November 5 - 11, 2020
VOL. 69, No. 45
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DECISION 2020
COMMENTARY
Election Day is behind us. Now the hard work begins!
Presidency up for grabs
by Lee Eric Smith lesmith@tsdmemphis.com
At 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 – as I type this sentence – various pundits on various networks are reminding us of what we already expected: That due to record-breaking early voter turnout, we don’t know the outcome of the 2020 presidential turnout, and we may not know for days or heaven forbid, weeks. Regardless of who wins the Oval, this much I do know: Election Day 2020 wasn’t an ending; it’s a beginning. And if we want a more perfect union, we’ve got Lee Eric some work to do. Smith Oh, my bad. You thought all you had to do was vote. Clearly, you weren’t paying attention to the 2008 Election. That’s right – the year of Barack Obama, hope and change. There are similarities. Weary of eight years of George W. Bush and rocked by a sudden financial crisis, a then-record 131 million voters cast their ballots. Nearly 70 million of them propelled Obama to a resounding 365-173 electoral college victory.
SEE NEXT ON PAGE 5
One Democrat and one Republican were assigned to a table, with 60 such combinations fanned-out across the FedExForum floor to count absentee ballots. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
Biden wins Michigan, Wisconsin, now on brink of White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden won the battleground prizes of Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday, reclaiming a key part of the “blue wall” that slipped away from Democrats four years ago and dramatically narrowing President Donald Trump’s pathway to reelec-
tion. A full day after Election Day, neither candidate had cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. But Biden’s victories in the Great Lakes states left him at 264, meaning he was one battleground state away from
crossing the threshold and becoming president-elect. Biden, who has received more than 71 million votes, the most in history, was joined by his running mate Kamala Harris at an afternoon news conference and said he now expected to win the presidency,
Bradshaw does not concede after race called for Hagerty
SEE OUTCOME ON PAGE 7
INSIDE Pages 5 – 8 ● Victorious Cohen ponders a troubled America with Trump re-election
by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Campaign workers and supporters cheered Marquita Bradshaw as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate addressed them for what many thought would be a concession speech. But she had not come to the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Memphis for that. She arrived with campaign manager Ken Turner and other close advisors. The race had been called at 9:35 p.m. for Republican opponent Bill Hagerty with 69.1 percent of the vote. Her speech was more defiant and disappointed, rather than hopeful and optimistic like the night before at a “Get Out To Vote” rally. She addressed her supporters, but there was no concession. “In true South Memphis style, we fight for everything we get. So, this is not a concession speech,” said Bradshaw. “It is on the principle of democracy that we will fight until every last vote is counted.” Bradshaw was endorsed by such Democrat heavy-weights as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg—all former candidates for
though he stopped short of outright declaring victory. “I will govern as an American president,” Biden said. ”There will be no red states and blue states when we win. Just the United States of
● Elderly Man Contest 2020: Why I’m unbothered ● Counting absentee ballots – the process At 29, Torrey C. Harris now is on course to be the youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises) Marquita Bradshaw showed some of her dance moves after a post-election address in which she did not concede losing her bid for the U.S. Senate. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises) the Democratic nomination for President. Even that was not enough to give Bradshaw a win in Tennessee’s deeply red voting history. “I have already made history, and that was not my intention,” Bradshaw continued. She vowed to “fight and go find my votes at the bottom of the basement,” Bradshaw said, “because I know the antics that they do.” “You ready?” she asked radio personality Stan Bell at the DJ table. “I’m ready,” Bell shouted back. He
SEE BRADSHAW ON PAGE 5
Harris unseats DeBerry in House District 90
by John Semien
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
County administrator Torrey C. Harris defeated veteran state Rep. John J. DeBerry Jr. in the Dist. 90 house race for the General Assembly, according to complete but unofficial returns. Harris received 14,614 votes as compared to 4,341 votes for DeBerry. Tuesday night Harris said he was so grateful that voters are giving him a chance.
“I’m just grateful that they took the time to get to know the people who were listed on the ballot,” Harris said. “I am excited to be the representative that they chose.” The win makes Harris, 29, the youngest legislator in the state. He is also the second openly LGBT lawmaker. “I’m so happy to be able to say that,” Harris said about being a part of the LGBT community. Harris is a human resources director in the Shelby County Trust-
SEE 90 ON PAGE 8
● African-American bids for U.S. Senate mostly fall short ● Republicans maintain control in Tennessee Legislature ● Mississippi approves flag with magnolia, ‘In God We Trust’
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
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PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, November 5 - 11, 2020, Page 3
Fathers, if you only realized how important you are to the education of your children! by Curtis Weathers
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
As a school principal, whenever I had disciplinary issues with students, it was most often the mother who would meet with members of my staff or me to resolve the problems. While I always was happy to see my moms, it was always a source of frustration for me that the fathers were not able or available to be present. Students, who had chronic disciplinary problems, most alCurtis ways lived in fatherWeathers less homes. Relationships with parents, especially single moms, mattered tremendously in my school. But the presence or interaction with a father, for any reason, was always a cherished moment. Whenever a dad or any male surrogate parent, like an uncle, would show up for a parent meeting involving a student, I was quick to roll out the red carpet. While the meeting was usually to address unhappy circumstances, I always was pleased to see a dad (or a male) walk into my office. I used each occasion to sow the seeds of relationship-building before they left. Dads weren’t always the easiest people to build relationships with. But in most cases, when the father came to my office to deal with the child’s issue, I was reasonably confident that the problems would get resolved. That is by no means a slight towards moms; it’s just the way it was. The few fathers I dealt with were usually active in their child’s life. Though much of today’s parent involvement research focuses on mothers, emerging studies show that involved fathers can significantly improve educational outcomes for their children. Almost every study conducted in the social sciences about fatherhood confirms the obvious – fathers matter. The fatherless home probably is one of the most detrimental foes we face in achieving the educational aspirations of our children. It is stealthily eroding the foundation of the most essential element of a healthy society – the family. Research shows that a loving and nurturing father significantly improves outcomes for children, families and communities. Recent studies show that fathers, who live at home, are more likely to have a close and enduring relationship with their children. Furthermore, these children are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit positive social behavior and avoid high-risk behaviors, including drug use, truancy and criminal activity.
African-American men committed to the success of students responded in strong measure to a clarion call by SCS Supt. Joris Ray as he announced an initiative focused on African-American males. The July 2019 event was held at the National Civil Rights Museum. (Photo: Laura Faith Kebede/Chalkbeat)
But these beneficial outcomes for children are not limited to just childhood. People with actively involved father figures during childhood are more likely to have higher levels of success in their careers, an improved ability to handle stress and a better chance of having a strong, healthy marriage. Conversely, related findings indicate that a fathers’ emotional absence will have long-lasting adverse effects on their children’s overall development (especially young boys), well into adulthood.
