more information and for tickets, visit www.floroach.com.

Roach is the founder and artistic director of Ettaro Theater Company, a community theater group.

“In this new season,” says Roach, “Black Soap” fans can expect drama – deceit, family secrets, love, anger – and more drama. There will be music, laughter and tears. We’ll be featuring an all new storyline and all new characters and the trademark surprises, twists and turns that our fans have come to expect.”

The “Black Soap” series began in 2013.

Whet your whistle at Brooks Uncorked!

Brooks Uncorked! – billed as the ultimate wine tasting experience – is set for Friday (March 28th) at 7 p.m.

Attendees are invited to discover “unique vintages and gems” from around the world during the evening at the Brooks Museum in Overton Park. Featured will be 60 different wines and specialty cocktails from Busters, delectable small plates from local restaurants, a bottle pull and silent auction, live music and an after party on the museum terrace!

The night’s proceeds will benefit the Brooks educational programming and community outreach. For more information, visit MemphisWineandFoodSeries.org.

Tickets are $110, $90 for Brooks members ($125 at the door); $175 VIP tickets / $150 VIP tickets, Brooks members (Limited availability).

Kevin “Sleepy” Plunkett: “I like to listen to the kind of artist that makes me think.” (Photos: Kelvin Cowans)

Tazz Fields: “What weʼre concerned about is making sure that the artists leave with a product that they love.”

The duo at LiveTone Studios Kevin ʻSleepyʼ Plunkett and Tazz Fields are making it ʻall come togetherʼ Special to the New Tri-State Defender

by Kelvin Cowans

t was close to midnight when I finally made it to LiveTone studios located in what Urban Memphis calls “Blackhaven.” The term of endearment echoes the rich pride of the people who live in this part of town and would love nothing less than you knowing that they do.

I

I came in with a puzzled look on my face after passing by a couple of Memphis famous strip clubs in full swing. Kevin “Sleepy” Plunkett and Tazz Fields were inside taking a break from stirring up music magic and were awaiting my arrival. I kicked back on a couch, ink pen and paper in hand ready to do an interview. I quickly intertwined in a discussion about the state of the music world.

“I like a lot of things about music right now,” said Sleepy. “I like the different techniques used now. You can really tell that the people making the beats are giving them a lot of thought. I really do like a lot of the songs that come out. I don’t like them all, but I do like some.

“The music world has lost its realness and that’s an issue for me,” he said. “I’m heavy on that Kendrick Lamar right now, he’s real creative and I love it. And that’s because it’s hard for me to find artist I can relate to. I like to listen to the kind of artist that makes me think.”

Tazz feels the same way.

“It’s a lot of garbage out there. It’s like we don’t have kids out there or we don’t see kids out there. Music is not raising a nation like it used to. I miss groups like Earth,Wind and Fire and Public Enemy, Run DMC, etc.”

Is that what customers can expect when they come over here to record, I asked.

“Well, we record all kinds of music and an artist preference is on them. That’s not our guidelines. What we’re concerned about is making sure that the artists leave with a product that they love. If they don’t, then we feel like we haven’t done a good job,” said Tazz.

So what type of services do you offer here?

“You name it and we do it,” said Sleepy. “We engineer, write songs, produce them, master them and make the tracks. Some of our packages even include a videographer and our clients really love that.”

I quizzed Tazz, eager to find out if he could pinpoint when he fell

in love with “That’s easy, when I was a kid going to church,” he said. “I’d watch my father and uncle play the drums and other instruments and it made me want to do it also. I remember being so anxious to go to church just so I could hear the choir and the band.

“That also reminded me of when I was growing up and would see Michael Jackson performing live. He was epic and I wanted to grow up and become epic too. Like when I saw that “Billie Jean” video and when he would walk the sidewalk would light up. That was crazy creative.”

What about you Sleepy, when did you fall in love with music?

“Mane, I was in the 10th grade when I got the computer program called ‘Fruity Loops.’ I loved it. I would spend 3 to 4 hours a day making beats, over and over again.” said Sleepy.

I thought to ask when the two met.

“It just so happened that we were working at the same studio and ended up hearing each other’s music and we bonded from there,” said Tazz. “We’ve had a great working relationship over this last year and it’s only going to get better because we’re putting in the work.

“That’s actually one thing I love about the music business and that is that it’s a fair playing field. We no longer have to wait and see if a major label picks us up. We can hustle and get our sound out there on our own.”

I chimed in, recalling a Steve Harvey saying: “The dream is free but the hustle and work ethic are sold separately.”

“He sure know what to say,” said Sleepy.

What’s next for the duo at LiveTones Studios” “I will be finishing up an EP with this rapper named Yung Taz and then my focus will shift over to R&B singer Deanna C,” said Sleepy.

Tazz said he currently is working with the rap group RMG on a compilation.

“Then there’s E3 from over there at Yae Muzik and then this young lady by the name of Kina’ DelMar, so we’re keeping busy,” said Tazz. “It’s all coming together now and it’s mainly because we’ve kept our studio looking and feeling like your living room.

“And we don’t rush artists out no matter how long the session is for. When artists come and do business with us, they’re so relaxed and have such a great experience with us until they can’t do anything but come back again.”

Cool, I said, going for my signature question: “So, what are you guys’ favorite fruit?”

“Peaches,” said Sleepy “Bananas,” said Tazz.

(For more information: Email: Livetonestudios@gmail.com; Follow Twitter @livetonestudios; call Tazz Fields at 901-378-6071; reach Sleepy at 901-643-2263.)

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

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 10

March 27 - April 2, 2014

OPENING THIS WEEK

Tri-State Defender

BOOK REVIEW

Kam’s Kapsules:

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

Joe Manganiello (left), Terrence Howard and Sam Worthington star in Open Road Films' Sabotage, an action thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the commander of an elite DEA task force.

(Courtesy photo)

“Stokely: A Life”

by Peniel E. Joseph Basic Books Hardcover, $29.99 414 pages, Illustrated ISBN: 978-0-465-01363-0

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Kam Williams

For movies opening March 28, 2014

BIG BUDGET FILMS

“Noah” (PG-13 for violence, suggestive content and disturbing images) Russell Crowe plays the title character in Darren Aronofsky’s (Black Swan) intriguing reinterpretation of the Biblical parable about a righteous patriarch recruited by God to build an ark in the face of an impending flood. Co-starring Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and Nick Nolte.

“Sabotage” (R for sexuality, nudity, drug use, gory violence and pervasive profanity) Action thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the commander of an elite DEA task force which finds itself being taken down one-byone by a ruthless drug cartel. With Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Olivia Williams and Harold Perrineau.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

“Boys of Abu Ghraib” (R for torture, violence, sexuality and pervasive profanity) Unlikely-buddies drama about an American soldier (Luke Moran) stationed in Iraq who befriends a wrongly-accused, prison detainee (Omid Abtahi). With Sean Astin, Sara Paxton and John Heard.

