Above: Former MPD officers Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Millis Jr. both expressed remorse for their role in the beating of Tyre Nichols during sworn testimony. Above right, Cornelius Smith Jr. and Justin Johnson are on trial for killing rapper Young Dolph.
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■■ NEWS Commissioners Fund $10 million for Repairs at Shelby County Jail
By James Coleman Special to The Tri-State Defender
Shelby County Commissioners followed through on a resolution that provides $10 million in emergency funding for a slate of emergency repairs to the Shelby County Jail during the Monday, Sept. 24 meeting.
Sponsor Charlie Caswell’s resolution was approved on a 8-3-1 vote.
e eight- gure sum will pay for a growing docket of repairs, including replacing hundreds of broken cell doors at the aging lockup. e faulty doors have put the safety of inmates and sta at risk.
Inspections at the jail currently underway Tennessee Institute of Corrections provided further impetus to quickly pass a resolution.
However, the Shelby County Sheri ’s O ce will have to absorb the costs of an additional $6.3 million. e resolution does not reimburse the department for repairs it paid for out of its own budget.
While the $10 million will take care of the bulk of the repairs – cell doors, a new door control system and HVAC-systems and lighting repairs, for example – other items in need of repair may have to wait, or sit idle. is includes repairs to an antiquated escalator, which is expected to run upwards of $5 million. No longer in production, replacement parts would need to be fabricated.
Caswell said another resolution could always be introduced, if more money is needed to shore up the SCSO’s budget.
“If you need anything, you bring it to this body,” said Caswell. “If you have other items and they’re putting at risk those in the jail, the o cers…we’re saying, “bring those items so we keep moving forward.”
During the runup to the vote, Bonner warned that holding the SCSO respon-
sible for the $6.3 million could shortchange other areas of the department. ese include using money earmarked for payroll to cover the costs, which could endanger the department’s maintenance of e ort.
A maintenance of e ort required by state law forbids cutting salaries to law enforcement agencies, unless requested by the sheri . e Shelby County Jail is also required to be fully-sta ed.
To date, only $4.3 million of the additional amount have been spoken for.
“Not all of it has been expended,” said SCSO’s CAO Alicia Lindsey. “Only some of that has been encumbered. Meaning, we haven’t written checks out the door.”
In past years, the sheri ’s department
has paid for repairs to the jail from its own budget. However, following a power surge in February, several systems in the jail went down.
e funding item reallocates $5 million in ARPA funds earmarked for a planned mental health justice center. It also draws $5 million from the FY2025 capital improvement budget.
e resolution also amends the ARPA and CIP budgets.
It replaced a competing resolution from Commissioner Amber Mills introduced during the Sept. 4 Budget & Finance Committee meeting.
e failed item attempted to reallocate over $15 million of the mental health center’s funding to cover the costs of repairs.
President Calvin Anderson
Interim Editor Lee Eric Smith
Courtroom confessionals in Tyre Nichols, Young Dolph cases point to deeper trauma
By Lee Eric Smith Interim Editor
ere’s an old saying: “Hurt people hurt people.” You could also say that “traumatized people traumatize other people.” If not identical, the two are de nitely intertwined.
Healing the hurt and treating the trauma are heavy on my mind as I take in two high pro le murder trials happening simultaneously here in the Blu City. Both cases have something to say about the ripple e ects of trauma.
As I write this, two former ocers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols have taken the stand in the trial of three others, as part of their respective plea agreements. Last week, Emmitt Martin III confessed to jurors that Nichols was “helpless” as they pummelled him in January 2023, and this week Desmond Mills Jr. cried on the stand in remorse, saying, “I’m sorry. I know sorry can’t bring him back.”
Martin and Mills were testifying against their former SCORPION unit comrades Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who are on trial in federal court for the crime.