Despite all of these hurdles, it has become increasingly more challenging in America to find fathers living in homes with their children. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 24 million children in America – one out of three – now live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Millions more have dads, who may be physically present but emotionally absent. The impact of their absence is staggering: • 71 percent of high school dropouts
come from fatherless homes, • 71 percent of teen pregnancies come from fatherless homes, • 85 percent of children with behavior disorders come from fatherless homes, • 63 percent of youth suicides come from fatherless homes, • 85 percent of youth in prison come from fatherless homes. • 90 percent of homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes. I believe almost every man steps into his fatherhood role with the desire to give his best. We always have to remember that strengthening relationships between fathers and their children enriches the lives of families and offers a compelling solution to breaking the cycle of educational failure, juvenile delinquency and incarceration, institutional poverty, and the crippling emotional despair fatherless children traditionally experience. As a society, we don’t seem to value family in quite the same way as we did many years ago (remember, this is an opinion column). The idea of marriage and family has clearly been diluted. Marriage, for many, is no longer a fundamental prerequisite to having children. The fairy tale social order was to (1) get married, (2) have children and (3) live happily ever after. We’re skipping the first step, and the last step is not always guaranteed. Consequently, the rise of fatherless homes will continue to expand and more children (and adults) will suffer the consequences. Schools and churches can play an important role in restoring fatherhood to its rightful place in our society. It’s just not a priority right now. What do you think?
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The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
Page 4
RELIGION
Bishop Lee Ward’s longstanding connection to the U.S. Marine Corps was readily apparent at his homegoing service. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)
LEGACY: A homegoing for Bishop Ward
A life of fulfillment... (Above) Middle Baptist Church held a dedication and renaming of their Life Center for retired and former pastor the Rev. Dr. Lester Basken last Sunday. Rev. Baskin retired in 2015 after over 44 years of ministering. Dr. Basken arrived with his wife, Irene, for the ceremony, which was held outside. (Below) A majority of the congregation remained in cars and watched on two large TV screens. One of the guest speakers was former Memphis mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton. (Photos: Warren Roseborough)
TSD Newsroom For 26-plus years, Bishop Lee Ward served in the United States Marine Corps and the manner in which he did earned him the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual. That fact was among many recalled by those who attended the homegoing service held for the late Bishop Ward at Pentecostal Temple Institutional Church of God in Christ last Sunday. Mr. Ward, who was born in Abbeville, Ala. On Jan. 1, 1923, died Oct. 20. He was 97. Bishop Ward fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. For nine years, he was part of the staff of three Commandants, participating in meetings with several U.S. Presidents and foreign leaders. According to his obituary program, it was common for President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson to drop Bishop Ward off in Memphis on Air Force One during his courtship with Mother Julia Scott Ward. On June 27, 2012, Bishop Ward, who retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant, received the Congressional Gold Medal for being one of the first African-American marines (known
as the Montford Point Marines) and for his contributions to history and American society. For 42 years, Bishop Ward led Greater Harvest Church of God in Christ Ministries, which grew from the first COGIC church in 1896. Bishop Ward leaves his wife, Julia Scott Ward; his children: Whittier (Antionette), Plattenville, la.; James Patrick, Hollywood, Fla.; Vivian Lee Ward Valentine, Memphis; Renardo (Kristina), Memphis; Reniece Ward Stevenson, Memphis; Pastor Clifton M. Brown, whom he embraced as a son; a sister, Ethel Rattray, and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
The fruits of… Mt. Pisgah CME Church welcomed Bishop Henry M. Williamson, presiding prelate of the First Episcopalian District, as the Communion Sunday guest speaker. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
Page 5
DECISION 2020
Victorious Cohen ponders a troubled America with Trump re-election by Sybil C. Mitchell
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
As uncertainty engulfed the outcome of the 2020 Presidential race Wednesday morning, Congressman Steve Cohen held a press conference during which he outlined a scary picture for America, if Donald Trump maneuvered his way to a second term. Outside his Midtown home, Cohen, a Democrat who handily won re-election Tuesday to the Ninth District House seat, told reporters he won’t feel safe as a Jewish person if Trump wins a second term. “One set of grandparents came to this country in the 1880s,” said Cohen. “One set came in the 1990s. I don’t feel the same as I have in that past, that I will be safe in this country. With Trump, there is the possibility of riots, race wars, anti-Semitism, bigotry, lynchings. All those things could come back.” Cohen said Trump campaigned like a man possessed while characterizing Joe Biden, his Democratic opponent, as a socialist. That turned Cuban-Americans in Florida against Biden. Last night’s (Election Day) comments were a foretaste of what Trump will be like if re-elected, said Cohen. “There was that moment that he turns to the crowd and says, ‘What’s the name of this building?’ And he turns back to the crowd and says, ‘the White House.’ And what he was saying is, ‘This is not the black house,’ Cohen said. “And then he said, ‘I’m there and they are not.’” Cohen felt the President was referencing the fact that Barack Obama was not there, and he was. “I felt he was saying, ‘Black people are not here, but we are there,’” Cohen said. “It was the most racist moment of Trump’s presidency. It was a frightening experience, and it was beneath
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen breezed to victory over his Republican Party challenger and addressed the media outside his home the next morning. (Photo: Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell) the office of the presidency.” The country can expect a fascist authoritarian rule, completely unchecked if Trump gets a second term in office, Cohen said. “Trump got more over-the-top when he did not get convicted in the impeachment trial,” Cohen said. “He fired people who did their duty and came forward to testify. He fired a lot of good people. He fired the inspector generals and put inspector generals in who did not do the job like they should.”
Cohen noted that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen said Trump was like a Mafia boss. If re-elected, having survived impeachment, “this man will be uncontrollable,” Cohen said. “The fact is that no Republican, except Mitt Romney, stood up in that impeachment case. Susan Collins didn’t, and she appears to be re-elected. “The Republican Party as it has been known through the years…there were a lot of great Republicans over
the years. They don’t exist today.” Cohen said when he gets back to Washington, he’s going to introduce bills to do away with the Electoral College and change the presidential pardoning powers. “I put my out my flag this morning,” Cohen said, pointing to a large American flag waving in the breeze. “I hadn’t put it out lately. I said, ‘This is still America, and I’m putting my flag out.’ They don’t own it, nor do they honor it.”
Choosing not to concede the race for U.S. Senate, Marquita Bradshaw told supporters, “My name is Marquita Bradshaw, and I will be your next United States senator.” (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
BRADSHAW
CONTINUED FROM FRONT cranked up the music, and Bradshaw began to dance on stage. Her supporters followed suit. After a while, she held up one hand, and Bell stopped the music. “Oh, yeah, we’re going to celebrate. But I want to shout out Ken,” Bradshaw said, as supporters cheered and clapped for campaign manager Turner. “Ken understood the vision of this 95-county strategy, so he knows what kind of work we put in. He knows
“So, no. You cannot call the race. You don’t have the authority…Hagerty is not my U.S. Senator. And wel will count every last vote. My name is Marquita Bradshaw, and I will be your next United States senator.” what those numbers are supposed to look like,” Bradshaw said. What did look like a conventional, gracious concession were the generous expressions of gratitude to volunteers and supporters. “I want to thank every volunteer for every minute you gave to the campaign. It’s worth something. For every dollar you gave, and you were making less than minimum wage
because you were a server, it meant something,” Bradshaw said. Bradshaw ended her comments with a ringing note that was anything but concession. “So, no. You cannot call the race. You don’t have the authority…Hagerty is not my U.S. Senator. And wel will count every last vote. My name is Marquita Bradshaw, and I will be your next United States senator.”
Bradshaw did garner 35.3 percent of the vote. The actual numbers were: Hagerty: 214,142; Bradshaw, 599,288. The rest was distributed among nine independent candidates who were also on the ballot. Bradshaw is a powerhouse in local movements of community activism, namely, labor, environmental, and social justice work. She is most known for her work with the MidSouth Peace & Justice Center, AFLCIO, The Sierra Club, Stand for Children, Tennessee African-American Environmental Justice Network, and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation.
