5 28 2014

VOL. 63, No. 20

www.tsdmemphis.com

May 22 - 28, 2014

Town Hall seeks citizen input for Whitehaven improvements Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Tony Jones

City Councilman Edmund Ford Jr. and Memphis Housing and Community Development Director Robert Lipscomb are convening a Whitehaven-area town hall meeting next Thursday Edmund (May 29th) that Ford Jr. Ford said is designed to get residents engaged in creating improvements or expansions for their community.

The session will held at Whitehaven Community Center at 4318 Graceland Dr. on the Robert same block as Lipscomb Hillcrest High School. It is set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

“We always hear criticism when the city invests in public-private improvements. So what we want to do first is find out what Whitehaven residents feel the area needs, and then show them how to make it happen,” Ford said.

“What do the people of Whitehaven think the area needs? Is it more restaurants, entertainment, shopping centers? Talking isn’t going to get it done,” said Ford. “Citizens have to actively get involved, if they are seeking public-private improvements for their neighborhoods.”

Ford pointed to recent developments in South Memphis as the model.

“Just drive over to South Parkway and Mississippi and see what can happen when citizens get together and come up with a plan. The

PART ONE

Brooks on Brooks!

County Commissioner Henri Brooks stands her ground amid controversy Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Wiley Henry

If the Shelby County Commission chamber had been a classroom and Commissioner Henri Brooks had been Pablo Pereyra’s teacher, the admonishment that she directed at the real estate agent during a May 12th Commission meeting likely would not have caused such a firestorm.

But that was not the scenario that played out. Brooks’ upbraiding of Pereyra was a key element in a scene that set off a chain reaction, including calls for Brooks’ resignation, an apology from her, or a resolution of censure from the Commission.

During a meeting Tuesday afternoon with the editorial staff of The New Tri-State Defender, Brooks moved to put the swirling controversy in what she considers the correct context.

“Any move to do anything to me can’t be done. Nothing can be done to me,” said Brooks, noting that she was right for admonishing Pereyra, asserting that her “detractors” and “opponents” are stirring a media firestorm in an effort to singe her chances of winning the race for Juvenile Court clerk.

“My campaign is focused on July 18 (early voting). I’m gonna get my base out and I will be winning. Juvenile Court can start packing up now,”

Commissioner Henri Brooks met with The New Tri-State Defenderʼs editorial staff to set the record straight. (Photo: Shirley Jackson)

said Brooks.

Making it clear that she didn’t want to dwell on what transpired at the Commission meeting or respond to sound bites, Brooks, however, did want to set the record straight.

“He (Pereyra) made a mistake and I corrected him,” said Brooks, a former teacher.

During the Commission meeting, Brooks determinedly voiced concern about the awarding of a $1.7 million

- INSIDE -

• The new four-letter word – RACE. See Opinion, page 4.

• An African-American officer in the KKK. See Entertainment, page 9.

Holiday salute…

Rozelle Creative and Performing Arts Elementary School at 993 Roland St. held its Spring Piano Ensemble Concert – “An American Holiday” – on Tuesday, with the Memorial Day flavor quite evident. And yes, the students were the stars. (Related photo, page 5) (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

NAACP presidential selection process again mired in controversy NNPA News Service

by George E. Curry

Christen Walker Dukes

MEMPHIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H- 8 7o - L - 6 6o P a r tl y C l oud y

H- 8 8o - L - 6 6o P a r tl y C l ou dy

H- 8 8o - L - 6 7o Partl y Cl o udy

REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Friday H-88 L-65 H-79 L-58 H-93 L-67

Saturday H-88 L-66 H-83 L-58 H-93 L-67

Sunday H-87 L-66 H-85 L-62 H-92 L-67

county roofing contract to a firm that employed 25 Hispanic roofers and no African Americans. At one point, Pereyra was given the floor, using the opportunity to draw upon his Hispanic background to make the case that Hispanics are the “minority of minorities” in Memphis. That’s when Brooks unleashed a sternly-worded shot of her view of relevant history.

“You asked to come here. We did not, and when we got here, our condition was so egregious, so barbaric,” said Brooks. “Don’t ever let that (the minority of minorities reference) come out of your mouth again because, you know what, that hurts your case. Don’t compare the two, they’re not comparable.”

In the session with the TSD editorial staff, Brooks said, “I knew something was going on when that man spoke. He didn’t have to speak. He had the vote. He got up to talk about his experience and they knew that would push my button. It made me angry. What I said was a fact.”

Brooks said she became suspicious of Pereyra after he acknowledged that he represented a real estate company in Nevada that purchased tax property from the Shelby County Land Bank, which the commission had approved by a vote of 4-3.

“He said he is the representative of Anthony Joseph Sy (also known as SEE BROOKS ON PAGE 3

U.S. troops deployed to help find abducted Nigerian schoolgirls

SEE TOWN HALL ON PAGE 2

• ‘Christen, don’t give up.’

See A Profile in Courage, page 12.

75 Cents

WASHINGTON – A search firm hired by the NAACP ranked Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, as the top candidate five years ago to become president and CEO of the NAACP. But Haynes wasn’t the favorite of Julian Bond, then chairman of the board of directors, who preferred Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of a small, private foundation in California, for the spot.

So when the selection process shifted from the search committee to the NAACP’s executive committee, the NAACP’s legendary political maneuvering came into play. At Bond’s urging, the executive committee opted to present only Jealous’ name to the full board for an up-ordown vote. To no one’s surprise, Jealous was elected (34-21).

Though Benjamin L. Hooks, one of the association’s most popular leaders, pastored two churches – one in Memphis and one in Detroit – while serving as executive director of the NAACP from 1977 to 1992,

New NAACP President Cornell William Brooks

Barbara Arnwine, a finalist for the NAACP president

Haynes was told he did not reach the final round of the selection process because he wouldn’t agree to give up his church duties in Dallas.

Haynes felt that was a ruse and the experience left a bitter taste in his mouth, with him vowing he never would go through that process again.

He could have accepted losing in a fair contest, Haynes told anyone who would listen to him at the time. But what was hard for him to swallow was how a venerated organization dedicated to seeking justice and fairness for African Americans could hold an election for its top office without any pretense of being fair.

Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III

When Jealous resigned last September with a year still left on his contract – after repeated clashes with Board Chair Roslyn M. Brock – applying for the vacancy did not cross Haynes’ mind. But apparently, it was on the minds of some NAACP supporters, who hoped the organization could get it right this time – if Haynes would consider going through the search process again.

“I was done with them,” Haynes said in an interview Monday. “As I told them, I do justice work without them. It’s not like I needed them to SEE NAACP ON PAGE 5

U.S. troops have been sent to the Republic of Chad in an increased effort to locate the more than 200 missing Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted in the middle of April, the White House Andrew announced Young Wednesday.

According to a White House statement reported by the Washington Post, 80 troops have been dispatched, displaying bolstered U.S. efforts to “support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area.”

The team is expected to remain in the landlocked country, which borders Nigeria, “until its support resolving the kidnapping is no longer required.”

Before this movement, the U.S. already had sent a team of military, law enforcement officials and hostage negotiators to help the Nigerian government – in an “advisory” status only – locate the girls who were kidnapped by terrorist cell Boko Haram.

Department of Defense spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby compared the search for the girls to finding “a needle in a jungle,” the Washington Post reported.

Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, who was recently interviewed by OurWeekly Publisher and CEO Natalie Cole about the missing Nigerian girls and U.S. involvement in Africa, made reference to logistic issues. The primary issue being “geography and how technology interprets it when drones are used to seek out humans.”

One of the issues Young was referring to could be the difficulty drone aircraft encounter when detecting thermography, a ground-heat reading used by drones to locate humans while traveling at high altitudes. Thermographs can be blocked by foliage.

Suspected areas where the girls might be held have dense foliage.

“Another concern that I have – that has not yet surfaced – is a law known as the Leahy Amendment,” said Young. “It may complicate any type of joint military operations with Nigeria.”

Young was referring to a 1997 law, named after its sponsor, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The law bars the SEE SCHOOL GIRLS ON PAGE 2

Page 2

TOWN HALL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Farmer’s Market there is brand new, bright and clean and it came about because the citizens in the area got involved.

The same people that created and run the Farmer’s Market, St. Andrews (AME Church) and the Works, Inc., have also expanded it to provide more services, Ford said. “The same thing is happening on McLemore Street, where the Soulsville development is beginning to gain momentum.”

It happened, Ford said, “because the people in those areas not only made their concerns known, they got together and worked consistently to make them happen.”

He complimented the South Memphis Revitalization Action Plan: A Blueprint for Building a More Vibrant, Sustainable and Just Community. The document was prepared by University of Memphis students in the Department of Anthropology’s Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning. (the-

NEWS

May 22 - 28, 2014

workscdc.org/somerap) “SoMeRap for short,” Ford explained. “I took one copy of it to a recent community meeting (in his district) and asked them to make copies, distribute it and come up with a team to follow its example, if they are serious. Long before the report was done and results started showing, there were people and community groups behind the scene working very hard to make it happen.

“You can’t just point fingers; you have to put hands to work.

That’s what we want to do in Whitehaven.”

Considered one of the state’s plum economic zones due to its family-based economy, disgruntlement in the Whitehaven area was brought to light by recent attempts by the non-profit group Southbrook Properties to gain city funding to renovate Southbrook Mall.

After more than two years going back and forth, funding from the city has not yet been approved for the idea. That has moved some Whitehaven residents to point to recent city investments in the areas of Broad Street, Crosstown, Overton

Park and elsewhere and raise the specter of potential discrimination.

Such thoughts and feelings have surfaced despite major city contributions for improvements to Elvis Presley Blvd. in Whitehaven. But as one area resident put it while shopping at the Dollar Tree in the Whitehaven Plaza, “That’s just for Graceland. Whitehaven goes way past Craft Road,” the woman said, referring to the cutoff boundary for the street’s renovation.

For his part, Lipscomb said, “I do not make policy decisions about where the city invests and spends money.

Once the decision is made, it’s my job to follow through and try to find the funding sources to improve a project and make it as sound as possible for the benefit of citizens.

This is how we get citizens involved in the process. For any project, we want them to enjoy it and we want them to support it.”

If Whitehaven residents care about the community’s future, they should attend the town hall meeting, he said.

SCHOOL GIRLS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

United States forces from working with militaries, or units within them, accused of chronic human rights violations. In the past, U.S. military brass have complained that the law has prevented them from training foreign soldiers. According to news sources in Nigeria, it appears to be limiting what forces on the ground can do to help find the children.

“For example, there is a specific counter-terrorism unit with which we don’t interact (with) in Nigeria because we’re not able to (because of) Leahy,” Young said. “However, we’re not prevented from working with the Nigerian military for those soldiers or units that were not affected, and we are doing human rights training on appropriate use of force with the military for those elements that we can work with.”

First lady Michelle Obama showed her support for the missing Nigerian girls by tweeting out this photo.

Young asked, “Are you aware the average life span in Nigeria is around 48 years, and the age of the school girls abducted is between 12 and 15?

These girls are daughters, sisters, and hopefully they will return home and live on to

become mothers and productive women in Nigeria with the years they have left.”

(This TSD story reflects reports by The Root and Our Weekly (distributed by New America Media).

In this thing together…

Tri-State Defender

Graduation Day at Christian Brothers University was a mother-and-daughter affair for Shirley Jackson, The New Tri-State Defenderʼs office manager and assistant to the president/publisher, and Brittany Jackson, the first former TSD iTeen reporter to earn an undergraduate degree. Mom received an MBA, with an emphasis on marketing.

