MemphisFlyer 09/17/2026

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SARA AMIS

STONEWALLED

Journalists say the Memphis Safe Task Force’s year-long blockade of the press has made covering it like “the Kremlin on steroids.”

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CONTENTS

SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief ALEX GREENE Managing Editor, Music Editor BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editor TOBY SELLS Associate Editor KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers KIMBERLY HAM Calendar Editor, Copy Editor JESSE DAVIS, EARLE FISHER, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, ANDRIA LISLE, PATRICIA LOCKHART, FRANK MURTAUGH, LINDSEY D. RHEA Contributing Columnists SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters KRYSTION PEGUES Editorial intern

OUR 1960TH ISSUE 09.17.26 About a month into the Memphis Safe Task Force presence here last year, I submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Marshals Service. “As of November 4, 2025, the Memphis Safe Data site reports 2,048 cumulative arrests during the Memphis Safe Operational period. Please provide a list of those arrested individuals, including names, ages, race, and charges.” Further specifics were requested on the reported numbers regarding “violent warrant arrests,” charges labeled as “unknown,” and “felony arrests” listed without charges.

That first month, more and more unmarked vehicles patrolled our streets, gathering in groups in shopping center parking lots or in neighborhoods with higher Hispanic populations. Traffic slowed, entire communities were forced into hiding. There were increasing “wrong house” situations where federal agents swarmed the homes of innocent citizens, holding them at gunpoint in their undergarments on their own front lawns.

By requesting the info from law enforcement, I’d hoped to find proof that the Force was serving its intended purpose — getting violent criminals off of Memphis streets. But what I found was concerning. It was becoming increasingly clear they were targeting certain demographics, but that could not be proven. Both Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff ’s Office would not provide any public records on the arrest activity of the Task Force. Directed to the U.S. Marshals Service Freedom of Information portal online, the only course of action was to fill out a form. As of press time on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the FOIA request still sits “in process.” Today, the total number of arrests during the “Memphis Safe Operational Period” has hit 20,468 (memphistn.gov/safedata). The Force has carried out 188,530 traffic stops and issued 188,020 citations.

In May, while serving an arrest warrant, a member of the Task Force gunned down 41-year-old Darrin Pigram at his job, killing him in front of coworkers.

The following week, a federal agent responding to a mother’s 911 call shot and killed 25-year-old Jonah Neal in his home. Neal was suffering a mental health crisis. In July, Task Force officers shot 47-year-old Alfonzo Ivy at least five times while serving an arrest warrant; his death was ruled a homicide.

The Center for American Progress in July reported that estimated costs for National Guard deployment in Memphis from September to December 2025 hit $33 million, and continuing at that rate would cost an estimated $286 million for all of 2026. On July 5th, 2026, National Guard members Downtown shot 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson in the back. (See this week’s Last Word, p. 23.)

On August 8th, Task Force agents raided Legends Lounge in Hickory Hill. According to the ACLU Tennessee, “Reportedly 300 people were inside, and officers held the entire crowd, forcing them to line up and show identification before they could leave. Our Constitution does not permit officers to detain an entire nightclub without actual evidence linking people to unlawful activity.”

On August 30th, the Task Force raided the El Corralón nightclub in Berclair and arrested 121 people, piling them into buses — witnesses crying out as their family, friends, and neighbors were being hauled away. The Department of Homeland Security’s press release on the event included mug shots and charges for only five of the 121 arrestees; it is unclear if (but unlikely) the rest had criminal records.

At the bottom of that release, it states: “The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now … We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”

Without a chance to return. Imagine the lives uprooted and destroyed, the children without their parents, NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4 households without their breadwinAT LARGE - 6 ners. Imagine the grief of the families FINANCE - 7 of those murdered by cops who should COVER STORY have simply been serving warrants or “STONEWALLED” offering help. The cost is beyond finanBY KAILYNN JOHNSON AND cial. Lives have been lost. Freedoms TOBY SELLS - 8 stripped away.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT More than 20,000 arrests; 188,000 WE RECOMMEND - 12 traffic citations; hundreds or more kidMUSIC - 13 napped off the streets and deported.

CALENDAR - 14 NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 14 Where is the due process? Who polices WE SAW YOU - 15 the aggressive, unlawful Task Force?

FOOD - 16 It seems the answer to that is no SPIRITS - 17 one. The public and press have been NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 18 stonewalled, fed unverifiable results.

ASTROLOGY - 19 It’s beyond time to demand accountTHEATER - 20 ability and transparency.

CLASSIFIEDS - 22 We can’t do it alone.

LAST WORD - 23 Shara Clark shara@memphisflyer.com

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THE

fly-by

MEMernet

W E E K T H AT WA S

By Flyer staff

Trees, Task Force, & the Road

WHY STAY?

A plan for Downtown’s canopy, an activist targeted, a road extension near Colossus 1 halted.

What keeps you in Memphis? That was the question on the Memphis subreddit last week by u/VariousExternal59.

“Me? I stay because I like it,” the user wrote. “I like my house.

I like the cost of living. I like that it’s an easy town to get around in (driving). I think it’s really pretty here.”

Others on the thread said their reasons included jobs, the low cost of living, friendships, family, a sense of community, the ease of living, and owning a home.

TWEET OF THE WEEK “Authorities in North Mississippi are asking for help identifying a vehicle with ‘FAT CHICKS ONLY’ written on it.” — Action News 5

September 17-23, 2026

Edited by Toby Sells

Memphis on the internet.

PHOTO: JOSHUA COTTEN | UNSPLASH

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{

Questions, Answers + Attitude

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/PEABODY_GRAVEYARD

IT IS TIME The Peabody Graveyard in Midtown officially opened spooky season in Memphis last week.

Its incredible display of scary stuff is now open at 1430 Peabody Ave. (Please stay behind the chain railing, though.)

STOP THE ROAD Environmental and community advocates want an end to a project that would extend Paul R. Lowry Road, home of SpaceXAI’s Colossus 1 center.

This news comes as city officials paused progress on the plan while they examine if an extension is still needed. A statement from the city last Thursday said they are “reassessing” whether the project, which was proposed in 2017, is the “right solution for Southwest Memphis.

“We are going to pause, listen, and take a fresh look at the need and every potential solution, including whether the project should move forward at all,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in the statement.

Young said the city will work with residents and state and federal partners to reexamine the purpose of the project, “review current conditions, and determine whether additional study is warranted.”

The city is open to different approaches and will consider revisiting the project, closing the proposal, and other solutions.

TREE TLC Trees along the Main Street Mall are set for some tender loving care after the first review of the canopy in 14 years.

Last year, the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) ordered a review of the trees and the infrastructure that supports them along the mall, Court Square Park, and within Civic Center Plaza.

Late last year, crews from Memphis-based Ritchie Smith Associates set about examining the health of existing trees, counting missing trees, looking at the tree wells, irrigation systems for them, and more.

The company’s report will be presented this week to two DMC boards — the Center City Development Corp. and the Downtown Mobility Authority. The boards will consider a $144,100 project to renew Downtown’s tree canopy, based on Ritchie Smith Associates’ recommendations.

The DMC staff recommended the project for approval, saying, “The Main Street Mall’s tree canopy is more than just a landscaping feature.”

The report goes on to say the tree canopy “is a critical piece of Downtown infrastructure that contributes to property values, business activity, pedestrian comfort, and the special character of Downtown Memphis.”

“RETALIATION AND INTIMIDATION” The Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) has continued a “campaign of retaliation and intimidation” against a Memphis activist, according to a legal move filed Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Hunter Demster is by now a well-known, outspoken activist working in Memphis to witness and record the

PHOTO: DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS COMMISSION | FACEBOOK

A new plan for Downtown’s trees comes after the first review of the plantings in 14 years. actions of the MSTF. He was seminal in the formation and training of Vecindarios 901, a group committed to watching and filming Task Force actions.

The Task Force struck back at Demster, according to a declaration filed Tuesday in federal court in Memphis. It claims MSTF agents have appeared outside of Demster’s home and have photographed or filmed him there. The complaint also alleges that agents abused the Halo Law to arrest Demster as he filmed a scene, knocking his legs from underneath him and pinning him to the ground as he argued with agents.

“The Task Force has tried to punish and intimidate me for exercising my First Amendment rights, but I will not let them chill my speech,” Demster said in a statement. “It is not only concerning, it is also deeply frightening how their retaliation has escalated — all because I show the world what’s going on in Memphis. I have every right to record and observe what goes on in my own neighborhood.”

Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

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Q&A R e g i n a l d A l e x a n d e r, M i d - S o u t h F o o d B a n k

SNAP Decision

Food assistance cuts from the feds have made things tough for the Mid-South Food Bank, but it battles on.

