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OUR 1732ND ISSUE 05.05.22

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CONTENTS

JESSE DAVIS Editor SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor, Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

OUR 1732ND ISSUE 05.05.22 I’m probably going to get a few things wrong in this column. Not factually wrong, but I am speaking from a position of privilege, which colors my perspective in ways that doubtless haven’t even occurred to me, try as I have to educate myself. I’m a white, straight man. True, I don’t own property, nor am I an evangelical Christian, but for all intents and purposes, I look a lot like the only group of people some Americans deem worthy of having rights. I have a presumption of my own bodily autonomy that some people have never enjoyed. So I’m going to write with the urgency I feel, and I might make some missteps. This is too important, though, and my platform is too prominent, for me not to risk making a fool of myself for a good cause. Last night, as of this writing, Politico broke the news that the Supreme Court has, in a draft of a majority opinion, voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that guaranteed federal protections for abortion rights. Supreme Court drafts change, of course, so this might not be set in stone. Votes could change. Still, this leak seems to confirm that we’re on a course we’ve been on for some time. To repeat a phrase I’ve made much use of in recent years, I’m disgusted but not at all surprised. In the Flyer’s March 24th cover story, “A Human Rights Disaster,” writer Chris McCoy covered the uncertain future of abortion rights in Tennessee. He spoke with multiple sources for the story, and every proponent of legal abortion access was clear about which way the wind was blowing: The right to a safe and legal abortion was in imminent danger. Today, I wish we could be accused of being alarmists. I know this is a touchy topic for some. My question is, if you are one of the Tennesseans celebrating this news, what have you done to make those seeking abortions safer? Do you advocate for systemic access to medical care? Social services for poor mothers? What have you done to protect women and people with uteruses in the workplace, to combat the gender pay gap, to reduce the hold of hierarchical, patriarchal power dynamics in every aspect of life? Are you for federally protected paid parental leave? Do you want sex education taught in schools, free after-school programs for teens? If you haven’t taken any of these and many other possible steps, if you voted for an anti-choice candidate and shared a political meme on social media and then patted yourself on the back for doing your part, you can’t in all honesty call yourself pro-life. You’re pro-forced birth, and there’s no other way to look at it. When we get right down to it, it’s simple. Abortion is healthcare, and everyone deserves access to healthcare. That’s it. End of story. There are so many ways a pregnancy can be life-threatening for the pregnant person. And as for unwanted pregnancies, well, I truly don’t see how that’s anyone’s business but the pregnant person and their doctor. I know that some people, on grounds of a religious objection to the termination of a pregnancy, will argue about the unborn child’s life. I hope they bring that same energy to advocating for universal healthcare and against the death penalty. Those folks aside, though, this seems to me to be about the consolidation of power. And I don’t think it ends with Roe. The constitutionally protected right to privacy doesn’t just support the right to an abortion. It’s also the legal reason behind access to birth control, for example, a right Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn has been publicly critical of. And Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion uses some troubling language, namely that rights must be “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.” Call me a progressive alarmist reactionary, but that doesn’t sound like someone who values any social justice progress made in the last 100 years. Some abhorrent practices have deep roots in U.S. tradition. Republicans have campaigned on overturning Roe for decades. What happens if they achieve that goal, as it seems they will? Do you think they’ll just declare mission accomplished, pack up, and go home? No. Look to comments made recently about interracial marriage, about LGBTQ+ rights. Look at the panic about trans people in sports. It’s not about the sports, folks. Republicans aren’t alone though. Protecting Roe has been a campaign promise and a fundraising tactic for Democrats for as long as I’ve been an adult able to vote. Is that all it is — a carrot to dangle during election years? It would be nice to see a coordinated, unified response from Democrat leadership, but all I expect is a flurry of fundraising emails hitting my inbox. I wish I had suggestions. I certainly think the filibuster needs to go. I think NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4 President Biden should sit senators ManNY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 chin and Sinema down and explain that POLITICS - 7 they need to get with the program. AT LARGE - 8 Instead of offering an actionable plan, FINANCE - 9 I’m writing my conscience. This is wrong. COVER STORY It’s regressive and cruel, and anyone put“TARA M. STRINGFELLOW’S MEMPHIS” ting lofty ideals before the real-world lives BY JESSE DAVIS - 10 that will be lost is the cruelest of fools. WE RECOMMEND - 14 Remember, ending Roe won’t end MUSIC - 15 abortions any more than Prohibition CALENDAR - 16 ended alcohol consumption. All it will do FOOD - 19 is end safe abortions — and end lives. TV - 20 Jesse Davis CL ASSIFIEDS - 22 jesse@memphisflyer.com LAST WORD - 23

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Critical Choices

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Honoring Ghana and Malawi troublesome for some in LGBTQ+ community.

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Beale Street Music Festival brought thousands to Liberty Park this weekend for its first fest in two years. But Nextdoor user Ben Nelson didn’t know. “Lots of loud noise near the Liberty Bowl,” he wrote. “I didn’t think there were football games this time of year.... Anyone know what the heck is going on??” Commenters answered the question many times, complained about the noise, complained they weren’t notified of the event, complained about the complainers, and, of course, complained about the redesign of Tom Lee Park. TWEET OF THE WEEK “I will be announcing my full intentions on buying MySpace tomorrow,” tweeted Mayor Prince Mongo.

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B I G B A D W H AT ? News broke last week that a Nashville company bought CooperYoung buildings now housing Mulan and Margaritas. Owners plan to install a Big Bad Breakfast restaurant where Mulan is now. But Mulan responded on Facebook with this: “Big bad nothing but a sad rumor going around. Mulan isn’t going anywhere. Don’t you worry your pretty little heads.” POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY MULAN

Two annual springtime festivals in Memphis honored African countries this year, both of which outlaw basic LGBTQ+ rights, and those choices face critics who wish the organizations would have picked other countries to celebrate. Africa in April (AIA) this year honored Malawi. Memphis in May (MIM) picked Ghana to celebrate in 2018 for its 2020 festival and kept the country in place through Covid-canceled and pared-down festivities until this year. Same-sex intercourse is banned in both countries, punishable by imprisonment, according to the U.S. Department of State. Gay marriage is illegal in both, according to Equaldex. Discrimination is tolerated in education, housing, and employment, according to the State Department.

“It just sends a bad signal to the LGBTQ+ folks here in Memphis and the Mid-South that we would honor a country that does not honor all of its citizens.” In 2019, Human Rights Watch reported LGBTQ+ Malawians face “routine violence and discrimination in almost every aspect of their daily lives.” In February 2021, the LGBT+ Rights Ghana advocacy group headquarters was raided by police, shut down, and remains closed. A law under review in Ghana would make identifying as gay or a gay ally punishable by five years in prison. The new law would make LGBTQ+ advocacy punishable by 10 years in prison. “We honor the culture of the country,” said David L. Acey, an organizer of AIA. “We don’t get involved in the politics.”

