The New Tri-State Defender - September 16-22, 2021

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VOL. 70, No. 37

September 16 - 22, 2021

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COVID-19 UPDATE:

Funeral delays challenge families

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Shelby County Commissioner Willie F. Brooks, with his wife, Dianne, alongside, is sworn in as County Commission chairman by Judge Bernice Donald, who serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

(Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Pipeline setback ordinance gains County Commission OK; City Council action pending

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Memphis and Shelby County are another step closer to prohibiting construction of oil pipelines after county commissioners approved an ordinance updating the joint pipeline development code on a 10-0 vote during the commission’s Monday (Sept. 13) meeting.

The amendment creates a new-use category for pipelines. It requires projects to be placed 1,500 feet from certain land uses, such as housing developments, schools and places of worship.

Celebration time...

Jackson State University coach Deion Sanders and his team of Tigers celebrate with fans after a 38-16 win over Tennessee State University in the 32nd Southern Heritage Classic.

(Photo: Warren Roseborough)

Additional Southern Heritage Classic coverage: Pages 5, 6 &10

It does not apply to existing pipelines, oil-related infrastructure or service.

“We need legislation to ensure a 1,500 feet pipeline setback. This legislation is important because our communities deserve protection,” said Pearl Walker, chair of the Memphis Chapter NAACP’s environmental justice committee, and one of several public commenters queued up before the vote.

It also drew the support of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.

“With community members taking the lead, we’ve already stopped the Byhalia pipeline. Now, it’s time to stop all oil pipe-

lines that might pose a risk to our neighborhoods. I am hopeful that the County Commission will support regulation of oil pipelines. Their final vote is today,” tweeted Harris prior to the vote.

On Sept. 21, the Memphis City Council will vote on a similar ordinance. It seeks to ban oil pipeline projects within the city of Memphis to protect the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the city and county’s main source of fresh drinking water. A rupture, for example, could threaten the water source, pipeline critics have said.

SEE PIPELINE ON PAGE 2

In mid-August, Rosetta Wilson began to feel sick. She stayed in and rested, hoping whatever it was would pass.

By Aug. 28, she was having trouble breathing and her sister called for the paramedics to rush her to the hospital.

“Rosetta was a homehealth nursing assistant, but she had not been vaccinated,” said her younger sister, Patricia Malone. “In July, she had decided to go and get vaccinated. When she went to the site, the line was too long, and she didn’t get it that Rosetta Wilson day.”

When Wilson was hospitalized, she tested positive for COVID-19. Waiting there in ICU for a bed was the last time Malone saw her sister alive.

SEE FUNERAL ON PAGE 2

Lawyer: State Sen. Robinson did not steal federal funds

by Adrian Sainz The Associated Press

State Sen. Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis), who is charged with stealing $600,000 in federal grant money from a health care school she operated, did not use government funds to pay for personal expenses, her lawyer told a jury Tuesday.

Rather, Robinson used profits generated from tuition payments to the Memphis school and other income to pay for items such as a 2016 Jeep Renegade and fund a snow cone business operated by her children, defense attorney Katrina Lawrence Laurenzi said Robinson during opening statements in Robinson’s federal trial.

Robinson, who was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 2018, was charged

SEE TRIAL ON PAGE 2

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The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 2

NEWS TRIAL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Larry D debuts ‘Just We’ …

Legendary funk and R&B singer Larry D. debuted “Just We” – a new single featuring local recording artist Jessica Ray – during a listening party at Hard Rock Café in downtown Memphis last Friday (Sept. 10). Pictured (l-r): Jessica Ray, Randy Hodges, Cordell Pirtle, Precious Dodson, Tawanda Pirtle and Larry Dodson. The song was inspired by Dodson’s 51-year marriage to Marie Dodson (far left), who is featured in the video that also debuted at the Hard Rock. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/ GSW Enterprises)

FUNERAL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “On Sunday, Sept. 5, when I called to check on her, they told me her oxygen level was low, and they were doing everything they could. She died, even with a ventilator. They let me in the room to see her once she had passed away.”

As devastating as losing her sister is, Malone said another distressing ordeal occurred when she and other family members got to the funeral home and found it “crowded” with other families waiting to schedule final arrangements for their loved ones.

“We went there to make arrangements for Rosetta’s funeral,” said Malone.

Carol “There were so many peoWilliams ple there, families trying to get funerals scheduled for their relatives. I mean, it was actually crowded with people trying to do the same thing we were doing.

“When N.J. Ford (Funeral Home) told us that the next available date would be Sept. 20, I just couldn’t believe this was happening.”

According to mortuary professionals, this is not an isolated incident.

“This is happening with funeral homes across the country, not just there in Memphis,” said Dr. Carol Williams, executive director of the National Funeral Directors & Morticians Associations (NFD&MA) in Atlanta. “The high number of COVID-19 deaths is creating a situation where funeral directors are having issues scheduling

PIPELINE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT If the ordinance passes as expected, it will be up to both bodies to get on the same page regarding the ordinances’ language.

However, if the city’s effort is watered down or moots the county’s, the process could be extended.

“I have the right to ask for reconsideration being on the prevailing side. I don’t like doing that, but there is at least one commissioner that does it a lot, so the precedent has been set. I just want to see things in order. I have a right to do that as an elected official,” warned commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr.

services in a timely manner.”

According to Williams, the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating an already critical state of the mortuary industry prior to the pandemic.

“There were other factors making timely schedAndre uled funerals a real chalJones lenge,” said Williams.

“Cemeteries can’t keep up with the demand. They have to dig enough graves for funerals being scheduled. There is a shortage of merchandise.

Supply is not keeping up with demand.”

A story in Wednesday’s (Sept. 15) edition of The Washington Post reported the country had reached “grim milestone as 1 in 500 Americans have died of covid-19.”

Meanwhile, Tennessee has the most coronavirus infections of all U.S. states in the past seven days and over the entire pandemic when adjusted for population, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

“All of these variables (regarding supply issues) were happening before the pandemic,” said Williams. “Shortages of merchandise, funeral home employees, cemetery employees – this is affecting funeral home directors everywhere, all across the country. Every region is experiencing the same challenges.”

Andre Jones, funeral director at R.S. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home, said adjustments are being made to try and meet the increased demand.

“The higher number of funerals has increased our work week from six days to seven days,”

days later.”

