The New Tri-State Defender - February 10-16, 2022

African-American History Month

VOL. 71, No. 6

February 10 - 16, 2022

www.tsdmemphis.com

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County Commission mulls filling vacant State Senate seat

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Shelby County Commissioners Monday (Feb. 7) weighed the wisdom and timing of appointing a state senator to finish the remainder of the term of Katrina Robinson, who was expelled last week from the state Senate because of her conviction on federal fraud charges.

It was the first expulsion from the legislative body since at least the Civil War. Robinson, a Democrat who represented state Senate District-33, was convicted of four counts of wire fraud in October, although the U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman threw out two counts last month. Robinson is awaiting sentencing on the remaining counts.

Robinson, whose district includes parts of South and southeast Memphis, was in the final year of her term, with upcoming primary elections in August, followed by the November general election.

“We’re talking about someone who’s never been Katrina a state senator starting on Robinson April 1, for the last four weeks of the term, when they would also have to be running for the November seat,” said Commissioner Tami Sawyer.

The Tennessee constitution states a county’s commission “shall” name a replacement.

They would serve until election day, or longer, if re-elected. However, it apparently does not impose a penalty if the commission decides not to do so.

“The Tennessee State Attorney General said they don’t believe there is any sanctions if you don’t,” said Shelby County attorney Marcy Ingram.

With several months until the term ends, constituent services would still need to be addressed, commissioners said. There are also summer General Assembly committee meetings, not to mention the odds of a special session.

Still, appointing someone prior to an election can be a concern.

“The term isn’t up until November,” said commissioner Eddie Jones. “That’s seven months without representation for that district.

Anybody that’s going to run for it, I don’t care who runs for it. Whoever you put there, all of them would have to apply.

Freezing rain and sleet led to ice accumulation on trees, which sagged and dropped limbs on power lines. Entire trees also came down, causing damage to power poles and electric lines and blocking streets. By Tuesday afternoon, City crews reported having removed more than 400 fallen trees from streets. (Photo: Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell)

After the storm: A way of suffering for many

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The lights came back on Tuesday (Feb. 8) for Orange Mound residents Melvin Raines and Marcia Walton. But the restoration blessing was preceded by several days of hardship as the family struggled to grapple with the effects of not having electricity.

The Raines and Walton household was among some 274,000 Memphis Light Gas and Water Division business and residential customers affected by the Feb. 3 ice storm. As of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday

(Feb. 9), 34,464 MLGW customers still were without power, according to the utility’s website.

The website also said “Contract crews from Oklahoma, Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois are working side-by-side with MLGW teams around the clock to restore customers who remain without power following the third worst storm in recent Memphis history…”

Raines and Walton said as the electrical outage continued their house turned freezing cold.

“We really didn’t have any place to go,” said Raines. “Our car is down right now, anyway. We have small children we

SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 2

were trying to keep warm. I turned on the gas stove for heat, and we slept close to the kitchen.

“My girl lit candles for light, but I didn’t really sleep because I was watching the children. You hear about fires starting all the time with candles and stuff.”

Tuesday, Raines said their power had come back on about 2 a.m. He said many of his Orange Mound neighbors “toughed it out” at home.

“When you don’t have money to go to a hotel, that’s just how it is,” said Raines.

“We had a few water bottles and some

SEE STORM ON PAGE 2

Schools’ safety, security reins put in hands of Carolyn Jackson TSD Newsroom When Carolyn Jackson joined the local school system in 2007, it was known as Memphis City Schools. As the district rebrands from Shelby County Schools to Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS), Jackson will be putting her leadership stamp on safety and security.

On Monday, MSCS Supt. Dr. Joris M. Ray made what was billed as a “historic appointment” as he named Jackson Interim Chief of Safety and Security.

“As the first African-American woman to serve in this role, it’s an honor to be a part of her historic journey in leadership,” Ray said in the distributed announcement.

“Ms. Jackson is a nationally recognized leader in school safety-based services and training

and has been tremendously effective in improving safety measures for employees and schools, including handling emergency response situations.”

Former Chief of Safety and Security Gerald Darling retired on Jan. 31 after serving the district for 13 years. Jackson has been directing safety and security since then.

The backdrop for Jackson’s promotion is an ongoing review – led by former Memphis Police Department Director Toney Armstrong – of the district’s security practices in the wake of one teen shooting another at Cummings K-8 Optional School last year.

According to the release detailing Jackson’s new role, her tenure with the district reflects her influence in “the development, implementation, and oversight of the administrative, technical, and professional security functions.”

Jackson has 40-plus years of law enforcement experience dating back to the Memphis Police Department in 1978.

In 1995, she graduated Cum Laude from LeMoyne-Owen College, earning a bachelor’s degree in business. She is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Academy, and 197th Session in Quantico, Virginia.

In her role as executive director of the district’s Department of Safety and Security, Jackson was responsible for the development of various security technology solutions to include real-time command reporting and the district’s Emergency Management Office.

Overseeing the work of more than 200 employees, Jackson is credited with being instrumental in securing state and federal grants while managing the department’s budget.

Carolyn Jackson, the newly-named Interim Chief of Safety Security for Memphis Shelby County Schools, has 40-plus years of law enforcement experience dating back to the Memphis Police Department in 1978. (Photo via MSCS)

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The New Tri-State Defender

February 10 - 16, 2022

Page 2

NEWS

Founder of closed Orange Mound STORM shelter strengthens her resolve

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

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

Orange Mound native Britney Thornton opened JUICE Orange Mound with her vision of helping Orange Mound residents lay hold of the prestige and self-reliance that has deep roots in the historic African-American community.

After 11 months of operating at 2363 Park Ave., the City of Memphis closed the shelter’s doors on Feb. 1.

“I knew that there were things in the center that needed to be corrected,” Thornton said. “There are code and zoning issues, putting it simply.

I have not been resistant to correcting what needs to be corrected. It has always been a matter of funding.”

Thornton said in her vision of JUICE, the doors always would be open, especially for the “unhoused community” to have a warm place to stay in the winter months.

By Tuesday (Feb. 8), her “regulars” still were trying to cope with the ice storm and freezing temperatures.

“Before the storm hit on Thursday (Feb. 3), they just kind of camped out in the parking lot,” said Thornton.

“This was ‘home’ for so many of them. When the ice storm hit, they just scattered.

“Some went to abandoned houses. Others couch surfed with friends and family. They just went wherever they could.”

Adjacent to the center is a plot of land that came with the building, Thornton said. Some of the men took the fallen branches

ROBINSON

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “But I do believe there should not be a hole in representation of the constituents of Senate District 33.”

Citing the remaining workload in the state senate, Sawyer agreed with Jones’ point.

“My concern is not about giving anyone unfair advantage.… My concern is allowing voters to choose who the next person (is).… I’ll go with the body on this, I have no real qualms one way or another.”

Jones, along with commissioners Reginald Milton and Van Turner Jr. said they have been contacted by people interested in the seat. Their districts are within the state senate district’s lines.

Turner, an attorney, brought up Robinson’s original 48-count indictment that even-

JUICE Orange Mound founder Britney Thornton is seeking sustained funding for the shelter that has been a refuge for the homeless. (Courtesy photo) and made a fire to keep warm through the frigid nights.

“Some of them just stayed because there was no place for them to go,” said Thornton. “As you can see, the land is cleared of all the fallen branches. That fire kept them warm through the weekend.”

