9 17 2014

The Southern Heritage Classic Jackson State University vs. Tennessee State University Saturday, Sept. 13 @ The Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium – 6 PM

VOL. 63, No. 36

September 11 - 17, 2014

www.tsdmemphis.com

75 Cents

Shopping Center beatings – the threads ‘This is an us problem’

by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanaku@tsdmemphis.com

Fred Jones

The Classic at 25 – still ‘team’ powered Summit Management team deserves the real credit, says Southern Heritage Classic Founder Fred Jones

by Tony Jones Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The staff of Summitt Management was diligently working deadline lists Monday (Sept. 8) in preparation for the 25th edition of the Southern Heritage Classic when a call from the Peabody Hotel caused the close-knit team to burst into laughter.

“I’m going to be the honorary Peabody duckmaster,” CEO Fred Jones informed the room, then broke into a laugh louder than anyone else’s in the instant merriment.

Underlying the guffaws was the intiRelated mate knowledge stories: En- Summitt’s staffers tertain- have of Jones. Imagining him leading the ment, Page Peabody ducks pa8; Sports, rade is an irony no one that knows him Page 12 well could ever envision.

Known publicly for his success in promoting concerts, and then morphing his expertise into creating the Southern Heritage Classic, Jones’ personality has always been the opposite of the image associated with many high-profile entertainment promoters.

He’s not loud, shady or an attention hog parading around in flashy clothes and diamond rings. If he walked unannounced into one of his shows and if you weren’t familiar with him, you’d never guess he’s been ringmaster for too many big events to mention.

It’s the same thing with Summitt Management. Unveiled in 1989, the Southern Heritage Classic has become the biggest African-American themed event in Memphis history, all produced from the same tight little four-room office in the CME Church office complex on Elvis Presley.

“Tight,” is the best word to Summitt’s system. The day-to-day staff usually consists of administrative assistant Louise Holman, producer Pat Agnew and Jones. Today the place swells with three additions to the core team: Jones’s son Nathaniel, producer, stage manager Joe Hunter, and James “Twain” White, Jones’s lifelong friend, trouble shooter and gogetter.

“This is the crunch time,” Jones says as he and everyone worked through a 3 p.m. lunch.

Surrounded by pounds of T-shirts, posters, magazines, towels and other promotional materials, he said, “It’s SEE CLASSIC ON PAGE 3

MEMPHIS WEEKEND FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

H-77o - L-59o H-73o - L-54o H-76o - L-54o AM T-Storms

REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Mostly Sunny

Friday H-76 L-60 H-79 L-62 H-89 L-68

Partly Cloudy

Saturday H-75 L-57 H-73 L-54 H-83 L-62

Sunday H-75 L-55 H-76 L-53 H-85 L-62

“It was supposed to be a fight between two groups of AfricanAmerican females. …At some point during that gathering at CiCi’s Pizza they encountered each other and a fight did ensue. “…That fight spilled out into the parking lot and after it spilled out into the parking lot it basically turned into a flash mob resulting in the vicious attack that was on the two Kroger employees as well as a potential customer.”

– Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong At 9:17 on the evening of Sept.

6th, two police officers responded to a call for their services at 3444 Plaza. Three victims, according to the arrest report narrative, had been “jumped by a large group of black males chanting ‘FAM MOB’ that came from CiCi’s Pizza.”

As he was exiting his vehicle to enter Kroger, one victim told the officers, he was “struck in the face by several unknown blacks before he could run away into Kroger.”

Two Kroger employees, one of them an African American, saw the victim getting jumped, the narrative continues, “and while trying to stop the fight, were both struck several times in the head and face, while being knocked to the ground.”

While on the ground, the attackers threw pumpkins in excess of 20 pounds on the victims’ heads, causing them to lose consciousness. Whew! And there was video, including the one that blew up on SEE BEATINGS ON PAGE 2

Current and past participants with the Juvenile Intervention and Faith-based Follow-up (JIFF) program, an intervention service provided to juvenile delinquents, sit on a panel at the National Youth Prevention Summit on Tuesday. Each shared past experiences with gang violence and how the program has helped them change their lives. (Photo: Kirstin L. Cheers)

Need builds for youth violence prevention

by Kirstin L. Cheers Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Recent events made for an all-tooreal backdrop as a National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention unfolded at the Board of Education on Tuesday (Sept. 9) Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. hosted the forum along with District Attorney General Amy Weirich and Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong. Also in attendance were representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, standing in solidarity with Memphis’ efforts to

prevent youth violence.

“I doubt we can eliminate crime, but we can do a better job managing those problems,” Luttrell said. “If we’re going to grow this community out of poverty, homelessness and unemployment, it starts with education.”

Shelby County Schools Chief of Staff Reginald Porter reflected on the events surrounding youth violence in the past week, including a large group of teenagers attacking three innocent bystanders in the parking lot between Kroger and Cici’s Pizza at Poplar Plaza Shopping Centre on the night of Sept. 6th.

Battling domestic violence

“This week’s events are a testament to how the entire community needs to wrap its arms around our kids,” Porter said.

After a video surfaced on Facebook late Saturday night, witnesses told local media that over 100 kids ran through the parking lot playing a game of “Point Em Out, Knock Em Out,” a redux of the “Knockout game” when members of gangs would attempt to punch innocent bystanders in the street.

In the video, one can hear teens SEE YOUTH ON PAGE 2

COMMENTARY

Recent events eerily familiar for those trying to help at the Family Safety Center

Where to go to get help

Gwendolyn Turner, who works at the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County, is assisting a client with an Order of Protection.

(Photo: Wiley Henry)

by Wiley Henry whenry@tsdmemphis.com

The news of Sept. 2nd hit Gwendolyn Turner like a ton of bricks.

Tasha Thomas, a woman she knew, had been shot and killed outside the University of Little Scholars daycare in Whitehaven. Thomas’ estranged husband had instigated the deadly encounter on the parking lot where Thomas worked.

“I was breathless and speechless to learn that another woman had become a victim of domestic violence,” said Turner, who’d suffered verbal, emotional, mental, sexual and physical abuse off and on for nearly 20 years.

While friends, relatives and the Memphis community were mourning Thomas at her funeral on Monday (Sept. 8), another woman was shot. This time the triggerman was a former boyfriend who reportedly had stalked and accosted her on several occasions.

Torhonda Cathey, 33, was shot multiple times in a Target parking lot in East Memphis. She was taken to Regional One Health, where she later died. Ronald Ellis, a Memphis

The Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County has been serving domestic abuse victims since 2011. A number of services listed below are part of its safety plan to help curtail domestic violence and keep victims safe.

firefighter, fled the scene. He is wanted for first-degree murder.

The violence directed at Thomas and Cathey is deeply troubling and all too common, Turner said. It is a reflection of a persistent scourge that gained national attention after a video surfaced recently showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Raymell Mourice “Ray” Rice knocking out his then-fiancée, and now wife, in an elevator in February.

Turner escaped her nearly 20-year ordeal, but other women aren’t as fortunate. She was appalled by the video. So was Vernetta Eddleman, director of Client Services at the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County.

“It’s fortunate that it was caught on tape,” said Eddleman. “For so many women, you don’t see the premeditation of domestic violence. We saw what went on. Unfortunately, there isn’t a tape for women who experience this every day.”

Just like Eddleman, Turner, also an employee at the Family Safety Center, is working to end domestic violence. “My life’s misery has become my life’s mission and min-

Adoption Counseling Services, Inc.: Providing a full spectrum adoption counseling and child placement services for expectant parents.

Bartlett Police Department: Providing safe transportation for victims to and from the Family Safety Center by Bartlett on-call police officers.

CHOICES: Center for Reproductive Health: Offering counseling, gynecology and forensics services to victims of sexual assault.

Chosen Vessel Ministries: Empower women in recovery to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles, help eliminate barriers to sobriety, foster opportunities for personal growth and development, and assist mothers developing their maternal skills.

Cocaine and Alcohol Awareness Program, Inc. (CAAP): Providing premium behavioral health services for people who lack financial resources for therapeutic care and serving individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, as well as providing court advocacy and other services to victims of domestic violence.

Collierville Police Department: Providing safe transportation for victims to and from the Family Safety Center by Collierville on-call police officers.

Community Legal Center:

SEE VIOLENCE ON PAGE 5

SEE HELP ON PAGE 5

Ray Rice

All the Ray wrongs

by Howard Robertson and Larry Robinson Maybe you’ve heard and/or used the words “out of context” more times than you’re able to remember. The act of taking something “out of context” is usually applicable to some kind of conversational or verbal discourse.

However, like conversation, when something is being communicated visually via today’s eye-in-the-sky technology, strong contextual elements are established.

As it relates to former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s and the NFL’s Roger Goodell’s actions, for most of us, the context we were given was strong and wrong.

As co-hosts of “A Little R&R on Sports,” this commentary is usually written in a single unified voice. We are departing from that format briefly so that Howard can acknowledge what Larry said in our August 30th radio show about the NFL. “I believe there is a lack of transparency on the part of the NFL. If they just would have shown what happened on the elevator prior to them showing him dragging her out of the elevator.”

That was quite prophetic indeed and Larry was right because by seeing what happened on the elevator gave us what? Context.

SEE RAY ON PAGE 3

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Tri-State Defender

September 11 - 17, 2014

NEWS BEATINGS CONTINUED FROM FRONT social media adding a whole another level of terror to news of the incident.

Three days later, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong led a media briefing, with Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich among those at his side. After a thorough investigation, “…we have arrested 11 people, 11 African-American juveniles responsible for this at this point.,” said Armstrong, projecting the likelihood of additional arrests.

“We will not stop until we feel we have all the responsible parties.”

Armstrong’s mother frequents the shopping plaza, adding to the sickening factor of the incident, he said. “That could very easily have been an elderly person and it could very easily have escalated beyond an assault…”

The victims were treated on the scene by Memphis Fire Department personnel, with all refusing transport.

The decision about what to charge the youth with does not rest with the MPD, Armstrong said, noting that it fell within the

YOUTH CONTINUED FROM FRONT screaming “Fam Mob,” a local gang. Director Armstrong confirmed that even though some of the kids were identified as gang members, the riot was not gang affiliated. He urged parents to turn in their children if they can be identified on the video.

“We need to hear from you and it probably would be a little bit better for you if we heard from you first without us going through an intensive investigation and have to find you,” Armstrong said.

Thus far, 11 people have been turned in by relatives, including one 19-year-old adult and a 15-year-old male who has not been enrolled in school.

Outraged by the attack, some have called on Weirich to prosecute the teenagers and to pursue prosecution as a hate

authority of DA Weirich, who stepped to the microphone. First praising the coordinated work of law enforcement agencies, Weirich stepped right in to the touchy issue of filing hate-crime charges.

“The current civil rights intimidation statute (of Tennessee) does not cover the facts as we know them right now that happened on the Kroger parking lot,” said Weirich. “But as you all know, things change day to day. …Our thoughts right now are focusing on making sure that justice is done for these three victims and, quite frankly ,for the entire community.”

Armstrong, returning to center stage, said there was no evidence linking the girls who fought to a gang, adding that with social media word can be circulated to thousands of people in seconds. “This was just something that was supposed to happen at this location.”

Asked about tougher enforcement of curfew, Armstrong said he had talked with Mayor AC Wharton Jr. about that matter.

“We have to be careful about this because at the end of the day when you say tougher laws as it relates to enforcement , as it relates to curfew, you have to

understand – and just being realistic – you are talking about a disproportionate contact with African-American kids. We all know the story behind that with the DOJ (Department of Justice) here just a few years ago. And you have to be realistic about the capacity of Juvenile Court, what they can realistically handle.”

Alternatives to that option must be developed, said Armstrong.

“Again, I keep coming back to this: we are talking about parenting. It is just unacceptable for a parent of a teenager, in this case a 15-year-old, to not know where your kid is at all times. …This didn’t happen in the wee hours of the night.”

One of the reporters wanted to know what could be done about the “culture of violence…How do we change that?”

“We have to rely on the facts,” said Armstrong, emphasizing, again, that the people in charge of the investigation were doing their jobs.

“We have to hold the people accountable, the people we’ve arrested,” he said. “I think you guys (media) play a big part. I think you have to report the

crime.