Joe Ford of Joe Ford Funeral Home said issues with scheduling funerals and keeping up with the higher death rate has more to do with the cemeteries, rather than his funeral staff.

“I had to bring a young man back to the funeral home today because the cemetery couldn’t bury him,” said Ford. “And it’s not just one, it’s all of the cemeteries. They say there is a shortage of workers. …

“We are seeing fewer heart attacks and more COVID, fewer deaths from kidney disease and more COVID. The demand will continue to get higher, but the cemeteries are not keeping up.”

Williams said several hundred funeral directors and employees have died from COVID-19.

“This is going to have a more widespread negative impact as the death toll continues to rise. You can’t just hire someone off the street.

Embalmers have to be trained and licensed. So, there is a huge vacuum being created with the loss of so many mortuary employees.”

Williams said the association would like to see more young people choose mortuary science as a career.

Ford also chided parties on both sides of the issue for making it difficult to stay neutral, fact find and weigh legal options. He added that viable information – again, from both sides – was scarce.

Ford also went on record, accusing both sides of over-stepping bounds while trying to sway members.

“If you want to get your thoughts across, do it in a compelling manner – and I’m talking about both sides. I haven’t seen Plains (All-American, the company that wanted to construct a pipe through Southwest Memphis), but I went off on them.

“But the other side was not any better. I have to say this on record and there are at least three other commissioners that have had to do stuff

on record too,” said Ford, who voted in favor of the ordinance.

The county’s ban on pipelines is another kick at the corpse of the ill-fated Byhalia Pipeline Project – and future like projects.

Because the pipeline would have run through basically African-American neighborhoods, it left the company and pipeline supporters open to accusations of environmental racism.

It has since been scuttled and Plains currently is seeking to reroute the project.

The ordinance was sponsored by commissioners Willie Brooks, Van Turner Jr., Tami Sawyer, Michael Whaley, Reginald Milton, Mickell Lowery and Mark Billingsley.

Commissioners Amber Mills and David Bradford abstained from voting.

Joe Ford

said Jones. “We are on call 24/7, because death can happen at any time.

“Deaths from the pandemic tapped down in May when the case numbers went way down. You might get a coronavirus death every 8-10 days. Now, there are more cases and more deaths. Death is quicker, also. A person may go into the hospital one day, and they have passed three

in July 2020 with wire fraud and theft and embezzlement involving government programs after the FBI searched the school and her home.

She has pleaded not guilty.

She was accused of stealing federal grant money awarded to The Healthcare Institute, which provides training in the health care field, including nursing assistant jobs in geriatric care.

The school received more than $2.2 million in federal grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The federal grant money was earmarked for student scholarships from Katrina 2015 through 2019.

Robinson Prosecutors and the FBI said the federal funds were deposited into the school’s bank account for its operations. The funds were then “commingled indiscriminately with personal expenditure for the benefit of Robinson and her immediate family,” according to an FBI affidavit.

Robinson used more than $600,000 in grant money to pay for personal expenses such as her wedding and honeymoon, the Jeep for her daughter, travel and entertainment for her family, and an event for her state Senate campaign, prosecutors said.

She also used the money to help pay for legal fees for her divorce, home improvements, and the snow cone business, prosecutors said.

Robinson also paid herself $169,134 more than she was allowed to under salary amounts permitted by the federal grant, the FBI affidavit said. She also gave herself $54,000 for her personal retirement account, prosecutors said.

In his opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cotten said Robinson lied to federal officials in reports to the agency about records tied to the grant money, including providing information for students who did not exist.

Laurenzi, Robinson’s lawyer, acknowledged that some “innocent” record-keeping mistakes were made at the school, which Robinson opened in 2015 on a “hope and a dream” to help minorities and others find jobs in health care.

But he argued that Robinson, who is a nurse and a single mother of two, relied on an accountant to keep the for-profit school’s books and red flags about her expenditures were not raised by outside accounting firms that reviewed the school’s records.

As the school kept growing, Robinson used profits and other income sources – not federal grant money awarded to the school – to pay for personal items, “like any other entrepreneur.”

“None of it was hidden, none of it was a theft,” Laurenzi said, adding that she never told anyone to lie about the school’s financial records.

Laurenzi also told the 12-person jury and four alternates that none of the allegations stem from her work as a state senator, and federal authorities only focused their “intense” attention on her after she became an elected official.

The Senate Democratic Caucus has said Robinson’s work in the state Legislature is not in question and she “deserves the presumption of innocence and due process.”

If convicted, Robinson faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. Robinson would be up for reelection in 2022.

Robinson also faces federal charges in a second case related to an alleged tuition payment fraud. She has pleaded not guilty in that case.

The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 3

NEWS

SpaceX launches 4 amateurs, including St. Jude’s Hayley Arceneau, on private Earth-circling trip

by Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s first private flight blasted off Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism.

It was the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with an all-amateur crew – no professional astronauts.

The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days circling the world from an unusually high orbit – 100 miles higher than the International Space Station – before splashing down off the Florida coast this weekend.

Leading the flight is Jared Isaacman, 38, who made his fortune with a payment-processing company he started in his teens.

It’s SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s first entry in the competition for space tourism dollars. Isaacman is the third billionaire to launch this summer, following the brief space-skimming flights

by Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos in July.

Joining Isaacman on the trip dubbed Inspiration4 is Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a childhood cancer survivor who works as a physician assistant where she was treated – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman has pledged $100 million out of his own pocket to the hospital and is seeking another $100 million in donations.

Also along for the ride: sweepstakes winners Chris Sembroski, 42, a data engineer in Everett, Washington, and Sian Proctor, 51, a community college educator in Tempe, Arizona.

Arceneaux is set to become the youngest American in space and the first person in space with a prosthesis, a titanium rod in her left leg.

The recycled Falcon rocket soared from the same Kennedy Space Center pad used by the company’s three previous astronaut flights for NASA. But this time, the Dragon capsule aimed for an altitude of 357 miles, just beyond the Hubble Space Telescope.

Their fully automated capsule has already been to orbit: It was used for SpaceX’s second astronaut flight for NASA to the space station. The only

significant change is the large domed window at the top in place of the usual space station docking mechanisms.

Isaacman, an accomplished pilot, persuaded SpaceX to take the Dragon capsule higher than it’s ever been. Initially reluctant because of the increased radiation exposure and other risks, SpaceX agreed after a safety review.

