3 28 2012

VOL. 61, No. 13

One Section/Inserts

www.tristatedefender.com

March 22 - 28, 2012

Florida teen’s killing to yield Memphis youth vigil Plan is to fight ʻinjusticeʼ with prayer Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

“…Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his 1963 Letter From A Birmingham Jail: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Almost 50 years later, we are still rallying for justice…Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Miami native killed three weeks ago, has become the face of that struggle today…”

The Rev. Kia Granberry Church youth leader The Rev. Kia Granberry is angry and so are many other Memphis-area youth. They will converge on the National Civil Rights Museum on Monday, March 26 – one month to the day that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot down while walking back from a store for some Skittles candy and a bottle of ice tea.

Martin, who was not armed, died not far from the Sanford, Fla., home of his father’s fiancée. His death – termed a cold-blooded murder by the attorney representing Martin’s family – is reverberating in myriad places across the nation, including Memphis.

Racial profiling and the commission of a hate crime, say some, warrant murder charges against 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the armed-security guard who maintains he killed Martin in self-defense move. Zimmerman has not been charged nor arrested.

With outrage and protests spreading and a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry unfolding, some are pointing to what they see as a larger assault on and/or conspiracy against AfricanAmerican boys and men by law enforcement.

In Memphis, the Rev. Granberry is calling for a prayer vigil on the historic site of Dr. King’s death.

Redistricting suit not a sour grapes move, says NAACP Rev. Kia Granberry

Trayvon Martin

“We have to turn back to fasting, and we have to turn back to prayer,” she told The New Tri-State Defender on Wednesday (March 21) evening.

“Petitioning our government is important, but nothing is more powerful than prayer. This prayer is our way of fighting.

“We are declaring through our

75 Cents

prayers that there shall be justice for Trayvon Martin. We will no longer stand silently by and allow our young people to be hunted and killed like animals. We won’t stand for it! We call on our God for justice.”

Church youth groups from around the city are expected to participate in the vigil. The gathering in front of the museum will coincide with a prayer vigil of youth in Miami, where an event is being organized by Granberry’s former college classmates.

“We have invited Mayor AC Wharton and our pastors to join us in prayer and support us as we take a stand,” said Granberry. “We wanted this effort to be organized by MemSEE VIGIL ON PAGE 2

Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Tony Jones

There they were – assembled members of the Memphis Branch NAACP board – lined up at the chapter’s fabled headquarters on Vance Avenue Tuesday (March 20) to issue a statement explaining the need for a lawsuit.

A 13-letter word, Redistricting, was the magnet that drew the board members together.

The local NAACP chapter, it was announced, had filed a legal challenge to the state’s new redistricting plan.

The gist of the lawsuit is this: The current Senate Redistricting Plan, as adopted, violates Article II, Section 6 of the Tennessee Constitution by splitting counties more than is necessary – Therefore it fails to comply with the One-person, One-vote mandate derived from the Equal Protection Clause of the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 – The citizens of Shelby County will be afforded less influence over local legislation affecting their County.

The NAACP’s suit supports an earlier action filed by District 92 State Rep. G.A. Hardaway and others challenging the new redistricting plan.

“The state designates that a county should not be split unnecessarily and that is what the present plan does,” SEE SUIT ON PAGE 2

E W

WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE TSD Women of Excellence salute April 28

Nominations end Friday

Press time…

President Barack Obama hosted members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association at the White House last week (March 15), telling them that their portrayal of African Americans helps all races and ethnicities. See related story on National, page 6. (Photo by George Curry)

- INSIDE -

• Hate speech is not a First Amendment right. See Opinion, page 4.

• Prosperity of body, mind and spirit awaits the ‘beloved.’ See Religion, page 8.

• A manatee’s journey to the Mid-South prompts a children’s book. See Entertainment, page 10.

• Losing weight starts with loving yourself. See Health, page 12.

• A new column explores encounters one is likely to experience ‘Only in Memphis.’

See Community, page 13.

Digital Shoppers R Us NNPA News Service

by Cheryl Pearson-McNeil Remember back in the day when Yellow Pages encouraged everyone to: “Let Your Fingers do the Walking,” to quickly and efficiently thumb through its pages to locate any business or service imaginable?

Which really came in handy when we were in the market for anything from pizza to electronics to specialty shoes to a plumber.

We have become spoiled rotten since the not-so-long-ago heyday of the Yellow Pages – including the very people who work in the technowonder companies that keep upping the ante and changing the game, as well as those who track all of the subsequent trends in consumer behavior. Because as consumers, all of us need or want something – food, shelter, clothing, electronics, enter-

tainment, etc.

You name it.

But, our fingers still do the walking, alright – on our phones.

According to new Nielsen mobile research, in addition to talking and texting, American smartCheryl phone owners Pearsonare whipping out McNeil these handy little devices and trolling retail apps and websites to shop, research products and product reviews, compare prices, find retail locations and redeem coupons.

“Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise,” according to John Burbank, Nielsen’s president of strategic ini-

tiatives.

Here’s what Nielsen data shows: During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail apps and websites combined – Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart – reached nearly 60 percent of smartphone owners.

Both men and women prefer retailers’ mobile websites over mobile apps; though men are more likely to opt for the apps over women.

Female smartphone owners prefer Target and Walmart mobile websites, while Best Buy skews male. Amazon and eBay appeal to both.

While we, as shoppers, still use traditional forms of marketing such as direct mail and newspaper ads, we are nearly twice as likely (60 percent) to read a retailers’ email than those colorful paper circulars in the stores (30 percent).

More than 30 percent of shoppers SEE SHOP ON PAGE 3

The New Tri-State Defender’s fifth annual Women of Excellence Spring “High Tea” Reception will be held April 28 at the Memphis Botanic Gardens.

The high-profile event will honor 50 outstanding African-American women from the Greater Memphis community for their remarkable civic contributions and career achievements. It will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The TSD encourages its readers and the entire Greater Memphis community to engage in helping to identify the 50 deserving honorees for the 2012 class of WOE. The nomination period ends at 5 p.m. Friday (March 23).

Each candidate must be a local African-American woman executive, business owner or community leader.

Each woman should possess demonstrated success within her field of endeavor, be a positive role model whose contributions encourage others, and be active in community service or organizational involvement.

For more information, call 901523-1818. See page 9 for the nomination form, which also is available online at www.tristatedefender.com.

MEMPHIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

H -73o - L-53o H-72o - L-52o Scat . T-St orms Partl y Cl oud y REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE JACKSON, MS

Friday H-74 L-53 H-74 L-52 H-81 L-56

SUNDAY

H- 7 5 o - L - 5 2 o P a r tl y C l ou dy

Saturday H-80 L-53 H-69 L-49 H-80 L-54

Sunday H-82 L-54 H-72 L-50 H-80 L-54

NEWS

Page 2

March 22 - 28, 2012

VIGIL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

phis youth. We felt it was important for us to make our own statement about our concern for the lives of young black men and our boys. We want our voices heard in this great travesty of justice.”

Granberry, 26, is part of a triumvirate of young women leading the charge for these youth. Charisse Gooden, 26, and attorney Maya Siggers are also involved in the move to unite local youth in the cause.

Tri-State Defender

‘Big top’ prep!

‘Hated and feared’

Siggers marveled that even in the 21st century, “black men are still the most hated and feared” by others.

“After reading about Trayvon Martin being killed by the neighborhood watch captain who had not been prosecuted, I became disturbed.

After the release of the 911 calls and hearing his cries for help those final moments of his life, I began to weep,” said Siggers.

“I sat crying, Trayvon had become my child, and I hurt deeply for all the Trayvons of this country who we have lost too soon. After contacting Kia and Charisse, we knew what we had to do.

“We knew we needed to pray for Trayvon’s family, as well as for all the youth of our city because the challenges they are facing are critical. Our young men are in a battle for their very lives. Our friend who is a recent law school graduate had already organized a prayer vigil in Miami on Monday,” she said.

“It was inspiring to see so many from our generation not just sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to step up and take the lead. We are taking the lead in serving as a positive voice of hope for a brighter future…

“We will pray for our city and our youth. God will deliver us. The Lord will help us…”

Murder or self-defense

On Feb. 26, in the gated community of Sanford, Fla, an Orlando suburb, Martin was returning from a walk to a nearby convenience store for candy and a bottle of iced tea.

Neighborhood watch captain Zimmerman, who police have called white and who has been described by his parents as white and Hispanic, made a 911 call to report a suspicious person.

Zimmerman had reportedly made nearly 50 calls to 911 that month to report “suspicious persons” in the predominantly white community. The known facts indicate Zimmer-

SUIT

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

said NAACP Defense Fund Committee Chairman Van Turner, who is also chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party.

“I think there is the component of race involved, but that is not the sole basis of the suit.

Look at it from a purely logical viewpoint. We’re the largest city in the state and we’re losing representation. If anything, we need to keep the number of representatives we have, not fewer to represent more people. That’s non-partisan, non-racial, it’s really just about one man, one vote.”

As designed, Shelby County would lose one Senate and one House seat, both now held by Democrats. The Senate seat presently held by Jim Kyle has been moved to the newly created District 28, in Tipton County. Kyle’s former district is now part of District 30, which is held by Beverly Marrero, also a Democrat. It is in

man began to follow Martin despite being told by the 911 operator not to pursue Martin but to wait on an officer who was enroute.

There are conflicting reports about whether Zimmerman can be heard saying on the 911 tape that “these (expletive) always get away.”

In a chilling account delivered before media on Tuesday, attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Martin family, told of speaking to Trayvon Martin’s 16-year-old girlfriend, who had been on the phone with Martin shortly before he was fatally shot.

Martin, said Crump, told his girlfriend that he was being followed. She told him to run and he did, at one point thinking that he had lost his pursuer.

Moments later, Zimmerman was behind Martin and refused his girlfriend’s plea that he start running again, choosing instead to walk fast, Crump said.

According to Crump, Martin’s friend hears him ask, “Why are you following me?”

There are loud cries and what sounds like a scuffle before the phone goes dead.

Shots ring out and three witnesses who rush outside find Martin on the ground with Zimmerman standing over him holding the gun.

Witnesses said they heard the 17-year-old crying and

effect a lost seat that supports Democratic Party causes.

Hardaway is facing a similar type of situation. He would have to run against fellow Tennessee Black Caucus member Rep. Barbara Cooper to remain in the legislature, yielding the loss of a liberal democratic vote.

Turner acknowledges that it is customary for the winning party in an election cycle to redraw districts to its advantage whenever possible, but he rejects the sour-grapes assertion.

And while he spoke in measured tones, Turner expresses a growing sentiment among the liberal political body here that there seems to be a growing consternation with each legislative session.

“Why is so much legislation being aimed at Memphis and only at Memphis? I think a lot more people are being affected by legislation than in past years and they are beginning to understand better how decisions made in Nashville affect us here and whenever we lose a voice it can directly affect us

pleading for his life. However, police did not arrest Zimmerman, accepting his claim of self-defense. Advocates have not only called for the shooter’s prosecution, but for the firing of the Sanford police chief.

A 3-2 vote of no confidence in the police chief came out of an intense meeting involving Sanford local officials Wednesday. It is not binding and it came as protests spread to New York City, where Martin’s parents – Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton – joined a Manhattan march in which their were multiple calls for Zimmerman’s arrest.

“This man ran Trayvon down like and animal and killed him. Zimmerman was standing over his body with his feet spread apart, one on each side of the body,” said Granberry.