“In order for this to be classified as a hate crime, someone’s constitutional rights had to be violated,” Weirich said.

“The current civil rights intimidation statute in the state of Tennessee does not cover the facts as we know them, as to what happened in that Kroger parking lot.”

Weirich confirmed the teens would be charged with felonies.

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum Jr., pastor of The New Olivet Baptist Church, classified the incident as an act of domestic terrorism, warning that such was just the “tip of the iceberg.”

“I guarantee you, this is not the first time this has happened in Memphis,” Whalum said on a television news account. “It was the first time we now see it on such a large scale. We better do something in Memphis.”

Whalum wrote a letter to Mayor A C Wharton Jr. after

attending a Youth Violence Prevention Forum that Wharton hosted with Armstrong at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library on Sept. 4th, two days before the violent scene on the parking lot. He highlighted his recommendations to prevent more youth violence.

“We have to begin to address the youth themselves,” Whalum said. “The police chief knows who Fam Mob is; he knows who the leadership of Fam Mob is. We have to begin with addressing them.”

At the library forum, community leaders were invited to promote ideas and existing opportunities for youth to keep them away from crime and from engaging in violent behavior. It had a conference style, with four breakout sessions. Topics covered included Education and Literacy; Parenting and Mentoring; Job Readiness and Employment Opportunities; and AfterSchool Activities and Sports.

facts. Report the fact that this is not something that is indicative to normal behavior in Memphis.

We don’t have these types of things all the time.

“This is not a weekly occurrence. We don’t have a rogue group running through our city that are out of control. There is no need for our citizens to be in fear.”

Weirich pressed forward to point out that the situation provided “a great opportunity, a great platform for parents and guardians to have a conversation with their kids, to talk about this. Everybody is talking about it. Everybody at home, everybody at work, everywhere you go. …

“Use it as an opportunity to make sure kids understand what their responsibility is if they are ever in a situation like this,” she said. “Your job is not to sit there and video. Your job is to get help, do the right thing.”

With social media reflecting inquiries about a person’s right to use deadly force against juveniles, Weirich said, “The law in the state of Tennessee says that you have a right to defend yourself. If you feel that your life or the lives of others are at risk, you have the right to stand your ground, to defend yourself. But again, as we have seen across the country, that is not a cut and dried, easy answer all the time.”

As the briefing neared its end,

Armstrong pivoted off of a question to add this: “If anything good can come out of this, one thing that can is that this is an us problem. It’s not a police problem, it’s not an attorney general’s problem, it’s a problem in our community.”

And in reference to the possibility of charging the parents whose children participated in the beatings, Armstrong said, “That is something that we will continue to look at.

“I want to focus on two things: One, I am glad those victims are OK. I am glad that it didn’t escalate completely out of control. Two, those parents that stepped up should really, really be applauded.”

Tri-State Defender

Page 3

September 11 - 17, 2014

NEWS

The scoreboard at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium signals what thousands are waiting for – the 25th edition of the Southern Heritage Classic.

of events, a new wrinkle seems to be added to the SHC each year. For 2014, The Southern Heritage Classic Business Conference at the University of Memphis’s FedEx Institute of Technology creates the 15th official event tie-in to be presented over the course of three days of Classic activities.

Special guest for the business event is Sweetie Pie’s restaurants founder Robbie Montgomery, arguably the most sought after personality

in the area now due to the much-anticipated opening of a Beale Street location.

The business conference’s location also perfectly emphasizes the very real business impact of the Classic. In 2008, the University of Memphis’ Bureau of Sport and Leisure Commerce cited the 2002 economic impact of the Classic at $16. Million. And the event’s influence has continued to grow.

An important citing in the

report noted that the researchers were surprised “by how many people indicated a willingness to receive sponsors’ messages via e-mail (36 percent) or text messages (22 percent). In addition, nearly three-quarters of the respondents (72.9 percent) indicated they would be more likely to buy from a company that uses the Southern Heritage Classic logo on its products.”

Jones said, “People look at the fun, the camaraderie, the excitement, but we’ve emphasized from the beginning that this is a business venture. We have to show that each and every day to show the companies that are involved with us.”

Along with FedEx, Jones emphasizes the “consistent”

to show Ray spitting on her before they got on the elevator and Janay weakly backhanding him in a flippant way.

Once on the elevator, he appears to put his hand in her face. She moves his hand away, he hits her, and she advances toward him, then he unleashes a hard left hook to her face. As she falls, her head crashes into the elevator hand rail. The head trauma of both impacts knocked her out.

The elevator video has allowed us all to see who the provocateur was in this incident. Somehow, somewhere, something deep inside a great

many people wanted to believe that Janay must’ve done something pretty bad to set Ray off like that. They were wrong.

The video showed that Ray instigated the actions on the elevator. It was raw, ugly, uncomfortable, exceedingly violent and hard to watch. If his actions were hard to watch, his reaction was unbelievable.

This is a guy who typically showed emotion in games after a good carry. This Ray Lewis protégé who studied at the feet of arguably the most outwardly emotional player ever in the NFL appeared heartless and absolutely unaffected as he

looked at the “love of his life” looking lifeless on the floor.

Apparently that video was too hard for Goodell to watch too. Or at least that’s what the NFL’s security force must’ve thought. They took “protect and serve” quite literally in their endeavor to protect the NFL’s billion-dollar brand, image, perhaps even Ray Rice and serve Roger Goodell. They willfully ignored the video that everybody knew existed. A security force noted to be the best in professional sports and most all of corporate America too is not allowed to see or acquire the video? Give us a break!

Southern Heritage Classic Founder Fred Jones (third from the right) is no lone wolf when it comes to putting on and promoting the ‘Classic,” which this year observes its silver anniversary. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

CLASSIC CONTINUED FROM FRONT still exciting and still fun. It’s still work. A lot of last minute things, a lot of details and lastminute changes. You just roll with it. I’m just glad that I have a staff that rolls with that. Nobody’s going to panic because at this point everything’s coming through fast and furious,, but that’s just part of it.”

Grown now into a multitude

RAY CONTINUED FROM FRONT Since first seeing the dragout-of-the-elevator video, we have very clearly expressed to our radio audience how big a punk we believe Ray Rice is.

Now, we see he’s a bigger punk than we ever thought. Ray was as wrong as wrong can be.

We’d heard that his now wife Janay spat on him and hit him. We suspected that happened on the elevator and triggered Ray’s violent, despicable reaction. We were wrong. Actually, the recent video appears

support of local corporate entities such Nike, Auto Zone, Carrier and First Tennessee.

Dozens of vendors benefit from the tailgating audience, parade and other person-to-person sales opportunities surrounding the game’s production.

Signed on through 2019, Tennessee State and Jackson State universities have so far received $10 million in direct donations from the game.

The challenge each year remains the same.

“We have reached a significant milestone, but I really feel the thrill of all the Classics poured into one. The process has always been let’s get as much done this year as possible and that gives us the push for the next year,” said Jones.

“The big picture is that you want it to last forever, but the reality is that every year brings its own challenge and you want to reach the comfort zone to complete the present year.

When you add them all up it adds to 25.”

Pausing to reflect, he says, “Just getting it started (has meant so much), the 26th will probably have the same effect on me. It’s like you when you get to 30, then to 50, then to 60…

“I think that to get to 25 years for an event is a magic number. And it’s not like we’re limping into 25, we’re coming in with a bang! What makes this year so special is that we’re coming in so strong.”

Maybe Goodell didn’t see it before he said he did, but that was only because he didn’t want to see it. His boys had seen it though and told him how damning it was. So, Roger Goodell and the entire NFL were dishonest. They were wrong.

These are probably not all the Ray wrongs, but you get the point. NFL players are paid warriors, not choir boys. Aggression, anger and attack are richly rewarded. Domestic violence incidents and issues are reported by nearly 70 percent of all NFL teams and it’s nothing new. But how serious is the

NFL about alleviating domestic violence? Nobody knows.

We do not believe Ray Rice should be banned from ever playing professional football again. He should suffer consequences but not suffer the death penalty because of Roger Goodell and the NFL’s disingenuousness. That’s wrong.

(A Little R&R on Sports is a nationally syndicated radio show available on hundreds of radio stations and digital platforms. Log onto randronsports.com or stream R&R live Saturdays 11AM EDT/10 AM CDT on sportsbyline.com.)

Page 4

Tri-State Defender

September 11 - 17, 2014

OPINION Rescued from America’s gulag archipelago

John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951 - 1997)

The Mid-South’s Best Alternative Newspaper

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

Powered by Best Media Properties, Inc.

Driving while black – and poor St. Louis County has 90 municipalities – ranging in population from 13 to nearly 52,000 – and most of them sustain themselves by targeting, fining and jailing poor Missouri residents, many of them black, who are unable to pay traffic tickets.

A “white paper” by ArchCity Defenders, a group that defends the poor in the St. Louis area for free, carefully details how Ferguson and other small villages and municipalities in the state have perfected the art of exploiting those who drive while black – and poor.

According to the report, three municipal courts in Missouri – Ferguson, Bel-Ridge and Florissant – “were chronic offenders and serve as prime examples of how these practices violate fundamental rights of the poor, undermine public confidence in the judicial system, and create inefficiencies.”

It continued, “Overall, we found that by disproportionately stopping, charging and fining the poor and minorities, by closing the Courts to the public, and by incarcerating people for the failure to pay fines, these policies unintentionally push the poor further into poverty, prevent the homeless from accessing the housing, treatment, and jobs they so desperately need to regain stability in their lives, and violate the Constitution.

“These ongoing violations of the most fundamental guarantees of the Constitution are the product of a disordered, fragmented, and inefficient approach to criminal justice in St. Louis County. It represents a failure of the municipalities to comply with the guarantees of counsel, reasonable bond assessments, and other constitutional and legal rights of those accused. And, perhaps most importantly, these practices create animosity in the community, contribute to the fractured nature of the St. Louis region, and cost the individual municipalities and the region financially.”

Unmistakably, poor blacks drive through certain Missouri municipalities with a huge X on their back.

• Last year in Bel-Ridge, 75.7 percent of all traffic stops involved black motorists. What happened after the stops is even more telling. According to the study, 100 percent of all searches and arrests growing out of traffic stops were of African Americans. In other words, of 775 blacks pulled over by police, 11 were searched and 32 were arrested. Of 219 non-blacks stopped, none were searched and none were arrested.

• In Ferguson, 86 percent of all traffic stops in 2013 involved blacks.

Of those stopped, blacks were almost twice as likely as whites to be searched (12.1 percent vs. 6.9 percent) and twice as likely to be arrested (10.4 percent vs. 5.2 percent). Interestingly, after being searched, only 21.7 percent of blacks were found with contraband, compared to 34 percent of Whites.

• In Florissant, blacks were arrest-

ed 14.9 percent of the time, twice the white rate of 7.2 percent.

Whites were searched 8 percent of the time vs. 15.8 percent of blacks. Yet, contraband was found on only 7.4 percent of black George E. residents comCurry pared to 12 percent of whites.

These disproportionate arrests of blacks translates into more green for the cities. For example, of Pine Lawn’s 4,204 residents, 96 percent are black. It has a per capita income of only $13,000. Last year, Pine Lawn collected more than $1.7 million in fines and court fees. That’s $500,000 more than Chesterfield, an affluent, predominantly white suburb with five times the population of Pine Lawn (47,000) and a per capita income almost four times that of Pine Lawn ($50,000).

If one can afford an attorney, they have all of the advantages. Typically, in the case of a speeding ticket, the attorney requests what is called “recommendation for disposition.” In those cases a speeding ticket is amended to a nonmoving violation, such as excessive vehicle noise, upon payment of a fine and court costs. The offender is able to avoid points on his or her record as well as a possible insurance increase.

Poor people, however, don’t get that benefit. “…in all but a very few, these municipalities fail to provide lawyers for those who cannot afford counsel,” the report stated. “As a result, unrepresented defendants often enter pleas of guilty without knowing that they have right to consult with a lawyer, although this information is on many court websites. Defendants are also sentenced to probation and to the payment of unreasonable fines without a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of defendant’s right to counsel. Despite their poverty, defendants are frequently ordered to pay fines that are frequently triple their monthly income.