“Breathe In” (R for profanity) Home-

In good company

wrecker drama about a beautiful, British exchange student (Felicity Jones) whose arrival in the States proves problematic when she brings the head (Guy Pearce) of her host family to the brink of breaking his marriage vows.

Cast includes Ben Shenkman, Amy Ryan and Kyle MacLachlan.

thriller revolving around the overnight janitor (Jason Spisak) at an Old West theme park who finds himself facing a life or death decision after delving into the mysteries surrounding his locker. With Tatyana Ali, Ricky Schroder and Curtis Armstrong.

“Finding Vivian Maier” (Unrated) Shutterbug retrospective showcasing the 100,000+ photos shot on the streets of Chicago by an unassuming nanny (1926-2009) who never even developed most of her negatives. Featuring Phil Donahue, Mary Ellen Mark and John Maloof.

“The Raid 2” (R for sexuality, profanity and pervasive graphic violence) Action-oriented sequel, set in Jakarta, finds detective Rama (Iko Uwais) now facing a gang of formidable thugs while trying to rid the police department of corruption. With Julie Estelle, Yayan Ruhian and Donny Alamsyah. (In Indonesian with subtitles)

“Cesar Chavez” (PG-13 for profanity and violence) Reverential biopic pays tribute to the life of the soft-spoken, Chicano labor leader (Michael Pena) who dedicated his career to securing a living wage for migrant farm workers.

Supporting cast includes John Malkovich, Rosario Dawson and America Ferrera.

“Hide Your Smiling Faces” (Unrated) Atmospheric coming-of-age tale, set in rural America, examining the effect of a friend’s (Ivan Tomic) mysterious death on a couple of carefree young siblings (Ryan Jones and Nathan Varnson). With Colm O’Leary, Thomas Cruz and Christina Starbuck.

“Jews of Egypt” (Unrated) Middle East documentary retracing the 1956 exodus from Egypt of Jews due to escalating tensions in the region generated by the Arab-Israeli conflict.

(In Arabic and French with subtitles)

“Locker 13” (R for violence) Supernatural

“Nothing without You” (Unrated) Crime thriller about a psychiatric patient (Emily Fradenburgh), accused of murder, who enlists the assistance of her court-appointed shrink (Keith McGill) to prove her innocence. Featuring Joshua Loren, Will Crawford and Kate Bringardner.

“Refuge” (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama about a youngster (Krysten Ritter) who does her best to care for herself and her siblings after they’re all abandoned by their parents.

Co-starring Brian Geraghty, Logan Huffman and Julie Garrett.

“Road to the Open” (PG for mild epithets and mature themes) Buddy dramedy about a guy (Phillip DeVona) who tries to help his reclusive best friend (Troy McKay) out of a rut by entering the two of them as a doubles team in a national tennis tournament. Support Cast includes Michelle Gunn, Eric Roberts, Judd Nelson and John Schneider.

TSD President/ Publisher Bernal E. Smith II with performers from the Dance Theatre of Harlem during a recent visit to the Joysmith Gallery in the South Main Art District at 46 Huling Ave. (Courtesy photo)

STUFF HAPPENS, THEN WHAT?

Is there a statute of limitations on the ‘Girlfriend Rule?’

The Dilemma: A young lady writes, “I met a very distinguished, articulate and fine specimen of a man, who makes me feel like a queen. We have known each other for 17 months and spent a great amount of time together. We have never defined our relationship in words except he says, ‘I’m his person.’ What does Yvette that mean exactly?

George “Then last week, I found out he dated a friend of mine 10 years ago and they were serious. Now, I don’t know what to do. He knows that we are friends, but he dated her before we became friends. We are both 47 years old. I think she will be mad once she finds out; my girlfriend is married and lives out of town. But I know she’s

very possessive of her friends, both women and men. What should I do?”

The Response: This is definitely an interesting predicament. You have to weigh your life.

This is a hard decision. Do you think this relationship is moving toward marriage? Is marriage is what you eventually want?

First, get him to define “his person” title. Ask him where this relationship is going. If it’s just causal to him and you’re looking for more, move on. If marriage hasn’t been discussed, he’s just not feeling you in that manner.

Next, talk to your girlfriend, she shouldn’t find out from someone else. If she knows about the relationship, be honest. Listen to her.

Then, ask her to listen to you. Hopefully, this exchange will be civil and calm. If it be comes hostile, discontinue the conversation and leave.

Have you ever heard about the ‘Girlfriend

Rule?’ It means this: “Never, ever date a Girlfriend’s Ex.” There’s too much drama attached to it. Now you have invested 17 months in this man that makes you feel good.

Here’s the bottom-line question: Which relationship is worth more to you?

You may be wrong about your girlfriend. If not, meditate, place it in the universe, ponder the situation. You may lose a friend. If so, part ways amicably.Time does heal, enjoy your life.

I’ll give you a pass on the ‘Girlfriend Rule’ this time because 10 years is a long time and she is married.

(Stuff Happens, Then What? is an advice and relationship column that answers questions about life issues, situations and challenges.

Send questions and dilemmas to StuffHappensThenWhat@yahoo.com. All parties will remain anonymous.)

‘Stokely: A Life’ Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Kam Williams

“It was Thursday, June 16, 1966… Less than a year before, President Lyndon Johnson had signed the Voting Rights Act… Stokely Carmichael was now in Mississippi to ensure that the federal laws… would apply to black sharecroppers living in plantation communities… “(Just) released from his latest stay in jail… Stokely’s voice broke through the humid Mississippi night… ‘This is the 27th time that I’ve been arrested,’ he shouted, ‘and I ain’t going to jail no more… We want black power!’

“Carmichael made a case for political revolution. ‘We have begged the president.

We’ve begged the federal government…

Every courthouse in Mississippi ought to be burned down tomorrow!’

“His life changed that night, and so did America’s civil rights movement. Black Power provoked a national reckoning on questions of civil rights, race and democracy.”

– Excerpted from the Prologue (pages 1-2)

Stokely Carmichael (1941-1998) was born in Trinidad but moved to Harlem at 11 where he joined his parents who had already emigrated to the U.S. An outstanding student, he attended NYC’s prestigious Bronx High School of Science and Howard University before turning down a fullscholarship from Harvard Graduate School in order to do pursue his passion, namely, civil rights work in the South.

Stokely rose to the rank of chairman in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, in which capacity he would forge a close relationship with one of his idols, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, he tired of the passive resistance approach after being repeatedly arrested, attacked, intimidated and terrorized by white supremacists for organizing poor black folks who just wanted to exercise their right to vote and to sit at a lunch counter.

Another one of Stokely’s heroes was Malcolm X, a militant firebrand who was no fan of turning the other cheek. And when Malcolm was assassinated in 1965, a huge leadership void was created in terms of African Americans advocating an “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” political ideology.

The very next year, Stokely, a charismatic speaker whose magnetism was matched only by his ambition, emerged as Malcolm’s heir apparent upon delivering his historic Mississippi speech during which he coined the term “Black Power.”