NEXT
CONTINUED FROM FRONT He won with 53 percent of the popular vote in an election where more Americans voted than at any time in history. That’s not all. Democrats rode Obama’s wave to capture both the House and the Senate. Many presidents like to claim “a mandate” from the American people after an election. I have said that if any president in recent memory had a mandate, it had to be Obama. And then we ghosted him. The massive coalition that elected Obama thought the work was done after Election Day and everyone went home. When Obama began to introduce sweeping policy changes on things like healthcare and immigration, he looked to see who had his back — and no one was there. Meanwhile, When all Senators and Congressmen votes are went home. counted, And when they it will be got there, their more conser- a recordvative con- breaking stituents were election. waiting for them, packing Regardless out town halls of who is and yelling and screaming, de- president, manding that this is a their government represents good thing. them. Eventually, that movement would be called “The Tea Party.” And its relentless efforts to reshape the GOP would frustrate Obama’s platform — damn the mandate — for years, setting the table for a nationalist like Trump to take The White House. Which brings us back to 2020. As the sun rose on Election Day, news outlets were reporting that more than 100 million ballots had been cast during early voting. That’s 71 percent of people who voted in total in 2016. When all votes are counted, it will be a record-breaking election. Regardless of who is president, this is a good thing. Regardless of who wins, this Election Day was good for our democracy. Democracy works best when more citizens participate. But participation isn’t just voting. Ask the Tea Party. You may fundamentally disagree with what would eventually become The Tea Party Movement. But don’t hate the player. Don’t even hate the game. The game is democracy. LOVE the game – and play to win by taking a page from the Tea Party. That means that when a U.S. Representative or Senator is hosting a town hall, you pack the place out, whether you voted for them or not. It means, calling, emailing, faxing and writing letters to apply pressure to your elected officials. That applies to city and state governments as well, which frankly will have a more direct impact on your day-to-day life. This will not be easy, for a variety of reasons. Obviously, there’s a pandemic — in-person town halls have been replaced with webcams and Zoom calls. But I’m more concerned with voter fatigue and apathy. We’ve just capped off a tumultuous presidency with a hotly contested campaign season. People are tired. I get it. So what. Do it anyway. Keep demonstrating for criminal justice reform and healthcare. Keep organizing and mobilizing to protect voting rights. Keep pushing for economic justice — not just with Democrats but with Republicans. But whatever you do, don’t check out. STAY ENGAGED. (Lee Eric Smith is an NNPA and Tennessee Press Association award-winning columnist. He can be reached at lesmith@tsdmemphis.com.)
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
Page 6
DECISION 2020 COMMENTARY
Elderly Man Contest 2020: Why I’m unbothered
by Joy Doss
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
First, I can’t take credit for the “elderly man contest” crack. That’s what John Mulaney called it during last weekend’s opening monologue on “Saturday Night Live.” And I can’t stop laughing because of the accuracy of this. To be honest, I started to feel some anxiety as Election Day drew nigh. Sunday (Nov. 1) and Monday (Nov. 2) were touch and go. But by Tuesday, I’d made up my mind that it’s going to be what it is. I shut out social media for the most part and only checked in on the results once or twice. Then slept like a baby! And not even because of the red wine I had! Because all of the bothered-ness had left the building. I had also settled in for the long haul well before that. It will take some time for the absentee and mail-in ballots to be counted
Joy Doss
in some states. So, the party’s not over. And if you know who loses, he will not go quietly. He will most definitely attempt to make a mess and mockery of the whole process. In fact, he made that clear We d n e s d a y
(Nov. 4). He already has been peppering the talk spaces with his faulty logic and magical, mythical prevaricating. And really, I am still carrying my cynicism in my purse from 2016. Remember, the polls proclaimed Hillary from the mountaintops. Then all the lowkey racists, deniers and people who refused to see what they actually saw came out to the polls and put in work. The same could very well happen
this year, though soft prediction is that mail-in ballots will skew heavily Democratic. I am so “whatever” about this. Because again…2016. Let me tell you what I’m not afraid of – keyboard gangstas. First of all, Memphis is very blue. VERY. Secondly, I highly doubt that the calvary will ride through the streets of Midtown or Downtown setting things ablaze or gunning down black, brown and LGBTQ folks. That’s ludicrous. It also has been proven time and again that the vast of majority of these folks are poppin’ off on Al Gore’s Internet and otherwise impotent. Now, there’s always one or two nutters who follow through, many of whom caught a swift two-piece for their troubles and subsequently “learned today.” But the truth of the matter is that most racists are cowardly. They only feel emboldened in groups, if they can outnumber or overpower some-
one. They need to be comfortable. Discomfort is something they can’t deal with. Meanwhile, Black folks eat discomfort and stress for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and wash it down with iced tea. Next! I saw on one post folks talking about filling their gas tanks up, stocking up groceries, getting cash out and so on. I said, “Wait. What? I AM NOT DOING ANY OF THAT!” I wish I could and I wish they would. Come on through my hood. We’ll see. This is a mind game, people. They’re already winning if they have gotten you shaken with empty words and throwback rhetoric. Sir, GOODBYE. The only way I’m feeling shook is if I am surrounded. But I keep my head on the swivel on a normal day, as should everyone. I will go on about my business as usual and so should you. And, we seem to have forgotten that this is a pandemic! I’m not going
much of anywhere anyway. I personally don’t do much by way of errands and such at night either. So, what are y’all even talking about?! Also, guess what White people? The Second Amendment applies to EVERYONE. I don’t know why they think the only folks with guns are Bubba ‘nem. Just sayin. Black folks, who are legally registered owners of firearms, are also allowed to protect their homes and families. So, it would be ill-advised to make that move lest you run up on the wrong one. No one wants that. Most important, for those who are believers you know that not only are you covered by the Second Amendment, you’re covered by the blood. Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Steel your nerves and your mind, people. As Kendrick Lamar says, “We gone be aight!” The fight isn’t over no matter who wins. We will still have work to do! #Unbothered2020
With COVID-19 precautions in place, absentee-ballot counters labor on at the FedExForum. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
Counting absentee ballots – the process
by James Coleman
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
By mid-afternoon on Election Day, voting in Memphis had slowed to a trickle as poll workers geared up for a post-work rush to the polls to beat the 7 p.m. deadline. Meanwhile, 120 vote counters at the FedExForum had begun the task of sorting through the estimated 21,000 absentee ballots cast in Shelby County for the 2020 election. One Democrat and one Republican were assigned to a table, with 60 such combinations fanned-out across the FedExForum floor. “Right now all of the ballots have been processed except some of the military have to be remade. The scanners are scanning; we should finish about 7,” said Shelby County Election Commission Administrator Linda Phillips, as she took a break to talk with The New Tri-State Defender. As the absentee-vote counters labored on steadily, voters actually going to the polls continued to amount to a trickle compared to the flow in years past. “I think it is a light turnout, no reports of any lines. Most of the people who voted early traditionally vote at the polls. It could look like a record-breaking year but it’s probably going to be on pace with what we normally see,” said Bennie Smith, a
The ballot-counting process paired Democrats and Republicans. Linda Phillips
Bennie Smith
member of the Shelby County Election Commission. “It will probably be higher, but it’s not going to be 80 percent.” Much of the go-to-polls slowdown was attributed to early voting, which saw a record 326,000 cast this year in Shelby County. Many people opted to vote early because of confusion surrounding mail-in voting. For months, President Trump decried mail-in voting as rife with corruption and error. He also had allies in state legislatures, local governments and the media that made mail-in voting more difficult or pushed the narrative. Mail-in voting was generally viewed as the safest way to vote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of having people gather in long lines and finally indoors to vote. There have also been accusations that the postal service has slowed
down mailing by dismantling sorting machines or not delivering ballots. “With the threat of the postal service not delivering them on time, a lot of people just said, ‘I am going to wait in line early rather than wait in line on Election Day,” said Smith. “My wife goes shopping every Sunday morning and if someone says there is going to be a snowstorm or something, she goes Saturday night.” As of 6 p.m. on Election Night, there were 20 more bins of absentee votes left to process at the FedExForum. Four scanners were working, counting 72 ballots a minute. “We have an issue currently with a scanner going down…a paper jam in a few. Typical things you would expect to happen in an election,” said Smith. “They have taken them down to clean them. It slowed down a little bit but it should pick back up.”