“Now I just wish we pushed them to go higher,” Isaacman told reporters on the eve of the flight. “If we’re going to go to the moon again and we’re going to go to Mars and beyond, then we’ve got to get a little outside of our comfort zone and take the next step in that direction.”

Isaacman, whose Shift4 Payments company is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is picking up the entire tab for the flight but won’t say how many millions he paid.

“Yes, today you must have and be willing to part with a large amount of cash to buy yourself a trip to space,” said Explorers Club President Richard Garriott, a NASA astronaut’s son who paid the Russians for a space station trip more than a decade ago. “But this is the only way we can get the price down and expand access, just as it has been with other industries before it.”

Though the capsule is automated, the four Dragon riders spent six months training for the flight to cope with any emergency. That training included centrifuge and fighter jet flights, launch and reentry practice in SpaceX’s capsule simulator and a grueling trek up Washington’s Mount Rainier in the snow.

Four hours before liftoff, the four emerged from SpaceX’s huge rocket hangar, waving and blowing kisses to their families and company employees, before they were driven off to get into their sleek white flight suits.

Once at the launch pad, they posed for pictures and bumped gloved fists, before taking the elevator up. Proctor danced as she made her way to the hatch.

Unlike NASA missions, the public won’t be able to listen in, let alone watch events unfold in real time. Arceneaux hopes to link up with St. Jude patients, but the conversation won’t be broadcast live.

SpaceX’s next private trip, early next year, will see a retired NASA astronaut escorting three wealthy businessmen to the space station for a weeklong visit. The Russians

Hayley Arceneau (right), a St. Jude physician’s assistant and childhood cancer survivor, is set for takeoff aboard SpaceX’s Inspiration4 with the other members of the all-amateur crew – Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor and Jared Isaacman. (Photo: St. Jude, Twitter)

are launching an actress, film director and a Japanese tycoon to the space station in the next few months.

Once opposed to space tourism, NASA is now a supporter.

The shift from government astronauts to non-professionals “is just flabbergasting,” said former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former space shuttle commander.

“Someday NASA astronauts will be the exception, not the rule,” said Cornell University’s Mason Peck, an engineering professor who served as NASA’s chief technologist nearly a decade ago. “But they’ll likely continue to be the trailblazers the rest of us will follow.”

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SpaceX’s Dragon capsule prepares for liftoff. (Photo: St. Jude, Twitter)

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, September 16 - 22, 2021, Page 4

The stress levels among our teachers continue to rise

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Clift Dates later became a Memphis Police Department officer, cofounder of the Afro-American Police Association and founder of CDA Security.

(Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)

by Curtis Weathers

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As we reflect on the first few weeks of school, the dominant topic of discussion and concern once again is the coronavirus and the impact it is having on our children and teachers.

Educators in K-12 schools deal with a number of stressful situations every day of the week.

The teaching profession always has been considered a highly stressful proCurtis fession, even before Weathers the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

But just because we’ve started a new school year, we cannot assume that our teachers are fine and are ready to face another year of unprecedented uncertainty and anxiety caused by this pandemic.

As I talk with educators each week, they express a variety of emotions – anger, fear, frustration, empathy – and the list goes on and on.

Frustration and fear are the most common.

It is clear, the job of being a teacher in a K-12 environment has become an incredibly challenging adventure.

Teachers face longer work hours, struggles with remote learning, repeated pivots from hybrid to remote to in-person instruction, not to mention fears that they, or their loved ones, could get COVID-19.

But we know, of course, that COVID stress is not just happening to teachers.

Workers in other sectors of our economy are seeing similar situations.

The consulting group McKinsey & Co. surveyed 1,000 employers, and 90 percent confirmed that the pandemic is having a significant impact on the behavioral health of their employees.

Last year, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that rates of anxiety and depression have quadrupled during COVID-19 across all sectors of our economy.

But studies also have shown that stress levels during this pandemic were higher among teachers than most other working adults.

During a time when politics seem more important than public health, educators are clearly sitting in the crossfire.

Tennessee, for example, is leading the nation in new daily COVID-19 infections and our children make up more than 40 per cent of all new cases in the state.

We rank 46th in the nation of those fully vaccinated and the governor is dug in on his ill-advised opposition to mask mandates.

School districts that feel the need to return to virtual learning because of skyrocketing infection rates in their schools and community are unable to do so because our government leaders seem hell bent on preventing such actions, regardless of what the conditions on the ground look like.

Mental health professionals, however, are sounding the alarm.

It is more important than ever, experts say, for districts to support their teachers and look after their mental health during this pandemic.

Across the country, school district leaders have been urged time and time again

9/11 lives as a reference point for security-firm founder Clifton Dates

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

SCS Supt. Dr. Joris Ray posted this Labor Day message on social media: “I’ll declare it until the end of time: TEACHING is the most noble profession known to man.” (Photos: Screen capture)

by organizations like the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the National Association of School Psychologists to provide what they call “psychological triage” not just for students but for staff as well to address the trauma and stress caused by the pandemic.

It is no longer “breaking news” that teachers are quitting their jobs in record numbers due to the stress associated with COVID-19. Teachers’ stress and anxiety levels have skyrocketed and their morale, predictably, has plummeted as well.

Last year, the RAND Corporation found that the proportion of K-12 educators seriously worried about burnout rose from 25 to 57 percent.

During normal times, according to data collected by the University of Pennsylvania, 44 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years.

The rate is significantly higher among urban districts like Shelby County Schools.

Researchers also found that one-quarter of new and veteran teachers said they were very likely to leave the profession when they finish the 2020-21 school year because of COVID. The U.S. Department of Education has urged school districts to step up social and emotional support for their teachers and staff, even as they focused intensely on supporting students who remain traumatized by the pandemic.

Shelby County Schools, thankfully, has created a comprehensive wellness initiative that focuses on employees’ physical, emotional, financial, and social health.

Craigmont Middle School is an excellent example of a school being proac-

tive in addressing their teachers’ mental health and wellness needs.

Last year, Methodist Hospital sponsored a stress management workshop for about 50 Craigmont Middle school teachers. During the workshop, instructors guided the staff through mindfulness exercises and activities like painting and breathing techniques.

The school intends to provide more of this type of support this school year as well.

I love what Craigmont Middle is doing to help their teachers and staff. I hope they continue to provide this type of support and that more school leaders will do the same.

It is absolutely mind boggling that we are where we are today with regards to the pandemic.