He rapidly skyrocketed to icon status as he crissPeniel E. crossed the country on Joseph the college and innercity circuits. In 1966, he also founded the Black Panther Party, which eventually blossomed into the preeminent, national, radical organization.

Given Stokely’s notoriety and resume, one would think that a biography of him would’ve been published before now. After all, both Malcolm and Dr. King have been the subject of beaucoup bios.

Perhaps Stokely’s been bypassed because he wasn’t a martyr, or because he left the U.S. for good after marrying singer Miriam Makeba in 1968. Regardless, thanks to Tufts University Professor Peniel Joseph, the fiery iconoclast is belatedly getting his due.

Meticulously-researched and painstakingly-detailed, “Stokely: A Life” is a fastflowing, informative read, which intimately follows its subject from the cradle to the grave in absorbing fashion. In the process, this powerful portrait effectively repositions him as an uncompromising prophet who played a pivotal role in the struggle for black equality.

A visionary of far more substance than the rallying cry he’d been reduced to by history.

COMMUNITY

Tri-State Defender

Page 11

March 27 - April 2, 2014

April 4th Foundation ‘steps’ forward Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Brittney Gathen

The April 4th Foundation will hold its 14th annual fundraising banquet on Friday, April 4th at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Peabody Hotel.

The banquet supports the foundation’s youth component of the “Footsteps” Program, which teaches students about the civil rights era through direct interaction with civil rights icons and visitation of historic places. The mission of the foundation is to “Tell the story…pass it on” and in the process detail the sacrifices and successes.

The Rev. Johnson Saulsberry Jr., founder of the April 4th Foundation, said the banquet has become “everything we wanted it to be, but there’s always room for growth. We look for that growth through the young people that we have in our youth program to help us grow into a bigger and better organization in the future.”

For Saulsberry, being knowledgeable about the civil rights era is important for progress.

“As a people, if we don’t know our past, we’ll Johnson definitely be Saulsberry doomed for our future. We have to be aware of our past, especially a past that’s so rich in history. We have such a rich background as a culture,” said Saulsberry.

The rich background is reflected in the award recipients that will be honored at the banquet.

Dr. C.T. Vivian of Atlanta, Ga., the recipient of the “I am a Man” award, worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was one of the movement’s main strategists. Saulsberry recalled Vivian being beaten on television, calling it the “second shot heard around the world” for African Americans.

The recipient of the foundation’s “Open Door Award” is Acacia Salatti, President Obama’s appointee as acting director of the Center for Faith-based and neighborhood Partnerships (The Partnership Center) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Other civil rights-era icons scheduled to attend include political activist Bobby Seale, who cofounded the Black Panther Party, becoming its high-profile national chairman.

For ticket sales and information, contact Attorney Charles E. Carpenter, Banquet Chairman at 901-523-7788.

Captain Anthony Holder, a 2013 TSD Men of Excellence honoree. (Courtesy photo)

Currently serving his 35th year as a FedEx pilot, Captain Anthony Holder has accumulated more than 20,000 hours of flying time. (Courtesy photo)

Captain Tony Holder: From ‘Superman’ to pilot and beyond Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Janas L. Jackson

Captain Anthony “Tony” Holder started to dream of flying at age seven. After watching an episode of “Superman” on his family’s black and white TV, his imagination took flight. Using a bath towel as his cape, he opened the front window of their first-floor apartment in the Bronx, N.Y. and leaped from the building.

Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and decades later he still remembers that defining moment in the Throggs Neck public housing project.

Today, Holder is a FedEx Captain of the Boeing 777 jumbo jet, the world’s largest twinjet, and he has traveled to nearly every corner of the earth. Currently serving his 35th year as a FedEx pilot, Holder has accumulated more than 20,000 hours of flying time and is in the upper echelon of experienced international airline pilots.

Holder’s journey into the world of aviation is a story about dreaming big and beating the odds.

“Growing up in my neighborhood, there were no aviation mentors and no one in my family had ever gone to college,” says Holder.

As one of six kids in a fourroom apartment that housed his parents, along with an aunt, uncle and their two children, Holder learned early how to make ends meet.

“My Dad was from North Carolina and I would spend my summers there walking behind a mule in hot tobacco fields and

picking cotton. Before I was 10, I could drive a tractor.”

While the lack of money was a drawback, it also ignited Holder’s spirit of innovation.

“I would see other kids riding their bikes around the neighborhood, but my folks couldn’t afford one for me,” he recalls. “I would go to the city dump and find spare parts, then come home and make my own bike.”

He also earned extra cash by hanging around neighborhood supermarkets to help people carry groceries to their cars. He saved the dimes and quarters shoppers would give him, then bought materials to make a shoeshine box. He earned more cash by finding spots along the streets of the Bronx to shine shoes. As a teen, he also worked in a supermarket stocking shelves and maintained a newspaper route.

While attending high school, Holder played basketball and had dreams of someday joining the New York Knicks.

“Deep down within, I had a feeling that a professional basketball career wasn’t going to happen but even after reaching my senior year, I still didn’t have a career goal. I hadn’t even thought about applying for college.”

One day, Holder overheard a classmate talking about Howard University.

“I didn’t know anything about Howard but when he said the school had pretty girls, I decided to learn more about it. After gathering a few details, I went to the guidance counselor and told her that I was interested in studying engineering, but she discouraged me. She told me that I would do

BRIEFS & THINGS

A prayer breakfast for the the ‘Sake of Our Childen’

My Leading Young Lady, Inc., a non-profit designed to equip and prepare young women 9-18 years of age and position them to become leading young women of tomorrow, will host a prayer breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday (March 29th) at the Hickory Hill Town Centre, 6075 Winchester Rd. The theme: “For the Sake of Our Children.”

“Our children are vexed and burdened with all kinds of societal problems that often prevent them from realizing their goal and potential in life.

With such a heavy load to carry, many of them consequently become victims and bound to a system that suppresses creativity and growth. It is our hope that we can make a difference in the lives of these children,” said Jaria Sharkey, executive director of MLYL. The prayer breakfast will provide opportunities for children to socialize, pray together and enjoy the camaraderie of each other, “as we seek to elevate them in society by mentoring them in a number of areas that is conducive to their growth,” said Sharkey.

Winston Stewart, a prolific gospel keyboardist, writer, producer and former member of the soul, R&B funk group The Bar-Kays, will provide music. Ladell Beamon, the CEO of Heal the Hood Foundation, will be the guest speaker.

Tickets to the prayer breakfast are $25 per person and can be purchased at www.myleadingyounglady.org.

For more information, call Jaria

Sisters Ashley Denton (left) and Destiny Denton were among the approximately 1,300 people who attended the Herb Kosten Pancreatic Cancer Research Foundationʼs 4th Annual Kick It 5K event that raised $100,000 for pancreatic cancer research last Sunday (March 23rd).

Commemoration set for Battle of Fort Pillow

A Civil War 150th Anniversary Commemoration will be held at Fort Pillow on April 12th. Heritage Tours will lead a bus tour to the historic site as a part of the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Observance.