In a completely di erent courtroom and case, Cornelius Smith Jr. confessed in court to ring into Makeda’s Cookies on Airways Blvd. at his target, popular rapper and philanthropist Young Dolph in November 2021. Once he was apprehended, Smith said he lied at rst but eventually told prosecutors that “I came to my senses and decided to tell the truth.” Smith was testifying against Justin Johnson, whom he says was right next to him ring into the cookie shop.
ough jurors have yet to hear the defense in either case, it’s hard to imagine not guilty verdicts, especially with such potent and powerful confessions. And while genuine expressions of remorse may feel pointless and hollow, that remorse counts for something, right? e fact that Martin said his crime was “eating him up inside” and Mills shed tears over “making (Nichols’) kids fatherless,” . . . well, it shows that they’re hurting, right?
Which brings us back to the hurt and the trauma — as in, “What kind of hurt would drive any of these
men to commit that kind of trauma on another?”
As it turns out, the sworn testimonies would shed some light on that as well.
In the Nichols’ case, Martin said he’d been injured in November 2022, when he was hit by a suspect eeing in a car. He said he’d been diagnosed with PTSD from the incident, and was struggling with sleeplessness, paranoia, anger issues and “homicidal thoughts” when it all exploded out of him that fateful night.
Martin may have looked ne on the outside. But on the inside, he was hurting. “Mentally, something was wrong” with Martin, Mills said. In hindsight, given the trauma of being hit by a car, and having expressed “homicidal thoughts” to a colleague, he had no business being on the street.
In Young Dolph’s case, another tragedy preceded this one. Smith testi ed that he was a father of six children until 2020, claiming he was a “good worker” for Germantown City Schools, presumably trying to leave the streets behind.
en his 9-year old son died in 2020.
“ at had an impact on you?” the prosecutor asked. “Did it cause you to take up some old habits?”
“Yes sir,” Smith calmly replied on the stand. “I went back to popping pills and not caring about nothing.” When the prosecutor asked if the old friends were “trouble,” Smith chuckled and replied, “We all trouble. I’m going to say that we all are.”
Weird, isn’t it? All this time, we’ve said the murder of Tyre Nichols was senseless. But I don’t know if that’s true. Tragic? Of course. Unnecessary? Without question.
But senseless? No, it makes perfect sense: a hardcharging street unit with at least one o cer su ering from PTSD and homicidal thoughts. No telling what the other o cers have seen and experienced that scarred them – that hurt them so bad they took it out on Tyre.
Similarly, in the Young Dolph trial, Smith’s confession points to how di cult it is to fully escape from the streets. Even if we take him at his word that he was a good worker and was presumably trying to grow into a productive citizen, it’s not hard to see how the trauma of losing a child could derail that.
Shooting up a cookie store in broad daylight? I can’t relate. But popping pills and giving up on life? at doesn’t sound like a stretch when you’re mourning a child.
I guess what I’m getting at is this: Even as justice is served in these two trials, we must acknowledge the pain that caused these two tragedies.
We have to acknowledge that our police ocers (and rst responders in general) see, hear and experience truly terrible things that can haunt them as much as any veteran coming back from war. ey need mental health services as much as anyone, maybe more than most. We need to make sure we’re not sending traumatized o cers out there to traumatize others. And that’s the easy one.
It’s going to be much harder to help heal the trauma that Memphis is dealing with — if for no other reason than not only do traumatic events keeps happening, they ripple. I haven’t even mentioned that Smith said he was arrested on his daughter’s birthday.
Imagine that child, having already lost a sibling, with “fond” memories of her daddy going to jail. For murder. On her birthday. Trauma on top of trauma. Hurt piled on hurt.
We’re going to need to generate some love and compassion to break this cycle and start a new one. Some patience, because it will take generations. We’ll need to give each other some grace, some slack — even when we are hurting, even when we’ve been traumatized. We’re going to have to get better at forgiving and turning the other cheek.
We’re going to have to learn how to look past the bad behavior of our fellow citizens and see the pain that drives their behavior — then apply love, compassion and kindness so that healing can occur.
If we don’t do these things — if we can’t — we’re in for a world of hurt.
Tyre Nichols Young Dolph
Lee Eric Smith
“We can’t normalize the demonization of our Haitian brothers and sisters.”