“We will stand in the same place where Dr. King was assassinated almost 50 years ago,” she said. “We are grateful for the great strides made with Barack Obama as our President, but we have a long way to go with Trayvon Martin lying dead on the street.”

The National Civil Rights Museum is located at 450 Mulberry Street in downtown Memphis. For more on the vigil, call Granberry at 901692-1900. economically,” said Turner.

“Like in the battle over the schools. The schools are the second largest employer in the state, and if we lose representation it can affect jobs.”

It was noted at this week’s press conference that the Tennessee Black Caucus crafted a redistricting plan that would affect five counties, as opposed to the eight under the Republican-drawn plan. Turner said the court must also consider the constitutional requirement that alternative plans should be considered that preserve districts with minority populations, so-called “majority minority” districts. Hardaway’s suit notes the requirement as a point of opposition.

Attempts to reach local Republican Party Chairman Justin Joy were not successful

by TSD press time. Proponents of the new redistricting maintain that the new district was needed because population growth patterns show a growing move to the center of the state and away from Shelby County.

Ketric Burt, an electrical engineer, applies himself to the electrical wiring for The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which will be at the Landers Center in Southaven, Miss., for performances Thursday (March 22) through Sunday.

Photos by Warren Roseborough)

Jewel the Camel strikes a pose at the load-in for the upcoming Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which begins a Memphis-area run on Thursday (March 22). The elephants, meanwhile, were being fed and were not to be disturbed.

NEWS

Tri-State Defender

Page 3

March 22 - 28, 2012

NNPA’s Newsmakers call for more involvement from the community NNPA News Service

by Caryn Freeman

This year’s Black Press Week held in Washington, D.C. culminated with the an award ceremony honoring Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP, who received an award for community service, a n d founder and president of the Children’s Defense F u n d , Marian Wright Eldelmen, who received a lifetime Ben achieveJealous m e n t award for her leadership as the n a t i o n ’s biggest advocate for u n d e served and underprivileged children.

Jealous, Marian Wright who got his start in Eldelmen journalism at the Jackson Advocate in Jackson, Miss., spoke to the crowd about the challenges of working through the recession while also emphasizing to publishers the need for them to fight as hard as ever. He noted that fighting for

SHOP

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

are actively researching online while shopping (talk about advanced multi-tasking).

Thirty-one percent of ALL purchase decisions (both consumer packaged goods, e.g. packaged food, beauty and personal care, baby care, household cleaning products; and Non-CPG categories, e.g. consumer electronics and technology, entertainment items and content, etc.), involve some online or mobile activity.

Digital shoppers spend 27 percent more per household per trip.

Shoppers cannot be classified simply as either digital or not. There are specific shopper segments, based on our attitudes toward experimentation.

Nielsen Category Shopping Fundamentals Research breaks it down: Fifty-five percent of shoppers are defined as “Occasional Trialists.”These are middle-class people aged 5059 who either live with a spouse or a partner and usually keep up with what’s going on; although they don’t go out of their way to try every new thing.

The second group is the “Trendsetters” (27 percent).

This is a more affluent group between 25-49. They have children or teenagers in the household and love to keep ahead of what’s happening; love to try the newest, latest and greatest and telling others all about it.

Lastly, we have the “Satisfied & Sedentary” (18 percent). These folks are 60-plus, less affluent and live alone.

The S&S crowd knows what they like and don’t feel the need to keep up with new things.

Any of those sounds like anyone you know?

Know what all of this means? Well, yes, shopping can be crazy-easy: like taking your store right of your pocket.

But, it also means that retailers from your local grocery store to the biggest chains must think even more outside the box in getting your attention and your business, as the options for penetration and awareness are almost endless.

It means they are going to have to hone in with even sharper, laser focus on you as an individual consumer – your likes, dislikes, preferences. Retailers are going to have to work harder and more creatively for your business and your loyalty. They have to woo you. Because you have infinite choices; more than ever before – no matter what kind of shopper you are.

Ah, power. Use it wisely.

(Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies go to www.nielsenwire.com.)

equal rights in America often has taught the African-American community that achieving whatever is fought for at the moment can cause the community to lose everything it had at the same time.

That seemed to be a reference to this year’s upcoming opportunity to reelect the first African-American to serve as president and the controversy over new voter restrictions laws being pushed at the state level. Those new laws recently

took Jealous to Geneva, Switzerland for this year’s United Nations delegation.

Jealous told the United Nations delegation that he was there to “ring a bell because we need you to come take a look at what’s happening in the U.S. Sometimes the U.S. needs to have its ideals reflected back to itself and needs to have its realities reflected back to itself.”

Voters targeted by the laws are disproportionally African American and the very stu-

dents who chose the last president, said Jealous.

Edelman emphasized the shattering blow the cradle to prison pipeline has on the state of the African-American child and the African-American community. She also sounded the alarm about high rates of illiteracy among school children and high dropout rates.

“If you cannot read and compute in this global economy you are sentenced to social an economic death,” she

said, adding that, “we need to look at the young unemployment rate for black young men under thirty, it is at nearly forty percent with no hope, no job and (with) poverty growing among our children, many of them never get onto the trajectory of success.”

“We have got to reweave the fabric of family and community,” said Edelman, who has started an organization of freedom schools to provide a real opportunity for African-

American kids living in impoverished, underserved communities.

“We need to have a community effort because we are going back. We know what to do to save children. It is movement time folks, we have got to step up.”

(Related story on page 6) (Caryn Freeman is a journalism student at Howard University and the Editor-in-Chief of The Caxton Press.)

Page 4

OPINION

Tri-State Defender

March 22 - 28, 2012

John H. Sengstacke Publisher (1951 - 1997)

The Mid-Southʼs Best Alternative Newspaper

A Real Times Newspaper

• Bernal E. Smith II President / Publisher • Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku Executive Editor

No, I don’t hate Jews

Hate speech is not a First Amendment right Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Shannen Dee Williams

On the evening of Wednesday, March 14, my sister and I went for our daily calorie-burning walk in Bartlett. As we made our way up Yale Road toward Alturia, three white male youths on bikes sped off of a side street onto the main road. As the youths passed us, the shirtless leader of the group shouted the “n-word” at my sister and me, while the two behind him laughed and pedaled along.

Shocked and disgusted to say the very least, my sister and I quickly turned to watch the gang ride off into the night. Though I shouted back to them that I was going to call the police, I didn’t. Sadly, this was not the first time that something like this had happened to us.

When my sister and I were schoolaged children, two white men in a Confederate flag-laced pick-up truck driving on Yale Road pointed a shot gun at us and yelled similar racial epithets as we walked home from school. When my parents called the police back then, we were told that there was nothing that the police could do since we didn’t get the truck’s license plate number. (My sister and I were too busy running away.) In light of that experience, I decided against calling the police on Wednesday night. I was unsure what a police call would do since the cowardly youths did not stick around, and my sister and I did not wait for the boys to return, perhaps with friends and/or arms.

At the urging of my family, friends, and parish members, however, I traveled to the Bartlett Police Department headquarters on the following afternoon to file a formal complaint. But, when I recounted the incident to the assigned officer, an older white policeman, he was shockingly and unashamedly hostile.

As I repeated the offending youths’ verbal assault, the officer interrupted me, stating coldly: “That is freedom of speech.” Stunned, I remained silent for a moment, waiting for the officer to continue. When he, too, remained silent, I asked the officer if hate speech was covered under the First Amendment. Only then did he begrudgingly offer me the advice to call the police immediately if it happened again and confess to being unsure as to what I would want the po-

lice to do upon arrival. I thought to myself, “Their job.”

By simply walking down the street, my sister and I did not invite this unprovoked verbal and racist assault. According to the officer sworn to protect us, however, these unsupervised, hatred-spewing youths riding their bikes at night had done absolutely nothing wrong. Indeed, I got the strong impression from the officer’s demeanor and unapologetic defense of the youths’ use of the “nword” that he was inwardly applauding their actions. Perhaps he saw his grandchildren in those youths. Perhaps they were his grandchildren.

The officer did not file a report.

If I might, as an undeterred pedestrian and proud Shelby County native, issue a plea: Will all the DECENT people please stand up?

Recent episodes across our nation (most notably in Sanford, Fla., and at the Southern Miss-Kansas State NCAA men’s basketball game) tell us that public and private racism and white supremacist violence are on the rise once again. Hatred is a learned behavior, and children, including those in Shelby County, are being taught to hate people based on race, gender, orientation, religion, etc. everyday.

Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, orientation, age, etc. is immoral and deadly. It is also against the law. Hate speech is not a First Amendment right! Hate speech is offensive and criminal, and under the circumstances that my sister and I experienced, it is prohibited as “violent or threatening behavior” under the laws of our great state.

Despite this hurtful episode, I remain hopeful because I am prayerful.

I am also not afraid. I know that most people are decent, God-fearing, and law-abiding. I know many will stand up and say: “Not in my neighborhood! Not in my city! Not in my state! And not in my beloved country!” I am also encouraged by the faith and wisdom of those who told us long ago that when people hate, they destroy themselves.

This episode did not shame me or my sister as it was intended to do. Instead, those young white male youths and the offending white male police officer shamed themselves. In attempting to deny my sister and me our humanity, they denied their own.

My hope…my prayer…my faith is that, together, we can redeem it.

FACEBOOK FAN OF THE WEEK Nina Noel

Nina Noel is this weekʼs TSD Facebook Fan of the Week!

She is a proud graduate of East High School, winners of the TSSAA 16AAA boys basketball state championship (2012).

She shares in her facebook profile that her religious view is “God comes first!” and that her political view is “Let God run it!!”

She enjoys shopping, reading and is a big music fan. She describes herself as, “Grown and Sexy,” a loving mother, very ambitious, and that most of she loves the Lord!

Thanks Nina for reading and supporting the Tri-State Defender!

FLASHBACK

Memphis Bus Riders Union rolls on

Location, Location, Location. One thing that is clear to any Memphis resident is that this is a city where one needs to have a car in order to easily conduct the business of daily life. If it’s getting to work or taking your children to school, if it’s going to see a doctor or buying groceries for your family, you cannot deny that all those mundane tasks become incredibly more difficult when you don’t have access to a car. If you own a car, just pause to think about that for a moment.

Quality public transportation is not simply some luxury perk of residency, but is at it’s core an issue of daily survival for tens of thousands of Memphians across our community.

This was and is the motivation that galvanized a diverse collection of individuals and organizations into doing the work of building a Memphis Bus Riders Union – an organization led and directed by the real experts on the failures of our local system: the riders themselves.

For the past four months the Transportation Task Force has been meeting weekly at the offices of the Memphis Center for Independent Living.

Since December, our members have hand delivered over 7,000 flyers to our fellow riders on buses across our city and have hosted three meetings where bus riders – and only bus riders – were allowed to finally have their say. A Town Hall meeting in January led to the founding of the local Bus Riders Union on Feb 18.

Many bus riders who have learned of the BRU and who have attended our meetings have expressed gratitude and relief that there is a collective body that is now working together to improve MATA services. People have found that their individual complaints – whether to MATA”s customer service hotline, to MATA officials and board members in public meetings, or to the City Council – have fallen on deaf ears.

Frustrated bus riders have shared at MBRU meetings their numerous struggles with our local bus system.

For example: Bus rider “Georgia” explains that the No. 50 Poplar bus is almost always overcrowded and many riders have to stand for the duration of their ride.

“Anna” has shared that twice in one week, she was left standing the bus stop on Mt. Moriah by a bus driver who drove by her stop. The following week, the driver was not only rude to her, but when she called in a complaint to the customer service hotline, she was told to call back and leave a message. When she did, no one ever called her back.