Activities will include lectures,

walking tours, living history, encampments and public displays throughout the day.

“Remember Fort Pillow! Remember Fort Pillow!” Such was the rallying cry of the Civil War United States Colored Troops (USCT) as they charged into battle after hundreds of their fellow black troops were killed at Fort Pillow, April 12th, 1864. The Battle of Fort Pillow, also known as the Fort Pillow Massacre, was fought on the Mississippi River in Henning,

ʻTonyʼ Holder, Air Force Captain, 1978. (Courtesy photo) He soon encountered an unanticipated hurdle. The instructor in Holder’s pre-pilot training program told him that at a height of six feet, four inches he was too tall to be a pilot.

“The flight instructor refused to continue giving me instruction because of my physical limitations while trying to maneuver the flight controls,” says Holder.

“He suggested I not continue in this profession. But I was determined not to be discouraged and stayed in the Air Force pre-flight instruction program.”

In 1971, Holder graduated from Howard with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and was commissioned Second Lieutenant through the university’s Air Force ROTC. However, he decided to delay pilot training until he completed a one-year masters of business administration program at the University of Pittsburgh. While attending classes in Pittsburgh, Holder noticed that an Air National Guard facility was located near the university.

“I could see planes taking off while I was sitting in business classes. For me, this was a distraction because I really wanted to be a pilot,” says Holder.

During his second semester in the MBA program, he decided to

Tenn. The battle ended with a massacre of Federal troops, some while attempting to surrender, under the command of Confederate raider Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The families of two Fort Pillow Massacre USCT survivors – Pvt. Peter Williams and Pvt. Armstead Burgess – will be in attendance. The memorial service will include reading the names of the Union soldiers of the 2nd United States Colored Light Artillery, the 6th United States Colored Heavy Artillery and the Tennessee Calvary.

For more information, contact Heritage Tours at 901-527-3427 or email: heritagetours@bellsouth.net.

2014 Spring Market Expo set for April 12th

Sisters that kick…

Sharkey at 901.462.5239.

better in something like English.”

Holder had never done well in English but through research he learned that Howard also offered an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

“I applied to Howard, Hampton University and North Carolina A&T, but I didn’t have the money to go to either school,” says Holder. “I really didn’t know where to go for help so one day I walked into a bank and asked to see the manager. I told him that I wanted to go to college and asked if the bank would give me a loan. The bank manager handed me an application and told me to fill it out and have my parents sign it. I did and to my surprise, the bank approved the loan.”

Taking the advice of his high school guidance counselor, Holder applied to Howard University as an English major. When he arrived at campus, he found that one of his roommates was majoring in civil engineering.

“We went to register for classes together and instead of signing up for classes as an English major, I signed up for everything my roommate signed up for, which put me on the engineering track. I also registered for the Air Force ROTC program.”

Holder was informed that the Air Force ROTC curriculum required students to take extra exams to become officers and pilots in addition to passing the physical exam. “I had never seen this type of material before, but I passed every exam for officer and pilot training,” he recalls. “In fact, I was the only student in the program to pass all of the exams.”

The Elite Marketing Bureau, a small business development and marketing firm, and Community Elite, a professional business network, will host the 2014 Market Hall Spring Market Expo on April 12th at the Hickory Ridge Mall Towne Center at 6075 Winchester Rd. The free Expo is a celebration of business and community. Local business owners will sell and promote various products/ services and network with the community. There will be live performances by local artists, fashion shows, competitions, and more! Several events will take place during the day, the Hickory Hill Community Restoration Affair, the Hickory Hill Health Initiative, and the Hickory Hill Community Career & Job Fair.

Vendors still are being accepted!

For more information, contact

SEE PILOT ON PAGE 12

Matthew Hopson at the Elite Marketing Bureau at 901.406.1552 or email MarketHall2014@Gmail.com.

BRIEFLY: On April 3rd, Blues legend Bobby Rush will perform as a special guest artist with the Rhodes College Jazz Band. He is the college’s 2014 Curb Visiting Scholar in the Arts and has been meeting with students and the campus community in a series of events. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the new Hi-Tone Cafe, 412414 N. Cleveland. Tickets are $12 for the general public and available at www.hitonememphis.com. Proceeds go to support outreach efforts by the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes and Crosstown Arts. For more information, contact Dr. John Bass, director of the Mike Curb Institute for Music, at bassj@rhodes.edu or (901) 843-3786.

BRIEFLY: The 1944 Class of Manassas High School will hold its 70th class reunion brunch on April 5th at the Holiday Inn University Hotel, located at 3700 Central across from the University of Memphis, at 10 a.m. Contact any member of the Manassas Alumni Association to purchase a ticket. The cost is $40.00, and the amount will be used for student scholarships.

BRIEFLY: The Whitehaven Kiwanis Club will host its monthly evening meeting on April 8th from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Methodist South Hospital,1300 Wesley Dr. The special guest speaker will be Memphis City Councilman Myron Lowery. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Calvin Burton at 901-345-3695 or email cburton615@hotmail.com.

COMMUNITY

Page 12

‘We have to heal ourselves from the inside out’ Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Carlissa Shaw, Esq.

A 2014 call to action reverberated through the Cook Convention during the 38th annual Freedom Fund Gala hosted by the Memphis Branch NAACP. “We all have an obligation to give back. There is more that can be done. Get involved,” said keynote speaker Dr. Sampson Davis. “We have to heal ourselves from the inside out.”

A physician, author and founder of The Three Doctors Foundation, Dr. Davis’ notoriety rocketed after a visit to the “Oprah Winfrey Show” with his two childhood friends, who made a pact to become doctors.

During the gala last Thursday (March 20th), Davis discussed numerous topics that he sees as issues in the African-American community.

“Sustainable wealth is an issue for people of color. Payday loans are everywhere in our community but financial literacy is not,” he said.

Picking up on the theme of getting involved and giving back, Davis said he is driven to work in the community because he believes “to whom much is given much is required.”

He shared his personal story of a being boy from a rough neighborhood who was in trouble with the law at an early age but went on to become a doctor/author and so much more. He attributes his success to mentors and his two closets friends.

“When you hang out with the right people the smartness rubs off,” he said. “When you hang out with the wrong crowd the bad stuff rubs off.”

Children today have so many obstacles to overcome, he said.

“Showing your academic excellence is (considered) something to be ashamed of in most communities,” said Davis. “Young people need to know that education is cool.”

Gloria Sweet Love, president of the Tennessee Conference of NAACP branches, earlier issued her own call to action, drawing a roaring round of applause and a standing ovation.

“We each have to get on the phone and call Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker (both of Tennessee) and help restore the Voter Rights Act,” said Love. “Freedom is still not free!”

The co-chairmen for this year’s Freedom Fund gala were Daniel J. Weickenand, president/CEO of Orion Federal Credit Union and Reginald W. Coopwood, M.D., president

Legal Notices

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR JANITORIAL SERVICES March 11, 2014

Charter School Support Services, Inc., (“CSSS”) on behalf of Achievement School District Inc., is seeking competitive proposals from qualified Respondents to provide Janitorial Services.