By now, I fully expected the vast majority of our children (who qualify) and significantly more adults to be fully vaccinated and our schools returning to normal with only our younger children (below age 12) to worry about.

That obviously is not the case at the moment. Things seem to be getting worse for our children as the pandemic rages on.

Last week, the district reported almost 2,200 new cases of COVID among students (including charter schools) and 337 new infections among teachers and staff members since the start of the school year.

We still have miles to go before we’re safe again. Let’s keep working together.

Wear your mask; get vaccinated.

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

Clifton Dates’ telephone rang within minutes of a terrorist-seized jetliner crashing into the Pentagon at 8:37 a.m.

(CDT) on the morning of Sept.

11, 2001.

The call was from Fort McNair – just across the Potomac River, six miles from the Pentagon. Dates, then CEO of Memphis-based CDA Inc., a private security firm with 450 armed officers, had 200 of those officers under contract to help guard the fort.

“The Pentagon has just been hit,” shouted the caller. “What should we do?”

“You hurry up and get the f*** out of there,” Dates shouted back, knowing he had to get to D.C. and bring “a sense of control” to the CDA’s security operation.

That meant getting over a hurdle. In the wake of the World Trade Center bombings and the downing of United Airlines Flight 93 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, the Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all flights.

Dates used his top-secret level government clearance for a ride on a private jet out of Memphis.

“Twenty years later, the memory is as vivid as it ever was,” said Dates. “There were pieces of the plane and fragments of the (Pentagon) building floating out there in the water.”

A former Memphis Police Department officer, Dates co-founded the Memphis Afro-American Police Association. Now 75, he is a terminal patient with multiple conditions caused by an accident with Agent Orange in Vietnam.

“I’ve had a good life,” said Dates. “I did just what I wanted to do. I have never been afraid of death. I was daring. I didn’t give a damn.”

A “C- or D-student” in high school, Dates recalled that “back in the ’60s, the draft was alive and well. … Those who weren’t doing much after high school were being drafted. So, when I got that yellow envelope in the mail, I went down to the Air Force recruitment office. I didn’t want to be

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drafted into the Army, where a lot of my friends were being shot up, killed and maimed.”

In Guam, Dates loaded freight onto airplanes carrying bombs to drop on the Viet Cong.

“One day, this big, green drum with yellow writing was accidentally tilted and fumes started coming out,” said Dates. “The words on it read, ‘Hazardous Material.’

I’m pretty sure it was Agent Orange.”

The gaseous poisons seeped from the drum, knocking Dates unconscious. He woke up in the infirmary with completely bandaged arms and legs – part of the treatment for his chemically-burned skin.

That day altered his life forever, although he did not officially learn until much later what he had been exposed to and the sometimes-deadly effects.

“I’ve had problems over the years. But my records supposedly burned up in a fire,” said Dates, long lacking the level of proof required to document his exposure to Agent Orange.

He pushed on, joining the Memphis Police Department and subsequently taking on private security duties for clients such as Isaac Hayes. In 1988, he founded CDA Security.

Dates sold his company in 2013 amid declining health.

It had become Memphis’ largest African-American-owned business.

Now readily within his grasp at his home in the gated community of Banneker Estates off of Horn Lake Road are papers documenting Dates’ Agent Orange condition and the federal government’s commitment to financial compensation.

“Just think, over 50 years from that time, they have to pay me for all those years,” said Dates. “I’m going to do something great for my people. …

“Before I leave this world, I’m going to leave my mark.

I don’t know how long I have.

It could be a few weeks, or it could be a year. I just don’t know. …

“I’m ready to go when the time comes, whenever that may be.”

The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 5

RELIGION

The ‘Classic’ and the embrace of the God-factor

by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanaku@tsdmemphis.com

The God-factor is inextricably interwoven into the Southern Heritage Classic, with fresh reminders served up during the 32nd edition of the cultural-celebration weekend in Memphis.

Amid the special buzz at Friday’s Classic Coaches Luncheon at the Renasant Convention Center, the two personalities mostly responsible for generating that enhanced energy gave witness to the power of faith.

Jackson State University head coach Deion Sanders and Tennessee State University counterpart Eddie George – iconic figures on and off the gridiron – matter-of-factly shared their reliance upon the God element in deciding to bring their star power to the burgeoning world of HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities).

NFL Hall of Fame member Sanders, the only athlete to have played in a Super Bowl and a World Series, said as he weighed JSU’s offer to become head coach he sought to get “some type of understanding of what I was getting myself into.”

Information flowed to him, he said, about HBCU culture, history and the alumni view of wondrous HBCU life.

Along with that he took stock of a wide range of people who wanted to take HBCUs to another level amid efforts to more assertively move the country to a higher level regarding issues of “ethnicity, morality and equality.

“And God spoke to my spirit and said, ‘Let’s go.’ And when He said

that, He said, ‘Not only do I want you to go … every time you (are) at a microphone in front of a multitude, I want you to challenge them to do more … to give more … to be more of what they say they are. … I truly want you to hold not only yourself accountable, but yet hold them accountable.’’

Acknowledging that his first Southern Heritage Classic pits him against his friend, colleague and Heisman Trophy winner George, Sanders said TSU’s new high-profile coach “also had been called by God to challenge these young men … to take them to another level.”

George said he listened respectively when TSU President Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover asked him to take over the football program with no coaching experience. Hesitant, he consulted with his wife, whose feedback included “… this might be a gift from God.” Due diligence included consulting with myriad people to get a handle on whether he could be successful. That included “Coach Prime,” who told him, ‘you darn right.’’

With that collective objectivity, George said he then moved to spend some quiet time with himself “and in those quiet moments really finding out what God had for me.”

The answer, said George, was an opportunity for a life-altering impact at an HBCU. An added blessing, he said, was to have his second game as a head coach be against his friend Sanders.

Echoing Sanders’ earlier pronouncement, George said, “We have

Friends and colleagues, TSU Coach Eddie George (left) and JSU Coach Deion Sanders got into the spirit of the Southern Heritage Classic during the Classic Coaches Luncheon. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley) to do better, we have to raise the standards, we have to fight for equity in each and every moment … we have to meet mediocrity in every corner … from academics, to athletics, to operations, to maintenance ….”

In pursuit of doing and being better with students in mind, TSU President Dr. Glover said she draws daily upon a lesson learned from her elders, including her uncle, the Rev. Rev. Lester Basken, the longtime pastor of Middle Baptist Church in Whitehaven, who died in August at age 90.