PHOTO: MEMPHIS IN MAY/AFRICA IN APRIL

LGBTQ+ concerns raised with two springtime festivals MIM picks its honored countries three years in advance, said Randy Blevins, spokesman for the group. They are chosen by a committee looking for ties between nations and the Mid-South to exchange culture and foster economic connections. He said Ghana fit the selection guidelines but did not address local criticism of the country’s LGBTQ+ record. “A large portion of the population in Memphis and the Mid-South can trace ancestry to West Africa and Ghana in particular,” Blevins said in a statement. “They cannot honor a country with such a horrific viewpoint against LGBTQ+ people,” said local filmmaker Mark Jones. “It just sends a bad signal to the LGBTQ+ folks here in Memphis and the Mid-South that we would honor a country that does not honor all of its citizens.” OUTMemphis executive director Molly Rose Quinn said much of the world is unsafe for LGBTQ+ people, including Memphis where “many kids are not safe from bullying, violence, and harassment at school.” “We stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ people everywhere, and while Memphis learns about and celebrates Ghanaian culture this spring, we hope those same people and same institutions spend even a fraction of the same time and resources invested in the basic human rights not afforded to queer and trans Memphians,” Quinn said. Shahin Samiei, Shelby County organizer with the Tennessee Equality Project, said, “This gives us an opportunity to collectively learn from, and impart positive examples back with those countries, examples like equality and defending the human rights of all persons. In time, these may influence positive changes in their laws.” Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for more local news.

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enthol cigarettes and cigars could be soon banned by a federal authority in an effort to stop young people from starting to smoke and helping many, especially African Americans, to quit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the long-awaited move Thursday. The agency has worked on the issue since at least 2011. A 2009 law banned all flavors in cigarettes, except for tobacco and menthol. The FDA estimated in 2019 that more than 18.5 million people aged 12 and up smoked menthols in the U.S. It recorded high rates of use by youth, young adults, African Americans, and other racial and ethnic groups. The FDA said banning menthol cigarettes in the U.S. would lower smoking by 15 percent nationwide in the next 40 years. Smoking deaths could drop from 654,000 to 324,000 over that time if menthol was banned, the agency said. AfricanAmerican deaths could be reduced from 330,000 to 238,000 in the next 40 years by banning menthol cigarettes, the FDA said. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Additionally, the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities.” A government study issued last year said almost nine out of 10 African Americans who smoke use menthol cigarettes, compared to less than 30 percent of whites who smoke. That paper also said this choice was heavily influenced by cigarette makers for profit. “For decades, the tobacco industry perniciously targeted Black commu-

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Smoking could drop 15 percent. nities with menthol for tremendous profit, researching and appropriating Black culture along the way,” reads the study, titled “Why Menthol Bans Protect African Americans.” “From free menthol giveaways in ice cream truck-like vans in the 1960s to 1990s to saturating urban, Black neighborhoods with menthol advertisements, cheap prices, and coupons through today, the industry has flooded and continues to target Black communities with this minty poison.” However, others say the ban unfairly targets African-American consumers. Writing in The Washington Post last May, columnist Eugene Robinson said he understood tobacco companies targeted Black consumers for years. “But I can’t rush to cheer a new policy that puts a terribly unhealthy — but perfectly legal — practice enjoyed so disproportionately by African Americans on the wrong side of the law,” Robinson wrote. Enforcement of the new law will only address manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers that deal in cigarettes. The new rules do not include a prohibition on individual consumer possession or use. The FDA will open the proposal for public comment. Beginning May 4th, the public is invited to listening sessions with government leaders. They may also submit comments via mail or email through July 5th. If approved, the new rules would not need congressional review. “It is clear that these efforts will help save lives,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “Through the rule-making process, there’s an important opportunity for the public to make their voices heard and help shape the FDA’s ongoing efforts to improve public health.”

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Which County? A sudden boundary dispute jeopardizes the political fates of Lee and Amber Mills. Back in 2015 Tom Leatherwood, as Shelby County register, signed and thereby authenticated the deed of Lee and Amber Mills for a brand-new house at the Shelby County address of 12903 Shane Hollow Drive in Arlington. In 2022, Lee Mills, an airline pilot and a former chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, is hoping to unseat Leatherwood in a race for the District 99 state House of Representatives seat. It would be Mills’ third effort to defeat Leatherwood for the seat, beginning with a decision in 2018 by the county GOP steering committee to designate Leather-

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County, not Shelby, and quoted from Article II, Section 9 of the state constitution: “No person shall be a Representative unless he shall be a citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, and shall have been a citizen of this state for three years, and a resident in the county he represents one year, immediately preceding the election.” (Note: Italics added for emphasis.) The determination, said Goins, had been made by Doug Himes, an attorney who had worked on the 2020 House redistricting legislation, using census guidelines. And Goins included with the letter a map clearly showing the Mills residence and most of the subdivision that contains it to be in Fayette County. Lee Mills protests that he and his wife have paid county property taxes on the Shane Hollow dwelling since 2015 and that the premise of a Shelby County address has been accepted as valid in several other civil transactions. He cites Tennessee Code Annotated 5-2-116, a provision of which declares that in “circumstances where a dispute arises concerning the location of a county line for purposes other than property taxation … the state board of equalization shall not have the authority to locate a PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER county line so that property that Lee and Amber Mills’ residence on Shane has been assessed for propHollow Drive in Arlington erty taxation purposes in one (1) county for five (5) years or more is located in a different county.” The Shelby County Election Commission has asked for a declaratory judgment on the matter, which is scheduled for resolution in Chancery Court and has been assigned to Chancellor Jim Kyle. Lee Mills vows that an adverse decision will be appealed. Meanwhile, a related circumstance is that of Mills’ wife PHOTO: COURTESY LEE MILLS Amber Mills, who has repreCounty line map showing the Mills’ sented District 1 on the Shelby residence in Fayette County Commission since her election in 2018 and has been certified wood as the party nominee rather than as a candidate for re-election by the Mills after the death of the long-term Election Commission. Amber Mills holder of the seat, Ron Lollar. Mills then was the only candidate listed on the made an unsuccessful run against the Republican primary ballot this week. then-incumbent Leatherwood in the 2020 At this writing, no legal challenge has Republican primary. been made to the validity of CommissionBut the third time may not, even poer Mills’ presence on the ballot, and, if she tentially, be the charm for Mills if a ruling is subsequently certified by the Election by the state election coordinator, Mark Commission as the winner of this week’s Goins, is sustained in the courts. In a letprimary, that fact will undoubtedly loom ter to Mills on April 18th, Goins informed large in legal proceedings involving her Mills that his residence was in Fayette husband’s case.

