The New Tri-State Defender — January 28 - February 3, 2021

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January 28 - February 3, 2021

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Council OKs probe of city workers’ insurrection connections

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Ida B. Wells lives here and now in greatgranddaughter’s book

by Erica R. Williams

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

In an effort to expand on Ida B. Wells’ remarkable story, her great-granddaughter, writer Michelle Duster, has penned a new book, “Ida B. The Queen.”

The poignant biography, released January 26, pays tribute to the trailblazing journalist and activist while also connecting her legacy to present-day social justice movements.

From exposing the horrors of lynching in Memphis to co-founding civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, Wells worked at the forefront of social justiceuntil her death.

In an interview with The New Tri-State Defender, Duster spoke about the inspiration Michelle behind Wells’ Duster quest for justice, what she hopes readers take away from “Ida B. The Queen,” and how she feels about Memphis – the city her great-grandmother, who was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862, called home for more than 15 years.

TSD: Thank you for speaking with us, Michelle. There are books written about your great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells, including her posthumous autobiography. What can readers get from this book that may differ from the others that have been written?

Michelle Duster: What I hope people get from “Ida B. The Queen” is the connection between the past and the present. I want people to understand that Ida was part of a continuum of Black resistance that, in my opinion, started in 1619 and still continues on today. The work that she did was influenced by the people that came before her. And the work that’s being done now is influenced by her and her generation.

TSD: Speaking of such, we just witnessed a pivotal moment in history as Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President of the United States, making her the first woman and woman of color to hold the position. As you think of your great-grandmother and her fight for racial equality and women’s rights, what was it like to witness history being made during the recent Inauguration?

MD: It was such a significant day.

It made me think of all of the wom-

SEE WELLS ON PAGE 2

Coach Jerry C. Johnson’s LeMoyne-Owen College basketball team won the 1975 NCAA Division III Championship making him the first African-American coach to do so and LOC the first HBCU to accomplish the task. Their journey was chronicled in “Forgotten Champions.”

A maker of men, legendary LOC Coach Jerry C. Johnson dead at 102

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Recognized as a legend among legends and widely revered as a community father, Coach Jerry C. Johnson died at home early Sunday morning. He was 102.

“Coach Johnson is going to be deeply missed,” said the Rev. Melvin D. Watkins Jr., pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church-Westwood, where Mr. Johnson was a long-time member. “He impacted countless lives, not only of his basketball players over the years. But young men and boys who came in contact with him were touched by Coach Johnson. He made men of us.”

Mr. Johnson, the athletic director and head coach of the men’s basketball team at LeMoyne-Owen College for 46 years (1959-2005), retired with one of the winningest records in college sports history.

During his career, Mr. Johnson and his LOC players racked 821 wins. In 1975, he became the first African-American coach to win the NCAA Division III Championship, making LOC the first HBCU to hold the honor. LOC remains the only men’s college basketball team in Memphis and the state of Tennessee to win an NCAA title.

Visitation for Coach Johnson has been set for Friday (Jan. 29) at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church-Westwood, 620 Parkrose Rd. in Westwood. The visitation is open to the public with masking and social distancing to be strictly enforced. A private service will be arranged for family and close friends.

LOC men’s basketball coach William Anderson said he learned of Mr. Johnson’s death when got a telephone call on Sunday morning.

“I was over there just Thursday,” said Anderson.

“We talked about a range of topics. Of course, basketball, memories and just life issues that Coach was always willing to share about.

“He was still sharp; his mind was quick. He had a great sense of humor and he was very much aware of what was going on around him.”

Coach Jerry C. Johnson, with his children, at Memphis City Hall seated in front of a portrait of one of his former players, Dr. Willie W. Herenton, Memphis longest-serving mayor.

(Courtesy photo) “Coach Johnson,” said Anderson, “made me the graduate assistant coach for two seasons after I finished college. Then, I was given the opportunity to become the women’s head basketball coach. And then after Coach Johnson retired, and Coach David

SEE COACH ON PAGE 2

Baseball icon ...

Hank Aaron shares thoughts while in Memphis for the Civil Rights Game in 2008. Next to him is the late Jackie Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson. See Sports, Page 10.

(Photo: Warren Roseborough/ The New Tri-State Defender)

The Memphis City Council voted 12-1 during Tuesday’s meeting to investigate all city employees suspected of having been involved in the insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. “This resolution is asking that the City of Memphis do its due diligence to ensure its citizens that we discourage this type of behavior,” said the resolution sponsor, Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas, during a meeting of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee before the full council vote.

“We all watched as January 6 resulted in turmoil and – for lack of a better word – terrorism at the U.S. Cap- Why I couldn’t itol. Afterwards, stop crying on the nation tuned into the revealing Inauguration after revealing of Day officers sworn in Page 5 to protect and uphold the law across the nation facing charges for participation.”

The attack occurred after supporters of now former President Donald Trump attended a rally keynoted by Trump, who used strong language to encourage them to go to the Capitol and “fight” for the results they wanted in the presidential election. The surreal riot was preceded by dozens of lawsuits seeking to overturn results in states Trump lost in his defeat to now President Joseph Biden.

“I support my colleagues,” said Councilman Chase Carlisle. “There is nothing partisan about what the people’s house stands for. To storm and charge into the people’s house while Congress is sitting, with ill intent to move a political agenda, meets the threshold for terrorism. There is no debating about it. If there is someone sitting on the right side of the aisle that wants to debate me, I am happy to have it.”

Memphis Police Department Director Michael Rallings said that the FBI was the lead investigative agency on the incursion and that there are regular talks between the MPD and FBI. “To date, the FBI has no credible information that any Memphis police officer participated in the attack on the Capitol,” Rallings said via telephone.

The rioters were a ragtag mass that featured lawmakers, business people, white supremacists, activists and conspiracy theorists, as well as police officers and other public employees The language of the resolution was clarified by Carlisle in an amendment. It stated that the resolution applied to all employees – not just police, as the original resolution requested – and investigations would be based on evidence submitted by

SEE COUNCIL ON PAGE 2

The New Tri-State Defender

January 28 - February 3, 2021

Page 2

NEWS WELLS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT en, including my great-grandmother, who have fought so long to see this day. It was a touching day for me, to say the least.

TSD: What do you think inspired Ida’s quest for justice, especially during a time when Bpeople were being brutally killed for speaking out?

MD: I can gather that Ida got a sense of what was right and wrong. She became of age during the Reconstruction Era to parents who were pretty progressive. From that, I think she got a sense of possibility; and noticed that there was a sort of pushback towards Black progress. The fight was personal for her. She’d lost her parents, who were very civically engaged before they passed. And she was also very close with Thomas Moss, the businessman who was lynched by a mob of white men.

TSD: Thomas Moss was the owner of a grocery store in Memphis when he was lynched in 1892. This prompt-

ed Ida’s anti-lynching crusade.

How do you think her time in Memphis impacted her journey?

MD: She was shaped greatly by the experiences she had in Memphis. It’s a big part of her story. It’s where she co-founded the newspaper, The Memphis Free Speech, and was able to expose the brutal lynchings of her friends and other black men; but it’s also the place that she had to leave because of death threats.

TSD: So, when you hear that local organizers are working to get a statue erected in her honor in Downtown Memphis, how does that make you feel?

MD: It’s nice that the city is recognizing her, and realizing that what happened in Memphis was unfortunate and a sign of the times; but I’m happy about it. I think it’s long overdue and well deserved.

TSD: Ida’s story is one of struggle. Not just for the fight against racial inequality but sexism as well. Even as she fought for women’s rights, she and other Black women experienced discrimination in the

women’s suffrage movement.

How did she navigate that?

MD: One of the things I mention in “Ida B the Queen” is how Ida founded the Alpha Suffrage Club in Illinois. It was the first all-Black suffrage club in Illinois. To me, the way she navigated racial discrimination was to create her own.

She did the same thing when it came to the Negro Fellowship League. She was one of the founders of the Association of Colored Women’s Clubs and the NAACP. TSD: There is a story you tell that really exposes Ida’s fierceness. In 1913, during the Women’s Suffrage Parade, White women suffragists asked the Black women to march in the back, but Ida refused.

MD: Yes. She pretended to agree but found the Illinois Delegation that she’d been working with and marched in the front with them. She’d been working tirelessly with them and didn’t think it was right that she couldn’t march with them, so she did.

TSD: We often hear the stories of Ida – the journalist,

the suffragist, and activist – but she was also a wife and mother in a time where women were not encouraged to be on the frontlines, especially if they had a family at home.

What can you tell us about Ida the woman, wife and mother?

MD: From her work we can see that she was very opinionated and a no-nonsense person; but as I mentioned her work was very personal to her, and she wasn’t going to

stop fighting even after getting married and having children.