When warmer temperatures returned Monday (Feb. 7) and Tuesday, it was a welcome relief for JUICE residents, said Thornton.

They returned to check and see if there was news on the reopening of the shelter.

Thornton said the “rooming house community” and the homeless community is close.

They sometimes change places back and forth.

One resident has a special bond with Thornton.

“I was here from the beginning,” said Ben Laden.

(Thornton laughs and admits that she gets some very sketchy answers when she asks about his name.)

“When the ice started falling, we just tried to get wherever we

could to from it,” said Laden.

“But then, we got the idea to build a fire with the wood to stay warm. We did that until the warm temperatures came back Monday. We’re still around, hoping the shelter can be opened again soon.”

According to the city, a big issue was running water. Reportedly, there were no working restrooms, shower, laundry or sleeping facilities that separated men from women and children. Shelters must have those facilities, along with the provision of three meals a day.

Thornton has been cited to court several times. She said the building could reopen if its code violations are corrected.

Thornton would like to see the shelter reopened, fully operational, and zoned to operate as a warming center.

Thornton has used her personal money to keep doors open and is presently seeking sustained funding for the shelter.

For more information, or, if you can help, go to: www. juiceorangemound.org.

tually was whittled down to two convictions.

“That would give credence to what we think would be a grave injustice,” he said in opposition to naming a replacement.

He also worried that the Republican-dominated state legislature would amend the constitution to appoint a replacement.

“That’s just how they operate,” said Turner.

Despite the objections of the Tennessee Black Caucus and other supporters, Sen. Katrina Robinson was expelled from the Tennessee Senate last week (Feb. 2) during what she called a “procedural lynching.”

The Republican-led Tennessee Senate voted 27 to 5 to remove Robinson.

“While the expulsion of a Senator for the first time in history was not something any of us wished to see, it was a necessary action,” said Senate Speaker Randy McNally in a

statement after the vote. “The integrity of the Senate is of paramount importance.”

Robinson argued before the vote to expel her that she had been unfairly judged by the white-majority chamber.

She called it a “procedural lynching,” prompting cheers of support that the Republican speaker gaveled down. Some of her supporters in the gallery were in tears and others stood in solidarity.

State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus, said the Senate’s decision was “a jolting reminder that we operate in the most powerful building in the land where the rules for citizens, the governor, the courts and members are made by the ruling parties.”

(This story includes reports by the Associated Press and the TSD Newsroom.)

bread, so the kids had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“I walked to Church’s Chicken over on Park, but they were closed. I guess their power was out, too. I was hoping the whole Mound hadn’t lost power.”

Willie Mae Addison, who lives in the Scutterfield area of North Memphis, said her power stayed on until about 1 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 3).

She is a senior citizen, who lives along.

“I drive some, but not on ice,” said Addison. “I looked outside Thursday, and all I could see was tree branches and ice, going every which a way. I stayed in the house, mostly, wrapped up in the bed, trying to keep warm.

“I had a little charge on my phone until Saturday morning when it finally died. So, I just prayed for the power to come back on. It finally did Friday night about nine o’clock.”

For Raleigh residents James and Barbara Yates, the outage was more than an inconvenience. It became a matter of life and death.

“My husband’s cancer came back, and he has kidney failure,” said Barbara Yates. “Our power went out on Thursday (Feb. 3). Our son came and got us on Friday and took us to a hotel. I usually do my husband’s dialysis treatment at home, but it is very difficult without power.

“I called the doctor Friday evening, and he told me to get my husband to the hospital right away. That was scary because they said I should have called the doctor as soon as the

Downed poles affected the flow of electrical power throughout the MLGW service area. (Courtesy photo) power went off. A few hours longer, and dialysis wouldn’t have done any good, the doctor said.”

After dialysis was performed, her husband was brought back to the hotel by ambulance. They returned home Sunday (Feb. 6) morning when power was restored about noon.

According to the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, four deaths may have occurred last week due to the ice storm. An investigation to determine cause of those deaths is ongoing.

The storm also forced Memphis-Shelby County Schools to cancel classes because of power outages.

As Wednesday (Feb. 9), though, the school announced that the majority of schools were open, “but due to ongoing outages, Sharpe Elementary and Wells Station Elemen-

tary will be closed until further notice.”

MLGW President and CEO J.T. Young initially said the goal was to have power restored to nearly everyone by Thursday (Feb. 10). The goal now is to accomplish that goal

by Friday (Feb. 11).

But clean-up of an estimated $15 million in property damage will take much longer.

Customers still out late Tuesday were asked to call MLGW and to report that power was still out. A representative said utility customers should not assume MLGW already knows there is no power in a residence or business.

Those still experiencing outage may call (901) 544-6549.

To see where outages remain, where crews are working and how many customers still are without power, go to: https://www.mlgw.com/ home/ice-storm-update-dashboard-2022/

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The New Tri-State Defender

February 10 - 16, 2022

Page 3

NEWS

African-American History Month: Black Men in Business – Part 2 AT A GLANCE

by Candace A. Gray

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As we continue our Black Men in Business series for African-American History Month, this week we’re spotlighting the security industry.

Last summer, following an incident in which an unlicensed security guard shot and killed a Black man at a Kroger Fueling Center, attention turned to the security industry. Kroger said the guard was hired through a subcontractor.

Often, security contracts are subcontracted and subcontracted again, leaving questions and holes about who’s licensed, if their licensed has expired, etc.

For this reason and more (such as being held to a higher standard), Denico Gray and Deshun Goldsmith, the owners of DG Protective Services, a Black male-owned security business headquartered right here in Memphis, stay on top of licensing, training and all things industry-related.

Here’s their collective story.

TSD: What type of business do you own?

What do you do?

DG Protective Services: We are a full-service, contract security agency, providing security services for a variety of industries, including commercial, residential, government, faith-based organizations, TV/entertainment, workplace violence, medical, retail, non-profit and special events. We even provide executive protection and consulting services.

TSD: How long have you been in business for yourself?

DG: We’ve been operational since 2019, however, we have a combined 40+ years in enforcement and training in the public and private sectors.

TSD: How many employees do you have?

DG: 30+ TSD: What was your motivation for starting your business?

DG: We wanted to offer personalized and niche security services not typically found in the Memphis area, utilizing technology to further

Business Name: DG Protective Services Owners’ Names: Denico Gray and Deshun Goldsmith Finally, just start. Whatever you want to do, you have to start it. Don’t procrastinate. Just take the leap.

TSD: If you weren’t doing this, what else would you be doing?

Denico Gray: I’d probably be a rancher with a cattle farm.

Denico Gray and Deshun Goldsmith (left to right) are bringing a keen sense of professionalism and responsibility to the private security industry. (Courtesy photos) leverage our services. We also wanted to provide an employment outlet for our people, as most of our employees are black. We value our employees as more than just disposable assets. We invest in their training and ensure that they have all the tools they need to be successful.

TSD: What impact does your business have or do you hope your business will have in the future? On your family, community, etc.

DG: When it’s all said and done, we want to provide a quality service at competitive rates and hope to leave a legacy for our children. We believe that being independent business owners affords us the opportunity to positively impact those around us, including our families, our community and our clients. Our passion is protection. Protection is at the center of everything we do, which by default makes our community better.

TSD: What advice do you have for someone who might be interested in entering your field?

DG: Training is the key to success. There is a difference between being a security officer

and a security professional. A security officer is someone who puts on a uniform and just shows up. A security professional is a person who knows every aspect of his or her job and takes pride in what they do.