A trio of ballot counters confer.
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
Page 7
DECISION 2020 OUTCOME
CONTINUED FROM FRONT America.” It was a stark contrast to Trump, who on Wednesday falsely proclaimed that he had won the election, even though millions of votes remained uncounted and the race was far from over. The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Biden after election officials in the state said all outstanding ballots had been counted, save for a few hundred in one township and an expected small number of provisional votes. Trump’s campaign requested a recount, thought statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes. Biden led by 0.624 percentage point out of nearly 3.3 million ballots counted. Since 2016, Democrats had been haunted by the crumbling of the blue wall, the trio of Great Lakes states — Pennsylvania is the third — that their candidates had been able to count on every four years. But Trump’s populist appeal struck a chord with white working-class voters and he captured all three in 2016 by a total margin of just 77,000 votes. Both candidates this year fiercely fought for the states, with Biden’s everyman political persona resonating in blue-collar towns while his campaign also pushed to increase turnout among Black voters in cities like Detroit and Milwaukee. Pennsylvania remained too early to call Wednesday night. It was unclear when or how quickly a national winner could be determined after a long, bitter campaign dominated by the coronavirus and its effects on Americans and the national economy. But Biden’s possible pathways to the White House were expanding rapidly. After the victories in Wisconsin and Michigan, he was just six Electoral College votes away from the presidency. A win in any undecided
Joe Biden
Donald Trump
state except for Alaska — but including Nevada, with its six votes — would be enough to end Trump’s tenure in the White House. Trump spent much of Wednesday in the White House residence, huddling with advisers and fuming at media coverage showing his Democratic rival picking up key battlegrounds. Trump falsely claimed victory in several key states and amplified unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about Democratic gains as absentee and early votes were tabulated. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the president would formally request a Wisconsin recount, citing “irregularities” in several counties. And the campaign said it was filing suit in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia to demand better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted, and to raise absentee ballot concerns. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of votes were still to be counted in Pennsylvania, and Trump’s campaign said it was moving to intervene in the existing Supreme Court litigation over counting mail-in ballots there. Yet, the campaign also argued that it was the outstanding votes in Arizona that could reverse the outcome there, showcasing an inherent inconsistency with their arguments. In other closely watched races, Trump picked up Florida, the largest of the swing states, and held onto Texas and Ohio while Biden kept New Hampshire and Minnesota and flipped Arizona, a state that had reliably voted Republican in recent elections.
A demonstrator holds up a sign while waiting for election results at Black Lives Matter Plaza, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) The unsettled nature of the presidential race was reflective of a somewhat disappointing night for Democrats, who had hoped to deliver a thorough repudiation of Trump’s four years in office while also reclaiming the Senate to have a firm grasp on all of Washington. But the GOP held onto several Senate seats that had been considered vulnerable, including in Iowa, Texas, Maine and Kansas. Democrats lost House seats but were expected to retain control there. The high-stakes election was held against the backdrop of a historic pandemic that has killed more than 232,000 Americans and wiped away millions of jobs. The U.S. on Wednesday set another record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases as several states posted all-time highs. The candidates spent months pressing dramatically different visions for the nation’s future, including on racial justice, and voters responded in huge numbers, with more than 100 million people casting votes ahead of Election Day. Trump, in an extraordinary move
from the White House, issued premature claims of victory — which he continued on Twitter Wednesday — and said he would take the election to the Supreme Court to stop the counting. It was unclear exactly what legal action he could try to pursue. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell discounted the president’s quick claim of victory, saying it would take a while for states to conduct their vote counts. The Kentucky Republican said Wednesday that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.” Vote tabulations routinely continue beyond Election Day, and states largely set the rules for when the count has to end. In presidential elections, a key point is the date in December when presidential electors meet. That’s set by federal law. Dozens of Trump supporters chanting “Stop the count!” descended on a ballot-tallying center in Detroit, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete vote count took to the streets in cities across the U.S.
African-American bids for U.S. Senate mostly fall short by Linda S. Wallace
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
In an historic election held amid a global pandemic, seven African Americans were vying for seats in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) who was declared an early winner by major news organizations. “New Jersey, I’m once again humbled by the faith you’ve placed in me,“ Sen. Booker tweeted Tuesday night. “Thank you for standing with me and allowing me the honor of representing my home state in Washington.” In Michigan, in a race that was close throughout, Iraq combat veteran John James, a Black Republican lost a slim lead on Wednesday against Democrat Gary Peters. At one point, James had 49.3 percent of the vote while Democrat Peters was close behind with 48.8 percent, with ballots still left to count. In Georgia, Democrat Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, another African American, is headed for a run off in January against Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican. Warnock and Loeffler were the two highest vote getters in that race on Tuesday but neither received 50 percent of the vote, which is required to avoid the runoff. Warnock was optimistic and back on Twitter Wednesday morning, seeking funds nationwide for his runoff. He is the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor prior to his tragic death. “There is a lot of uncertainty around this election, but we musn’t lose hope,” Warnock tweeted. “If we stand in love, love will win every time.” In the 2020 election, during which African Americans battled high unemployment and disproportionate health issues related to COVID-19, the Deep South fielded its greatest number of Senate candidates from reconstruction.
The four other African Americans seeking seats in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday’s ballot were: Mississippi’s Mike Espy, a Democrat; South Carolina’s Jaime Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Louisiana’s Adrian Perkins, the mayor of Shreveport, and Marquita Bradshaw, a community activist from Memphis, TN. All four were trailing their opponents in the U.S. Senate race on Wednesday. “We didn’t get the result at the ballot box that we wanted, but we showed courage and determination.,” Harrison tweeted. “We brought hope back to South Carolina. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” The Blue Wave predicted by some political pundits did not materialize this week. Overall, Democrats had a disappointing night in the battle for Senate control, but it was too soon for Republicans to take a victory lap Wednesday, although they brushed back multiple challengers to protect their now teetering majority. Key races in North Carolina, Maine and Michigan remained undecided a day following the election. Meanwhile in the House, Democrats drove toward extending their control of the House for two more years but with a potentially shrunken majority as they lost at least seven incumbents and failed to oust any Republican lawmakers in initial returns. By midmorning Wednesday, Democrats’ only gains were two North Carolina seats vacated by GOP incumbents after a court-ordered remapping made the districts more Democratic. Though they seemed likely to retain House control, their performance was an unexpected disappointment for the party, which hoped for modest gains of perhaps 15 seats. (This story includes a report from The Associated Press.)