A new resident of Memphis, “Ro-

drigo,” found that the first time he tried to take the trolley, he was told that the wheelchair ramp was not working, and he was unable to reach his destination.

Numerous union members report that they and their family members have to get rides after getting off of work at night, because the buses in those areas are not in service at that time. This lack of service is particularly prevalent in low-income communities of color.

The first bus riders union was founded in Los Angeles in 1994, and now there are 50 bus riders unions across the country, where citizens collectively work to put pressure on local transit authorities to improve their services. From Atlanta to Chicago, these bus riders unions have had successes in fighting back fare increases, increasing the numbers of buses and bus routes, and increasing frequency of services. Organizations working in the area of mass transit have come together to form a national coalition, Transit Riders for Public Transit (TRPT). Twenty-one organizations, most doing on-the-ground organizing around transit issues and environmental justice as well as civil rights, comprise the TRPT. At the MBRU meeting on March 24, members will discuss the TRPT and its role in advocating for public transit at the national level and will vote on whether or not to affiliate with this national coalition.

On the local front, MATA has recently put forth a Short-Range Transit Plan (SRTP) and has called for public responses to the plan until March 31. Members of the MBRU will be attending the next MATA board meeting, Monday March 26 to provide feedback on the SRTP. We are calling on all transit-dependent people and people interested in improving our bus services to attend this meeting and to speak out about the proposed changes to routes, fares, schedules, performance measures, and MATAplus. The board meeting is at 3.30 p.m. at MATA’s headquarters, 1370 Levee Road. Interested citizens can read the SRTP online at www.mataplan.com.

The next meeting of the Memphis Bus Riders Union is March 24 at Streets Ministries: Center of Hope at 1304 North Graham. At this event representatives of the BRU will be available for comment.

For more information, visit mbru.org; contact the Task Force at ttfmemphis@gmail.com or at 901205-9737.

(Submitted by Brad Watkins on behalf of the Transportation Task Force.)

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Tri-State Defender Platform

1. Racial prejudice worldwide must be destroyed.

2. Racially unrestricted membership in all jobs, public and private.

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4. True representation in all U.S. police forces.

5. Complete cessation of all school segregation.

6. Federal intervention to protect civil rights in all instances where civil rights compliance at the state level breaks down

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Just as I supported in year 1974, and in the years 2006, 2008 and 2010 the ‘‘fair-ism’’ of electing a black Tennessee person to the U.S. Congress, so do I still support the election of a black William Tennessee person Larsha Sr. to the United States Congress.

During the early days of the 1970’s census taking time (redistricting), Tennessee had never elected a black to serve in the U.S. Congress. Although white lawmakers, at the time, had the power to create another white district by gerrymandering Tennessee’s Congressional District 8 (later became District 9), they instead left it a majority black populated district so that blacks could register themselves and make the district a majority black Congressional district.

In 1972, blacks failed to register enough votes to elect a black. But in 1974, they were successful and elected Harold Ford Sr. congressman, and for some three decades blacks in Congressional District 9 enjoyed having taxation with black representation.

But as it was during the 2006 primary election, when a multiplicity of black Democratic Party candidates running against a non-black candidate and lost, election 2012 may find many black candidates in District 9 running against a single non-black candidate who could win and leave Tennessee once more with no black in Congress.

Secondly, the majority-vote Republican legislature in Nashville may make Congressional District 9 a majority white district. They may redistrict to give blacks in Congressional District 9 the largest number of voters (say 49 percent), but not a majority black district – of at least 51 percent. Republican legislators could make it possible for white voters and ‘‘voters other than black’’ to join forces and create a majoritywinning vote.

However, there are two kinds of actions that supporters of a black Congressperson can take: (1) Appeal, (during the primary election of 2012) to every voter in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional district, non-black and black voter, to honor fairness and to vote to elect ‘‘just one black’’ – for one of the eleven Tennessee seats in Congress.

(2) Hold a convention, initiated

by Ninth Congressional district supporters of ‘‘just one black,’’ for the purpose of selecting a consensus candidate to run for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional seat.

However, any black consensus candidate movement initiated would meet opposition. Beware then – and be prepared to ignore those who would cry that such an initiative is divisive, anti-Semitic, and racist.

They will use what propaganda tools they feel necessary to demonize any black or black group who would participate in a black congressional candidate movement. They will tell you that the race of a candidate doesn’t matter.

They will even claim that pastors and ministers will violate ‘‘separation of Church and State’’ when they support the establishment of a black congressional district. ‘‘Not true.’’

Not when the clergy participates in a movement to assure that at least one Tennessee congressional district is reserved for the election of an African American.

Nevertheless, in the last three elections for congress, Steve Cohn a white American, won the 9th Congressional district seat. But in each of Cohen’s campaigns, I was declared by some as a black racist or anti-Semitic for supporting the election of a black U.S. Congressperson.

Let it be known by all. I do not hate Congressman Steve Cohn because he is Jewish. I do not hate Jews. As a matter of fact, I praise Jewish forces, who through the years, have taken the initiative to make Memphis a better city economically, educationally and socially.

Also, I am not anti-Semitic. I do not oppose the efforts of Jews to again establish a homeland in the Middle East. As a matter of fact, I am of a race of people whose religion, for the most part, is in the name of Jesus Christ, a Jew. And a homeland for Jews in the Middle East is a religious home for ‘‘We’’ black Americans.

Some blacks said that they voted to elect Steve Cohen congressman because it was a way to pay Jews back for the many good things Jews have done for blacks. I believe in paying back. But Tennessee’s Congressional District 9 is precious and far too precious to be used as ‘‘payback.’’

Tri-State Defender

OPINION

March 22 - 28, 2012

Credit due…

Bayard Rustin (center) was the key strategist in every campaign waged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the architect of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and a passionate advocate for pacifism, workersʼ rights and freedom for marginalized peoples around the world. His 100th birthday was observed March 17. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division; World Telegram & Sun photo by Ed Ford) From our online readers at www.tristatedefende.com Diana Ross is coming to town!

Edition: March 15-21

“What’s Happening Myron?” columnist Myron Mays notes that Diana Ross is headed to the Orpheum April 22 and poses this question: Did Diana Ross ever have a title like “Queen of Soul” like Aretha Franklin? Ross, he wrote, is a superwoman who has achieved a lot of what Beyoncé is accomplishing now.

He asks, :Could Beyoncé have taken a page out of Ms. Ross’ playbook?”

POST: Diana is Queen of Motown, which encompasses soul & pop, so even more expansive. At the height of her popularity, she was also Queen of Pop, a title that changes with generations.

Once held by Whitney,

WEB POSTS

Madonna, etc. and Diana from 1970-1984 when she was the first female to amass 6 No.1s.

She then passed the torch to Whitney. Sladonna took Whitney on, but, Whitney’s early voice left the material girl counting her material losses.

POST: Diana “The Boss” Ross! Thanks for sharing this information. I can remember dressing in wigs and high heels and parading around the house pretending to be Diana.

I had even perfected throwing the hair out of my face. I can’t wait to see her at The Orpheum.

POST: Diana Ross is a singular talent. No one looks, moves, sounds or acts like her, which is why Michael & Beyonce copy her and why Whitney’s career path was based upon Miss Ross.’ Beyonce’s a hard worker, but, as someone who nearly always goes for

the r&b hoochie look and sound, she’s stacking the deck against herself, robbing herself of the hits that will make her the most successful female artist of all time. Right now, it’s Madonna, but, if Miss Ross were to get together with her classic musical team, she’ll have the hits required to regain her title.

Regarding titles, the best one for Diana Ross would be “Queen of Pop/Soul.”

Have a great time at her show! Her professionalism, grace & elan are second to none! She shows the new breed how it’s supposed to be done.

I saw the May, 2010, Radio City Music Hall show. It was fine, but, I really would have liked to have seen her perform with a 20-30-piece orchestra.

IMO, they’re best-suited to complement the naturally grand timbre of her voice.

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NATION

March 22 - 28, 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama during a meeting earlier this month with Ernestina Mills, First Lady of Ghana, at the State Department in Washington. (White House photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

President Obama talks ‘love’ for Black Press NNPA News Service

by George E. Curry WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama expressed admiration for the balanced picture African-American newspapers present of the African-American community each week, saying such portrayal not only helps African Americans but Americans of all races and ethnicities.

“One of the things that I always love about AfricanAmerican publications is that it’s not just gloom and doom,” the president told members of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) at a private gathering at the White House last week (March 15).

“Part of what you guys do is you lift up that kid who’s overcome barriers and is now succeeding, or that family that has pulled together and helped to strengthen a community, or that church that is the bedrock of a neighborhood.

“Those stories of success and hope, that’s what sustains us, that’s what has driven us, that’s what has given people a sense that no matter how tough things get sometimes, there’s always a better day ahead. And you’re part of telling that story. So I very much appreciate you.”

President Obama spoke to publishers who were in the nation’s capital to celebrate NNPA’s annual Black Press Week. In a 10-minute speech, the president gave the publishers a preview of the case he will be making to voters as part of his campaign to get re-elected.

“Now we’ve obviously gone through three challenging years but, whereas we were losing about 800,000 jobs per month, the month that I took office, we’ve now seen job growth over 23 consecutive months, almost 4 million jobs created, jobs in the manufacturing sector for the first time since the 1990s.

“We have seen consecutive quarter after quarter after quarter of economic growth and so we’re starting to turn the corner and make progress.

But all of you know that too many people, where folks are still struggling that were struggling before this recession and they’re struggling now even more. Folks who can’t find a job, if they have a job, they’re underemployed or not making a living wage.”

A recent report by the Department of Labor titled, “The African-American Labor Force in the Recovery,” noted: “Aggregate numbers show that the African-American community as a whole has exhibited poorer labor market outcomes than other races even prior to the recession and during the recovery, demonstrating that they often face different and greater challenges.”

Overall unemployment stood at 8.3 percent in February. For whites, it was 7.3 percent, compared to 10.7 percent for Latinos. African-American unemployment under the President peaked at 14.9 percent in June 2009, at the end of the recession, before settling at 15.8 percent last December. It dipped to 13.6 percent in January before rising to 14.1 percent in February.

White unemployment, which has been half the rate of African Americans for the past 40 years, peaked at 8.7 percent in June 2009. It fell to 7.4 percent in January and to 7.3 in February.

In his speech, President Obama tried to show that he is aware of the sharp racial disparities.

“African-American communities and Latino communities were disproportionately affected by subprime lending, so a lot of people have lost their homes,” he said. “And so everything that we’ve been doing over the last three years is designed to grow the economy overall, put more people back to work across the board.

But also to figure out how we create those foundation stones for helping people get into the middle class and stay in the middle class. What’s required to create the sense of security and possibility and opportunity that a lot of people have felt slipping away for decades now. And in some ways, some of the trend lines that have happened across the country happened in the AfricanAmerican community first.”

To help lower the unemployment rate, President Obama said he has directed federal departments and agencies to streamline systems in place to match the unemployed with jobs. He said he has asked them to place particular emphasis on the long-term unemployed.

Black youth unemployment is extremely high.

“In many of the communities that all of you all represent, we’ve got youth unemployment at 50, 60 percent, so one of the things that we’ve discussed is that we’ve urged, as a part of my jobs plan, that congress pass a robust summer jobs program so they can put young people to work but we’re not waiting for Congress,” President Obama said.