It’s also important to stay on top of technology, industry and crime trends, equipment, laws and training. Things are ever-changing in this industry and a good security professional stays in the know.

One more important note to add: employees can make or break your business. It’s important to hire the RIGHT people.

TSD: What advice do you have for other Black business owner hopefuls?

DG: We want to encourage people to know their worth, perfect their craft and charge accordingly. Good products or services aren’t cheap, and cheap products or services aren’t good.

People also need to learn the difference between a boss and a leader. A boss leads from the back; a leader leads from the front. You should be the hardest working person in your company, always striving for greatness and growth.

Goldsmith: I’d probably still be training and maybe process serving.

TSD: What do think is the most important aspect of the product/service you provide?

DG: Providing personalized service is so important to us. Each client is different, as are their needs and wants. We love being able to meet their needs and provide safety in every sense of the word for our clients.

TSD: What professional accomplishment or major milestone are you most proud of?

Gray: We are proud to employ 30+ people, making it possible for them to feed their families and make a living wage at that.

Deshun Goldsmith: Just being in business.

A lot of companies have come and gone. Each time we gain a new client, we are proud of our ability to grow.

TSD: Anything else you’d like to add?

DG: We are here to serve all of Tennessee but have the resources and network to serve clients nationwide. We would love to provide a consultation to those in need. If your business or your family needs protection services, feel free to email us at info@dgprotect.com or call us at 901-250-5445. Visit www.dgprotect.com for more info.

Honoring leaders giving back to their communities During Black History Month, AARP recognizes leaders taking action to give back and help build up their communities.

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Raymond Jetson, President & CEO MetroMorphosis Baton Rouge, LA

To learn more about this community leader and their journey, visit aarp.org/blackcommunity

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, February 10 - 16, 2022, Page 4

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

TSU’s Wendelyn Inman recounts family’s traumatic experience in the ‘Tuskegee Experiment’

Is 1 billion more dollars enough for Tennessee public schools?

Special to The New Tri-State Defender It’s been nearly 50 years since the “Tuskegee Experiment” ended, but Wendelyn Harris Inman is constantly haunted by the thought of what it did to her “Uncle Gus.” “He was in that study and didn’t realize it was a study,” says Inman, sobbing, as she recounts her family’s trauma that resulted from the study, arguably the most infamous biomedical research study in U.S. history.

“They gave him syphilis and he didn’t realize he had been given syphilis,” adds Dr. Inman, a professor and director of the public health programs in the College of Health Professions at Tennessee State University.

In the study, conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, investigators enrolled a total of 600 impoverished African American sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama. Of these men, including Inman’s uncle, Augustus Reynolds (Uncle Gus), 399 had latent syphilis, with a control group of 201 men who were not infected.

As an incentive for participation in the study, the men were promised free medical care, but were deceived by the PHS, which never informed them of their “This is no time syphilis diagnosis and profor hesitancy. The vided disguised placebos, vaccines work.” ineffective methods, and diagnostic procedures as — Wendelyn treatment for “bad blood.”

Harris Inman More than 100 died as a result.

Inman, now a microbiologist and a nationally recognized infectious disease control expert, says as result of the study, her uncle contracted syphilis and eventually went blind. By the end of the study, Inman’s family, including her grandparents, had left Alabama, and moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where she grew up. Reynolds’ wife divorced him because of his syphilis diagnosis, accusing him of being unfaithful. Blind and no one to care for him, he moved to Ohio and stayed with his siblings.

“He was blind, and I remember my siblings leading Uncle Gus out of the house to sit with us under the tree in the summer and having to lead him to go to church and things like that,” Inman recalls. “He died from it.

That’s what I remember.”

Inman says she became interested in medicine and public health to “help my people better understand and avoid the mistakes” of the past.

“When he (Uncle Gus) was going through this, I was a very young child,” says Inman.

“So, I heard a lot of things about what my parents talked about. It did motivate me for a research career that I chose. What did my Uncle Gus die from? An infectious disease. So, I am on my path to helping my people be better, because now, I have a complete understanding of how a microbe works,” adds Inman.

And she does!

When COVID-19 hit the United States followed by widespread vaccine hesitancy, especially among black people, Inman was among those public health experts encouraging her fellow African Americans to take the available drug against the disease. The Tuskegee Study is often cited as one of the reasons African Americans do not trust the vaccine. Efforts to increase vaccination rates among African Americans often focus on misconceptions surrounding the study as a result.

“This is no time for hesitancy,” says Inman. “The vaccines work.”

At TSU, in particular, Inman has helped in the effort to get employees and students vaccinated. Currently, close to 80 percent of the university’s full-time faculty and staff have received vaccinations, as well as hundreds of students.

Looking back at what happened to “Uncle Gus,” Inman has good reason to be optimistic about the vaccines.

After all, she is a professor of public health, been an advisor on several national initiatives in that area, and previously served as the chief of epidemiology for the State of Tennessee.

“There is great advancement in medicine today,” she says. “When you look at science, there are so many benefits that outweigh the negatives, and there is access. If they (Uncle Gus and others) had equal access to healthcare, they could have gone to another doctor, but they

by Curtis Weathers

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Wendelyn Harris Inman, a professor and director of the public health programs in the College of Health Professions at Tennessee State University, has helped in the effort to get employees and students vaccinated. Currently, close to 80 percent of the university’s full-time faculty and staff have received vaccinations, as well as hundreds of students. She is shown here receiving her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt Graduate School of Medicine. (Submitted photo)

Milton Reynolds, TSU professor Wendelyn Harris Inman’s grandfather, was the younger brother of Augustus Reynolds or “Uncle Gus.” (Submitted photo)

Wendelyn Harris Inman is from a family of eight brothers and sisters, with accomplishments in medicine, law, military service and education.

Back row, from left: Donald Harris, Inman, Anthony Harris, Howard Harris, and Helen Harris Abrams. Middle row: Howard Harris, Sr., father, and Ada Reynolds Harris, mother. Front row: Lt. Col. Steven Harris, Adrianne Harris, and Gaye Harris Miles. (Submitted photo) didn’t have access to other healthcare and they knew it. So, they (U.S. government) enticed them by offering them healthcare while they were destroying their health.”

On May 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton formally apologized on behalf of the United States to victims of the Tuskegee study, calling it shameful and racist.

Last week Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee delivered his State of the State address and education funding arguably was the highlight of his remarks. He laid out the priorities of his 2022 state budget that included: • $750 million toward additional education investments.

• $550 million in career and technical education grants.

• $200 million to relocate public schools in flood plains, including schools in Shelby County.

• $125 million to increase teacher salaries.

• $32 million for charter school facility funding.

My favorite line item of course was teacher pay raises, which when announced caused the chamber to erupt into joyful applause. Ironically, the Governor felt compelled to reassure the audience that ‘this time a teacher raise will truly be a teacher raise.”

He went on to explained that “historically, funds put into the salary pool don’t always make it to deserving teachers, and when we say teachers are getting a raise, there should be no bureaucratic workaround to prevent that,” he said.

We’re all waiting for the details of his administration’s new funding formula to be released in the next couple of weeks which supposedly features a new and improved “student-based” funding formula.

Even though the Governor is proposing a recurring $1 billion dollar increase in the State’s education budget, there are still some organizations out there that are very concerned.