By Bobby R. Henry Chairman, NNPA
e National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing more than 200 Black-owned print and online media outlets, is outraged by the demonization and blatant lies being spread about Haitian immigrants in Spring eld, Ohio, by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance. is purposeful defamation and dehumanization of people legally seeking a better life, like so many immigrants before them, has no place in a country that built its success on the backs of enslaved people and immigrants. We strongly embrace and respect the diversity and positive contributions of everyone who calls the United States home. is is a core tenet of our values.
Let’s be clear — what Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have done by sanction-
ing and attempting to normalize assaults on immigrants has provided fertile ground for breeding a new generation of hate-mongers. e
NNPA will join forces with, and add our voice to, any organization that denounces and takes action against this kind of open bigotry, hate, and violence.
Today, in a country whose foundation rests on a system of true democracy, we must never vote for those whose self-interests con ict with the greater good. Our most powerful weapon to eradicate this behavior is our vote. We must vote them out, or better yet, not vote for them in the rst place.
VOTE like your life depends on it — because it does.
Bobby R. Henry
Memphis leaders talk crime, safety and more as ‘One Memphis’ tour resumes
TSD Newsroom
In a continuation of the city’s e orts to engage with the community, Memphis Mayor Paul Young resumed his “One Memphis” tour at the McWherter Senior Community Center, bringing together city o cials and residents to discuss public safety, youth programs, and community services.
“We took a break during the summer, but I want to ensure that we’re having these conversations throughout all of Memphis, not just downtown,” Young said. “ ese dialogues are critical to our progress.”
Crime Reduction & Public Safety Efforts
One of the central themes of the town hall was public safety, a pressing concern for many attendees. Mayor Young shared encouraging news about the city’s e orts to combat crime, stating that crime rates in Memphis have dropped by 20% compared to last year. However, he tempered this with caution.
“Last year was one of our most challenging years for crime, so we’re not taking victory laps just yet,” he explained. “But it is encouraging to know that we’re heading in the right direction. Our goal now is to sharpen that trend line and make the drop in crime even steeper.”
Young also emphasized that public safety is not solely the responsibility of the police department.
“It’s not just a police thing when we talk about safety,” he said. “We have our parks department, youth services, and other community e orts working together to build a safer city.”
Police Chief C.J. Davis echoed the mayor’s sentiments, o ering additional insights into the Memphis Police Department’s strategies.
“We’re working hard to address violent crime, which is our number one focus,” Davis said. “But we can’t do it
alone. We need the community to work with us. e drop in crime shows that our combined e orts—law enforcement, public services, and community involvement—are starting to pay o .”
Davis also addressed the issue of reckless driving, which has become a growing concern across Memphis. She encouraged Memphians to “brake it down.”
“We’ve seen an alarming rise in reckless driving, and it’s not just the muscle cars—it’s everyday citizens on their way to work, tailgating and speeding,” she said, mentioning the recent media campaign. “We’ve launched the ‘Brake It Down’ campaign to combat this, and we’re increasing enforcement in areas where we see the most dangerous behavior.
“Everyone in this city is in a hurry, but we need to slow down,” she added. “It’s not just about avoiding tickets—it’s about keeping our streets safe.”
Community Engagement on Youth and Homelessness
During the meeting, Mayor Young responded to a resident’s question about enforcing the city’s curfew for minors, acknowledging the logistical challenges involved.
“One of our goals is to enforce the curfew, but when o cers encounter a young person violating it, they need somewhere to take them,” Young said. “Right now, juvenile court won’t accept them, and Child Protective Services is o en closed. We’re exploring models like Baltimore’s, where they’ve partnered with community centers to house these kids until their parents can pick them up.”
e mayor emphasized the city’s broader commitment to addressing homelessness and the need for supportive housing.
“We’re investing around $5 to $6 million annually in homelessness services through the Housing Trust Fund,” Young said. “We know housing is a
Memphis City Schools are primarily funded by Shelby County but noted that the city is stepping in to ll gaps.