I think one of the things that helped her was her husband, who is my great-grandfather.

He was a feminist and was the main cook. He provided ways for her not to have to deal with so many things that take up women’s time. This freed her up to do the work that she did outside of the home. I think the partnership was significant.

TSD: This book not only tells the story of Ida, but also mentions so many other notable activists, past and present.

What do you hope people gain from this book?

MD: I hope that people will not only learn about my great-grandmother but are inspired to think about what they can do to make our world a better, more equal place for all.

COACH

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “Smokey” Gaines got ill, I became the men’s head coach.”

UofM head basketball coach Penny Hardaway spoke of Mr. Johnson during the Tigers’ post-game media conference Sunday evening.

“I told him I wanted to be like him. All the nuggets that he has passed on to me will stay with me forever. … He was 102 and lived a beautiful life. He was driving a car until 101 years old, that is amazing within itself. …. His legacy will live on forever.”

Clint Jackson, LOC’s athletic director, played on Mr. Johnson’s ’75 national championship team.

“He instilled in me that to truly lead others, you must start with the end in mind, be strategic, be attentive to details and to possess the skills to get others to do what you need them to do, even when they don’t want to do sit,” Jackson said.

“This has served me well since sitting his organization and administration course in 1975. I am forever grateful and he will be truly missed.”

For many, Mr. Johnson affectionately was “Coach” and they referred to him with reverence. He coached eight players who played in the NBA, as well as numerous college, high school and junior high coaches who played for him at LOC. Johnson also coached former City of Memphis Mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton and Shelby County Commissioner Mickell M. Lowery are among his former players.

“I can remember starting to watch my dad coach basketball back when I was four or five years old,” said Mr. Johnson’s son, Jerry C. Johnson Jr., a physician based in Philadelphia. “We were in Hickory, NC., where he taught, and I would sit and just watch him working with the students. …

“My dad came to LeMoyne-Owen in 1958, and we moved here, the family, in 1959,” said Dr. Johnson. “I would come and watch him coach every evening from

COUNCIL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT the FBI, other federal agencies or other credible legal sources.

“I think the intent of this is to get on the public record that the council asked the police to investigate this, not that we didn’t think they were doing anything,” said Councilman Jeff Warren. “We wanted the public

UofM head basketball coach Penny Hardaway was the keynote speaker at the 100th birthday celebration for legendary LeMoyne-Owen coach Jerry C. Johnson.

Hardaway’s role included introducing Coach Johnson. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/TSD Archives)

A younger coach Jerry C. Johnson about three to five in the afternoon, and on Saturday mornings, too. I was at Walker Elementary and Porter Jr. High. I can remember Willie Herenton’s basketball career at LeMoyne-Owen.”

Wandra Haywood, Johnson’s daughter, said, “Initially, when I was very young, I didn’t realize that my father was so well known and impacting so many children because he had a family life outside of his professional life.

But, I can remember that there would be these children coming to stay with us.”

Hickory was a little town and kids had to walk to school, Dr. Johnson said. “So, they couldn’t be on time because they had so far to walk. I remember students coming to

live in our house so they could be on time for school.”

Coach Johnson leaves his daughter, Wandra (Samuel) Haywood of Gainesville, Florida; his son, Dr. Jerry C. (Linda) Johnson Jr., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Johnson’s youngest son, Oliver Johnson, preceded him in death two years.

R.S. Lewis Funeral Home has charge.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the JCJ Foundation at: www. jcjfoundation.org, or mailed to: JCJ Foundation P.O.Box 1353 Memphis, TN 38101

to understand we are involved and we are asking questions.”

The resolution follows a 12-0 vote on Monday (Jan. 25) by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners condemning the attack on the Capitol.

The add-on agenda item was sponsored by Commissioners Mick Wright and Reginald Milton. It was moved by Commissioner Willie Brooks and

seconded by Commissioner Van Turner Jr. Commissioners voting in favor were Mark Billingsley, Tami Sawyer, Michael Whaley, David Bradford, Edmund Ford Jr., Amber Mills, Mickell Lowery, Eddie Jones, Turner, Wright, Milton and Brooks.

Commissioner Brandon Morrison abstained from voting.

Coach Jerry C. Johnson continued holding court with former players, who had become part of his extended family. (Courtesy photo)

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The New Tri-State Defender

January 28 - February 3, 2021

Page 3

NEWS “There have been many, many meetings to get me acclimated to the job. But this huge stage where policies of civil rights in education are being shaped is a passion of mine. This is my dream job.”

— Jasmine Bolton

#TSDTuesday:

Memphis attorney lands ‘dream job’ in Biden civil rights administration

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell Special to The New Tri-State Defender

In a stellar sea of energetic, service-driven legal standouts, Jasmine Bolton knew there was a chance she might be asked to join President Joe Biden’s Office of Civil Rights.

So could hundreds of other exceptional lawyers around the country.

So, between October and December, Bolton lived in a world of “what if.”

Before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the election, it was, “What if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pull off a successful Democratic bid for the White House in November?”

After the election, the question for Bolton was, “What if President Biden chooses me to join his administration in some capacity?”

There were so many talented, so many gifted, equally committed prospects who have dedicated their lives and careers to advocating for the civil rights of impoverished, under-represented individuals navigating the justice system alone.

The possibility that Bolton could win this contest was a long shot and a sucker’s bet – that is until a call came about the second week of December.

“I came to the Biden Transition Team’s attention when some education stakeholders I have worked with in the past recommended me.

“I received a call that said

Jasmine Bolton I was being considered for a position as senior counsel in President Biden’s Civil Rights office,” said Bolton. “At this point, I was pretty confident I would get the job. The agency’s HR protocols were being followed at this point. It was conditional, I knew. There was still vetting and a background check to complete.”

The caller requested one thing before ending the conversation. Bolton was asked to keep the news under wraps and not to share it with anyone.

“Of course, I told my parents,” Bolton confessed.

“Dad’s challenge was that he was bursting with excitement and wanted to tell everyone right away.”

Bolton’s father is lawyer Julian Bolton, a former Shelby County Commissioner.

“My mom’s response was to ‘say that she would remain prayerful,’ said Bolton.

“Her reaction was much more

subdued and thoughtful. She prayed about the matter in coming days, which is the same response I had.”

Shortly after that call, things moved pretty fast. Bolton already has been in Washington for several weeks now. The job actually started Jan. 21.

“I already had a place to live, but I was unpacking boxes and trying to get as settled in as possible before the job actually started,” Bolton said.

“There have been many, many meetings to get me acclimated to the job. But this huge stage where policies of civil rights in education are being shaped is a passion of mine. This is my dream job.”

Bolton will be advocating for communities and students from kindergarten to older students. She will also be involved in policies concerning adult education.

“During this pandemic, I’ve been pondering about various issues of education,” said Bolton. “Certain issues have constantly been on my mind.

There are things that should be corrected, policies that should have already been in place. Now, we can right those wrongs.”

Bolton is a native Memphian who graduated from St. Mary’s Episcopal School before attending Harvard University, where she graduated with honors. The prestigious Columbia University Law School rounded out her Ivy League education.

After earning her law de-

gree, Bolton interned for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in 2014. She also later worked as a Children’s Rights law fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center in New Orleans.

At the time she was tapped for Biden’s administration, Bolton worked with the Bail Project, a national, nonprofit bail reform organization that funds bail for people in need.

The organization’s website states that it is “reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence.”

Bolton said Wednesday (Jan. 27) that she is thrilled to be in Washington, and “so, so excited” to be in the Biden administration.

“I am happy and just excited about the possibilities that come with this huge platform,” said Bolton. “But most of all, I am grateful. I am so grateful.”

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PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, January 28 - February 3, 2021, Page 4

The battle in Tennessee over in-person learning

by Curtis Weathers

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

First, let me congratulate Tennessee legislators for the hard work they did last week in a special session that produced desperately needed support for our students and teachers in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to providing financial support for some vitally needed interventions for Tennessee students, they also passed legislation that would provide a four percent increase in teacher salaries.

The bills they passed will provide funding to help mitigate learning loss caused by the pandemic, support efforts to improve reading proficiency and roll back accountability measures related to state testing issues impacted by COVID-19.

But, it is what they tried and failed to do that really caught my attention.

The governor and 28 house republicans, none of whom represent Shelby County, tried to push through a bill that threatens to pull state funding from school districts if they do not offer an in-person learning option to students for at least 70 days this school year. The bill was not voted on last week, but will likely be addressed before the end of the regula legislative session.