And by the way, how did they come up with the $1 billion dollar price tag? What kind of sophisticated mathematics did they use to determine that amount? Is that all our state can afford?

We all know that one of the best indicators of how state governments prioritize public education is reflected in the state’s operating budget.

The Education Law Center (ELC) produces a yearly report called Making the Grade that tracks funding trends in eight Southern states including the state of Tennessee. The report ranks and grades each state based on three key measures: Funding Level, Funding Distribution and Funding Effort. Tennessee was given a grade of F for both its Funding Level and Funding Efforts in each of its last three Making the Grade reports. The other seven Southern states highlighted in the ELC report include Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. According to ELC’s Inequity in School Funding report, these states have “woefully insufficient” school fund-

ing levels, and most of them fail to equitably distribute additional funds to high-poverty school districts.

Also, according to the same report, TennesCurtis see’s funding Weathers level ranked 44th out of fifty-one states with $11,139 in cost-adjusted per-pupil revenue. That is $3,975 below that year’s national level of $14,548. The report suggests that Tennessee makes a lower-than-average effort to fund its schools. Maybe the governor’s actions this year will help improve the state’s grade going forward.

Under the governor’s student-based funding formula, districts and charter schools would get additional funds to help low-income students and those with learning disabilities. But while some education advocates applaud the additional monies, they also believe that Tennessee schools will still be significantly underfunded. Pointing to a 2020 report by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relation, they make the case that Tennessee schools need an additional $1.7 billion of state money to fairly and adequately fund its public schools.

ELC’s Inequity in School Funding report defines fair funding as “the funding needed in each state to provide qualified teachers, support staff, programs, services, and other resources essential for all students to have a meaningful opportunity to achieve the state’s academic standards and graduate high school prepared for citizenship, post-secondary education and the workforce.” The question that must be answered now is: Does the new formula rise to the level of “fair funding” as defined in this definition?

There are so many more questions still left to answer. In the ELC’s Inequity in School Funding report’s Concluding Statement, they draw direct attention to those Southern states and their interest in the expansion of school vouchers and the undermining of the viability of public schools.

While I am pleased to see our state provide additional funding to support our PK-12 public schools, we are still almost $2 billion short of the “fair funding” threshold defined by the Tennessee Advisory Commission.

What is truly sad is that there appears to be no appetite among our lawmakers to make up the difference.

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

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The New Tri-State Defender

February 10 - 16, 2022

Page 5

RELIGION

Tenn. pastor, first African American named to key SBC post

by Holly Meyer Associated Press

No ad-libbing …

“Stick to the Script” was the sermon title as the Rev. Brandon Blake, pastor of New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, spoke at a recent meeting of the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

A multi-day celebration that included a two-night revival ushered in Dr. William Smith II as pastor of Berean Missionary Baptist Church.

“The Noble Succession” Dr. William Smith III has been installed as pastor of Berean Missionary Baptist Church, 1666 East Raines Rd., succeeding the Rev. Dr. Edward Parker Jr. Said Smith in his installation letter: “I dreamed of many nights as a boy preacher of the church I saw myself preaching and being the pastor. I now know and am very confident that this is the Noble place and people God ordained from the beginning of time for me to love and lead for such a time as this!” (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

NASHVILLE – Tennessee pastor Willie McLaurin has been named interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, becoming the first African American to lead one of the denomination’s ministry entities in its more than 175-year history.

McLaurin’s appointment as one of the top administrators for the largest Protestant church body in the United States was announced last week in Baptist Press, an official SBC news outlet. He will lead the day-to-day business of the committee, which acts on behalf of the convention when it is not holding its annual two-day national gathering in June.

“Our EC staff is committed to serving our Convention well. …

My prayer is that we will continue to put a laser-sharp focus on cooperation and collaboration,” McLaurin told Baptist Press.

McLaurin, 48, will temporarily fill the post vacated by Ronnie Floyd in October. Floyd resigned amid turmoil over the Executive Committee’s handling of a thirdparty investigation into how the committee addressed sexual abuse reports. Several others also have stepped down from the body.

In a statement, McLaurin noted the work the Executive Committee is tasked with, including planning for the June meeting and continuing to cooperate with the task force overseeing the third-party investigation. The committee will also focus on assisting churches through “a posture of listening and learning,” he said.

McLaurin has served as the Executive Committee’s vice president for Great Commission relations and mobilization since the post was created in 2020.

Due to internal rules, the seven officers who head up the committee comprising dozens of representatives were limited to naming an interim from among its current vice presidents. Recent resignations meant McLaurin was one of two options.

“He’s a proven servant leader,” said Rolland Slade, the committee’s chairman. “We’re serving Southern Baptists. … That’s our role. That’s our lane as Executive Committee.”

“Under Willie’s leadership,” he said, “I believe that we will excel in that lane and that will be good.”

He added that McLaurin will play an important part in repairing the committee’s reputation and restor-

Willie McLaurin on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, was named the interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. He is the first African American to lead one of the denomination’s ministry entities in its more than 175-year history.

(Photo: Facebook) ing trust that eroded amid the recent turmoil.

The SBC, which has a predominantly white membership, has long struggled to reckon with its racist, pro-slavery history but has made some strides in recent decades. In 2012, the convention elected New Orleans pastor Fred Luter Jr. to be SBC president, making him the first African American to hold the role.

McLaurin is the first to head up one of the denomination’s ministry entities, which also include its publishing and public policy arms as well as its seminaries.

Slade, the first African American to serve as chairman of the Executive Committee, said the officers did not consider the historic milestone when selecting McLaurin.

McLaurin previously worked at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board for 15 years and has held various pastoral roles for several churches. He also has served in state and national convention roles, including on the SBC Resolutions Committee, on the Tennessee Baptist Convention executive board, as president of the Black Southern Baptist Denominational Servants Network and with the African American Fellowship of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

McLaurin, who lives in Nolensville, in the greater Nashville area, assumes the new role immediately and is expected to deliver his first report as interim leader when the Executive Committee meets Feb. 21-22, Slade said.

At that gathering the Executive Committee also is expected to decide who will sit on a search committee tasked with naming a permanent president, Slade said.

(Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.)

The New Tri-State Defender, February 10 - 16, 2022, Page 6

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH: LITERATURE

Librarian for life: UT alumna uses picture books to share history (UT News) – When children’s book author Alice Faye Duncan was working toward her master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she served as a graduate teaching assistant for professor Glenn Estes.

“He had such a passion for children’s picture books,” says Duncan. “He was a children’s picture book scholar and this enthusiasm inspired me. I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to try writing picture books.’ So I did.”

That experience lit a fire in Duncan that burns brightly three decades later. The idea stuck that she could write poetry and pair it with pictures to tell important stories, and she plowed forward with her newfound passion.

“Picture books and poetry have a common benefit,” she once said. “They allow the writer a small intimate stage to tackle sensitive topics. Picture books keep heavy messages short and accessible to children and adults.” In her books, Duncan looks for moments in history that define generations but are not often discussed – and especially aren’t typically told in picture books.

Becoming a writer As a child of Memphis teachers Kenneth and Earline, Duncan penned poetry in her notebooks from an early age and fostered one dream: to be a writer. Earline paid for Duncan’s undergraduate degree in English from the University of Memphis, where she graduated in 1989.