B

attling hunger in the MidSouth has gotten harder in the last year, a Mid-South Food Bank leader said, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Rising food prices and cuts to federal food assistance for both individuals and food banks have forced the Food Bank to buy more food at higher prices for a growing number of people, said Reginald Alexander, director of government and community relations.

Nearly 18,000 people in Shelby County lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits over the last year, and monthly benefits fell by more than $4 million, as reported in our story last month.

How much food are you distributing?

For fiscal year 2026, which just ended in June, we distributed about 27.5 million — almost 27.6 million pounds — of food to those counties. [We served about] 735,533 households. And that equates to about 22.9 million meals.

The Food Bank also helps people apply for SNAP. What are you seeing there?

We have one SNAP representative here whose job it is to help people apply for SNAP. She goes out to different fairs and housing complexes, churches, and other organizations. From January of this year to June, she did 404 applications. Of those 404, 65 were approved.

That’s about 16.1 percent.

How would you describe what’s happening overall?

I would describe the situation as a serious case of churn where you just have a lot of things going on at one time.

Changing requirements at the same time the need is increasing is creating a kind of a bottleneck situation.

Memphis Flyer: Why is the need for food assistance increasing?

Reginald Alexander: I think the need is greater because prices are going up for everyone — gas prices, just general cost of living, and food prices.

I’ve talked to people who’ve said things just like what you said in your article, that they had to buy food or medicine, or food or utilities, or missing meals, telling their kids they can buy this, but we can’t buy that.

Do you expect things to improve?

Oh, no. No, not at all. If anything, unfortunately I think this is going to change for the worse. But we’re going continue to do what we do.

We’ve had to learn how to do more with less. If people donate and volunteer and we’re able to get more funding, both from individuals and from legislative endeavors, then we can meet the need.

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

A Food Bank survey found that 76 percent of its nearly 300 partner agencies saw increases in new visitors. The organization serves 31 counties across West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas.

We spoke with Alexander about the growing need and how the Food Bank is responding. — Toby Sells

Is the Food Bank having to purchase more food itself?

We have had to buy more food than normal. We’re advocating for increased amounts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program from the federal government, which helps low-income individuals with free, American-grown food. We get that food from the USDA, and then we distribute it to food pantries. The amount that we’ve gotten has been reduced greatly.

NEWS & OPINION

PHOTO: MID-SOUTH FOOD BANK

Volunteers sort food at a recent distribution event.

SNAP reductions have an economic impact beyond the people receiving the benefits, right?

People think about SNAP as just people getting money to help them buy food.

But you have to remember, those people go to grocery stores and farmers markets that accept them, and they buy food. They spend that money in stores, so these businesses are losing out.

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od (R-Heaven) is much on The important thing is that Blackburn the minds of Republicans will ban transgender women from the these days. For example, He DAR (whose membership voted to accept spent a lot of time last week them) and keep the communists from at the Republican Midterm Convention taking over. in Dallas, where He was invoked by In fact, Blackburn is so concerned almost every speaker and given thanks for about communists that she says it’s the sending Donald Trump to guide us mere reason she’s refusing to debate Green, mortals with his brilliant leadership. because “it would give a platform to a One video that was played for the communist and socialist.” Of course, crowd (which included several thousand communists and socialists are not the people cleverly disguised as empty seats) same thing and Green is neither, but opened with a rumbling voice saying, “SCARY TRANSGENDER STUFF AND “On June 14, 1946, God looked down and THE COMMUNISTS ARE COMING decided ‘I need a caretaker,’ so God gave AND JEEBUS IS NUMBER ONE” seems us Trump.’” There was no explanation as to be Blackburn’s official platform and to why God let Trump grow up and marry she’s sticking to it. It’s cowardly and insults three women and cheat on each of them, the intelligence of the voters but what file for bankruptcy multiple times, create else is new? Green, on the other hand, is a fake charity and fake university to scam talking about actual issues. Crazy, I know. people, and hang out with Jeffrey Epstein So let’s review: The Cult of and a coterie of underage girls before Republicanism now believes that God sent putting His ‘caretaker’ into action 70 years Trump to save mankind, much as He did later. But, well, God moves in mysterious with “his only begotten son,” according to ways — kind of like Trump’s hair. all the Sunday school teachers I listened In Tennessee, Republicans fervently to growing up. It therefore must follow believe God supports Evangelical that God is in favor of war in the Middle Christian (and pro-deathEast, executing people in penalty) Governor Bill small boats on the open Lee and that God is also sea, unchecked pollution backing Senator Marsha of our air and water, the Blackburn to replace Lee destruction of national in the race for governor parks, unrestricted against Democrat Jerri data centers, Fox News, Green of Memphis. and more tax cuts for Blackburn opened her billionaires. campaign a few weeks ago Republican God by proclaiming that she is opposed to solar was sponsoring legislation energy, windmills, gun in the Senate to (sic) laws, electric boats (?), “Keep Biological Men Out PHOTO: JERRI GREEN | FACEBOOK immigration of non-white Jerri Green of the Daughters of the people, unions, abortion, American Revolution,” gay marriage, doing which gets funnier every time you read it. anything about global warming, and At any rate, it’s an issue most Tennesseans taxing billionaires. And the release of the surely have at the top of their list of Epstein files. Amen. concerns right now.

Trump ended his final convention Blackburn then proclaimed her goal speech last week by demanding that his that “Tennessee should be the numberspellbound audience of glazed mouthone Christian conservative state,” which breathers raise their hands and repeat after would be quite a contrast to the ranking him: “I pledge to the greatest president in Tennessee got in a July CNBC study the history of the United States, that loves that named it the “50th-worst state in us so much he can’t even breathe …” the U.S. for quality of life,” due to its After that weird start, it went on low rankings for education, healthcare and on. With Trump finally telling his accessibility, crime, drug-related deaths, audience (and their tired arms) to bring worker protections, reproductive rights, friends and family to vote, even if they and legislation targeting the LGBTQ had to “cheat like hell,” before ending his community. All of these factors, CNBC pledge with, “So help me, God.” said, can negatively impact businesses’ The truth is, he could have ended it decisions to locate in the state. with, “So help me, Me,” and no one in Gee, I wonder which party has been the crowd would have blinked an eye. So, in control of Tennessee’s government for maybe help us, God. Seriously. This joke the past 20 years. Oh well. No matter. has gone on far too long.

To build wealth, time may be your greatest asset.

T

ime is money.

Coined by a Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, this oft-repeated phrase tells us that we should use our time wisely and productively. If we don’t, our actions could lead to financial loss, and we may miss out on valuable money-making opportunities.

Sounds pretty ominous, doesn’t it? Not in the case of compounding, or compounding interest, as we frequently hear the word. Time is compounding’s best friend, a magical force for financial reward.

Morgan Housel writes in his book, The Psychology of Money, about “confounding compounding.” It’s confounding (or confusing) because the concept is hard for us to grasp.

Compounding interest is simply too good to be true.

The process of compounding is defined as adding earned interest back into the principal, or original sum of invested money. I imagine compounding as literally putting dollar bills received in interest back into the “pot” of principal to start earning interest on itself in the next period. This means your money grows at an accelerated rate as the earnings from each period are reinvested and generate additional returns.

PHOTO: EYESTETIX STUDIO | UNSPLASH

Example: You invest $100 with a 5 percent interest rate and earn $5 in interest after the first year, bringing your total to $105. The next year, you’ll earn interest on $105, not just $100, and so on.

Many investors liken compounding to a snowball rolling downhill, growing bigger as it accumulates more snow along the way. “The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill,” said Warren Buffett.

The two secrets to compounding success: time and money.

“None of the 2,000 books picking apart Buffett’s success are titled, ‘This Guy Has Been Investing Consistently for Three-Quarters of a Century,’ writes Housel. “But we know that’s the key to the majority of his success.”

The sooner you get started, the more time your investment has to grow, thanks to compounding interest.

Additionally, maintaining consistency in investing enhances the power of compounding. “ … Good investing isn’t necessarily about earning the highest returns, because the highest returns tend to be one-off hits that can’t be repeated,” Housel writes. “It’s about earning pretty good returns that you can stick with and which can be repeated for the longest period of time. That’s when compounding runs wild.”

Tip: Automate regular contributions from your bank account to your investments each month. Over time, you won’t flinch when you see the automatic withdrawals from your bank account, but you will do a happy dance when you see the compounding effect create significant returns.

Unfortunately, the same principle of compounding interest applies to debt.

Just as it works its magic on building wealth, it does the same, but working against you, with debt.

This means that if you don’t pay your balances in full each month, especially high-interest credit cards, any unpaid interest gets added to your principal. Then the next month’s interest is calculated on this larger amount, creating a cycle where your debt grows faster and becomes harder to pay off.

Tips to avoid compounding interest with debt: • Pay more than the minimum to reduce the principal and amount of interest you’ll pay over time.

• Prioritize high-interest debt and pay those off first.