“Defendants are entitled to a hearing to determine their ability to pay, under Missouri Law. Upon revocation of probation because of their inability to pay, defendants are again entitled to an inquiry into their ability to pay.

Based on our observations, this rarely occurs. As a result, defendants are incarcerated for their poverty.”

Yes, race and money still matters.

(George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUsa.com. He can be reached via www.georgecurry.com.

Follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.)

Nov. 4: A day of reckoning Black Americans and others who want to contribute to the future progressive transformation of our nation and world have an upcoming strategic opportunity to make the critical difference. In less than 60 days, the November elections will be held.

Once again, the United States is at a pivotal political moment in history.

The outcome of the 2014 national elections will not only set the stage for the 2016 presidential campaign, it will also determine how the last two years of the Obama administration will play out. Yet, for the majority of 45 million Black Americans who want improvement in our overall quality of life, we must reassert our interests in record numbers at the ballot box.

No doubt there is a reality and spirit of discontentment in the Black community about the many socioeconomic disparities, incidents of fatal racial attacks, increasing disproportionate mass incarceration, and the systematic efforts of right wing groups to suppress the Black vote.

But this is not the time to become so frustrated with the politics of racial division and oppression that we feel alienated and cynical. This is not a time for hopelessness.

Rather, it is time for sober analysis and political action. I believe that we should be using the next weeks leading up to the November elections to significantly increase voter registration and to plan for the largest voter turnout possible. …

Too much is at stake for us to stay home in November. All 435 House seats up for grabs and a third of the Senate. In addition, voters will pick governors in 34 of the 50 states. Who is elected to the House and Senate will determine what President Oba-

ma will be able to accomplish his final two years in office.

Black voters are on a roll. According to The Associated Press, blacks outvoted whites in both 2008 and 2012. In Benjamin F. 15 of the top 25 districts being tarChavis Jr. geted by Democrats in November, blacks make up at least 10 percent of the voting-age population, enough voters to provide the margin of victory.

Now, you know why there has been such a well-financed, concerted national effort to suppress the black vote in America. As we approach November, the potential power of the black vote across the nation is real, timely and will be decisively important.

Clearly, the consciousness and awareness of the power of the black vote within the Black American community needs serious revitalization. Sometimes our anger in the aftermath of incidents of racial tragedy, hatred and bigotry engenders a sense of helplessness. It is a question now of how to effectively channel our negative anger into positive social and political action. …

November 4 should, therefore, be a “Day of Reckoning.” … Let’s use our voting power to help make our nation and world a better place for our families and communities, and for all of those who cry out for freedom.

(Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is the Interim President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).)

Janay Rice, the wife of now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, looks on during a news conference at the Ravens’ training center May 23, 2014, in Owings Mills, Md. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

I don’t know Janay Rice’s whole story, but I understand

by Kenrya Rankin Naasel The Root

I don’t pretend to know Janay Rice’s story. And I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about her marriage to Ray Rice – or what was going on in her head and in her heart when she hit “share” on the Instagram message that went public Tuesday morning.

I do, however, understand her plea for privacy, and I know what it feels like to be with a man who thinks it’s OK to disrespect you, to strip you of your humanity with a threatening word and a fast hand, to scare you into silence – not just out of fear for your own safety but also out of concern for those in your circle. And seeing this chapter of Janay Rice’s life play out on our Facebook walls and Twitter feeds like some grotesque play for the social network age reminds me of what my life could have been if I’d stayed with my college boyfriend, a young man who slowly progressed from being emotionally manipulative to being scarily violent, who thought nothing of hitting me in the face with a phone during an argument or putting his hands around my throat because I wanted to leave an event after he’d humiliated me in front of a crowd.

And I’d be lying if I said Janay Rice’s post didn’t make me worried for her safety.

By now the world knows that after TMZ released video Monday showing Ray Rice punching then-fiancee Janay (née Palmer) in the face, the Baltimore Ravens released the running back from his contract and the National Football League subsequently suspended him indefinitely.

And then Janay Rice took to Instagram to chastise the media, saying that “to take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is a (sic) horrific,” going on to say that she and her husband will continue to “grow and show the world what real love is.”

In my case, my boyfriend’s fingerprints were still on my neck when I made my decision to ignore his apologies and save my own life – but what if I hadn’t had a moment of clarity that forced me to move on?

What if we’d already had a child together, as Janay and Ray do, and my resources and support system were hopelessly tied to him? What if I’d known that women who leave their abusers are 75 percent more likely to be killed by them? What if I’d con-

vinced myself that I loved him more than I loved myself?

My ex wasn’t a college athlete, but our situation illustrates, for me, the urgent need for the programs – long overdue – that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell vowed last week to put in place to educate prospective players long before draft day. As part of his announced policy – which was spurred by the public response to his poor handling of Ray Rice’s crime – the league will expand its domestic violence and sexual assault education programming for men participating in youth, high school and college football.

The hope is that these young men will learn early lessons in how to grow healthy relationships and resolve conflicts using nonviolent means. Although only about 2,560 men can claim official player status in the NFL at the beginning of each preseason, more than a million boys and men participate in football programs every year. If these programs are implemented out of true concern for the women these young men will encounter – and not just with an eye to the optics of scandal – this holistic education could go a long way toward addressing the statistics that haunt college campuses and locker rooms nationwide.

According to the youth advocacy group Break the Cycle, 43 percent of college women have experienced abusive or violent behavior from men they were involved with on campus. And about those locker rooms: Rice wasn’t the only one putting his hands on his partner.

FiveThirtyEight, which analyzed NFL arrest data, reports that domestic violence arrests account for 48 percent of all violent-crime arrests among NFL players, compared with 21 percent in the general population.

So I’m not second-guessing Janay Rice if she continues to stand by her husband. But I’m shaking my head at the conditions that perpetuate violent behavior and the hard choices it forces. And I hope our digital pontificating eventually persuades both domestic violence victims and their abusers to get help, and leads all of us to place greater value on women’s lives.

(Kenrya Rankin Naasel is an award-winning author and editorial consultant whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, Fast Company and Redbook. Her latest book is “Bet on Black: AfricanAmerican Women Celebrate Fatherhood in the Age of Barack Obama.”)

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When a North Carolina judge last week vacated the prison sentences of 50-year-old Henry Lee McCollum, who had spent nearly 30 years on the state’s death row, and his 46-year-old halfbrother, Leon Lee A. Brown, sentenced Daniels to life in prison, for a heinous rape and murder DNA evidence had finally proved they had not committed, the court room resounded with cries of relief and “Thank you, Jesus!” from their families and friends.

But it’s vitally important to note the reaction in another quarter to this latest piercing evidence of how broken America’s criminal justice system is: the profound silence from those who continue to assert the death penalty is justified as a moral and effective tool for fighting crime and punishing those convicted of committing murder.

If America’s death-penalty advocates had their way, Henry Lee McCollum would today have been dead for at least 20 years and Leon Brown would be locked away from society and forgotten for the crime neither of them committed. Indeed, in two unrelated deathpenalty cases that came before the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia cited McCollum by name as especially worthy of being executed. At press time, Justice Scalia was still silent.

We should no longer pretend that the injustice these men and their families and friends endured is an “exception.” Instead, we ought to regard the nation’s criminal justice system – its four-decade long war on drugs having given America the largest prison population in the world – as a distant cousin of the former Soviet Union’s infamous gulag archipelago.

That was the name the great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave to the network of prison camps and colonies –describing them as “a chain of islands” – scattered across the USSR’s vast territory and the administrative system that over nearly a half century consumed millions and millions of ordinary criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners alike. In 1973, Solzhenitsyn, who himself had been imprisoned for 11 years, published his stunning description of that system, The Gulag Archipelago— a monument in words to both the cruelty human beings can inflict on one another and the resilience of the human spirit.

The tragedy that befell Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown, both of whom are mentally disabled, certainly exemplifies the former. The details of how the police coerced the two, then teenagers of 19 and 15 whose mental disability was obvious, into confessing, and how the state’s judicial system then failed to protect them are horrifying.

As Dahlia Lithwick wrote in Slate.com last week, “This case highlights the same well-known and extensively documented problems that can lead to false arrests and convictions: Police who are incentivized to find a suspect quickly, rather than the right one carefully; false confessions elicited after improper questioning; exculpatory evidence never turned over; the prosecution of vulnerable, mentally ill, or very young suspects in ways that take advantage of their innocence rather than protecting it; prosecutorial zeal that has far more to do with the pursuit of victories than the pursuit of truth; and a death penalty appeals system that treats this screwed-up process of investigation and conviction as both conclusive and unreviewable.”

The saving grace of this case, as with many of the cases of the unjustly convicted who finally receive justice, is the resilience they display. One can witness that in the words Leon Brown spoke in a videotaped interview when his release was imminent. “I have never stopped believing that one day I’d be able to walk out that door,” he said. “A long time ago, I wanted to find me a good wife. I wanted to raise a family; I wanted to have my own business and everything. I never got the chance to realize those dreams. Now I believe that God is going to bless me to get back out there.”

It’s impossible to say this is the most horrific of the nation’s 317 post-conviction DNA exonerations that have been cataloged by The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization that investigates claims of innocence made by prisoners’ convicted of rape and murder. It’s certainly believable that some of those executed over the long history of the death penalty in the US were innocent. And it’s certainly believable that there are many more men, women and juveniles now locked away in America’s own gulag archipelago who are innocent or were convicted by fundamentally flawed police, prosecutorial, or judicial processes.

America’s pledge of allegiance promises a society “with liberty and justice for all.” More and more, our criminal justice system is proving that there remains a vast gap between that rhetoric and the reality.

(NNPA columnist Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His latest book is “Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.”)

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September 11 - 17, 2014

NEWS “A lot of women stay because they want to stay safe. You’re less likely to die if you stay. The issue is you’re still alive. Most women are killed because they leave. We’ve had two people back to back to get killed.”

VIOLENCE CONTINUED FROM FRONT istry,” said Turner, who speaks out against domestic violence as the center’s unofficial ambassador.

The Family Safety Center often is the first point of contact for domestic violence victims and hurting families. It is a conglomerate of civil, criminal, health and social services that are available to help the victims and reduce incidents of domestic violence.

“The Memphis Police Department, the sheriff’s department and the district attorney are right there to help,” said Turner, noting that 30 partner agencies are available within the center, including legal services. And all services are free.

‘Order of Protection won’t stop a bullet’ An Order of Protection is a legal tool designed to keep the abuser at bay. Tasha Thomas had filed three trying to end the abuse that Charles Thomas was accused of meting out. But the orders didn’t stop him from gunning her down.

Two days earlier, Tasha Thomas was in the Raleigh community attending services at Golden Gate Cathedral, where Billy Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith (BRAVOF) were celebrating their 35th reunion concert.

Turner, BRAVOF’s cofounder, announced that evening that the group had a

HELP CONTINUED FROM FRONT Providing civil legal assistance for working poor and economically disadvantaged victims who reside in Memphis and Shelby County and offering assistance to immigrants who reside in the fourstate region served by the Immigration Court in Memphis.

Emotional Fitness Centers of Tennessee: Offering faithbased, culturally sensitive mental health and spiritual counseling for victims who request this guidance.

Exchange Club Family Center: Offering a variety of programs to help families break the cycle of abuse through counseling, anger management training, family mediation and crisis intervention.

Friends for Life Corporation: Providing supportive services to people affected by and living with HIV/AIDS, including assistance with education, housing, food and healthy life skills.

Germantown Police Department: Providing safe transportation for victims to and from the Family Safety Center by Germantown oncall police officers.

Jewish Family Service: Providing confidential counseling and ancillary services designed to help individuals and families cope with problems and changes, as well as working with pregnant women to formulate adoption plans.

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital: Providing comprehensive pediatric medical care and community-based support services to child victims, children at risk of abuse and neglect, and their families.

Memphis Area Legal Services: Offering free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and the elderly in Southwestern Tennessee, in addition to a multitude of services for those facing domestic violence situations, such as case management, court accompaniment and social services.

Memphis Child Advocacy Center: Offering support services to children who have experienced severe physical and sexual abuse, including the children of domestic violence situations.

Memphis Police Department – Domestic Violence Investigative Unit: Investigating cases involving domestic violence, violations of protective orders, stalking and other related violations within

new foundation to combat domestic violence.