CBU President John Smarrelli Jr. helped the two celebrate. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Tri-State Defender

BROOKS

NEWS

Page 3

May 22 - 28, 2014

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Anthony Syevades),” said Brooks, pointing out that Sy had acted as an unlicensed broker in 740 real estate purchase transactions on behalf of buyers at foreclosure auctions, which landed him in U.S. District Court.

“We’re getting ready to take property away from a black man and give it to a man in Nevada who has 740 counts of fraud,” she said.

The other issue that concerned Brooks was the $1.7 million roofing contract that the commission had awarded to B Four Plied Inc. to replace the roof on a county-owned building at Shelby Farms.

Brooks argued that B Four Plied Inc. should hire employees from the dominant ethnic group in Shelby County, which is African American. She said she advocates for African Americans who put her in office, and that the whole shebang is all about economics and fair play.

Q&A

The New Tri-State Defender: Was B Four Plied Inc. in compliance when the company received the roofing contract?

Henri Brooks: You can institute policy to implement a law and it would have a disparate impact on black folks.

That’s what’s going on. We’re not getting any contracts. The policy is cumbersome. We don’t even get a piece of anything. If we do, they want to use our name only. Then they pay you off. It’s a sad situation.

It’s going to get worse.

TSD: You took umbrage at the company that was awarded the roofing contract. Why? HB: We are both ethnic minorities. The workforce should reflect the demographics of the county. That’s fair. That’s humane. That’s equal. It has been my philosophy, my intent…and we’ve talked about it on the County Commission, that when a company receives a county contract or taxpayer dollar project, at least the workforce should reflect the demographics of the county.

This particular contract re-

Making it clear that she didnʼt want to dwell on what transpired at the now-controversial Shelby County Commission meeting of May 12th or respond to sound bites, Commissioner Henry Brooks met with The New Tri-State Defenderʼs editorial staff to set the record straight. (Photos: Shirley Jackson) “It has been my philosophy, my intent… that when a company receives a county contract or taxpayer dollar project, at least the workforce should reflect the demographics of the county.” – Shelby County Commissioner Henri Brooks.

ally caught my attention because it came down three times. We sent it back each time for the same reason, because it did not have any black employees. ... And black people are the dominant population here in this county. To ignore that makes me very uncomfortable.

We talk about the poverty in this city…we have to understand what the underpinning of poverty is. Those policies that we make to implement law, those are the kinds of things that are…malignant. For some reason, they don’t understand.

When we don’t make money, we cannot pay taxes. When you don’t pay taxes, then you’re not a productive citizen.

You can have all kinds of small businesses and skip over black people, but you’re in compliance with the law. So it’s those policies that we use to implement the law. We’re still in compliance with the law, but we’re still having a disparate impact on another group of people.

That statement in itself doesn’t mean that you’re trying to give special attention or preference.

You’re just trying to be fair.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars, to make sure it’s evenly spread and that people who come here do not give the appearance of being discriminatory. Title VI and Title VII come into play here. No one has ever filed a lawsuit against the county; it is ripe for a Title VI lawsuit and a Title VII.

TSD: Explain the reason for the “sheet” comment regarding your fellow commissioner, Chris Thomas?

HB: That resolution had been down three times. It was on its third hearing, and each time we’d send it back for the same reason. Each time during committee, Chris Thomas was the one who wanted to push it, always wanted to give a speech that we need to move forward, that we’re complying with the law. When I referred to the sheet, I was talking about a cover-up.

TSD: How can you change a policy that you say is unfair to African Americans?

HB: We got to get the people with the courage to change it.

Seven votes can buy Japan.

You need seven courageous

votes to take a stand for right.

You don’t have enough black people with backbone to stand up and speak the truth. I’m saying be fair and equal.

TSD: Is there a percentage of African-American businesses getting contracts in Shelby County?

HB: One of the certification agencies here, when that question is asked about doing business with black people, they aggregate the total number that certified companies are doing, and they say this is the amount of business that black people are doing. That’s not the way you do it. That’s making figures lie. What you do is, you take the number and you divide by the number of participation.

I filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee in 1998 for contracts: 0.1 percent. It hasn’t changed.

TSD: Is there a standing committee that oversees contracts?

HB: We all do that. All 13 of us can sit on and vote on every committee. Some of us are assigned to various committees as chairpersons. But we can all sit and have a vote on the committee.

TSD: It appears you’re the only local leader leading the charge. Why? HB: When you start talking about the money, the pocketbook, economic issues, people get a little crazy, and they’ll pull out every rabbit that they can out of the hat to keep you from getting your fair share. That’s wrong. We’re not saying that anybody should get more than the other. It should be fair across the board. Nobody should discriminate – red, black, green, yellow. And then no one should be denied the opportunity to participate, particularly when you have a federal law, state law and county ordinance. So why won’t other people say what I say? You think about it.

NOTE: Read Part II of The New Tri-State Defender’s Q&A with Shelby County Commissioner Henri Brooks as part of the TSD’s Friday Digital Daily and online the same day at TSDMemphis.com, where you can sign up to receive the TSD Digital Daily free, 6 days a week.

Page 4

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OPINION

Tri-State Defender

May 22 - 28, 2014

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

The 60-year journey from ‘Brown’

FLASHBACK: 2011

The new four-letter word – RACE

For years I subscribed to the notion of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt!” It was a mantra that helped a young boy cope with name calling and “check sessions,” so that even as you were getting talked about or “checked” you were cool as a cucumber – as long as the person didn’t put their hands (or feet) on you.

As I grew into adulthood, I had many a lesson that disproved that notion. And certainly over the past several weeks, we’ve all been schooled in the power of words and the repercussions of choosing them poorly.

Against the national backdrop of the Donald Sterling saga, we had two unscripted local monologues captured on camera for continuous replay, consideration and deliberation; the first by Shelby County Commissioner Henri Brooks and the second by my Fox 13 “Insider” counterpart, Andrew Clarksenior. I’ll deal with the latter first, as I was directly a part of the discussion with Clarksenior, and the first to check him on his comments.

The Memphis chapters of SCLC and Rainbow PUSH have called for Fox 13 to remove Mr. Clarksenior from the airwaves, or at least admonish him in some way for his reference to people living in blighted areas as “animals.” Some perceived his comments to have been directed specifically at African Americans. While I don’t know whether his comments were thusly directed, I will say it was and is wrong to refer to any group of human beings in such a derogatory manner.

Certainly it is shameful for a black man, as Clarksenior certainly is, to refer to other blacks as such.

Taking the entire television news segment in context, a reference to race by anchor Darrell Greene established that, based upon the words of the Rev. Kenneth T. Whalum Jr., blighted neighborhoods were “largely a black problem” given the racial and economic make up of Memphis. Clearly the tone was set on some level that it was a conversation primarily about black people.

For Clarksenior to deny that is less than genuine. However, the bigger understanding of his view came in our off-air discussion, where he shared his experiences with his brother in the rental home/landlord business and how those experiences shaped his views and frustrations on the issue.

Having built and renovated homes, they found themselves dealing with tenants without the understanding of how to maintain a home and without the experience of ever having to do so.

I shared with him my experiences in the same business, confiding that in many instances you have to teach your tenants how to take care of the property, how to take pride in the property and why it is so important. He called it liberal coddling and unnecessary; I called it protecting my investment, teaching people to be self sufficient (how to fish rather than giving them a fish) and just plain smart; the absolute right thing to do.

Ultimately, his “animal” comment was born out of a set of experiences.

Was it out of line? Yes! Does he deserve to be shut down because of them? No, not at this point, yet he must accept responsibility and be held accountable for the words. Words that hurt, harm and in the eyes of some justify the continued vilification and denigration of people of color. Words continue to impact how people are seen by others and yes, even how they see themselves.

Certainly the best example of this is the ever-controversial “N-word,” used as a tool to sub-humanize a group of people and make it easier to treat them as such. No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, change the spelling, change the application, reference etymology (i.e. Negus), it is an ugly vile word used to justify the second-class and inhumane treatment of African Americans.

Even in the use of the “N-word” among black folks, it has negative impacts. It is easier to shoot and kill a person you consider an “N-word” than it is your brother or sister, a man or woman. It is easier to hate on, dislike or otherwise have disdain for a person that you dehumanize with terms such “N-word,” insurgent and terrorist.

Therein lies the primary issue taken with Clarksenior’s comment and why we must be ever cognizant and diligent about our use of words.

That brings us to Commissioner Brooks and the story relative to her exchange with Pablo Pereya, her comment to Commissioner Chris Thomas and the entire controversy surrounding her words at last week’s commission meeting. She admonished Pereya for what she perceived to be equating the Hispanic-American experience with

that of African Americans. She referenced wearing a bed sheet when speaking to Thomas and clearly came perilously close to dropping an Fbomb when speaking to Commissioner Mike Bernal E. Ritz.

Smith II Like Sterling, and to a lesser degree Clarksenior, Brooks has been vilified for her words. She’s been called a racist, unprofessional and an antagonist, among other things. For some in this community, Brooks is seen as a fighter, a rebel (with a cause) and an independent thinker and actor. Depending on your lens and life experience, she can be seen as one who gives you hope or makes you ask whether there is any.

Does she deserve a measure of challenge for the way she handled the matters? Yes, again we must be held accountable for our words and actions.

Her impromptu history lesson was accurate, although probably inappropriate for the venue. There is a unique experience for African Americans – compared with other groups of people in this country – that shapes current conditions, systems, challenges and opportunities. Life simply does not happen in a vacuum. You don’t plant a seed one day and wake up the next and have a 50-foot oak tree. You have to account for the conditions under which the seed was planted, how it was nurtured, the condition of the soil and all the experiences that determine the long-term condition of the tree.

Similarly so is the human condition.

Much like Sterling and Clarksenior, Brooks’ words and action were born out of her experiences. Reared during the turbulent ’50s and ’60s, she sees the struggle and fight in all she does.

Well known for speaking her mind and holding no punches, she has been a fighter as a public official and it seems that’s the only way she knows. Where diplomacy and statesmanship should be the order of the day, she has shown a tendency to bull her way through, angering and antagonizing at times to get results. The story of her ultimate success is still being written. It does already include the successful effort in getting a federal review of the Juvenile Court in Shelby County, leading to many sweeping changes in how that court does business.

Some have intimated that Brooks’ outburst might negatively impact her Juvenile Court Clerk election campaign and maybe the candidates that choose to embrace her. Yet, it might do just the opposite.

But the big picture isn’t about Brooks, Clarksenior or Sterling. It’s about whether we have gotten so far apart on the issue of race that we cannot have an open honest dialogue about it. It seems that when anyone even mentions race they are vilified. It seemingly has become the norm to dismiss legitimate instances of discrimination and systemic racism by labeling those that would challenge such as racist or “playing the race card.”

Many journalists have taken the easy route, admonishing Brooks and discussing the negative impact of her “racist outburst” on her campaign. Where is the challenge to the facts that exist in Shelby County relative to race: Shelby County is over 50 percent African American, yet African-American businesses receive less than 0.01 percent of all business receipts in the county.

For most of the last general election cycles, Democrats have out-voted Republicans 1.21 to 1, yet Democrats have lost miserably in countywide elections. That’s an indication that white Democrats have simply chosen not to vote for black candidates I can quote numerous other statistics and figures that clearly demonstrate the systemic racism that holds back the progress of this county. This is the real discussion that needs to be held. Regrettably, it appears that now – on all sides – we’d rather stay in our place of comfort and convenience than deal with the issues.

The fear of challenging and changing systems or just being labeled a racist appears to be holding back a more substantive conversation and certainly stagnating action on the issues around disparities and equity.

Yes, it seems race is truly the new four-letter word. The only path to progress is to deal directly with the “R-bomb.”

(TSD President/ Publisher Bernal E. Smith II can be reached at besmith@tri-statedefender.com.)