“What we’ve decided to do is we’re just going to go ahead and pull together employers and not for profits and colleges, universities, any institutions that are out there all across the country and get pledges and commitments and organize ourselves a summer jobs initiative. Our goal is to get to 250,000 young people that are gonna have opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, you name it. And I think we’re already at 180,000 so we’re making progress.”

He said he realizes publishers are small business owners and as such need more support from the federal government.

“All of you are news people, and that’s the reason we brought you here (to the White House) but you’re also business people and entrepreneurs, and that’s always been the history of African- American publishing,” President Obama said. Publishers laughed when he said, “You don’t start off with a big bank roll, most of you, right?”

When the laughter subsided, he continued, “You don’t have a trust fund that helps you set up that newspaper. You guys are out there hustling, scrapping, and so our initiative on the small business side, to provide tax breaks and tax cuts to the small businesses to help them grow, to make sure that the SBA is responsive, to make sure that the federal government in terms of its procurement policies, and that includes notices and things like that, that is reaching out extensively to make sure that everybody has opportunities to go after that business. Financing, technical assistance, you name it.”

The NNPA has its roots in a 1941 meeting of major black newspapers organized by John Sengstacke of the Chicago Defender. Representatives from 22 newspapers attended that organizing meeting. The organization was initially known as the National Negro Publishers Association and renamed the National Newspaper Publishers Association in 1956.

“Over the years you’ve gone from 22 African-American publications to more than 200 newspapers across the country and in so many cities and towns you’ve got readers that depend on you to report on some of the stories that never get told by anybody else,” President Obama said.

“But also to be able to give people a sense of how the stories that everybody reports on impacts the African-American community in particular. And that obviously is a critical role.

And that’s not just important to the African-American community, that’s important to the American community because it’s my belief that when everybody’s engaged, when everybody’s involved, they’re going to make better decisions and ultimately we end up having better governance.”

Tri-State Defender

BUSINESS

Tri-State Defender

ON OUR WAY TO WEALTHY

Womenʼs History Month:

Carlee McCullough: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Shannon Williams: I am a resident of Indianapolis and graduated from Jackson State University with a B.A. in Mass Communications. Journalism is a life-long passion.

While it sounds a bit corny, I love having a career that affords me the opportunity to help others. Everyone has a story and the two publications I oversee are outlets that not only tell those stories, but also enable us to empower the minority communities. I strongly believe in hard work and taking full advantage of opportunities while also doing our individual parts to help others in this world. Being professionally successful and personally fulfilled are two goals that always remain at the top of my “to-do” list. It keeps me focused on what really matters in life!

CM: How and when did you become involved in publishing?

SW: I have had a love for writing since I was a young girl and always knew I wanted to work in the media. I initially became involved in the industry two weeks after my college graduation when I was hired at the Indianapolis Recorder newspaper in 2000. I have held multiple positions within the company and have been here ever since.

CM: How did you decide to publish Indiana Minority Business Magazine?

SW: Our newspaper is geared more towards African

Americans. We decided we wanted to expand our brand so t h a t ’ s when we acquired the magazine.

It was a deCarlee McCullough liberate attempt to be more inclusive of all minorities and effectively reach a larger audience.

CM: Tell us about the work you’re doing with the magazine.

SW: Indiana Minority Business Magazine is Indiana’s leading publication that focuses on business, lifestyle and diversity. My staff and I are committed to publishing a highly informative, yet entertaining publication that’s reflective of all minorities. We represent everyone from the small business owner, to the large corporation and even the young professional who’s just embarking on (a) professional career.

CM: What has been your greatest challenge?

SW: With the influx of technology and the overall changes in the industry, the most challenging aspect of our business has been attracting new advertisers. Fortunately, we are one of the more successful African-American publications in the country so our products, proven track record and niche audience help in this regard. We overcome the challenges by transcending with time, remaining relevant and thinking outside the box in regards to our approach.

CM: What is the greatest reward in heading the newspaper and magazine?

SW: As president of both, the greatest reward is being able to set my own agenda/vision for the business and

Insurance could help protect a businessʼ most important asset

Shannon Williams

then implement those processes. It is always great at the end of the work week to know that your actions influenced positive change that enhanced the lives of your staff and your audience.

CM: If you had an opportunity to change anything about your path, what would it be?

SW: I am fortunate in the sense that I don’t have any regrets or wish I would have done anything differently. I’ve spent my entire professional career with one company, but I can’t even consider that bad because I’ve served in various capacities and worked my way up the ladder. I believe when you work hard and put your best foot forward every day, you don’t have regrets.

CM: What impact has your magazine had on the businesses that you focus on?

SW: Our magazine and newspaper have helped various businesses that we profile (as well as companies that ad-

RISE focus on military, older citizens The RISE Foundation of Memphis has invited two leading experts from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Washington D.C. to help raise awareness about consumer rights for men and women of the military and older citizens.

The luncheon, titled “Servicemembers and Older Americans: Facing Financial Pitfalls,”

will be held April 3 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

The keynote speakers are Holly Petraeus, assistant director of the CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs, and Hubert “Skip” Humphrey III, assistant director of the Bureau’s Office of Older Americans.

According to CFPB, service men and women often face

MONEY MATTERS

When key players can’t work

Climbing the corporate ladder Shannon Williams has a top-level view of the “corporate ladder.” She began working for the Indianapolis Recorder after graduating from college and has managed to reach the top of the publishing game as the president and publisher of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper and the Indiana Minority Business Magazine.

And she is just 34.

Page 7

March 22 - 28, 2012

unique and unplanned financial challenges due to deployments, change of duty stations and emergencies. Older Americans are also vulnerable because many live on limited means, but face increasing pressure from the rising cost of living.

For more information, including tickets, call (901) 5076638.

vertise with us) expand their brand and better market themselves. We have provided them with outlets to promote themselves.

CM: What’s the next step for you?

SW: Right now I’m really focused on expanding the business and breaking into other markets. I recently formed the Recorder Media Group. So in addition to the two publications, we also serve as a full-service marketing/communications firm that does event planning and consulting services. It’s a great way to increase revenue.

CM: How can our readers contact you?

SW: Readers can reach me via email at ShannonW@IndyRecorder.com (Contact Carlee McCullough, Esq., at 5308 Cottonwood Road, Suite 1A, Memphis, TN 38118, or email her at jstce4all@aol.com.)

For most of us, the odds of dying young are fairly remote. The probability that people between the ages of 30 and 60 will live to age 65 ranges from 85 percent to 95 percent, depending on gender and age.

But did you know that the odds of one out of any two people dying before 65 are significantly higher?

Consider a two-owner business in which both owners are 45 years old. If both are men, there’s a 24 percent chance that one won’t make it to 65; if both owners are female, there’s a nearly 20 percent chance.

It’s likely that your company relies on a few key players whose disability or premature death could endanger the company’s future. In fact, the risk is real enough that you may want to consider insurance to help protect against such an outcome.

Keys to the business

Key-person life insurance can help offset the financial consequences resulting from the death of someone upon whom the company relies for success. If the insured dies, the policy pays a death benefit, up to the policy limit, that could help the company bridge any financial gaps created by the loss while the survivors decide how to proceed.

Key-person disability income insurance is also important because the chances of suffering a disability are much higher than the risk of early death. At age 50, a long-term disability is 2.3 times more likely than death for men and 3.8 times more likely for women. There is a

59 perc e n t probability that one of any two 50 year olds will experience a longterm disCharles ability Sims Jr. before age 65; the odds rise to about 74 percent for one of any three people of that age. The proceeds from a key-person disability policy could help pay the disabled executive’s salary in the event that the business needs to hire a temporary replacement, or to help defray other costs associated with lost productivity.

The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Before implementing a strategy involving life insurance, it would be prudent to make sure that you are insurable.

Equipment can always be repaired or replaced, but the same cannot be said of people. Protecting your company against the unexpected absence of key players could help keep the doors open if tragedy should strike.

(Charles Sims Jr., CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, is President/ CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901682-2410 or visit www.

SimsFinancialGroup.com.

The information in this article is not intended to be tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor.)

RELIGION

Page 8

Tri-State Defender

March 22 - 28, 2012

LIVING THE LIFE I LOVE

Prosperity of body, mind and spirit awaits the ‘beloved’

On Saturday (March 17), we had a great seminar on “Loving Your Body.” This was a seminar on the emotional and stress component of gaining and losing weight. Participant feedback about the quality of the seminar was that it was awesome, and gave them hope and tools to break the cycle of failing at losing weight.

On Saturday, March 31, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 363 So. Main Street (Leadership Memphis Gallery), we will have a seminar on “Loving Your Money.” In this seminar, we will explore the reasons that we have such difficulty getting out of debt and staying out of debt.

This is a very interesting topic, especially at this particular time in history. Yet, I talk to people every day who tell me that this is just one of the many times they have been in this position. They have been in debt and gotten out only to find themselves back in again sooner than later! The feelings that come with that are just devastating. It makes one feel like a failure, stupid, irresponsible, untrustworthy, unreliable, unworthy, and ashamed and the list goes on. And I am not talking here about uneducated

people! I know bankers who have this problem, math teachers, and accountants! So, if knowing all about money and how to count doesn’t keep you out of overwhelming debt Lucy that you can’t Shaw pay, then what will???

In our Loving My Money Seminar, we will look at some of the aspects of debt that are often overlooked. Most approaches to debt begin with budgets, ideas on saving and spending and so forth. When we do this, we may bypass the root of the problem.

Managing money begins with how we think and feel about money! And that often comes from what we heard our parents or people in authority say about money long before we ever had any money. Here is where we learn to have a balanced, friendly, empowering attitude about money or an attitude of fear or anger towards money.

I can remember hearing “Don’t you know that money doesn’t grow on trees!” What does this make a child think? For me, desiring money or the things that money could buy became filled with guilt or shame or stupidity.

Or what about, “Robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Or, “rich people can’t be trusted.” This one makes you feel guilty for having or wanting money…you must be bad. Then there is, “It’s better to give than to receive.”

So maybe you grow up giving, giving and giving until you don’t have any. You may use giving as a way to prove your self-worth and become the family money tree. Who helps you when you are broke? And don’t mention the resentment you build!

Yes, this money and debt thing is quite interesting when we begin to dig around in how we came to feel and behave the way we do in relation to money. Money is simply an exchange of value. It is a statement of appreciation for services rendered.

Debt is a reverse measurement of our self-worth. We get focused on the debt and it becomes all we think about because it brings fear and uncertainty and guilt and blame. The

more we think about it, the more we need to do something to neutralize the bad feelings. The neutralizing cure may add more debt to the pot.

Then we try to pretend that it’s not there! Then it really gets worse. Then maybe we find someone else we can put the blame on. Oh, this debt thing seems like a big circle of GRIEF! So, I invite you to check out my daily video emails for the next two weeks at www.heartworks4u.com under Blog. Each weekday, I will give you some tips and new ways to think about your debt. Then, if you want to learn some ways out, come to the seminar. You can register on the website or call us at 901-907-0260.

I love Memphis and I get very disappointed about our economy, our health, our lack of love for one another. Do something wonderful and choose to learn how to turn around the thinking that dis-empowers your capacity to thrive. Each week, in this column, I will also answer questions about debt, how it makes you feel and ways to change. Send me your questions.

Make a commitment today to believe that we all live in an abundant universe where it is our right and our

duty to both give and receive. There is enough and then some. Begin now, to make just a little space in your mind for the possibility that the quality of your thoughts about money might be the problem and that this is something you can change.

Don’t you just love this promise: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

This is a promise of prosperity of body, mind and spirit. Believe it and receive it.