“Our role as a city is to invest in young people outside of school hours, from 3 to 7 PM,” Young said. “We know that 60% of a child’s success is driven by what happens outside the classroom, so we’re putting our resources into a er-school programs and youth services.”
spectrum. Some people need mental health services or substance abuse programs, while others may just need nancial literacy coaching or shortterm nancial assistance to get back on their feet.”
When a resident expressed concerns about the city spending millions on projects like parks while homelessness grows, Young clari ed the di erence between capital and operating budgets.
“ e money we spend on parks and infrastructure comes from capital dollars, which is like getting a loan and paying it o over time,” he explained. “But the money we spend on day-to-day services, like homelessness programs, comes from our operating budget. ey’re two separate pools of money, but we are focused on ensuring that everyone, especially our most vulnerable, gets the help they need.”
Investments in Youth and Education
Education was also a hot topic, with one attendee questioning the city’s nancial commitment to Memphis schools. Mayor Young reiterated that
He added, “It’s not just about what happens in the classroom. We have to invest in what happens when they go home and what kind of environment they live in. at’s why we’ve allocated funds for improving school infrastructure, even though it’s not technically the city’s responsibility.”
Ongoing Challenges in Public Services
Memphis residents also raised concerns about city services like trash collection, tree trimming, and the e ciency of the 311 system. “Customer service is important,” Young responded to complaints about 311. “If we’re not addressing issues like missed trash pickups or tree trimming in a timely manner, we need to do better. I’ll make sure we look into that.”
Doug McGowen, representing MLGW, assured residents that the city has ramped up tree trimming e orts. “We’re making progress,” McGowen said. “ is year, we’ve trimmed 1,650 miles of right-of-way, which is more than our annual goal. But we know there’s more work to do.”
Future One Memphis stops will be announced at https://memphistn.gov.
Mayor Paul Young takes questions during a “One Memphis” town hall meeting in September 2024. (Photos: Lee Eric Smith/Tri-State Defender)
A community member speaks her mind at a “One Memphis” town hall at the McWherter Senior Center recently.
By Marta W. Aldrich Chalkbeat of Tennessee
Jennifer Edwards was a teenager in Arizona when she rst read “Beloved,” Toni Morrison’s haunting novel about sexual violence and the brutal realities of American slavery.
“It had a profound e ect on me,” she said, citing the empathy, historical understanding, and critical thinking skills the book imparted.
Now a mother of two sons and living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Edwards wants teens in her community to have access to her all-time favorite book.
But under a recently revised state law broadening the de nition of what school library materials are prohibited, her local board of education is set to vote ursday on whether to pull the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and six other books with mature themes from the shelves of Rutherford County Schools.
“Banning books is not OK,” Edwards told the board last month as it began reviewing the materials. “Just because you don’t like what the mirror shows you doesn’t mean you put the mirror down.”
is week’s vote comes a er the district, south of Nashville, already removed 29 books from its libraries this year under a previous policy, part of a wave of purges on campuses across Tennessee and other states.
In Tennessee, that wave started under Gov. Bill Lee’s 2022 school library law requiring periodic reviews of catalogs to ensure materials are appropriate for the ages and maturity levels of the students who can access them. Librarians and teachers had to publish their inventories of book collections online for parents to view. Early removals included books about marginalized groups, including people who identify as LGBTQ+, and descriptions of slavery and racial discrimination throughout U.S. history.
is spring, scrutiny escalated. Republican lawmakers added a de nition of what’s “suitable” and, based on the state’s obscenity law, prohibited any material that “in whole or in part contains descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse.”
In the absence of state guidance on how to interpret the changes — What constitutes excess violence, for
Under Tennessee’s stricter school library law, some books quietly disappear
instance? Are photographs of nude statues allowed? What about Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”? — some school boards like Rutherford County’s are putting questionable material to a vote. Educators in many other districts are quietly culling their shelves of certain books.