The browning of public schools after ‘Brown’

This is the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision outlawing “separate but equal” schools. And like most major anniversaries, incorrect information surfaces as purported fact, doing a disservice to the accomplishment being celebrated as well as truth itself.

In this instance, some have asserted that because of re-segregation, public schools in the South, where most African Americans live, are more segregated now than when Brown was handed down. That is simply untrue and if you want to read a comprehensive account of what has truly happened in school desegregation over the past 60 years, there is no better source than “Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future,” published by The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. First, let’s dispense with the nonsense.

“The claims that black students in the South are no better off than they were before Brown, in terms of segregation, are obviously wrong,” the report stated. “They are ten times as likely to be in majority-white schools as they were when the Civil Rights Act passed.”

The 42-page report is packed with illuminating facts about progress made in the wake of Brown and the subsequent retrenchment. But to appreciate the significance of Brown, it is necessary to understand what our schools looked like before the court decision.

“Nine years after Brown, when President John Kennedy called for the first major civil rights act of the 20th century, 99 percent of blacks in the South were still in totally segregated schools,” the report recounted.

“Virtually no whites were in historically black schools, nor were black teachers and administrators in white schools. For all practical purposes, it was segregation as usual or ‘segregation forever,’ as some of the South’s politicians promised. In the great majority of the several thousand southern districts nothing had been done.”

Actually, there were two Brown decisions. The first, issued in 1954, outlawed segregated public schools masquerading as “separate but equal.” The court ruled that “segregation is inherently unequal” and ordered the desegregation of schools.

With no progress after a year, the court ordered in 1955, in a ruling sometimes called Brown II, that desegregation had to be carried out “with all deliberate speed.”

But racial segregation was deliberate and speed was missing in action.

In fact, nine years after Brown, 99 percent of blacks in the South were still in segregated schools.

“President Lyndon Johnson powered the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress with bipartisan support, and he proceeded to enforce civil rights law more forcefully than an Administration before or since,” the report stated.

“After he also led the battle for the largest federal education aid program in American history, the Southern schools changed. Faced with the dual prospect of losing fed-

eral funds if they remained segregated, as well as the threat of a Justice Department lawsuit as a result of the Civil Rights Act, almost all the districts began to desegregate.

Strongly backed George by the federal E. Curry courts, federal civil rights officials raised desegregation requirements each year. In 1968 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that desegregation in the historically segregated states must be comprehensive and immediate. By 1970 Southern schools became the nation’s most integrated.”

Nationwide, the percent of blacks attending majority white schools has declined from a high of 43.5 percent in 1988 to 23.2 percent in 2011, about the same level it was in1968.

This did not happen by accident.

“Throughout the l980s there was a strong legal attack on desegregation orders, led by the Reagan and Bush administrations’ Justice Departments and, in l991, the Supreme Court authorized the termination of desegregation plans in the Oklahoma City (Dowell) decision. The decline in black student access has been continuous since l991,” the report observed.

The report documents the strong connection between segregated schools and concentrated poverty.

“In schools that are 81-100% black & Latino, over three-quarters of the students are also enrolled in schools where more than 70% of the students live in poverty,” it stated.

“In fact, half of students in 91-100% black & Latino schools are in schools that also have more than 90% low-income students. This means that these students face almost total isolation not only from white and Asian students but also from middle class peers as well.”

In its recommendations section, the report observes that while education is primarily a state responsibility, the federal government also has an important role to play. Sadly, the report points out, there has not been a major national study on school desegregation, its costs and solutions since Racial Isolation in Public Schools, a report requested in 1967

by President Johnson.

Non-government organizations also have a role to play.

The report stated, “Civil rights organizations need to develop new strategies and legal theories to end the reversal and restart the movement toward a successfully integrated, truly multiracial society, as was done by the NAACP and Howard University in the campaign that led to Brown.”

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

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Because I was a horribly ill-behaved child, I found myself shipped from San Francisco to Moss Point, Miss. in August 1969. My mother’s plan was that I’d spend my junior year in high Julianne school there and Malveaux live with my schoolteacher aunt, Annie Mae Randall, who was somewhat affectionately known as the “kid breaker.”

It was legend that if you did not understand rules, she would beat them into you, but her method was unlimited interrogation, not physical correction (much). In any case, I landed in Moss Point 15 years after the Supreme Court ruled that legal segregation was illegal.

However, by ruling that the Brown decision should be implemented with “all deliberate speed,” many towns in Mississippi saw this as a signal to “take your own sweet time.” I ended up attending allblack Magnolia High School, while the all-white Moss Point High School was in rather close proximity. A year later, Magnolia became the town’s junior high school, and Moss Point High was the school for everyone.

Until 1970, though, the city’s educators had come up with truly bizarre ways to give a polite nod to integration. For a period, black teachers went to teach in white schools, while white ones taught in the black schools. To this day, I can’t figure out the proportional representation that had black teachers in the white schools about a third of the time, with white teachers in the black schools about half of the time.

My numbers may be wrong, but both black and white students were shortchanged when they were robbed of the continuity of instruction.

On the days that Auntie Annie Mae had to go to the white schools, she woke up muttering that this was not integration, and mumbling that “all these years after Brown” integration had not happened in Moss Point schools. Since the “kid breaker” didn’t really yell, she took her frustration out on anyone who would listen, talking legalisms, history, and the way it ought to be.

Occasionally Auntie would say, “at least we aren’t in Virginia,” then she would talk about the schools that actually closed rather than admit black students. Virginia developed a plan of “massive resistance” that denied funds to integrated schools that had the effect of denying education to black children for at least four years.

In 1969, most African Americans had experienced de facto segregation, but few Californians had experienced the de jure segregation that Brown ended. Without the Mississippi experience, I would have thought that segregation was as much a fairy tale as Santa Claus, or as distant as “the old days.” Neither fairy tale, nor distant fact, de jure segregation is alive and well today.

Today, schools are segregated by income and zip code, not by race.

Cash-strapped urban school systems, largely funded by eroding property taxes, have fewer resources than well-funded suburban schools.

There are also oases in urban public schools where higher income parents come together to fund activities at their neighborhood schools, such as sports and music that have been eliminated from other public schools for financial reasons.

K-12 school segregation transfers into an advantage for students from the best-financed schools. These young people have the advantage of Advanced Placement (AP) and international Baccalaureate (IB) classes that are not often offered in those urban school districts struggling to provide bare basics. When colleges give students with advanced classes extra admissions consideration, they implicitly disadvantage those who did not have the opportunity to take advanced classes because of where they live.

There are dozens of other consequences to de facto segregation, including the racial achievement gap and unequal access to scholarships, internships, networking, and employment opportunities. Brown opened the door and, by ending de facto segregation, changed the terms and conditions of African-American life. It got us to the starting line, but now, 60 years later, we are still a long way from the finish line.

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

NEWS

Tri-State Defender

May 22 - 28, 2014

NAACP

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

In the line of duty…

The “Make The Right Call” NFL sports camp at Whitehaven High School last Saturday produced this lineup of community-minded young men determined to give back. Pictured (l-r): Zach Brown, Tennessee Titans; Darren Bates, St. Louis Rams; organizer Gene Robertson III; Owen Lopez, Memphis Blast; and Kevin Reddick, New Orleans Saints. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Playing nice together…

These budding pianists were part of the talent pool on display Tuesday as the Spring Ensemble Concert unfolded at Rozelle Creative and Performing Arts Elementary School. The piano instructor is Joy M. Plunkett and the principal is Carl E. Johnson Jr. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

BRIEFS & THINGS Annual rabies vaccination drive to be held in June

The annual Rabies Drive sponsored by the Shelby County Health Department’s (SCHD) Vector Control Program will be held Saturday, June 7, and Saturday, June 14, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Residents are encouraged to bring their dogs and cats to either location listed below to receive rabies vaccinations: * 9774 (Fire Station #65), Lakeland * 5469 Raleigh Millington (Fire Station #66), Millington “The Rabies Vaccination Drive is an excellent time to safely vaccinate your pets without paying additional administrative costs,” said Daniel Sprenger, Ph.D., manager of the SCHD Vector Control Program. “The vaccination will protect your pet from an avoidable illness, as well as your family.”

Although the majority of rabies cases occur in wildlife, most humans will need the rabies vaccine after being exposed to infected domestic animals. It is affordable to vaccinate pets before they are exposed to animals carrying the rabies virus.

The rabies tag, required by law, varies depending on the city of residence.

Memphis Sterile: Tags = $15 Fertile: Tags = $25

Shelby County Sterile: Tags = $15 Fertile:Tags = $25

Germantown Sterile: Tags = $20 Fertile: Tags = $25

Bartlett Sterile: Tags = $20 Fertile: Tags = $26

All dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier to ensure the safety of both the pet and the public.

(For more information regarding the Rabies Drive, call the Shelby County Health Department’s Vector Control Program at 901-222-9715 during regular business hours, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Norris named PTA Legislator of the Year

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) has been n a m e d “Legislator of the Year” by the Tennessee Pare n t Te a c h e r Associat i o n (PTA). The award is Senate presented Majority every year to an out- Leader Mark Norris standing legislator who “works to make a positive difference in the education, health, and welfare of Tennessee’s children and youth.”

The award was announced on Saturday at the group’s 101st annual convention in Memphis. Former principal at Arlington High School, Tammy Mason, won the PTA’s title of Outstanding Principal of the year. The Shelby County Council PTA was also named as Outstanding PTA Council for 2014 and received honors for excellence in advocacy and school decision-making.

“We feel it is a well-deserved recognition for a legislator who has spent his career working to improve Tennessee’s education system to ensure that our children receive a high quality education,” said Charla Sparks, Tennessee PTA President.

“Senator Norris has long been a friend of Tennessee PTA and a strong supporter of our mission. Without question he is a great resource to our volunteers as we navigate the legislative process.”

Norris presented a workshop on how to communicate with legislators at last week’s convention.

“Promoting the welfare of children and youth in their homes, schools, communities, and places of worship, and securing adequate laws for their care and protection is critically important,” said Norris. “It cannot be done alone. That’s one reason PTA is so important.”

Norris said there are many men and women in the Tennessee General Assembly deserving of this recognition, adding that, “As Senate Majority Leader, I share this award with gratitude with my colleagues. We stand committed to continue in our mutual quest for the betterment of all Tennessee children.”

Norris represents District 32 in the State Senate, which includes Tipton County and part of Shelby County. He is a lifetime member of the PTA BRIEFLY: The Cotton Museum will host Soul Food Sunday with culinary historian Adrian Miller on May 25th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The free event will celebrate the release of Miller’s new book, “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine One Plate at a Time.” The Cotton Museum is located at 65 Union Ave.

do what I had already being doing.”

This time, Haynes didn’t pursue the NAACP – they put the full-court press on him.

“Literally, from September to February, they called me every week, asking me to reconsider,” Haynes stated. “I told them, ‘The church thing hasn’t changed – I am not giving up my church.’ They said, ‘That’s no longer a deal breaker. Would you now reconsider?’

“They even called Jeremiah Wright and asked him to ask me to reconsider. The funny thing is the last time, my relationship with him was an issue. They got so desperate that they called him.”

Wright, who had been President Obama’s pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, became a political liability for Obama when he first ran for president in 2008 after videotapes surfaced of him using inflammatory language that was taken out of context.

Obama, after first distancing himself from Wright, eventually denounced him and resigned from the church from which Wright had already retired.

Wright had spoken frequently at Haynes church and despite the public controversy, Haynes refused to disavow him as Obama had done.

“They [members of the search firm hired by the NAACP] called me repeatedly, saying, ‘What will it take to change your mind?’ I said, ‘Nothing. I’m not interested.’

They were relentless, I’ll give them credit for that.