House Bill 7021 reads as follows: “As introduced, requires LEAs serving any of the grades K-8 to provide in-person instruction for students for a minimum of 70 days in the 2020-2021 school year by June 30, 2021, and the full 180 days in the 2021-2022 school year; the commissioner of education may withhold

all or part of an LEAs BEP funding, if the LEA fails to comply with the in-person instruction requirements.”

I was appalled.

As conditions currently stand, Curtis this legislation Weathers would only apply to the two largest school systems in the state, Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Shelby County Schools, the largest district in the state, has been virtual all year while Metro Nashville Schools, the second-largest district, have had some in-person learning but mostly has been virtual.

If I recall, school systems in Tennessee were given the authority and autonomy to manage their response to the pandemic in a manner that best addressed conditions on the ground in their respective communities.

Leaders in these school systems are trying their best to make data-driven, science-based decisions to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees and their community.

It is outrageous for state legislators to put this kind of pressure on them.

In his latest coronavirus video update, SCS Superintendent Joris Ray pleaded with Gov. Lee and lawmakers to “please don’t hurt my children.”

Lee, in response, said, “I believe in local decision-making. Nevertheless, I wish the children in Shelby County were in person in classrooms in a greater way than they are today.”

Appearing on CNN Live, SCS Supt. Joris Ray said, “Virtual learning is not perfect, but it is not broken,” adding that the SCS goal is “to be back in (schools) when it is safe.” (Screen capture) Shelby County Schools already have plans to return to in-person learning in early February, but only if the spread of the virus is in significant decline.

Ray, however, has made it crystal clear to everyone that his main priority is the health and safety of students, teachers and staff.

Leaders of the district’s two teacher unions have applauded Ray’s management of the pandemic and have supported his decision to remain virtual.

“People are afraid of this virus,” said Danette Stokes, the president of the United Education Association of Shelby County. “But like most people, the concern is, ‘I can’t put my family in a situation to be exposed to coronavirus because I’m at work.’

And apparently, parents are feeling the same way.”

A districtwide survey of parents and teachers released last month showed little appetite for returning to in-person learning.

Gov. Bill Lee expresses his gratitude to state legislators at the close of the special session on education. (Screen capture) In fact, 70 percent of parents and over 80 ppecent of teachers preferred the virtual option, and less than a third of SCS students were expected to return for in-person learning when it starts (if it starts) in February.

We all want our students back in school. That is not a debatable issue.

But the metrics regarding community spread of the virus in these two districts do not support returning to in-person learning anytime soon.

To punish school systems because

they are doing their best to follow the science and make responsible decisions is counterproductive.

Tennessee legislators should ask themselves one particularly important question: What is most important, learning loss or loss of lives?

New data suggests learning loss among students in Memphis may not be as bad as initially predicted.

The legislature approved funding for several programs to address learning loss and reading proficiency for students throughout the entire state.

While it is possible to successfully address loss of learning, it is impossible to address the loss of life.

For the governor and some legislators to suggest that leaders in Memphis are somehow taking the easy way out is a slap in the face to the hard-working teachers, support staff, parents and students of this great community.

It would serve the governor well to sit down with leaders from each of these communities and get a better sense of the problems and challenges they are facing. He just might come away with a better understanding of their concerns and perhaps even discover a better way to achieve his goals, whatever they might be.

So, thank you Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray and Nashville Metro Schools Superintendent Adrienne Battle, for being responsible leaders of your districts and following the science, not the governor.

(Follow TSD education columnist Curtis Weathers on Twitter (@curtisweathers); email: curtislweathers@gmail.com.)

An urgent call for a ‘Secretary of Equity’

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

An honest and comprehensive reckoning with America’s racial history and enacting solutions to address it is perhaps the transcendent issue of our time, argues Janet Murguia, the president of UnidosUS, a D.C.-based advocacy organization.

“The path forward may be difficult, complicated, and contested, but it is essential to pursue,” Murguia remarked in a news release where she and other advocates form the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative.

The collaborative is the foremost diverse coalition of national, racial justice, and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the U.S. The group calls on President Joe Biden to create an office within the White House to coordinate efforts to reduce racial inequality in all its forms.

Shortly after his Jan. 20 swearing-in, President Biden issued an executive order to advance equity and support for underserved communities.

The President had pledged to do his part in the fight against systemic racism in America, and his executive order charges all federal agencies with reviewing equity in their programs and actions.

President Biden has demanded that the Office of Management and Bud-

get analyze whether federal dollars are equitably distributed in communities of color.

The coalition argues that the new administration also should establish a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion.

The office would coordinate the full range of federal agency efforts to advance racial equity, centered on the administration’s promise to confront systemic racism and heal the “soul of our nation.”

Murguia declared that creating such office is “a crucial first step toward ensuring that our country lives up to its core shared value of equal opportunity for all Americans.”

The coalition is not alone in pushing the Biden administration to create an office responsible for racial equity.

Dr. Ebony Hilton, the medical director and co-founder of GoodStock Consulting, LLC, and an anesthesiologist and critical care physician at the University of Virginia, has started a change.org petition for the Biden administration to create and appoint a “Secretary of Equity.”

Comparable to a Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer of an organization, the Secretary of Equity would serve as a catalyst to initiate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) assessments and policies while leveraging best practices and resources across various federal agencies, Dr. Hilton wrote in a letter on behalf of GoodStock Consulting.

“The vision of the position is to use objective information and analytics to create and support a culture of inclusion and belonging where individuals from all Dr. Ebony diversity dimenHilton sions, racial and ethnic identities, ages, nationalities, social and economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity/ expression, religious, political and ideological perspectives, and physical and mental abilities, are able to thrive and be actively engaged,” her letter continued.

The importance of the position is underscored by Covid-19 statistics, which show that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus. Data also show that access to the vaccine is eluding the Black community.

According to statistics compiled by the independent nonprofit KFF, which focuses on national health issues, as of January 19, 2021, over 12 million COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across the country.

To date, race and ethnicity vaccination patterns appear to be at odds with who the virus has affected the most, KFF reported.

Based on vaccinations with known

race/ethnicity, the share of vaccinations among Black people is smaller than their share of cases in all 16 reporting states and smaller than their share of deaths in 15 states.

For example, in Mississippi, Black people account for 15 percent of vaccinations, compared to 38 percent of cases and 42 percent of deaths, and, in Delaware, 8 percent of vaccinations have been received by Black people, while they make up nearly a quarter of cases (24 percent) and deaths (23 percent).

In Pennsylvania, just 3 percent of those vaccinated are Black.

“As vaccine distribution continues, ensuring racial equity will be important for mitigating the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on people of color, preventing widening health disparities, and achieving broad population immunity,” KFF officials wrote.

Dr. Hilton noted further that the Secretary of Equity would provide strategic and programmatic leadership for diversity and inclusion initiatives that advance diversity as a critical component of federal and local policies.

“This position will lead a team of Equity Officers that sit within these targeted federal agencies to assess the existing and potential disparities specific to that agency and its respective industries – greater than racial disparities and within all diversity dimensions,” Dr. Hilton noted.

“As mentioned, this position would work across various agencies with specific interest and collaborative partnerships with the agencies that directly impact the social determinants of health like the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Treasury, the Small Business Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

Regarding establishing a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion, the National Urban League President Marc Morial also noted his support.

“Even before 2020 exposed our pandemic of a deadly triple disease and economic hardship and racial unrest, America was a nation that still had only begun to grapple with the legacy of white supremacy,” Morial stated.

“Establishing a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion is our best hope of nurturing that awakening and achieving our true potential.”

(Watch Dr. Ebony Hilton’s interview with the Black Press at Facebook.com/BlackPressUSA, Twitter: @BlackPressUSA, and YouTube.com/ BlackPressUSATV. Follow Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia.)

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The New Tri-State Defender

January 28 - February 3, 2021

Page 5

PERSPECTIVE

Declaring that the city was moving in the right direction on multiple fronts before the pandemic halted much of the progress, Mayor Jim Strickland vowed to get the momentum back making use of what has been dubbed Accelerate Memphis: Invest in Neighborhoods. (Screen capture)

‘A time to invest in Memphis’ is Strickland’s 2021 State of the City declaration TSD Newsroom Vice President Kamala Harris receives the oath of office during the inauguration ceremonies.

(Photos via NNPA)

Why I couldn’t stop crying on Inauguration Day

by Lee Eric Smith lesmith@tsdmemphis.com

Dammit America, you got me.

Again.

Like so many of us, I made a point of being in front of a television on Inauguration Day. Given the dynamics of the past four years – let alone a pandemic and an attempted coup just two weeks prior – I had my doubts about America. Truth is, I still do.

So why did I feel a tear run down my cheek almost as soon as Sen. Amy Klobuchar opened up the ceremony?