Wishing you abundance and prosperity, Lucy

(Check out Lucy Shaw’s website at http://www.heartworks4u.com. You may send your questions to her by U.S. mail to: Heartworks4U, LLC; 4646 Poplar Ave. Ste 201, Memphis, TN 38117 or by e-mail to lucy @heartworks4u.com.)

(For help with the feelings that get in the way of prayer and peace of mind, get Lucy’s new book, “BE NOT ANXIOUS.” Order it directly from her at 901-907-0260 or go to her web site www.heartworks4u.com.)

RELIGION BRIEFS

BRIEFLY: Castalia Baptist Church, 1540 Castalia Rd., will host the Associate Ministers Conference from 8 a.m. to noon, with registration at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday (March 24). The host pastor is the Rev. Dr. Randolph Meade Walker. For more information call 901- 276-7295.

BRIEFLY: The New Olivet Baptist Church at 3084 Southern Avenue will celebrate the life and legacy of the late Rev. Kenneth T. Whalum on Sunday (March 25) at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults (18 and older), and free for children (under 18). For more information, call 901-454-7777.

BRIEFLY: St. John Baptist Church at 640 Vance Ave. will hosts its Annual Women’s Day Program at 3 p.m. on Sunday (March 25). The guest speaker will be the Rev. Debra Ann Matthews, senior pastor of Highland Drive Christian Church in Jonesboro, with music by the Women’s Chorus of Metropolitan Baptist Church. A reception will follow.

BRIEFLY: Associate ministers Deborah Day and Jerrian MoodyHarris will speak during Women’s Month services at Castalia Baptist Church at 1540 Castalia on Sunday (March 25). The Rev. Day will speak at 8 a.m., and the Rev. Moody-Harris will speak at 11 a.m. The host pastor is the Rev. Dr. Randolph Meade Walker.

BRIEFLY: The Church Health Center and MIFA will host a farmers market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays starting May 1 and running through September at Church Health Center Wellness, 1115 Union Ave. For more information, call Esther Wills at (901) 259-4673, Ext. 1604 or visit ChurchHealthCenter.org.

Longevity and focus…

Minister George Lewis Parks Jr. (left) and Riverside Missionary Baptist Church celebrated the churchʼs 125th Anniversary with members and guests last Sunday (March 18). (Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)

PRAISE CONNECT -A WEEKLY DIRECTORY OF MINISTERS & CHURCHES-

Greenwood Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 3311 Kimball Ave. Memphis, TN 38111 (901) 744-7531 (901) 744-7664

Clarence Kelby Heath Wednesday Pastor

Noon - 1 p.m.

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

767 Walker Avenue Memphis, TN 38126

9 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

901-946-4095 fax 948-8311

(901) 948-3441

Early Morning..........7:45 AM Church School..........9:45 AM Morning Worship......11:00 AM

Rev. Davena Young Porter Rev. Linda A Paige Rev. Luecretia Matthews

Bible Study For Youth and Adults Tuesday - 7:00 PM “Spirit, Soul, and Body!”

AM 1070 WDIA Sundays, 10:00-10:30 AM

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

SUNDAY Sunday School .....................8:30 am Morning Worship Service ....10:00am WEDNESDAY Bible Study .........................10:30 am Mid-Day Prayer Meeting .....12 noon Evening Prayer Meeting........7:00pm

FRIDAY Cable Channel 17 ............... 8:00pm

TV Cable Access Broadcast Tuesdays, 7:30 PM, Channel 17 Website:www.saintandrewamec.org

Dr. & Rev. Mrs. Reginald Porter

TEMPLE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST

672 So. Lauderdale 38126 P.O. Box 314 Memphis, Tn 38101 Phone (General) 774-1572 Pastor: 775-0740 Secretary: 775-1909 WEEKLY SERVICES

Sunday Sunday School 9:00 a.m.

Morning Worship 10:30 a.m.

Night YPWW 5:00 p.m.

Night Service 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday Night Prayer 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday Choir Rehearsal 7:00 p.m.

Friday Morning Prayer 9:00 a.m.

Night Service 7:30 p.m.

BROADCASTS 9:30 a.m. Sunday WDIA - 1070 AM

No Telecast Service

ST. ANDREW A.M.E. CHURCH 867 SOUTH PARKWAY EAST Memphis, TN 38106

Dr. Reginald L. Porter Sr., Pastor

ASSOCIATE MINISTERS

Worship Services

Sunday Sunday School Worship Service

METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH

Dr. David Allen Hall Pastor

“The Founder’s Church”

First Pastor: Senior Bishop C.H. Mason

THE BLVD Ea s t 6745 Wol f Ri v e r B oule v a r d @ Ki r by Pa r k wa y ( i n t he Cl a rk Ope r a Me mphi s Ce nte r ) Me mp h i s T N 3 8 1 2 0

Dr. Frank A. Thomas Senior Servant

Child Care Center (901) 948-6441 Monday-Friday 6 AM- 5:30 PM Emergency Food Pantry Rev. Kenneth S. Robinson, Pastor & Clothes Closet Rev. Marilynn S. Robinson, Co-Pastor Wednesday 6 PM-8 PM

“Ministering to Memphis-Spirit, Soul and Body”

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

— Proverbs 1:7

RELIGION

Tri-State Defender

March 22 - 28, 2012

Homegoing salute…

Pleasant memories…

Dr. James E. Delaney, pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church, delivered the eulogy for his wife, Mrs. Doris Marie Delaney, during homegoing services last Saturday (March 17).

(Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)

The family and friends of Vera Redwing Lewis honored her life during services at St. Patrick Catholic Church last Saturday (March 17). (Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)

Doris Marie Delaney

OBITUARIES

Rev. C. P. Robinson Sr., 81 – D.O.D.: 3/16/12; Funeral services on Friday (March 23) at 10 a.m. at Vance Avenue Holiness Church, 728 Tate Ave., with burial in West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

James C. Finger Sr., 52 – D.O.D.: 3/19/12; Funeral services on Saturday (March 24) at 11 a.m. at Greater Paradise MBC, 3354 Horn Lake Rd., with burial in New Park Cemetery.

Doris Hayes, 62 – D.O.D.: 3/17/12; Funeral services on Saturday (March 24) at 11 a.m. at Greater White Stone MBC, 917 Wellington Street, with burial in New Park Cemetery.

Zacahary G. Caradine, 44 – D.O.D.:

We release…

3/19/12; Funeral services on Saturday (March 24) at 2 p.m. at R. S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, 374 Vance Ave. Robert “Bobby” Jackson, 74 – D.O.D.: 2/18/12; Funeral services on Saturday (March 24) at 2 p.m. at Community Holiness Outreach Ministry, 3706 Clearbrook, with burial in West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

Deborah Cleveland, 57 – D.O.D.: 2/3/12; Services private.

Information provided by:

R. S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home 374 Vance Avenue Memphis, TN 38126 901-526-3264

Founders Day at New Macedonia Baptist Church included this release of balloons during festivities last Sunday (March 18).

(Photo by Tyrone P. Easley)

All nominations for 2012 Women of Excellence must be received by March 23 at 5 p.m.

Page 9

ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, March 22 - 28, 2012, Page 10

WHAT’S HAPPENING MYRON?

It’s time to get in shape!

I know you’ve wanted to lose those extra pounds and get in shape for the summer, right?

So have I! Here’s your chance for us to make it happen!

Join “Biggest Loser Memphis!”

Myron “Biggest Loser Mays Memphis” is a great way to get in shape, be healthy and build relationships. Activities include aerobics, line dancing, Zumba and much more.

This is a timely opportunity to not only get in shape, but to also make great friends and share in a support system that is out of this world. You will lose weight and get healthy!

So far, I have taken part in the aerobics class. It’s very challenging; however, it’s a lot of fun. Instructor Craig Wright can be a bit of a drill sergeant at times, but he will make sure you reach your goals and stay motivated, and that I am!

After the weigh in, there will be a mass work out session with everyone! This large-scale event takes place on Saturday (March 24) at the National Guard Armory located at 2610 East Holmes Rd. from noon until 2pm. In the meantime, just visit their website at www.blmevents.info.

Come on out and discover determination you never knew you had. See ya there!

The What’s Happening Book Club

I have decided to revamp and relaunch Myron’s Book Club. Instead of it being a featured book segment, it will now be a fullfledged book club…with meetings and everything! The first meeting will be on April 7 at the McAllister’s at Highland and Poplar. It kicks off at 3 p.m. We will be choosing our very first book, so come on by and drop your favorite book title in the suggestion box.

This is gonna be a lot of fun. Email me for more information.

NuAge Networking

NuAge Networking is an annual networking mixer for business owners, organizations and aspiring entrepreneurs to meet and greet other business professionals. This is a free event and you are invited! It takes place at the Fox & Hound Restaurant 819 Exocet in Cordova from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. For more information on NuAge Networking, visit them on the web at www.nuagenet.org. Email nuagemarketingfirm@gmail.com for vendor and sponsor opportunities.

At the Bartlett Comedy Spot

You’ve seen him on “Def Comedy Jam” and P Diddy’s “Bad Boys of Comedy” and now you can check out comedian Malik S. at the Bartlett Comedy Spot this weekend for 4 BIG shows at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Admission is $10. Plus, it is hosted by my good friend, Funnyman Prescott! The Bartlett Comedy Spot is located at 5709 Raleigh Lagrange at Sycamore View. Call 901-590-3620 for more details.

Bill Pickett Rodeo

The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo takes place on March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Agricenter Showplace Arena.

The excitement, skills, talent and nerves from the participating cowboys and cowgirls will represent the spirit of the west and the rich heritage of African Americans.

Advance tickets are $12 for children and $21 for adults and are available through all Ticketmaster outlets and ticketmaster.com or by calling (901) 690-0917. For more information, visit www.billpickettrodeo.com.

Parting shot

There you have it. Next week, I’ll share info from the Biggest Loser event as I weigh in for the very first time. I’ll even share what the scale says. Until then, that’s what’s happening!

(Got an event you’d like for me to cover, please email me at Myron@whatshappeningmyron.com)

As an author, Erin Thorpe is committed to expanding young minds through reading. (Photos by Isaac Singleton)

‘Murphy the Manatee Visits Memphis’ A

Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Joyce Douglas

S fishermen go, James Jackson fits into the avid category. What he and a friend happened upon while fishing along the banks of the Mississippi River has evolved into a children’s tale that had a lot folks – parents and children – trying to catch up with him last Saturday (March 17).

The venue was the Memphis Children’s Museum and the draw was a book signing for “Murphy the Manatee Visits Memphis,” which is a new children’s book loosely based on the real-life event with which Jackson has become inextricably intertwined.

Jackson, a native Memphian and an Army veteran, and his fishing buddy discovered a live manatee stuck in the shallow waters near the bank. The unusual discovery netted national media attention, including an attempt from wildlife organizations to save the manatee.

The experience was both interesting and intense. So much so that Jackson thought it would be priceless to have the incident creatively captured and enhanced in a colorful children’s book. He needed a team.

The need gave way to a collaboration involving Jackson, the author, Erin Thorpe, and two multi-talented artists – Lana Andrade and Lonnie Robinson.

During Saturday’s book-signing event, children were entertained by Thorpe’s readings, which included Murphy the manatee’s incredible journey to Memphis and his meanderings throughout the city.

“Although Murphy is an adventurous and fun loving character, he believes in the impossible and never gives up on his dreams,” said Jackson, the father of seven children.