“They said, ‘With Julian Bond out of the picture, everything should be fine.’And I finally said, ‘OK.’” To reassure the NAACP that he would devote full time to his new duties, Haynes volunteered to move from Dallas to Baltimore to be near the national headquarters, he would quit conducting revivals and the only thing he wanted in return was to be able to preach at his church in Dallas twice a month.

“Last Thursday, I got this phone call. I was supposed to be in Florida Friday [for the final vote at the NAACP board meeting]. So they called me Thursday and asked whether I was willing to make the Association my sole source of employment. I told them what accommodations I had made, what preparations I had made at the church and they said, ‘Basically, you’ve answered our question. Thank you very much.’

Page 5

“Later, I got this call from the search team that they were going to do something else.

I’m fine with that.”

Unlike five years ago, when the executive committee presented the name of only Ben Jealous to the full board, this time the names of two candidates were advanced: Barbara R. Arnwine, who has been president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989, and Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark.

Although he has worked as a lawyer for the Justice Department, the FCC, and at Arnwine’s organization as well as served as director of the Fair Housing Council of Washington, D.C. before heading the New Jersey nonprofit group, Brooks, a graduate of Jackson State University in Mississippi and Yale University Law School, is not well known in national civil rights circles.

According to NAACP board members who interviewed both candidates, they have contrasting personalities. Arnwine, a frequent fixture on television and the conventions of national civil rights organizations, is bold and has a strong personality. Brooks is more understated. Describing him to the Baltimore Sun, former board chairman Julian Bond described him as “the kind of soft-spoken and well-intentioned person I wanted to have in this job.”

Arnwine declined to be interviewed for this article. But one of her supporters on the board said, “All of our civil rights organizations have a problem with a woman serving as their chief, day-to-day spokesperson.

Second, the clique that runs the board wants someone they can control, not someone like Barbara, who is talented and her own person.”

Another board member who had no favorite among the finalists said, “This is Ben Jealous all over again. They wanted someone they can control and manipulate. You Haynes said he has certainly learned – the hard way.

“I failed the test of our ancestors,” he said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. They got me twice.”

Still, he is not bitter.

“I wish Mr. Brooks the best. I really do,” Haynes said. “If what I went through is a reflection of how they do business, I hope he doesn’t have to climb over that kind of nonsense. Our people are still catching too much hell for us to be giving this much hell to each other.”

(NEXT WEEK: Who is Cornell William Brooks?

BUSINESS

Page 6

Tri-State Defender

May 22 - 28, 2014

ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

The fashion way From designer fragrances, clothes, shoes and bags, men and women go in debt to stay current in fashion. While the trends may come and go, fashion as a whole is the staple of life for many. Even the knock offs have a place in society.

Just as in any business, it takes determination, resources, creativity and talent to make it in fashion.

On a national level, entrepreneurs such as Russell Simmons of Phat Farm, P Diddy of Sean Jean, Damond John of FUBU, Rachel Roy of Rachel Roy Collection, and Tracy Reese of Tracy Reese have inspired an entire generation of designers and consumers alike.

Phat Farm: Russell Simmons

Russell is known as the pioneer of many things. As the co-founder of the world renowned Def Jam Recordings to the creator of “Def Comedy Jam” to the former owner and creator of Phat Farm, he is the consummate entrepreneur. As a preppy brand that catered to men’s fashion, Phat Farm birthed its female offspring “Baby Phat,” which today includes women’s clothing, eyeglasses, fragrances, and a children’s line. With an estimated net worth of $350 million, Simmons has been grinding in the fashion industry since 1992.

Phat Farm was sold to Kellwood for approximately $140 million.

Kellwood and FUBU enjoyed the infusion of capital from Samsung, Sean John is still privately h e l d .

Known as Carlee McCullough an upscale b r a n d catering to y o u n g men, Sean Combs, P Diddy or P u f f y (whatever you want to call him today) is a s a v v y business Daymond man that John h a s learned from the best. He brought Sean John to the market in 1998 and has built a power house that is still growing.

Priding himself on creating a lifestyle brand, Sean brands everything from clothing to fragrances to music and now liquor known as Ciroq. With revenues exceeding $525 million annually, Combs is a major player that is taken seriously in the fashion industry.

By entering into an exclusive distribution deal with Macy’s, Sean John has entered into new product categories such as children’s clothing, tailored suits, ties, hosiery, eyewear, and footwear.

Sean John: Sean Combs FUBU: Daymond John While Phat Farm was sold to

Over the last 20 years, Day-

her namesake line Rachel Roy. In 2008, she formed a joint venture with Jones Apparel Group, which allowed her to launch the Rachel Roy Collection of shoes, clothes, and accessories.

Available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, Rachel Roy is the go to lady for upscale fashion. Any brand that Michelle Obama wears becomes an instant hit, and First Lady Obama has worn Rachel Roy.

Tracy Reese: Tracy Reese Tracy Reese

Rachel Roy mond has evolved into one of the most successful fashion icons. He is a noted fashion designer, branding expert, author and motivational speaker.

Many know Damond as the investor on the television show “Sharks.” However, his investment in himself is what garnered his wealth and respect

as an investor or advisor.

According to his website, in 1992 he started FUBU by making hats with three associates. With the confidence that they would succeed, John mortgaged his own property for $100,000. The company diversified with a collection of shirts, jerseys, shoes, caps and jeans. In 1995 Samsung invested in the company. By 1998 FUBU grossed over $350 million in annual worldwide sales. This would prove to be the peak of FUBU sales.

The end result was not bad for a $100,000 investment.

Rachel Roy: Rachel Roy

As a female climbing the ladder, Rachel Roy is making her mark in the fashion industry by consistently keeping an eye on detail. She has worked at retail, been a stylist for magazines and videos, and served as an intern at Rocawear. In 2005, she launched

Tracy Reese was in the game before the more popular folks came to the market. She has been holding her position in the industry with her own label since 1987. She has been through the struggles just like many other entrepreneurs and has persevered. While remaining in the clothing world, she has expanded into shoes, accessories and even home decor.

With clients that include Beyoncé and Michelle Obama, Tracy is a brand of her own. Reese is carried by Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Anthropologie.

She even has a flagship store in New York City and Tokyo.

NOTE: Join us this month as we look at some of Memphis’ up and coming designers.

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

College-educated African Americans have harder times than whites NNPA News Service

by Freddie Allen African Americans with college degrees continue to fare worse than college-educated whites in the labor market, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

The report titled, “The Class of 2014: The Weak Economy Is Idling Too Many Young Graduates,” looked at the job prospects for high school graduates and college graduates during the Great Recession and the current economic recovery.

“Unemployment of young graduates is extremely high today, not because of something unique about the Great Recession and its aftermath that has affected young people in particular,” stated the report written by Heidi Shierholz, Alyssa Davis and Will Kimball of EPI. “Rather, it is high because young workers always experience disproportionate increases in unemployment during periods of labor market weakness.”

The report said that the un-

employment rate for AfricanAmerican high school graduates (17-20 years-old) rose from 30.4 percent in 2007 to 41.2 percent in 2011 and decreased to 34.7 percent. The jobless rate for young, white high school graduates was 13.1 percent in 2007, peaked at 24 percent in 2010, and edged down to 19.4 percent.

Young African-American college graduates also suffered high rates of unemployment following the Great Recession. In 2007, the jobless rate for young college-educated blacks was 8.1 percent, but by 2010, a year after the official end of the recession, that rate ballooned to 20 percent.

The report said that the jobless rate for this group of workers has improved to 13.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for white college graduates never reached double digits, even during the Great Recession.

“Among young, white nonHispanic college graduates, the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in 2007, rose to 8.6 percent in 2011, and improved to 8.0 percent,” stated the report.

Happy college ending for these Howard grads but uncertain future overall for 2014 graduates, and even more so for African Americans.

(NNPA Photo by Freddie Allen).

The report said that high unemployment among recent college graduates is not because of a lack of education or skills for available jobs, “rather it stems from weak demand for goods and services, which makes it unnecessary for employers to significantly ramp up hiring.”

High school graduates and college graduates also earn less than they did nearly 15 years ago.

“The real (inflation-adjusted) wages of young high school graduates have

dropped 10.8 percent, and those of young college graduates have dropped 7.7 percent,” stated the report.

That means that, high school graduates lost about $2,500 in annual earnings and young college graduates lost approximately $3,000 since 2000.

Despite the common belief that college students often “shelter in school,” waiting until the economy improves, skyrocketing costs associated with higher education and enormous debt force many

graduates to seek any work that they can find.

During the 2013-14 academic year, the average total costs to attend a four-year instate public school was $22,826. The average costs for a four-year private school was twice that at $44,750.

“From the 1983–1984 enrollment year to the 2012–2013 enrollment year, the inflation-adjusted cost of a four-year education, including tuition, fees, and room and board, increased 125.5 percent for private school and 129.1 percent for public school,” the report said. “Median family income only increased 15.6 percent over this period, leaving families and students unable to pay for most colleges and universities in full.”

College costs combined with a weak economy means that students that graduate in 2015, 2016, and 2017 will encounter similar high jobless rates and lost earnings.

“They’ll never get those lost earnings back, those 10-15 years of reduced earnings, said EPI’s Heidi Shierholz.

“That’s just gone.”

She said that the high unem-

ployment that young workers are facing right now is part and parcel of the high unemployment that’s going on in the labor market as a whole.

“That means the solutions that will bring the unemployment rate down more broadly are also the same solutions that will bring the unemployment rate of young workers down,” she said.

The report recommended restarting long-term emergency unemployment benefits, instituting work sharing programs to avoid layoffs, and allowing earlier access into Social Security and Medicare programs for older workers to improve job prospects for all workers, especially young workers.

The report concluded: “The bottom line is that policies that will generate demand for U.S. goods and services (and therefore demand for workers who provide them), or policies that would spread the total hours of work across more workers, are the keys to giving young people a fighting chance as they enter the labor market during the aftermath of the Great Recession.”

RELIGION

Tri-State Defender

Page 7

May 22 - 28, 2014

Rev. Mitty Collier to highlight New Sardis Music Appreciation Sunday

In most traditional b l a c k churches, good music is synonymous with good preaching.

Both will abound on Sunday The Rev. (May 25th) Mitty Collier as New Sardis Baptist Church celebrates the historical nature of music in its 150-hear history.

Leading the preaching and singing will be the Rev. Mitty Collier. Like Thomas Dorsey, considered the “Father of Gospel music,” Collier was first famous for music outside the church. Her classic rendition of “I Had A Talk With My Man Last Night” propelled her to fame in 1964.

Since then, however, Collier has changed. In the words of the Apostle Paul, she is a new creature. An ordained minister since 1989, Rev. Collier now pastors the More Like Christ Christian Fellowship Ministries in Chicago.

After preaching at the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, Collier will join the New Sardis Church family and friends and guests in a music and food explosion called Grillin-nGroovin in the Grove. Starting at 3 o’clock, it will feature, according to event hosts, “some of the greatest gospel singing and cooking this side of heaven.”

Joining Collier on stage will be Eddie Harrison, Posley Jones, The Salem Harmonizers, The New Sardis Music Department and other artists.

The Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba Gray, the pastor of New Sardis, said there is an open invitation to “whosoever will to come and join the fun and fellowship in Christ.”

Success in Toastmasters is not a solo trip, according to the Rev. Eric Ovid Donaldson, and those who have helped him include Toastmasters Division D Governor Hattie Nelson.

Thousands of Toastmasters from around the world will be traveling to this yearʼs International Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for The World Championship of Public Speaking. The Rev. Eric Ovid Donaldson, senior minister at Unity Christian Church in Whitehaven, will be one of the participants. (Photos: George Tillman Jr.)