I mean, I cried when Barack Lee Eric Obama was inSmith augurated just 12 years ago; I defy you to find me an African American who didn’t. But . . . Amy Klobuchar?

She spoke about how Abraham Lincoln demanded construction of the U.S. Capitol Dome continue even as the war raged. “If people see The U.S. Capitol going on, it is a sign we intend the Union shall go on,” she quoted Lincoln saying.

“It now falls on all of us . . . to take up the torch of democracy, not as a weapon of political arson, but as an instrument for good,” Klobuchar added. “We pledge today to never take our democracy for granted.”

Cue the tears. And it didn’t stop there. While singing the national anthem, Lady Gaga looked like she was about to explode with joy. Even Jennifer Lopez’ mashup of “This Land is Your Land” and “America The Beautiful” was moving, as it spoke very directly to whose nation this is.

After I’d dried my unexpected tears, it was time for the expected ones: The moment when one woman would shatter multiple ceilings in the American story, by saying some very plain words.

“I, Kamala Devi Harris, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend The Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

African American Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman deliverance and Inauguration performance that moved many in the nation to nears.

The biracial daughter of immigrants and an alumnae of an HBCU is now one heartbeat away from becoming the leader of the free world.

Yeah, America, you got me. Again.

Argh! What is this feeling? It’s vaguely familiar but it’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten the word for it . . . ah, yes: HOPE. And man, could we use summadat that right now.

Before the inauguration, NBC News’ Chuck Todd made a striking observation about the challenges ahead for the Biden Administration. He noted that Lincoln had to deal with an insurrection; Woodrow Wilson had the 1919 influenza pandemic; FDR had the Great Depression; JFK had the racial and social unrest of the 1960s. Individually, each crisis was monumental. Biden enters office having to deal with all four at once. That’s not including the national or global crisis that is surely coming.

COVID isn’t going anywhere, unarmed citizens of color are still being shot, and homegrown terrorism may be on the rise. Wildfires will rage, hurricanes will ravage.

It’s a cliché but things will get worse before they get better. And yet, I have hope.

Like generations of African Americans, my country has broken my heart many times before – the times when we dared dream that these lofty ideals of America might become a reality, only to watch her fall short time and time again. Despite Biden’s explicitly stated and presumably sincere pledge to dismantle systemic racism, America hasn’t fallen short for the last time.

But I’ll be damned if she doesn’t keep getting back up, taking one creaky step forward at a time toward becoming “a more perfect union.” On Jan. 6, America took a

hit from a misguided lynch mob.

Just two weeks later, she was back on her feet – her “head bloodied, but unbowed.”

Tito, get me some tissue.

There’s Garth freakin’ Brooks on my TV, asking not just the socially distanced crowd at the Capitol to sing “Amazing Grace” with him, but everyone at home as well.

If you somehow managed to keep your eyes dry while you were singing – and you KNOW you were singing — you may need your soul examined. Knowing the world was singing along in a universal moment of solidarity and humility . . . actually, I’m getting a little choked up even writing about it now.

Now that I know it apparently is possible to overdose on optimism, I needed a dose of reality. As I make a habit to do, I flipped over to Fox News on Inauguration Night to see what was being said to the other half of America.

I was disappointed but not surprised to hear Always-Trumper Sean Hannity rip into Biden as a liar, even as fireworks lit up the Washington Monument. When he noticed footage of Harris giving her first remarks as VP, “Get that off the screen,” he grumbled.

Sad, because here’s some of what Hannity refused to air or let his audience hear: “(W)hat President Joe Biden has called upon us to summon now (is) the courage to see beyond crisis.

To do what is hard, to do what is good,” said Vice President Harris.

“To unite, to believe in ourselves, believe in our country, believe in what we can do together. Thank you, and may God bless America.”

President Biden delivered a stirring and inspiring address of his own, but was upstaged when all the accumulated hope and optimism stepped to the microphone wearing radiant, youthful brown skin, braids and a bright yellow coat. National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” will be quoted for generations to come, none more than the poem’s final lines: “When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid,” she beamed. “The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light.

If only we’re brave enough to see it.

“If only we’re brave enough to BE it.”

If you’re feeling hopeful and inspired like I am, awesome.

Now dry your eyes and roll up your sleeves. We’ve got work to do.

With the newly transformed Renasant Convention Center as the backdrop, Mayor Jim Strickland delivered a State of the City address that focused on a recap of the past year and the road ahead, a new violence intervention program and a “transformative investment” in Memphis.

Reflecting (Jan. 21) on the COVID-19 pandemic and the effort of the joint task force, Strickland said, “Our objective has always been to navigate the pandemic so that we are able to return to normal as quickly as possible, while preserving as many lives and livelihoods as we could along the way.”

Pausing to mourn those who have died, Strickland said we must remember “hope is just around the corner.”

After detailing efforts to meet the public health emergency, Strickland noted that “while many cities across the country faced months of violent protests, our community came together peacefully to let their voices be heard, and we continue to reimagine policing for the residents of Memphis.

“This past year has been one of collective and individual sacrifice.

But through it all, I have been inspired by the resiliency of our community and the resolve you have shown as we have worked to navigate our way through these turbulent waters.”

Along with the pandemic, the past year also brought an increased violent crime rate to Memphis and most large cities across our country, said Strickland, who put local violent crime in a decades-old context and announced two major initiatives to combat it.

The Group Violence Intervention Program (GVIP) was pitched as a “comprehensive and collaborative initiative aimed directly at interrupting the cycle of violent crime by adding new and significant resources. …

“At its core, it is a collaboration between innovative policing and focused deterrence work. It will be complemented by other non-police agencies who will perform intense violence interruption, intervention, prevention and outreach to the hundreds of individuals we know who are committing most of the crimes and the most at-risk youth.”

Additionally, needed services for those individuals and their families who are most likely to shoot or to be shot will be provided, (assuming they agree to turn away from criminal activities), Strickland said.

A fulltime staff of four in the mayor’s office will have the sole job of implementing the program and coordinating the partners.

Referencing the second initiative, Strickland said that in the next few weeks bids would be solicited to convert all 84,000 street lights across the city to LED bulbs.

“No longer will criminals have safe harbor to operate under cover of darkness and prey on our citizens in dimly lit parts of the city,”

he said.

Declaring that the city was moving in the right direction on multiple fronts before the pandemic halted much of the progress, Strickland vowed to get the momentum back making use of what has been dubbed Accelerate Memphis: Invest in Neighborhoods.

The city, he said, would capitalize on favorable conditions by making “an unprecedented $200 million investment in catalytic community projects in every neighborhood and every city council district from Smokey City to Orange Mound, Raleigh to Whitehaven, Klondike to South Memphis.

“This will help restart the momentum and accelerate our growth by improving the quality of life, driving equity and inclusion, improving housing and connectivity, and solving stubborn problems that are deeper than any single yearly budget can solve.”

The City will take advantage today of the reduction in debt service (about $63 million) in July 2026 to make a transformative, one-time investment in a variety of capital projects all across our city, he said.

“And, with Accelerate Memphis, we will intentionally seek to leverage additional funds – such as private and philanthropic dollars – to increase its impact.”

Proceeds from $200 million in Accelerate Memphis bonds would be used in three main ways: • Neighborhood Improvements – $75 million • Improving our parks – $75 million; and • Revitalizing citywide assets – $50 million By law, the funds must be used only for one-time, capital costs and cannot be used for recurring operating expenses such as salaries.

“Now, we call this $200 million plan Accelerate Memphis: Invest in Neighborhoods, and it does construct or rehabilitate many buildings or structures – but it is really an investment in one of our most precious assets, our people,” Strickland said.

“It’s an investment in the child who wants a nice place to play.

It’s an investment in the busy parent who needs to run errands but doesn’t want or maybe doesn’t have the financial means to drive across town to buy an item. It’s an investment in the elderly neighbor who may simply want a well-lit and safer neighborhood.

“This is a plan about Memphians – the individuals young and old, black and white and everyone who make our city unique and such a gift to the rest of the world.”

Over the last year, Memphis has been dealt “more fear, anxiety and tragedy than many of us have experienced in our entire lifetimes,” Strickland said in closing.

“But, know this – as I stand here tonight, I can honestly and whole-heartedly tell you I believe the future of Memphis is brighter now than it ever has been, and these projects are just the beginning.”

The New Tri-State Defender

January 28 - February 3, 2021

Page 6

RELIGION

Rev. Dr. Sylvester Beaman arrived at Bethel AME in 1993 after serving at St. Paul AME Church in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Jerry D. Webster, outgoing president of the Memphis Baptist Congress of Christian Education, presents the gavel to Annetta A. Hamilton. Looking on are First Vice President Shirley Reed, Second Vice President Joseph Hunt and Third Vice President Charlie Scates. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

Memphis Baptist Congress elects first woman president of Christian Education

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Annetta A. Hamilton was “born and bred” Memphis.