Proposal(s) will be accepted until March 31, 2014 at 12:00pm EST. PROPOSALS RECEIVED AFTER THIS TIME WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. One (1) original hard copy, three (3) hard copies and one CD of the Proposal must be submitted.

ASD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CONTRACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ASD, AND TO REJECT ANY AND ALL PROPOSALS AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO AWARD. Proposals must be sealed in a container marked on the lower left-hand corner with the name and address of the Respondent.

CSSS will date stamp the container with the submission date and the submission time. In addition, the sealed container in which the Proposal is submitted should be labeled “Proposal for Janitorial Services for ASD” FAXED RESPONSES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Further instructions for submitting Proposals may be obtained from: Charter School Support Services Inc. Attn: Jerry Evans 1661 Worcester Road, Ste. 203 Framingham, MA 01701 jevans@csssinc.org

To acquire a copy of the proposal specification, please contact Jerry Evans at the above contact information. To download the proposal specifications go to the Charter School Support Services website at www.csssinc.org, RFP page.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR LAWN CARE & OTHER SERVICES March 11, 2014

Charter School Support Services, Inc., (“CSSS”) on behalf of Achievement School District, is seeking proposals for competitive proposals from qualified Respondents to provide Lawn Care & Other Services.

Proposal(s) will be accepted until March 31, 2014 at 12:00pm EST. PROPOSALS RECEIVED AFTER THIS TIME WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. One (1) original hard copy, three (3) hard copies and one CD of the Proposal must be submitted. ASD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CONTRACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ASD, AND TO REJECT ANY AND ALL PROPOSALS AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

Attendees at the 2014 Freedom Fund Gala. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

At the 2014 Freedom Fund Gala (l-r): Memphis Branch NAAP President the Rev. Keith Norman; Daniel J. Weickenand, gala co-chairman; Dr. Sampson Davis, keynoter; Dr. Reginald W. Coopwood, gala co-chairman; Memphis Branch Executive Director Madeleine C. Taylor. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

and CEO of Regional One Health, formerly The MED. The well-attended event drew praise from attendees such as Shelby County General Sessions Court Judge Loyce Lambert-Ryan, who said, “This year’s freedom fund banquet was extravagant as ever and a wonderful gala for a good cause.”

While the relevance of the NAACP is debated in some quarters, the organization’s relevancy was not an uncertainty for those attending, many openly embracing the image of the group as the nation’s “premier civil rights organization.”

“We still have to be focused on

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: 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@tristatedefender.com AWARD.

Proposals must be sealed in a container marked on the lower left-hand corner with the name and address of the Respondent.

CSSS will date stamp the container with the submission date and the submission time. In addition, the sealed container in which the Proposal is submitted should be labeled “Proposal for Lawn Care & Other Services for ASD” FAXED RESPONSES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Further instructions for submitting Proposals may be obtained from: Charter School Support Services Inc. Attn: Jerry Evans 1661 Worcester Road, Ste. 203 Framingham, MA 01701 jevans@csssinc.org

To acquire a copy of the proposal specification, please contact Jerry Evans at the above contact information. To download the proposal specifications go to the Charter School Support Services website at www.csssinc.org, RFP page.

LEGAL NOTICE

TO FURNISHERS OF LABOR AND MATERIALS TO WHITE CONSTRUCTION AND ASSOCIATES FOR SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PEGGY EDMISTON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, PHASE 4 CONTRACT NUMBER CA1315971

Notice is hereby given that SHELBY COUNTY is preparing to make settlement with WHITE CONSTRUCTION & ASSO-

major issues of injustice,” said Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy. “We have to address issues such as Voter ID laws, predatory lending, mortgage redlining, and many more. The struggle for justice is not over.”

Michael Adrian Davis of Clear Channel Media & Entertainment Hallelujah 95.7 was this year’s Master of Ceremonies. With his witty transitions and knowledgeable inserts, the program ran smoothly and efficiently.

Justin Merrick opened the evening with beautiful renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” and Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”

CLASSIFIEDS

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 inhouse 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.

CIATES, INC. for necessary and related work for the construction of SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PEGGY EDMISTON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, PHASE 4

All persons holding claims against the Contractor, WHITE CONSTRUCTION & ASSOCIATES, INC. , or their agents for materials or labor entering into the construction of this project must file itemized notice of such claim (two copies) with the original copy sworn to before a Notary Public. This notice to be received at the office of Clifton Davis., Administrator of Purchasing, Suite 900, 160 North Mid-America Mall, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, on or before April 28, 2014 in order to obtain the advantages afforded to claimants by legal statute.

Respectfully submitted,

Clifton Davis Administrator of Purchasing Shelby County Government APPRENTICE APPLICATIONS for Steamfitterʼs Local Union # 614 Thursdayʼs from 9 – 11 a.m. ONLY Starting April 10, 2014 until further notice Locations: 3746 Jackson Ave., Memphis, TN 154 Hollywood Dr., Jackson, TN. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: 1. At least 18 years of age 2. High School graduate or G.E.D. equivalent 3. $40.00 drug testing fee – Must pass (non-refundable) 4. $40.00 Testing Fee (non-refundable) The $80 must be cash ONLY & must

PILOT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

leave Pittsburgh and begin Air Force pilot training in a one-year program at Reese Air Force base in Lubbock, Texas. He was one of two AfricanAmericans enrolled in a class of 60 pilot trainees.

“Many of these guys had come to the Air Force base with more experience than I had; some had even graduated from Air Force Academy,” says Holder. Yet, he advanced in the program and became one of 37 of the 60 trainees to graduate.

Holder flew such military training aircraft as the T-33, T-34, T-41A, T37, and the T-38. After completing U.S. Air Force pilot training, he was stationed at March Air Force Base in California. While there, he acquired top security clearance and was assigned as a jet bomber pilot flying the B-52 worldwide with nuclear weapons. The B-52s are a part of the Strategic Air Command and stand on alert awaiting orders from the President of the United States in the event of a surprise nuclear attack While stationed in California, Holder also returned to graduate school and completed a master of science degree in systems management at the University of Southern California. He was later transferred to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam flying the B-52 bombers. In May 1978, he was honorably discharged from the Air Force with the military rank of Captain.

Despite his exceptional accomplishments in aviation, Holder still felt the need to have a mentor in his field. One day, while reading Jet magazine, he came across a story about Lt. Colonel Spann Watson, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen.

“I was impressed with his story and wanted to get to know him, but I didn’t know how to make the connection,” Holder recalls. “I decided to write a letter to Johnson Publishing Company to inquire about him.”

Johnson Publishing forwarded Holder’s letter to Colonel Watson.

“Before you knew it, we were talking to each other on the phone. He became my mentor. About a year later, Colonel Watson called to tell me about a new company in Memphis called Federal Express and asked if I would be interested in talking with them. I was 28 at the time. I told the Colonel that I was interested and he assisted in arranging a job interview.”