A recent survey of members of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians found that more than 1,100 titles have been removed under the changes, with more under review. One librarian anonymously reported pulling 300 titles at a single school since the start of the academic year. Only a sixth of the organization’s members responded to the survey.
“We may never truly know the level to which books have been removed from school libraries in Tennessee,” the organization said in a statement, noting that large-scale removals may cause some libraries to fall under the state’s minimum standards for collection counts.
“A literal interpretation of this law may have the unintended consequences of gutting resources that support curriculum standards for ne arts, biology, health, history, and world religions, to name a few, especially in high schools, where AP curriculum and dual enrollment courses require more critical texts,” the group said.
Lindsey Kimery, one of the organization’s leaders, said the law’s rollout has created “chaos and confusion” for school librarians.
“Some librarians have received guidance from
their central o ce; some have not,” she said. “Some boards are updating their policies for handling book challenges to align with the law’s changes. Some districts have interpreted the law to mean they should preemptively go through their collections and pull anything they think has one of the prohibited topics in it.
“It’s all over the map,” Kimery added.
‘Phantom book banning’: Censorship in the shadows
e quiet censorship is being noticed by First Amendment advocates, from the ACLU of Tennessee to Julia Garnett, who graduated last spring from Hendersonville High School in Sumner County, north of Nashville.
Garnett started a free speech club at her high school during her senior year. Now a freshman at Smith College in Massachusetts, she is the youth spokesperson for the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, Sept. 22-28.
Last week, she searched her alma mater’s online library catalog to look for books by Sarah J. Maas and Ellen Hopkins, whose popular young adult novels are frequently challenged or banned due to their mature themes and sexual content.
None were listed.
“ ey used to be there, but they’ve disappeared,” said Garnett. “I call it phantom book banning, where libraries are being censored, but not in a public way. I think that’s what scares me the most.”
e law is vulnerable to a federal challenge on First Amendment grounds, said Kathy Sinback, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee. e statute’s vagueness, a lack of compliance guidance from the state, and the uneven way the law is being applied across Tennessee are among issues that open the door to a lawsuit.
“But we’d love to see the legislature x the problems next year without having to pursue litigation,” Sinback said. “We’d like to see it made constitutional in a way that will ensure our children have access to the literature they deserve.”
Legal precedents support students’ First Amendment rights
e House sponsor of the law’s recent revisions, Rep. Susan Lynn of Mt. Juliet, did not respond to emails asking if she’d be open to revisiting the law.
Jennifer Edwards holds a copy of her favorite book, which she first read at age 15. Now a mother in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, she says teens in her community should be able to check out “Beloved” in their school libraries. (Larry McCormack / For Chalkbeat)
Some of her critics worry the goal is ultimately to take a legal challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a majority.
e Senate sponsor, Joey Hensley of Hohenwald, said he believes the law is constitutional.
“I’m always open to making laws better,” he said, “but I don’t think this interferes with people’s First Amendment rights, and I’m personally not hearing about problems with it. e law’s intent is simply to ensure public schools do not give children access to materials that are not appropriate for their ages.”
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s O ce for Intellectual Freedom, said higher courts have consistently sided with First Amendment advocates on challenges to content in school libraries, even as e orts to ban books in public schools and libraries reached an all-time high in 2023. e school library is supposed to be a place of voluntary inquiry — a safe space for students to explore ideas under the supervision of adults instead of alone on their cellphones.
“ is gets to the core of the First Amendment,” she said, “the idea that libraries are a marketplace of ideas, and elected o cials should not be able to dictate their contents.”
But it’s also possible that another school library case could someday reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Two book ban cases from Iowa and Texas are already making their way through the federal courts.
Current legal precedent stems from the high court’s 1982 ruling involving a school board in New York state that wanted certain books removed from its middle and high school libraries. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled against the board and held that “the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient’s meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom.”
Justice William Brennan wrote that while “local school boards have a substantial legitimate role to play in the determination of school library content,” the First Amendment doesn’t give government ocials the power to ditch books because they don’t like them or disagree with their viewpoints.