• Be mindful of compounding frequency, or how often interest is compounded (e.g., daily, monthly) as it can affect how quickly your debt grows.

The magic of compounding isn’t really an unknowable force at all. It’s what happens when you give your money two things: time and consistency. Start early, keep investing, and let your returns build on themselves.

Your future financial self may not be able to thank you today, but given enough time, you might be glad you finally got started.

Lindsey D. Rhea, CFP, is owner and wealth strategist at Alia Wealth Partners, connect@aliawealth.com.

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

The Best Money Move

NEWS & OPINION

FINANCE By Lindsey D. Rhea

7

COVER STORY

By Kailynn Johnson a n d To b y S e l l s

STONEWALLED C PHOTO: SARA AMIS

September 17-23, 2026

The Guardian reporter George Chidi pleaded for answers.

8

Journalists say the Memphis Safe Task Force’s year-long blockade of the press has made covering it like “the Kremlin on steroids.”

rickets. That’s become the expected response to Memphis Flyer questions sent to the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) over the last year.

That’s not to say President Donald Trump’s select group of heavy-heatpacking military and law enforcement officials has fully blacked-out the press.

News releases on big arrests do come through. Press releases on missing kids being found are sent out. But when it goes back the other way — when reporters have questions for them — it’s largely crickets.

That is not just a Memphis Flyer experience. And it led us to look around and ask other reporters about their own experiences covering the Task Force.

Seems like most are hearing what we’re hearing — silence.

Is it a Trump thing? Is it a law enforcement thing? Is it a Memphis thing?

Right now, all we have are questions. No answers.

So, a military group and probably hundreds of federal law enforcement agents from across the country have convened here, carried out massive operations, arrested or detained hundreds of people, and they don’t have to answer the public? Isn’t that what the press is for?

We hear you. We’ve been hearing you for a year. But there is very little that “digging harder” can do when it comes to getting real information out of the Task Force. It’s a silent, secret fortress.

Consider that even U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) demanded answers from U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin in July after the Task Force killed two people in Memphis.

Cohen wanted a demographic breakdown of ICE agents operating here. He wanted to know about shootings by the Task Force and other federal agents, whether any ICE agents had been part of the Proud Boys. He wanted to know about training materials, hiring standards, independent reviews of excessive force use, and more.

In short, Cohen demanded a lot of answers. A sitting Congressman, that is.

And if he ever got those answers, he never shared them publicly. This isn’t a cop-out — when a member of Congress can’t get answers about boots on the ground in Memphis, the Flyer likely can’t either.

The situation for reporters here got so dire, The Guardian reporter George Chidi wandered around Beale Street with a sign pleading with the public to talk with him, because the Task Force refused. (Read more about this below.)

The press has been stonewalled. Plain

PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

George Chidi George Chidi, politics and democracy reporter for The Guardian (U.S.), based in the Southeast *This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity.

Memphis Flyer: Your background as a military journalist is particularly important. [Regarding the National Guard and MSTF] and their unwillingness to speak to journalists, have you seen anything like this before?

George Chidi: I understand a general reluctance of folks in uniform to talk to the media without pre-clearance. I will tell you historically that has not been the case. Historically, soldiers, including National Guard troops, who are deployed in a public-facing role, are expected to talk to the media. They just need to go report it to the [public] affairs office, [and] they tend to get media training as a part of their deployment.

It’s just a thing, like, this is how you talk to the press. We’re not going to tell you what to say necessarily, but here are some guidelines, like stick to the job and don’t get political. Those have historically been the rules. That’s all changed in the last year and a half under Trump.

There’s been some drift before it, but the Pentagon has locked troops down in ways that are highly unusual. They’re not communicating anything except through the public affairs office. The public affairs office is saying as little as they possibly can about anything. They are referring everything to the United States Marshals Service, which also says as little as possible to the media.

The thing I really want to get across is, historically, this isn’t how they’ve operated. The Department of Defense and even the Marshals Service are not perfectly transparent organizations, but they have historically been more transparent than this, particularly when

they are interacting with the public.

Right now, they are outside of their stated policy, [which] in my opinion, is a violation of longstanding Department of Defense practices and policies. Some of those policies have been rewritten in ways that I think are damaging to morale, damaging to the mission, [and] damaging to the surface.

How did you hear of Tyrin Johnson’s shooting?

I spent time talking with local activists who’ve looked at this problem, I spent some time talking to Hunter Demster, then went chasing after the Task Force folks, [and] wrote about their lawsuit.

I heard about the shooting through the media, the same way everybody else did.

I immediately started sending out emails.

In the course of reporting about the Task Force, I made contact with the United States Marshals Service public affairs office, and immediately called them, sent emails, [and] sent text messages.

Did the same thing with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Police Department, the mayor’s office, and the Department of Defense. Just ‘what happened? Who did it? What are the circumstances? What do you know?’

Every entity referred me back to the Marshals Service, which basically doesn’t say anything except ‘this is under investigation,’ and that’s it. There’s no release of body cam [footage] or the video that is obviously going to be present because of the location of a street camera.

There’s nothing. I get nothing, and I’m frustrated because again, that’s not how this works.

What led you to Beale for answers?

I’m sitting [in Memphis] with my wife, who came down with me, going ‘if I’m going to be here for three or four days, my physical presence needs to do something.’

I need to be able to do something that I couldn’t do on the phone. If I’m here, I need to produce something more than what I could do with an email.

“I’m thinking, ‘How do I get people to talk to me? How do I find the right people?’”

I’m there thinking ‘how do I get people to talk to me? How do I find the right people who can help me find the right people who will talk to me?’ And I’m like, I wish we could put up a giant billboard and say ‘hey, find me here,’ because that’s worked before in various ways.

I said to hell with it — I’m going to get a sign made. Highly unusual journalism I

might add, but not unprecedented for the moment, because the moment requires extraordinary action.

I met Hunter again over at [Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza], and while I’m there I’m having a sign made at a sign shop. I go to the rally that [state Rep. Justin Pearson] was having with [U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], and afterwards I’m like, you know what, time to go to Beale Street.

I got out, and my wife’s walking around with my phone in case I get arrested, because I thought it would be possible that the cops would look at that as [disruptive].

I just walked up to basically everyone I saw on Beale Street for two to three hours, like ‘Hey, you see anything?’

As the picture went viral, two or three days later I got a contact on Signal.

There’s more reporting that needs to be done, and the best of it is going to be done by people who understand Memphis better than I do. It’s going to require legwork and creativity, because the federal government is not going to help.

As a reporter, how do you parse the reality of people you talk to while comparing their statements to what elected officials say?

I think it starts with talking to people, and believing in the fact that people are experts of their own experiences.

Experts are not only people with Ph.D.s or people who are professors, researchers, executive directors of nonprofits, or elected officials. People who are living through this thing that we’re writing about are actually the ones who are closest to the issue. Therefore, they’re the ones closest to the solution, to quote Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.

That doesn’t mean as a reporter I’m only relying on what the community says. I’m still doing other necessary reporting, which is records requests, talking to public information officers, and going to different scenes when action is unfolding, whether it’s a protest, a direct action, the aftermath of a raid, [or] a business being shut down by the Task Force. Trying to see these things with my own eyes is actually really important.

When the Task Force first started, there was not any information coming out about its operations in that first four to eight weeks of [them] being here. What we did at MLK50 was split up into reporting teams and we did two different stories, and took a 24hour approach looking at what it was like to be driving through Memphis and actually seeing the Task Force do policing [and] traffic stops.

PHOTO: MLK50

Brittany Brown Brittany Brown, Public Safety Reporter at MLK50: Justice Through Journalism *This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity.

Memphis Flyer: How does your role as a public safety reporter intersect with coverage of the MSTF? Brittany Brown: I’m reporting on public safety from the ground up. Rather than focusing on or just relying on elected officials or those who are in a seat of leadership [and] taking their word, or just reporting off of press releases or things of that nature, I’m out in the community building relationships with people who live in neighborhoods across the city, and meeting people where they are and talking to them — asking them about what their concerns are.

As that relates to the Memphis Safe Task Force, that means talking to people in communities like Orange Mound about what it feels like to see the National Guard in your neighborhood. Talking to community members who live in Berclair, who are experiencing the wake of one of the largest ICE raids in the country. Really talking to the people who are directly impacted by the decisions that those in leadership and power are making.

Was there anything you’d like to add?

There’s a saying about ‘if you’re not measuring it, you can’t improve it … you can’t manage something that you’re not measuring.’

Essentially, the public does not really know the data of the outcomes of what has happened or occurred since the Task Force has been here in the city.

I think the city, county, and our state leadership could do our constituents some justice by making information transparent.

There’s a lot more impact other than the flashy posts we’ll see from the Department of Justice or former Attorney General Pam Bondi on X. ‘So-and-so amount of arrested’ or ‘the number of children recovered.’ But what does this actually mean for our criminal justice system? What does this actually mean for the operations at 201 Poplar and people who are in jail, or people who have to go to court?