An Order of Protection hinges on whether victims such as Thomas can prove to the judicial commissioner that abuse has indeed taken place.

And while Thomas’ case met that standard, it is unclear whether Cathey had filed an Order of Protection against Ellis. Records do show that she’d reported several incidents of stalking to MPD and that her ex-boyfriend tried to run her off the road several times.

In all cases where a permanent Order of Protection is granted, the alleged abuser is ordered not to have contact with the victim for one year.

Also, after signing an affidavit, he or she is not allowed to own, possess, or carry a firearm.

Charles Thomas was in possession of a firearm. He took his wife’s life and turned the gun on himself, leaving a community on edge wondering how he was able to get to Tasha.

So questions abound: Is the Order of Protection worth the paper it’s written on? And can domestic violence really be stopped?

According to the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference in Nashville, the victim of domestic violence is not safe just because an Order of Protection is granted. After one is filed, the victim – in most cases – may still need a safe place to stay.

“It’s good in all 50 states and it’s in the national database,” Eddleman added. “The abuser

the city of Memphis.

Memphis Shelby Crime Commission: Creating partnerships with businesses, schools, neighborhood associations, hospitals, public safety agencies and local violence prevention organizations working to make Memphis and Shelby County a safer place.

Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA): Offering assessments and referrals to emergency shelters, transitional housing, rental assistance and rapid rehousing assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Millington Police Department: Providing safe transportation for victims to and from the Family Safety Center by Millington on-call police officers.

Miracle’s House of Restoration: Providing housing assistance, house calls to victims, financial assistance, public education, awareness and some child care assistance to women who seek aid through Family Safety Center.

Rock Church Memphis: Offering spiritual counseling for victims of domestic violence and their families.

Shelby County Crime Victims Center/Rape Crisis Center/Orders of Protection: Offering services to and on behalf of domestic violence victims inside the legal system by providing court advocates during proceedings relative to victims’ protective orders and court dates, as well as offering crisis counseling and safety planning; providing forensic sexual assault exams, legal advocacy and counseling services to victims of sexual assault; and assisting victims with Orders of Protection.

Shelby County District Attorney General – Domestic Violence Unit: Prosecuting domestic violence crimes and aiding victims in understanding the criminal process.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office – Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes Unit: Investigating cases involving domestic violence and providing assistance with processing protective orders, warrants for arrest and violations of protective orders in the unincorporated areas of Shelby County and the cities of Lakeland and Arlington.

Sister Reach: A reproductive health advocacy organization that offers reproductive health information to women within the Memphis and Shelby County area.

Tennessee Department of Children’s Services: Empowering families and sup-

can be arrested, but the Order of Protection won’t stop a bullet.”

Between 2,400 and 2,500 Orders of Protection were issued in Memphis and Shelby County last year. The laws, however, aren’t stringent enough to keep the domestic abuser in jail after he or she is arrested, Eddleman said.

“For simple assault domestic violence is 11 months and 29 days. Abusers spend 30 percent of that time and most of them get diversion, or probation, and don’t go to jail at all. They need to strengthen the laws.”

• Of that number, females (71.9 percent) were three times more likely to be victimized than males (28.1 percent).

• 99.2 percent of domestic violence victims were either white (57.6 percent) or African-American (41.6 percent).

• By race and sex: Black females (31 percent), white females (41 percent), black males (11 percent) and white males (17 percent).

• From 2011 to 2013, victims were six times more likely to be abused by a spouse than an ex-spouse in domestic offenses.

• Domestic violence resulted in 288 murder/non-negligent homicides during this threeyear period.

So can domestic violence be stopped altogether?

“We may not be able to eliminate it, but we can reduce it significantly. We just have a lot of work to do in the community,” said Eddleman, adding that the Family Safety Center enacts a safety plan for victims seeking a way out.

Domestic violence is a pattern of controlling behavior that is often physical, sexual or psychological and committed

by an intimate partner against another. So why don’t victims just leave?

“If they leave, they go back because it’s about a relationship,” Eddleman explains.

“They have children together and want the children to have a relationship with the father (who’s the abuser in most cases).

“A lot of women stay because they want to stay safe.

You’re less likely to die if you stay. The issue is you’re still alive. Most women are killed because they leave. We’ve had two people back to back to get killed.”

‘A lot of work to do in the community’ Between two million and four million women are battered each year in the United States. There are two thousand deaths each year as a result of domestic violence. And at least 25 percent of battered women commit suicide.

Although the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission’s Operation “Safe Community” crime statistics showed a decrease in domestic violence crimes between January and July, the statistics are still alarming and shouldn’t be overlooked.

The following are additional facts for domestic violence in the state of Tennessee between 2011-2013, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation: • There were 247,069 incidents of domestic violence offenses as reported by all law enforcement agencies in the state.

porting community safety and partnerships to ensure safety, permanency and well-being for children.

The Athena Project: Serving women who have experienced intimate partner violence and abuse and are troubled by stress, anxiety and depression.

Victims to Victory: Offering counseling and support services by a faith-based organization to family members when violence ends in homicide.

Walking Into A New Life, Inc.: Seeks to stop DV and help stabilize victims by using education and microenterprise development, actively hosting workshops, participating in panel discussions and other speaking opportunities, and being involved with ongoing DV awareness activities in the Mid-South.

Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Memphis (YWCA): Assisting in the provision of court advocate services, as well as short-term housing services, to victims fleeing domestic violence situations.

(For more information about the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County or any of its partner organizations, call 901-2224400)

Agency Owner The Brassell Ins. Agy.Inc. 1255-A Lynnfield Rd Suite 111 Memphis, TN 38119

Office 901-683-3130/Fax 901-685-3337 NediaBrassell@Allstate.com 24-Hour Customer Service

Page 6

Tri-State Defender

September 11 - 17, 2014

BUSINESS ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

One Bar of soap at a time – Part 1 After a long day at work, there is nothing like a hot bath or shower to release the stresses of the day.

Va r i o u s Carlee s c e n t e d McCullough shower gels, bubble baths, and bar soaps are all choices at our fingertips to assist in our relaxation. But rarely do we find any bath products that assist in skin moisturizing or acne breakouts without the smell coming across as medicinal.

Kimeli Wade is a go-getter who has found her niche in the soap industry. The bars are uniquely designed and the smell is wonderful. I was taken aback to hear some of the skin soothing effects of the products. This week, Wade shares her journey with us.

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

Kimeli Wade: My name is Kimeli (pronounced K + Emily) Wade. My hobbies include reading, arts & crafts and gardening. I keep my family healthy with foods from local farms and medicine from plants. I was born in Knoxville and have lived in Memphis for most of my life.

My business is called Gifts from Nature, which produces small batch handcrafted soaps made with natural ingredients that are known to nourish and moisturize the skin. Soaps retail for $5 - $6. Our soaps do not contain chemicals or detergents that rob the skin of its natural protective barrier and cause itching, irritation and

Kimeli Wade has found her niche in the soap industry. dryness. We guarantee that our soaps contain ONLY the ingredients listed on the label.

CM: How did you begin making soap products?

KW: I ran across a soap making video on YouTube in 2010 and was surprised at how easy it seemed. Making my own soap, I thought, would be one way to cut household expenses. Before I knew it, I had TONS of soap, and was running out of storage space for it. I started giving it away to family and friends who fell in love with it and asked for more.

CM: When and how did you turn it into a business?

KW: After about a year of educating myself on the soap making process, and a few suc-

cessful (and a few failed) experiments, I decided on a recipe that produced a great bar of soap. A few close friends made purchases and shared with their friends and family. I continued to read every book and watch every video on soap making I could find. Positive feedback and requests for more were coming in consistently. It was a slow process, as I could only buy supplies when I had a little extra money, which wasn't very often.

CM: What are some of your products and what makes them unique?

KW: Simplicity is what makes Gifts From Nature's products unique. Many soap makers use exotic (and expensive) ingredients, many of which most consumers have

never heard of. Although these ingredients produce luxurious soaps, customers pay a hefty price for them. Gifts From Nature makes luxury affordable by using familiar ingredients that are not only known to clean and moisturize, but provide nourishment that results in beautiful healthy skin.

One of our best sellers is CARROT soap, made with fresh carrot juice, which is rich in beta carotene, an anti-oxidant known to promote cell renewal, even skin tone and reduce acne. REHAB, another favorite, contains activated charcoal, which binds to and draws toxins, dirt and excess oil from the skin. The combination of moisturizing oils in all of our soaps leaves the skin feeling soft, unlike commercial soaps that leave that dry, tight feeling.

Bath products made of natural ingredients.

CM: When did you realize you had a product that people desired?

KW: Carrot soap was the first soap I made for a specific purpose: to bring relief to acne prone skin. I gave samples to everyone I knew with acne, people with children with acne and even strangers I encountered in stores. The results were phenomenal, and interest and purchases reflected the same. People with sensitive skin and itchy conditions like eczema also reported that the soap brought them relief. This was definitely a sign that I was onto something great.

CM: How can customers obtain the product?

KW: Gifts From Nature products can be found locally

at Maggie's Pharm, 13 Florence Street in Overton Square, and downtown at K'PreSha Boutique, 323 South Main. While our website is under construction, customers can learn about our products via Facebook, www.facebook.com/giftsfromnaturesoap; Twitter and Instagram, @gfnsoap. Orders can be placed by emailing us at giftsfromnaturesoap@gmail.com.

CM: Contact info: KW: I can be reached via email, giftsfromnaturesoap@gmail.com or by phone, (901) 691-0377.

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

MONEY MATTERS

Evaluating the need for long-term care E v e n though the possible need for long-term care is not something people enjoy thinking about, an estimated 70 Charles Sims percent of Jr., CFP 65-yearolds will need this type of care at some point in their lives. The average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home was nearly $75,000 a year in 2012, and it’s been projected that the annual cost could reach nearly $165,000 in 20 years due to inflation.

Some wealthy households can afford to pay for longterm care out of pocket. Many others with substantial financial assets might not be sure

whether they have saved enough to meet their future needs. Thus, it may be wise to consider whether your financial resources would be adequate for a worst-case situation.

What would happen to your retirement savings if you or your spouse became severely disabled and had to enter a nursing home? How would writing a check for $6,000 or more every month affect the standard of living of the healthy spouse, who would still need to pay for his or her normal expenses?

One of the following strategies may help prevent your retirement savings from being wiped out by the escalating cost of long-term care and could significantly ease the burden on family and friends.

Combining forces Some insurance companies

offer permanent life insurance policies or annuities with long-term-care riders, either of which may be more cost-effective than a standalone longterm-care policy. The premiums are generally paid as a lump sum up-front or in fixed periodic payments, so you wouldn’t have to worry about future rate increases or the issuer canceling the policy (as long as your premiums are current).

Long-term-care benefits typically kick in when the policyholder needs help with two or more activities of daily living (such as eating, bathing, and dressing); payouts are normally tax-free. However, any payouts for covered longterm-care expenses would reduce (and are usually limited to) the death benefit or annuity value, so they could be much less generous than those of a typical long-term-care policy.

Permanent life option If you are considering a long-term-care option with life insurance, you should have a need for life insurance and evaluate the policy on its merits as life insurance. Optional benefit riders are available for an additional fee and are subject to the contractual terms, conditions, and limitations outlined in the policy; they may not, however, benefit all individuals.

The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Before implementing a strategy involving life insurance, it would be prudent to make sure that you are insurable. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life insurance.

Policies commonly have mortality and expense

charges. In addition, if a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications.

Annuity option Annuities are insurance contracts that pay a lump sum or an income stream over a certain period of time. Generally, annuities have mortality and expense charges, account fees, investment management fees and administrative fees.

Most annuities have surrender charges that are assessed during the early years of the contract if the contract owner surrenders the annuity. Withdrawals prior to age 59½ may be subject to a 10 percent federal income tax penalty. The earnings portion of annuity withdrawals is taxed as ordinary income.

Insurance and annuity products are not insured by the

FDIC or any other federal government agency. Any guarantees are contingent on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

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

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

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September 11 - 17, 2014

RELIGION RELIGION BRIEFS

Former life on the streets compels preacher to help youth with similar problems

True Worship Fellowship elicits a ‘call to prayer’ True Worship Fellowship International is hosting a prayer breakfast entitled “A Call to Prayer for Such as Time as This” on Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. at the Servant’s Circle, 2988 Old Austin Peay Hwy. in the Raleigh community.