Duncan recalled that her Aunt Curly, Evelyn Hayes, was one of the first African American library workers in the Memphis Public Library system, and working in a library appealed to the Children’s book author and young English major. A cousin balked school librarian Alice Faye when Duncan suggested she could be a Duncan (’91) looks for those moments in history that define librarian assistant, saying Duncan should generations but are not often shoot higher and get her master’s degree discussed or told in picture to become a librarian. books. (Courtesy photo) There was only one issue – Duncan’s father told her she’d have to pay her own way.

That’s when she found, and was awarded, a minority fellowship through the Tennessee Higher Education Commission that enabled her to attend UT for her MLIS in 1991.

Upon earning her graduate degree, Duncan returned to Memphis and was hired to work as a librarian in children’s services at the public library, with one caveat. She needed one more class – a children’s literature course from the University of Memphis – to work in the children’s section.

For her project in the course, she asked if she could write a picture book, and her professor enthusiastically agreed. The book, “Willie Jerome,” is about an aspiring young trumpeter who plays what his sister calls “sizzlin’ red hot bebop” on the roof. His talent is recognized when those around him stop to listen.

The professor said it was very quiet and it did not have conflict,” remembers Duncan.

“By that time, I had joined a writers workshop, and they also said I needed more conflict. I kept reshaping the story and I just started mailing my book to publishers, anyone I could find in the children’s book market. Out of those maybe 25 publishers I sent “Willie Jerome” to one offer came back from Macmillan.”

By that time, she’d penned a second book, “Miss Viola and Uncle Ed Lee,” in which a young man helps the neat-and-tidy Miss Viola come to appreciate their less-than-tidy neighbor, Uncle Ed Lee. Macmillan purchased both stories.

Becoming a school librarian On her way to becoming the writer she’d always dreamed she would be, Duncan still needed a day job. When her father found out what she was making annually as a public librarian, he asked her why she wasn’t a school librarian.

“Since my mother and father were schoolteachers, I was determined that I was not going to be a schoolteacher. I was going to be a writer. And I had already sold those two books to Macmillan. But I kept looking at those numbers, and schoolteachers were making $10,000 more a year than me,” she says.

Her quandary coincided with a nationwide teaching shortage in 1993 that prompted Reader’s Digest to sponsor a licensure program for teachers in other professions. All Duncan had to do was take the Miller Analogies Test and pass a writing exam – both of which she easily managed.

Suddenly she was a schoolteacher.

“I taught fourth grade that first year and it was very trying,” Duncan says. “I knew I couldn’t teach for 30 years. I wanted to be a librarian – I wanted to write books and teach children about books.”

Again, her timing was just right. That year the supervisor of her school’s library told Duncan about an elementary school librarian position nearby. She applied for the job, was hired, and has been a school librarian for the past 29 years.

Telling important stories Duncan has published a variety of children’s books including “Honey Baby Sugar Child”(2005), “Christmas Soup” (2005), and “Just Like a Mama” (2020), along with adult titles like “Hello, Sunshine: 5 Habits to UNCLOUD Your Day” (2014) and “A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks” (2019).

“Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop” (2018) took 10 years of significant

researching and revising to complete. Through the eyes of Lorraine Jackson, a nine-year-old girl who marches in the 1968 strike to support her father, a sanitation worker, Duncan delves into the Memphis Sanitation Strike and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. “I was very committed that children needed to understand the story of Dr. King’s assassination,” says Duncan. It remains a story close to her heart, and it helped her to approach her two most recent books, which were released last month–one about Juneteenth and the other about the Tent City civil rights movement (in Fayette County,Tennessee).

“Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth,” with art by Keturah A. Bobo, introduces Opal Lee, now 96 years old, who spent years gathering signatures to petition for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. The book explains the origins of Juneteenth in the day the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln made the proclamation.

Duncan interviewed Lee for the book and drew on a variety of sources to explain the history of Juneteenth and how it was celebrated by Black communities throughout Texas. It was a holiday not often observed outside of the state until the late 1900s, which is when Duncan started seeing Juneteenth celebrations in Memphis.

Duncan’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect: on June 15, 2021, President Joseph Biden declared Juneteenth – June 19 – a federal holiday. Duncan proudly added a note about the new holiday to the end of the timeline in the back of the book, on a page facing a recipe for Juneteenth Red Punch Strawberry Lemonade.

“Evicted: The Struggle for the Right to Vote,” with art by Charly Palmer, tackles the voter rights movement in Fayette County, Tennessee, that started in 1959.

Sharecroppers who had registered to vote were evicted by white landowners from the land on which they lived and worked.

More than 700 families were evicted, resulting in a tent city that was created when a black landowner allowed displaced families to pitch tents on his land.

Eventually, a federal court ruled that white land and business owners could not deprive anyone of housing or business services because of their voter registration status.

“There are not enough good words that can be expressed about people who dare to activate their vision, who dare to activate their agency,” says Duncan.

“And that’s what you want children to do, to know that you have agency in and of yourself – that you can make dreams come true,” she said.

The New Tri-State Defender

February 10 - 16, 2022

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH: LITERATURE

Author of new Whitney Houston book pursues a deeper level of understanding

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

That song.

It always makes you want to dance with somebody. It gets your feet shuffling and your behind bouncing and the lyrics pour out of your mouth.

And that singer who first sang it to you…?

You know what happened to her, but in “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?” by Gerrick Kennedy, you’ll get a few more pieces of the puzzle.

She died two days after he met her “in a room inside the Beverly Hilton…”

Gerrick Kennedy fell in love with Whitney Houston in a movie theater when he was just five years old. He purchased her music as a teen, followed her career closely, he met her once, and even now, his partner knows whose music is blasting when he sees Kennedy “floating away” with “earbuds poking out of my ears.”

Now, nearly 10 years since her death, Kennedy believes it’s time for a reckoning.

“We missed so much the first time around,” he says, and we need to look at Houston’s contribution to “our dialogue around celebrity, addiction… mental illness, and Blackness in America…”

“To fully appreciate the anointing that graced Whitney’s voice, it’s essential to understand the almighty power of Cissy Houston.”

Indeed, Houston learned at her mother’s knee about God and gospel music – knowledge that came from a far-back source: Cissy’s parents put church and choir center in her life. God was a beacon to Whitney, and other musical talents – cousins Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick and “auntie” Aretha – further guided the young Houston.

Her first album rose to Number One on the charts; “She was on fire out the gate…” says Kennedy.

Most people remember the power of her biggest hit, that “BOOM,” he says, before Houston’s voice soars, but a combination of drugs, bad decisions, and a bad relationship plagued her toward the end of her life.

We watched “in horror” as she slid and

In his introduction to “Didn’t We Almost Have It All? In Defense of Whitney Houston,” author Gerrick Kennedy indicated that he wanted his book about Houston to be different from all the others, more meaning, less trouble. (Courtesy photo) “By the early aughts we were all watching, waiting… for the worst to happen…”

In his introduction, author Kennedy indicates that he wanted his book about Houston to be different from all the others, more meaning, less trouble.

He succeeded. To a point.

It’s difficult to extricate Houston the icon from Houston the megastar – they are mostly one and the same – and stepping back two generations or profiling other singers and music executives doesn’t help as much as Kennedy asserts. That stuff is all fluff; interesting, but covered elsewhere.

The best part of “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?” comes in the latter third of the book. It’s there that Kennedy examines the depth of Houston’s contributions and the “meaning” of her decline and death to the Black community. There’s a lot of introspection in it, as well as a shift in how we think about our celebrities.

Tackle “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?,” therefore, and you can expect to see things you already know, but you can also expect to be delighted. It’s a fan’s book, for sure, and reading it might be the greatest love of all.