“Start each day with prayer and meditation,” said Glover in a conversation with The New Tri-State Defender last week.

“I have done that as long as I can remember. Even when I am rushing, it may not be the longest prayer, but you have to always start with prayer and acknowledgement and thanks; give thanks!”

The Rev. Dr. Rosalyn R. Nichols, the organizing pastor of Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church, delivers the benediction at the Classic Coaches Luncheon. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

‘Coach A’ enjoyed one last hurrah

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Over the Labor Day weekend, Coach Theodore Anderson got together with Hamilton High School Alumni for a mass class reunion celebration.

“It looks like he had a ball,” said Teresa Cansler, class of ’74. “There are photos posted all over social media of ‘Coach A’ doing one of the things he loved, and that was enjoying time with students, past and present.”

One day later (Sept. 7), Pastor Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. posted on The New Olivet Worship Center Facebook page at 10:16 p.m.: “OLIVES: Pray for Seasoned Olive Director Deacon Nicolet Anderson’s Husband Coach Ted Anderson RIGHT NOW.”

Anderson, 77, died later that night.

“My personal interactions with Coach stem from my eight years as Memphis City Schools Commissioner,” said Whalum. “He was ‘The Man’ for all things athletic. But our real connection…had to do with educating Black boys.

“We cussed a lot under our breath about dumb, smart people who had no clue about discipline and tough love. Corporal punishment was our common interest.”

No cause of death has been released.

Former students, long-time friends and colleagues flooded online platforms with tributes and expressions of sympathy for Anderson’s family.

Coach Roosevelt Hancock, head football coach at Hamilton High School, reflected on how Anderson came to be the head basketball coach in the “mid-to-late ’70s.”

“Peanut was a staunch Hamiltonian and a strong Hamilton supporter,” said Hancock. “He graduated in the class of ’64, and he was very active in the Hamilton High School Alumni Association.

“When Coach Lloyd Williams left the head basketball coach position and went into administration, he recommended to our principal, Mr. Oliver Johnson, that Peanut succeed him. Peanut had played for Coach Williams when he was a student.”

Hancock said Anderson showed up and dressed out for every football game.

“Coach Anderson would come out and help on the sidelines for every game,” said Hancock. “Even on the road, he assisted however he could to make sure things were going smoothly with the team. He dressed like the football staff was dressed as a show of unity.

“Home games, out of town, every game, every year, he was right there.

All of our students loved him and the team spirit he always exhibited.”

LeMoyne-Owen College Athletic Director William Anderson said Ted Anderson was a great mentor and a friend.

“People always thought because we had the same last name, that he was my dad,” said Anderson. “We were no relation, but we had a close relationship.

“While I was still a student in school, I started coaching grassroots basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union. He was a confidante; someone I could talk to from the very first.”

LOC’s Anderson said Hamilton High was one of the select Nike Elite Youth schools, and that he worked with Coach Anderson at Hamilton.

“Nike would sponsor uniforms, shoes, and gear for high school play-

ers,” said Anderson. “Ted Anderson treated every student like they were his own. I Theodore think that’s why Anderson Jr. they loved him so much.”

Coach Anderson retired in 2016 with 518 wins overall, in nearly 40 years of coaching. Most of those years were spent at Hamilton, where his 1991 team won a state title. Anderson’s coaching record is one of the best in Shelby County Schools history.

A celebration of life is set for Friday, (Sept. 17) at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church-Broad Street in Binghamton. Pastor Whalum will officiate.

The church is located at 2835 Broad Street.

E.H. Ford Mortuary has charge of final arrangements.

The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 6

ENTERTAINMENT

Jeffrey Osborne singing his way through the Classic Concert crowd at. the Orpheum. (Photos: Warren Roseborough)

LENS & LINES: The ‘Classic’ Concert

by Warren Roseborough

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Stephanie Mills was in full crowd-pleasing mode throughout her Classic Concert performance.

The Southern Heritage Classic is billed as a “cultural celebration” and those familiar with it know that means much more than a football game.

The line-up of fan-pleasing events traditionally includes the Classic Concert, with R&B crooner Jeffrey Osborne and singer-songwriter Stephanie Mills the featured performers for the 2021 affair at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Memphis.

Held on the opening evening of the four-day celebration, the concert opened with Osborne singing and performing his way through the large crowd. He reached back for “Love Ballard” and other

Jeffrey Osborne singing “On The Wings Of Love” during the SHC Concert at the Orpheum. songs from his days with LTD and meshed them with favorites such as “On The Wings Of Love” that he cranked out as a solo artist.

His voice still crisp after 25 years of performing, he had the crowd rocking.

Surveying the crowd, Osborne

shared that he was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were wearing masks as part of COVID-19 protocol. He pumped up the need to get vaccinated, acknowledging that he is ready to get back to some sense of normalcy.

Mills, who starred as “Dorothy” during the 1974-79 run of the musical “The Wiz” on Broadway, came through with a sensational performance.

She sang most of her hit songs, including “I Feel Good All Over” and “You Put A Little Rush On Me.” And, of course, she wowed the crowd with her multi-platinum hit “Home” from “The Wiz.” It was a great night to kick off the SHC.

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, September 16 - 22, 2021, Page 7

Report backs federal oversight of Juvenile Court

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Federal oversight of Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court could make a return following a Shelby County Commission-appointed Juvenile Justice Consortium report calling for its resumption.

The practice was halted by the Trump Administration in 2018.

The five members of the consor-

tium also advised the commission to turn to the Justice Department to evaluate where progress has been made and remaining challenges.

The report stated the DOJ should return to conduct its own evaluation of the court and take another look at the Memorandum of Agreement inked in 2012.

It went on to state the court had made little headway in transparency in both court process and data.

As a result, questions remain

whether defendants and their families are being treated according to the standards spelled out in the agreement.

Members also claimed their requests for data from the court went unanswered.

However, another option proposed by the study group is more intensive oversight on a local level.

The commission is expected to discuss the recommendations on Sept. 22.

A DOJ investigation in 2012 revealed racial disparities led to more referrals and harsher punishments for Black teens compared to whites facing the same charges.

Due process procedures in the court were also criticized.

As a result, monitors were brought in to observe the court and pour over related data. The MOA was agreed upon by the DOJ and then-Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and the court.

Stone Soul Picnic 2021 returns for its 46th annual celebration

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“Can you surry, can you picnic?”