In fact, she was born at 1547 Barton Street, her childhood home in South Memphis.

She made history this past Sunday (Jan. 24) by becoming the first woman to preside over the Memphis Baptist Congress’ Christian Education Department.

“I started going to Congress when I was 10 years old,” said Hamilton. “I was a part of the Congress Youth Fellowship. We had opportunities to present in front of the organization, and I guess certain ones saw something in me as I grew up.

When there was Baptist Training Union, we had Baptist Young People’s Union.”

Hamilton grew up in Salem Gilfield Baptist Church. As a retired legacy Memphis City Schools teacher, gravitating toward Christian Education seemed a natural affinity for her.

“I graduated from LeMoyne-Owen College in 1968,” said Hamilton. “I had already signed my teaching contract. I always taught younger children, the first 19 years in a second-grade classroom, and the remainder of her 42 years with first-graders.

“At church, I taught the intermediate class, the teenagers in middle school. People were always quitting that position. So, the pastor asked if I would teach them, and I accepted.”

Hamilton began her Christian education career as a teenager when Mrs. M. E. Fisher, a Southern Baptist member, would take a group of teens all over the city to teach Vacation Bible School each summer, Hamilton said.

Almost no one was surprised when the gavel passed to Hamilton in a meeting of the Congress this weekend.

Since its inception in 1936, the Memphis Baptist Congress has met on the third Sunday of each month. It is an organization comprise of some 50 Baptist member churches throughout the city of Memphis.

“Early in my teaching career, I was asked to serve the Congress as the announcement clerk,” Hamilton recalls. “She was promoted to assistant secretary, and then, secretary.

“Twelve years ago, Mrs. Gary L. Gossett, a member of St. John Baptist Church-Vance, said at a meeting of the Congress, ‘I know that the presidency is always held by men, but I want to nominate Annetta Hamilton for the post of third

Rev. Dr. Sylvester Beamon delivered Inaugural benediction. Who is he?

Annetta A. Hamilton vice president.’ You see, it was vacant at the time.”

Hamilton won the vote and served four years in the position. She was then elected to the second vice president’s position. After four years, she moved to the first-vice- president’s seat. That was in 2016. Hamilton was heir-apparent to the top post, and this was her year.

“We are just a loving group of Christians,” said Hamilton. “Some are missionary Baptist churches, and some are independent Baptist churches.

The missionary Baptist churches were started by white missionaries. But the independent churches were started by black Baptist believers. Our first pastor was Rev. Africa Bailey, a sergeant in the Union Army.”

According to Salem Gilfield’s church history, the original Salem Church was founded in a brush arbor with a sawdust floor in late 1865. By 1867, Salem’s congregation had grown to 242 members and they were worshiping in a solid frame building at the corner of Carolina and Tennessee Streets.

In 1883, a faction of the Salem congregation split from the original one and founded Gilfield Baptist Church. In 1940, the two churches were reunited, becoming Salem Gilfield.

Hamilton taught her entire professional career at Sharp Elementary School. She was one of two African-American faculty members who integrated Sharp because of a 1968 court-ordered action, filed and won by the NAACP.

The African-American community at large can trust President Joe Biden to fulfill his campaign commitments of ensuring that Black people would be better positioned to prosper in the U.S., according to the man chosen to give the benediction at the Jan. 20 inauguration.

“We need a president who is after the heart of God,” Rev. Dr. Sylvester Beaman, of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, told NBC News.

“In these terrible times, if anybody can bring healing and reconciliation to a divided country, if we give him room to work, Joe Biden can be that person,” Rev. Beaman continued.

Born in Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital in upper New York and raised by a single mother in a family of nine children, Rev. Beaman rose through the African Methodist Episcopal Church ranks.

His Bethel AME Church in inner-city Wilmington counts as an intergenerational congregation with 50 ministries.

Rev. Beaman arrived at Bethel AME in 1993 after serving at St. Paul AME Church in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Shortly after he arrived in Delaware, Rev. Beaman and then Sen. Joe Biden became friends.

According to the Royal Gazette in Bermuda, Rev. Beaman said President Biden telephoned him on a late Sunday evening to ask whether he would pronounce the benediction at the inaugural.

“If I weren’t [available], I would have changed everything to be able to deliver that benediction,” declared Rev. Beaman, who rode in the presidential motorcade during the second inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2013.

“I was immediately humbled, surprised.”

He added that he supported President Biden and Vice President Ka-

mala Harris “from the very beginning.”

“I knew his temperament, his experience, his commitment to family, to his faith,” Rev. Beaman noted.

“I felt that he would be right for this time.

President Biden’s choice of the Black clergyman to wrap an inspirational bow around the event speaks to the incoming commander-in-chief’s connection to Black Americans and his trust in Beaman, NBC News reported.

The news outlet noted that in President Biden’s November victory speech, he acknowledged that Black people “have my back,” both during the campaign and throughout his career and that as president, he will have theirs.

In a February 2020 interview with National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President Biden reiterated his commitment to Black America.

“I got started in the African American community. I got involved in the Civil Rights Movement when I was a kid. I helped de-segregate a movie theater, that kind of thing,” President Biden told Dr. Chavis.

“I was the only guy who worked in the projects on the East Side who was White. That is how I got started, and the Black community is the community that, as we say, brung me to the dance. That’s how I got elected.”

Rev. Beaman said the Black community could trust President Biden.

“As an example, when George Floyd protests occurred,” Rev. Beaman said, “Joe Biden called and asked: ‘Can I come to your church and hold a meeting with community leaders and clergy? I just want to hear what people think.’ Contrast that with President Trump bypassing protesters and having them cleared out to go stand in front of a church to pose for photos with a Bible.”

(Follow Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia.)

January 28 - February 3, 2021

The New Tri-State Defender

Page 7

NEWS

Southwest wins national award for redesigning the student experience TSD Newsroom Southwest Tennessee Community College has won the prestigious national 2021 Bellwether Award in the category of Planning, Governance and Finance. The highly competitive award recognizes community colleges for cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that are worthy of replication.

Bellwether officials announced the award during a virtual presentation Jan. 26 at the 27th Annual Community College Futures Assembly, an independent national policy forum for key higher education thought leaders.

“This is an amazing affirmation of our phenomenal journey of transformation at Southwest,” President Tracy D. Hall said. “To be nationally recognized by our peers who are thought leaders in the community college arena is especially gratifying and significant.”

Hall lauded faculty and staff for banding together in the name of student success.

“They defied the status quo and courageously stepped into the light of innovation and wholeheartedly embraced and achieved meaningful, systemic change at Southwest,” Hall said. “I am excited for the future. There is more to come.”

Southwest was the only college in Tennessee selected as one of nine finalists nationwide in the Planning, Governance and Finance category that recognizes innovative programs and best practices to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Each finalist underwent two rigorous rounds of judging by a panel of thought leaders, national experts and academicians, as well as made a final presentation at the assembly.

Southwest’s winning submission, Redesign, Reinvent, and Reset: Organizing for Large Scale Systemic Change, was a snapshot of the college’s strategies and successes and lessons learned as faculty and staff moved the college forward to redesign and transform the student experience from recruitment to graduation and every touch point in between.

The work reflects the challenges faced by students in an urban environment and maps out positive outcomes that students, regardless of their income or life experience, can achieve.

The result is a strategic plan for the college that embraces and fosters a culture of equity and upward social mobility for students attending a predominantly black institution in one of the poorest cities in the nation.

The journey of transformation began in 2016, when Southwest joined Achieving the Dream, a national community college transformation movement. More than 200 employees from across the college volunteered on 22 cross-functional teams to take a deep dive into rebuilding and reshaping the college for student success.

Southwest took on the work of organizing for systemic, transformational change in the culture, structure and operations of the college.

Working from data gathered in a 2015 Huron report that provided a baseline of the student

Tracy experience, Southwest D. Hall identified and targeted the factors that contributed to a spiraling decline in enrollment, retention and graduation rates, along with growing achievement gaps between black and white students.

The Redesign, Reinvent, Reset Teams focused on results-driven outcomes. Fueled by new data teams, a new organizational and governance structure and academic process maps, among other large-scale changes, the college began to see a reversal in its previous negative trends.

By 2017, the enrollment increased 10 percent. The following year, the graduation rate doubled and the College narrowed the achievement gaps between black and white students.

There was a 26 percent growth in associate degrees conferred in 2018.

The Redesign, Reinvent and Reset outcomes were used to “Reimagine Southwest” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The struggle continues...