Thorpe enjoys her daily commitment as the teaching principal/director of 1st Class Montessori School in Midtown. Her love for expanding young minds led her to write a children’s book during her undergraduate studies at the University of Tampa. Thorpe, who is married and has a son, is awaiting the arrival of her second child.

Andrade is a native Memphian and University of Memphis alumnus. She is a freelance illustrator and caricature artist.

“Murphy the Manatee Visits Memphis”

ʻMurphy the Manatee Visits Memphisʼ was a team effort involving (l-r) the central characterʼs creator, James Jackson, the bookʼs author, Erin Thorpe, Lonnie Robinson, who digitally designed and illustrated the self-published work, and illustrator Lana Andrade, who was unable to attend the March 17 book signing at the Memphis Childrenʼs Museum.

James Jackson (right) went fishing, found a manatee and eventually reeled in a childrenʼs book. One young lady reads the book at a recent book signing.

was designed and digitally illustrated by Robinson, also a native of Memphis. He is an alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and recognized nationally as an

artist, art director and graphic designer.

Self-published through AuthorHouse, “Murphy the Manatee visits Memphis is available online at www.amazon.com.

ENTERTAINMENT

Tri-State Defender

Page 11

March 22 - 28, 2012

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam’s Kapsules:

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Kam Williams

For movies opening March 23, 2012

BIG BUDGET FILMS

“The Hunger Games” (PG-13 for intense violence and disturbing images) Screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ futuristic sci-fi novel about a 16-year-old girl (Jennifer Lawrence) who volunteers to take her unlucky younger sister’s (Willow Shields) place in a nationally-televised fight to the death featuring 24 participants picked by a government lottery. Cast includes Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.

“October Baby” (PG-13c for mature themes) Faith-based morality play about a college freshman (Rachel Hendrix) who embarks on a spiritual sojourn of self-discovery upon learning from her adoptive parents (John Schneider and Jennifer Price) that she’s an abortion survivor. With Jasmine Guy, Jason Burkey and Joy Brunson.

Lenny Kravitz (left) Woddy Harrelson and Josh Hutcherson in the futuristic scifi “The Hunger Games.” (Photo by Murray Close/Lionsgate)

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

“4:44 Last Day on Earth” (Unrated) Apocalyptic sci-fi adventure about a Manhattan couple (Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh) coming to terms with the fact that world is ending in 24 hours. With Natasha Lyonne, Paz de la Huerta and Paul Hipp.

“All In: The Poker Movie” (Unrated) Card shark documentary chronicling the resurgence in popularity of poker as a means of achieving the American Dream.

“Brake” (Unrated) Political potboiler about a Secret Service Agent (Stephen Dorff) who is kidnapped and tortured in the trunk of a car by bloodthirsty terrorists with a sinister agenda.

Cast includes Tom Berenger, Chyler Leigh and J.R. Bourne.

“Come on Eileen” (Unrated) Bittersweet Brit dramedy about a reformed alcoholic (Finola Geraghy) who falls off the wagon when she starts dating a pot-smoking, ex-cricket player (Stephen Taylor). With Mercedes Grower, Noel Fielding and Felix Malcolm Still.

“The Deep Blue Sea” (Unrated) Romance drama, set in London in the Fifties, revolving around the self-destructive wife (Rachel Weisz) of a judge (Simon Russell Beale) who embarks on a scandalous affair with a young Royal Air Force pilot (Tom Hiddleston). Support cast includes Karl Johnson, Barbara Jefford and Ann Mitchell.

“An Encounter with Simone Weil” (Unrated) Biopic about French philosopher Simon

Jasmine Guy (A Different World) is a key to the past, the former nurse now unlocking a young womanʼs birth mystery in “October Baby.” (Courtesy photo)

Weil (1909-1943), an intrepid social activist who was willing to die for her heartfelt convictions. (In English and French with subtitles)

“Losing Control” (Unrated) Quirky romantic comedy about a Harvard Ph.D. student’s (Amanda Kent) search for a scientific method of discerning which of the many guys she’s dating might be Mr. Right. Cast includes Reid Scott, Kathleen Robertson and Theo Alexander.

“Musical Chairs” (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and a drug reference) Romance drama about a janitor from the Bronx (E.J. Bonilla) who convinces his boss (Lea Pipes) to resume ballroom dancing despite being confined to a wheelchair following a crippling accident. With Priscilla Lopez, Jaime Tirelli and Laverne Cox.

“The Raid: Redemption” (R for profanity and pervasive graphic violence) Gruesome crime thriller, set in Jakarta, about a SWAT team which finds itself trapped in a tenement under the control of a ruthless mobster (Ray Sahetapy) with an army of assassins. Cast includes Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian. (In Indonesian with subtitles)

“The Trouble with Bliss” (Unrated) Midlife crisis comedy about an unemployed slacker (Michael C. Hall), living at home with his widowed father (Peter Fonda), whose life starts to unravel when he becomes involved with the 18 year-old daughter (Brie Larson) of a high school classmate (Brad William Henke). With Lucy Liu, Rhea Perlman and Sarah Shahi.

HOROSCOPES

March 22-28, 2012

ARIES You might be looking into the buying or selling of a piece of property, and this week seems to be a favorable week for this type of negotiation. Pay attention to details or it could cost you a great deal later.

TAURUS Your multi-tasking abilities will kick into high gear this week. While it’s sometimes difficult for you to know how to handle a particular situation, this week you’ll know the perfect answer. Everything good is unfolding!

GEMINI Your self-discipline helps you to do more this week. People will be watching as you zip around with style and grace! Broaden your cultural horizons by trying new foods and meeting new people. You’ll be pleasantly surprised!

CANCER Sociable, lovable you! You can have a wonderful week this week if you hook up with likeminded friends. You’ll find that many are on your wavelength this week. Appreciate your ability to bring people together.

LEO You’ll be full of good ideas this week, so make sure you write down the ones you don’t have time to put into action. You’ll want to share your thoughts on a grand scale, and your mind will seem truly universal to you. Try to be patient with those who are staggered by your brilliance.

VIRGO This week let your gentle spirit shine through. Your rough and tumble side is not appropriate for the relationships that you’ll encounter. Someone will need your understanding and sympathy. Give it with sensitivity.

LIBRA You’re faced with a formidable task but when you defeat it, you’ll take big steps toward a goal. Weigh in and give it your best. Your energy is high. The task looks larger before you start. Compromise with a partner. The immediate future promises love.

SCORPIO Yield to the harmony that lies below the surface of any seeming disagreement. Serenity is more important than your sense of righteousness.

Questioning the motives of others will make your mind too suspicious to benefit from the way in which love will present itself this week.

SAGITTARIUS Your intuition is showing, and you may surprise yourself as much as you surprise another by making a sudden intuitive leap and saying what you feel. You may feel as if you can read a certain someone’s mind. Use your gift for good.

CAPRICORN Do not travel in the company of those who work against you. Move towards people with words of encouragement and an extended hand.

Release the grudge that you have for someone who betrayed you. You will find liberation and lightheartedness in forgiving. Follow your heart when it comes to a love interest.

AQUARIUS Stay adaptable, and all will be fine. Flexibility is easy for you when you want it to be. The situation you’ll face this week will require that you alter your way of thinking about someone with whom you’re involved in business or friendship.

PISCES You’ll want to spend some time with a special friend this week just being together. If you’ve been neglecting a relationship because of work demands, this week is a wonderful week to set things to rights.

Source: NNPA News Service

Page 12

CHEF TIMOTHY

Losing weight starts with loving yourself

by Chef Timothy Moore Ph.D, N.M.D, C.N. Special to the Tri-State Defender

Weight gain is a problem that many people find difficult to control. There are millions who are overweight and just as many who are obese. The numbers are staggering. But one woman is determined to do something about it. She has tried Dr. Timothy the latest fads in diets; they didn’t Moore work. Then she turned to me for answers. Her story is riveting and worth sharing.

“Hello, Chef: “I’m writing to you because I am at a dilemma when it comes to my weight, which I’m not able to control.

I have tried every diet program on the market. They don’t help me control my weight and it seems there’s not a solution to my problem.

“I’ve been reading your articles and they have helped me tremendously in understanding that one of the major keys to losing weight is to love yourself, first. It took me a while before I could stand in my mirror and say those words, because I didn’t believe I could ever love the person in the mirror.

“After reading your articles, I started to see a person that I’ve never seen before. I started to appreciate myself for who I am and realized that if I never lose weight but appreciate myself and love me for me, I can conquer any problem that I have, including my weight.

“I just want to say thank you for the articles. They help me to realize who I am as a person. Is there a way you can write more about weight loss and solutions for those who are struggling like me? I hope they’re not complicated, the solutions.

“Sometimes I feel depressed and start thinking negatively. Maybe some of us are supposed to be unhealthy and overweight. I don’t know. But would you please, Chef, help me to understand why I cannot, no matter what I do, lose weight. I love myself, but I have to lose this weight.”

When I received this woman’s email, I could feel the passion and immediacy in her words. She is sincere in losing weight and making the necessary lifestyle changes to regain her health. Her plea, as touching as it is forthright, is no more than a desperate attempt to avoid the grim reaper.

What is the solution to losing weight? You must eat a daily portion of fruit and vegetables and get rid of the red meat, sugar, dairy products, etc. Then you must exercise regularly, change your lifestyle and drink plenty of fresh water. If you can do this, the weight will fall off.

It may seem like you’re not able to overcome your struggles with weight, but don’t fret. There are a lot of people who share your story. They’re asking the same question: Why do I feel like every time I eat something, or just look at food, it seems to stick to my sides and hips?

Food can be very addictive. You have to look at what you’re really trying to accomplish. Two examples come to mind: Are you trying to reach your ideal weight? And what is it going to take to make you happy?

These are questions you must answer yourself.

I’m sure others are going through some of the same challenges that you’re facing and seeking help. If you look at obesity rather closely, you’ll discover that some men and children are facing this dilemma, just like you, on a daily basis.

Even if you’re obese or gained more weight than necessary, you still should wear a smile. Don’t continue to hit a brick wall because you really don’t see the importance of the person in the mirror. In most cases, you’re trying to please someone else and not yourself.

If you love who you are, you’ve found the key to happiness. Now you can conquer your weight problem and start the healing process. It may take a little time to shed those pounds, but you can’t give up. If you’re still trying those fad diets, try switching to a diet of fruit and vegetables. The results will amaze you.

Start making gradual steps toward your goal and the weight will come off naturally. And don’t give up. If you eat healthy, exercise and drink plenty of water, you’ll be able to face yourself in the mirror. That’s a promise.

(Dr. Timothy Moore teaches nutrition, heart disease and diabetes reversal through a plant-based lifestyle.

He is a professional speaker, wellness coach and personal plant-based chef.

He can be reached by email at cheftimothy@cheftimothymoore.com or visit him on the Web sites at www.cheftimothymoore.com or www.twitter.com/cheftimmoore.)

HEALTH

Fitness expert ready to ‘work out’ Healthy Church Challenge participants Donna Richardson Joyner set for March 24

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Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Wiley Henry

Donna Richardson Joyner, an internationally renowned fitness expert, will be in Memphis Saturday (March 24) to work out with the participants of the Healthy Church Challenge from 10 am. to noon at Street Ministries, 1302 North Graham St. Two weeks ago, more than 1,000 participants from 49 churches weighed in during the launch of the 100-day weight loss challenge but that was just the beginning. The participants are now looking forward to a thorough and exciting workout with Joyner on Saturday.

Janet Pointer, a certified Zumba instructor at St. Andrews AME Church, is excited about working out with Joyner.