The 5th Dimension asks in their memorable 1968 hit, “Stoned Soul Picnic.”

Memphis’ top urban gospel radio station WLOK will pose a similar question to Mid-Southerners when it hosts the 46th Annual Stone Soul Picnic on Saturday (Sept. 18) from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park.

The celebration was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Thousands are expected as the Memphis-based and world-famous group, The Bar-Kays, headlines an entertaining array of musical guests.

The culminating purveyors of funk and soul are the same Bar-Kays, who boast such hits as “Soul Finger,” “Move Your Boogie Body,” “Shake Your Rump to the Funk,” “Son of Shaft” and so many more chart-toppers over the last five decades.

Their hour-long performance will be one for the history books. The hometown crowd gets to enjoy a rarely witnessed, outdoor stage spectacle by the group, free of charge.

The Stone Soul Picnic all started when a few friends were sitting around, tossing out a few ideas for a cool event that would bring everyone out, like in one big family reunion.

“We held a couple of events in the embryonic stages before I even bought the station,” said Art Gilliam, WLOK CEO. “David Acey (of Africa in April fame) and a couple of the on-air

Cancelled in 2020 amid the pandemic, WLOK’s Stone Soul Picnic is ready for 2021 and this weekend’s celebration at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park. (Courtesy photo) announcers said, ‘Hey, why don’t we have a Stone Soul Picnic?’ Of course, the title is based on a popular song. That was the inception.”

More than four decades later, the WLOK Stone Soul Picnic is a historic hallmark of local, urban events.

“It’s kind of like what the Cotton Makers Jubilee was to African Americans in Memphis during segregation,” said Gilliam. “We are proud that the picnic is the longest running radio promotion in the city.

This is our ‘Thank You’ to our listeners who have so faithfully supported us through the years.”

WLOK staff expects that this year’s attendees will be especially excited about getting out into the park again.

“We hope to welcome thousands from across the Mid-South as in years past to come out and enjoy the

music, the food, and the warm fellowship,” said Gilliam.

“This year’s picnic is extra special because we missed out on last year because of the pandemic. Of course, there will be measures in place to keep everyone safe and well, while we’re having a good time.”

For a number of years, the event was held in Martin Luther King Jr.-Riverside Park, but for “the past few years,” the venue was changed to the Levitt Shell.

“We thought that the Levitt Shell would be a venue that would bring people out to the park,” said Gilliam.

“Everyone loves music at the Shell.

People hear the music and just come in to enjoy what’s going on.

“The Stone Soul Picnic is open to everyone, and our music line-up has something for everybody. Whatever kind of music you might enjoy, you

will hear it on Saturday.”

Art Scheduled Gilliam performances are: • 3 p.m. Devotion – Rev. Dr. Earle J. Fisher • 3:10 p.m. – “Star Spangled Banner”/ “Lift Every Voice” – O’Livya Walker • 3:25 p.m. – Mt. Moriah East Praise Team • 3:45 p.m. – Sierra Ward-Pope • 4:05 p.m. – The Mellowtones • 4:35 p.m. – Kevin Davidson and 4EC • 5:05 p.m. – Echoaires • 5:35 p.m. – Ekpe & The African Jazz Ensemble • 6 p.m. – Uncle Richard’s Puppets • 6:35 p.m. – Chinese Connection Dub Embassy • 7:05 p.m. – U-Turn • 7:50 p.m. – The Bar-Kays Gilliam purchased WLOK in 1977, making it the first African-American owned and locally-owned radio station in the city.

By the mid-80s, the station had changed its R&B format to a full-gospel format. In the late-90s, the station had won honors from every major gospel association in the country, earning for several consecutive years the title of No. 1 Gospel Station in the nation by Religion & Media Quarterly.

The show is being presented as part of the Levitt Shell’s Orion Free Summer Concert Series.

Due to COVID-19, masks are required for everyone in attendance.

Hand sanitizing stations will be available around the Shell grounds.

Stax Music Academy students net Concord Stax Scholarships TSD Newsroom Stax Records owner Concord and Stax Music Academy have selected 20 young musicians as the inaugural winners of Concord Stax Scholarships, which come with full tuition over the next five school years.

Based on financial need and merit, the scholarships were awarded in the name of an iconic Stax recording artist or executive.

“We’ll be there to celebrate as each of you champion artists elevate voices and impact culture for decades to come,” said Concord Board Chairman Steve Smith, who noted that during its first 20 years, the Stax Music Academy “has instilled discipline, leadership, teamwork and the skills needed to be a great musician to thousands of students . …

“What’s more, the 100 percent SMA student college acceptance rate – now twelve years in a row – is powerful evidence of SMA’s exceptional programs and instructors, inspired by the cultural ideals of the

original Stax.”

Since its founding in 2000, SMA has fostered and coached over 4,000 students in instrumental and vocal training, music theory, the art of storytelling through composition of their own music and the basics of the music business. The goals have included assuring that each young artist has the necessary knowledge to earn a music scholarship to college and understands how to make a living in music.

“It’s very gratifying to have Stax Records’ owners Concord embrace the same spirit of hope and opportunity with youngsters at the Stax Music Academy that we had at Stax Records during its 1960s and 70s heyday,” said Deanie Parker, Stax Records’ director of Publicity and Artist Relations throughout most of its history and founding president/CEO of the Soulsville Foundation. “This music is indelible and a testament to the label’s creativity and world-wide love for The Memphis Sound.”

Soulsville Foundation President/

CEO Richard Greenwald said the scholarship initiative has been “a project in the making for some time” and comes to fruition “at a time when so many are negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic.”

The scholarships and the recipients are: * The Rance Allen Concord Stax Scholarship, Imani Brock; * The Estelle Axton Concord Stax Scholarship, Rachael Walker; * The Bar-Kays Concord Stax Scholarship, Joshua Gray; * The Al Bell Concord Stax Scholarship, Shauna Murray; * The William Bell Concord Stax Scholarship, Rylan Ellis; * The Booker T. & the M.G.’s Concord Stax Scholarship, Chauteaur Shipp; * The Little Milton Campbell Concord Stax Scholarship, Dorian Verner; * The Bettye Crutcher Concord Stax Scholarship, Kierstyn Pryor; * The Isaac Hayes Concord Stax Scholarship, Amariah Ueal;

* The Brett D. Hellerman Concord Stax Scholarship, Zariya Scullark; * The Mable John Concord Stax Scholarship, Teiona Echols; * The Albert King Concord Stax Scholarship, Joseph “Jax” Dood; * The Linda Lyndell Concord Stax Scholarship, Caleb Thompson; * The Deanie Parker Concord Stax Scholarship, Nicholas Dickerson; * The David Porter Concord Stax Scholarship, Noah Israel; * The Otis Redding Concord Stax Scholarship, Shaylon Venney; * The Staple Singers Concord Stax Scholarship, Saniya Fleming; * The Jim Stewart Concord Stax Scholarship, Pasley Thompson; * The Johnnie Taylor Concord Stax Scholarship, Rokenya Kahill; * The Rufus Thomas Concord Stax Scholarship, Anaya Murray; (For more on the Concord Stax Scholarship, visit https://bit. ly/398sYYn. To donate to the Stax Music Academy, visit https://bit. ly/3lmoD9S.)