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graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in the 1970s. The school runs a real daily newspaper, where students in their senior year get hands-on experience as reporters. In those long-ago days, we wrote on typewriters using cheap brown paper. Every desk had an ashtray on it. Our editors were veterans from dailies around the country and were mean as cobras. When you turned in a story, you better have spelled every name right and gotten “both sides” or you got your ass chewed and your story was wadded up and thrown into an editor’s wastebasket. Back then, nothing was stored on a computer, so you started your rewrite from scratch. Good times. We drank a lot of beer after work. One day, the police radio in the corner of the newsroom reported that a child had been run over and killed by a school bus. I was given the story. I dutifully called the school district spokesperson and got a boilerplate statement: “We regret this unavoidable tragedy, blah blah.” I got the police report and wrote up the details of the accident; then I got a quote from a police spokesperson. When I turned in my story, the editor tossed it back to me and said, “This needs a statement from the kid’s parents.” I was mortified. I couldn’t even imagine what question I would ask the parents of a dead 5-year-old. I sat staring at the phone. An hour later, I told the editor that I’d called the parents’ house several times and no one had answered. It was before answering machines and cell phones and there was a looming press deadline, so I got away with it. I decided then that I was not hard-boiled enough for daily newspaper reporting. This “get both sides” ethos still remains, but what was once our universal source of news and information — the local newspaper — is a crispy cicada shell. Most of them aren’t even locally owned any longer. They’re doing what they can with the resources they have, but millions of Americans are now self-selecting their news sources. And, sadly, millions of those Americans have no idea how to distinguish legitimate news reporting from propaganda and misinformation. Take an issue like, say, the minimum wage. It’s $7.25 an hour and hasn’t been raised in 13 years. A traditional journalist would explore the issue by talking to business owners, hourly workers, labor union officials, and economists. Those in favor of raising the minimum wage would say it puts more money in the

pockets of the working class, which will spend it, which will drive the economy via increased sales of appliances, cars, vacations, etc. Those opposed would argue that raising the minimum wage will increase labor costs, which will increase the price of goods, cause inflation, and put companies out of business. After getting input from both sides, a journalist would then dig into historical trends, to see what actually happened when the minimum wage was raised in the past. Then, voila!, a news article. Fair and balanced. Two sides with a little neutral analysis. This was journalism for decades. Pick an issue. Rinse and repeat. Done properly, the reader would have no idea how the reporter felt about the minimum wage. Reporters were not even allowed to cover stories where they might have a conflict of interest.

Millions of Americans are now self-selecting their news sources. Contrast that with the recently released taped conversations between former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity. Bartiromo is heard telling Meadows the questions she’s going to ask Trump in an upcoming interview, setting up the softballs, so to speak. Hannity is heard asking Meadows, “Which states do we need to focus on?” in order to drive GOP voter turnout for Trump. Note the “we.” After getting his marching orders, Hannity ends the conversation by saying, “Yes, sir!” to Meadows. Welcome to the new “fair and balanced.” And don’t even get me started on the racist bilge that Tucker Carlson spews out to 4.3 million Americans every night. The Fox News network and its hosts have an agenda. They are the network of Trumpism and manufactured far-right outrage. The hosts at MSNBC also have an agenda, a progressive one, though I don’t think they’re anywhere near as manipulative of the truth as Fox. The overarching point is that people need to learn to distinguish between reporting, opinion, and propaganda. Legitimate news reporting exists; it’s just harder to find amid all the dreck pouring from the political fringes. Propaganda is designed to make you feel something — fear, anger, outrage. Good journalism is supposed to make you think. We need to seek out the latter.

FINANCE By Gene Gard

Happy Returns

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like ours, the irony is that nobody would care a bit about investments A or C. Everyone would love investment B! The founder would be hailed as a visionary and a hero. There would be compelling YouTube videos of smartsounding, confident people explaining why they’re putting their life savings into investment B, even though investment B’s attractive returns are all in the past. Sure, you might turn $100 into $10,000 while living in the basement as a student at age 20, but in the grand scheme of things that money will end up making almost no difference in your long-term financial trajectory. In fact, it would reinforce the wrong lessons and likely lead to much worse choices going forward. When it comes time to pick investments in a 401K, most people just look down the performance column and pick what has done the best in the past. By doing that rather than focusing on the long-term drivers of market performance, you’re likely picking things that will end up a lot like investment B. There is variation in financial markets, but confidence in your financial plan and investment strategy can help you ride out the rough times and meet your goals rather than succumbing to the siren song of past performance. Gene Gard is Chief Investment Officer at Telarray, a Memphis-based wealth management firm that helps families navigate investment, tax, estate, and retirement decisions. Ask him your questions or schedule an objective portfolio review at letstalk@telarrayadvisors.com. Sign up for the next free online seminar on the Events tab at telarrayadvisors.com.

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NEWS & OPINION

magine a working career from age 20 to age 60 in a world of three investment options. Somehow you know with certainty all three will start at $10 per share and end up at $1,000 per share after 40 years. Investment A stays around $10 for several decades and jumps to $1,000 right at the end. Investment B jumps quickly to a high value approaching $1,000 and then stays relatively flat for several decades. Investment C marches up a consistent percentage every year on its way to $1,000. Which one would you want? Think about it for a moment before reading on. If you want to retire at a typical age and have the most money possible, you would actually want investment A. You would have the chance to work a full career and save as many dollars as possible to benefit from that magic 100x bump near retirement. Flat periods in the stock market (and even downturns) are actually great for investors still working who have a chance to accumulate investments at lower prices. The problem is that even if there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it can be hard to stay the course even if a good eventual result is likely (but not guaranteed). Investment C would be a great choice as well. A 100x return over 40 years doesn’t require as big of an annual return as you might think — only about 12.2 percent each year. That doesn’t sound too impressive but really adds up over time. If you wanted to retire early or have more financial flexibility throughout life, you would probably pick investment C. You could compound your early earnings to help replace your income and then continue to make consistent returns as you move into retirement and begin to spend. If this imaginary world is anything

Call today or apply online to refinance your boat or jet ski and see how much you could save. Plus, make no payments for up to 90 days!

COVER STORY By Jesse Davis

TARA M.

STRINGFELLOW’S

MEMPHIS

Local poet and author conjures the soul of the city with debut novel.