What about individuals who have been killed by members of the Task Force in the last year? There are still a lot more questions than answers and I think the public wants to know some answers.

Our elected officials, those who are in public office, owe us that. continued on page 10

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

and simple. It’s the best time to remember the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis quote, “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant.” And The Washington Post’s official slogan, “Democracy dies in darkness.” Unless something changes dramatically, we’re living in darkness in Memphis, Tennessee. — Toby Sells

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continued from page 9 Marc Perrusquia, veteran Memphis investigative journalist and director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis *This conversation has been condensed and edited for brevity.

Memphis Flyer: You’ve covered the Memphis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies for decades.

What has it been like trying to cover the Memphis Safe Task Force?

Marc Perrusquia: I’ve always said that covering the Memphis Police Department was like covering the Kremlin. You get that kind of transparency. It’s hard to get anything out of them.

But the Memphis Safe Task Force is like covering the Kremlin on steroids. It is a very tough nut to crack, and there’s no accountability there. There’s very, very little transparency. There is when they want attention on a certain matter, a select issue. But trying to pry information out of them is very difficult to do.

What’s a good example of this?

We did a story that we published back in February about all these high-speed chases that have started since the Task Force has been here.

It’s really tough to get information out of MPD or local law enforcement about

PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

Marc Perrusquia arrests. So, we had to scrape the criminal court website to get affidavits of arrest where officers are giving the reasons, in their own words under oath, about why they arrested somebody.

We found that the Task Force had done 75 high-speed chases in those three weeks.

If you did the math, it would come out to something like 780 chases over the course of the year. You compare that to what MPD does in a year — they average about, I think, 140. So, it was more than five times as many chases. And about a third of them were winding up with accidents.

I contacted this guy, Ryan Guay, [a onetime Supervisory Deputy at U.S. Marshals Service and onetime spokesperson for the Memphis Safe Task Force]. He was the main contact point. I asked him all these questions in an email: How many high-speed chases had they

been doing? Did they have information about a particular fatality that happened in January at a high-speed chase? Did they have any information about injuries related to that? Does the Task Force have a vehicle pursuit policy? I got no answers at all from them. Nothing.

I followed up with similar questions to the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington and got no answer whatsoever.

Of those 75 chases we were able to identify, most of them — I think it was like 90 percent — were done by the Highway Patrol. They wouldn’t do any interviews. I asked them for their policy.

They wouldn’t give it to me. They claim it’s confidential.

You can find MPD’s pursuit policy online. You can find Nashville’s online.

You can find Chattanooga’s online. You can find Knoxville’s online.

But you can’t find the Highway Patrol’s online, and they claim it’s confidential.

So, I had to sue them. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is suing on my behalf.

How does such stonewalling make you feel?

Frustrated. It’s a disservice to the public.

It used to be, back in the day — and I’m going back like 20, 30 years — when I was at the Commercial Appeal, we used to have a great relationship with law enforcement, MPD, the sheriff ’s office.

You could go up to the bureaus. You could get information from them. But there’s been this great disconnect over the years for different reasons.

Part of it is, I think, we’ve all become more cynical. Journalists now see their role more as a watchdog, and we’re very often very critical, and rightfully so, of law enforcement.

Part of it, too, is just the decline of legacy media. There really isn’t that power that [officials are] facing anymore.

They’ve gotten good at hiding stuff.

Is the difficulty getting information from the Task Force unique, or part of something bigger?

This isn’t just the Memphis Safe Task Force. This is a state of our society.

We’ve got a real crisis in Tennessee, and probably nationally too, getting access to information, getting access to public records. You try to get, for example, body cam footage out of MPD, and you’re going to wait months and years. I’ve had to sue them.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has sued on my behalf six times. One time we sued MPD for body cam footage because they sat on it for two and a half years. We had to sue them, and a judge ruled in our favor.

This has just become the state of how things are done these days: the ignoring, the stonewalling, the dragging it out.

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We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Delta After Dark

By Kimberly Ham

For Memphis artist John Robinette, painting has always been the foundation. Over a career spanning nearly six decades, he has worked as an illustrator, stained-glass designer, sculptor, muralist, and teacher, but he always comes back to painting.

“I’ve always done painting,” says Robinette, a 1966 graduate of Memphis College of Art. “Even as an illustrator, I did painting.”

Robinette has turned his attention to a landscape he has known for much of his life. “Delta Nights,” on view at the Germantown Performing Arts Center that started on September 8th and will be on display through November 2nd, features paintings inspired by the Mississippi Delta, particularly its old churches, water towers, shacks, and other structures that are gradually disappearing.

The artist has been developing the series for 25 years. The idea began during nighttime drives through the Delta, when he became fascinated by the landscape’s PHOTO: COURTESY JOHN ROBINETTE drama after dark. One scene especially stuck with him: a small church on a hill with Artist John Robinette the moon directly above it. “It was so symmetrical and unreal,” he recalls. “I couldn’t get it out of my mind until I did a painting of it.”

That sense of mystery runs throughout the series. Rather than creating photographic representations, Robinette constructs what he calls a “rough fantasy,” giving familiar Delta scenes a surreal quality. His compositions are often symmetrical, with dark skies and a palette that developed almost instinctively. “I don’t think about it,” he says. “You just do it.”

The disappearing structures are central to the work, too. Robinette wanted to preserve the character of a landscape he remembers before old churches and shacks were replaced by development. Water towers have become particular favorites because, as he puts it, they have “character.”

His longtime love of the blues also finds its way into the paintings. Robinette, who once played in blues bands, sees a natural connection between the music and the Delta landscape where it originated. While a few works feature blues musicians, the exhibition largely remains focused on the land itself.

After years of commercial illustration for clients including Time-Life Books, Fortune, Forbes, and Walt Disney, Robinette now paints without art directors weighing in. “All I’ve ever done is art,” he says.

Meet Robinette and view “Delta Nights” during his artist reception at GPAC on Friday, September 18th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with wine and snacks.

“DELTA NIGHTS,” GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 1801 EXETER RD., THROUGH MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES September 17th - 23rd The Pinch Release Party – Issue 46.2 Novel, Saturday, September 19, 6 p.m.

Celebrate the release of Issue 46.2 of The Pinch, the University of Memphis’ literary magazine, at a free evening of readings, refreshments, and literary camaraderie.

The party will feature readings from five of the issue’s published authors, along with beer, wine, cheese, and snacks. Founded in 1980 and edited

by University of Memphis graduate students and faculty, The Pinch publishes two print issues each year, showcasing poetry and prose from both emerging and established writers, with more than 90 percent of its content coming from unsolicited submissions.

Bluff City Card Show Agricenter International, Saturday, September 19-Sunday, September 20, 10 a.m.

Calling all collectors: The Bluff City Card Show returns to Memphis for a weekend of buying, selling, trading, and connecting with fellow hobbyists. The event will feature more than 60 vendor tables stocked with Pokémon, sports cards, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana, One Piece, Dragon Ball, and more.

Whether you’re a longtime collector, new to the hobby, or simply looking for a fun way to spend the weekend, attendees can browse, make trades, discover new cards, and meet vendors and collectors from the Memphis community.

Terrarium Workshop Urban Earth, Sunday, September 20, 1 p.m.

Get creative with greenery at Urban Earth’s Terrarium Workshop. Join this hands-on workshop led by master gardener and terrarium enthusiast Sheryl Virgilio. Participants will learn how to create a unique, beautiful terrarium to enjoy at home, with soil, plants, live and preserved moss, decorative stone, and other accents provided. Bring your own glass container — anything from a fishbowl or vase to an apothecary jar or cloche — or purchase one at the shop before the workshop.

Attendees will also receive a 10 percent-off coupon for Urban Earth.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

V

alerie June is recalling her youth in West Tennessee, near Humboldt. “I didn’t have natural rhythm. Like, I had to learn how to clap on the beat.

They used to call me ‘white girl’ in the cheerleading squad! They were all white themselves, and they were like, ‘Girl, you ain’t got no rhythm!’ and would call me white girl. To this day, I want to dedicate my life to learning some rhythm.”

The irony is that June, starting right out of the gate with the deft percussion and Afrobeat horns on her debut album’s opening track, “Workin’ Woman Blues,” has always been open to mashing up folk forms with a bit of groove. But the anecdote reveals her lifelong approach to her art as a student and a seeker, since before she moved to Memphis and began playing coffee shops and bars here. Over the years, every album she’s recorded since moving to Brooklyn has had its own personality.

Yet the current moment, she says, feels the closest to her earliest years, when any old sound seemed up for grabs.

PHOTO: BRIGHTS

Valerie June

“So, they’re the key.

The songs that are already here, that songs that already exist.”