Bishop Nehemiah Kennedy, pastor of Cathedral of Hope Community Church and founder/president of Second Chance Ministries, will be the keynote speaker. Charlie Caswell, executive director of Rangeline Neighborhood Community Development Corporation, will be the special guest.

There is a $20 per person charge. For more information, call (901) 650-7413 or email kfdobbs@live.com.

Dr. K.F. Dobbs is the host pastor.

Three-day confab designed to help those with problems The South Germantown Road Church of Christ, 3825 S. Germantown Rd., will host a threeday conference Sept. 28th-30th entitled “From Old Me to New Me.” The conference is designed to release the participant from the pain, problems and bad practices that could cause problems over and over again.

• On Sunday, Sept 28th, at 10:30 a.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Spirit.”

• On Monday, Sept 29th, at 7 p.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Soul.”

• On Tuesday, Sept 30th, at 7 p.m., there will be an “Emphasis on Changing Our Behavior.”

Registration will begin Saturday, Sept. 27th, during the “Germantown Taste” event and a reminder gift will be given that evening for those who sign up for the conference.

The conference is free to the public. For more information, call (901) 309-9809 or visit the church website at www.sgrcoc.org. Interested persons also can follow the church on Facebook and register at South Germantown Road.

by Wiley Henry whenry@tsdmemphis.com

Kingdom Alliance Entertainment founder Charles Winton Jr. introduces the Flow Music & Arts Conference award winners Elder Linwood Dillard Jr., who received the “Ambassador Award” and Telisa Franklin, who received the “Trendsetter Award.” (Photo: Wiley Henry)

Three-day weekend at Oak Grove culminated with a concert, awards Kingdom Alliance Entertainment presented its Flow Music & Arts Conference 2014 Concert Sunday (Sept.

7) evening at Oak Grove Baptist Church, 7289 Highway 64, with music by the Flow Mac Workshop Choir.

The concert was part of a weekend event that included a new artist showcase called “It’s My Time,” Friday, Sept.

5, followed by “Mid-Night Flow,” with special guest Darrel Petties. On Saturday, Sept.

6, celebrity hoopsters – including Oak Grove’s pastor, the Rev. Donald Johnson – participated in a three-point shootout basketball tournament.

Two individuals received FLOMAC awards during the concert on Sunday: Telisa Franklin, founder and senior servant of the Servant’s Circle, received the “Trendsetter Award” for community service, notably for the Juneteenth Urban Music Festival,

of which she is executive director; and Elder Linwood Dillard Jr., pastor of Citadel Deliverance Church of God in Christ, who received the “Ambassador Award.”

The three-day event culminated with the announcement of the new artist showcase winner, Christian Anderson, who received a recording contract.

Charles Winton Jr. is the founder of Kingdom Alliance Entertainment.

Pastor, wife to celebrate 24 years at Holy Temple The members of Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, 1254 Wilson St., is inviting the public to join them Sunday, Sept. 21st, at 11 a.m. as they celebrate the 24th anniversary and “faithful A fashion show for the ages... service” of their pastor and wife, the Rev. Charles E. Jackson and A fashion show brought together the young and old during Grandparents Day observance at Mt. Moriah Baptist East Church. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley) first lady Gwendolyn Jackson.

Charlotte Y. Cobb wasn’t always compelled to preach the gospel or steer y o u t h away from the crimeridden streets of Charlotte Y. Cobb Memphis.

She also wasn’t always trying to arrest teen pregnancy, keeping wayward youth in school, or intervening on their behalf to keep them out of gangs.

In fact, Cobb, who pastors the Cherokee Outreach Ministry Empowerment Center (COMEC) at 2218 Eldridge St. in the 38108 zip code area of North Memphis, is trying to make a difference in the lives of teenagers who remind her that she could’ve lost her life on the same streets, in the same zip code area, decades ago.

“That’s why I’m geared toward helping others,” said Cobb, who was drug dependent for 12 years before finding solace and piecing together what had been a turbulent life on the streets. “I was a cocaine addict and came off the same streets of 38108.”

Cobb saw a difference in her life after releasing the stronghold that kept her bound. “I got saved in 1985,” she said, “at Bountiful Blessings Temple of Deliverance under Bishop G.E. Patterson. I was there for 12 1/2 years and started my ministry in 2000.”

COMEC was first located on Kerr Avenue in the Hollywood community. The new location, now on Eldridge Street, has been in operation for a month. There will be an open house the whole month of October, Cobb said.

Cobb recently launched “Memphis Teens with a Dream,” an empowerment program at the church for youth ages seven to 17. “I’m trying to keep them in school, out of gangs, and away from crime – anything that’s negative,” she said.

On Sundays at the “empowerment center,” Cobb feeds about 50 people in the community who may be food-deprived or who just need a meal to tide them over. “I want to be a person doing more than just feed people on Thanksgiving,” said Cobb, 62.

Cobb also is converting a home in the Douglass community at 3018 Chelsea Ave. that will be called “The Douglass House of Hospitality.” She said it’s being rehabbed to help youth in that community – the same community where she lost two sons to violence.

Her son Rocko Waller was killed in 1990 by a stray bullet that was meant for someone else, Cobb said. Mico Waller, who “lived a hard life and never gave it up,” was killed in 2010. Ironically, both sons were killed on Pope Street in Douglass.

Though gang activity is rampant in the area and crime often runs amok, Cobb said she has a responsibility to help people. “We have got to be available to help. People need prayer. They’re in pain and women are on the street.”

The youth, she said, are running astray and are lured into the gang lifestyle because they’re often left unattended.

“That’s why I’m opening up the home in Douglass to keep them off the streets.”

When the “The Douglass House of Hospitality” is completed, Cobb said anyone seeking help could take advantage of some of the resources and programs that she’s offering, such as a health initiative, crime prevention, substance abuse, neighborhood watch and an abstinent program for youth.

Because her ministry is a non-profit, Cobb said she was able to purchase the house in a Shelby County tax sale. It was nearly a shell, striped of its electrical components, said Cobb, who is married with three children, 14 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She raised two of her grandchildren.

She is expecting the house to be up and running in about 6 to 8 weeks.

For more information, contact Charlotte Y. Cobb at 901258-6463.

‘The Faithful Few’ to host their anual day program

The Church Health Center is the nucleus of community events in the city

The Faithful Few Club of St. John Baptist Church will present its annual day program Sunday, Sept. 14, at 3 p.m.

The theme is “Magnifying the Lord through Songs” and will feature Aljuna Newson-Jones, St. John’s Male Quartet, Phaedra Alexis Trass-Boyle, and Voices of Vision.

St. John is located at 640 Vance Ave. The Rev. Henry L. Key is the host pastor.

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Church Health Center hosts a Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays at 1115 Union Ave. The Market accepts credit, debit, cash and EBT. For more information, call Jimmy Hoxie at 901-259-4673, ext.

2228 or visit ChurchHealthCenter.org.

Award-winning musician Rev. John Kilzer hosts The Way, a service of recovery, at 6 p.m. every Friday at St.

John's United Methodist Church, 1207 Peabody Ave. The Way focuses on recovery, encouragement, and hope. Music is a key component of the service with many local musicians stopping by to perform. The service, which is a joint ministry of Methodist Healthcare, St. John's, and the Church Health Center, is free and open to the public. For more information, call 901-726-4104 or visitwww.stjohnsmidtown.org.

The Church Health Center Exercise

and Movement Studio at 1115 Union is pleased to offer classes for your entire family this fall! Classes include Stott Pilates, Discover Dance, and Yoga For Children. For schedules and prices, log on to churchhealthcenter.org/calendars.

Join Church Health Center Wellness and Bring It Food Hub at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. each Thursday for Bring It, Cook It, Take It Cooking Class at 1115 Union Ave. This class includes cook-

ing demonstrations using fresh produce, tastings, and recipes. You'll even get to take home a bag of produce!

Cost is $5.

The Church Health Center will present Teal There Is a Cure: A Conversation About Ovarian and Cervical Cancer from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 27 at 1115 Union Ave. Expert speakers and light lunch will be provided. Contact Katrina Kimble at kimblek@churchhealthcenter.org or 901-261-8833 to register.

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

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

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

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

Dr. & Rev. Mrs. Reginald Porter

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

– Psalm 55:22

Attend the Church of your choice

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

—Phillipians 4:13

ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, September 11 - 17, 2014, Page 8

50 Cent

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

50 cents worth of reading “Pretty Boy” Floyd hit the scene with the loud, over-zealous crooners anticipating his ascension in 1993. He was handsome, he was sharp, he had young boy’s swag. I wondered who he would become. Floyd is now the highest paid athlete of all times.

At times even I quesJineea tioned his ability as the Butler greatest fighter, probably because some of his antics made me dislike him, but if you watch him carefully he has mastered the art of boxing. Floyd’s flashy image, large entourage and excessive partying lead the way for the Money Team to brand his lavish spending habits and lifestyle choices.

During the ALS Ice Bucket challenge frenzy, 50 Cent decided to change the challenge and call out his former BFF Floyd Mayweather Jr. to read a full page of a Harry Potter book and 50 Cent pledged to give $750,000 to the charity of Floyd’s choice.

Obviously, 50 Cent knew Floyd had trouble reading and this was just another ploy to publicly humiliate Floyd with 50’s attentiongrabbing shenanigans.

Charlemagne Tha God, a popular radio personality on NY’s Hot 97 Breakfast Club, took it a step further and released audio of Floyd stumbling through a PSA in the studio.

The audio definitely exposed Floyd’s reading challenges. Floyd responded with pictures of his last two checks from Golden Boy Promotions and captioned it. ‘Read this.’ Fifty further insulted Floyd by challenging him to read “The Cat in the Hat” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The back and forth continued with an offer for 50 Cent to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas but Floyd took the high road and challenged 50 Cent to give $750,000 to the family of Michael Brown, the slain Ferguson, Mo. youth. We have yet to hear back from 50 Cent on that one.

While 50 Cent has spent most of his career clowning Ja Rule, Mobb Deep and a list of others, he always seems to hit them where it hurts. We heard Floyd say on numerous occasions that he came from nothing. We heard him say he raised himself. His father was locked up in his most impressionable years and his mother was on drugs; yet he managed to become the world’s greatest boxer and highest paid athlete. There has got to be some merit in that. So why is Floyd, the man we all love to hate? Why are we not applauding him with the same reverence of Jay Z, who sold drugs as an alternative to going to school?

For a while, I did not know what to make of Floyd. His arrogance, his constant boasting and throwing money around seemed childish. And that is exactly what he is, a child who willed himself to greatness in spite of ill-fated conditions he grew up around. His public rants are only defense mechanisms that developed from his lack of education and abundance of success. Now I get where Floyd feels the need to flaunt himself to the world.

He is a walking dream. He feels the only thing that got him to the position he is in is his heart and determination to succeed.

Floyd chose a path that did not require him to read to make a living. Therefore, his reading comprehension and communication skills suffered as a result. You could never convince him that somewhere along the way he should have interrupted his training schedule to learn to read more efficiently. I am sure he has many people around who have no problem reading for him. So the issue really becomes does Floyd Mayweather Jr. think that it is important for him to be able to read and write proficiently and understandably?

I would like to see him take on the challenge of becoming a fluent reader, even finishing his GED. This is a great opportunity to show that education is always available no matter what your age. Floyd is obviously a man who is very disciplined; he does not drink or smoke and maintains a healthy diet to remain the best in his class. He could inspire millions of young men and women to get their GED, to stay in school and to never stop learning.

Even Muhammad Ali had difficulty reading and he started a program called “Go the Distance.” Let’s hope 50 Cent’s sick intent really helps Floyd stop avoiding and hiding from the inevitable task of learning to read for himself. We all have a part in making sure the people in our community become the best they can be no matter what the circumstances.

(NNPA columnist Jineea Butler, founder of the Social Services of Hip Hop and the Hip Hop Union, is a Hip Hop Analyst who investigates the trends and behaviors of the community and delivers programming that solves the hip hop dilemma. She can be reached at jineea@gmail.com or tweet her at @flygirlladyjay.)