May 5-11, 2022

any of the most memorable Memphians are transplants from other cities. Consider famed composer W.C. Handy, born in Florence, Alabama, who notated the Memphis blues. Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who most fans agree embodies the spirit and soul of the city, is from South Carolina, not Tennessee. Maybe it’s something about choosing Memphis, recognizing the magic here, that helps newly minted Memphians find the frequency of this musical place. Maybe it’s simply that living elsewhere grants perspective, and thus a deeper discernment. If that’s so, it would go a long way to explaining poet and author Tara M. Stringfellow’s uncanny understanding of the Bluff City. Stringfellow, whose debut novel Memphis (The Dial Press) was released in April to rave reviews (The New York Times called it “rhapsodic”), is a Memphian. But she hasn’t always been. Though her family has deep roots in the city from which her novel takes its name, Stringfellow grew up on a military base in Japan before moving to Memphis when she was a child. She has also lived in Ghana, Chicago, Cuba, Spain, Italy, and Washington, D.C., before settling in Memphis (again) as an adult. Perhaps serendipitously, she finished her novel, during the coronavirus pandemic, in Memphis. Her debut evokes the history of her

PHOTO: JUSTIN FOX BURKS

Tara M. Stringfellow

A POET’S BEGINNINGS Setting is key, in fiction and in life. Just as Stringfellow’s novel is inspired by family history, her life as a writer was nourished both by her Memphis roots and her time spent abroad. “Memphis has always been my ancestral home,” she says. “I’ve been coming here in the summer since I was a little girl, but I mainly grew up in Okinawa, Japan. I spent my formative years there, my childhood there. That’s probably the reason I became a poet. It’s a beautiful, beautiful place. Living on a tropical island, learning how to swim in the sea, eating noodles, and watching anime is going to make somebody a little weird. What was I supposed to become except a poet?” Her father is a retired marine and is now a congressional liaison. He was an officer in Japan, and Stringfellow’s childhood experiences there gave her perspective. She says she didn’t experience racism there as a young Black child, at least not in the way she does in America. “I can’t tell you how

valuable, how privileged that is,” she says. After her father read her a poem when she was only 3 years old, she knew she wanted to be a poet, so she dedicated herself to writing and a love of poetry. The push and pull of her life on a tropical island and her roots back in the States helped her develop her voice. She grew up “always knowing that I was from Memphis, and calling back to my folks in Memphis,” she remembers. “Long-distance calls from Okinawa to Memphis … It was kind of the perfect confluence of events.” Eventually, Stringfellow’s family left Japan, moving back to the U.S. Later, after her parents’ divorce, Stringfellow remembers, “We moved cross country in a van.” With her mother, she moved to her great-aunt’s house in North Memphis, a time and place that would inspire settings in her novel. “Douglass kind of raised me for a bit,” Stringfellow says, “and I loved it.” THE ROAD TO MEMPHIS Travel is an undeniable part of Stringfellow’s story, both her true life’s tale and the plot of her novel. “I believe wholeheartedly in it. I do. I know I say this from a rather privileged position, but even when I was dirt-poor teaching English at White Station, I saved my pennies all year, so I could live abroad in Cuba, in Italy,” Stringfellow says, adding that the experience was “awakening for me as a writer.” Long before she (with her faithful hound, Huckleberry) settled in Memphis, Stringfellow was on her way, paving the road to Memphis. She lived for a time in Chicago, a city with ties to the Bluff City. There she worked on her poetry, following the compass of her artistic ambition. “I would do a lot of spoken word events, a lot of poetry readings. Chicago’s great for that,” she says. “I loved it. I just knew I wanted to do this, so I would just do odd jobs.” While odd jobs can help make ends meet, even poets sometimes long for a little stability and security. “I said, ‘Oh, I have to eat food. And that costs money,’” Stringfellow remembers. “I went to law school. It’s something I did, but I didn’t really want to be an attorney.” Practicing law is often lauded as the perfect post-graduate profession for those who excelled at writing in their

PHOTO: COURTESY NICOLE YASINSKY

Moments before Stringfellow’s book launch party at Novel, the bookstore sold out of her debut novel. undergraduate years. But even if one has a talent for it, if their heart is pulled, like a lodestone, naturally magnetized, toward a different horizon, then all the success in the world counts for little. “I was just this poet who would show up and say, ‘Well, I’m here because my poetry didn’t sell,’” Stringfellow laughs, adding, “People would just look at me like ‘You’re not here to hustle and be a Supreme Court judge?’” She was as smart and ambitious as any of her peers, but her ambitions would lead her down a different path, on the winding road back toward Memphis. Stringfellow graduated and became an attorney. She got married and eventually got divorced. Each change took courage. How many great novels are never finished because the author-tobe fears to leave a sure thing and strike out into the unknown? “I gave it all up. I got divorced,” Stringfellow remembers. “I went back to Northwestern at night

to their MFA program, which was not fully funded. I paid for it out of pocket,” she says, “and I wrote. On a wing of a prayer.” But her faith in herself paid dividends. She kept writing, and she met with an agent. “I said I had a book,” she says. “I just knew I had a hit. I was like, ‘No, I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. This is destiny and faith.’ So I became dirt-poor and invested in myself, and my parents understood.” It’s clear that her family means much to Stringfellow; she mentions her mother and father frequently in our conversation. “I’m already blessed because most parents, I don’t think, would say that to their children,” she says. “People say life is short, but life is long when you make the wrong decision.” So, as she wrote her way toward a publishing contract, Stringfellow kept her faith. Meanwhile, the world was in turmoil — political instability, one of the largest social justice movements in U.S. history, and a global pandemic made the backdrop as she continued to believe in the future she envisioned. “We all thought like, ‘Lord, what’s gonna happen?’ I had a book deal, but we didn’t sign the contract for months.” Still, she says, there was comfort in drawing the story inside her out into the world. At the time, she lived with her father, a poet and her first reader, sharing her vision for her novel with him. “I had no idea I would get this book deal. During my life, I didn’t think anyone would want to read a story about Black women in a house in Memphis. I thought maybe somewhere a small publisher would take a chance on me and maybe it would strike big, but maybe not,” she says. “I was ready and willing to give my life to the canon anyway. And to teach and maybe get a poem in a magazine. “I didn’t do it for the fame at all. This is very shocking.” THE BOOK OF THE BLUFF CITY “Memphis, we’ve just been through a lot,” Stringfellow says. “I really wanted to do something nice for us. People kind of forget about us, or they get famous and leave. I still live here. I live in North Memphis in a Black historic continued on page 12

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

new home. Memphis is the story of three generations of Black women in Memphis. It follows young Joan, her sister, her mother and aunt, and her grandmother over the course of 70 years. It is a story both tragic and triumphant, a family saga that charts its way through the turbulent waters of racism and violence and complicated relationships, but ultimately toward forgiveness, growth, and the power of hope, art, and community. In the novel, Joan’s grandfather built a house in the historic Black neighborhood of Douglass — only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in the city. That loss echoes through generations. So too does the kindness of the Douglass community, the power of painter Joan’s art, and the ways a family can leave a legacy, all brilliantly evoked in Stringfellow’s lyrical prose. Local bookseller Becca Sloan calls Memphis “an exquisite take on Memphis over the years, a celebration of Douglass, an ode to Black womanhood, to community, to identity, sisterhood, strength.” Nicole Yasinsky, marketing manager at Novel bookstore, says, “Tara Stringfellow’s poet origins shine through in her lush descriptions of everyday things, and her characters are ones that will stick with me forever. She manages to guide us through generations of trauma and pain while also highlighting the beauty, joy, and resilience of her characters and this city. We were thrilled to host Tara at Novel for her book launch party — to a sold-out crowd — and sales and love for the book continue to grow. Almost every day, I see someone discovering Memphis and Tara Stringfellow for the first time, and I feel certain she has a long and brilliant career ahead of her.”