“I made it,” said Inez Taylor as she celebrated her 100th birthday. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/ GSW Enterprises)

‘Just do right’ says 100-year-old mom on her birthday

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Inez Taylor lived to see her 100th birthday, enjoying a special dinner on Wednesday afternoon with several of her children.

“I made it,” she said, raising her fists above her head. The gesture evoked laughter and amused grins from her children.

Inez Stigger was born in the Rossville area, east of Memphis near Moscow, Tennessee.

“I had nine brothers and no sisters,” Taylor said.

Born on Sept. 15, 1921, young Inez was the daughter of the area’s midwife.

“She was taught to be a midwife by my father’s mother, who was a midwife before her.”

Taylor attended the school that today is Fayette-Ware Comprehensive High School in Somerville, a part of Fayette County Public Schools. She played on the girls’ basketball team.

“I can remember back in those days, the school was a long building divided in half,” said Taylor. “You would have different classes all the way down on either side of the building. Back then, Mrs. Ware was the superintendent. She rode around in a horse and buggy. She drove a car years later.”

Taylor said students lived in a dormitory and rode the bus to school.

“We would go home on the weekend,” said Taylor. “When the dormitory burned down, we had to find a place to stay so we could continue going to school.”

Taylor married childhood friend, Willie Taylor. They grew up together and had been knowing each other for as long as she could remember.

“We moved into this house, and I have been living here since 1950,” said Taylor.

The family “home house” is located on Hale Avenue in the Binghampton community.

Taylor had nine boys and two girls.

That number included two sets of twins. One twin was stillborn, she said. That was a tremendous heartbreak, but Taylor’s children have brought her great joy.

“I would cook breakfast and dinner every day, and my husband would sit there at the head of the table,” Taylor said. “We would eat our meals altogether. I raised my children just like I was raised.”

Taylor has a theory about why “the Lord has kept me here so long.”

“I just always tried to do right by people,” she said. “I was a homemaker, but I worked in between children.

I would keep people’s children and wouldn’t charge them anything. If you just do right, I just believe right will follow you.”

Over the years, Taylor lived viral outbreaks such as: diphtheria, polio, influenza, measles and the mumps.

“Naw, I never saw anything like this (COVID-19) pandemic,” Taylor said.

“But God said He would raise up a nation that will obey Him. God will end this pandemic when He gets ready to end it. We just have to pray and ask the Lord to take care of us.”

The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 8

CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS RFQ NUMBER 22-0003 DBE CONSULTING SERVICES Sealed responses to this Request for Qualifications for providing DBE Consulting Services will be received by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (Authority), Procurement Division, Memphis International Airport, 4150 Louis Carruthers Dr, Memphis, TN 38118 until 2:00 PM local time, October 19, 2021. A listing of all proposers responding will be posted to the Authority’s website one (1) hour after the response deadline. Responses to Requests for Proposals and Requests for Qualifications will not be publicly opened. A complete Request for Qualifications Packet with submittal instructions, additional data, and response format may be found on the Authority’s website (www.flymemphis.com) on or after September 14, 2021.

A pre-proposal conference will be held September 29, 2021, at 1:00 PM via phone/video conferencing Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83742 086873?pwd=cHk2UWZXMjlNR2 44TzlUeW1RRXhLQT09 Passcode: 410437 Those interested bidders will log into Meeting ID# 837 7508 6873 to listen to information regarding this RFQ. All Proposers 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 Proposer 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.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all responses to this Request for Qualifications in whole or in part; to waive any informalities, technicalities, or omissions related to this Request for Qualifications; 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 LEGAL NOTICE Request for Proposals To Provide Design/Build Services MSCAA Project Number 14-1379-45-01 East Baggage Makeup Carousel Replacement – Construction Sealed, priced proposals for East Baggage Makeup Carousel Replacement – Design Build/ 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 10/06/2021. Proposals will not be received at any other location. Within 30 minutes thereafter, the proposal pricing will be opened and publicly read via phone/video conferencing (Link: https://us06web.zoom. us/j/81387749227?pwd=ZTQzblJoU1hsc2t4TVE0WFIzOGc2QT09; Phone: (301)715-8592; Meeting ID: 813 8774 9227; Passcode: 415221) The Proposal Documents, including a description of the scope of work, the required response format, and additional instructions may be obtained on or after Thursday, September 09, 2021 online at www.flymemphis. com.

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.

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Meeting ID: 816 1753 3648; Passcode: 522359) Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project site will be available for inspection on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 between 1:00 p.m. – 3:00p.m. by appointment only; a site visit can be requested at ebcreplacement@flymemphis.com; (limit two representatives per proposer).

Instructions on Pre-Bid/Proposal Meeting and Site Visit request can be found at https://www.flymemphis.com/rfps-rfqs. Attendance at the Pre-Bid/Proposal Meeting is strongly recommended.

All Proposers are responsible for checking the Authority’s website up to the submission deadline for any updates, addenda or additional information. The successful Proposer 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 Proposal must be made by a contractor licensed in Tennessee and be accompanied by a 5% Proposal Guarantee. The successful proposer must execute a Performance Bond and a Payment Bond in the amount of 100% each of the Contract Price and meet the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goal for this project, which is 27%.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all responses to this Request for Proposals in whole or in part; to waive any informalities, technicalities, or omissions related to this Request for Proposals; and to reject responses on any other basis authorized by the Authority’s purchasing policies.

The Authority is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination based on the grounds of age, race, sex, color, national origin, disability, marital status, military service, or sexual orientation in its hiring and employment practices and in the admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services, and activities.

