VOL. 61, No. 7
One Section/Inserts
www.tristatedefender.com
February 9 - 15, 2012
75 Cents
No money at Mo Money?
Memphis lands on White House radar for business improvement
Special to the Tri-State Defender
by Tony Jones
Justice Department asked to get involved by Tony Jones
Despite the avalanche of problems facing Mo Money Taxes, co-owner Derrick Robinson says that any fears the company will be closed down by the challenges are unwarranted and that anyone owed a refund will get “every cent coming to them.” Robinson’s declaration came Wednesday (Feb. 8) afternoon. But by nightfall came the news that Mo Money Taxes could be facing a fed-
eral investigation. A formal letter of apology from Mo Money, which sought the media’s help to circulate the letter, attempts to explain the trouble customers have encountered, but it may be a case of too little, too late. A joint letter from 9th District Rep. Steve Cohen and Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott has been dispatched to the U.S. Justice Department seeking an investigation into numerous complaints. “When you file with Mo Money what you gets is NO money,” one irate customer told a television reporter. Addressed to U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, the Cohen-Scott letter states:
“We write to ask for an immediate investigation and all other appropriate actions by your office to address the apparently fraudulent and criminal actions of the ‘Mo Money Taxes’ operation in Norfolk, Virginia and vicinity, and in Memphis, Tennessee and vicinity. Complaints by many who recently obtained the help of Mo Money Taxes in filing their returns range from lack of information as to the status of their returns to outright fraudulent filings and bounced checks issued for refunds due filers. The full extent of the problem is not known, but as attached news reports reflect, hundreds of people have been victimized.
Cohen on Wednesday told The New TriState Defender that he learned of Mo Money’s Derrick problems “from Robinson calls to my office and through the media when I was home over the weekend. Congressman Scott had already mentioned it to me when we were in a judiciary meeting, saying he was going to call me, and that he was preparing a letter because there was a problem in his district in VirSEE MONEY ON PAGE 3
Texting while driving a deadly specter for friends of Clifton B. Gibbs
CBU grad struck head on after another driver crosses lanes Special to the Tri-State Defender
by Brittany Jackson The dangerous mix of driving and texting was detailed in a story I wrote a couple of years ago while exploring journalism as the iTeen reporter for Tri-State Defender. Never in a million years did I think someone I knew and cared about would fall victim to such danger. On February 1, my day was going about as normal – laughing with friends, attending classes at Christian Brothers University and going to work, etc. I did not know that a friend of mine I had been in a terrible accident. His name was Clifton B. Gibbs. Clif, as many of us called him, was a former classmate and the longtime boyfriend of one of my dear friends, Larissa Redmond. He’d graduated from Christian Brothers University in 2011 with a degree in Business Administration and also was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. His future appeared bright. Then came news that Clif’s life was dangling after a car crash. Witnesses told police that he was driving southbound on South Third St. when a northbound vehicle crossed over into opposing traffic and struck Clif’s vehicle head on about 2 p.m. A three-vehicle crash yielded multiple people critically injured. I, along with numerous others, reeled from the initial reports, which included the detail that the driver whose car crossed lanes and had been texting at the time. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday (Feb. 8) afternoon, and there was no mention of texting while driving in the police report, which did note that the investigation was ongoing. At the hospital, we waited for news of Clif’s condition and comforted Larissa. People were praying that he would pull through. We all had faith he would be fine. It felt like a nightmare and we were all ready to wake up from it. Two days later, February 3, Clifton died surrounded by friends and family. So many people loved and cared for him; even to this day, his death doesn’t seem real. As I write this reflection, I acknowledge that the official cause of the accident has not been determined. Still, texting is now interwoven with my thoughts of Clif’s last days. PivSEE TEXTING ON PAGE 2
MEMPHIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
H- 5 5o - L - 3 1o Few Sho wers
H- 3 8o - L - 2 7o Mo st l y Sun ny
H- 3 9o - L - 2 6o Partl y Cl o udy
REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS
Friday H-57 L-32 H-52 L-28 H-59 L-41
Saturday H-44 L-29 H-37 L-16 H-51 L-30
Sunday H-41 L-33 H-35 L-20 H-54 L-34
Special to the Tri-State Defender
Several of the city’s top business leaders and independent minority business owners will be on a group conference call Thursday (Feb. 9) in a follow-up to a trip to the White House last week. The White House session featured an afternoon-long conference to discuss potential ways to improve the business structure of Memphis. Kept confidential until completed, the White confab was arranged by Business Forward, which works with the White House Business Council on policy briefings for business communities throughout the nation. A national non-profit group, Business Forward reached out to the Black Business Association (of Memphis) to gather additional insight from the African American business independent business community, and to gain insight from community business leaders. The New Tri-State Defender contacted several of the participants in the White House conference for their brief impressions of the tangible benefits they hope will come from the process: SEE BUSINESS ON PAGE 2
Hey Kelvin, Oprah’s dad is on the line for you Special to the Tri-State Defender
by Kelvin Cowans
Eddie Hayes, the new manager of R.S. Lewis and Sons, says he joined a great team, referring to Andre Jones, director of operations, and Richard Flowers, public relations manager. (Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)
Death-services pro gives R.S. Lewis and Sons a shot in the arm Special to the Tri-State Defender
by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell “…I came home from Collins Chapel Hospital to a funeral home when I was born in 1948. Back in those days, black funeral homes were built with two stories so the director’s family could live upstairs. My earliest recollections were of helping my father embalm with those old manual hand pumps in the ‘preparation room.’ I grew up working in every aspect of the funeral business. I loved it so much that I knew early on what I wanted to be. I’ve never wanted to do anything else…” Eddie Hayes Newly appointed manager of R.S. Lewis and Sons
How big?
Memphis Athletics Director R.C. Johnson ushers in Memphisʼ future in the Big East Conference during a press conference Wednesday. See Sports, page 14. (Photo by Jennifer Marie Rodrigues)
“African-American funeral rituals and customs have always been important and necessary within the fabric of our community,” said Eddie Hayes, manager of R.S. Lewis and Sons. “The traditions and practices which are so critical to our sense of culture and identity will always be top priority.” Hayes, a former manager of N.J. Ford Funeral Home, took the helm of Lewis and Sons on January 1. He takes on administrative leadership, a position left void during the illness and after the death of the funeral home’s founder, Robert S. Lewis Sr., on November 28 of last year. “Lewis and Sons, like most black mortuaries, SEE FUNERAL ON PAGE 3
Prepared (adjective) – properly expectant, organized or equipped; ready. I was having a telephone conversation recently with Larry Crim, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate of TenKelvin nessee. I was Cowans miles away in Memphis, enjoying a sunny day close to Beale Street and hopeful of making some progress on a special project. On my end of the phone, I entertained the thought of popping up at my daughter’s school, all the while enjoying Starbucks and the serenity of the day’s clear blue sky. On the other end of the connection in Nashville, Crim was speaking about his aptitude of government matters and his disgust of dirty politics. Then he mentioned Vernon Winfrey. “What did you just say,” Mr. Crim? Unfolding out of my relaxed position, what I heard next made me as happy as George Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” You know, around SEE WINFREY ON PAGE 2
- INSIDE -
• African-American women poised to play important role in 2012 presidential election. See Opinion, page 4. • On the fence about popping the question? Read Lucy Shaw. See Religion, page 10. • New Kirk Whalum CD gets Valentine’s Day debut. See Entertainment, page 11.
Kirk Whalum