“Didn’t We Almost Have It All? In Defense of Whitney Houston”

by Gerrick Kennedy, with a foreword by Brandy. © 2022, Abrams Press 306 pages $28

Page 7

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, February 10 - 16, 2022, Page 8

Attorney for convicted activist P. Moses vows to be a ‘fighter’ pursuing her relief from a six-year sentence

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The attorney for Memphis activist Pamela Moses, who recently was sentenced to six years and a day in prison for attempting to vote while on probation, said he’s just getting warmed up to fight on her behalf.

“I don’t care who I have to step on to defend my client,” said Dr. Bede Anyanwu of Jackson, Tennessee. “All along the process, Ms. Moses has had adversarial representation. Some attorneys are fighters, some are not. Me? I’m a fighter.”

Moses’ family lives in Jackson. They hired Anyanwu.

“Her brother asked me to help her,” said Anyanwu. “When I began talking with him, I realized that his mother taught my son when he was in elementary school. I came on to the case just before sentencing. I was shocked by the lengthy punishment. This is not over by a long shot.”

The legal quagmire for Moses, aka P. Moses, 44, stretches back several years. On April 29, 2015, she pled guilty to several charges, including forgery and tampering with evidence, both of which are felonies. Additional misdemeanor counts in that case were stalking, perjury, theft under $500 and escape. Her sentence was seven-year probation.

Under Tennessee law, Moses lost her rights to citizenship, including the right to vote, because of her felony convictions. She was deemed ineligible to ever register and vote in Tennessee because of the tampering with evidence conviction.

Fast forward to Sept. 3, 2019. Moses filed a certificate of restoration and application for voter registration with the Shelby County Election Commission while still serving her 2015 sentence. Moses was reportedly asked if her sentence had been completed, to which she answered in the affirmative.

On Dec. 10, 2021, more than two years after Moses’ filings with the election commission, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Mark Ward revoked Moses’ bond, and she was taken into custody. At her Jan. 21, 2022 sentencing hearing, Ward gave Moses a six-year-and-oneday prison term.

According to Ward, he would consider placing Moses on probation after nine months, if she completes programs in prison and main-

“Shocked” by the lengthy punishment given his client, Memphis activist Pamela Moses, her attorney, Dr. Bedu Anyanwu, said, “This is not over by a long shot.” (Courtesy photo)

In pursuit of court protection against the Shelby County Election Commission, Pamela Moses was allowed to be her own attorney. (Photo: Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell) tains good behavior.

Multiple counts of illegal registration and voting range from Oct. 5, 2015 to Nov. 6, 2018.

Moses was facing a maximum sentence of eight years.

Friends and supporters said Moses is “a political prisoner.”

“The local DA needs to go, along with that good ole boy network,” said fellow activist Brandy Price. “P. Moses was being isolated in jail. Visitors were always told to come back.

She called me and said her cell was 20 degrees and that she had COVID. They would only give her aspirin. She could hardly breathe with her asthma. She is in every sense a political prisoner.”

Price contends that Moses mistakenly filed those documents because she thought her sentence was over.

“She has political enemies, otherwise, this case would have been dismissed,” said Price.

“Jail East and 201(Poplar) are obsolete and should be torn down. They have isolated her and won’t let us in when we come to see her.”

When supporters first went public with charges of “mistreatment” by Shelby County Corrections, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office

refuted that claim.

“As part of the jail’s Covid-19 standard protocols, new jail detainees undergo a 14-day isolation period to ensure they are not sick before they are released into the jail’s general population,” said Lt. Dallas Wolfe of the Sheriff’s public information office.

“Ms. Moses went through this same COVID protocol… and was released from COVID isolation after her 14-days. Our jail staff works to investigate and resolve detainees’ complaints, and we have done so with her. Her rights have not been violated.”

Anyanwu declined to specify what his course of action will be. He mentioned several possibilities to “remedy the unfair sentence” and get Moses released.

“We can try to get a new trial, apply for appellate review,” said Anyanwu. “That would take the case to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. A motion could also be filed with the judge to see if we can get a bond appeal.

This would give us the opportunity to have Ms. Moses be released while an appeal is being decided.”

Some legal experts view as excessive and baffling the six-year prison sentence given to

Moses for illegally registering to vote while on probation.

David Becker, a former attorney in the voting section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, said there is a movement among both conservatives and liberals to change “punitive and restrictive laws” that effectively disenfranchise people who have committed felonies but are not incarcerated and seek to return to society by exercising their right to vote. Many states are moving toward extending voter eligibility to such people, he said.

“It appears that Tennessee is an outlier here, that it is maintaining very restrictive laws that are difficult to navigate, and so difficult to navigate that I don’t think voters understand them and have questions and have misunderstandings about them,” Becker said Wednesday.

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for the government watchdog group Common Cause, said the case shows how states can fail to educate people about voting rights and voter reenfranchisement.

She also called the sentence excessive and said Moses’ race is likely a factor.

“It is well understood and well known that the criminal justice system is harsher on Black and brown defendants than it is on white defendants, and there’s plenty of research to show that,” Albert said.

Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement that the sentence was a “stunning indictment” of a legal system that has historically disenfranchised Black people.

“Voting is one of the most fundamental aspects of our democracy, and the right to do so should not be taken away from anyone.”

(This story reflects a report by the Associated Press.)

Starbucks, citing safety, fires 7 seeking union in Memphis

Off and running …

Dr. Carnita Atwater, founder of the New Chicago Performing Arts Center, 1036 Firestone Ave., filed her petition for the Democratic Primary for governor of Tennessee at the Shelby County Election Commission on Monday (Feb. 7). Holding slave-era chains from the museum she operates, Atwater told supporters that in seeking the nomination she is “standing on community leadership” she has delivered and the jobs she has created for decades. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

(Associated Press) Starbucks has fired seven employees who were leading an effort to unionize a Memphis store.

The Seattle coffee giant said Tuesday that the employees violated company policy by reopening a store after closing time and inviting non-employees to come inside and move throughout the store, including behind the counter and in back rooms. The employees used the store to do an interview with a local television station about their unionizing effort.

But the employees who were fired say Starbucks was retaliating against them for their unionization efforts. They say they plan to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

“Most of these partners had never had a write-up or anything,” said Beto Sanchez, 25, one of the workers who was fired.

The dispute comes as a growing number of Starbucks stores across the country seek to unionize. Since December, when a store in Buffalo, New York, became the first Starbucks location to form a union in decades, 66 stores in 20 states have filed petitions with the labor board to hold union elections, according to Workers United, which is organizing Starbucks workers.

Starbucks opposes unionization, saying the company functions best when it can work directly with its employees. But the company said Tuesday’s firings were not related to the

Beto Sanchez (third from right) and six other fired Starbucks employees say the coffee giant was retaliating against them for their unionization efforts. They say they plan to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. (Photo: Kelvin Cowans/The New Tri-State Defender) unionization effort, but to store safety and security.

Sanchez, who started working at the downtown Memphis store last April, said workers there were concerned about unsafe COVID policies, among other issues. Sanchez and several others announced the formation of a union organizing committee last month on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Sanchez said Starbucks rarely enforced the policies he was fired for violating. For example, he was told that he shouldn’t have been in the store’s back office when he wasn’t on duty.

But he said off-duty employees are frequently in that area to check their schedules or access pay stubs.