continued from page 11 neighborhood. I want to live here until the day I die.” The author talks of writing her novel while former President Trump made public comments “disparaging Black cities across this nation,” she says, referencing Trump’s vile remarks about Baltimore. “I was sick of that. Just because we’re poor and because there’s a lot of crime here doesn’t mean that we’re not beautiful people and worthy of high art. Memphis is the best city on Earth. I have lived everywhere. I don’t know of another place on this Earth that is so welcoming and warm.” So she wrote something for Memphians to be proud of, to see themselves reflected in, with honesty and love. “I certainly did write it as a gift for Black women,” Stringfellow says. And she wrote for her family. “You owe it to your grandfather, who you’ve never met. You owe it to your grandmother who died way too young,” she remembers telling herself. “I’m just trying to write and write as well as I can.” To do so, Stringfellow brings all her skills to the task. She has a keen ear for language, and a poet’s gift for word choice. “You can tell a story in fiction with the poetic tools,” she explains. She says that when she envisions the scenes, she can hear her characters speak, note the differences of their

accents. It’s telling that she mentions accents, as they are mentioned often in the novel; they give subtle shades of characterization. Stringfellow understands the social, economic, and geographic forces at play in the region, the difference between rural Mississippi and rural Tennessee, and how these forces converge on Memphis. As we speak, she often talks of meter, of the sound and rhythm of words. She considers her artistic choices carefully; Stringfellow is as elegant and nuanced a writer as has ever walked the streets of the South, a region known for its talented storytellers. She has put in the work, read and listened, traveled and studied. She’s worn many titles, written across genres, and each new challenge has honed her skill, deepened her understanding of how words can evoke an emotion. She would need all those tools to tell the story of Memphis, one both emblematic of the region and profoundly personal. POETS ARE POLITICAL It’s impossible to unspool the story of Memphis without acknowledging tragedy, and the overwhelming tragedy of the United States is its history of racism and oppression. Memphis is a city of small, tight-knit communities, where great strides were made toward equality and civil rights, and where

just as much pain has been inflicted. For Stringfellow, some of that pain is undeniably personal. “Growing up, I knew my grandfather was the first Black homicide detective in Memphis, but the circumstances of his death were as murky as the banks of the Mississippi from which his body was pulled,” she writes on her website. “I grew up with devastating, grief-laced stories about gorgeous and unknown Black folk. All I had as proof were quilts and stories. But I knew, intrinsically, that it would be my lifelong duty, like my mother in our kitchen, to make those tales sing.” In this, Stringfellow’s passion is a vocation, a calling. She wields her words with responsibility, one made urgent by this sad truth: History repeats itself. “When I was writing about the death of Myron, based on my actual grandfather,” she remembers, “George Floyd died that same day. … I’m sitting there writing the chapter in my daddy’s basement. That’s when I knew I had to dedicate the book to his daughter.” Stringfellow did just that, and wrote Gianna Floyd a poem as well. “Who’s gonna read this girl stories at night now? That’s a dad’s job,” she remembers thinking. “I just felt like I was so angry. I needed a whole book to write instead of a poem,” Stringfellow says. “When people take Black men from this world,

I don’t think they realize who and what kind of village they’re taking every time. I wouldn’t be the poet I am if I didn’t have my dad editing my work.” That reality is embedded deep within Memphis. Each loss is felt, not just once, but again and again throughout the years. Each trauma creates ripples that touch and distort many more lives. The poet says it was vital for her to tell the truth, to call out injustice. “Poets are political. We reflect the time, like the news criers. I had to reflect what I see around me,” she explains. “My mom had to grow up without a father. Like, that’s a real thing.” Stringfellow does more than illustrate the ills of our age, though; she also uses her novel to inspire. One message woven into the fabric of Memphis is this: Art is powerful, and it strives to stitch a community together, to be a catalyst for change. The message is seen throughout the novel, especially through Joan’s paintings. It’s something Stringfellow holds dear as well. Of art, she says, “It should make you cry. It should make you uncomfortable. It should bring up memories. “It should spur you into some sort of action on your own path, to ask larger questions of yourself, as a human being on this Earth, what are you doing? And are you doing it well, are you doing it with love? If art doesn’t do that, then what’s the point?”

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COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

THE BEST PRICES

Live music at

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Literally Literary may 5th - 7:00pm Joey Fletcher

may 7th - 8:00pm Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears

By Abigail Morici

PHOTO: COURTESY MEMPHIS PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Past exhibiting authors

Are you an overdue book? ’Cause you have fine written all over you. And if that pick-up line doesn’t make you want to check out your nearest library, I don’t know what will. Seriously, that’s the only pick-up line I have left in circulation. Maybe, I should just let Memphis Public Libraries (MPL) speak for themselves; the competition is really stacked against me when it comes to them. Take for instance their motto for this year’s Bookstock festival: Come Back Stronger. With a line like that, you just know they’re ready to impress. And impress, they will. For its 10th anniversary, the familyfriendly festival will feature 60 local authors for book-signings and meet-and-greets. New York Times bestselling author Richard Grant will be a keynote speaker and will talk about The Deepest South of All, a part-history and part-travelogue about Natchez, Mississippi. Additionally, University of Memphis professors Susan O’Donovan and Beverly Bond will speak about their book Remembering the Memphis Massacre. For teens and kids, two local authors will facilitate presentations and Q&As: Erica Martin, who wrote And We Rise, a collection of poems about the Civil Rights Movement, and Ali Manning, founder of Food Science 4 Kids and author of the children’s book Can I Play With My Food? But the day will have even more than just books, says Wang-Ying Glasgow, MPL adult services coordinator. That’s not to minimize the importance of books, of course — after all, books immerse readers in different times, places, and points of view. Hence, Bookstock will showcase different cultures with Latino music, Mongolian and Tibetan dances, a Japan outreach initiative, and a “Memphis in May Salutes Ghana” exhibit, which will include books all about Ghana and even a few giveaways. In addition to the cultural groups, some Memphis cosplayers will dress up in different period costumes, but, Glasgow adds, “We encourage everybody to dress up in costumes, too, as their favorite book characters.” The day will also have food trucks, Cloud 901 tours, a poetry workshop and creation stations for teens, and a balloon artist and storytime for kids. “There’s something for everyone.” At the end of the day, Glasgow hopes that Bookstock attendees can leave inspired — inspired to read and learn, and maybe even inspired to write. As an anecdote, Glasgow mentions a woman who went to Bookstock one year and became inspired to finally finish her novel. “The next year she came back as one of the exhibiting authors,” Glasgow says. “We say everybody has a story and everybody can write a book to share their story.” For a full schedule of the day’s happenings and a list of exhibiting authors, visit memphislibrary.org/bookstock. BOOKSTOCK: MEMPHIS AREA AUTHORS’ FESTIVAL, BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY, SATURDAY, MAY 7, 11 A.M.-3 P.M., FREE.