“I work out myself,” said Pointer. “It would be nice to work out with Donna Joyner. In fact, I look forward to it.”

Christine Pigram Partee, a member of Apostolic Temple of Deliverance Church, is eager to learn the proper way to exercise.

“I’ve heard a lot about her and the things you can do to exercise, other than walking, to stay in shape,” she said. “For my age, I’m trying to gain the proper knowledge from someone with first-hand experience.”

Joyner is a certified AFAA and ACE international fitness expert who began her fitness career as an aerobics instructor. She is an author and ESPN television sports commentator who has served under Presidents Bush and Obama on the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. She is also an inductee into the Fitness Hall of Fame.

Pointer and Partee are expecting a full and challenging workout to help them achieve their weight loss goals. Joyner, on the other hand, is expecting something from them and hundreds of others.

“I am expecting enthusiasm and excitement, and a good report card from their journey so far,” she said.

Joyner also is expecting all the participants of the Healthy Church Challenge to “stay focused, stay committed, stay motivated and stay in prayer!”

Staying motivated and committed is something Naudia James knows a lot about. As the health ministry leader at Cummings Street Baptist Church, she knows the importance of staying the course to health and wellness.

“I’m definitely motivated myself, and we’re definitely trying to keep our people motivated,” said James, who is familiar with Joyner’s Body Gospel workout video. “It’s good that she’s giving us that extra nudge as we continue on this healthy lifestyle journey.”

Staying focused and committed to the fitness program comes down to personal commitment, said Joyner.

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Legal notices

Donna Richardson Joyner

“Those who stick with an exercise regimen are committed and obedient. They…are motivated to achieve their goals, while others need more motivation and need more information. They lack proper preparation and planning and may lack commitment to changing old habits.”

After Joyner’s workout with participants on Saturday, she will return for the Obesity Summit on June 16. The event is free and open to the public. The finale is June 17 at the Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival in Douglass Park. Participants will walk around as gospel music reverberates across the park and winners of the Challenge will be announced.

The church that has the greatest percentage of weight loss will win a $5,000 gift certificate to a sporting goods store and nutritional counseling. The individual who loses the most weight will receive a $500 gift certificate to a sporting goods store as well.

“In the majority of projects I am a part of, I kick it off and I close it out,” said Joyner. “In order to set this event up for maximum success, we realized the importance of my role at the beginning as well as the end.”

Joyner said it has been her experience that if you can capture the behavior in the beginning and stay with individuals as they take those first steps, help them see progress and results, then you have increased the chances that they will succeed.

“In any program that you do,” she added, “you have to have follow-through in order for change to happen.”

The next weigh-in is Saturday, April 7, at the Church Wellness Center, 1115 Union Ave., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Along with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the Challenge is sponsored by Baptist Memorial Health Care, News Channel 3, Hallelujah 95.7 FM, The New TriState Defender, and the Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival.

For more information, call 901278-0881 or visit Facebook.com /TheHealthyChurchChallenge.

LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS to provide consulting engineering services Design Services for the Replacement of Power Distribution Equipment Memphis International Airport Memphis, Tennessee MSCAA Project No. 10-1306-01 Statements of Qualifications for furnishing Consulting Engineering Services, as hereinafter set forth, will be received by Staff Services Division, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA), 3505 Tchulahoma Road, Memphis, Tennessee, 38118, until 2:00 PM local time on Thursday, April 5, 2012. Use the above address for all means of delivery. A complete Information Package with submittal instructions, additional data, selection criteria and response format may be found on our website (www.mscaa.com) on or after March 19, 2012.

The Scope of Services generally consists of engineering design for the replacement of existing power distribution equipment in the Terminal Building and Concourses. Specific features to be replaced include the CB switchboard, motor control centers CB1, CB2, W1, E2, and W2, and substations #5 and #6; other features may be included if necessary. Project includes architectural design, structural engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, bid phase assistance, construction administration support, and other efforts as required.

The MSCAA, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4a and Title 49, Part 26, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in re-

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sponse to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of age, race, sex, color, national origin or disability in its hiring and employment practices, or in admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services and activities. The DBE participation goal for this contract is 16% in accordance with the requirements of the Information Package.

This project will be funded with airport bonds. A Notice to Proceed for Design will be issued once funding is established. The MSCAA reserves the right to reject any and all responses to this solicitation, and is under no obligation to award this project to any of the firms or teams of firms responding to this request.

MEMPHIS-SHELBY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY Larry D. Cox, President & CEO

PUBLIC NOTICE EXECUTORʼS NOTICE Estate of TERRY WAYNE GREEN, late of Memphis City, County of Shelby, and State of Tennessee, deceased. Letters of testamentary of said estate having been granted to the undersigned, all persons firms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 21st day of April, 2012 for settlement and closure to: Office of Executor: Clinton-Levi: Ali c/o 384 E. GOODMAN ROAD Apt. #229, Southaven [zip code exempt] MISSISSIPPI STATE PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Name Correction Public notice is hereby given that Terry Wayne Green a/k/a Terry Green has corrected his name to Clinton Levi Ali Effective 3/21/2012.

Real estate

The Greenwood CME Church has lease space available for schools, day care, or office use. Please contact 901-744-7531 for an appointment.

Your nose knows it’s spring Tuesday (March 20) was the vernal equinox – otherwise known as the official end of winter and the start of spring. But even if you didn’t look at your calendar, chances are your nose already figured it out.

That’s because more than 40 million American have nasal allergies (also called, allergic rhinitis or “hay fever”). Springtime allergy triggers – primarily tree pollen – cause symptoms including itchy runny nose, nasal and sinus congestion, repeated sneezing, watery eyes, inflamed sinuses and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing due to all of these symptoms. Nasal allergy symptoms can be even more problematic if you also have asthma.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) this week announced its 2012 Spring Allergy Capitals™ rankings with Knoxville topping the list for the third consecutive year. Memphis came in at No. 8. The annual report, which identifies the 100 “most challenging” U.S. cities to live in with spring allergies, is based on a scientific analysis of three factors including pollen scores, number of allergy medications used per patient and number of board certified allergists per patient. (See the full 2012 rankings at www.AllergyCapitals.com.)

The Spring Allergy Capitals ranking is part of the Foundation’s multi-year and multi-season campaign to help patients and consumers recognize, prevent and safely manage allergy symptoms.

The top 10

1. Knoxville – 100.00 2. McAllen, Texas – 96.71 3. Louisville – 93.31 4. Jackson, Miss. – 92.85 5. Wichita, Kans. – 91.36 6. Oklahoma City – 90.57 7. Chattanooga – 89.63 8. Memphis – 85.19 9. San Antonio – 84.41 10. Dayton, Ohio – 82.15

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Tips for allergy suffers

• Relieve your symptoms: Many health plans ask patients to look in the pharmacy first for allergy relief, so talk to your pharmacist about over-thecounter options such as sinus washing, nasal rinsing/irrigation and antihistamines. If symptoms become more frequent or severe, talk to your doctor.

• Prevent pollen from getting indoors: You can reduce the number of outdoor allergens such as pollen and mold from entering the home by keeping windows and doors closed and setting the air conditioner on re-circulate.

• Vacuum once or twice weekly: Vacuuming helps keep indoor allergens to a minimum.

• Be smart about timing outdoors: Trees tend to pollinate first thing in the morning making pollen counts in the early hours very high.

By noon, pollen counts are less than half just a few hours earlier. So plan your outdoor activities after lunch or in the evening to avoid the extreme pollen of the morning.

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COMMUNITY

Tri-State Defender

Trailblazing educator and judge among Women’s Foundation Legends Award honorees

Velma Lois Jones, an educator for 43 years, was the first African-American classroom teacher elected as president of the Memphis Education Association.

Judge Bernice Donald was the first African-American woman to serve as a judge in Tennessee and was the first African-American woman in the United States to serve a bankruptcy judge.

Now Donald and Jones are among the five women trailblazers the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis has selected as 2012 Legends Award honorees. They join Sylvia Goldsmith Marks, who helped launch the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis in 1995, Dorothy Gunther Pugh, founding artistic director and CEO of Ballet Memphis, and Dr. Shirley Raines, the first female to serve as president of the University of Memphis.

The Legends Award pays tribute to women whose work embodies the mission of the Women’s Foundation.

The honorees are leaders in politics, dance, education, the judiciary, and philanthropy. Each will be honored

Page 13

March 22 - 28, 2012

through one-of-a-kind works of art and prose at the Legends Award Reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 17 at The Columns at One Commerce Square, 40 South Main Street.

The mission of the Women’s Foundation is to encourage philanthropy and foster leadership among women and support programs that enable women and children to reach their full potential.

Donald has been a pioneer for women judges and for AfricanAmerican women in particular. In December 2010, President Barack Obama nominated her for to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She is the first African-American woman to hold the position.

As a civil rights activist, Jones marched, boycotted, picketed, and recruited others to join in the demonstrations that brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis. On Feb. 13, 2012, the White House Office of Faith-based Neighborhood Partnerships honored her at the age of 81, with the “Drum Majors for Service” award.

Marks is a well-known figure in philanthropic circles.

For over 70 years, her philanthropic and humanitarian involvement has impacted a wide range of Memphis non-profits, including the Sylvia Memphis Botanic Goldsmith Gardens, MemMarks phis Jewish Federation and Youth Villages, among others. She worked closely with Mertie Buckman, another legendary Memphis philanthropist, to launch the Women’s Foundation.

Pugh’s leadership with Ballet Memphis started in 1986, with two professional dancers and a $75,000 budget. Today, the organization employs 18 professional dancers, operates with a $3.2 million. She is credited with helping to expand Memphis’ cultural horizons while highlighting a new dimension of the

BRIEFS & THINGS MCS Open Enrollment starts Friday, March 23

Judge Bernice Donald

Velma Lois Jones

Dorothy Gunther Pugh

Dr. Shirley Raines

city’s creative soul to audiences around the world.

Raines’ tenure as U of M president began in 2001 and has been marked by her work in building productive partnerships on and off campus. She is at the helm as the school observes its landmark centennial year, 2012.

For more information on the Legends Award reception, visit www.wfgm.org or call 901-5789346.

OIM!

Only In Memphis!!

The New Tri-State Defender is excited to announce a new readercontributed column to run in print and online. “Only in Memphis” (OIM) is crafted to represent Bernal E. the unique exSmith II periences of our readers as they interact and encounter one another in the streets of Memphis, as well as in their homes, churches, places of work and other places throughout the community.

The idea is for you the reader to share with the community those things you experience that could arguably be only experienced here in Memphis. Be the positive, negative, funny, or in some cases even tragic, we want to share your most interesting and head scratching moments. Feel free to share photos, videos, and brief stories about your “Only in Memphis!” experiences.

Email your accounts and experiences (no more than 300 words) to onlyinmemphis@tri-statedefender.com. (We reserve the right to reject certain offensive content solely at our discretion.)

This week’s OIM inspired the column and comes from a very recent and personal experience. I shared a version of this on Facebook that went something like this: So I’m in a car accident today.

A young lady attempts to turn left in front of me and hits my car. She gets ticketed for failure to yield and on top of that has no insurance (another violation) on what I am sure is a recently purchased “income tax check” Cadillac (given that it still had the drive out tags still on it). She indicated, “I just got this car, I ain’t put no insurance on it yet!” After I see the paramedics and talk with the police officers on site, the young lady and I exchange information and ultimately I leave the scene.