Sanchez said he hopes to return to work at Starbucks after the NLRB considers his case.

Michael Schoenfeld, an attorney for Workers United who is working with Sanchez, said Starbucks is selectively enforcing policies in order to discourage employees from forming a union.

“They fired half the store at this point and they are running on fumes,” Sanchez said.

“They’re saying that this isn’t against the Union but because we violated policy. No, the people they fired are Union Leaders and Organizers, that’s who we are.”

(This story reflects a report by TSD contributor Kelvin Cowans.)

The New Tri-State Defender

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000714, Business Services Analyst III. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn. gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above described Sealed Bid. SEALED BID I000714 DUE DATE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16TH, 2022 AT 2:30 PM CST (SB-I000714) BUSINESS SERVICES ANALYST III Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Crosstown Arts is hiring!

Open positions for Director of Development, Communications Manager, IT Administrator, Accounts Payable Clerk, and Visitor Services Coordinator.

Learn more and apply at Learn more and apply at crosstownarts. org/opportunities/careers/ PUBLIC NOTICE THE MEMPHIS URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION In compliance with federal regulations 23 CFR 450, the Memphis MPO is proposing nine (9) amendments to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-23 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), one of which is associated with a Short Air Quality Conformity Demonstration Report for DeSoto County, MS, and eight (8) are associated with an Air Quality Exempt Packet. Additionally, the Memphis MPO will present for adoption the Socio-Demographic Population and Employment Projections and present the Goals and Objectives for the MPO’s Moving Together: 2050 Regional Transportation Plan. The MPO will also elect a Transportation Policy Board (TPB) Chair and ViceChair, and elect a TPB Representative for the Freight Advisory Committee (FAC).

The public is hereby given notice that the documents above are available for review and download from the Internet at: www.memphismpo.org. Additionally, the English language copies and the Spanish language summaries are also available for public review in the library systems of Shelby, Fayette, DeSoto, and Marshall counties.

Written public comments will be accepted through Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.

Comments may be submitted to Pragati Srivastava, Memphis MPO, 125 N. Main Street, Room 450, Memphis, TN 38103 or via email at Pragati.Srivastava@memphistn.gov. The Memphis MPO Transportation Policy Board (TPB) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, February 24, 2022, 1:30 p.m. The full meeting agenda including details on how to participate in the meeting will be made available 10 days prior to the meeting on the Memphis MPO’s website: (memphismpo. org).

It is the policy of the Memphis MPO not to exclude, deny, or discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, veteran status, familial or marital status, disability, medical or genetic condition, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in its hiring or employment practices, or in its admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities.

For any and all inquiries regarding the application of this accessibility statement and related policies, or for persons that require aids or services to participate either in the review of these documents or during the hearing, please contact Nick Warren, at 901-636-7146 or Nick.

Warren@memphistn.gov.

This notice is funded (in part) under an agreement with the State of TN and MS, Departments of Transportation.

LEGAL NOTICE Request for Bids MSCAA Project Number 21-1455-00 Boiler Curtailment Project – (3) UST Closure & (1) AST Install Sealed bids for Boiler Curtailment – (3) UST Closure & (1) AST Install - Construction will be received by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (Authority), Procurement Department, 4150 Louis Carruthers Drive, Memphis, TN 38118, until 2:00 PM Local Time on 3/17/2022.

Bids will not be received at any other location. Within 30 minutes thereafter, the bids will be opened and publicly read via phone/video conference at: (Zoom link: https://us06web. zoom.us/j/83465220330?pwd=N00zeGs2Y285VzJ6RkwwRUNPNkpiQT09; Meeting ID: 834 6522 0330 and Passcode: 338626). The Bid Documents, including a description of the scope of work, the required response format, and additional instructions may be obtained on

February 10 - 16, 2022

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

DEADLINES: Display ads Friday 5 p.m.

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GENERAL INFORMATION: Some categories require prepayment.

All ads subject to credit approval. The

or after February 11, 2022 online at www.flymemphis.com.

A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at 1:00 PM local time via phone/ video conferencing (Zoom link: https://us06web. zoom.us/j/85225279842?pwd=SHNmVCtTVDZ2M2w4d09wa2VjN2swQT09; Meeting ID: 852 2527 9842 and Passcode: 607124).

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project site will be available for inspection Friday, February 18, 2022 between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. by appointment only (limit two representatives per bidder, please). Site visits can be requested at lmorris@flymemphis. com. Attendance during the PreBid Meeting and scheduling a site visit is strongly recommended.

All Bidders are responsible for checking the Authority’s website up to the submission deadline for any updates, addenda or additional information. 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 Drug-Free Workplace, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Each bid must be made by a contractor licensed in Tennessee and be accompanied by a 5% Bid Guarantee. The successful bidder must execute a Performance Bond and a Payment Bond in the amount of 100% each of the Contract Price. There is a 0% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goal for this project.

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.

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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 March 8, 2022, 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: Robert Redmond Tax Parcel #: 07202900000010 Tax Sale #: 94.4 Price Offered: $1125.00 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 8, 2022, 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

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.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

By order of: Scott A. Brockman, A.A.E. President and CEO Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

Robert Redmond Tax Parcel #: 07202700000240 Tax Sale #: 703 Price Offered: $1462.50 Terms: Cash

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: Frank Sea Tax Parcel #: 07500100000520 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $1200.00 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 March 8, 2022, 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: Memphis & Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency Tax Parcel #: 04002200000120 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $1900.00 Terms: Cash

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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:

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 8, 2022, 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

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: Attica Bowden Tax Parcel #: 0500610A000080 Tax Sale #: 1404 Price Offered: $750.00 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 8, 2022, 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: James E. Mitchell, Jr. Tax Parcel #: 07508700003740 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $6600.00 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 9, 2022, 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

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 9, 2022, 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: Arie Jett Tax Parcel #: 02507200000220 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $3000.00 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 9, 2022, 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 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: Arie Jett Tax Parcel #: 02604400000490 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $1400.00 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 9:30 a.m. on March 9, 2022, 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.

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

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: Elder Escalon Tax Parcel #: 0934170J000980 Tax Sale #: 1701 Price Offered: $9600.00 Terms: Cash

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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 10:30 a.m. on March 9, 2022, 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

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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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Attica Bowden Tax Parcel #: 0500610A000070 Tax Sale #: 1404 Price Offered: $750.00 Terms: Cash

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

Arie Jett Tax Parcel #: 02503700000040 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $3500.00 Terms: Cash

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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 9:30 a.m. on March 8, 2022, 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 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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SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, February 10 - 16, 2022, Page 10

Jalen Duren, who is known as Megatron, transforms himself into a wall of defense against Darius Perry of UCF. (Photo: Warren Roseborough/The New Tri-State Defender)

Tigers power past UCF with fortified rotation

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

In dazzling form, Ja Morant scores in the paint for two of 30 points. (Photos: Warren Roseborough/The New Tri-State Defender)

Grizzlies paint another picture of success in win over Clippers

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The soaring Memphis Grizzlies tend to rule in the paint. Take Tuesday night’s smashing of the Los Angeles Clippers at FedExForum as a timely reminder.

Riding a three-game winning streak, Memphis routed the Clippers 135109, the first time in franchise history that the team has scored 130 or more points in back-to-back games. The Grizzlies (3818) are 20 games above .500 for the first time Terry since the end of the 2014Davis 15 regular season.