Holder went to the library to learn as much as he could about the company. In 1979, FedEx offered him the position as pilot, making him the fourth African-American aviator out of the first cadre of seven pilots to be brought on board in the late 70s.

“FedEx has always been proactive

be paid upon receipt of application 5. VALID DRIVERʼS LICENSE Applications are for Pipefitters/Welders and HVAC And involves on the job training for Pipefitting/Welding and HVAC & 246 hours annual night classes.

DRUG FREE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM This is an Equal Opportunity Program

NOTICE OF ELECTIONS FEDERAL AND STATE PRIMARY ELECTIONS, STATEWIDE AND SHELBY COUNTY GENERAL ELECTIONS AUGUST 7, 2014

August 7, 2014 County General Ballot Revisions

As a result of the Federal Court Order changing Shelby County School Board Districts, Shelby County School Board Districts 1, 3 and 5 through 9 will be on the August 7, 2014 ballot rather than Districts 1-6, 8A, 10A, 11A, and 13A which were published on March 13, 2014.

Statewide & Non-Partisan Offices August 7, 2014 Supreme Court Judge Court of Appeals Judge Court of Criminal Appeal Judge TN 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge, Divisions 1-9 Chancellor, Part 1-3 Criminal Court Judge, Divisions 1-10 Probate Court Judge General Sessions Judge, Divisions 1- 15 Juvenile Court Judge Shelby County School Board, Districts 1, 3 and 5-9 Collierville Municipal Judge Germantown Municipal Judge, Division 1-2 Millington Municipal Judge Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, Sections 2-5-101(a)(2) and Section 2-5204(b)(1) the qualifying deadline for candidates for the Federal and State Primaries, Statewide and County General and for Independent candidates for those offices is Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 12:00 Noon; and the withdrawal deadline is Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 12:00 Noon.

SHELBY COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION

Robert D. Meyers, Chairman Norma Lester, Secretary Dee Nollner, Member Steve Stamson, Member Anthony Tate, Member LEGAL NOTICE

TO FURNISHERS OF LABOR AND MATERIALS TO

in providing equal opportunity for minorities, which has always impressed me,” says Holder. The first African-American pilot hired at FedEx was Carroll Waters, followed

by Calvin Jones, Ty Lewis, Holder, Joe Holly, Bruce Taylor and James Walker.

In addition to currently serving as Captain on the B-777 jumbo jet, Holder has flown such FedEx aircraft as the B-727, DC-10, MD-10, and MD-11.

“I was most fortunate to have an original Tuskegee Airman as a mentor,” says Holder. “In addition to career guidance, one of the things he told me was to help others to succeed, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”

One evening, Holder stopped at a Memphis supermarket on Winchester Road and while walking down an aisle, saw an African-American teenager stocking the shelves.

“His name was Jacques Rogers and he was kneeling down, wearing an apron,” says Holder. “I suddenly saw myself in that young man because I used to stock grocery shelves wearing an apron. I decided to stop and say something to him. ‘Young man, what are your plans for your life?’ I asked.

He looked around and stood up. Then he said to me, ‘I want to graduate from high school, go to college, major in engineering, and become a pilot.’”

Holder was stunned. He told young Rogers that he was a FedEx pilot, but he didn’t stop there. He became a mentor to the young man. Rogers completed his degree in engineering at the University of Memphis, was accepted in a pilot training program in Pensacola, Fla., and earned his wings. Rogers is now a pilot with the rank of Major in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Holder has also mentored other teens aspiring to become pilots.

In 1987, Holder also became one of the first African-Americans to participate in the Memphis In May Triathlon – a multiple-stage competition involving swimming, bicycling and running. He currently serves as president of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Memphis Chapter (The Boule’); and is active in the NAACP, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP); Black Pilots of America (BPA), and Tuskegee Airmen (Memphis Chapter). He is a member of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.

“Throughout history, AfricanAmericans have continued to prove themselves in so many ways,” says Holder.

“I am inspired by the accomplishments of past generations but I am also proud of the young people who are distinguishing themselves in various fields throughout our nation and world. Black History is a daily awareness that we must continue to pass along to our young people.”

WHITE CONSTRUCTION AND ASSOCIATES FOR

SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PEGGY EDMISTON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, PHASE 4 CONTRACT NUMBER CA1315971

Notice is hereby given that SHELBY COUNTY is preparing to make settlement with WHITE CONSTRUCTION & ASSOCIATES, INC. for necessary and related work for the construction of SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PEGGY EDMISTON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, PHASE 4

All persons holding claims against the Contractor, WHITE CONSTRUCTION & ASSOCIATES, INC. , or their agents for materials or labor entering into the construction of this project must file itemized notice of such claim (two copies) with the original copy sworn to before a Notary Public. This notice to be received at the office of Clifton Davis., Administrator of Purchasing, Suite 900, 160 North Mid-America Mall, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, on or before April 28, 2014 in order to obtain the advantages afforded to claimants by legal statute.

Respectfully submitted,

Clifton Davis Administrator of Purchasing Shelby County Government ALL INTERESTED BIDDERS

The Shelby County Board of Education will accept written proposals for English Language Arts and Mathematics Interventions for 2014-2015.

Visit our website for additional information: http://www.scsk12.org/uf/procurement/bid s.php

Questions concerning this proposal should be addressed to Sharrion Smith at 901.416.5414 or emailed to smithsd1@scsk12.org.

Thank you for your interest and responses.

Shelby County Schools Procurement Services

Tri-State Defender Classifieds get results!

SPORTS Tri-State Defender, Thursday, March 27 - April 2, 2014, Page 13

Michael Vick signs deal with Jets but as usual PETA is not happy

by Ruth ManuelLogan NewsOne

The New York Jets signed star quarterback Michael Vick on Friday for a reported oneyear, $5-million deal; however, animal rights group PETA, who seemingly still holds a grudge against the NFL player as a result of his 2007 conviction for dog-fighting, sent out a tweet upon hearing the news about the signing that clearly shows they are not quite over the nearly sevenyear incident, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

PETA tweeted: “At least Michael Vick can’t drown, electrocute, hang, or shoot a football the way he terrorized man’s best friend.”

Vick’s younger brother, Marcus, came to his sibling’s defense on Saturday, tweeting a response to PETA’s jab at his big brother asking the Norfolk, Virginia-based organization if it was “still on that (BS).”

PETA never replied to Marcus’s tweet.

Vick spent 21 months in prison for running a dogfighting operation. The thendisgraced NFL star’s became a dart board of sorts for animal lovers everywhere as details of his inhum a n e c r i m e came to l i g h t .

Michael Dogs that Vick did not perform up to expectations were killed by electrocution, hanging, drowning, and other violent means by the dogfighting ring. As a result of his conviction, Vick lost lucrative endorsement deals and was suspended without pay by the NFL; the player incurred financial losses of about $142 million, including $71 million in his Philadelphia Falcons salary; $50 million in endorsement income; and nearly $20 million in previously paid bonuses. Vick was also fined $5,000 and handed a three-year probation upon his release from prison for his part in the blood sport.