A Charlie Wilson performance during Southern Heritage Classic Weekend has become synonymous with a good time, and that again was the case as he performed at the Landers Center in Southaven last year. (Photo: Warren Roseborough)

A conversation with

‘Uncle Charlie’ Wilson

Southern Heritage Classic, Memphis music, and little leprechauns

by Nina Allen-Johnson Special to The New Tri-State Defender

N

ot being much of a conversationalist, when presented with the assignment to interview the great Charlie Wilson with regard to his pending trip to Memphis to perform for the Southern Heritage Classic, I tried my best to hand it off to someone else. When that didn’t work, I resolved to just relax and talk to him like I would my own uncle.

And when you have a conversation with Charlie Wilson, it is just instinctive to call him Uncle Charlie. So after we got on the phone and exchanged the initial pleasantries, I asked, “May I call you Uncle Charlie?” And it was on from there!

This is just a small portion of how my morning with Charlie Wilson unfolded.

Nina Allen-Johnson: Uncle Charlie, we know how long you have been on the scene. …And we know your music. It spans many different generations. You are a part of a classic era of R & B music that includes groups like Earth Wind and Fire and Frankie Beverly and Maze, Charlie Wilson and the Gap Band.

The list goes on. Earth Wind and Fire and Frankie Beverly and Maze are still widely known for all of their old music. But you are the only one who keeps putting out new hits. How does it feel to be able to cater to a generation whose parents you entertained (and continue to entertain) as well?

Charlie Wilson: It is an awesome feeling to know you are still in the game like that. However, it’s a very, very daunting task. It’s like, you have to really, really work hard. A lot of people have forgotten about how it is to work hard and how hard it is to work at that pace and get something ready year after year and back-to-back years of putting out new music. And I think the very first time that they try it and they miss, then they automatically shut themselves off.

Me, I’m a warrior. I just feel like I didn’t get a chance to receive what I wanted to receive back in the day. So that is something that drives me. And then the fans … the very first time I had my first No. 1 record by myself, the fans and the radio stations and everybody that was cheering me on, it just gave me that drive. I have such a drive, and I have a passion for making records and doing different shows and putting it down and leaving it all out on the floor and on the stage. A lot of people don’t want to work that hard. That’s why I’m winning right now, and I will continue to do so until they drop me in the ground.

NAJ: Your work ethic is phenomenal. And your show is so physically taxing. I’ve seen it and I love it! Where did the whistle come from, Uncle Charlie?

CW: I whistle to get everybody’s attention. They don’t know what’s coming next. When I whistle, they have to be looking at me. I allow my band to go off on tangents and things like that.

And when I whistle, they have to get back in line and understand that I am getting ready to make some kind of calls so they have to be paying attention and watching me. That’s basically what that is.

NAJ: I love it! We all know that you have faced some challenges. What, for you, represented a turning point in your life?

What was a game changer for you?

CW: When I married Mahin is when everything changed for me because I think that the success that I am having now if I wasn’t married to Mahin – I would probably be dead already. I wouldn’t have it all together basically. This strong woman in

AT A GLANCE Charlie Wilson will headline the concert featuring Joe and Mint Condition at the Landers Center on Friday, Sept. 12th in Southaven, Miss., as a part of this weekend’s Southern Heritage Classic 25 Year celebration.

Showtime: 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $85, $75 and $55. my life helps keep me in line and keeps me grounded and understanding that hey, this is just a blessing, and you can mess that up like you have so many years before.

You have to continue to walk this line…this straight and narrow. And asking God to continue to forgive you for all of the things … whatever it is, and to stay relevant. She is right there – helping me. She tells me, “I don’t like this song,” or “I don’t like that.” Or, “I love this. This is going to be a hit.” “Don’t sing that.” “I hate that.” She gets on my nerves sometimes about that, but at the end of the day, when all of the smoke clears, she is usually probably about 99 percent right about the songs that she is picking.

NAJ: Have you ever done one that she didn’t like that did great things?

CW: Aw yeah…aw yeah. And she ended up liking the record later on – not loving it but liking it.

NAJ: Your love story with her is inspiring, to say the least.

CW: We go everywhere together everyday. We’ve been together every day for the past 19 years – every hour on the hour, all day, everyday.

NAJ: That is incredible. One thing I did want to ask you about was the GAP Band. Does the GAP Band still perform as a band?

CW: No. My youngest brother passed on. And my oldest brother is a minister, and he was already out of the group.

NAJ: So there is no replacing or trying to re-form anything in that vein. I can understand that.

CW: Three brothers…that’s what that (was). Three brothers – one gone, the other is a preacher, and I am out here doing solo by myself. So, I can’t juggle two careers at the same time.

So if we allow that to happen, it will probably be the generation of the kids of the family. But other than that, that’s not going to happen. I’m holding up the banner.

NAJ: You are coming here for the Southern Heritage Classic.

Are you really familiar with the Classic and how we do it?

CW: Oh yeah! Fred Jones has done this thing for so many years and now his son – its just – I understand it. When I first began to start playing it, you know … it’s hard to play Memphis. People don’t understand. Memphis is like the Apollo.

NAJ: It sure is!

CW: If you ain’t just smokin’, if your show ain’t smokin’, SEE UNCLE CHARLIE ON PAGE 9

Tri-State Defender

Page 9

September 11 - 17, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT OPENING THIS WEEK

Charlie Wilson performs at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago (April 2010) (Photo: Raymond Boyd)

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

by Kam Williams Special to The New Tri-State Defender

For movies opening September 12, 2014

UNCLE CHARLIE

BIG BUDGET FILMS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

“Dolphin Tale 2” (PG for mature themes) Cetacean sequel chronicles more true stories from the annals of Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Cast includes Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and Kris Kristofferson.

“No Good Deed” (PG-13 for violence and profanity) Crime thriller about a charming stranger (Idris Elba) who terrorizes a stay-athome mom (Taraji P. Henson) and her kids after gaining entry to their home by claiming to have car trouble. With Kate del Castillo, Leslie Bibb and Henri Simmons.

“Search Party” (R for drug use, sexuality, graphic nudity and pervasive profanity) Road comedy about two buddies’ (T.J. Miller and Adam Pally) who come to the rescue of a justdumped groom-to-be (Thomas Middleditch) left naked in the middle of the Mexican desert.

Featuring J.B. Smoove, Lance Reddick and Alison Brie.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS “108 Stitches” (R for profanity and sexual references) Ensemble comedy about a lousy college baseball team that schemes to go out on a high note after learning that the school president (Kate Vernon) plans to disband the program at the end of the season. Cast includes Bruce Davison, Erin Cahill and retired major leaguer Roger Clemens.

“Altina” (Unrated) Reverential biopic about Renaissance iconoclast Altina Schinasi (19071999), trendsetter, socialite, artist, inventor, feminist, civil rights advocate and bon vivant way before her time.

“Archaeology of a Woman” (Unrated) Justice delayed drama about a daughter (Victoria Clark) who unexpectedly uncovers clues to a long-unsolved crime of passion while caring for her mother (Sally Kirkland) suffering from Alzheimer’s. With James Murtaugh, Karl Geary and Mary Testa.

“Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?” (PG13 for violence and sexuality) Third installment in the ambitious adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1,200-page opus stars Kristoffer Polaha as the title character, the man supplying the answer for the nation’s impending economic collapse. Featuring Stephen Tobolowosky, Rob Morrow and Laura Regan.

“Bird People” (Unrated) Romance drama about a jaded, Silicon Valley engineer (Josh

Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman star in “Dolphin Tale 2” (Courtesy photo) Charles) who quits his job and breaks up with his wife while in Paris on business in order to pursue a passionate affair with his young hotel maid (Anais Demoustier). With Roschdy Zem, Camelia Jordana and Geoffrey Cantor.

(In French, English and Japanese) “Born to Fly” (Unrated) Dance documentary chronicling the gravity-defying choreography of the legendary Elizabeth Streb.

“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” (Unrated) Final installment of the simultaneous trilogy, set in NYC, revolving around the trials and tribulations of a young couple (James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain) struggling to save their marriage in the wake of a tragedy. Ensemble includes Viola Davis, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert and Bill Hader.

“The Drop” (R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity) Screen adaptation of Animal Rescue, the Dennis Lahane short story about a lonely bartender (Tom Hardy) who launders cash for local mobsters only to become the focus of the police investigation in the wake of a robbery gone wrong. With Noomi Rapace, John Ortiz and the late James Gandolfini.

teenager for throwing rocks at soldiers. (In Hebrew and English with subtitles) “I Am Eleven” (Unrated) ‘Tweener documentary offering a look at life from the unique perspectives of a variety of 11 year-olds from Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

“My Old Lady” (PG-13 for mature themes and sexual references) Family skeletons dramedy about a down-and-out New Yorker (Kevin Kline) who inherits a Paris flat occupied by a mother (Maggie Smith) and daughter (Kristin Scott Thomas) with a secret connection to his recently-deceased father. Support cast includes Elie Wajeman, Dominique Pinon and Stephane Freiss.

“Pirates” (Unrated) Seafaring adventure, set at the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty, about a race between a bandit (Nam-gil Kim) and a pirate (Ye-jin Son) to retrieve the royal stamp swallowed by a great gray whale while en route to Korea from China. With Hae-jin Yoo, Tae-woo Kim and Dal-hwan Jo. (In Korean with subtitles)

“Faith Connections” (Unrated) Spiritual documentary chronicling events unfolding at the Kumbh Mela, the triennial pilgrimage undertaken by 100 million worshippers to Allahabad, India to worship while sharing a bath in a sacred river. (In Hindi with subtitles)

“The Skeleton Twins” (R for profanity, sexuality and drug use) Dysfunctional family drama about long-estranged fraternal twins (Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader) who are inspired to repair their damaged relationship after cheating death on the same day in separate incidents. With Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell and Boyd Holbrook.

“The Green Prince” (PG-13 for mature themes and disturbing images) West Bank documentary about Palestinian informant Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founder of Hamas who converted to Christianity and became a spy for Israel after being arrested as a

“Take Me to the River” (PG for smoking, mild epithets and mature themes) R&B retrospective revisiting the influence of Memphis and the Mississippi Delta on soul music. Featuring appearances by Snoop Dogg, Bobby Blue Bland and Booker T. Jones.

they are just like the Apollo in New York.

They will “womp, womp” and boo you off the stage if you ain’t right, brother, in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s been too many great people come out of Memphis, Tennessee – too many great musicians, too many great singers, too many great bands – you know. It’s just been too many great people that they have seen in their home town.

So you have to be smokin’ up in there. If you ain’t smokin’, they are going to shut you down and let you know that they don’t want you up in there. A lot of people don’t understand that. That might be the reason they don’t get a lot of good applause or something.

If they don’t like you, they will slyly let you know. You come to Memphis, boy you better have it together. Folks will sit there and look at you like a knot on a log. They know good music. …

NAJ: If we were in the back yard, Uncle Charlie, just me and you – your niece, and we are just sitting down talking about life, what is some advice that you would give me to hold on to just to help me through this thing called life? What are some every day words of wisdom that you would give to me?

CW: Don’t accept no wooden nickels, and don’t pick up no green hitchhikers.

NAJ: WHAT? I don’t get it. What’s the green hitchhiker?

CW: That’s a gold digger fa sho!

(I’m laughing hysterically at this point.)

NAJ: The little leprechauns?

CW: The little leprechauns! They will get your money and spend it and you can’t find him because he is too short! You will be looking all over for him and he is gone. Baby, he got your money and gone! So don’t pick up no green hitchhikers, baby. You don’t need it.

And wooden nickels don’t spend, so don’t accept none of that either. Basically, it’s all BS. (We had a good laugh behind that!)

NAJ: I love you, Uncle Charlie.

CW: I love you, too, Baby.

NAJ: Talk to you soon…

CW: See you at the show…

And with that, our conversation was over, and I felt like I had just hung up with my uncle—forreal!

(I forgot to ask him what does shabba-dabba-dwee-dwee mean!)