Dr. Carnita Atwater, president of the New Chicago Community Partnership Revitalization CDC, spoke at rally last Saturday (Jan. 23) detailing the basis of a $20 billion lawsuit against the City of Memphis, Shelby County and Tennessee. The suit alleges that New Chicago has been shortchanged because of Atwater’s high-profile opposition to the city’s development plan, Memphis 3.0.

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, January 28 - February 3, 2021, Page 8

COVID-19 UPDATE

iMOM

New ‘vaxqueue’ system could help straighten kinks in county ‘vaxing’

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Vaccinations in Shelby County this week went quite smoothly for many. But for others, long lines and a major vaccine site running out of doses designated for the day’s distribution made for a nightmarish experience.

Speaking at the Pipkin Building at the Fairgrounds in Midtown on Wednesday, Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter said a combination of things fueled confusion.

Despite an emphasis on the importance of making an appointment for the vaccine become going to the Pipkin vaccination site, Haushalter said many people continued to get in line without an appointment. That, she said, contributed to the hours-long wait and many having to leave without the vaccine.

“In addition to some who did not have an appointment, we increased the number of appointments on Tuesday because things had moved so smoothly all the other days,” said Haushalter.

“The increase of appointments added an additional burden to the system, and staffing capacity could not meet the increased demand.”

To help alleviate the crush of long waits at drive-thru vaxing sites, the health department introduced the “VaxQueue” this week. At vaxqueue.shelbycountytn.gov, there is this explanation of the VaxQueue system: “The Shelby County Health Department receives limited quantities of COVID-19 vaccines from the State of Tennessee on a periodic basis. As such, there is no surplus of vaccine supply at this time. In the coming weeks and as larger vaccine quantities become available, we will offer surplus supply to individuals who join

the Shelby County VaxQueue. Additionally, as we move through the vaccine phases (as determined by the State Health Department), we will notify those individuals in the VaxQueue who may qualify to register for an appointment.”

A registration form is attached.

County residents who sign up through VaxQueue will be contacted by the health department to make an appointment to receive any surplus vaccine. Health officials hope this will help alleviate some of the long lines at vaxing sites.

Wednesday’s vaxing operation at the Pipkin Building improved as staffing was increased.

However, Haushalter said health department staff was looking into why the lines were still extremely long on Wednesday.

Joan Carr, the health department’s public information officer, said that although vaccine doses are somewhat limited in Shelby County and across the nation, those who are waiting to receive their second dose should not worry.

“The Health Department has enough vaccine,” said Carr. “Everyone who has received a first dose will get a second dose.”

In sharp contrast to the Pipkin drive-thru site, the Appling Road vaccination site hummed right along on Wednesday, administering the second Moderna vaccine to the 1,400 individuals who signed up. According to the health department, the second doses had been set aside specifically for seniors and first responders who received their first shots between Dec. 28 and Jan. 3.

On Wednesday, the total of reported COVID-19 cases in Shelby County was 80,991, with 1,223 deaths recorded.

For more information on the VaxQueue or making a vaccine appointment, visit shelby. community.

Commissioners OK new rules for military-grade equipment

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

New rules regarding the use of military-grade equipment for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Dept. passed on a 10-3 vote during the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday.

The legislation amends chapter 34 of the county’s code of ordinances. It creates a new article allowing for the use limitation of military weapons and other equipment. It also applies to the Shelby County Office of Homeland Security.

Alex Hensley, special assistant of Policy/ Intergovernmental Affairs for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, told commissioners the measure before them reflected the collaboration of Commissioner Van Turner Jr., the sheriff’s office and the mayor’s office.

It also reflected the sheriff office’s desire that – in the event of a natural disaster – the sheriff’s office or the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security could receive rescue vehicles from a federal or state program without having to come before the commission.”

Other exceptions are for defensive equipment like bullet proof vests, helmets and shields. The resolution doesn’t apply to the Department of Corrections, which is already prohibited from receiving military-grade equipment.

Under consideration since the protest-filled summer of 2020, the resolution underwent revisions. It is one of two centerpiece resolutions under consideration meant to curb creeping excesses in policing. The other focuses on use of force, de-escalation and other policing tactics.

For members of the body, it was the first time seeing the final draft.

Amendments added in December were peeled away during a second discussion between Harris and Sheriff Floyd Bonner. According to the mayor’s office, they would have required months of further negotiation. It was also pointed out that the sheriff’s office doesn’t currently use military equipment.

“Overall, the sheriff’s office and the mayor’s office found more that we could agree on than not,” Hensley said. “The ordinance also reflects more clearly that this effort builds off of the best practices that Sheriff Bonner has already implemented, as well as what the sheriff’s of-

fice has done on police reform thus far. ...

“This ordinance ultimately reflects the need to have the best practices in place for the long term.”

Hensley noted that Sheriff Bonner had opted not to participate in the Department of Defense 1033 program long before the ordinance discussion. The 1033 program allows for the transfer of military equipment, including small arms and ammunition, to law enforcement agencies, including counter-drug and counter-terrorism measures.

Commissioner Amber Mills called the adopted measure an empty gesture, suggesting it was used to bash Sheriff Bonner by opponents of policing and that it was a scaremongering tactic amplified by the media to instill unfounded fear in the populace.

“I cannot get past how disrespected the sheriff was in this. That he was not approached for six months. When all of this could have been taken care of on the front end,” Mills said.

“Basically, what this does … it saves face to give an empty pat on the back is what it is….”

It was also criticized for limiting preparedness for a large natural disaster or civil unrest.

“I guarantee you the Capitol police would have wished that they would have had military equipment in front of the Capitol to protect our Congress,” said Commissioner Mark Billingsley. “We have not seen a misuse of military equipment in municipalities, our county. I just can’t support this.”

To supporters, the legislation is about codifying the institution’s practices for the future and not a judgement on the current officeholder.

“Whether an earthquake comes or whether the Republican Party storms the Shelby County building like they did the White House, I mean the Capitol Building, I think we have access to what we need and we don’t need military-grade equipment for that,” said Commissioner Tami Sawyer.

The measure was sponsored by Turner, Reginald Milton, Mickell Lowery, Sawyer and Willie Brooks.

Voting for the resolution were Commissioners Turner, Michael Whaley, Mick Wright, Milton, Brooks, David Bradford, Lowery, Chairman Eddie Jones, Sawyer and Edmund Ford Jr. Commissioners Brandon Morrison, Mills and Billingsley voted no.

Ashley Isaac Tucker with a client while using the interlocking method to maintain locs. (Photos: Shirley Jackson)

Ashley Isaac Tucker – a story of overcoming, moving forward

by Brittany Holst

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“I am a wife, mother of three, a hair stylist and makeup artist, and I have lupus,” said Ashley Isaac Tucker, who lives with the systematic autoimmune disease.

Lupus is a disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.

As a stylist, Ashley, 28, realized her dream at the age of 8.

“I began braiding hair of the girls in the apartment complex where I lived in North Memphis.

That was confirmation of the career path I wanted to take — the beauty inBrittany dustry. I took cosmetoloHolst gy courses while attending White Station High School. When I graduated in 2010, I was a few hours short of what was needed to obtain my (cosmetology) license,” said Ashley.

After high school, Ashley became pregnant and put her career goals on hold.

“In 2012, I was diagnosed with lupus and pregnant with my second child,” Ashley said.

After giving birth to her second child, she started her business, Coty Beauty Ashley (CBA). Her brand is represented by a purple butterfly in honor of lupus and also purple is her favorite color.

One sign of lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and bridge of the nose. Other common skin problems include sensitivity to the sun with flaky, red spots or a scaly, purple rash on various parts of the body, according to webmd.com.

While working from home as a hair stylist and growing her clientele, Ashley went back to school to finish her training to get her cosmetology license, but her illness prevented her from completing the necessary hours needed to graduate.

In 2014 while pregnant with her third child, her health took a turn for the worst.

“I was in the hospital for 15 days fighting for my life. My heart and kidneys began to fail while I was carrying my child, who was born 2 months premature,” said Ashley.

Having recovered from her ordeal, she went back to school with hopes of finishing her hours, but learned that her high school cosmetology credits had expired.

“I was devastated by the news and decided to continue working from home. I made my business the focus. As my business started to expand, I had the opportunity to work with different people as a hair stylist and makeup artist for weddings, birthdays, photoshoots, etc.”

In relation to health and maintaining her business, Ashley said, “I have to set a schedule and give myself time to regroup. I would try to squeeze customers in even when I was feeling tired.”

Her self-determination along with her family’s support kept her going during times she

This portrait by Jade Cole pictures Ashley Isaac Tucker surrounded by purple butterflies in a reference to Lupus. felt like giving up.