Win in Toastmaster’s competition lands local pastor a trip to Malaysia Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“When my name was called, it seemed so surreal,” the Rev. Eric Ovid Donaldson, senior minister at Unity Christian Church in Whitehaven, recalled after winning Toastmasters International’s District 43 International Speech Contest held recently in Tupelo, Miss.

“At one moment, I was supporting our Unity Toastmasters Club, and in the next moment, I’m being invited halfway around the world to compete in the semi-finals at the World Championship of Public Speaking.”

Thousands of Toastmasters from around the world will be traveling to this year’s International Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to watch The World Championship of Public Speaking.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches lessons in leadership and public speaking. Rev. Donaldson is one of many people who participate in Toastmaster meetings locally to hone their communications skills.

“You would think I would have an advantage being that I preach regularly, but not so,” said Donaldson. “I’ve lost several times over the years to contestants with phenomenal presentation skills; and that was at the club level. Some of them are members of my church.”

Donaldson came to Memphis in 2010 to pastor Unity Christian Church. When he discovThe Rev. ered that a Toastmasters group Eric Ovid met weekly at the church, he Donaldson soon joined.

Toastmaster clubs such as Unity Toastmasters strive to provide a supportive and positive learning experience to its members, resulting in greater selfconfidence and personal growth.

“This year I was so busy with other projects in and around the church I wasn’t going to compete.

But when I was asked, I couldn’t say no,” said Donaldson. “I really want to encourage everyone to par-

ticipate and get involved with Toastmasters because of what it can do to bring people out of their shells and enhance their market value and effectiveness in their jobs. So I competed at our club’s international speech contest, and this year, I won.”

And he kept winning, overcoming stiff competition in the Area and the Division contests before reaching the District competition, which included contestants from Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

The secret to his success, said Donaldson, is three-fold: A caring club, a thirst to improve and his faith in God. “This win was a team effort. The members of Unity Toastmasters really worked with me every week to prepare me for each round. Their love and encouragement was infectious. It made me want to do well. I think that’s what Toastmasters is all about, and it’s certainly what our church is about.”

(For more information about Toastmasters International, visit www.unitychristianchurch.info or www.toastmasters.org.)

WOMEN’S DAY On a day devoted to women at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, Dr. Judith C. McAllister, president of COGICʼs International Music Department, delivers “The Spoken Word.”

PRAISE CONNECT -A WEEKLY DIRECTORY OF MINISTERS & CHURCHES-

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

767 Walker Avenue Memphis, TN 38126

ASSOCIATE MINISTERS

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

No Cross...

No Crown

Rev. Davena Young Porter Rev. Linda A Paige Rev. Luecretia Matthews SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

SUNDAY Sunday School .....................8:30 am Morning Worship Service ....10:00am

WEDNESDAY Bible Study .........................10:30 am Mid-Day Prayer Meeting .....12 noon Evening Prayer Meeting........7:00pm

FRIDAY Cable Channel 17 ............... 8:00pm

Dr. & Rev. Mrs. Reginald Porter

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

– Psalm 55:22

Attend the church of your choice

When the “Spirit” is received, movement often is the reflection, as was the case last Sunday during the Womenʼs Day service at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, where Bishop Designee Charles H. Mason Patterson Sr. is the host pastor.

(Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

Attend the Church of your choice

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

—Phillipians 4:13

ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, May 22 - 28, 2014, Page 8

Terry Crews: The ‘Blended’ interview Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Kam Williams

Since retiring from the NFL, Terry Crews has traded in his helmet and cleats to pursue an acting career while also becoming the ultimate family man and fitness enthusiast. And it was recently anTerry nounced that Crews starting this fall he will be serving as host of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

Here, he talks about playing Nickens in his new movie, “Blended,” co-starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

Kam Williams: Congrats on the Golden Globe for your TV show, “Brooklyn Ninety-Nine.”

Terry Crews: Thank you! It blew me away when we got that Golden Globe. What an honor! I had no idea. It’s an awesome show and one of the best things I’ve ever done. …

KW: I loved “Blended,” and I’m not a fan of Adam Sandler’s lowbrow brand of humor. But this one is different and kept me laughing nonstop.

TC: That’s great! And it touches your feelings along the way, too.

That’s the thing. What’s so good about the Adam-Drew [Barrymore] collaborations is how she tempers him. It’s the real deal. Their “50 First Dates” was the first comedy that I ever caught feelings on. I was like, “Whoa! I’m feeling the romance here. I want them to get together.

Why do I care so much?” And I got emotional about it. That is what they bring, a magical combination that works every time. …

KW: You provide the comic relief throughout this movie. Just when we’re about to forget about Nickens, he pops up again with that Greek chorus.

TC: You know what’s wild?

Adam called me up and before I’d seen a script, he said, “Man, I wanna do this movie with you that we’re shooting in Africa. Are you down, brother?” I had no idea what was going on, but I was like, “Let’s go! This is awesome!” I’m a card-carrying member of the Happy Madison Productions family. Adam put me in “The Longest Yard,” “Click” and “The Benchwarmers.” Every time he calls, it leads to nothing but great things. That’s why I just said, “Let’s do it!” We didn’t really have this character all straightened out. We sort of figured it out as we went along. He came up with a great idea.

He said, basically, “Let’s make him the South African Tom Jones.” Once we had that, we were off and running.

KW: Had you been to Africa before?

TC: No, that was my first time, and I loved every minute of it. I traveled all over South Africa. I was in Cape Town, Soweto, Sun City and Johannesburg. I would’ve visited Durban, too, but we just didn’t have the time. We met the most beautiful people and ate the best food! And we went on safari in Madikwe, which is near Botswana. It was amazing.

Some people say Sante Fe is spiritual, but you haven’t experienced anything until you’ve been to Africa.

You know the world is bigger than you are after you see Africa.

KW: I was surprised that they shot the film in Africa at all, since it’s a romantic comedy that could’ve been made in Hollywood, not a drama that called for an exotic location.

TC: I think the moviegoers are tired of always seeing L.A. and New York. Come on! I think you can only do but so much here. It’s about time that the rest of the world is represented in entertainment. Africa is a huge continent. The world is gigantic. We get a little insulated. New Yorkers never go anywhere because they think everything’s already in New York. You can go to Disney World or watch Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” but you have to travel to Africa to have the real experience. And if you ever do go, it will change your life. I was changed.

It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. …

LITERATURE

Meet the black officer who went undercover as a KKK member The Root

by Breanna Edwards Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

Retired police Sgt. Ron Stallworth’s story – about how he, a black undercover Colorado cop, infiltrated one of the nation’s most notorious hate groups in 1978 – is one such truth.

Stallworth, 61, recently Ron released the book Stallworth “Black Klansman,” detailing his amazing story during his early years of service.

“I was sitting in my office reading the newspaper,” Stallworth, who now lives in Utah, told The Root. “I was going through the classified section, and on this particular day there was an ad that said ‘Ku Klux Klan.’”

It listed a post office box to send inquiries, and so he wrote a letter, identifying himself as a white man and peppering the note with racial slurs. The undercover officer, who was still in his 20s at the time, did make one crucial mistake, however: He signed the letter with his real name. He wasn’t too worried, though, since he figured the whole setup was probably a joke.

It wasn’t until he got a phone call a week later from the local KKK organizer about starting a Colorado Springs chapter that he realized how serious the ad was.

Stallworth told the man that his sister was dating a “n—ger,” and how mad it made him. The organizer liked his story and figured that Stallworth was exactly what the new chapter needed. He asked to meet – which was obviously a problem. But the quick-thinking officer gave a description of one of his close friends, who worked in the narcotics division, and organized a meeting for the following week.

Stallworth’s friend Chuck would play “the white Ron Stallworth.”

“The funny thing is that Chuck’s voice (was) totally distinctive (from) mine,” Stallworth said. He was only questioned about the different voices once – and he successfully blamed the flub on a sinus infection.

There was only one other time when Stallworth’s cover was almost blown: after his supervisor assigned him to be then-Grand Wizard David Duke’s bodyguard. “(Duke) was planning a publicity blitz in Colorado Springs. He was coming into town to do interviews and try to drum up interest,” Stallworth said. “I got assigned to be his bodyguard because there were death threats against him.”

At the time, Stallworth was having fairly regular phone conversations with at least three Klansmen, including David Duke. “I was apprehensive that they would recognize my voice,” the retired officer said.

Stallworth remembered how seemingly amiable Duke was. He was likable enough and intelligent, a great orator, and never used slurs about black people or wore his robe. The Grand Wizard even shook Stallworth’s hand and thanked him.

“He was changing the face of the whole Ku Klux Klan,” Stallworth said, describing Duke as the type of man a girl would love to take home to her mother.

One moment between the two almost went south, however, when Stallworth had someone take a photo of him with Duke and the Grand Dragon, even putting his arm around both men. It obviously upset Duke, who tried to snatch the camera. Stallworth and Duke faced off. “If you touch me,” Stallworth said to the Grand Wizard, “I’ll arrest you for assaulting a police officer, and

that’s worth five years in prison.”

Stallworth recalled, “I was thinking about all our forefathers and foremothers who (were) dealing with racists like this throughout the generations, who lacked power, who lacked authority, who were at the mercy of idiots like this and could do nothing to stop it because of the power of the Klan,” he said pointedly. “But on this particular occasion, I had the power, I was the authority and the Klan was at my mercy.”

Duke eventually backed down and walked away. As Stallworth put it, he was the supremacist’s greatest fear: “a n—ger with a gun.”

Stallworth’s life has never really been stereotypically “normal”; his Klan infiltration epitomized his unusual approach to life.

At just 19 years old, he moved from Texas to Colorado Springs, joining the police force via a cadet program designed to bring more minorities into the department. He was the first black cadet to enter the program. At 22 he became the first black detective, the youngest in the history of the department, he said.

Meanwhile, he was just trying to save up enough money so that he could go to college to get a degree and become a physical education teacher.

One of his first undercover assignments was to look into Black Panther activist Stokely Carmichael. His supervisors told him to blend in and listen to Carmichael’s speech and then report anything interesting.

“It was my first brush with living black history,” Stallworth says. “He was a fiery, bombastic speaker. He had a special way of speaking, and he could fire up a crowd like nobody’s business.”

Stallworth’s Klan investigation ended after about seven months because he was so good at his job that “the local organizer had the idea that they needed someone who was a resident of Colorado Springs to assume the duties,” he says. “They took a vote at one of their meetings, and by unanimous vote they had determined that they wanted Ron Stallworth to become the new local organizer because he was a ‘loyal and dedicated Klansman.’”

Stallworth wanted to go for it, but the higher-ups weren’t as thrilled. “The chief panicked and said, ‘I want you to shut this

investigation down now. I want you to stop sending Chuck to meetings, stop answering the undercover phone line. I want the undercover phone line changed, and I want Ron Stallworth the Klansman to disappear.’”

The chief also ordered Stallworth to destroy all reports from the investigation.

Stallworth tried to argue against closing down the operation, but his efforts were in vain.

What Stallworth didn’t do, however, was destroy all the reports.

“I took the notebooks ... and I walked out of the office with them under my arm and put them in the car. I drove home with them, and they’ve remained with me over the past 35 years, and that’s what I based my book on.

“For one thing, I recognized that I had done something quite significant. I had penetrated the Ku Klux Klan as a black man,” he continued. “To the best of my knowledge, no one had ever done that before. I have a membership card that I carry in my wallet that identifies me as a member of the (Klan); I have a certificate of membership signed by Duke, certifying me as a member of his (Klan); and if I had destroyed the information ... if I had told the story after that, nobody would ever have believed [me] ... because there was no evidence.”

It is believed that during Stallworth’s stint with the Klan, he prevented at least three cross burnings from occurring by upping security in those neighborhoods whenever the Klan invited him on one of their excursions.