Protests — sometimes about the election, sometimes about racial inequality — took place Wednesday in at least a half-dozen cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and San Diego. Several states allow mailed-in votes to be accepted as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. That includes Pennsylvania, where ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can be accepted if they arrive up to three days later. Trump appeared to suggest those ballots should not be counted, and that he would fight for that outcome at the high court. But legal experts were dubious of Trump’s declaration. Trump has appointed three of the high court’s nine justices — including, most recently, Amy Coney Barrett. The Trump campaign on Wednesday pushed Republican donors to dig deeper into their pockets to help finance legal challenges. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, during a donor call, spoke plainly: “The fight’s not over. We’re in it.”
One man, one vote... No line, no waiting for this voter at Redemption City Church, 1133 Whitten Rd. (Photo: Brian Ramoly)
Republicans maintain control in Tennessee Legislature by Kimberlee Kruesi and Jonathan Mattise The Associated Press
NASHVILLE – Republicans will maintain their supermajority control of Tennessee’s General Assembly after Tuesday’s election as Democrats failed to make big gains in their attempt to expand their influence over the state. As of Wednesday, Republicans had more than two-thirds control of both the House and Senate, with just one legislative race in western Tennessee still too early to call. However, while many GOP incumbents saw comfortable wins, there were a handful of surprises. Torrey Harris defeated longtime state Rep. John DeBerry Jr. in the race for a seat in the Tennessee Legislature representing a Memphis district. DeBerry ran as an independent candidate after the Tennessee Democratic Party removed him in April from the ballot for the August primary election. DeBerry had represented House District 90 since 1994
as a Democrat. Yet DeBerry was accused of voting against his caucus’s position and of receiving donations from organizations and individuals who typically support only Republican candidates. DeBerry, an ordained minister who is Black, has said he’s always maintained an anti-abortion position, noting in April that he’s “never tried to hide” his stance. He voted in support of a controversial bill banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected, joining fellow Democratic Reps. John Mark Windle of Livingston and Joe Towns of Memphis in doing so. He also attracted Democratic ire after he voted with the GOP-dominated House on advancing a school voucher law that is currently blocked in court. Harris, who is also Black, won the district primary on the Democratic side over two other candidates, Catrina Smith and Anya Parker. Harris works in human resources and has served on the boards of several community organizations. Harris identifies as bisexual and
will become one of the first two openly LGBTQ Tennessee lawmakers. The other will be Republican businessman Eddie Mannis, who is gay, and who won the race to replace GOP Rep. Martin Daniel in the Knoxville area. Meanwhile, the only seat Democrats have gained after Tuesday’s election was in the Nashville area, with Heidi Campbell defeating two-term Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson. Dickerson is a moderate Republican who voted against the school voucher law and was notably absent when the Senate advanced a wide-sweeping anti-abortion law earlier this year. Buoyed by record-breaking early and absentee voting during a pandemic, Tennessee saw more than 3 million voters cast ballots in the presidential race. That easily topped turnouts of more than 2.5 million Tennesseans in the 2016 general election and 2.6 million in the 2008 November election. (Associated Press writer Adrian Sainz contributed to this report from Memphis.)
November 5 - 11, 2020
The New Tri-State Defender
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DECISION 2020
Mississippi approves flag with magnolia, ‘In God We Trust’ by Emily Wagster Pettus The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi will fly a new state flag with a magnolia and the phrase “In God We Trust,” with voters approving the design Tuesday. It replaces a Confederate-themed flag state lawmakers retired months ago as part of the national reckoning over racial injustice. The magnolia flag was the only design on the general election ballot, and voters were asked to say yes or no. A majority said yes. Legislators will have to put the design into law, but they are expected to do that with little fuss because they already did the hard work of retiring a flag that some people wanted to keep. Mississippi has been without a flag since late June, when legislators surrendered the last state banner in the U.S. that included the Confederate battle emblem — a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars. The rebel flag has been used by Ku Klux Klan groups and is widely condemned as racist. The new Mississippi flag has the state flower on a dark blue background with red bars on either end. The magnolia is encircled by stars representing Mississippi as the 20th state. The flag also has a single star made of diamond shapes representing the Native American people who lived on the land before others arrived. White supremacists in the state Legislature adopted the Confederate-themed flag in 1894 amid backlash to power Black people gained during Reconstruction. For decades, the flag was divisive in a state with a significant Black population, currently about 38 percent. A majority of voters chose to keep the flag in a 2001 election, but several cities and counties and all of Mississippi’s public universities had stopped flying it because of the Confederate symbol. Many furled the Mississippi flag after mid-2015, when a white man shot and killed nine Black people worshiping at a church in Charleston, South Carolina; he had previously posed for photos
The magnolia flower centered banner chosen in September by the Mississippi State Flag Commission flies outside the Old State Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson, Miss. Voters on Tuesday approved a design with the state flower, now known as the “In God We Trust,” flag. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) with the rebel flag. Until this summer, a majority of Mississippi legislators were unwilling to consider changing the flag because they considered the issue too volatile. Momentum changed as protests broke out across the U.S. after a Black man was killed in Minneapolis police custody. The final push for changing the Mississippi flag came from business, education, religious and sports groups — including, notably, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southeastern Conference. Angela Reginal, 53, of Pearl, said she voted for the new design. Reginal, who is Black, said the Confederate-themed old flag was “part of history,” and although she said it never bothered her, she believed it needed to be changed. “For me, if it offends my brother, I think it needs to be changed,” said Reginal, who works in the office of a home health agency. A white voter at the same precinct in Pearl, Beki Routh, said she voted for the new flag but wanted to keep the old one. “If you try to erase history, you’re doomed to repeat it,” said Routh, 50, a
bank employee. Joan Martin, 79, a retired registered nurse from Picayune, said she voted for the new flag because “I didn’t have any choice. “There was just the one thing and I thought it looked pretty and it said ‘In God We Trust,’ so I voted yes on it,” said Martin, who is white. The law retiring the old flag specified that the new one could not include the Confederate battle emblem and must have “In God We Trust.” Requiring the religious phrase helped persuade some conservative legislators to let go of the old flag. Taderell Lamont Roberts, 48, of Picayune, goes by his middle name, which was on the name patch on his work shirt for Heritage Plastics, where he’s a foreman. He said he voted for the new flag. “That old flag to me represented a lot of rebelism, you know, the good old boys,” said Roberts, who is Black. “It never bothered me. ... But is time for a different flag so our new generation can see that all that is in the past, and they don’t have to deal with that. We were brought up to just live with it. But I’m glad that now it’s time for
a change.” The public submitted nearly 3,000 flag designs. A nine-person commission — with members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker — chose the magnolia flag to go on the ballot. If voters had rejected the magnolia flag, the commission would have designed another flag that still could not include the Confederate symbol and must include “In God We Trust.” That design would have gone on the ballot in November 2021. Separately, supporters of the old Mississippi flag are starting an initiative that could revive the old flag by putting the Confederate-themed banner and some other designs up for a statewide vote. But they face big hurdles in gathering enough signatures to get their ideas on the ballot, and their efforts could be complicated by limited public interaction during the coronavirus pandemic. (Associated Press writer Janet McConnaughey in Picayune, Mississippi, contributed to this report. Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http:// twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.)