“When flares happen for me, it is often met with nausea, dizziness and pain shooting throughout my body at random. The flares don’t last long, but it is all in the mind. If you can push yourself through those few minutes and think positively, it will be over before you know it. It’s all about control,” Ashley said.

As a way for her to control her flare ups, she changed her diet so she would not eat foods that could be a trigger and remained positive in her thoughts.

Over time, due to losing her own hair in the battle with lupus and working with other people, she started her own natural journey.

Ashley learned about natural hair care, how to grow it and keep it healthy. Her clientele also began to gravitate to those in need of a natural hair stylist. She specializes in locs/ dreads and protective styling.

Traveling and working with other people inspired her to go back to school. She graduated from the Institute of Beauty in 2020, receiving her cosmetology license.

On New Year’s Day (2021), Ashley announced her billboard in Memphis near Wolfchase. She moved CBA into a suite at 4255 Cherry Center Dr. She can be reached via phone, Facebook, or Instagram for booking information.

On Monday (Feb. 1), Ashley will launch CBA’s Quick Fix (an African wig headband) in honor of Black History Month. Each wig band will be unique and named after African-American women in history.

Her goal is to continue spreading self-love and self-confidence among women. She also is working on a hair show event for mothers and daughters, schedule for some time in May. Her story is inspiring. To start on the journey of getting her cosmetology license and enduring setbacks but never giving up is something we all should be able to relate to.

No matter how much time goes by, you can always accomplish the goals you set even when it seems like something is always getting in the way to deter you.

(As women, we all have our individual testimonies of things we have struggled with and overcome. Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact me at brittany@brittanyejackson.com.)

January 28 - February 3, 2021

The New Tri-State Defender

COMMUNITY

Rally held to signal more opposition to pipeline

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Members of the Westwood and Boxtown communities rallied last Saturday as they begin more vigorous push-back against All-Plains American’s proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline.

“This meeting was called by the Memphis Community Against the Pipeline (MCAP),” said Justin J. Pearson, the organization’s leader.

“We came together after the Oct. 17 meeting.

Various individuals in the community united under the premises that we don’t wait oil in the soil, property values reducing, and the future of this community endangered by the pipeline.”

The rally was held outside of Mitchell High School. Speakers included landowners in litigation with All-Plains American and Valero Energy Corporation, as well as those opposed to the pipeline.

“The only reason the pipeline was routed through these communities is because they are not viewed as having the political, economic, and social capital to fight back,” said Pearson Marie Odum accused All-Plains American of trying to take her family’s land.

“In October of last year, one of the company representatives asked my father to sign a piece of paper giving them permission to survey his land,” said Odum. “He told them ‘no.’

“My father inherited that land from his cousin in 1989 when she passed away. My father has working our family property for 64 years. Now, he has to go to court just to keep his land.”

Jeff Cosola, public relations advisor for AllPlains American, said he could not talk specifically about court cases but did say the litigation does not involve taking land from any landowner.

“We are committed to designing, constructing and operating the Byhalia Connection pipeline in a safe, reliable and responsible manner,” said Cosola. “Court cases involve negotiations with landowners to proceed with easement acquisitions.”

Cosola said easements involve constructing a 50-ft. right-of-way.

“We have purchased easements needed for the pipeline, making offers above market value,” he said. “We have reached agreement with

landowners covering 93 percent of the required right-of-way.”

Odum said after her father rejected a $2,000, he was given 24 hours to think about an $8,000 final offer. “He said ‘no.’ So now, he’s got to go to court to fight for his land.”

In an interview following the rally, Kizzy Jones, an MCAP organizer, spoke of historical instances in which African Americans were “tricked out of our land. The laws were not written for us. What All-Plains American is doing is no different.”

The Byhalia Connection is a common carrier pipeline with the option to use eminent domain, which refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it for public use, Cosola said.

“Although it has been necessary to initiate eminent domain proceedings in some rare situations, we are still working to find mutually agreeable compromises with all remaining landowners.”

As for area residents’ environmental concerns, Cosola said All-Plains takes every precaution for safe construction and maintenance.

“We do not expect the pipeline to contribute to health issues,” he said. “When the pipeline is in operation, most of it will be underground with no emissions. … We’ve spent over 10,000 hours studying the unique conditions along the route to design a safely operating pipeline within the local environment.”

Construction is set to begin early this year and Pearson said MCAP will continue to rally around landowners who do not wish to sell.

“Friday morning, Feb. 5, we will be downtown to support landowners in court,” said Pearson.

Cosola said the All-Plains team will continue to “share information, answer questions, listen to the community’s experiences and expectations and continue the ongoing dialogue with our neighbors.”

The pipeline is expected to be in operation nine months from the beginning of construction.

(For more information, visit https://byhaliaconnection.com/tdec/.)

Page 9 SPONSORED CONTENT

Preserver Partners Committed to Helping African-American Community Build Wealth Ask Floyd Tyler why he started Preserver Partners and its in-house mutual fund and his answer might surprise you.

“I didn’t grow up with a lot and we were poor by most definitions, and there were no conversations about mutual funds or investing or saving because we didn’t have the money,” Tyler said.

“I wanted to help change that for other people…economic disparities, the widening racial wealth gap, all of that stuff doesn’t change unless people have the economic wherewithal to build wealth.”

So Tyler, a Ph.D. in finance who’d worked as a partner and director of research for a large local investment firm for a decade and taught finance at the University of Memphis, created something he didn’t see in the marketplace: an, African American-owned, institutional-quality firm. In 2009, he founded Preserver Partners.

“I had this vision for a firm that did very well by its clients in terms of generating good returns and one that reflected my values,” Tyler said.

Preserver Partner’s mutual fund offers individual investors access to institutional quality investments that individual investors couldn’t otherwise access.

In 2010, Dana Pointer, a longtime Vice President at FTN Financial, joined the firm as Chief Operating & Compliance Officer. As a native Memphian like Tyler, she felt compelled to make her hometown better.

“We have a commitment to raising the level of financial literacy in every client we work with,” Pointer said. “We say ‘here are some different ways of thinking about your financial health and well-being, and here are some tools.’

For some people, our mutual fund is a good tool.”

While the $170 million firm boasts numerous high net worth individuals and institutional investors, Pointer says they love working with smaller and first-time

investors.

“For many clients, it takes a lot of time and thought before making the decision to invest. We understand that investing is a big step,” Pointer said. “So, when we sit at the table or Floyd have conversations Tyler with people before their first investment, there are a lot of questions and you can hear and feel the hesitancy they have because it’s something brand new.”

In 2016, they started a mutual fund that now accepts clients who may have as Dana little as $500 to inPointer vest initially. There are only four African-American-owned mutual fund companies in the U.S. Pointer and Tyler say they see a unique role for an African-American-owned and managed company like theirs.

“In our community, the African-American community, there are a lot of trust issues around money, where people have been schemed or treated poorly before,” Tyler said. “We want to be a high quality investment firm that people can trust and know that their money is being managed well by high integrity people that they can see in the community and who are involved in the community.”

“When they see the returns and their assets actually grow, they’re smiling and they feel proud to have started this new part of their financial life and achieving their financial goals. It’s very satisfying,” Tyler said “That’s where our passion comes from.”

SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, January 28 - February 3, 2021, Page 10

Memphis pumped after holding off SMU points, including two three-pointers.

Special to The New Tri-State Defender Memphis had seven turnovers in the first half and only three in Memphis’ third victory in a the first 19 minutes of the second row – a reversal-of-fortune defeat half before two unforced turnof Southern Methodist University overs in the last minute kept the at FedExForum Tuesday (Jan. 26) Mustangs alive. night – was about as satisfying as SMU’s Kendrick Davis thought a four-point (76-72) win could be. he had tied the game with 1:40 With the win, Memphis, (9-5, left when he made a three-point 5-2 American) moved into secbasket as the shot-clock expired. ond place in the conference. The After an official review, the basTigers entered the game tied for ket was waved off. second place with Wichita State The Tigers went to the freeand SMU. throw line 25 times and were only “I am proud of the team for able to connect on 12 of them. fighting hard … getting back Alex Lomax and Quinones hit into the game and winning the two big ones to seal the game in game,” Tigers head coach Penny the final minute.

Hardaway said.

Known for outside scorMemphis got off to a slow start, ing, SMU connected on five falling behind 7-0 in the first three three-pointers in the first half and minutes of the game. The Tigers seven in the second half to stay were able to cut the deficit to 9-7. in the game. The Mustangs were The Mustangs answered with a led by Tyson Jolly’s 15 points, 14-5 run. including three from beyond the Memphis was down by 13 arc. points (26-13) and the Mustangs Five Tigers were in double digwere shooting more than 60 perits, led by Lomax with 14 points, cent at that point.