“It’s almost like when I first started on the guitar, playing those early folk songs like ‘Crawdad Song,’ or whatever,” June says. “I’m almost doing that same thing with the experimentation I’m doing as a musician right now. I want to do it with old songs. I want to do it with things that are familiar to me and to people. And I think when I do that, I kind of stir in this soup of those old songs, live or in the

recording studio.”

That’s one way into her new EP, “Brighter Blue,” just released last week.

The titles — “I’ll Fly Away,” “Trouble in Mind,” “Smokestack” — are familiar enough, but for June, the sound is a whole new bag. The electric guitars crunch with an almost grunge-level howl, the grooves are upbeat and funky, and John Deley’s Hammond B3 organ is incendiary.

June explains that while touring last year’s Owls, Omens, and Oracles, “I didn’t know that this band was gonna be so bent on rocking until we did our first show at Town Hall in New York City, and they blew me away. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna have to step up!’ Well, then I went and I did a bunch of solo stuff, and I didn’t have the guys. They were doing other things, until Christmastime came and I said, ‘Oh my god, we have got to capture in the studio what we built so energetically on the road.’”

That energy bristles throughout “Brighter Blue,” where songs older than dirt become charged with her band’s 21st-century perspective. While crediting the players for much of that harder-hitting spark, she also notes that edgier guitar work is in her own DNA. “Speaking of the rocking side of things, you know Jesse Mae Hemphill, Sister Rosetta Tharpe — I’ve studied their work for years,” she says.

“I haven’t been able to achieve what they did, guitar-wise. But lately, I think it’s starting to click for me. I’m starting to really understand, like, oh, if I tune the guitar this way and I beat that note right there, then I’m gonna get that sound.”

Crucially, June finds that “stirring in the soup” of old chestnuts inspires new concoctions. “‘Trouble in Mind,’” she says, “I listened to people singing that at church, or wherever, throughout my life. Or ‘I’ll Fly Away.’ I grew up on that song.” Now, when revisiting such classics, she says, “songs start to come to me. I haven’t gotten very many songs that are in my own space yet, but as soon as I start working in that [classic roots] area, I’ll start to get more. So, they’re the key. The songs that are already here, the songs that already exist, old roots songs, old gospel songs — they are the key for my own work. Do you see what I mean? If I turn the key, then the other things from my realm will start to come to me, things that are not in the world yet. But I have to have that key first.”

Valerie June, with a full band, plays Satellite Music Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 17th. Soul and blues legend Vaneese Thomas, daughter of Rufus Thomas, opens the show.

THEATRE BY THE LAKE FRIDAY, SEP 25 @ 7PM

LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST

The King of Navarre & his men swear off distractions, to dedicate themselves to their studies. When the Princess of France & her ladies arrive, all bets are off! Which of the men will declare their love first? Join us on the banks of Lake Appling at BPACC for this outdoor performance as Tennessee Shakespeare brings this comedy to life! Director – Stephanie Shine FOOD TRUCKS & FAMILY FRIENDLY

FREE! (Rain Plans, same day, in BPACC)

TICKETS @ BPACC.org

901.385.5588 — Box Office Hours — 10a.m. to 2p.m.

Michael Bollinger — Artistic Director

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SEPTEMBER 24-27, 2026

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

The Americana star returns to the town where she cut her teeth, rocking songs she grew up with.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Valerie June Comes Home

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CALENDAR of EVENTS: Sept. 17 - 23

TrascenDANCE

ARTS A N D S P EC I A L E X H I BI TS

A trans-focused dance community where everyone is welcome. Join a hip-hop class, then stay for TranscenDance: a celebration of music, movement, community, and trans joy. Saturday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m.

“Artists’ Link Autumn Showcase”

Artists’ Link members offer a variety of creative subjects and artistic media to enjoy. This collection of nearly 60 original works of art includes paintings, mixed media, clay, fiber, encaustic, fused glass, and so much more. Free. Through Sept. 30.

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

C LASS/ WOR KSH OP

A Day of Tasters

WKNO GALLERY

What does it feel like to work with metal? These “tasters” are 90-minute workshops designed to give you an introduction to the metalworking processes of welding, blacksmithing, casting, and enameling. Saturday, Sept. 19, 8:30 a.m.

ART HA P P E N I N G S

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.

Visual Arts Reception: John Robinette

Visit the Patrick Lawton Lobby for an artist reception for the show “Delta Nights,” featuring paintings by John Robinette.

Friday, Sept. 18, 5:30 p.m.

THE METAL MUSEUM

PHOTO: COURTESY JEANNINE PAUL

Jeannine Paul’s painting, Colors of Tuscany, is featured in the “Artists’ Link Autumn Showcase.”

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

B O O K E V E N TS

Between the Lines: A Fall Literary Affair

COMM UN I T Y

3rd Annual Mahjong Madness

Featuring New York Times bestselling author Kiki Swinson alongside 40 authors and curated vendors, guests can enjoy live author interactions, book signings, and opportunities to discover new reads. Saturday, Sept. 19, noon.

Get ready for an afternoon at the Mahjong Madness event. Whether you’re a seasoned mahjong player or brand new to the game, this event welcomes all skill levels to join in the excitement. Thursday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m.

The NewRENASANT York Times Syndication Sales Corporation CONVENTION CENTER

620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Saturday, August 17, 2019

COM EDY

Comedian Pat House

House, a Philadelphia-based comic who’s been a longtime staple of the national club and college circuit, is proud to have performed in every state in the U.S. Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m.

FLYWAY BREWING COMPANY

DAN C E

Dance in 30

Brief, entertaining, and informative, Dance in 30 is 30 minutes of dance paired with 30 minutes of conversation. Thursday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m. | Friday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m.

BALLET MEMPHIS

Crossword ACROSS 1 “Right?”: Fr.

September 17-23, 2026

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16 Sturdy floor wood 17 Potent Hawaiian weed 18 Unsettled feeling 19 High-society people may put them on when in public 20 Alternative to a Lambo 21 A man or a mouse 22 Demolition letters 23 Not so far away 25 It multiplies by dividing

26 “Narcissus and

Goldmund” novelist 28 ___ truck 30 Part of a guess in Battleship 31 Only place in the U.S. to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, informally 34 Vacation souvenir, perhaps 36 Parent company of Pine-Sol 38 Blanket 39 Home of Millennium Park, informally 40 Sharing many of the characteristics of 41 Background noise 42 ___ boy

44 Goods, slangily 48 2019 #1 album

by Tyler, the Creator 50 Medicine cabinet glass 53 “Brilliant!”

54 200-milligram units 56 Snow of “Game of Thrones” 57 Bibliographer’s abbr.

58 Still around 59 1963 Four Seasons hit 61 Paintings of Adam and Eve, typically 62 Alternative to Kickstarter 63 Bond, e.g.

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WLOK’s Black Film Festival Opening Night: Sarah’s Oil

Sarah Rector is just 11 years old when she’s allotted 160 acres of land. It’s considered worthless, but Sarah’s convinced there’s oil beneath it. Thursday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m.

GIANT SCREEN THEATER - PINK PALACE

PER FOR M I N G AR TS

KPOP Warriors

DOWN 1 Jet popular in

Featuring hand-made art, great local original music, a Kid’s Treasure Cove, and items from around the world in the International Bazaar.

Saturday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m.

COOPER-YOUNG NEIGHBORHOOD

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PUZZLE BY DAVID STEINBERG

the 1960s and 12 Steakhouse 46 Put some juice ’70s 33 “Nope” selection into 2 Flight attendant 35 Family in “Airplane!”

13 Not have an hand-me47 Bless ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE accomplice down?

3 Periods of 49 Shade of black growth 14 “You want to?”

36 Quickly drink S T A R S H I P S S O N I A 4 “Who is ___?”

21 Occult 37 Long car trip?

51 Zillow listing C H I C K A S A W A X O N S 5 Harsh cry R E L A Y R A C E M E S S I 23 Learn indirectly 39 Woman who 52 Ruined has traveled to 6 Expressive U T E D W E E B N E T S 24 Taken in el Norte, maybe characters 55 Challenge B A D P R T A M S E A 27 Orkneyan or 7 Rough up, in a 43 Music style that R I M F E T A T R I Shetlander 57 Fragile way might feature T O B E C O N T I N U E D projectiles 29 Part of a an accordion 8 Come down W H A T S H O U L D I D O cloverleaf and a bajo (on) 59 Short smoke C H E M I C A L P E E L S sexto 32 Pixelated, 9 Match R E M P A N S S N L perhaps 45 G.I. meal 60 House support E R A S L C S A L E M 10 Boy’s name that becomes a girl’s S E T H S E V E N O V A Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past name if you T A R O T D A T A M I N E R puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). move the first E M I L E I N A M O M E N T letter to the end Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

D I X I E T E L E P O R T S 11 Tricks

A high-energy live production inspired by the music, choreography, and visual world of modern K-pop. Saturday, Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m.

RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER

T H EAT ER

From Footlights to Spotlight: Black Theatre’s Path On the anniversary of Hattiloo Theatre’s founding, this production honors the history of Black theater in a sweeping performance that celebrates its struggles, triumphs, and enduring impact. Tuesday, Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m. | Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.

THE ORPHEUM THEATRE

I Hate Hamlet

An actor whose hit sitcom has been canceled moves to New York and is offered the role of Hamlet. But he hates Shakespeare. Can he play the part? Thursday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, Sept. 20, 2:30 p.m.

GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE

We Saw You. with MICHAEL DONAHUE

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ocal chefs, artisans, and others who deal in food and spirits offered their cuisine and drinks to guests at the seventh annual Craft Food & Wine Festival, which was held September 6th at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The event, presented by Feast and Graze, was founded by the restaurant’s owner Cristina McCarter. Guests traveled from room to room, sampling the evening’s delights. Those with VIP tickets enjoyed a special menu from JEM Dining chef/ owner Joshua Mutchnick in a separate room at Brooks.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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

above: (left to right) Rosie Richmond Whalum; Kenyatta below: (left to right) Aaliyah, Rheannan, and Valencia Watson; Joshua Mutchnick; Cristina McCarter bottom row: (left to right) Paula Meeks, Alyssa Payton; Logan and Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh; Latina Chaney, Kenyona Thomas, Victor Chaney

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FOOD By Michael Donahue

The Singing Chef Nick Love acts, sings, cans.

September 17-23, 2026

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f music be the food of Nick Love, play on.

With apologies to William Shakespeare, the famous line from Twelfth Night could pertain to 27-year-old Love. He writes music, sings in a band, and acts on stage. He also owns his own food business, Delicacies by Nick Love, which includes his homemade jams, jellies, pickles, and preserves.

Love must be in a “jam band,” you say with a wink? No. Love is into R&B, gospel, and smooth jazz, which he’s performed on Beale Street and at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. He sells his canned goods Thursdays through Saturdays at the Agricenter International Farmer’s Market. And his products can be ordered at delicaciesbynicklove.com Music and food have always been a part of the native Memphian’s life. Love’s first creative expression involved food. He was in kindergarten when he decided to whip up something for his parents to eat.

“I wanted to make some hors d’oeuvres at like 7:30, 8 in the morning,” he says. So he cut up some hot dogs, covered them with cheese, stuck toothpicks in them, and took them to his parents’ bedroom. His surprised parents said, “Why are you in our room with hot dogs in our faces?”

Love comes from a family “who knows how to cook good food.” He loves to eat, so he was in the kitchen quite a bit. But he also was in the living room, which doubled as his “concert venue.”

Love, who had already written some of his own songs, was inspired to be a performer after he heard Anita Baker’s song, “Been So Long,” from her Rapture album. “It was like an itch that needed to be scratched,” he says. He thought, “I feel great right now. If I’m ever able to sing, I want people to feel through my music just how I feel now.”

Love’s dad introduced him to the music of Prince, Sade, and Barry White. “Good music was always playing.” Ironically, it was while fixing a bologna sandwich for his grandfather that Love discovered he was a vocalist. “I started singing. My grandfather looked at me and said, ‘Oh, my gosh, grandson, you can sing.’”

Love’s dad said, “I didn’t know you could sing.” And Love responded, “I didn’t know, either.”

His dad surprised him with a Yamaha keyboard that Christmas. Love stayed in his bedroom for three straight days learning to play songs on the keyboard.

He began seriously cooking in middle school. An aunt “would allow us to do things that our parents would not let us do. Like go in the kitchen and learn how

to cook.” When his teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, Love responded, “The singing chef.”

He wanted to major in jazz voice when he was at the University of Memphis, but he couldn’t sight-read. So, he went into health studies. But he also formed a band with some students in the music department and played gigs at venues, including the Omni New Daisy.

And he even fed his band members.

“Pastas, chicken, hot dogs, meat, spinach dip, garlic bread. Stuff like that.”

His grandmother, who was his inspiration, showed him how to can.

“I started making some bread and butter pickles and chow chow. It blew up. Everybody wanted some. I did not know it would be so well received. But it turns out a lot of people grew up with that kind of stuff.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Nick Love In 2025, Love began marketing his canned goods. He moved from canning at his grandmother’s to canning in a commercial kitchen. Now his products include sweet and spicy pickles with honey and jalapenos. He also makes chow chow, peach preserves, and mango, peach, and pineapple pepper jellies.

When he’s not canning, Love acts and sings. He’s set to perform some songs with Wyndie Oh! on October 3rd at Hattiloo Theatre.

He got into theater when he performed in Storms Pass By in 2025 at Circuit Playhouse. One of the characters was “a young working man in the 1800s who canned and made food.”

Love got the part. “I guess it was meant to be.” You might say that’s when Love officially became “the singing chef.”

SPIRITS By Andria Lisle and Kathleen Murray

Surviving Gonerfest Drink your way through the four-day fest with no regrets.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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

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ast September, Gonerfest heavy beers,” Bartosch says. Exactly. This is 22 moved into Wiseacre’s not the moment to discover your personal Broad Avenue brewery, giving limits with an imperial stout. several hundred music-loving Wiseacre’s nonalcoholic, hop-infused miscreants a home base for the weekend. sparkling water, Hop Zip, also got an It also gave Wiseacre a crash course in unexpected workout last year. Apparently, what happens when you combine dozens some savvy Gonerfest attendees discovof bands from around the world, punk ered that alternating alcoholic beverages rock pilgrims who’ve traveled thousands with zero ABVs can improve your odds of miles to see them, and an essentially of making it through Sunday night. Think unlimited supply of beer. Everybody surof it as the difference between attending vived. So, naturally, they’re doing it again a four-day festival and having a really the last weekend of September. memorable after-work bar hang.

For our first Flyer spirits column, we In industry parlance, Bartosch tells us, asked Wiseacre cofounder and CEO Kelthis is called “zebra-striping.” Beer. Hop lan Bartosch what he remembers from last Zip. Beer. Hop Zip. Repeat. Everybody year, what he’s expecting this time around, lives to see another band. and what first-timers need to know before We recently sampled Hop Zip on a wandering into the Gonerfest vortex.

100-degree afternoon and decided to What stuck with Bartosch wasn’t incorporate it into our own Gonerfest necessarily the music or crowds, but the strategy. After all, we’re veterans. We know sight of strangers sitting things. The most imporat communal tables, tant thing we know is hanging out. “I loved this: Pace yourself. Gonlooking outside and erfest is four days. There seeing all those people is no prize for destroying talking,” he says. yourself before the first Which is surprisafternoon set is finished. ingly wholesome for a So, welcome back, Gonfour-day music festival erfest. The beer is cold, that headlined noise exthe bands are loud, and tremists Lightning Bolt, Wiseacre is ready.

Zambian psych rockers W.I.T.C.H., and The Gonerfest Survival Memphis rap legend Guide Tommy Wright III. But Best time to arrive: As anyone who’s been to the first band starts, if Gonerfest knows how you have the stamina. it works: You show up One thing to bring: for the bands and wind Your credit card. Wiseup making friends acre is a no-cash venue. with strangers.

One thing to leave at PHOTO: COURTESY WISEACRE Behind the bar, home: Your car and things were more chayour attitude. Drink reotic, with employees from both locations sponsibly. Nobody likes a belligerent jerk. pitching in and outdoor bars added to The veteran move: Pace yourself. Four slake the festivalgoers’ thirst. days is an endurance contest, not a race The brewery also learned an important to the bottom. lesson about beer selection. The undisThe rookie mistake: Forgetting to eat. puted champion last year was Sky Dog, Panuzzo King will be open, along with Wiseacre’s crisp, highly drinkable lager. It’s several food trucks. also no slouch in the awards department: The beer: Sky Dog. Light, refreshing, and Sky Dog took home a gold medal from built for the long haul. the Great American Beer Festival, where it The beer to approach with caution: was named America’s Best Light Lager in Gotta Get Up to Get Down, Wiseacre’s both 2024 and 2025. Bartosch calls it the signature Coffee Milk Stout. Have one marathon runner of beers, and we wholeif you want it, but switch it up afterheartedly agree. At Gonerfest, that’s not ward. Seriously. This is a warning from just a compliment. It’s a survival strategy. your friends.

That matters when you’re dealing The thing you absolutely need to know: with people who may spend 11 hours at Gonerfest is a music marathon with a the brewery before heading to one of the matching bar tab. Hydrate, eat, zebraGonerfest afterparties. “If you’re at a festistripe, and save a little gas in the tank. val, you don’t necessarily want a bunch of There’s always another band.