may 12th - 6:00pm

May 5-11, 2022

Lucky 7 Brass Band

may 20th - 8:00pm Southern Avenue

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2 1 6 6 C e n t r a l Av e . Memphis TN 38104

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES May 5th - 11th Orchestra Unplugged: Considering Matthew Shepard The Halloran Centre, ThursdayFriday, May 5-6, 7:30 p.m., $37.50 In 1998 outside of Laramie, Wyoming, a 21-year-old gay man named Matthew Shepard was tied to a ranch fence post, beaten, and left to die. In 2016, famed composer and conductor Craig Hella-Johnson created one of the most important and powerful oratorios ever written. With inspiration from Bach to gospel, cowboy tunes to Broadway, this work is not about hate and death, but ultimately about unity and triumph over hate. To purchase tickets, visit memphissymphony.org. Before the show, enjoy live music from a local musician. The pre-concert lobby showcase begins at 6:30 p.m.

Kente & Kitenge: The Fashions of Ghana Hilton Memphis, Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m., $65 Enjoy food, fun, and authentic fabrics at this show for fashion and culture lovers produced in coordination with Accra Fashion Week. Taste of Ghana Museum of Science & History, Saturday, May 7, 6-8 p.m., $20-$35 Guests are invited to an evening of Ghanaian music, food, shopping, and more. Sample the flavors of Ghana with authentic small plates and soups while enjoying the rhythms of live traditional music by Obruni Dance Band. Hear and share personal stories from the local Ghanaian community. There will be handmade goods from artists and craftsmen available for purchase, as well as a cash bar.

Memphis Brunch Festival Memphis Botanic Garden, Saturday, May 7, noon-3 p.m., $38 Sample the very best brunch offerings from some of the best restaurants around the city, and enjoy delicious Bloody Marys, mimosas, and more tasty springtime cocktails to get you in the brunch spirit — along with fun party music, great party activities, photobooth snaps, and more party fun! Your ticket includes entry to the event, brunch food sampling, and 12 cocktail samples, with awesome entertainment. Best of all, every sip counts, as proceeds benefit Volunteer Memphis! You don’t have to imagine the most perfect brunch because the festival will create one for you. This is a 21+ event.

Sue Foley’s musical journey leads to the Blues Music Awards.

his week will witness the most blues-intensive stretch of days that Memphis has seen in a long time. For one thing, the International Blues Challenge (IBC), which usually occurs in January, has now been folded into the same week as the Blues Music Awards (BMAs). And that’s not all: The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will kick things off on Wednesday, May 4th, followed by the Blues Music Awards on Thursday, May 5th. On Friday, May 6th, the Blues Hall of Fame will host a special reception for award-winning music photographer Jérôme Brunet, even as the IBC begins its four-day run. Sue Foley, nominated for the BMAs’ Koko Taylor Award (Best Traditional Blues Female Artist) this year, with her Pinky’s Blues nominated for Album of the Year, exemplifies the international

quality of the blues today, though she’s never participated in the IBC. Having grown up in Ottawa and Vancouver, Foley is proof positive of the blues’ power to reach across cultural boundaries. Now regarded as one of the finest blues guitarists alive (to which her Koko Taylor Award nomination attests), she became a devotee of the genre at an early age, moving to Austin, Texas, by the time she was 21. To trace her evolution as an artist, I spoke with her shortly before her other Memphis appearance — at the Beale Street Music Festival. Memphis Flyer: Thank you for taking a moment to talk during your tour. Sue Foley: Sure! We’re out with ZZ Top and Cheap Trick this week. It’s pretty fun. I got to sit in with Cheap Trick last night and I realized, “Oh my god, these guys were so big for me.” You forget — because I’m a blues artist, I haven’t thought about them for a long time. And then I was like,

“Wait a minute, these guys are huge!” I was really appreciating your guitar, “Pinky,” on your latest album. There’s a unique charm to a Fender Telecaster’s sound, isn’t there? There is. It’s a really simple guitar. I’m a pretty staunch Tele player. Not that I can’t play other guitars, but there’s something about a Tele. A lot of it was Albert Collins, I think, who put the Tele on the map for me. “The Master of the Telecaster.” And when you think about the staunch Tele players, it’s such a unique set of people, from Steve Cropper to Muddy Waters. A lot of country people like Teles. It’s not a huge blues guitar, but there are some pretty killer blues players that gravitated to Teles, too. Are there any Memphis players who have been especially significant to you? Yes, the most significant player for me is Memphis Minnie. She’s my favorite artist of all time. She was a guitar-playing woman and paved the way for all of us. Blues has a long history of women playing guitar, and I really attribute that to Minnie. Because who came before her, really? Nobody that had a career like she did. There was Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was more gospel, but Minnie really, for me, paved the way. I’ve been playing her songs since I was a teenager. I love a lot of Mississippi artists. But Memphis Minnie’s still my number one. Has it been challenging, being a woman in the blues world? The funny thing is, I think the blues has always been receptive to strong women and women instrumentalists. So from the players themselves, I never felt any difficulty. Can you play or can you not play? This is just a hard business, period. So I’m not sure it’s any harder on women than men. It’s just different. A different set of obstacles we encounter. For instance, having children. Playing the blues really sets your life in a certain direction, as a female would-be child-bearer. But in the blues, there are a lot of female instrumentalists. More than ever. So I feel it’s more about the music. People just respect you if you’re a good player. The 43rd Blues Music Awards will be held at the Renasant Convention Center on Thursday, May 5th. Doors 5 p.m. Visit blues.org/blues-music-awards for details.

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Pinky and the Blues

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MUSIC By Alex Greene

15 LAWN C CH CHAIRS S WE W WELCOME, EL E LCO O NO N COOLERS COO ER

CALENDAR of EVENTS:

May 5 - 11

Meet the Author: Kristin Harmel

ART AN D S P EC I A L E X H I B ITS

“Alice’s Adventures at the Garden”

Meet larger-than-life Alice in Wonderland-themed sculptures constructed entirely of mosaiculture. Sunday, May 8-Dec. 31.

F EST IVA L

International Blues Challenge

Kristin Harmel celebrates the paperback release of her novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars. Friday, May 6, 6 p.m.