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CONTINUED FROM FRONT ee’s Office. Early in his campaign, Harris said he would do a lot of listening to voters in his district because he said they had not been adequately represented in a long time. On Monday, Harris said he spent last weekend knocking on doors and talking with voters. “For a long time the citizens of this district have not had their voices heard,” Harris said. Harris said his district includes parts of north and s o u t h Memphis as well as MidJohn town. He DeBerry Jr. described it as, “the most diverse district in the entire state.” Harris said his plans are for having town hall meetings to keep in touch with what the citizens of his district are concerned about. DeBerry did not return phone messages Tuesday night. He served in the Dist. 90 house seat as a Democrat for 26 years. DeBerry ran as an Independent in this election because he was forced out of the Democratic Party for breaking with the party on several issues. The legislature passed a bill this summer enabling him to put his name on the ballot. One of his controversial stances involved the state’s fetal heartbeat bill, which would ban abortions after detections of a fetal heart beat, usually when an unborn baby is around six to eight weeks old. “The bill made it to the floor and I could not in good conscience vote against the bill,” he said. He broke with his party in support of school vouchers and voted for a Republican for House Speaker, according to news reports.
The New Tri-State Defender, November 5 - 11, 2020, Page 9
The Suffers 2018 concert at the Levitt Shell recently got a virtual replay. (Levitt Shell on Facebook)
Levitt Shell – vibrating higher by Cathy Hart
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
After being limited by the COVID pandemic, the Levitt Shell team next year will focus its energy on ensuring that the communities of Memphis have access to the venue’s arts and multicultural programming. “The Levitt Shell is a beacon of light, love and hope, and I would like for Levitt Shell to touch more communities in 2021,” said Natalie Wilson, the concert venue’s executive director. Wilson recently shared her plans with The New Tri-State Defender. She took a deep breath as she explained that the Shell’s team just completed the “Orion Virtual Concert Series” Oct. 30 and the “ShellStream” Oct. 31. The Orion Virtual Concert Series featured an array of archived Levitt Shell concerts over the past decades and the ShellStream featured artists showcasing their creative gifts in social distant spaces. The concerts are free and accessible on The Shell’s Facebook page. Most Memphians are accustomed to the Levitt Shell Summer Concert
Series, which never disappoints. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, required Wilson and her team to think outside of the shell. In 2021, the Levitt Shell Outreach program will bring Arts to Memphis’ neighborhoods with “Shell on Wheels” and the Virtual Concert Series will become a staple, continuing to build and grow the Shell’s virtual reach. An upcoming Virtual Concert Series is scheduled for February, spotlighting the artistic achieveNatalie ment of African-American artists. Wilson The Shell currently is providing a free Virtual Health & Wellness Series, providing positive healthy resources to the Memphis community. The Shell will celebrate its 85th birthday next year, and Wilson and her team are re-imagining this beautiful outdoor performance venue. “I like to say we pushed pause in 2020 due to COVID-19, but we will hit play in 2021 as we come back live with a higher capacity,” Wilson said.
Classifying the ‘Soul’ slang of Black people by Dr. Joseph A. Bailey II NNPA News Service
Today’s Black Slang is like a kaleidoscope whose various overlapping colors/types can serve many purposes. Type I Slang shows one belongs to the fellow slang talkers’ ingroup. Preparation for competing with “the guys” is a fun way to develop imagination and wit, as done with “The Dozens.” These slangs are usually of short-lived coinages and figures of speech. Still, they maintain a Whirlpool Concept whereby just as the water forming a whirlpool continues to move on, the configuration of Type I Slang is the same, as its ingredients are ever-changing. Type II Slang is like chili— both having certain things in common—and nothing is wrong with either in their natural setting. Yet, depending upon the setting and situation, both may be good, bad, or one good and the other bad. For example, whereas slang may be quite proper for non-technical
writing in one’s Crowd and in speaking to friends, it is to be avoided if one desires Dr. Joseph for one’s A. Bailey II printed work to have “a long shelf life” or to have ones profound sayings become a custom fixture. Nor is Black Slang to be used around snooty people at formal dinners. Type III Slang is Totipotent—i.e. its essence has endless dimensions, with any dimension able to give rise to a surreal entity and/or to alternate paths to Truths. If the perception of that essentially consists of attributes of the spiritual elements of unconditional love, truth, reality, and/ or the natural, its purity serves as a Standard or Theme pattern for “ME/WE” benefits. Type IV Slang is what is to be unlearned. A significant contributor to such self-deg-
radation Slang came from the British underworld via C18 overseers of enslaved African Americans. They had been released from the Europeans, especially the British Isles, prisons on conditions they would go to the Americas. Part of their evilness was to deliberately brainwash into enslaved minds self-destructive “seed” words of being inferior and subhuman—leading victims to increasingly self-defeating devastation as those “Seeds” evolved into “strange fruit.” Hence, the afflicted’s thinking became so delusional (inside-out) as to see in the White man much of what they had lost in themselves. From mourning losses and lacks significant parts of themselves and in their condition of extreme despair, many saw their evil White male captors as admirable role models – the Evil Savior Syndrome concept. After all, these savage White men were all the enslaved saw. One effect this misplaced admiration had was to cause certain enslaved to imitate the terrible think, feel, say, and do things amoral White men
were/are doing. Hence, some imitated and applied those cruelties to their enslaved women, children, and fellows. Forms of these abuses included belittling fellow enslaved (as many mothers did with their sons); cursing fellow enslaved; looking upon fellow enslaved with contempt, and tattling on fellows so they would be punished for impending revolts or escape plans. Such social dissension never existed in pre-colonial Africa but pettiness from these practices remains. Type V is Miscellaneous Slang —e.g. used for Camouflage (blending into surroundings); Mimicry (present a false identity); Hiding; and Depression (in the sense of “pressed down” to prevent detection and thus getting whipped so often each day). Type VI Slang deals with real and deep meanings, not the crowd’s “jump to conclusions” type. Slang, like metaphors, spotlights resemblances between two different things, like saying: “the Star basketball player is on fire” (i.e. shooting extremely well).
Black youth gain pleasure from “mixing” incongruent words into Slang and Rap for messages and for play. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) Here, ones thinking has transformed the Star and fire’s likeness into a symbolic message by disregarding the limitations and boundaries of human thought normally separating them. Black youth gain pleasure from “mixing” incongruent words into Slang and Rap for messages and for play. Such Poetic mental blending of seemingly unlikely verbal analogies can express a truth deeper than poetic words themselves. This designed Emotive Phatic Atmosphere conveys spiritually derived truths and principles by (1) imparting ideas of the indescribable; (2) opening paths into Unknowns or into the Mysterious which heads to-
ward a clear and orderly picture of a thing’s essence origin; and/or (3) uncovers what has been Hidden concerning any incomprehensibleness of a given subject to thereby gain views of the “what it is” of its essence. This masterful stroke of a very high-level feat of association is good practice for “acrobatic thinking”, creativity, and options. Such cultivation has historically elevated, above all others, Black people’s thinking into human ideal realms. Struggling Black people amazingly aid surviving racism’s horror by using African Survival Slang. (This article originally appeared in Black Voice News.)
COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, November 5 - 11, 2020, Page 10
Memphis-area Byrd brothers take lead in suing McDonald’s over systematic racism by John Semien
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Two brothers, who own and operate McDonald’s restaurants in the Memphis area, are lead plaintiffs in a proposed class action lawsuit filed against McDonald’s by Black franchisees seeking to address systematic racism at the fast food giant. The brothers, James Byrd and Darrell Byrd, currently operate two restaurants each. Both men declined to comment on the pending litigation. The federal, civil rights suit, which seeks class-action status, was filed Oct. 29 in Chicago, where McDonald’s has its headquarters. The brothers are represented by The Ferraro Law Firm, which represents 52 Black former McDonald’s franchise owners in a similar suit filed in September. There are currently 186 Black-owned-and-operated franchises in the U.S. Recently, McDonald’s has been trying to win over Black
franchisees with enticements such as rent relief in exchange for general release of liability from further suit, according to the plaintiff’s release. The proposed class action suit seeks compensatory damages averaging between $4 million and $5 million per store, punitive damages, restitution and disgorgement of lost profits, and declaratory relief to assure that similar discriminatory conduct does not reoccur. “These plaintiffs have risked everything by stepping forward on behalf of all current Black operators,” said James L. Ferraro, lead attorney and founder of The Ferraro Law Firm. “They believe they can no longer remain silent and allow other Black McDonald’s franchisees to be misled and injured by the same pipeline of discrimination that has plagued Black franchisees for decades.” The current operators would be free to opt in or opt out of
the class action lawsuit as determined by the trial judge. “There is a lot of fear amongst the current operators with regards to suing McDonald’s,” Ferraro said. “The class action provides some protection against those fears because all of the other class members are not specifically named.” Ferraro said the lawsuit seeks long-term changes and equal support and opportunities for Black franchisees. Since the departure of Don Thompson, McDonald’s first Black CEO, in 2015, the company has gone backwards, some franchisees contend. “We are under no illusion what McDonald’s will do,” Ferraro said. “They will open the check book to the remaining Black operators and demand they not join the class. They’ll put the screws to them and force some of them to go public saying ‘all is well.’’’ Ferraro said McDonald’s leads Black entrepreneurs to believe franchise ownership is
a “golden opportunity” but the reality is the opposite. He said they are signing up for “financial suicide missions.” The latest lawsuit states that McDonald’s growth strategy has been predatory, targeting Black consumers, markets and territories by steering Black franchisees to Black neighborhoods with high overhead cost, including higher security, insurance and employee turnover. According to the suit, by putting Black franchisees in predominantly black neighborhoods, McDonald’s is able to shift the entire risk of loss to the Black franchisees through higher rents and ongoing fees that pay for McDonald’s acquisition and development of real estate and generate consistent company profits. McDonald’s, in a statement, said it takes the allegations seriously but blames the Byrds’ financial troubles on mismanagement. “McDonald’s has an obvious interest in franchisees
Local McDonald’s franchise holders Jim Byrd and Darrell Byrd share a moment with the marketing face of McDonald’s, Ronald McDonald. (Courtesy photo) maintaining successful and profitable restaurants, which is why McDonald’s supports all franchisees, including those facing economic hardships,” the statement said. “With respect of the named plaintiffs in this complaints, … McDonald’s has invested sig-
nificantly in each of their respective businesses after they ran into business difficulties caused by mismanagement of their organizations.” The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
TVA’s Memphis Team works to spread joy TSD Newsroom The Memphis Team of Tennessee Valley Authority had a jam-packed schedule last week as they ventured out on their mission to bring kids impacted by COVID-19 a little joy for Halloween. Armed with thousands of their newly developed TVA Energy Allies Member (T.E.A.M.) coloring books, protective masks, for elementary-school aged children, a crew dedicated volunteers participated in events with Shelby County Schools and YMCA Mid-South. “As a mother, it’s always about the kids for me,” said Angela Austin, construction manager for the Allen Combined Cycle Plant site. “They are the ones most impacted by the pandemic. So, when the lockdown began, my first thought went to creating something for them that would take their minds off the scary news that they were being bombarded with every day. “I wanted them to understand that even during dark times like this there is light in the world, and people care about what they experiencing.” The Memphis TVA “team” donated more than 3,500 T.E.A.M. coloring books and Kids EnergyRights kits to Shelby County Schools for their annual Boo for Books event at the Shelby County Schools Board of Education on Halloween. The poplar character, Spark, from TVA’s EnergyRight Monsters team, stood with other mascots and waved at the caravan of families who picked up Halloween treats sponsored by local partners like TVA. “The second annual Boo for Books was such a great success,” said Dr. Sunya Payne, director of Family and Community Engagement for
State Rep. G.A. Hardaway as he moves to pre-file a bill designed to fix a glitch in state law and stop the Dec. 3 execution of Pervis Payne. (Courtesy photo)
Pictured (l-r): Astria Colbert, Dawnshundra Stancil, Margaret Caufield (YMCA), James Thomas, Angela Austin, Dennis Anderson, Sharon Berlin and Latrivia Welch. (Courtesy photos)
Sam Caviness of TVA was a volunteer at Raleigh-Egypt Middle School and happy about it. SCS. “We appreciate the participation of our community partners and volunteers and their support for SCS Third Grade Commitment. … Not only did the Kids get to go home and read their new book with family, but, as a special treat, they are introduced to new super heroes that look like them doing great things around the City they are growing up in as well as have fun learning about science and how they can help their families conserve energy around their
home.” Last Thursday (Oct. 29), as the rain and wind picked up, Memphis TVA members also volunteered with Shelby County Schools for the Cares Family Feeding event at schools, staged by School Board members, who hosted mobile food pantry distribution in their districts. Many of families, who lined up in caravans that wrapped around the distribution sites, have been hit hard by the pandemic. “I can’t think of a better
way to spend my morning,” said Sam Caviness, power utilization engineer for TVA, who volunteered at the Raleigh-Egypt Middle School during the event. Earlier in the week, the team also had an opportunity to visit with the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South, participating in their Halloween Spooktacular event, which was hosted for children in their virtual learning program. “My mom was a single mother, who raised two kids,” said Latrivia Welch, community relations program manager for the Allen Plant, “and each year, she always rushed home to get us ready to go trick or treating, except one year when she had to work over. I was devastated until my grandfather showed up and took me for a full night of fun. Sometimes, we have to stand in the gap. “These parents are working, and they can’t necessarily, between their schedules and COVID restrictions, provide a Halloween experience. TVA was happy to serve and share to make their day fun and memorable. I know that they made it memorable for me.”
New bill aims to stop execution of intellectually disabled by Travis Loller The Associated Press
NASHVILLE – The first bill to be pre-filed for the upcoming legislative session in Tennessee seeks to give people with an intellectual disability, who have been sentenced to death, a chance to prove their disability and that they should not be executed. The bill is meant to fix a glitch in state law. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 ruled that executing a person with an intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, and Tennessee has its own law forbidding the execution of the intellectually disabled. However, state law does not contain a way for people to reopen their cases if they were sentenced before the law went into effect. In a virtual news conference announcing the bill’s prefiling on Wednesday, state Rep. G.A. Hardaway, a Memphis Democrat who is sponsoring the legislation, said he hopes it will prevent the execution of Pervis Payne, who is scheduled to
die on Dec. 3. Payne was sentenced to death in a Memphis court for the 1987 stabbing deaths of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo. Christopher’s son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived. Payne, who is Black, told police he was at Christopher’s apartment building to meet his girlfriend when heard the victims, who were White, and tried to help them. He said he panicked when he saw a White policeman and ran away. A Memphis judge recently ordered that DNA evidence be tested in the case, and results from that testing are expected to be released soon. In addition, Payne’s attorneys have argued he is intellectually disabled and have asked Gov. Bill Lee to postpone his execution until after the law is changed in order to let him prove his disability in court. The next legislative session begins in January. Hardaway, who is chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, said he expects the bill to pass easily with bipartisan support.
ith es.