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication And That’s the Thanks They Get? A Dalton, New Hampshire, man is in custody after stealing a rescue truck on Aug. 25th and using it to ram into a fire engine while firefighters battled his own house fire. NBC 10 in Boston reported that Nestor Roman II, 30, not only hit the fire engine, which sustained significant damage, but also ran over water supply lines, crashed into a personal vehicle, knocked over nearby fences, and narrowly missed three firefighters before ending his wrecking spree by crashing into a nearby property and attempting to steal items off the porch. No one was injured, and firefighters were able to continue using the hoses to work on the fire. The house, however, ended up being a total loss, and Roman is charged with multiple counts of reckless conduct, theft, burglary, and resisting arrest.

[NBC 10 Boston, 8/26/26]

September 17-23, 2026

Luggage Lizards Customs officers at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport discovered some truly wild contraband in one passenger’s luggage on Aug. 8th, reported the Times of India: 22 pairs of socks stuffed with 200 lizards. Daniel Isaac Velasco Baltazar, 23, who had flown to Japan from South Korea, purchased the lizards — some of them endangered — in Mexico for anywhere from $3.50 to $4.50 each, possibly hoping to sell them in Japan, where they could be worth up to $630.

After being arrested, Baltazar confessed to smuggling the lizards.

[Times of India, 8/17/26]

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Wandering Kinkajou Rescued in Texas On Aug. 20th, law enforcement officers in North Richland Hills, Texas, responded to a call about a small kangaroo or monkey seeking shelter behind a trash can outside of a restaurant. Police discovered a kinkajou, a nocturnal mammal native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. KDFW reported that the kinkajou, also called a “honey bear,” had burn marks on its paws from the hot concrete. Officers placed a towel around it before removing it from behind the trash can.

The kinkajou was first taken to North Richland Hills Animal Services Center before being moved to Nature’s Edge Wildlife and Reptile Rescue. Exotic pets are not allowed in the city, and no one has come forward to claim owner-

ship of the kinkajou, so how this nocturnal mammal came to be outside of a restaurant on a hot, sunny day in Texas is still a mystery. [KDFW, 8/21/26] Owl at Sea Reuters reported on Aug. 20th that a barn owl had joined a British Army sailing crew — 70 nautical miles from shore. The crew aboard the Fujitsu British Soldier was competing in the 50th Anniversary RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race when they found their stowaway. The bird — which the crew named “Little Regina” — fell into the sea three times before collapsing onto the deck, where sailors rescued it.

The Barn Owl Trust, Marine and Wildlife Rescue, and Caister Independent Lifeboat coordinated to sail out and retrieve Little Regina and take her to a wildlife center so the crew from the Fujitsu British Soldier could finish the race. [Reuters, 8/20/26] Bull on the Run Law enforcement received a call about a bull traveling along Highway 35 in Half Moon Bay, California, late in the evening of Aug. 18th. According to KTVU, the bull had been on the run for several days. The California Highway Patrol and San Mateo County Sheriff ’s deputies attempted to clear the roadway for capture. “You know, they don’t cover this in the police academy, so they tried unsuccessfully for a couple of hours to get the bull secured,” said Capt. Eamonn Allen, Coastside Commander for the San Mateo Sheriff ’s Office. “They tried a couple of methods and just realized that their efforts were futile.” Realizing they needed an expert wrangler, they called in Samuel Palomino of Sea Horse Ranch. Palomino lassoed the animal while standing in the back of a sheriff ’s pickup, but the rope broke. After a second attempt, Palomino secured the wayward bull around 3 a.m. Officials said the bull was returned to its pen.

[KTVU, 8/21/26] Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD © 2026 Andrews McMeel Syndication.

Reprinted with permission.

All rights reserved.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Peru’s Andean mountains, Indigenous and smallholder farmers cultivate a rich diversity of potato varieties, continuing a farming tradition rooted in the crop’s domestication thousands of years ago. Each variety thrives in slightly different soil, altitude, and climate. By planting many types at once, the farmers ensure that at least some crops will flourish no matter what conditions arise. I suggest you apply this way of thinking to your own life in the coming weeks, Taurus. Diversify your efforts instead of depending on a single plan or expectation. Plan for multiple small initiatives that will evolve with unique growth patterns.

the god of war and her mom the goddess of love, so she had a lot of practice. In her line of work, tension between different forces could produce elegant unity rather than conflict. In alignment with astrological omens, I’ve appointed Harmonia to be your guardian angel in the coming weeks, Leo. I urge you to call on her dynamically and frequently. Rifts and splits and divisions that have never before been possible to heal are now swayable by the collaborative efforts of you and the goddess.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Real You and the Semi-Real You have been embroiled in a showdown with the False You. This is as tough and heroic a struggle as you’ve had to deal with in quite some time, though it has often been subtle and partially cloaked. I am of course rooting for the Real You and the Semi-Real You to emerge victorious from the conflict, though I also hope you don’t feel the need to humiliate and crush the False You. That part of you has sometimes served a valuable purpose and doesn’t deserve to be trashed. And what will become of the Semi-Real You after this drama is finished? I suggest you give it a modest place in your repertoire. Like the False You, it sometimes proves to be useful.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In biology, many organisms survive harsh or unpredictable conditions by entering dormancy.

This is a reversible state of greatly reduced metabolism and development. Seeds, spores, and the dormant stages of some small animals can remain viable for years until cues such as water, temperature, light, or nutrients signal that conditions are favorable again. Then they can resume growth, development, or activity, often rapidly. I suspect you may experience a comparable upsurge in the coming weeks, Gemini. A project or aspiration that seemed inert may reawaken and reignite.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Hummingbirds can fly backward. They’re the only birds capable of sustained reverse flight. This requires extraordinary wing flexibility and energy expenditure, but it gives them access to nectar that forwardonly fliers have more difficulty sampling.

Let’s treat this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. It may be that your progress and success won’t always come from advancing. Some rich resources may require the equivalent of reverse flight. Consider returning to conversations you thought were finished, revisiting places you’d mentally filed away as “done,” and extracting value from sources you’ve already passed by.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Novelist Kurt Vonnegut advised us to try some task that scares us every day of our lives.

That may be a viable experiment for a Scorpio like him, but is it a wise prescription for us Cancerians, who like to feel secure and protected? Normally, I would say no. I’d recommend that you and I dare ourselves to wrestle with one of our fears no more than once per month. But the coming weeks may warrant a departure from our typical rhythms. I suspect we can fortify our long-term safety and peace through more frequent encounters with unpredictable episodes that rouse our hidden reserves of courage.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In chemistry, catalysts are substances that accelerate reactions without being consumed in the process. A tiny amount of catalyst can dramatically transform how quickly elements combine. An example is the enzyme catalase in our cells, which breaks down hydrogen peroxide (a byproduct of our metabolism) into water and oxygen millions of times faster than it would decompose on its own. I believe you are now in a phase when your catalytic powers are at a peak, Sagittarius.

Be careful where you point that potency of yours! Make sure you really want to change what you’re capable of changing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The ancient Greeks believed that the goddess Harmonia presided over the blending of opposites into balanced beauty. Her dad was

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Every species adapts to its surroundings. Even harmful microbes evolve over time in order to survive. Syphilis, for instance,

was once ferociously swift and deadly, but that intensity limited how far it could spread. So a gentler strain gradually evolved that allowed its hosts to live longer and pass it on more widely. Let this serve as a metaphor for how you handle your dark moods, odd compulsions, and brief bouts of craziness. Befriend the mild, manageable versions of these states and give them space to be felt and understood. Over time, the harsher, more destructive versions will lose ground and fade from power.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Paleontologists know that some dinosaurs traveled in herds with a specific formation: the most vulnerable members gathered in the center, protected by stronger individuals on the perimeter. It was a savvy way to run things, ensuring the group would thrive. I hope you’re willing to borrow some dinosaur wisdom, Aquarius. The coming weeks will be a good time to apply it to your own life. Who or what needs protection? What vulnerable projects or relationships deserve to be surrounded and shielded? Are you willing and able to use your strength to guard what’s tender and growing? Be a shepherd, a steward, a defender.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In ancient times, Hawaii’s Coconut Island was renowned for its healing powers — but on one condition. Those who sought its medicinal help couldn’t just expect the local spirits to do all the work, but had to take part in awakening the magic. Legend tells us that a seeker could be cured by swimming three times around the island.

This participatory approach to healing mirrors your current situation, Pisces. You are close to a source of renewal, but if you hope to unlock its full strength, you must coax it out with your ingenuity.

THE AWARDS ARE BACK, BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER. Vote for your favorite family-friendly services and businesses in the Mid-South!