Memphis dominated in the paint with 78 points, holding the Clippers to 46 points in that key scoring area. And as is standard operating procedure for the Grizzlies, All-Star starting guard Ja Morant led the charge with plenty of back-up.

Dazzling the home crowd and a mushrooming national fan base, Morant was masterful: 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists. He did not play at all in the fourth quarter, with the Grizzlies leading by 30 (100-70) when he left the court.

Morant, who now has scored 30 or more points in 9 of the last 10 games, made his way repeatedly into the paint with a variety of finesse and power moves, some of them dazzlingly. His exit came two minutes after the Clippers’ Marcus Morris Sr. sent him crashing to the floor on a dunk attempt. Morris was hit with a flagrant 2 foul, which carries an automatic ejection.

“I thought that was a dangerous play,” said Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins. “Ja (Morant) was vulnerable in the air, and if you watch the tape, I think it speaks for itself.”

The play drew an animated response from Jenkins, noting “great respect between myself and the officials to navigate that and all that stuff. They knew the force I was coming with to protect my guy, and I thought they went through the appropriate protocols and got the call absolutely right.”

The foul triggered a protect-our-own response from the Grizzlies bench, prompting Jenkins into holding players back.

As a head coach, obviously, you have a lot in your brain and when a moment like that happens, it just clicks in,” he said. “It’s just natural instinct to make sure you’re protecting players on the floor and players that are off the

As Ja Morant drives the lane and attacks the basket, Marcus Morris Sr. of the Los Angeles Clippers comments a flagrant 2 foul, earning an automatic ejection. (Photos: Warren Roseborough/The New Tri-State Defender)

“It was a great sight to see that they (his teammates) have my back. I am pretty sure they know I would do the same for them at the end of the day. Regarding the play, I am not worried about it. I am actually cool with Marcus Morris. I got up. I played on concrete all my life.”

— Ja Morant floor as well.”

Morant has no plans of abandoning his aggressiveness in the paint.

“It was a great sight to see that they (his teammates) have my back. I am pretty sure they know I would do the same for them at the end of the day. Regarding the play, I am not worried about it. I am actually cool with Marcus Morris. I got up. I played on concrete all my life.”

The Grizzlies’ ability to score in the paint is tethered to being able to pose a three-point threat, which Morant reflected upon.

“We have a lot of guys on the floor who are able to space the floor and knock down the three-ball,” he said. “You try to give up something, and once we get going behind the arc, it is going to be a very long night for you.

“Coach (Jenkins) always tells us ‘when we have the ball, play downhill, continue to be ag-

gressive’. Every time we touch the paint something good always happens. Getting a bucket in the paint, kicking out to shooters as the defense helps and getting a wide-open three.”

Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. was forceful in the paint, pairing 11 rebounds with 26 points.

The Grizzlies had 55 bench points, reaping 18 from Brandon Clarke, 11 from Kyle and 10 from John Konchar. Clarke, who also had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, dissected Memphis’ success in the paint.

“Playing with players like Ja Morant and (center) Steven Adams; Ja is leading the league in points in the paint, just following off that. Steven plays so well with him in the paint, I am also a very good player in the paint and Jaren Jackson Jr. is also. Our team is just built for guys that are good at scoring in the paint,” he said.

“Then we have guys Like Desmond Bane, Ziaire Williams and Jaren that can shoot the ball as well. We have a good inside-out attack.

Our game in the paint has been very good this year, something that teams have struggles with against us. We have guys that are really good at getting in the paint.”

Shooting the floater in the paint has become a Memphis stamp.

“Ja stole his little drive left float from me,” Clarke said jokingly.

“I do love being able to shoot that little floater. I feel like every time I shoot it, I should make it. I feel like our team has the best float team in the league. We have Tyus (Jones), Ja, me, Desmond, Jaren, Kyle (Anderson), De’ Anthony (Melton). I feel like our team in terms of shooting and making floaters has been at a very high level this year.”

Memphis currently sits comfortably in third place in the Western Conference and has a 6-game lead over the Dallas Mavericks for the divisional championship.

Clippers’ guard Reggie Jackson (12 points, 3 assists) offered this opposing player assessment: “They move at a high pace, they get up and down, and they really use their legs,” Jackson said.

“It’s not even just their pace but how well they’re spaced within their pace. You can tell they work on it and they’re great at using all their weapons and their ability to make the right reads. They have a lot of talent but their continuity is what makes them a tough team right now.”

NEXT Memphis next hits the road for three games before returning home to face the Portland Trailblazers on February 16.

Unable to play for several games and with the Tigers in need of racking wins, University of Memphis freshman center Jalen Duren was not about to be held back by the rust of inactivity.

“There is nothing to wait for,” said Duren after the Tigers (12-8, 6-4 AAC) drew upon a fortified roster of available players to pound the University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights 88-60 at FedExForum last Saturday (Feb. 5).

“We are in a position where we have to get a lot more wins. I am trying to keep moving and working and keep racking up these W’s.”

Injuries, along with COVID-19 health and safety protocols, have contributed mightily to a season that has not unfolded in the positive manner that head coach Penny Hardaway, the players, fans and many basketball prognosticators had foreseen. Against UCF, Duren, De’Andre Williams, Jaylen Hardaway and Landers Nolley II were all back on the active roster.

Williams and Duren were in the starting lineup.

“It felt really good to have some bodies back.

The guys are a little rusty,” said Hardaway. “It was good to have Jalen, Jayden, De’Andre and Landers back on the floor. It makes our rhythm more dynamic. Their presence was felt on the floor for sure.”

Was that the difference in the game?

“For sure,” said Hardaway. “I feel when we are healthy, we are the best team in this league.

Our roster is pretty strong. Houston has done some phenomenal things and so has SMU, but we haven’t been at full staff.”

As a team, Memphis went into the game with an extended rest because of the game at Cincinnati being rescheduled. The Tigers last played on Jan. 27, a win over East Carolina.

Memphis, which has played short-handed for the last month, jumped to a 15-3 lead during the first five minutes of the game over the Knights.

They led 36-27 at halftime.

The Tigers came out of the locker room in the second half about as cold as the weather outside during the recent ice storm. They did not score in the first four minutes as the Knights cut the deficit to a point (36-35) with 15:58 left in the game.

“We just had to get stops and share the basketball,” said Hardaway. “They made the run because we didn’t get any stops. We were taking bad shots. They were making shots. We called a timeout and clammed that down. We determined what offense we were going to run and shared the basketball.”

With 10:27 left, Memphis had bounced back, extending the lead to 10 points (56-46) and forcing a UCF timeout. The timeout did not matter as the Tigers rolled on to a 32-14 run to end the game.

The Memphis bench scored 47 points. Freshman Josh Minot led the team in scoring (16 points) and Tyler Harris had 15 points, also from the bench.

Duren was a force, with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Nolley looked like his old self, with 8 points 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Lester Quinones was the other Tiger player in double digits with 10 points.

The Knights (13-8, 5-6 AAC) were led by Darrin Green Jr. and Cheikh MBacke Diong; each had 11 points. The Tigers’ defense held the Knights to 32 percent from the floor.

Hardaway said it likely would take a couple of games for the rust to wear off of the players that have been out of the lineup.

Next up for the Tigers was a scheduled matchup against the Tulane Green Wave, this one at FedExForum on Wednesday (Feb. 9). Tulane defeated the Tigers 85-84 in New Orleans on Dec. 29. For a recap, visit www.TSDMemphis.com.