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
SPORTS
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CLASSIFIEDS PUBLIC NOTICE THE MEMPHIS URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION In compliance with federal regulations 23 CFR 450, the Memphis MPO is proposing one (1) amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-23 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which is associated with an Air Quality Exempt Packet. The MPO is proposing to adopt the Walk & Roll Memphis Region Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, which was made available for a 30-day public review period ending October 14, 2020. The MPO will present for approval the 2021 MPO Meeting Calendar, and Performance Measure Targets related to Safety (PM1), Pavement and Bridge Condition (PM2), and System Performance (PM3). Additionally, the FY 2020 Annual Listing of Obligated Projects (ALOP) will be included as a part of the meeting agenda.
Memphis’ O’Bryan Goodson puts the clamps on one of the Bearcats’ playmakers in the Tigers’ lopsided loss to Cincinnati. (Photos: Terry Davis)
Bearcats dominate Tigers – what to make of that
by Terry Davis
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
A dismal running attack and unrelenting Cincinnati Bearcats’ offensive and defensive lines contributed to an embarrassing University of Memphis 49-10 loss Oct. 31. And, the Bearcats probably still were seething over losing to the Tigers twice last season. This was the worst loss by a Tigers’ team since the team lost at Missouri 6533 in 2018.
Do what you do Memphis prides itself on the belief that you do what you do best and do not worry about what the other team is doing. For the first time this season, the Tigers did not do what they do best and allowed the other team to dominate them. Head Coach Ryan Silverfield was visibly upset about his team’s performance.
The Tigers could not move the ball on the ground very much against Cincinnati, logging five net yards. He took full responsibility for the team not playing up to expectations. “Not good enough in any phases of the game. It starts with me. We got outcoached and outplayed in all three phases. We have got to find ways to improve. It is embarrassing on how we ran the ball.” Bright spots The powerful Memphis offense was slowed, but not stopped. Quarterback Brady White threw for 316 passing yards and one touchdown. White has thrown for 300 yards in every game this season. Calvin Austin III was held in check in the first half, but he finished with 121 receiving yards on six receptions. Tahj Washington continues to impress as a receiver. Washington caught a swing pass and 92 yards later he was crossing the goal line for a touchdown. Washing-
ton finished with 104 receiving yards. White continues to climb up the statistical charts. White has passed for 9,001 yards. He has passed Paxton Lynch and moves into second place, 1,300 yards behind Danny Wimprine as the all-time passing leader. “It was embarrassing,” White said of the loss to Cincinnati. “We are going to get back to the drawing board. We will respond from this.” Next up On Saturday (Nov. 7) at 11 a.m., the Tigers host the University of South Florida at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The game can only be seen on ESPN+. Three hundred tickets were made available to the public. For more information, visit www.gotigersgo.com or contact the Tigers’ ticket office.
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This notice is funded (in part) under an agreement with the State of TN and MS, Departments of Transportation.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS IF YOU BURIED A FAMILY MEMBER AT GALILEE MEMORIAL GARDENS CEMETERY (“GALILEE”) OR YOU PAID FOR A BURIAL AT GALILEE FROM JANUARY 1, 2011 THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2014 PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED This Notice is to let you know about a partial settlement of a class action lawsuit against the last two funeral homes related to the Akilah Louise Wofford v. M. J. Edwards & Sons Funeral Home, Inc. et al., Case No. CH-14-0197 lawsuit. (the “Wofford lawsuit”) To learn more about this partial settlement or to obtain a copy of the Claim Form you will need to send in to get money, please visit [www.galileeclassaction.com] or, you can call 901-859-1009 and these documents will be mailed to you. The folks entitled to get money out of this settlement are called Class Members in this Notice.
The last two funeral homes on appeal in the Wofford case have agreed to settle and pay Class Members $1,077,000.00 (the “Settlement Amount”) in exchange for a release and dismissal of all claims. The lawyers handling the case for Class Members are going to ask Memphis Court Chancellor Kyle to award $20,000 from the settlement funds to the two families that helped get these funeral homes to settle because they took time out of their lives to help everyone get money for the harm caused out at Galilee. Also, the lawyers working on this case are going to ask the Court to pay 37.5% which equals $403,875.00 of the Settlement Amount to them as their legal fee and are going to ask to be paid back approximately $10,000 in litigation expenses. Chancellor Kyle will consider all of this and he gets to decide how much the lawyers will be paid in this case.
We’re Known By the Money you Keep!
get it now!
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.
Summary of the Settlement Terms
Bearcats more physical The Bearcats were the best defensive unit the Tigers faced this year, and they just were more physical than the Tigers. The Bearcats dominated the line of scrimmage on the offensive and defensive side. This was the worst rushing performance in a long time for the Tigers. Memphis finished the game with five net rushing yards. Memphis likes to execute a balanced offensive attack to keep the defense off balance, but the Tigers could not establish a rushing game nor could they convert on many third- and fourth-and-short plays.
The public is hereby given notice that English language copies and Spanish language summaries of the items listed above are available for review and download from the Internet at: www.memphismpo.org. If you require a physical copy of any of the items listed above, please contact Pragati Srivastava at Pragati.Srivastava@ memphistn.gov. The Memphis MPO Transportation Policy Board (TPB) will hold a virtual public hearing on Thursday, November
19, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. If you wish to participate in the meeting, please visit the MPO’s website. Requests to comment and/or any written public comments must be submitted by 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. 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.
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PRICES GOOD NOVEMBER 4, 2020 - NOVEMBER 17, 2020 MIDTOWN: WHITEHAVEN: SOUTH MEMPHIS: 1620 Madison Ave. 4049 Elvis Presley Blvd. 1977 S. Third St. See the Memphis Cash Saver grocery ad at memphiscashsaver.com
Chancellor Kyle will have a final hearing on this partial settlement to consider whether it’s fair and should be approved so everyone can then get paid money but there is nothing he can do to force the defendants to offer more money in settlement to you. The final hearing will take place in Chancellor Kyle’s courtroom at the Shelby County Courthouse on Adams Avenue at 1:00 p.m. on December 1, 2020. Until Chancellor Kyle decides about the lawyers’ fees and expenses and the claims process is complete, we cannot tell you exactly how much money you might get from this settlement. In order to get any money from this settlement, you must have buried a family member at Galilee or paid for the burial of someone at Galilee between January 1, 2011 and January 31, 2014 and you must fill out and mail in a Claim Form by December 15, 2020. However, if you have already sent in a claim form related to the earlier settlement, YOU DO NOT NEED TO FILE A NEW CLAIM. You will automatically be included in this settlement as well. If you need to file a claim, You need to mail it to: CMM Settlement Solutions, P.O. Box 341316, Bartlett, Tennessee 38184. You can hire your own lawyer and object to this settlement if you do not like it, but you must mail your written objection to CMM Settlement Solutions by November 20, 2020. If Chancellor Kyle approves the settlement it is FINAL, you will be stuck with it and the two settling funeral homes will be released from all liability in this case. If you have any questions, you may call 901-859-1009 or you may visit [www.galileeclassaction.com]. You can get a copy of a Claim Form on the website. If you don’t have the internet, please call 901859-1009 and someone will help you get the forms you need to get money from this settlement. PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE CLERK’S OFFICE, OR ANY DEFENDANT ABOUT THIS NOTICE OR THE SETTLEMENT. ONLY CMM SETTLEMENT SOLUTIONS HAS THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO FILE A CLAIM Para un formulario de reclamo en Español, por favor llame al 901859-1009 visite nuestro website (www.galileeclassaction.com).
The New Tri-State Defender
November 5 - 11, 2020
Page 12