By order of: 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: Cordova Club Owners' Association, Inc. Tax Parcel #: D0214Y0D000300 Tax Sale #: 1203 Price Offered: $900.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher,

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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 October 15, 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: Valerie and Kevelin Grimes Tax Parcel #: 02702700000130 Tax Sale #: 1701 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 1:00 p.m. on October 15, 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: Bryce & Brown Home Builders, LLC Tax Parcel #: 0721040E000580 Tax Sale #: 602 Price Offered: $2813.00 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 October 15, 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

A Virtual Pre-Bid/Proposal Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 9:00 AM local time via phone/video conferencing (link: https://us06web.zoom.us/ j/81617533648?pwd=ZC9VSXJGNDJNT1Z0MFA0YUhNbmZsUT09; Phone: (301) 715-8592;

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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 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: Bryce & Brown Home Builders, LLC Tax Parcel #: 07001300000100 Tax Sale #: 903 Price Offered: $1500.00 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 ad-

ditional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on October 15, 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:

Bryce & Brown Home Builders, LLC Tax Parcel #: 07205600000490 Tax Sale #: 1101 Price Offered: $1500.00 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 October 15, 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

The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 9

SPORTS

LOC volleyball team pushing forward after a lost season

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Lady Magicians volleyball team at LeMoyne-Owen College recently hosted a cluster of games – the first played on campus since November 2019.

The games played Sept. 9-11 were part of a pod system that is being used this season with the goal of playing multiple games at one site in a condensed season.

The LOC team took the court against Spring Hill College (0-3), Tuskegee University (0-3) and Kentucky State University (1-3), coming up winless during the tournament.

Coach Reginald Morris, the 2017 SIAC coach of the year, has a very young team – including 8 freshmen – facing the challenge of developing team chemistry. The regular rotation mostly features five freshmen and three juniors.

Picked to finish fourth in the western division of the SIAC in preseason polls, LOC’s key returning players include N’Kechinyere Egbe and Kaylyn Howard.

Morris reflecting on challenges after a season lost to the pandemic.

“Conditioning number one and

after having this year off and trying to get them back focused and dealing with the adversity of not being able to play,” he said.

“Now that we are playing, we Terry are picking up Davis other issues like stress and other things.”

As for the new pod system, Morris said it is “going pretty good. It is about keeping your team safe and together. Playing the games in a compact season hurts you, because we are trying to get 20-30 games played in two months. That could be challenging from a physical and mental point of view.”

The Lady Magicians (1-7, 1-3 conference) will continue play throughout the months of September and October, with the season set to conclude with the SIAC tournament the first week in November.

The venue for the tournament has yet to be determined.

The Lady Magicians will not be home again until September 0 when they face Fisk University at 6 p.m.

Kaylyn Howard and N’Kechinyere Egbe, two of LOC’s key players, team up to return this shot by Kentucky State. (Photos: Terry Davis)

Kymesha Thompson of Nashville is one of eight freshmen on the LOC team.

Coach Reginald Morris talks with junior Kaylyn Howard.

PREP FOOTBALL

Melrose captures Soul Bowl with romp over East

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Soul Bowl – the annual football battle between the Melrose Golden Wildcats of Orange Mound and their Crosstown rival, the East Mustangs – showcased the dominance of host Melrose, 58-20.

Both teams are trying to get back to storied pasts. East won a state championship several years ago. Melrose used to be synonymous with powerhouse in Memphis.

Melrose struck early as Jordan Brown scored from 56 yards out on the first play of the game. The Golden Wildcats put 30 unanswered points on the scoreboard in the first quarter.

East quarterback Kenji Lewis went off the left edge for a five-yard touchdown that put the Mustangs on the scoreboard (30-6) early in the second quarter. Melrose kept rolling, adding 20 more points on the strength of two touchdowns by Cameron Miller and Jordan Ward’s scamper into the endzone with a 60-yard pass from Miller.

Lewis add a couple of more touchdowns for the Mustangs, who did not quit despite being down early.

“We have got to grow up quicker than normal,” said East head coach Dr. Katarii Donald. “Everybody is in COVID situations. We have to make the corrections and get (to) next week and handle league business. My quarterback, we can move him around.

My line is strong up and down.”

The goal for the Mustangs has not changed, Donald said.

“We are trying to be league champs. I think we have one of the better teams in the league. If we correct a couple of small things, we will be better in the league.”

Melrose’s Miller threw for three touchdowns (29, 57 and 60 yards).

Brown rushed for two touchdowns and Jordan Irving had a rushing touchdown. It was the first win of the season for the Golden Wildcats (1-2).

“We played well early,” said Cedric Wilson, Melrose’s head coach.

“We got a little lackadaisical later in the second half. Overall, I think we were pretty good.”

Making improvements “has been an uphill battle,” said Wilson. “It has been tough. We have a lot of speed out here. It is tough to build an offensive line in five weeks. A lot of our

East’s Anthony Campbell III (13) evades Melrose’s Camillo Wilson (26). (Photo: Terry Davis) kids just came out right before school started. We have got to get these young men to realize it is the off season where you win championships.”

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING

Melrose lost a hard-fought game last week at Mitchell, 28-20.

NEXT: Melrose will travel to play

Fayette-Ware in their first district game. East (1-3) will face winless Hamilton.

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The New Tri-State Defender

September 16 - 22, 2021

Page 10

SPORTS

The Classic ’21 – Back in stride!

TSU head football coach Eddie George said he, his staff and players are working through a process toward improvement.

(Photo: Warren Roseborough)

Quarterback Deveon Bryant gets TSU on the scoreboard. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)

In his second season as JSU head coach, Deion Sanders is looking to take his Tigers to the next level. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)

The smell and site of things cooking on the grill is standard fare at the Southern Heritage Classic.

(Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

MVP Shedeur Sanders. (Photo: Warren Roseborough)

When it was time to get down, the TSU band followed its on-the-field leader at halftime. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku)

These members of the JSU drum section formed a picture of precision.

(Photo: Shirley Jackson)

U of M head football coach Penny Hardaway, an avid golfer, speaks at the National Civil Rights Museum during a reception for the Classic’s Memphis District Golf Tournament. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Recruits signing up to serve in the U.S. Air Force before close to 50,000 fans at the Southern Heritage Classic. (Photo: Warren Roseborough)

JSU’s Baby Tigers lined up with JSU’s mascot and went for it. (Photo: Shirley Jackson)