The same day the chief told him to stop the investigation, the phone that he used for undercover work rang again and again, but Stallworth obeyed orders and didn’t answer.

“That very night, a cross burned in front of the nightclub where Carmichael had spoken three years earlier,” he said. Stallworth believes the phone call was one of his “Klan buddies” inviting him to a burning.

“Black Klansman” is available online at different sites, including http://ihelppolice.wix.com/policeandfire1#! books/c1pna. There is also a Kindle version: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KC0GTIA/ ?tag=root04c-20. A Nook version will be released soon.)

(Breanna Edwards is a newswriter at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.)

‘Soul food scholar’ and author Adrian Miller at the Cotton Museum

Culinary historian Adrian Miller, the 2014 James Beard Award recipient, will be the center of attention when the Cotton Museum hosts Soul Food Sunday on May 25th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the museum at 65 Union Ave. The free event will celebrate the release of Adrian Miller’s new book, Miller “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine One Plate at a Time.” The Cotton Museum’s event organizers said attendees should expect to learn and taste along as Miller uncovers “the influences, ingredients and innovations behind this uniquely American tradition and our very own culinary history.”

In addition to a discussion and book signing with Miller, guests will have the chance to enjoy soul food from local restaurants and music from Greg Mason’s Gospel Ensemble. Some of Memphis’ tastiest treats will be available from The Gay Hawk, Alchemy, Deja Vu, R.P. Tracks and Local Gastropub.

Miller’s book offers his special insight into this distinctly African-American cuisine.

In preparation for his book, Miller visited 150 soul food restaurants in 35 different cities and found himself on a quest to give the cuisine a public makeover. Aside from personal experiences, Miller uses a wealth of sources to show how food and culture intersect on the plate.

The book references historic newspapers, cookbooks and firsthand accounts from slaves and plantation visitors. By creating a representational soul food dinner (from the fried chicken to the black-eyed peas), Miller takes a closer look at each aspect of the meal – tracing the various influences, ingredients, and innovations that are the mark of the AfricanAmerican soul food tradition and identity.

According to Miller, his book is a “love letter to past, present, and future African American cooks” and he hopes that the time has come for these cooks to “take their rightful place in the pantheon of African-American cultural performers.”

The Soul Food Sunday discussion is part of the Cotton Museum’s Southern Discovery: Author Series, a program that invites the community to enjoy talks from authors exploring southern experience, culture and history.

ENTERTAINMENT

Tri-State Defender

May 22 - 28, 2014

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam’s Kapsules:

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Kam Williams

For movies opening May 23, 2014

BIG BUDGET FILMS

“Blended” (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and crude humor) Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunite for their third romantic comedy (after The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates), this go-round as a widower and divorcee who continue seeing each other despite a disastrous blind date. With Terry Crews, Kevin Nealon, Wendi McLendonCovey, Dan Patrick and Shaquille O’Neal.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (PG-13 for nudity, profanity, suggestive material and intense violence) Latest installment of the Marvel Comics franchise finds a confederacy of mutants traveling back in time to join forces with their younger selves in order to change the past to preserve the future. Cast includes Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Hugh Jackman and Michael Fassbender.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” (R for sexuality and pervasive profanity) Robin Williams plays the title character in this remake of “The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum,” an Israeli dramedy about an obnoxious jerk who tries to make amends with everyone he’s ever offended after being informed by his doctor (Mila Kunis) that he only has an hour-and-ahalf left to live. With Melissa Leo, James Earl Jones and Peter Dinklage.

“Cold in July” (Unrated) Crime thriller, set in East Texas in the Eighties, about a family man (Michael C. Hall) worried about the arrival in town of the revenge-minded father (Sam Shepard) of the burglar he shot to death during a home invasion. With Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw and Wyatt Russell.

“The Dance of Reality” (Unrated) Autobiopic written, produced and directed by Renaissance Man Alejandro Jodorowsky, revisiting his own childhood in Chile, and featuring Jeremias Herskovits as his boyhood self. Costarring Brontis Jodorowsky, Adan Jodorowsky and Axel Jodorowsky, courtesy of nepotism-inspired casting. (In Spanish with subtitles)

“Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia” (Unrated) Reverential retrospective about Gore Vidal (1925-2012), featuring archival footage of the best-selling novelist, political essayist and gay gadfly bemoaning the triumph of conservatism and corporations over liberalism and humanistic values.

Halle Berry returns as Storm in Brian Singerʼs upcoming return to the X-men franchise, “X-men: Days of Future Past,” which is set to hit theaters July 18.

Berry will join other returning cast mates from the original “X-men Trilogy.”

(Courtesy photo)

“Grand Depart” (Unrated) Sibling rivalry drama about two brothers (Jeremie Elkaim and Pio Marmai) whose lives are thrown into turmoil by their father’s declining health (Eddy Mitchell). With Chantal Lauby, Zoe Felix and Benjamin Rolland. (In French with subtitles)

“Korengal” (Unrated) Sequel to the Oscarnominated documentary Restrepo, directed by Sebastian Junger (A Perfect Storm), serves up another slice of the War in Afghanistan from the point of view of a decimated platoon of American soldiers stationed in a very vulnerable valley surrounded by Taliban fighters on a suicide mission.

“Lila, Lila” (Unrated) Screen adaptation of the Martin Suter novel of the same name about a waiter (Daniel Bruhl) desperate to impress a customer (Hannah Herzsprung) he wants to date who publishes a found manuscript under his name only to find himself

hounded by the true author (Henry Hubchen) when the book becomes a runaway best-seller.

With Kirsten Block, Peter Schneider and Henriette Muller. (In German with subtitles)

“The Love Punch” (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity and crude humor) Revenge comedy about a divorced couple (Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan) who grudgingly join forces to recover their savings from the shady businessman (Laurent Lafitte) who embezzled the entire contents of their retirement account.

With Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie and Tuppence Middleton.

“Words and Pictures” (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, mature themes and nude sketches) Romantic dramedy about a prep school’s English teacher (Clive Owen) and new art instructor (Juliette Binoche) who date while debating the value of their respective disciplines.

With Bruce Davison, Amy Brenneman and Keegan Connor Tracy.

Page 9

Sistahs Succeed 2 Showcase set for June 7-8 weekend

Morris Chestnut, Elise Neal to highlight Health, Beauty and Financial Wellness Expo

The inaugural Sistahs Succeed 2 Showcase (SS2 Showcase) presented by Spirit Magazine is coming to the Cook Convention Center on June 7th8th.

The showcase is designed as an eventful weekend in downtown Memphis for women of all ages to enjoy live entertainment, Elise meet celebrity guests and Neal sample and purchase a wide range of health, beauty, fitness, fashion and financial products and services.

“The goal of the showcase is to provide resources to uplift and encourage not only our sisters but their families as well in all aspects of life from health and fitness, to being glamorous and fiMorris nancially stable,” says Chestnut President of SS2 Showcase, Inc. Minerva Little.

“We’re bringing all of those things under one roof and making it an entertaining event for everyone involved.”

Event highlights for Saturday, June 7th include appearances from celebrity guest Morris Chestnut (“Best Man Holiday”) and featured music perforSir Charles mances by the “King of Jones Southern Soul,” Sir Charles Jones.

On Sunday, the SS2 Showcase will feature a worship service with Pastor Uliasea Little Jr. and the Christ Baptist Church family, followed by Memphis’ Best Gospel Competition, where a grand prize of $1,000 will be awarded for the best solo performance. Actress Elise Neal will serve as a celebrity judge. Contestants can enter online at http://www.ss2showcase.com/ Tickets for the showcase go on sale Saturday (May 24th) at the Cook Convention Center Box Office. Early-bird tickets are $10. Also on Saturday, vendors can purchase and choose booth locations and solo artists may register for the Memphis Best Gospel Competition.

Vendor booths and sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Minerva Little at 901-240-0177 or email sistahssucceed2@gmail.com or Regina Harris-Jones at 901-278-0881 or rhjones@cmgpr.com

COMMUNITY

Page 10

Tri-State Defender

May 22 - 28, 2014

‘A Call for Balance/Fairness’

Claiming slander, radio host/television commentator interrupts press conference

by Karanja A. Ajanaku

Kajanaku@tri-statedefender.com

The attachment handed out at a Friday (May 16th) press conference at Cane Creek Baptist Church had this header: “Direct Quotes of Mr. Andrew Clarksenior Appearance on WHBQ.TV Tuesday night 5/13/14.”

The press conference featured representatives of Rainbow PUSH, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Action Network and “concerned ministers.” It was a forum to issue a twin call for balance and fairness. One target was the awarding of contracts in Shelby County.

The other target was the media, particularly the handling of the story involving Commissioner Henri Brooks, who some want to resign in the wake of remarks she made at the Shelby County Election Commission on May 12th. Brooks challenged the award of a roofing contract to a firm that employs 25 roofers who are Hispanic and no African Americans. Her manner of doing so is now a matter of ongoing controversy.

The affiliates who called the press conference pointed to an inequity, saying Brooks was being taken to task in media reports while Clarksenior was getting a pass on remarks that were more egregious.

Clarksenior, who was positioned at the back of the room, had the three-page release in his hand when he rose in an attempt to respond to the stated and written call for his dismissal from the radio airways and for an apology. Read by the Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba Gray, Rainbow PUSH Memphis head, the statement asserted that Clarksenior referred to African Americans as animals during a discussion about economic blight on WHBQ’s 10 o’clock newscast.

As the conference played out, it was clear that the emphasis was being put on the need for equity in the awarding of county contracts. However, when a later reference was made to Clarksenior and the imbalance of coverage, he rose seeking to respond.

“Gentleman, can I respond?”

“No sir,” was the quick retort from Gray, supported by a chorus of similar sentiment.

“I cannot ask a question? You have slandered me, but you don’t want me to respond?”

“I quoted you,” said Gray, turning to the attachment page

Local Representatives of Rainbow PUSH, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Action Network teamed with “concerned ministers” at a Friday (March 16th) press conference seeking balance and fairness in the awarding of contracts in Shelby County. The group also challenged local media to be balanced and fair in its coverage, pointing out a perceived shortcoming. (Photo: Karana A. Ajanaku) with the quote.

“Let me tell you why you don’t want a response,” said Clarksenior. “I at no time in shape, fashion or form ...read your own statement sir. This statement is correct. I at no time ever said that black people are animals.”

“You did say it,” Gray shot back.

“No sir, I did not,” said Clarksenior. “Read your statement!”

The statement Clarksenior referred to followed an account of the question that preceded it.

The question solicited his answer to who was responsible for the conditions of blight in Memphis. According to the account, he was asked, “Are blacks responsible?”

Then came Clarksenior’s quoted response: “The people responsible are the bums who live there. They act like animals. Do I take pride in saying this? Heck no, but they are animals.”

Vying for the floor at the press conference, Clarksenior said, “What I was referring to pastor, in all due respect, is that in our community with economic blight there are some of us who don’t live well. There are some of us who do not have respect for themselves. There are some of us who act this way.

“I did not relate in any shape,

fashion or form this to African Americans and for you to say that, I am truly hurt because you are supposed to be a man of God,” said Clarksenior, his remarks directed toward Gray.

“You are supposed to project the truth and you did not do that.

And you said I said things about African Americans that I did not say. So I refute you publicly. I am ashamed of you. ...”

Gray had made his way from behind the podium to near where Clarksenior stood. He had a copy of the statement and the page quoting Clarksenior.

“You don’t have to be ashamed of me,” he said at the height of the exchange.

The Rev. Dwight Montgomery, Memphis SCLC president, stepped in to return the conference to its intended course. And Clarksenior exited soon thereafter.