Page 10

Tri-State Defender

September 11 - 17, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS Legal Notices LEGAL NOTICE TO BIDDERS sealed bids will be received at the office of the City of Memphis Purchasing Agent, room 354, City hall, 125 n. Main, Memphis, tn 38103, until 2:00 Pm CT, Friday, October 3, 2014, for furnishing the City of Memphis with the following: for the DiVision of: PUBLiC WorKs City of Memphis rfQ # 3257 for the ConstrUCtion of: PW01181 federal Project no.: stP-M-nhe-57(42) state Pin: 110296.00 Location(s): sr-57 (Us-72) (Poplar Avenue), from east of sweetbriar to i-240 state Project no: 79LPLM-f3-029 1. the Prime Contractor and all sub Contractors must pre-qualify with the Department of transportation in accordance with section 54-5-117 of the “tennessee Code Annotated” and tennessee Department of transportation rule 1680-5-3 prequalification of contractors before biddable proposals will be furnished.

2. the City of Memphis hereby notifies all bidders that an 8% Disadvantaged Business enterprise (DBe) goal has been set for this project and must be met or exceeded. All contractors identified as a Disadvantaged Business enterprise (DBe) must be on the tennessee Uniform Certification Program (tnUCP) List at the time of the bid opening.

3. the City of Memphis hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation, and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of age, race, color, religion, national origin, sex or disability in consideration for an award.

4. the City of Memphis is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drugfree with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service. for additional information contact Mary Bright, (901) 576-6553, City of Memphis, Contract Compliance office, 125 n. Main st, Memphis, tn

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CitY PUrChAsinG AGent

PUBLIC NOTICE THE mEmPHIS URBAN AREA mETROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION in compliance with federal regulations 23 Cfr 450, the Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning organization (MPo) is updating its 2040 regional transportation Plan (rtP). the rtP is a fiscally-constrained document that guides the decision-making process for the selection and implementation of transportation projects in the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Area. it outlines the policies as well as the long-range and short-range actions that support an integrated and multimodal transportation system for the effective and efficient movement of people and goods.

Updated every four years, the rtP’s planning horizon is at least 20 years.

the public is hereby given notice that the Memphis MPo will hold public meetings to provide information on the plan update and to solicit input from the public on the draft 2040 regional transportation Plan document. the meetings will be held as follows: september 23, 2014 - 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Desoto County Administration Building, 365 Losher street, hernando, Ms 38632 september 23, 2014 – 5:30 – 7:00 pm: MAtA Airways transit Center, 3033 Airways Blvd., Memphis, tn 38131 september 24, 2014 – 11:30 am – 1:00 pm: MAtA Central station, 545 south Main street, Memphis, tn 38103 september 24, 2014 – 5:30 – 7:00 pm: Bartlett City hall, 6400 stage road, Bartlett, tn 38134 september 25, 2014 – 6:00 – 7:00 pm: oakland City hall, 170 Doss street, oakland, tn 38060 it is the policy of the Memphis Urban Area MPo not to discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin or disability in its hiring or employment practices, or in its admissions to or operations of its program, services, or activities. All inquiries for title Vi and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or for persons with disabilities that require aids or services to participate either in the review of these documents or at the hearing may contact Mitchell Lloyd at 901-576-7146, fax (901) 576-7272; or email Mitchell.Lloyd@memphistn.gov to make accessibility arrangements no less than ten days prior to the meetings.

tuesday, september 23, 2014, at 1:30 p.m., in room 12 Board of Claims tennessee Claims Commission higher education and technical institutions Publication Committee information systems Council tennessee Consolidated retirement system, Board of trustees Wednesday, september 24, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., in room 12 Board of Parole Department of Correction state Board of equalization Any changes in the above schedule which may become necessary will be announced at the Government operations Committees’ website at www.capitol.tn.gov/joint/committees/govopps/. for additional information or to request special accommodations for individuals with disabilities, contact: Joe schussler, CPA, Assistant Director, Division of state Audit, nashville, tennessee; telephone: (615) 747-5303; e-mail: Joe.schussler@cot.tn.gov. request for special accommodations should be made at least 24 hours prior to the meeting whenever possible.

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this notice is funded (in part) under an agreement with the state of tn and Ms, Departments of transportation.

notiCe of sUnset PUBLiC heArinG in accordance with title 4, Chapter 29, tennessee Code Annotated, the Government operations Committees of the tennessee General Assembly will conduct a public hearing to receive testimony on whether the entities listed below should be continued, restructured, or terminated. the hearings will be held in the Legislative Plaza, nashville, tennessee, as indicated below. Pertinent public testimony is invited.

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Winners of the

Best Athlete/Sports Figure Mike Conley Tony Allen Penny Hardaway Best Attorney Arthur "Art" Horne III Laquita Stokes - Fentress Yolanda Kight Best Author Megan Mottley LeNora Millen Teen Author Angel Ray Best Banker Gerri Currie, Hope Credit Union Fred Hardeman, Regions Bank Sam King, First Tennessee Bank Best Barber Shop Eric Massey's A Closer Look Barber Shop The Remix Best BBQ Interstate BBQ A&R BBQ Cozy Corner Best Boutique or Clothing Dean of Fashion Tiara's Place KPresha Best Car Salesman Bernard "Hard Nard" Williams Maurice Walker Desmond Hunt

1507 1607 2587 1530 668 700 781 828 696 1146 1030 979 1088 920 540 1459 2527 934 860 1123 701 1226 906 936

Best Choir (Church or Community) Mississippi Boulevard 911 Billy Rivers & AVOF 705 New Direction Live and Direct 791 Best Cigar Lounge/Smoke Shop Havana Mix Pollard's Fitzgerald's

1481 213 417

Best Club or Lounge Ice Bar Sugashack Onix

1165 1085 664

Best Comedian Stephon Smith Mzzz Kecia Rob Love

714 832 655

Best Community Service Organization Memphis ULYP 537 Junior Achievement of the Mid-South 837 Heal the Hood Foundation 1087 Best Concert Promoter Curtis Givens (CGI) 1369 Fred Jones (SMC) 1120 Marcus Dorris (Mix and Mingle Ent.) 847 Best Construction Company Anderson Contractors (Construction) 1048 TopCat Masonry Contractors 692 Allied Electrical Contractors 684 Best Consulting/Professional Service TMalone Marketing 683 Brandy J. Flynn Counseling and Consulting Services 742

Beauty & Beyond Group Best Customer Service Prime Time Tours The Bubble Bistro Virtuous Styling Salon Best DJ DJ Tim Bachus DJ Xclusive DJ Sketchz

614 637 1394 807 487 494 788

Best Dance Troupe Mid South Divas and Dance Moms 751 Ballet on Wheels Dance Company 1335 Mid-South Steppers 1016 Best Dentist Dr. Derrick Payne Dr. Erica Polk Dr. Dellwyn Turnispseed

1599 486 511

Best Doctor Dr. William Terrell Dr. Leticia Lindsey Dr. Lanetta Anderson Brooks

871 514 946

Best Event Planner Southern Charm Event Group Johnny Hardaway V Rock Productions

759 518 554

Best Faith-Based Outreach Ministry Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church 1030 World Overcomers Outreach Ministry 726 Cummings Street MB Church 486 Best Financial Advisor Laurence V. Plummer, Jr. Darrell Quarles Charles Sims, Jr.

975 774 783

Best Fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi Omega Psi Phi

1473 1227 1351

Best Gifts or Novelties The Bubble Bistro Angel's Creation Philip Ashley Chocolates

1394 688 683

Best Gospel Choir Greater Community Temple COGIC Kevin Davidson and UCICC Darrell Pettis & SIP

1287 980 1109

Best Gospel Artist (Solo) Cortney Richardson Carla Tolbert Taylor Courtney Franklin

750 866 831

Best Graphic Artist/Web Designer 3i Design Group (Kenneth Worles) TMalone Marketing Herman Dickey

483 668 598

Best Hair Salon A Natural Affair Beauty Lounge Virtuous Styling Salon Kingdom Kreations

680 772 753

Best Hot Wings Crumpy's Hot Wings Ching's Hot Wings Rayford's All In One Hotwings Best Insurance Agent

1016 1146 579

Realis Sanders Cynthia Scales Delores Burrow

648 776 495

Best Live Band or Group Trio Plus Will Graves and Soul Devin DC Cruthcher

975 1135 662

Best Local Media Personality Thaddeus Matthews Stephanie Scurlock Kym Clark

1004 668 1078

Best Memphis Celebrity Yo Gotti K. Michelle Pat & Gina Neely

1998 1280 945

Best Men's Organization Black Men Run- Memphis 100 Black Men of Memphis, Inc. Watch Dogs

1826 1923 546

Best Nail Salon Grafitti Nail Bar Nail Swag Nail & Skin Bar

656 646 823

Best New Musical Group or Artist 901Infinty Karma Justin Howell

448 813 486

Best Party Promoter CGI Mike Suggs, The TaKeOver-TKO Derrick Payne David Mack

792 399 555 399

Best Performing Artist Karma Devin DC Crutcher Tamara Jones Monger

497 687 572

Best Performing Arts Academy Stax Music Academy Ballet On Wheels Dance School & Company Collage Dance Collective

2995 882 309

Best Personal Trainer Mr. Motivation Fit Nation, Inc. Leonard Pegues

645 2035 669

Best Photographer Elpwe's Photography/ E Photo Nia Ray Photography Chris Hope Photography

726 1472 914

Leah Douglass-Wooten William Mitchell

661 675

Best Social Media Posts El Mac Xclusive Memphis Marcus Dorris

491 971 366

Best Solo Artist Carla Taylor Tim Terry King Ellis

809 924 821

Best Sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Delta Sigma Theta Zeta Phi Beta

1724 2407 513

Best Soul Food Crock Pot Southern Hands 4-Way Grill

460 1732 700

Best Talk Show Host Thaddeus Matthews Loretta McNary Brian Clay

1984 564 548

Best Television Personality Kym Clark Thaddeus Matthews Ernie Freeman

827 999 805

Best Videographer Black Butterfly Media Marcus Jones Damien Woods

470 582 425

Best Visual Artist Prodigi Arts (Chris O'Conner) Jade Miller Frank D. Robinson

444 707 656

Best Women's Organization Successful Single Moms Memphis, Inc. Black Girls Run Memphis Coalition of 100 Black Women

500 1993 539

Best Youth (Owned) Business Mo's Bows 2610 Angels & Tomboys 787 Kool Kidz Sno Konez (Jaden Wheeler) 668 The Hustle Award Scent-illating Scents Nia Ray Photography Bubble Bistro

748 1134 440

The Living Legend Award Dr. WW Herenton Uncle Lou Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles

2537 518 689

The Rising Star Award Toye Bogard Tiara's Place D.Arthur's Catering

1394 860 421

Best Professional Organization Black Business Association (BBA) Memphis Urban League Young Professionals Natl. Assn. of Black Female Executives In M & E

1369

Best Publisher/Publication Divine Magazine (Megan Motley) Grace Magazine Spirit Magazine

553 1712 963

Best Radio Personality Big Sue Michael Adrian Davis Stan Bell

Best Overall Business 2014 Hattiloo Theatre Bubble Bistro Makeda's Cookies

1379 566 836

709 1530 816

Best Realtor Ashley Pickens

Best New Business Global Innovations Now Dorothy Mae's by Haute Monde Phillip Ashley Chocolates

747 1109 1612

1523

975

331

Tri-State Defender

Page 11

September 11 - 17, 2014

COMMUNITY BRIEFS & THINGS STCC and TSU to sign a student transfer partnership agreement Southwest Tennessee Community College (Southwest) and Tennessee State University (TSU) will sign a Student Transfer Partnership Agreement that guarantees all the courses Southwest students complete on the Tennessee Transfer Pathways (TTP) will be accepted at TSU and count toward a baccalaureate degree. The signing will take place on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. on Southwest’s Macon Cove Campus in the Bornblum Library as part of TSU's community outreach during the Annual Southern Heritage Classic celebration.

“We saw this as a good opportunity to strengthen the pipeline of students coming to Tennessee State from Southwest,” said Sharon Peters, executive director of Community College Initiatives.

The terms of this agreement include the awarding of 10 two-year full TSU scholarships with tuition and room and board to TSU beginning fall 2015. The partnership also contains a dual admissions component that builds on the TTP, which was designed to help community college students plan for transferring to a Tennessee public university or select regionally accredited, non-profit, Tennessee private colleges and universities to complete their baccalaureate degree.