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Realities you’ve been oblivious to will soon pop into view. Hints and signals you’ve been unconsciously pushing away will start flocking toward you. A lingering emotional numbness will thaw, and surges of feelings will pour into your awareness. Warning! At first, it may feel like an overload: too much sopping wet data arriving too quickly for you to organize or interpret. If you’re willing to be patient and focus on slowly metabolizing the influx, though, the apparent chaos will ultimately weave itself into a luminous web of new understanding.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If I were writing this horoscope for the Gun Lovers’ Gambling Porn website, I might counsel my Virgo readers to maintain strict control over their wickedness, debauchery, and decadence. Why? Because now is a time when vices and sins are even more likely than usual to sow chaos and spawn big messes. However, since you are reading my oracle in a more genteel publication and are almost certainly a refined person of high integrity, I’m confident there will be minimal uproar if I dare you to tap into your raw animal energy and unruly instinctual nature. I believe it’s time to at least experiment with wilder aspects of your deep self.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY By Rob Brezsny

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T H E AT E R B y C h r i s M c C o y

Clue-ed In Playwright Sandy Rustin on bringing the cult classic board-game film to the stage.

I

September 17-23, 2026

n the early 1980s, adapting a board game into a movie sounded insane.

But Halloween producer Debra Hill was determined to make a film out of Cluedo, a British game which made Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries into a fun family game night. When Clue was released in 1985, it seemed like conventional wisdom was right. The film received mostly positive reviews, particularly for Tim Curry’s deadpan performance as the butler Wadsworth, but failed to make back its $15 million budget. But a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity. Clue became an unlikely hit on home video, and found a second life on cable television.

Decades later, when a group of Broadway producers got the rights to Clue, they hired playwright Sandy Rustin to pen a murder mystery comedy that would work well on the stage. “I grew up in Chicago and I always had a dual focus and interest in performance and in playwriting,” Rustin says. “I was writing plays in my living room and making my friends perform them from

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the time I was a very little girl.”

Rustin spent her 20s as an actor.

“When I became a parent, I was looking for a way to stay involved in the theater, but not have to be away from home for eight shows a week. And writing really was the answer to that question for me.

I shifted my focus into playwriting when I became a mom.”

Like any good theater kid, she was already familiar with Clue. “I tend to write really physical comedy, and they were looking for that kind of a vibe for this adaptation.

I loved the performers in that movie. It sort of became this cult hit. So when the opportunity came to re-look at it, I jumped at it.

Of course, I grew up playing the board game and played the game with my own family as I became a parent.”

Writing for the stage is always a challenge. One might think adapting existing material would be easier, but that’s not necessarily the case, says Rustin.

“The challenge with adaptations is to simultaneously honor the existing material and honor the original intent of the writer, while creating a fresh new experience for the audience.”

Rustin says the inspiration for her work recently came back into focus when star Tim Curry passed away at age 80. “I just posted a little piece about Tim Curry on my Instagram page

PHOTO: EVAN ZIMMERMAN

Clue on tour; (inset) Sandy Rustin because I feel so indebted to him and his performances. Wadsworth was so instrumental in how I decided to approach the material.”

Clue presented an unusual challenge.

The original film had three different endings, in which three different

T H E AT E R B y C h r i s M c C o y of trying to solve a problem of how to honor both requests. You’ll have to go see the stage production and tell me what you think!”

After premiering in 2017, Clue: On Stage has become something of a phenomenon. “It’s been beyond our wildest dreams,” says Rustin. “It’s become one of the most produced plays in the nation.

It’s the number one produced play in high schools for, I think we’re on our fourth or fifth year. We’re on our third year of a national tour, and it’s being translated into other languages. It has been really gratifying to watch how audiences across the globe have embraced this fun night out at the theater.”

atattoostale.com Coming soon.

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characters were revealed to be the killer of Mr. Boddy. Which ending you saw in the theater depended on where and when you watched the film. “When this project first came my way, I had a really nice conversation with Jonathan Lynn, who was the screenwriter of Clue, who basically gave me his blessing. He said to me he would really prefer it if there was just one satisfying ending, but the studio sort of forced the multi-ending idea on him. I said, of course, I will honor that. Then I had a meeting with the executives in the studio and producers, and the feedback that came back to me was, ‘Will you do everything you can to make sure that you honor the multi-ending? Audiences really loved the multi-ending. It’s really important to us.’ So there I was, in this conundrum

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Tyrin Johnson Was Shot in the Back

THE LAST WORD

That headline is not speculation. It is the finding of an autopsy performed by the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center. The report shows a bullet entered the right side of PHOTO: JOHN PARTIPILO | TENNESSEE LOOKOUT Johnson’s back and exited through his upper chest. A forensic pathologist who reviewed An autopsy released by the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center the findings said the bullet’s upward trajectory was consistent with Johnson running showed 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson of Memphis was shot in the back by away from the person who shot him. That evidence directly contradicts the account auNational Guard members on July 5th, contradicting initial accounts from thorities gave the public after Johnson was killed by members of the Tennessee National officials that Johnson turned towards guard members with a gun.

Guard in downtown Memphis on July 5. Memphis police initially said Johnson turned toward the soldiers with a handgun during a foot pursuit. A National Guard report similarly claimed he “rounded on” the soldiers and pointed a gun at them. The autopsy establishes that Johnson was not shot in the chest as those initial descriptions suggested.

This discrepancy cannot be explained away with another press release. Johnson was 20 years old. His family has spent nearly two months demanding the evidence of what happened during his final moments. They have reportedly not been shown video of the shooting. Now, the physical evidence has raised even more serious questions about the government’s version of events. The public deserves answers. Every available recording must be preserved and released, including surveillance footage, vehicle-camera recordings, police radio communications, and video from the body-worn cameras of Memphis police officers who responded to the scene. The identities of the soldiers who fired must be disclosed — and how many shots each soldier fired, where they were standing, and why two soldiers reportedly discharged their weapons when the autopsy documents a single gunshot wound. Memphis police officers were involved in the response and should have been operating their body cameras. If footage exists, officials should not hide it behind a vague appeal to an “ongoing investigation.” If no footage exists, the public deserves to know why.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says its investigation remains open. But an investigation conducted behind closed doors cannot repair the damage caused when the government’s initial account conflicts with medical evidence. This case requires a genuinely independent, transparent investigation, followed by a public accounting of the evidence. The medical examiner classified Johnson’s death as a homicide. That classification does not by itself establish criminal culpability. But neither does a uniform place someone beyond the reach of law. If evidence establishes that Johnson did not pose an imminent threat when he was shot, the person or persons responsible must be charged.

The same legal standards that apply to every other Tennessean must apply to members of the National Guard.

Johnson’s death cannot be separated from the larger militarization of public safety in Memphis. The Memphis Safe Task Force has placed National Guard troops alongside federal, state, and local law enforcement, giving military forces an expanding presence in ordinary civilian policing. We were told the Guard would provide support. Instead, its members pursued Johnson and opened fire. A military deployment promoted as a way to make Memphis safer ended with a young Black man shot in the back. That reality should force us to reconsider not only this shooting but the entire political project that made it possible.

Supporters of the Task Force repeatedly cite arrest totals, traffic stops, citations, and firearm seizures as proof of success. The White House has claimed that the operation “crushed” violent crime. Yet Memphis crime was already declining before Guard patrols began, and a recent analysis found no measurable evidence that Guard deployments reduced violent crime, homicide, or gun victimization in the cities examined. Smart City Memphis recently highlighted an estimated $319 million cost for the Memphis deployment through the end of 2026. At that price, Tennesseans should demand more than political theater, inflated claims, and carefully selected enforcement totals. They should demand evidence that the deployment has made communities safer — and an honest accounting of the harm committed in its name.

Public safety cannot be measured only by how many people the government stops, cites, or arrests. It must also be measured by whether government agents respect constitutional rights, whether families receive the truth when their loved ones are killed, and whether those who misuse state power are held accountable.

A government that demands obedience while refusing transparency is not producing safety. It is producing fear. That is why elected officials at every level must do more than offer condolences. They must demand the release of the footage, insist upon an independent investigation, hold public hearings, and refuse to expand or fund this deployment without meaningful civilian oversight. Silence in this moment is not neutrality. It protects the institutions withholding answers.

This November, Tennesseans must pay close attention to the officials and candidates who champion the militarization of our communities while resisting transparency and oversight. Anyone asking for the power to govern should be required to explain whether they will protect the public from abuses of state authority — or simply protect the authorities.

Those who want more militarized law enforcement with less public accountability should not be elected or returned to office.

This is not a partisan abstraction. It is a question of life and death.

Johnson’s family is living with the consequences, and every Black family in Memphis understands what is at stake when the government can kill one of us and then control the evidence, the investigation, and the story told afterward. Justice for Tyrin begins with the truth. It requires the release of every recording, a full investigation, and criminal charges if the evidence establishes that his killing was unlawful. Tyrin Johnson was shot in the back. No elected official should be permitted to look away.

Rev. Earle Fisher is the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis and founder of #UPTheVote901. This piece was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.

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Memphis deserves the truth.

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