TSD Publisher and President Bernal E. Smith II appeared with Clarksenior on the Fox 13 “Insiders” news segment. “Andrew you can’t just refer to people as animals,” Smith is quoted as saying in the press statement read and referred to at the news conference.

After hearing of the news conference and the exchange, Smith said his counterpart on the “Insiders” has established a reputation for skating the line of

inappropriate and controversial references when it comes to discussing people in general and some African Americans specifically.

“I have always challenged him on those thoughts, opinions and references as I did that night, calling him out on air immediately following his statement,” said Smith. “Particularly in a public forum, it is never appropriate to disrespect the President of the United States as he has on many occasions and it is never appropriate to refer to any group of people as ‘animals’ no matter your opinion of their actions.

“I don’t pretend to know his intent, but I do know what was said and it was simply wrong. I do believe as a community and a nation we have to come to grips with a history of derogatory language that has been and is currently used to denigrate, oppress and marginalize groups of people.”

Conversely, said Smith, “We also cannot become so sensitive and reactionary that we begin censuring and restricting people from voicing their honest thoughts and opinions as that is where real dialogue and progress on the issues begin and end.”

The objective, he said, must be to “strike a delicate balance

thing needs to be done so that we won’t have to have a statement made by Henri Brooks.”

What really is needed, he said, “is the civil rights organizations to come together and call for an economic summit because not only do we have issues related to that, all of these issues that particularly impact African Americans and Latinos because of the fact that there are inequities in this community.”

Montgomery said there is a long history of African-American contractors pushing to be heard about the obstacles involved with landing public contracts.

State Rep. Barbara Cooper, who stood with the affiliates that called the press conference, said experience makes one sensitive to inequity and that Brooks has those kind of experiences, as does she and others who have been raising questions about contract inequities locally and on the state level.

During the commission meeting, Brooks expressed her frustration, which she said surfaces “when we always leave out black folks. You can’t leave black folks out and say you are complying with Title VI (of the Civil Rights Act.)” Saying she had no agenda and that it was “about being fair,” Brooks determinedly challenged the awarding of a $1.7 million contract to B Four Plied Inc. to put a new roof on the Peggy Edmiston Administration Building on Mullins Station Road. When a Memphisarea resident took the floor and drew upon his Hispanic background to make the case that Hispanics are the “minority of minorities” in Memphis, Brooks gave him, the commission and everyone present a sternly-worded shot of her view of relevant history.

“You asked to come here. We did not, and when we got here, our condition was so egregious, so barbaric,” said Brooks.

“Don’t ever let that (the minority of minorities reference) come out of your mouth again because, you know what, that hurts your case. Don‘t compare the two, they’re not comparable.”

At another point, Brooks zeroed in on Commissioner Chris Thomas, saying, “Excuse me, you over there mouthing something. You with the sheet on.”

During her challenge of the contract award, Brooks said, “This speaks volumes about our disrespect, insensitivity to the black community. I am just saying to you that this is horrible.”

Wilkins steps out with clergy support

by Karanja A. Ajanaku

Kajanaku@tri-statedefender.com

On Aug. 7th, the voters of the Ninth Congressional District will get another chance to decide who will represent them for two years. The incumbent, Steve Cohen, again wants that to be him, and – again – the President of the United States is backing him.

So Monday morning when a minister-laden group gathered near the National Civil Rights Museum to show support for attorney Ricky Wilkins, one of the questions was about dealing with President Obama’s support for Cohen. The question was fielded by Bishop Edward H. Stephens Jr., pastor of Full Gospel Baptist Church.

“As it relates to our president not being on the ground, we are,” said Stephens. “And some decisions he has to make because he is the president. I think with the intelligentsia that he has, if he were here (in Memphis), he would be here (supporting Wilkins.”

The show of support by Stephens and the other ministers was a signal that the race has shifted into a higher gear in the wake of the May 6th Shelby County Primary Elections.

Cohen has been formidable against previous challengers, winning by overwhelming margins.

So, why should voters oust a representative who has proven to be popular at the polls? And how important of a role can the church play this time around?

“We need change,” said Bishop Brandon B. Porter, pas-

that maintains respect and dignity for all people while challenging ignorant, backwards and oppressive thinking. Real progress can only be made through having the hard discussions and remaining open and honest about our world view, thoughts and ideas and how we put those in to action.”

During Friday’s press conference, Gray said, “We are not here to give her (Brooks) a pass.

We are simply saying that we can’t lose the issue that she has raised because of the style that she uses. The facts remain the same.”

That point was amplified in the prepared statement he read.

“When you peel the onion of ‘offensive’ remarks, you will discover the truth that African Americans are still discriminated against and denied access to capital, jobs and contracts in Shelby County. While Commissioner Brooks’ approach may be questioned, her concern over the County’s roofing contract is justified.”

During a question-and-answer session, Gray said he has Hispanics in his church. “The point of it is that we are not fighting other minorities. We are fighting for fairness for ourselves. And one major difference that Henri Brooks pointed out is very clear, we didn’t come here as tourists.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination, said Gray, noting that the statistics involved in the roofing contract award “make out a strong case for concern.”

Pastor Montgomery observed that his church recently accepted a construction project bid from a company that employs all Latinos.

“As pastor, I could have said no,” said Gray, emphasizing the church he pastors, AnnesdaleCherokee Baptist Church, is the local headquarters of SCLC. “It’s not like we are saying Latinos should not get contracts.

The fact is they had the best bid at that time and they did the roofing (on his church). So I know I cannot be considered a racist or a person who is against Latinos.”

Getting back more directly to the emphasis of the conference, Montgomery said, “There are those who want to beat up on Commissioner Brooks and we are here to support her for her commitment to seeing that there is equity in relationship to the awarding of contracts. And, to get the leadership of this community to understand that some-

Attorney Ricky Wilkins asked the ministers who assembled to support him to pray for him, and they obliged. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)

tor of Greater Community Temple COGIC. “I am a strong believer that if something is not broken, you don’t just say don’t fix it, you make it better.

It’s not that the systems are all broken, but they need to be improved. So I am saying over and over again as it relates to Ricky Wilkins, give change a chance. I believe we can have better this time around.”

Porter said he was motivated by what he sees in Wilkins’ life and by his achievements as an individual.

“As he (Wilkins) mentioned, he happens to be a black man, but he is an accomplished man,

someone that we can look at in our community. And also being that I am black, I cannot negate that fact, there are young people that I want to point towards him and say, ‘You can survive, you can make it, you can come back home to Memphis.’”

The Rev. Noel G. L. Hutchinson Jr., pastor of First Baptist Church-Lauderdale, said he views Wilkins as “the right man at the right time for this job.” Asked if that was the sole reason or whether he had a particular issue with the incumbent, Hutchinson said, “I think it is a mixture.

“I think that the incumbent

has shown a great face in Washington, but as was said earlier, there are some pressing needs here in Memphis on the ground that need to be addressed. … If you think about how Congressman operate, they bring things from Washington to help their constituents and they also understand the need of their constituents to know what needs to be brought for that particular district. So it’s key to have somebody who has the sensitivity to that and has an understanding of that. I believe Ricky Wilkins is uniquely equipped to do that.”

Wilkins was introduced by

the Rev. Keith Norman, pastor of First Baptist Church-Broad, who said he believed Wilkins to be “the best and the next Congressman of the Ninth Congressional District.”

Saying he was humbled by the showing of clergy support, Wilkins detailed his journey from being “a poor kid who grew up in the heart of the Ninth Congressional District. I couldn’t wait to get out of law school and get back home, roll up my sleeves and do everything in my power to try and move Memphis forward. And I have been doing that for the last almost 24 years.”

Wilkens, remarking that much is required of one who is given much, said he spent 20plus years rebuilding public housing here in Memphis so that poor people would have “a decent place to lay their heads and a nice community to raise their children.”

Referencing his involvement in numerous other civic activities and noting his support for “many causes with my time, my talent and my money,” Wilkins said he was prepared be the next congressman from the Ninth Congressional District.

“I have been living my life trying to represent the best example of what our young people can be in this community, that regardless of what circumstance they grow up in, if they work hard, if they have faith in God, they can truly rise up where they belong,” he said.

“This campaign, this Congressional office is more than just someone going to Washington to vote in the halls of Congress. It also represents someone who will be on the

ground in Memphis where real people are, where real pain is being felt, where real solutions need to be provided. I am that man,” said Wilkins.

Declaring that the community has to turn the page and prepare itself for the future, he said, “No disrespect to those who have served us in the past, I want to say to everybody, if you like Steve Cohen, you will love Ricky Wilkins.”

The question then surfaced about whether he can make the issue of 11 Congressional districts in Tennessee and no African-American representatives resonate in a way that previous Cohen challengers have been unable to do.

“Clearly the idea of having diversity of representation I would think people would value and appreciate regardless of what side of the political aisle you may be on,” said Wilkins.

“But I make one thing very, very clear to everybody. If you look at Ricky Wilkins and my pedigree, my academic pedigree, coming from Howard University, graduating from Vanderbilt Law School, practicing law at Burch, Porter & Johnson and becoming a partner there, and leaving the firm after 13 years and starting my own firm, and representing all sort and manner of individuals – be that rich, poor, black, white, it does not matter, if you look at Ricky Wilkins and all you see is a black man, then that says to me that something is wrong with your eyes and your heart.

“There is a lot more to Ricky Wilkins than just being a black man. I just happen to be a black man.”

Tri-State Defender

Legal Notices

Thomson & Thomson, Inc. will be submitting a bid for the Levee Pump Project, Gen. Dewitt Spain Airport and is soliciting quotes from certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) who are interested in performing as a subcontractor. Bids will be opened at 2:00 p.m., May 29, 2014. Listed below are the specific projects and contact information.

Contract No. MSCAA Project No. 12-1349-01 County Shelby

Any interested party can acquire plans and specifications from the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority website, www.mscaa.com, or at the following locations in Memphis, TN: Builderʼs Exchange Plans room, McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge Plans Room, Memphis Area Minority Contractorʼs Association, Mid-South Minority Business Council, National Association of Minority Contractors, and Renaissance Business Center Bid Room.

Quotes may be emailed (preferred) to mthomson@tandtbridge.com, faxed (731668-1361), or mailed to Thomson & Thomson, Inc., P.O. Box 10037, Jackson, TN, attention of the estimating department.

Please be sure to plainly reference the project, letting and letting date.

All quotes must be received one (1) hour prior to bid opening (2:00 p.m., May 29, 2014) to be considered.

For any further assistance please feel free to call our office at 731-668-1950. Be sure to reference the project and letting to ensure you speak to the correct representative.

Thomson and Thomson, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.

Request for Proposals

The Shelby County Board of Education will be accepting written proposals for two (2) RFPs: 1. GRASSY (Gang Reduction Assistance for Saving Societyʼs Youth) Outreach Workers 2. IEP REIMBURSEMENTS - FEE FOR SERVICE (FFS).

Visit our website for additional information: www.scsk12.org-Departments, Procurement Services link, click on Bids & RFPs.

Questions concerning proposals should be addressed to Procurement Services at (901) 416-5376.

Thank you for your interest and responses.

Shelby County Schools – Procurement Services NOTICE TO CONSULTANT ENGINEERS REGARDING A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND LETTERS OF INTEREST May 22, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

Page 11

May 22 - 28, 2014

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

DEADLINES: Display ads Monday 5 p.m.

Classified ads Monday 5 p.m.