The public backlash was intense against Vick and some of it still very much resonates today, even after he has already paid his debt to society.

Even though Vick has been virtually flogged for his unlawful dogfighting venture, he has successfully moved on since being released from prison. Vick partnered with the Humane Society of the United States and now works to help prevent cruelty to animals by promoting antidog-fighting campaigns. He also became a dog owner again nearly two years ago upon completing his probation and took major steps to prove that he could be a caring and responsible owner.

Vick was even spotted at a Pet Smart in his state of residence, New Jersey, as he attended a dog-training class.

Many of Vick’s coaches, friends and family members have attested to the fact that he has totally turned his life around, but unfortunately, there are many who just refuse to cut him a break.

One Jets fan only recently told WCBS, “As an animal advocate … I personally have no use for him,” and another fan called the move a “slap in the face.” A third told the station it’s hard to root for the team now that they’ve hired Michael Vick.

Then there are those sports columnists like “USA Today’s” Jarrett Bell who thinks Vick gives the team a new sense of hope after an 8-8 finish last season stating, “Vick, when he’s on, can still be so electric.”

Coach Faragi Phillips engineered a state title in his third year at Mitchell High School. (Photos by Karanja A. Ajanaku)

Mitchell Highʼs 2014 Tigers finished with a 30-6 record, a 27game winning streak and the schoolʼs first state basketball title.

Mitchell & the road to state First basketball title kajanaku@tri-statedefender.com

by Karanja A. Ajanaku Mitchell High School put a big time whippin’ on Meigs County, decisively affixing its stamp on the TSSAA Division 1 Class A Boys Basketball State Championship with a 56-27 thump’n.

On Saturday (March 29th), two weeks after the Tigers captured the Southwest Memphis school’s first state basketball title, a community celebration will unfold. A parade and a string of speakers – community leaders, previous coaches, former players – will add energy to an experience that already has so many feeling like they are floating on air.

Coach Faragi Phillips engineered the title in his third year at Mitchell.

“They’ve had some very good teams down here. They’ve been in a position to win championships before but they had a little lull time, where the program wasn’t so good,” he said.

So his objective was to re-establish a winning tradition.

“The first person I reached out to was the gym’s namesake, Andre Turner,” the “Little General” point guard who played at Mitchell before helping then-Memphis State University climb the NCAA mountain to the Final Four in 1985.

“I talked with ’Dre. I did know him. I said man I’m hired at your alma mater and I would love for you to be a part of my staff to help get this thing turned around. He obliged without second thought.”

If you think winning was the first thing that came to Phillips’ mind at that point, you would be wrong.

“I watched film on the team from the last few years, watch how they played, watched how they carried themselves. The thing that most struck me was the fact that I wanted to build some integrity and character into these young men. Have them to know that through sports you can do anything that you set your mind to.

That carried over to the basketball court.”

How does he explain integrity?

“For example, with the bunch I had my first year, showing them the importance of having responsibility, doing what you say you are going to do, holding each other accountable, being responsible for your own actions at the same time for the good of the hole team.”

In short, there would be no success if each part did not do its part, he said.

“If I tell you something as a coach, then guess what, I’m gonna be a man of my word.

At the same time, I’m gonna expect for you to be a young man of your word. By these values we can become a pretty good team.”

Such an approach does not always immediately reflect in wins. In Mitchell’s case, fortunes turned around the first year as the Tigers played for the state championship, coming up short. Last year, they lost in the quarterfinals to the team that won the title.

The faith factor

Phillips openly and repeatedly gives thanks to “his Lord and Savior,” saying that is his one great advantage as coach.

“I’ve been blessed enough for the last 7 years to play for a state championship six out of seven years. That’s from middle school up to now. And it’s been by the grace of God. ” Bible study is mandatory on Thursdays and on two Sundays each month the team attends church together.

“It gets difficult some time because of the fact that you get tired, you get burned out a little bit. But you have to stick to what has gotten you to this point and I have been hugely and humbly blessed. I don’t take that for granted at

“We wanted to do it for ourselves obviously, but we wanted to do it for our community, for our alumni that had been with us from years past and had come up that road several times and saw us not get it done.”

Roots & beyond

Phillips, 38, is a self-described country boy from Mississippi. His wife is from Memphis.

They dated in college, moved to Memphis, had a child and “I never looked back. Memphis has been home to me since 1999.”

He credits mentors Dr. Terrence Brown and Norman Shipp for getting him on the coaching road and in the case of Shipp, passing along things – such as handling young people – that Phillips still uses today as a coach.

In the rear view mirror is a string of successes at Lanier and Ridgeway that now are joined by Mitchell’s state title.

What’s next?

“Next year,” he said matter-of-factly. “Obviously there has been some interest in terms of me doing some other things, but man, let me tell you, I am happy where I am. I’m supported here and presently I don’t see anything else changing.”

Relating to players

Reflecting on his teammates, Antwone Garrett, a senior power forward and center, said, “We are as one. We have a strong brotherhood.”

Officer Anthony Billingsley, who is assigned to a crime watch program that brings him in contact with Mitchell High School, thanks Coach Phillips for winning the state title and “standing behind these young men.”

all. …

“My relationship with my Lord and Savior has been tremendous on who I am as a person, who I am as a coach to these young men and the example that I am for them that allows them to know that ‘he is just like me.’”

The community element

The successful run to the state championship has shot a jolt of can-do pride into the community.

“A lot of our community, a lot of our alumni, our fan base had become accustomed to going to state whether it was football, basketball. …But it had gotten to the point that (people were thinking), ‘We’re going to go up here, we’re going to show up and we’re going to lose again. We’ll make it to the state championship game but won’t get over the hump.’”

In the locker room before the championship game, there was a “magical moment” when the coach and his team realized that they could make history, he said.

His son Kylan, a 16-year-old junior, is on the team. Phillips keeps up with him and the rest of the players, staying alert to what they are doing on social media. Coaching, he said, is evolving.

“The thing you cannot underestimate is the importance of social media to their lives. Do I understand why? Absolutely not, but to them it’s important, so you have to kind of give and take with that.

“Taking it from them is unfair because their focus won’t be there. I’m telling you from experience. But at the same time, you have to monitor it and if it gets out of hand you have to address it.”

The bottom line, he said, is not about him or wins and losses.

“If I can win and save lives, if I can win and give kids hope about a future through basketball, then I’ve won a championship.”

Still, there were deep-valley moments during the title run, including a point where he had to dismiss a player that he had known for years.

“Did I want to do it at the time? Absolutely not? Do I feel bad about it now? Sure. …I think he has gone on to do great things … and I wish him and his mom and dad nothing but the best. …

“That was a low, but it speaks volumes about out kids, our team, our mindset because he was one of our better players. But they kept on pushing, and 27 games later we haven’t loss. ” As Phillips carved out time for a television interview, two police officers approached.