A lineup of the best blues performers. Friday, May 6-May 9. BLUES FOUNDATION

NOVEL

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

C O M E DY

Artists’ Link Spring Showcase

Cast Together

World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest

Teams representing the best of barbecue compete. Tuesday, May 10-May 14.

Burlesque, poetry, skit, song, and dance! $15, $25. Thursday, May 5, 8 p.m.

Virtual exhibition of over 90 works by 50 different artists. Through May 31.

LIBERTY PARK

Laughs at Lafayette’s

ART HAP P E N I N G S

Opening Exhibition Party: “Where I Come From” Opening reception for exhibition of work by Ghanaian artist Theresah Ankomah. Saturday, May 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The Burial of Kojo

IndieMemphis/Memphis in May screening. $10-$12. Wednesday, May 11, 7-9 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Pokeweed Comedy

MALCO STUDIO ON THE SQUARE

Andy Sandford headlines. $15. Sunday, May 8, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

FO O D A N D D R I N K

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Cuisine of Ghana

UREVBU CONTEMPORARY

Enjoy a five-course dinner created by visiting Ghanaian chef, Jove Ansah. Saturday, May 7, 7 p.m.

COM M U N ITY B O O K EVE N TS

Health Fair

Dolen Perkins-Valdez celebrates the launch of Take My Hand. Saturday, May 7, 5 p.m.

GREATER FAITH TABERNACLE

CHEZ PHILIPPE

Jenny Miller’s Sunny Days is just one of the works featured in Gallery 1091’s exhibition, which can be viewed at wkno.org/gallery-1091.

May 5-11, 2022

NOVEL

Lifeblood blood drive, Baptist mobile mammography, Covid vaccines, HIV, Hep C testing, games for the kids, and free food. Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Memphis Redbirds vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Monday, May 2-May 8. AUTOZONE PARK

T H EAT E R

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

You Can’t Take It with You

The George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart comedy is a zany and delightful play with all the expected — and some unexpected — bits that make it a classic. $25. Through May 8. THEATRE MEMPHIS

TO U R S

The Memphis Music Tour of Elmwood Cemetery

S PO R TS

901 Wrestling

BLACK LODGE

Smokey Joe’s Cafe is sure to leave audiences dancing in the aisles. $27. Through May 29.

F I LM

Comma Comedians’ comedy and variety show. Tuesday, May 10, 7 p.m.

of the South” Chris Ward vs. “The Submission Technician” Shane Shoffner(c) $5-$15. Friday, May 6, 7-10 p.m.

Smokey Joe’s Cafe

HI TONE

GALLERY 1091

Meet the Author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

Brother vs. Brother - 1819 Championship Match; “King

Introducing you to the memories of musicians at Elmwood. $20. Friday, May 6, 5:30-7 p.m. ELMWOOD CEMETERY

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Texas Tacos in Byhalia features fresh food made by family.

ow did a guy named Nick Hammer from Collierville learn to make tacos and eventually open the Texas Tacos food truck in Byhalia, Mississippi? First, the restaurant business runs in the family. His grandmother owned Hammer’s Homestead House in the late ’70s in Pickwick, Tennessee. His uncle owned another Pickwick restaurant, Snoopy’s. Hammer, 45, learned to cook as a child. “We were taught as kids that you need to know how to cook for yourself,” he says. “Iron your own clothes.” He learned to make fajitas when he was 16 from a friend in McAllen, Texas. They began winning fajita cooking contests after Hammer moved to Texas. They used sirloin because good fajita meat or “skirt steak” is expensive.

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Cole, Bunny, and Nick Hammer at Texas Tacos Hammer also learned to cook Mexican food, including different salsas and sauces, from the wife of another friend in McAllen. “She had a very clean way of cooking Mexican food,” he remembers. “It wasn’t super greasy, unhealthy.” Mexican food was a part of Hammer’s daily life in Texas, where he and his ex-wife, who was half Hispanic, lived for 15 years. “Breakfast tacos. Maybe tacos for lunch. But not every single day. It’s just that the tortilla down there is such an important part. It’s just like bread,” he says. And there are so many ways to eat tacos. “You throw something together with meat, chicken or pork or beef.” A carpenter by trade, Hammer worked with groups of men in the Texas oil fields. “All of these guys are either from South Texas or from Mexico,” he remembers. “They would cook out every night.” He realized food he gets in Mexican restaurants “north of San Antonio” is “not the same food they are cooking for themselves at home. Or the same food that they’re eating while they’re here.

Totally different. It’s almost like there’s a commercial Mexican food and the actual home-cooked stuff they eat.” It includes “a lot more of everything. Lots of garlic. Lots of onion, cilantro, lime, and jalapeños.” Hammer and his family moved to Marshall County in 2019 to work on family property. He and his son, Cole, 23, also worked construction jobs around the country for an Atlanta-based company. But they wanted a change. “We just got tired of traveling and living in hotels.” Hammer bought a 22-foot-long trailer and opened his Texas Tacos food truck with his son and his mother, Bunny Hammer, in September 2021. “I just wanted something that was local where I could make a decent family wage and stay close to home.” As for the food, he says, “We cook all of our food fresh every day. And sometimes several times a day.” And, Hammer points out, everything is “made from scratch.” In a nod to his roots, he calls his food “Texas” instead of “Mexican,” Hammer says. “The further you get from the border coming this way, the food changes until you’re left with a watered-down version of what the original was. We don’t want to give a watered-down version of Mexican food. If you went to South Texas, you’d get something similar to what we’re making.” For his tacos, Hammer uses sirloin meat for the steak and tenderloin for the chicken. His tacos also have the right texture. “When you eat a taco, you want it to chew up easily.” They also sell “big nachos” and the “Big Tex Potato,” which is a papa loaded with meat, cheese, and vegetables. “Enough to feed two or three people.” Texas Tacos is about to introduce “street corn” — “An ear of corn, whether it’s cut off the cob or on the cob, that has Cotija cheese, butter, a layer of mayonnaise to coat the Cotija cheese, and chili powder. It’s grilled roasted corn.” Hammer, who also caters events, features a potato loaded with ingredients, but he didn’t want to feature a menu loaded with items. “We wanted a simpler menu. And things on the menu we wanted to do really, really well.” Texas Tacos is in the Crain Auto parking lot on MS-178 in Byhalia, Mississippi. For orders or catering, call (662) 429-9562.

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TV By Chris McCoy

Watching the Ship Sink The brilliant Better Call Saul spirals toward its inevitable ending.