Jeffries and Nolley with 12 points Then, Memphis turned up their each, and Williams and Moussa defensive pressure and went on a Cissé with 10 points each.

21-5 run to take a 34-31 lead into Cissé grabbed 10 rebounds for halftime. his second straight double-double The Tigers started the second game. half with a 15-7 run thanks to On getting his rhythm back of two three-pointers by Landers offense Jeffries said, “It was a Nolley II and another by Lester big relief. I wouldn’t say I was Quinones, which gave the Tigers in a slump, but offensively I was a 52-43 lead. going. Coming out tonight and The Mustangs responded with making shots. I feel like my team a 9-0 run to tie the game at 52. needs my scoring. I like doing the D.J. Jeffries, who has been inlittle things, but scoring is what I consistent, connected on back-tobring. I am happy that I got my back three pointers to match the rhythm back.” hot-shooting Mustangs. DeAnOn being able to close out the dre Williams was a force in the game against a quality opponent second half, scoring all of his 10

by Terry Davis

For much of the game, Moussa Cissé supplied the inside force the Tigers needed against SMU. (Photo: Joe Murphy)

Coach Penny Hardaway directs the Tigers’ flow. (Photo: Joe Murphy) Hardaway said, “It felt good. We got the leading assist guy in the country and leading scorer in

the league in (SMU’s) Kendric Davis. We knew they were high powered. To come into this game

and get down by 13 points and keep battling back, it was a winwin for us.”

Jeffries said the Tigers “are finally coming together. We learned from all those five games. We are taking everything we learned from those five losses to build on.

We are learning how to overcome adversity. We are learning to be a team. If we can do that the sky is the limit.”

NOTES: For the second game, DeAndre Williams had to leave the game.

Williams was caught with another elbow while battling for a rebound with Moussa Cisse.

Jordan Nesbit, a member of the Class of 2021, has enrolled at the university and was spotted on the team’s bench. He has cleared all protocols and is eligible to play this season. Hardaway has not ruled out playing Nesbit this year.

SMU played without head coach Tim Jankovich, who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Tigers next head to Dallas to play the Mustangs on Thursday (Jan. 28) night. The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN2. After that, the Tigers return to FedExForum for fourstraight games to start the month of February beginning Monday, Feb. 1, against the University of Central Florida at 7 p.m.

IN MEMORIAM: Baseball icon Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron dies at 86

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

Baseball’s recognized home run king and an African-American hero, Henry “Hank” Aaron, has died at the age of 86.

Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record on April 8, 1974, was not just a baseball legend but a hero to superstars.

“He’s the one man that I idolize more than myself,” the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali once said about Aaron.

While with the Atlanta Braves, Aaron tied Ruth’s mark of 714 homers on April 7. A day later, he slugged No. 715 against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing.

Before and throughout his chase of Ruth’s longstanding record, Aaron was subjected to racism and hate.

Death threats were common, and even some teammates and those throughout baseball despised Aaron as he approached their White hero’s record.

Despite beefed up security at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium, some fans breached the outfield walls as

Aaron trotted around the bases following his record-setting dinger.

“A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol,” Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, who called the game, proclaimed as Aaron’s mother, family, and teammates greeted him at home plate.

Born Henry Louis Aaron on February 5, 1934, in a poor Black section of Mobile, Alabama, called “Down the Bay,” Hank Aaron was the third of eight children born to Estella and Herbert Aaron. Aaron’s father made his living as a tavern owner and a dry dock boilermaker’s assistant.

According to biography.com, Aaron and his family moved to the middle-class Toulminville neighborhood when he was eight years old.

Aaron, who became known as “Hammering Hank,” developed a strong affinity for baseball and football at a young age and focused more heavily on sports than his studies.

During his freshman and sophomore years, he attended Central High School, a segregated high school in Mobile, where he excelled at football and baseball.

Aaron first starred in the Negro Leagues in 1952 and again in 1953, batting .366, with five home runs and 33 RBIs in 26 official games. He began his Major League Baseball career in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves and spent 23 seasons as an outfielder with Milwaukee – the franchise eventually moved to Atlanta.

Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs, a record topped by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants in 2007. However, many baseball purists recognize Aaron as the true record holder, alleging that Bonds used performance enhancing drugs to bolster his power.

Bonds has denied those allegations.

Aaron’s biography at the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he earned induction in 1982, noted that he was “a consistent producer both at the plate and in the field, reaching the .300 mark in batting 14 times, 30 home runs 15 times, 90 RBI 16 times and captured three Gold Glove Awards en route to 25 All-Star Game selections.”

The Hall biography notes that 1957 was arguably Aaron’s best season.

He hit .322 that year with 44 home runs and 132 RBI, captured the National League MVP Award, and led the Braves to their first World Series Championship since 1914.

The U.S. Postal Service once honored Aaron for receiving nearly 1 million pieces of mail, more than any non-politician.

On the 25th anniversary of Aaron’s 715th home run, Major League Baseball created the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the players with the best overall offensive performances in each league.

Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, from President George W. Bush in 2002.

According to the New York Times, the Baseball Hall of Fame opened a permanent exhibit in 2009 chronicling Aaron’s life. His childhood home was moved on a flatbed truck to the grounds of Hank Aaron Stadium, which was the home of the Mobile BayBears, a former minor league team, and opened as a museum in 2010.

“Through his long career, Hank Aaron has been a model of humili-

Hank Aaron strikes a pose with the Atlanta Braves in 1974.

(Wikipedia) ty, dignity, and quiet competence,” former Atlanta Mayor and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young noted in a statement. “He did not seek the adoration that is accorded to other national athletic heroes, yet he has now earned it.”

(Follow Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire senior national correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia. #NNPA BLACKPRESS)

January 28 - February 3, 2021

The New Tri-State Defender

Page 11

CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL NOTICE Request for Bids RFB Number 21-0006 3505 TCHULAHOMA RD ROOF REPLACEMENT Sealed bids for 3505 Tchulahoma Rd Roof Replacement will be received by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (Authority), Procurement Department, Memphis International Airport, 4150 Louis Carruthers Drive, Memphis, TN 38118, until 2:00 PM local time, on March 4, 2021. Responses will be opened and publicly read thirty (30) minutes after the response deadline via zoom.

Join Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/99519683372?pwd=UUptdHdNd0JlYXFrWHlXT2hyTkhkdz09 Meeting ID: 995 1968 3372 Passcode: 951153 One tap mobile +13017158592 A complete Request for Bids Packet with submittal instructions, additional data, and response format may be found on the Authority’s website on or after January 19, 2021.

A pre-bid meeting will be held February 3, 2021 at 11:00a.m. via phone/video conferencing (Link: Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom. us/j/95368379720?pwd=YTM0OGRwVmw5NC9FaTFZQ0hJUzd5QT09 Meeting ID: 953 6837 9720 Passcode: 478482 One tap mobile +1 301 715 8592 US All Bidders 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 a preference to businesses located in Shelby County, Tennessee when awarding contracts and making purchases, unless prohibited by law. The successful Bidder 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, and DrugFree Workplace, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all responses to this Request for Bids in whole or in part; to waive any informalities, technicalities, or omissions related to this Request for Bids 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: Scott A. Brockman, A.A.E. President and CEO Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04302300001000 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $700.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:00 p.m. on March 18, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best

THE NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER CLASSIFIEDS 1509 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN 38104 PH (901) 523-1818 FAX (901) 578-5037 HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

DEADLINES: Display ads Friday 5 p.m.

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Rates are non-commissionable and are quoted at the net rate. No refund for early cancellation. For additional information contact Sales Dept. at (901) 746-5201 or email: advertising@tsdmemphis.com.

BEER PERMITS Flat Rate: $35 GENERAL INFORMATION:

offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04301200000150 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $700.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:30 a.m. on March 18, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04106200000370 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $800.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on March 18, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

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

THE NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER assumes no financial responsibility for errors nor for copy omission.

Direct any classified billing inquires to (901) 523-1818.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04302300002010 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $700.00 Terms: Cash

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04303300000010 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $600.00 Terms: Cash

Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on February 23, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:30 a.m. on February 23, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04200400000390 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $800.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:30 p.m. on February 23, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

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Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:00 p.m. on February 23, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04206700000250 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $800.00 Terms: Cash

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County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 04200700000470 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $880.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 2, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Isaac Tejada Tax Parcel #: M0126D0A000300 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $400.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 25, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Sacred Heart Rentals, LLC Tax Parcel #: 06011300000100 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $500.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on March 18, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Marquez Lockhart Tax Parcel #: 08303000000240 Tax Sale #: 5 Price Offered: $200.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:00 p.m. on February 18, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

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