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

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

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

The City Of Memphis, an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, seeks to retain the services of professional engineering consulting firms to provide various engineering services related to the design of Isolated Traffic Signals for the projects listed below. These projects shall adhere to all applicable Federal and State, procedures and regulations. The professional consulting engineering firms and all sub-consultants that wish to be considered must be on TDOTʼs pre-qualified list. The scope of work may include but not be limited to Project Management, Environmental Document Preparation, Field Survey and Data Collection, Capacity Analysis, Traffic Signal Design, Preparation of Cost Estimates, Preparation of Bid Documents, Agency Coordination, Signal Timing/Fine-Tuning, and Bid Phase Assistance. These projects are being funded by the Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant as a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Locally Managed Program. The method of payment shall be lump sum.

–STP – Isolated Traffic Signal Improvements – Group 1 , TDOT Pin # 119540 –STP – Isolated Traffic Signal Improvements – Group 2 , TDOT Pin # 119541 –STP – Isolated Traffic Signal Improvements – Group 3 , TDOT Pin # 119542

Firms may request consideration by submitting a letter of interest along with qualifications (3 - copies) to Mr. Jack Stevenson, 125 N. Main, Suite 644, Memphis, TN, 38103. All letters of interest and qualifications must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Friday, June 13, 2014. The letter of interest and qualifications shall indicate the scope of services to be completed by any sub-consultants. Sufficient information on qualifications should be attached to the Letter of Interest, such that the factors that will be considered in evaluation, listed below, can be properly judged. Include in this information one or more contacts at TDOT who can verify the information provided concerning TDOT work or approvals to work.

statedefender.com BEER PERMITS Flat Rate $30

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

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

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

Please specify which Isolated Traffic Signal project you are submitting the letter of interest for. Separate submittals must be turned in for each project.

For additional details regarding the proposed services to be provided, letter of interest submittal requirements and City of Memphis prequalification procedures go to www.MemphisTN.gov or contact Mr. Randall Tatum, 901-576-6710, Randall.Tatum@MemphisTN.gov .

Information pertaining to TDOT prequalification procedures, list of pre-qualified firms, TDOTʼs standard procurement policy, and additional information can be found at this internet address www.tdot.state.tn.us/consultantinfo.htm.

Interested firms without internet access may obtain this information by calling Ms. Chris Smotherman at (615)741-4460 or by e-mail at christine.smotherman@tn.gov Submittals will be reviewed by a Consultant Evaluation Committee who will make recommendations to the City Engineer of several firms who would make viable candidates from which to make a selection or invite more detailed proposals and/or presentations. The factors that will be considered in evaluation of submittals are: a. Past experience in the required disciplines with TDOT and the City of Memphis. b. Past experience specific to Traffic Signal Design on TDOT projects or TDOT approval to perform such work on locally managed projects. c. Qualification (certifications) and availability of staff. d. Demonstrated ability to meet schedules without compromising sound engineering practice. e. Evaluations on prior projects with TDOT and City of Memphis, if available. f. Size of previous projects. g. Experience with Traffic Signal Timing and Fine-Tuning. h. Amount of work currently under contract with TDOT and City of Memphis. i. Prequalification with TDOT and City of Memphis

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? At last yearʼs Memphis Training Camp for Dads, Martin Hurley (center) was given a special honor.

Those who saluted him included Mayor AC Wharton Jr. and Elliot Perry, last yearʼs keynote speaker.

(Courtesy photo)

Making a home for African-American boys

On Saturday, June 14 at the University of Memphis Fogelman Executive Center, the City of Memphis will host the 4th Annual Memphis Training Camp for Dads. The sports-themed camp will include workshops to provide men with the information and tools needed to be an effective and successful father.

Every year, fathers – biological and non-biological – are honored for their impact on their families and the community and placed in the Hall of Fame. The New Tri-State Defender is highlighting past award recipients in the series, “Where Are They Now?”

Martin Hurley had already been a foster parent for several years when he adopted his first son in 2006. He has fostered over 35 AfricanAmerican boys and believes that every child deserves a family.

“I had fostered teen African-American boys,” he says. “That was really the group that I felt called to and passionate to work with.”

Hurley says all children have universal needs, but African-American boys have been neglected.

“Above all, they (all children) need love.

They need someone to care for them and someone to spend time with them,” Hurley says. “I really think there probably are a lot more people coming to the plate to do that for other races of children other than African Americans, but what children need is consistency across the board just because of whatever circumstances or situations in the African-American community.

“As they get older, we don’t have a lot of people coming for them, we don’t have a lot of people willing to spend to time with them or open their homes to them. It’s a great need.”

While many adoptive parents choose to adopt younger children, Hurley adopted another son

last year who’s 12 years old. His oldest son is now 16.

“I realized that teens have a need for permanency as well. Teens come with their own set of stuff, but I still found it be very rewarding, as well as challenging,” he says.

“My older son needed permanency, he needed a place, he needed a family. It made sense. Otherwise, you have a lot of kids that will age out of the system without the support of a family or anywhere to go.”

Hurley was honored last year at Training Camp for Dads. He found great value in the workshops.

“It was great training, great fellowship and camaraderie among the men who were there. As a foster parent, we go to a lot of training, but the Training Camp for Dads was unique in the fact that it was designed exclusively for dads, so that made it refreshingly unique.”

Among the workshops was the Locker Room Chat, where men could talk openly about fatherhood with a panel. This year, attendees will dig even deeper into the fatherhood experience during workshops on fathering daughters, firsttime fatherhood and re-entry into the family.

Today, Hurley continues to be active in his adoptive and foster children’s lives while working on a doctorate degree and participating in organizations such as Memphis and Shelby County Foster Care Association and Bethany Christian Services.

NBA veteran and author of “Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge,” Etan Thomas will address dads at the closing luncheon and awards ceremony of this years Training Camp for Dads. The event is free and open to the public, and childcare will be provided onsite. Preregister your men’s group at www.memphistn.gov/fatherhood.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Goal for FFY 2015-2017

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) hereby announces its FFY 2015-2017 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Goal under the guidelines of 49 CFR Part 26 and the regulations and directions of the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of 8.10% for participation in the Federal Highway Construction Program.

This goal has been set based upon information currently available and will be available for public inspection at its CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE Suite 1800, James K. Polk, Bldg., 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243-0347 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for 45 days following the publication of this notice.

Written comments pertaining to this goal should be sent to the attention of the Small Business Development Program Director, at the address shown above. A comment box will also be available at the four TDOT Regional Offices for written input.

E-mail comments may be sent to TDOT.DBE.Program@tn.gov TDOT is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Evaluation proceedings will be conducted within the established guidelines regarding equal employment opportunity and nondiscriminatory action based upon the grounds of race, color, sex, creed or national origin.

Interested certified Minority / Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) firms are encouraged to respond to all advertisements

by City of Memphis. For information on M/WBE certification, please contact Ms. Mary Bright, (901) 636-6210, City of Memphis, Contract Compliance Office, 125 N. Main St, Memphis, TN 38103.

John E. Cameron, P.E. City Engineer

Employment

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Call The New Tri-State Defender @ 901-523-1818

Page 12

NEWS

May 22 - 28, 2014

Tri-State Defender

A PROFILE IN COURAGE

Christen Walker Dukes, an honor student from the first-grade through the 12th grade, has learned to live with his medical problems. His teacher, Alvin Wright, presented him with a “Beating the Odds” Award.

During commencement service at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, Alvin Wright asked the senior class at Craigmont High School to point in Dukesʼ direction and say, “Christen, donʼt give up!”

‘Christen, don’t give up!…’

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

by Wiley Henry

Katherine Williams drew in a deep breath and exhaled following a morning salute to graduating seniors at Craigmont High School. One of the graduates – her son, Christen Walker Dukes – weighed only two pounds at birth, was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, and wasn’t expected to live.

The grim report that Williams had received from the doctors at Methodist University Hospital 18 years ago was superseded by her son’s dogged determination to survive and overcome the malady that threatened his life.

“He was a preemie at birth and underdeveloped,” said Williams, who birthed her son after a 24-week gestation period. “He was born on a Thursday, around 3 p.m., and the doctors said he wouldn’t live throughout the night.”

Dukes was hospitalized for three months before he was allowed to go home. He had defied the doctors’ prognosis, but there would be a revolving door to and from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he would go periodically for routine checkups. Along the way, he would summon the wherewithal to succeed at most endeavors and do it so well that admirers would heap accolades upon him.

His mother is his biggest admirer.

“He has been an honor student from the first-grade through the 12th grade,” said Williams, basking in the light of her son’s achievements, both medically and academically. “The doctors said he wouldn’t make it, but he’s accomplished a lot.

“He’ll be wearing several ribbons and medallions around his neck at graduation.”

Graduation Day

On Saturday, May 17th at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, 178 graduating seniors bid farewell to their alma mater and looked toward the future. As he had done at the salute to seniors two days earlier, Alvin Wright, Dukes’ pre-calculus and honors teacher, made a special presentation that surprised Dukes. Wright spoke fondly of his student and presented him with the “Beat the Odds” award at the graduation.

“I was shocked and surprised. I wasn’t expecting it,” said Dukes, who graciously accepted the plaque as a memento for the years he’s struggled to survive.

With Dukes by his side on the commencement stage with school officials and political leaders, Wright implored the senior class to point in Dukes’ direction and say, “Christen, don’t give up!”

“At times I thought my situation would stop me from certain things,” said Dukes, who rides the wave of good and bad days. “But the fact that I have faith in God, I’m inspired and motivated to do the things I do.”

Dukes, a musician with impeccable skills, plays the trombone and baritone horn – a talent his mother said budded when Dukes was around 8 years old. He took music in the 5th grade, played in the band in middle school, and then performed in the marching band in high school. He plays jazz, rhythm and blues, and fusion.

“Music is my passion. It speaks to me and gets me through the day,” said Dukes. “It comes from the inside, but whoever listens to it, it can speak to them as well.”

Dukes said his mother, Katherine Williams (center), is his “rock.”

(Photos: Wiley Henry)

The Dukes vita…

The wellspring that Dukes draws inspiration from comes from the jazz music of Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum, the former Stax Music Academy’s artist in residence and current president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation.

Dukes has studied at Stax Music Academy for five years after auditioning in the 8th-grade and receiving a scholarship. His tenure is over at the end of June and then he’s off to Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn., where he will join the Renaissance band and continue to study music.

“I’ve learned a lot over the past five years,” said Dukes, who aspires to be one of the greatest trombone players of his time. “I learned to stay humble, always put God first in whatever I do, and believe He will work everything out. I also learned a whole lot of music knowledge.”

Dukes’ academic success and his prowess as a musician have catapulted him farther than he’d ever expected. His vita is replete with accomplishments – artistic pursuits, social activism and community service – that would rival a seasoned professional.

Last year, in December, Dukes was invited to attend Nobel Week for a three-day awards ceremony at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden, on behalf of the National Society of High School Scholars, which recognizes academic excellence.

He also spent five weeks in the summer of 2013 as an intern at Berkley College of Music in Boston, Mass., on behalf of Stax Music Academy. In 2012, he performed at the WattStax Music Festival with his peers from Stax Music Academy for the festival’s 40th anniversary.

Citations, awards and honors abound. He was a recipient of the Jefferson Awards Students In Action for public service, selected for the People to People Ambassador Programs for academic excellence, and has been a member of the National Honor Society since middle school.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen all have cited Dukes for his commitment to St. Jude, where he serves on the teen advisory board, volunteers for St. Jude, and produces an annual concert to benefit the children. He also advocates for The Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee.

The ‘rock’…

When Dukes is off to college, he’ll be missed by his mother, who hopes he will continue to excel academically and improve his musicianship.

“I always told him to follow his dreams, be committed to what he’s doing, know that there are no limitations, keep God first, and know that he can do anything that he wants to do in life,” said Williams.

“My mom is my rock,” said Dukes. “I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for her help and strength. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”

It got hard sometimes, he said.

“But my mom stayed strong for me to help me get through my medical problems.

She stayed positive.”