May 5-11, 2022

t the end of Citizen Kane, the nameless reporter, who has pursued the mystery of Charles Foster Kane’s last word “Rosebud,” stands with his colleagues amid piles of the great man’s possessions and admits he hasn’t been able to figure out what it meant. “What have you been doing all this time?” they ask. “Playing with a jigsaw puzzle.” The sixth and final season of Better Call Saul begins with homage to that famous ending, only instead of executors taking inventory of a mogul’s estate, it’s the government seizing the property of fugitive lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Like Breaking Bad, the show it serves as a prequel to, it’s the story of how a fairly normal guy becomes an epic villain. Only in the case of Better Call Saul, we’ve always known where this is going. It’s like Titanic — we know the ship is going to sink; it’s all about the details of how it happened. When the season begins, Jimmy McGill is more successful than ever, but

he’s already in over his head farther than he knows. His new solo criminal practice under the name Saul Goodman is thriving, and he’s flush with cash thanks to his star client, Mexican drug cartel kingpin Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). He’s blissfully unaware of carnage unfolding south of the border, where Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) has ordered a hit on Lalo in his own home — a big no-no in the cartel world. His man on the inside, Nacho (Michael Mando), did his job by unlocking

Bob Odenkirk (above) shines as Saul Goodman. the gate for the gunmen. It’s not his fault that they killed everyone in the house but Lalo, including burning to death the Salamanca family’s beloved grandmother, but he’s the one who’s left without a chair when the music stops. Meanwhile, back in Albuquerque, Saul and his power-lawyer wife Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) are pursuing an elaborate

scheme to win a long-running lawsuit by framing their former boss Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) for cocaine possession. Their machinations generate some much-needed comedy in the persons of Betsy and Craig Kellerman, former clients whose transparent viciousness makes them easy marks. Then, showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould deliver one of their patented rug-pulls. When the Kellermans get wise to the scheme, Saul wants to simply bribe them into silence, but Kim’s solution is so vicious and cold-blooded, it actually shocks Saul. Kim is Better Call Saul’s richest character, and biggest surprise. The woman we met as a try-hard do-gooder, whose attraction to the bad-boy screwup is a mystery to everyone, has emerged as the show’s Lady Macbeth. Of all of the show’s drug lords, street bosses, criminal lawyers, and lawyers who are criminals, she is the most dangerous because no one knows what she wants. Her quest to ruin Howard is unnecessary, and her methods — as fun as they are to watch — are excessive and dangerous. Surely, an operator

TV By Chris McCoy as shrewd as she understands the risks, so what does she see that we don’t? The most ironic aspect of this story that revels in earned irony is that the only displays of virtue come from the most hardened, violent criminals. Nacho’s operatic demise in episode 3, “Rock and Hard Place,” grows from his desire to protect his father from the consequences of his life of crime. It’s Fring’s enforcer Mike Ehrmantraut’s (Jonathan Banks) principled stand against civilian casualties that ultimately saves his boss’ bacon when Don Hector (Mark Margolis) starts asking uncomfortable questions about who tried to whack Lalo. Artistically, Better Call Saul has no rivals on television. The show routinely pulls off bravado shots few would dare attempt, and the writing team is at the top

of its game. Since it’s the last season, the executives at AMC seem to have given them carte blanche to do all the crazy stuff that enters their heads. For all that, Better Call Saul’s artistry is not indulgent. It’s disciplined, visually inventive, emotionally affecting, characterdriven filmmaking of the highest order. The most mundane detail, like Kim’s discarded wine-stopper, can become the setup for an emotional punch line. Even the most outlandish moments feel real. And wither Saul Goodman? Will we end the series understanding how he broke so bad? The opening Citizen Kane reference suggests that the exercise is ultimately futile. The boat sinks, and we may never truly understand why. Better Call Saul is streaming on AMC+.

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THE LAST WORD By Wim Laven

Violent Dishonesty

THE LAST WORD

On April 21st, I went to the Top Notch Diner in Cortland, Ohio. Senate candidate Josh Mandel appeared with retired General Michael Flynn, former national security advisor in the Trump administration. I listened to Flynn tell the crowd, “The election was stolen,” and Mandel brag about being the only candidate in his race to call out the theft. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy; the Big Lie about the election was red meat — it was their main course. Mandel described the work of the deep state: They weren’t coming after Trump and Flynn. Trump and Flynn were just caught in the middle. “The deep state is coming after all of us!” As an educator and trained researcher, I am at a complete loss. What do you tell the people who do not believe the countless verdicts? There were not irregularities and interference — Trump lost, and Biden won. What can reconnect people with reality? All the Trump and Republican-led initiatives found the same results, in some cases indicating Biden’s victory was an even larger margin than initially reported. It is a problem of scale. The problem is that it is not a matter of a few lies a few people have told and that a few people believe. The problem is cultural violence; winning and acquiring power are more important than telling the truth. Theorists have debated the so-called clash of civilizations, but in the U.S., it is a devolution to clashing with the uncivilized. We see the devolution exploding across the right. The GOP embraces QAnon conspiracy, and the GQP is now more mainstream in conservative politics than the so-called “law and order” politics of decades past. Uncivilized, not as a pejorative, but as individuals who have been conned by leaders who put personal gain over community and country. When the foundation is dishonesty, PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS everything becomes party to the lie. General Michael Flynn, former national security advisor In Bakersfield, California, home of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Accountability Project has placed six large billboards with the message: “WE’VE HEARD THE TAPES, KEVIN. Stop lying about January 6th.” The cumulative impact of the categorical and ubiquitous dishonesty is hard to measure. The individual moments of malice are more easily discerned. For example, the connection between McCarthy, Trump, and their teams’ racist lies about invasions at the southern border are directly tied to many hate crimes, violent attacks, and even mass shooting events; you can read it directly in perpetrators’ manifestos. Cumulative effects assessment — looking at everything together — presents much greater harm; it is violent dishonesty. The lies are degrading the quality of life and strength and effectiveness across the country and around the globe. But it starts at home, and it is happening in primaries across the country. The fiction that the election was stolen is central in these tribal politics. The strength of loyalty to Trump over commitment to the Constitution is being tested and with the results the danger will come into focus. When (and if) the faction supporting Trump’s attempted coup grows, two things will be clear. The lie will be embedded into culture and politics as a source for ongoing controversy and extreme divisions — a marker of division and existential identity. But the lie is already imprinted into the law and Republicans have limited access to the right to vote and presented increased capacity for overturning a democratic election. The nightmare scenario is on the horizon and should be feared. A candidate who could lose by all measures (direct vote and electoral college) could still be installed by a corrupt Republican party that has already made their antidemocratic tendencies clear. Be worried of the malice this fascist autocrat will wield. Silencing marginalized voices is a starting point, but the much more vengeful and exploitative vision has already been made clear. Trump captured the extremist crowd with declarations of the threat Black and brown bodies presented; “stop the steal” did not replace “build the wall,” it accompanies it. Elected officials have admitted Trump’s crimes in private and delivered his lies in public. They will continue to abuse the power of their offices while they undergird the xenophobia, sexism, and bigotry that Trump championed. Start by imagining the horror show when he realizes he can do anything he wants; then prevent it before it is too late. Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.

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