Why does she call me ten minutes later, addressing me by my first name as if she’s known me for twenty years and have the audacity to proceed to ask me for a favor, which is to come back to the scene of the accident and GIVE her $100!!! Give!?! One Hundred U.S. American Dollars?

Ok, Ashton Kutcher and Tracey Morgan, you can come out now, you got me!! She hits my car, gives me a near heart attack and a definite back ache, has no insurance and has the nerve to ask me for money so she can pay to get her car towed so that Memphis’ Finest won’t impound it. Keep in mind I don’t know her from a can of paint and said just enough to her on the scene to exchange info. Am I crazy? Lord knows I’m a nice guy, but do I have fool tatted on my forehead? What can I say? OIM! Only in Memphis!!

Get your OIM stories, photos and videos ready. Yours could be featured next week!!!

(Bernal E. Smith II is President/ Publisher of The New Tri-State Defender.)

On Friday, March 23 starting at 6:30 a.m., Memphis City Schools will begin the Open Enrollment School Transfer process for the 2012-13 school year. Open Enrollment is a time for parents to enroll their children in a school other than the one assigned by address in grades K-12. Parents of prekindergarten children who want their students enrolled in kindergarten at a school outside their assigned area must apply for a transfer.

MCS assigns bar-coded applications to parents to determine “priority status” of school transfers. Transfers are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

To receive a bar-coded application, parents must visit the MCS Board of Education at 2597 Avery Avenue on weekdays between March 23 and April 30. Normal hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. However, on the first day of Open Enrollment, March 23, the board opens one hour earlier at 6:30 a.m. Lines may form no earlier than 5:30 a.m. that day.

MCS will not honor parent-sponsored lists.

Bar-coded applications must be completed and submitted to the MCS Board of Education/Office of Student Enrollment and Records. For convenience, starting Monday, March 26, parents may complete the application online at the MCS Web site, www.mcsk12.net, by entering the bar code and other information.

A list of schools eligible for transfers is available at the Office of Student Enrollment and Records (Room 103 at the MCS Board of Education) or from the MCS Web site, www.mcsk12.net.

Girls Inc. Summer Camp registration upcoming

Zach gives back…

The first stop on Grizz forward Zach Randolphʼs third annual trek to help area seniors with their utility bills took him to the home of Marcus Hall. Hall, a big fan of the Grizzlies, received a game ticket from Randolph, and shared some basketball pointers with the All-Star forward. (Photo by Warren Roseborough)

Music Commission taps ‘Emissaries’ for 2012 Special to the Tri-State Defender

by Myron Mays

Each year the Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission honors eight deserving women who have influenced the Memphis Music culture in some shape form or fashion. The 2012 Emissaries of Memphis Music list is varied, with accomplishments that include making it into into Billboards Top 5 and gracing radio and television.

This year’s honorees include charttopping soul and pop singers Ann Peebles, Wendy Moten and Anita Ward, season eight “American Idol: finalist Alexis Grace, Lindenwood Christian Church Worship Leader Bethany Paige, WDIA’s Bev Johnson, Nita Makris, owner of The Stage Stop, and Levitt Shell Executive Director Anne Pitts.

The Emissaries concept was developed by Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission Executive Director Johnnie Walker.

“Being a woman, who has survived and thrived in an industry that is very male-dominated, I know women and their careers are not celebrated as much as they should be,” said Walker.

“I’ve heard every story one could hear about the successful men in Memphis Music. Well, as a woman in the business, I know there are women in Memphis that have enjoyed music success and have made major contributions to the city’s creative culture….So the idea to create an event that would celebrate these women was born.”

Alexis Grace

Bev Johnson

Nita Makris

Wendy Moten

Bethany Paige

Ann Peebles

Anne Pitts

Anita Ward

The Emissaries event is the annual event of the Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission, which was created to promote Memphis music and artists. The Commission operates programs that provide a variety of services to musicians and local music industry personnel such as free healthcare to local musicians.

The Women’s History Month celebration will take place on March 29 at The University of Memphis Holiday Inn located at 3700 Central Ave. at 7 p.m. WMC-TV’s Kontji Antho-

ny will serve as the event’s Mistress of Ceremonies. Tickets start at $50 and are on sale now. They can be purchased by visiting the Music Commission’s website at www.memphismusic.org.

Proceeds from the Emissaries of Memphis Music event will benefit the Memphis Musicians Healthcare Plan, a Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission service that provides free healthcare to Memphis musicians. This is done in partnership with the Church Health Center.

Girls Incorporated of Memphis will hold regular registration for its annual summer camp March 26 through May 11. Programs will focus on various subjects, including team building, leadership, etiquette, fitness, economic literacy, body basics and more.

The camp is a great opportunity for parents to provide a safe, fun learning environment for their children throughout the summer months, said Deborah HesterHarrison, president of Girls Inc. of Memphis. “Space is limited, so we urge parents to sign up quickly.”

The camp will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. And, for an additional five dollars per week, an early bird hour of 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. is available. To register, parents are encouraged to stop by the center nearest them between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Girls Inc. Summer Camp Centers are located at Golden Gate Center, 3240 James Road, 901-288-3392; Hickory Hill Center, 6670 E. Raines Road, 901331-1160; Lucille DeVore Tucker Center, 686 N. Seventh Street, 901-527-4475; Mt. Zion Center, 1621 Dellwood, 901-288-3392; Riverview Kansas Center (Carver High School), 1591 Pennsylvania Street, 901-573-2315; South Park Center, 1568 Robinhood Lane, 901-743-8062; St. Paul Center, 2124 East Holmes Road, 901523-0217; Whitehaven Center (Lanier Middle School), 817 Brownlee, 901-523-0217; Whitehaven Center, 4523 Elvis Presley Blvd, 901-359-8397.

For more information, call 901523-0217 or visit www.girlsincmemphis.org.

Dress for Success Memphis sets ‘Suit and Salad’ lunch

Women of Courage Awards will be presented to Judge Bernice Donald and Judge Janice Holder as a part of the annual “Suit and Salad” Lunch by Dress for Success Memphis on Tuesday (March 27) at 11 a.m. at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis.

Dress for Success is a non-profit organization that provides interview and work appropriate attire, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women making the transition into the workplace.

The “Suit & Salad Luncheon” will begin with a silent auction and a live auction for a painting donated by artist Peggy Van Buren. The guest speaker will be Susan Stephenson, co-founder of Independent Bank.

FedEx is the presenting sponsor of the event. Tickets for the luncheon are $50 for individuals or $500 for a table of 10. Additional sponsorships are available. Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased by calling 901-363-3100.

For more information, visit www. dressforsuccess.org/memphis.

SPORTS Tri-State Defender, Thursday, March 22 - 28, 2012, Page 14

GRIZZ TRACK

All-Star forward Zach Randolph is back on the floor for the Grizz after missing 37 games with an injury. (Photos by Warren Roseborough)

Grizz search for ‘new identity’ amid changes Special to the Tri-State Defender

Kings (119-110).

by Kelley Evans

Highs and lows come with the flow of any NBA season, and with just five weeks remaining in this regular season, the Grizzlies have been making changes – including trades, acquisitions and lineup adjustments – to affect how things go from here.

The original starting lineup of Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and Tony Allen is back on the floor.

With Randolph now back after missing 37 games, developing a new level of team chemistry is a priority.

“We just have to find out our new identity, whatever it may wind up being. I just told the guys I’m trying to fit guys in,” said Grizz Coach Lionel Hollins, following Sunday’s (March 18) game in which the Grizzlies defeated the Washington Wizards 97 to 92 at the FedExForum.

It was Randolph’s second game back from a torn MCL. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Two days earlier (March 16), the Grizzlies suffered at 114-110 loss to the Toronto Raptors in an overtime battle, with Randolph scoring a season-high 25 points and nine rebounds.

So with almost everyone back (Darrell Arthur is out with injury), the changes must propel the team through the remainder of the season, and possibly into the playoffs.

The current roster now excludes swingman Sam Young, who was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for draft rights to forward Ricky Sanchez. Young, who was in his third season with Memphis, stepped up last season when Gay suffered a seasonending shoulder injury. He is the last Grizz 2009 draft to be traded (DeMarre Carroll and Hasheem Thabeet).

The Grizzlies hit the road on Monday (March 19) for a four-game road stint that began with a loss to the Sacramento

The Arenas factor

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed free agent guard Gilbert Arenas, who will join the team on the road in Portland. Arenas worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday.

Following a physical, he was offered a contract for the remainder of the season.

A three-time All-Star (2004-07), Arenas holds career averages of 21 points, four rebounds and five assists in 535 career games (455 starts) over 10 seasons (200111) with the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic. Selected by Golden State in the second round (30th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft, Arenas’ career scoring average ranks ninth among active players (34th in NBA history).

Arenas has had some locker room troubles but that did not deter the Grizzlies, who are looking to add more shooters off the bench as well as a point guard to back up Conley and/or O.J. Mayo. Mayo has been running the point to gain rest time for Conley.

A shortened season and lack of practice time has hampered the development of rookie Josh Selby, who spent some time in the Developmental League to gain more experience. Meanwhile, Jeremy Pargo, who has had made some plays to help the Grizz, has not been as solid at the back-up point guard position as the coaching staff would like.

Arenas, a 30-year-old former University of Arizona standout, split the 2010-11 season with Washington and Orlando, averaging 10 points, two rebounds and three assists in 25.7 minutes in 70 games (16 starts).

The Grizzlies, now holding the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference standings, will return to the FedExForum on March 27 to face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nine Southwest basketball players gain All-Conference honors

Five Saluqis and four Lady Saluqis basketball players were voted by conference coaches to the All-TCCAA team, including three first team selections.

Antwon Oliver, a 6’6” sophomore forward from Racine, Wisc., and Nate Rucker, a 6’6” sophomore center from Melrose High School were first team selections. Oliver led the Saluqis with 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while Rucker averaged 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.

Second team selections were Tavin Cummings, a 6’4” freshman forward

from Craigmont High School, D’Alvin Brown, a 5’9” sophomore guard from Covington High School and Marshun Newell, a 6’3” freshman guard from Middle College High School.

Amber Amber Dunlap, Dunlap a 5’9” sophomore guard from Bolton High School, was the lone

O.J. Mayo makes an eye-popping, wrap-around pass to Zach Randolph, who scored on the play. It was Randolphʼs first game back since being injured against Chicago. The Grizz lost 114 to 110 in overtime to the Toronto Raptors at the FedExForum.

Shields lands training-camp shot with L.A. Sparks Antwon Oliver

Nate Rucker

Lady Saluqis’ first team pick. Dunlap led the team with averages of 15.4 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Erica Ousley, a 5’4” sophomore guard from Fairley High School, Kandi Granger, a 5’9” sophomore guard from Craigmont High School and Jenisha Jackson, a 6’2” sophomore center from Sardis, Miss., were named to the second team.

Former Lady Saluqi All-American Ashley Shields has signed a training camp contract with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Shields was drafted by the WNBA’s Houston Comets in 2007 and later played on Detroit’s 2008 WNBA championship team. She averaged 18.8 points and 3.3 steals for the Maccabi Ashdod team in Israel this season and has also played professionally in Poland and Slovakia.

In 2006-07, her only season at Southwest, Shields led the NJCAA in scoring with a 27.4 avAshley erage and was named to the NJCAA Division 1 Shields All-American Team, the Junior College/Community College Kodak/WBCA AllAmerican Team and TJCCAA Player of the Year. In the Lady Saluqis’ TJCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament quarterfinal win over Cleveland State, she scored a NJCAA record 65 points.