Ken Paulson, director of the Tennessee-based Free Speech Center and a former editor-in-chief of USA Today, also cites the importance of a 1969 Supreme Court ruling establishing that students have constitutional rights, too.
e case involved students in Des Moines, Iowa, who wore black armbands to their public school in silent protest of the Vietnam War. e court sided with the students.
“Because someone is 12 or 14, we sometimes think they don’t have constitutional rights,” Paulson said. “But they do, and they’re surprisingly robust. Students are not just students; they are citizens.”
■■ NEWS
Middle Tennessee district is a book ban hotspot
In Murfreesboro, a college town that is home to about 50,000 students in Tennessee’s largest suburban K-12 district, most titles removed so far were in high school libraries. ey generally were contemporary young adult novels containing sexual content and other mature themes, from child abuse and suicide to substance abuse and LGBTQ+ issues.
e books were agged as “sexually explicit” material by school board member Caleb Tidwell and removed this spring without going through the district’s library review committee that includes a principal, teachers, librarians, and a parent.
Xan Lasko, who recently retired as a high school librarian in Rutherford County, said the directives she received from Superintendent James Sullivan bypassed the district’s usual review process for handling complaints. Instead, Tidwell cited a provision of board policy requiring the immediate removal of sexually explicit material. Sullivan concurred, according to their email exchange obtained from the district through a public records request from Nashville TV station WSMV.
Tidwell, a Republican who was reelected to the school board in August, said he made the requests on behalf of individuals who have expressed concerns but who feared retaliation from the media and individuals in the district.
In his opinion, all of the materials in question violate both the state’s obscenity law and local board policy. Most, he said, have “education value near zero, or very low.” For those that provide historical context, other books that go into those topics — but without sexually explicit language — are available.
“It’s a very contentious topic,” said Tidwell, who has three school-age children. “But if we focus on the content, most of this stu is pretty clear. Yes, there is some subjectiveness to it, but there’s also a line. We need to determine what the line is, and then hold it.”
Lasko, the former librarian, said that’s what librarians and educators do.
“My biggest issue is that a small number of people were making the judgment to curtail what students are able to read using a vague law,” said Lasko, who now chairs the intellectual freedom committee of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians.
“We have master’s degrees in library science. We know what we’re doing,” she said. “But a lot of times, we weren’t being consulted.”
New library policy diminishes the role of librarians
In advance of this week’s vote on Tidwell’s latest request to remove more books, the board revamped its library materials policy to add language from the
revised state law. It also eliminated the 11-member review committee appointed annually by the board to consider book complaints.
Instead, materials that district leaders deem to be in violation of the state’s obscenity law are to be immediately removed from all school libraries and then reviewed for a nal decision by the board.
A second avenue for removal — through complaints led by a student, parent, or school employee — also requires a board vote a er receiving recommendations from the principal and superintendent and a review by an ad hoc committee.
“Before,” said the ACLU’s Sinback, “there was a thorough process where every person on the review committee had expertise and would read the book.
ey’d look at the questionable content but also the overall quality of the material and how it could impact kids exposed to it in both a positive and negative way.”
Now, she said, the decision rests completely with board members.
e changes concern school librarians like Brian Seadorf, who oversees the collection at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro. He asked board members and parents to “just talk to us” if they have concerns about certain books.
“We are educators, we are parents, we are grandparents. … We are good people,” Seadorf told the board on Aug. 22.
Angela Frederick, a Rutherford County resident and school librarian in a neighboring district, added: “ e titles you’re considering removing are for older students approaching adulthood. It is developmentally appropriate for teenagers to mentally wrestle with di cult topics. It is also excellent preparation for higher education. Shielding them from books like these does not prepare them for anything but ignorance.”
For Edwards, the Rutherford County parent who also spoke to the board, she’s most upset that “Beloved” is on the chopping block, even though she knows it’s a deeply sad and painful book to read. (Morrison, who died in 2019, said she was inspired to write the novel based on the true story of an enslaved woman, Margaret Garner, who killed her own daughter in 1856 to spare her from slavery.)