An objective of the initiative Peters indicated is “to develop a partnership in which students are steered early on into our degree programs such as engineering, health sciences; the list is endless in terms of what we can do.”

On the heels of the TNPromise Scholarship, which provides May 2015 high school graduates the opportunity to attend a community college free of tuition and fees, this partnership ups the stake and makes attending Southwest more attractive.

“With our moving toward the Tennessee Promise, we are really trying to highlight Southwest as being an institution that a student can come to for the first two years of their baccalaureate experience and then transfer,” said Interim Provost Barbara Roseborough.

Wharton, Common Table Health Alliance challenge Memphians Memphis Mayor AC Wharton has partnered with Common Table Health Alliance to host the Second Annual Commitment to Fitness Million Calorie Burn 5K on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. This family-friendly initiative is dedicated to reduce the obesity epidemic in the Mid-South by promoting healthy eating, active living and calorie burning.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at Highpoint Church (6000 Briarcrest Ave.) and will take participants through the East Memphis Ridgeway Loop and Shady Grove community.

The Million Calorie Burn 5K also features yoga and Zumba demonstrations, live music, blood pressure screenings, a one-mile fun run and many more activities for the entire family.

“Memphis and Shelby County continue to be challenged by social and economic factors that drive many regional health indicators to the bottom third of most national and state health rankings, and our childhood obesity rates are some of the highest in the country, a key indicator of early diagnosis of juvenile diabetes,” said Renee’ Frazier, CEO of Common Table Health Alliance.

To encourage advanced registration, the first 200 participants who register will receive a free Nike goody bag. All participants receive a Million Calorie Burn 5K t-shirt.

Coca-Cola is the title sponsor of the Million Calorie Burn 5K. Additional sponsors include Nike, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Cigna, Merck, Regional One Health, Wowzilla, Memphis Business Group on Health, Highpoint Church, Boyle, NAHSE Memphis Chapter and Cumulus.

To register or learn more about the Million Calorie Burn 5K, contact Common Table Health Alliance at (901) 684-6011 or v i s i t http://millioncalorieburn.racesonline.com/.

SCS students named 2015 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently named 22 Shelby County Schools seniors as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists for 2014. These students were selected based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT).

These academically talented young men and women will have an opportunity to compete for nearly 7,600 scholarships worth more than $33 million that will be awarded in the spring of 2015.

Each year, nearly 16,000 high school seniors across the nation are selected as scholarship Semifinalists by the NMSC. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors – and includes the highest-scoring PSAT students from each state.

To become finalists, students and their high schools will now submit a detailed scholarship application that includes their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities and honors or awards received.

The 2015 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists from Shelby County Schools are: Cordova High School: Katie Copley Germantown High School: Natalie Hernandez, Katherine Molinet, Vidushi Sinha, Benjamin Taylor and Suhaas Yerramreddy Ridgeway High School: Sherrod Foster White Station High School: Augustus Gottlieb, Sairam Gudiseva, Casey Hall, Linnie Jiang, Arati Joshi, Andrew Karchmer, Charles Loggins, Prakriti Mehta, Saaber Pourmotabbed, Sofia Varriano, Varun Vohra, Yuxie Xiao, Xiaohan Xue, Guo Yu and Kelley Yuan.

Back in Memphis for ‘Black Angels Over Tennessee Lamman Rucker adds star power to off-Broadway show tary years.

by Bernal E. Smith II besmith@tsdmemphis.com

Lamman Rucker stars in the off-Broadway production of “Black Angels Over Tennessee,” which the National Civil Rights Museum is bringing to the Orpheum Theatre for a oneshow-only performance on Sept. 16th at 7 p.m.

The play tells the story of the historic Tuskegee Airmen.

The courage, determination and brotherhood of the Tuskegee Airmen will be part of what Rucker shares with young men and boys during an afternoon visit to Booker T. Washington High school on Sept. 15th. That evening, he will speak to the general public during a session at the National Civil Rights Museum.

On Wednesday, Rucker spoke by telephone with The New Tri-State Defender’s President/Publisher/Owner Bernal E. Smith II about his upcoming Memphis visit.

Bernal E. Smith II: Well it appears that Memphis has become one of your favorite places to share your talents and influence.

Lamman Rucker: Yes, it has and I have no problem with that especially since it seems to be (Pittsburgh) Steelers country! (On a previous visit and interview Lamman shared that he was originally from Pittsburgh and a huge Steelers fan, as am I!) But, yes Memphis is a great city and I always get a very warm reception when I am there.

BES: There’s been a movie – “Red Tails” – done about the Tuskegee Airmen and now there’s the play, “Black Angels Over Tuskegee.” Tell us about the play.

LR: The movie gave an unfortunate view of the real life stories. It’s a scenario unfortunately where people fall prey to things being more about entertainment first rather than authenticity. It’s the same conversation throughout life for all of us; quality vs. quantity. You may end up with less of something now but yet more of something more valuable in the long run, if you do it right. I’ve learned that many times less is more, especially if it’s something of high quality. Even as an actor that’s one of the important lessons that you have to learn. There are certain choices that you have to make as an actor and sometimes less is more.

BES: So, for example, would you say it’s about choosing quality roles over just being in a whole bunch of junk movies, plays or television shows?

LR: Yes that’s another way to look at it.

Even relative to just within one movie. Are you going to have a whole bunch of stunts and special effects and a whole bunch of stuff going on but yet not really telling a good story or conveying anything significant? If the story isn’t strong, if the relationships aren’t strong, if the characters are not believable, if it is not historically accurate, then I don’t think you have much.

What makes the play “Black Angels” powerful is the choices that we made about the story and how we execute it. What’s more important is how the audience gets to know the characters, the men whose lives the play is based upon. This play isn’t so much just about the Tuskegee Airmen as much as it is about getting to know these six individuals that you’re going

Lamman Rucker to fall in love with.

What it ends up being about is identifying with these human beings who are struggling through adversity. It’s about identifying with them and going on this journey with six men who are complete strangers and then eventually become brothers. It’s going through the trials and tribulations of them experiencing discrimination, of them being away from their families, of them not getting along with each other all of the time, of them being frustrated with their circumstances as they follow the way the world is changing and the way the war is evolving.

What’s our place in this? How can we help?

How can we accept change? At the same time, why won’t they let us fight? Why do they keep treating us like this? We’re the best out here but they keep treating us like second-class citizens.

So all these other human factor things that are actually happening are so much better, so much deeper than just (airplane) battle sequences. What you’re going to see is the relationship between these guys. You’re going to get so much more historical information in the dialogue. …You’re going to gravitate to these characters more so than you would to any of the characters you’ve seen on screen. You’re going to laugh, you’re going to cry and you’re going to be inspired and educated at the same time.

BES: Who are some of the other actors? Are there any recognizable names that we might know?

LR: No, not yet. Ideally and hopefully at some point in the future we’re looking to add to those that might join the casts just in terms of raising the profile of the show, however there are some extremely talented brothers that have put their hearts in to this production. I just happen to be more recognizable than some of my peers on this show, but they are all great. It’s just a matter of time before you start to hear and see some of the other actors. They are definitely stars on the rise and very good at their craft.

BES: Is it an all male cast? All black?

LR: The play is written and directed by a brother named Layon Gray, a very talented writer, and yes, the cast is all male and predominantly African American. There are eight characters total, seven blacks and one white character that plays the Major during the mili-

BES: Does the play focus on the time period in which they were serving in the military or does it cover their post-military service?

LR: That’s a good question. It actually does a little bit of both and that’s part of the creativity of how it’s written and how even it’s executed. I don’t want to give it away, so you’ll have to see it to know how it actually goes. You meet these men before they matriculate into the institute (Tuskegee) and then you go on the journey with them once they are in their training and into combat. Then you see how that trickles into the present. You start to understand how certain characters are connected.

It’s also about not just the legacy of these men in the past but it’s also about how that legacy is connected into who we are now. I consider the Tuskegee Airmen to be some of our oldest and most significant Civil Rights activists. They in their own unique way led the way and opened doors.

BES: You’ve been to Memphis before, this time you’re going to Booker T. Washington High School to speak. In light of a lot of the increasingly negative things that we see going on our communities and certainly with our youth, what is your take in terms of the message that our kids need to understand to have a different life path?

LR: There are so many layers to that. I think everybody needs counseling and guidance. I’m laughing but I’m serious. I mean young and old alike. The things that are often most important in life, nobody gets education or instruction on them. We need relationship training, emotional education and how to manage and cope with difficult emotions and challenges. When they’ve got so much idol time and pent-up frustration and angst with little guidance and channeling of that energy they end up taking that frustration, angst and lack of self worth and inflicting that on others.

When it comes to our youth, a lot of it is alternatives or lack thereof of what to do with their time. When I was growing up I didn’t have the time or energy for the foolishness because I was to busy with sports, acting, something that kept me productive in some positive way. Luckily I had the arts, sports and extracurricular programming to invest and manifest my energy in a positive way.

So the real challenge is to the adults, those that control school budgets and funding for various things to support our young people. On one hand, you get up in arms when kids run around committing foolish, senseless acts that require thousands of dollars to arrest prosecute and jail them. Yet you say there is no money for the arts, no money for after-school programs or other things that help develop the minds, emotions and character of young people. You can’t have it both ways and ultimately we have to decide to invest in our children early and often to allow them the opportunity to develop.

Instead of well adjusted, bright brilliant young people who know how to express themselves we are producing knuckle heads and chicken heads with no direction and much of it is the fault of adults. The parents, the policy makers, the pastors, the principals and a host of other adults that have decided our children are not worth investing in until they’ve done something wrong.

Ms. Senior American Delta Fair shows no signs of slowing down

by Brittney Gathen Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Wednesday, Sept. 3rd was no ordinary day of the week for Memphis senior Shirley Cherry.

She spent her day at the Delta Fair & Music Festival and left with a crown. She’d defeated four female contestants and was named Ms. Senior American Delta Fair.

The occasion marked Senior Day at the fair – a day when seniors were admitted free until noon and could participate in different events.

Neil Snodgrass was named Mr. Senior American Delta Fair.

Cherry entered the competition after the persistent persuasion of Jan Hamilton, the director of the Delta Fair. Hamilton had heard Cherry speak at the Creative Aging Variety Show, which featured performances by 20 local seniors. The show was a debut for Cherry, a classroom teacher with more than 40 years of educating students in language arts.

“I felt real, real special to have been asked to take part in the Delta Fair, 2014,” Cherry said.

“At first, I was reluctant, but she (Hamilton) continued to ask me if I would, and finally I went ahead and said ‘Yes, I will do it’.”

Judging for the contest was based on the application submitted, personal appearance and an oral presentation between 30 seconds and three minutes.

Cherry said the criteria for creating an oral presentation and writing an autobiography for the competition appealed to her because of her teaching experience. She explained how she made students complete autobiography assignments for years, and she felt it was her turn.

For her oral presentation, she told the story of how the sage advice her parents instilled in her has remained throughout her life. The advice was taken from a part of Proverbs 27:10 - “For better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.”

Cherry was able to apply this to her life when she saved the life of someone nearby. One day she noticed that her widowed neighbor, who

Shirley Cherry (Courtesy photo)

lived across the street and did not have any children, had not done her normal routine. After calling her phone numbers, ringing her doorbell, and getting no response, Cherry looked through some old telephone numbers, and was able to contact one of her neighbor’s close relatives.

“I observed my neighbor not doing what she normally did. She didn’t put her garbage out, she didn’t collect her mail, she didn’t answer her doorbell, (and) she didn’t answer her phone. So, from that, I went and made a telephone call…and I found her nephew. The nephew came, he called the police, the police summoned the fire department and the woman

was rescued alive.”

Cherry said her neighbor had been on the floor almost 20 hours.

In addition to being a concerned neighbor, Cherry is a faithful member of Mount Vernon Westwood Baptist Church, where has been a faithful choir member for nearly 40 years. She is also a member of the Orange Mound Energizers Line Dance Team, and for seven seasons, she has been one of the members of Memphis Grizzlies Grannies and Grandpas Dance Team.

Cherry’s advice to other seniors is to “keep moving” and not just sit around. Her doctor has encouraged her to remain active. As a result, she has no intentions of slowing down.