They are assigned to a crime watch program that brings them in contact with Mitchell High School.

“I am so excited for these young men and what they bring to the school and this community,” said Officer Anthony Billingsley. “I watched it (the title game) on TV and I am so proud of them.

“You see so much negativity about our young black males in the community, but this is awesome. The coach, the school, the principal, hats off them, and the community for rallying and standing behind these young men.”

Antwone Garrett, a senior power forward and center, is among those young men that had Billingsley and his partner beaming. Garrett, who doubles as senior class president, was raised by a great-grandmother, who has lived in the Mitchell area all her life.

“It (winning the title) is very special because I have had grandfathers come through this school, cousins, aunts,” said Garrett, 17. “They all played sports. We finally got it down.”

College is on the horizon for Garrett and he is not “leaning toward basketball. I play tennis as well. I probably see myself in the future playing tennis.”

Garrett has fresh memories of the day of the title game.

“For me, there were tears the whole day – before the game, during warm-ups, but when that ball tipped it was all business,” he said.

The tears, he said, were from “just knowing that it was possibly my last basketball game, and with this group of fellas. We are as one.

We have a strong brotherhood.”

NEWS

Page 14

Tri-State Defender

March 27 - April 2, 2014

Feel good vibes flow and star power shine with 2014 Memphis Black Expo Weekend

Ruby Wilson “The Queen of Beale Street” made a guest appearance in the MBX Celebrity Lounge after being presented the “Making Memphis History Award”.

(Photo: Shirley Jackson)

Year five charms with change of venue, added elements The New Tri-State Defender

by Bernal E. Smith II

Victor Hugo so eloquently stated, “All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”

Although I am sure he had no thoughts of the Memphis Black Expo at the time, there are no more appropriate words to describe this annual Memphis event that has become an anticipated tradition.

The Memphis Black Expo (MBX), the vision of Memphian Viara Boyd, is a celebration of culture, music/arts, business and food – all those things that uniquely represent black American culture, specifically black Memphis.

In a city that has not always had the most positive self-image and happens to be 70 percent African American, events such as the MBX, intended to foster greater awareness, connectivity and positivity, serve as a catalyst for positive change. It is clearly about uplift and growth and who can be mad about that.

Boyd and her team accomplished all those things this past weekend, producing a synergy of events Friday through Sunday that generated a feel good vibe and shined a bright light on some of Memphis’ and even the country’s best!

Friday night marked the MBX Opening Reception at the Stax Museum, where former Motown recording artist and legend, Martha Reeves (formerly of Martha and the Vandellas) was presented the Legacy Award in Soulful Music. Three hundred attendees filled Stax to enjoy tours, networking, elegant foods, delightful drinks and libations.

Studio A of the museum was the centerpiece of entertainment and presentations for the night, featuring spoken word poetry, music and ultimately the presentation to Reeves. She delighted the crowd with an hour-long question and answer session where she sang, danced and gave unique insight into her life and successful career as a performing artist on one of America’s most famous recording labels.

Saturday at the Agricenter International, nearly 5,000 people packed the house throughout the day, beginning at 10:30 a.m. for the MBX Expo event. The morning started with the Spirit, Soul and Body Gospel Fest presented by Dr. Phillip Bowden on the MBX main stage. Twenty choirs from around the region performed melodic and inspiring songs to the delight of a full audience that came to listen, encourage and be encouraged.

All attendees would also get an opportunity to engage, learn about and spend money with the over 120 vendors representing locally owned businesses from various industry including clothing vendors, political candidates, insurance agents, a gourmet popcorn store, nail salons and barbershops among a great variety.

The MBX presents a dynamic opportunity for vendors, most-

ly small and locally owned businesses, to market and sell their services and products in a unique forum at a very economic price with positive residual impact down the line.

Seminars were also offered on everything from marketing and PR to fashion and fitness, and legal issues.

The day also included appearances by several celebrity guests. The featured guest was scheduled to be Omari Hardwick of “Being Mary Jane” fame, however due to last minute scheduling and travel complications, he was not able to be there. In the face of a dilemma and disappointment to adoring and expecting fans and attendees, Boyd and her team went to work and were able to secure in Hardwick’s place, “Jumping the Broom” actor Lazaro “Laz” Alonso.

Fans responded with delight to his appearance and showed little signs of disappointment.

MBX producers even surprised Alonso with a birthday cake as he was celebrating his birthday on Saturday. Other celebrity guests included Memphis’ own rap legend MJG, “America’s Next Top Model” contestant, Dominique Reighard, and Judge Joe Brown. The MBX celebrity lounge was definitely on and popping!

Overall the day was simply phenomenal. Other activities included a Corvette car show, Hot Wing festival, Kidventions student invention competition, African American International Mobile Museum, A Hotel to Stars Mobile Museum, Kids Beauty Pageant, Dance and Step Competitions and an Ask the Doctor segment focusing on health. It was truly a power packed, action filled day.

Sunday marked the last day of MBX Weekend, where event organizers held the Art of Fashion Visual Art and Fashion Show at the Pink Palace Museum. It was a fitting close out to a phenomenal weekend with a standing room only crowd enjoying some of the best local visual artist and fashion designer displaying their talent.

Boyd was exuberant in her reflections about this year’s expo.

“Best year yet! Despite a few hiccups here and there we were able to deliver on our goal to provide a dynamic and impactful event for the community. As we often say, they all see the glory but few know the story. A lot of hard work went into putting on the event but the turnout, the smiling faces, the excitement of our vendors and their success at the event was all worth it. We have already begun the work to make next year’s event even bigger and better.”

MBX is produced by VRock Productions. The 2014 sponsors were: (Presenting Sponsor) Brinson Tax Service, Xfinity, The New Tri-State Defender, Convolution, WMC-TV 5, Creative Solutions, Subroy Dance Studios, Dr. Bowden Mid-South Gastroenterology Group, Control Alt Designs, and LilyRoze Studios.

Event Manager, Henry Nelson (left) and MBX Founder, Viara Boyd (right) present Martha Reeves of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas with the Legacy Award in Soulful Music to commemorate her many years in the Soul music arena. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

Artifacts for the African American International Mobile Museum. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

Rapper MJG being interviewed in the Celebrity Lounge. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

The Opening Reception was held at STAX Museum of American Soul Music and featured spoken word poetry, a host of neo-soul artists and a wonderful array of delectable delights from Hog Wild BBQ and the Cupcake Lady. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

Judge Joe Brown and “Americaʼs Next Top Model” Dominique Reighard in the Celebrity Lounge at Memphis Black Expo – 2014. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

MBX Founder, Viara Boyd, being interviewed by Fox 13 regarding the success of the weekendʼs activities and plans for next yearʼs event. (Photo: Rodney Adams)

Vendors and Expo visitors chose from a wide variety of goods and services. From encouragement and education to fashion and beauty – there was something for everyone! (Photos: Rodney Adams)