“I remember it took me several weeks to nish ‘Beloved’ when I was 15, because I had to put it down every few days,” recalls Edwards, now 42. “I had to have time to process what I was reading.”
“But to restrict literary genius,” she continued, “it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
(Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.)
Roy Betts
UNCF Communications
■■ NEWS
UNCF Unveils 2024 HBCU economic impact report highlighting the urgent funding needs of HBCUs
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest minority education organization, unveiled its 2024 HBCU Economic Impact Report. e report, Transforming Futures: e Economic Engines of HBCUs, commissioned by UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI), is a data-driven analysis highlighting the substantial contributions the nation’s 101 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) make to their students, local communities and the nation at large.
HBCUs have long been pillars of educational excellence and economic engines, driving prosperity in their communities and across the nation. Despite these contributions, chronic underfunding threatens their ability to sustain this impact. Transforming Futures: e Economic Engines of HBCUs, underscores the urgent need for equitable and sustainable funding to ensure HBCUs can continue their vital role in promoting social mobility and economic growth and calls on the public to advocate for these essential institutions.
“As UNCF observes its 80th anniversary, one of the highlights of our yearlong celebration is the release of the sequel to our groundbreaking 2017 report. is report rea rms what we have always known about the resilience of HBCUs: despite a deadly pandemic, social unrest caused by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the economic uncertainties of the past seven years, HBCUs continue to do more with less—not only in preparing the next generation of leaders but also in contributing to our nation’s economic impact,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF.
Key ndings in the 2024 HBCU Economic Impact Report include:
• HBCUs generate $16.5 billion in direct economic impact nationally.
• If they were a company, the nation’s HBCUs would place in the top 50 of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies in job creation.
• Collectively, 136,048 jobs exist because of HBCUs.
• On average, for each job created on campus, 1.5 o -campus jobs exist because of spending related to the institution.
• HBCUs are far more accessible to students and more successful at moving students from the bottom 40% of a country’s income distribution to the top 60%, signaling social mobility.
• e 51,269 HBCU graduates in the class of 2021 can expect work-life earnings of $146 billion, 57% ($53 billion) more than the $93 billion they could expect without their degrees or certi cates.
e 2024 HBCU Economic Impact Report is a continuation of the 2017 study, HBCUs Make America Strong:
e Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which showed that HBCUs’ economic bene ts extend beyond the students they educate. In addition to the comprehensive report, a website has been launched where users can explore state-speci c data and insights for individual HCBUs. is resource allows users to explore the localized impact, emphasizing the critical role HBCUs play in communities across the nation.
“Transforming Futures: e Economic Engines of HBCUs represents the latest chapter in a longitudinal research initiative by UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute.
By leveraging robust methodology and extensive data, we highlight how HBCUs continue to be critical drivers of economic growth and social mobility,” said Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku, assistant vice president, of Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, UNCF.
“ is report not only underscores the substantial economic bene ts generated by HBCUs but also contextualizes
the broader challenges they have faced over the past three years, including the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the threats of violence that have been levied against many of these institutions.”
“Now more than ever, we must recognize the indispensable role HBCUs play in shaping not just the future of their students but the future of our nation,” said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president, of public policy and government a airs, at UNCF. “As we move forward, it is imperative that we leverage this data to galvanize our communities and demand the necessary support from our policymakers by voting for HBCUs. We urge every supporter to make their voices heard, to advocate for the equitable funding our HBCUs deserve.”
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) will hold public engagement events to provide the public the opportunity to comment on the development of the Memphis Regional Pedestrian and Bicycle Greenprint Plan.
The following event dates, times, and locations to participate are listed below:
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Shelby Farms Park (James Pond Pavilion – near Visitor’s Center) 6903 Great View Drive North Memphis, TN 38134
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Memphis Farmers Market 566 South Front Street Memphis, TN 38103
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Hernando Farmers Market
2535 Highway 51 South Hernando, MS 38632
Additional engagement opportunities are available at the following location: Please visit the Memphis Botanic Garden’s website to learn more.
Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Memphis Botanic Garden
Food Truck Event
750 Cherry Road
Memphis, TN 38117
Attendees will be afforded the opportunity to comment on the information presented at the events. Any comments provided at the events should be applicable to the information presented and should be provided in a respectful manner. Please note that additional engagement opportunities may be considered. In the case of an emergency or other unforeseen circumstances, the public engagement opportunities listed above could change with limited or no notice and will be shared on the MPO’s website: memphismpo.org
It is the policy of the Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) not to exclude, deny, or discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, veteran status, familial or marital status, disability, medical or genetic condition, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in its hiring or employment practices, or in its admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities. For any and all inquiries regarding the application of this accessibility statement and related policies, please contact Nick Warren, at 901-636-7146 or Nick. Warren@memphistn.gov
If you need assistance participating in these events, please contact the MPO Office at 901636-7190 and provide at least seven (7) days notice. This notice is funded (in part) under an agreement with the State of TN and MS, Departments of Transportation.
LEGAL
NOTICE
Request for Proposals RFP Number 25-0001 PARKING GUIDANCE SYSTEM
Sealed proposals for Parking Guidance System will be received by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (Authority), Procurement Department, Memphis International Airport, 4150 Louis Carruthers Drive, Warehouse Receiving Dock, Memphis, TN 38118, until 2:00 PM local time, on November 6, 2024. A listing of all proposers responding will be posted to the Authority’s website one (1) hour after the response deadline. Responses to Requests for Proposals will not be publicly opened and read. A complete Request for Proposals Packet with submittal instructions, additional data, and response format may be found on the Authority’s website on or after September 25, 2024.
A mandatory meeting and site visit will be held October 9, 2024, at 9:00 am. in the Authority’s Board Room on the Mezzanine Level, Terminal B of the Memphis International Airport, 2491 Winchester Road, Memphis, TN 38116. All attendees must register at https://www.eventbrite.com
All Respondents are responsible for checking the Authority’s website up to the submission deadline for any updates, addenda, or additional information. In accordance with the Authority’s purchasing policies, the Authority will give preference to businesses located in Shelby County, Tennessee when awarding contracts and making purchases, unless prohibited by law. The successful Respondent must sign a contract with the Authority that includes Federal Aviation Administration provisions, if applicable, regarding the Buy American Preference, Foreign Trade Restriction, Davis-Bacon, Affirmative Action, Debarment and Suspension, Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment, Domestic Preferences for Procurements, and Drug-Free Workplace, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all responses to this Request for Proposals in whole or in part; to waive any informalities, technicalities, or omissions related to this
TSD CLASSIFIEDS
1509 Madison Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104
PH (901) 523-1818
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
DEADLINES:
Display ads Friday 5 p.m.
Classifieds ads Monday 5 p.m..
Request for Proposals; and to reject responses on any other basis authorized by the Authority’s purchasing policies.
The Authority is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination based on the grounds of age, race, sex, color, national origin, disability, marital status, military service, or sexual orientation in its hiring and employment practices and in the admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services, and activities.
By order of: Terry Blue, A.A.E. President and CEO
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000781A, Collierville-Arlington Road Bridge Repair Project. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn.gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described Sealed Bid.
SEALED BID I000781A DUE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2024 AT 2:00 PM CST
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
Microsoft Teams
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 224 039 253 887 Passcode: tTQQWD
VOLUNTARY PRE-BID MEETING – A voluntary pre-proposal meeting to address questions will be held on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. (CST). Vendors can access the meeting via teleconference by utilizing the following access codes:
Microsoft Teams
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 257 854 605 825 Passcode: 86wAni
Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.
By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT
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For nearly 80 years, we’ve been right here serving Tennessee. In 2023, BlueCross employees volunteered close to 12,000 hours donating blood, supporting food pantries, building beds and more.
That’s more than 1.3 years of volunteering, all in the name of improving the health and welfare of communities across Tennessee.
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For more about how we’re supporting Tennessee, visit BCBSTnews.com.
