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By Tiffany Stanley Associated Press
WASHINGTON — There is so much history between the walls of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has hosted funerals for Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass and opened its pews to American presidents and civil rights icons.
It made history again this year: Thanks to a lawsuit, Metropolitan AME now controls the trademark to the Proud Boys, the far-right group that once vandalized the church’s property in Washington.
After a pro-Donald Trump rally in December 2020, Proud Boys destroyed Black Lives Matter signs at two historically Black churches during a violent night in the city.
“The act of destroying these signs was not just alcohol-lubricated, infantile frat-boy stuff,” said the Rev. William H. Lamar IV, Metropolitan’s pastor.
“This is a softer version of cross-burning, designed to keep us quiet,” he said.
It was political intimidation, according to Lamar. A judge awarded the church $2.8 million in damages in 2023, condemning the Proud Boys’ “hateful and overtly racist conduct.”
In February, after the Proud Boys didn’t pay, the court gave the church use of the group’s name and symbols — seen on its black-and-yellow gear and laurel wreath logo.
The church can seize money the Proud Boys make through merchandise sales. And the congregation has begun to sell lookalike shirts on its website with lines like “Stay Proud, Stay
Black.” It plans to offer similar apparel for Pride Month and Juneteenth, with proceeds going to a community justice fund.
Lamar said it’s “our way of leveraging something that was intended for evil.”
The church has a long history of activism
Despite the humor and subversion, Lamar sees the lawsuit as part of a long line of civil rights activism that has
relied on the courts, from Black women who successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan to lawsuits that pushed desegregation.
“Metropolitan institutionally is doing what Black women and men have always done,” he said, “and that is to use the available means to fight.”
In January, President Trump par-
doned members of the Proud Boys who were convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Included in that pardon was the group’s former chairman, Enrique Tarrio, who had been serving a 22-year sentence and is a named defendant in the church’s lawsuit.
Two weeks later, when church member Khaleelah Harris heard about the trademark win, her first response was to pray for the safety of Metropolitan, which at one point was paying $20,000 a month for increased security.
“I just hope they don’t touch the church. That was my main concern,” said Harris, who is pursuing ordination within the AME.
“As overwhelming as this all has been, in a sense, we have no choice,” she said. “That’s the legacy of our church.”
Founded in 1838 and part of the nation’s first independent Black denomination, the congregation laid the building’s cornerstone in 1881. AME churches around the country, from Mississippi to Connecticut, paid for its construction as their national cathedral, positioned a half-mile from the White House.
“It is not just for Metropolitan. It is to send a clear signal to anyone who would intimidate any house of worship or any individual of any race, color, creed, or no creed at all.”
— Rev. William H. Lamar IV
“Washington’s been a very interesting town, because Black people have been able to live lives here that they couldn’t live elsewhere,” Lamar said. It was not without segregation and racism, but “they built their own spaces to preserve their own humanity, their own joy.”
Growing up in Macon, Georgia, Lamar first learned about Metropolitan AME from a textbook his mother brought home. Almost 30 years later, he became its pastor.
The decision to sue the Proud Boys was made with a unanimous vote of church leaders, though Wayne Curtis, a Metropolitan member for nearly three decades, is still cautious about the victory, not wanting it to give the Proud Boys more attention. But he said before a Sunday service that “it’s an opportu-
nity to hopefully bring a little more humility to a pretty extreme organization.”
The Proud Boys, though fractured as a movement, resurfaced at Trump’s inauguration. Tarrio, who got five months in jail in part for burning the second church’s banner, suggested on the social platform X after the latest court decision that they change their name to the “African Methodist Episcopal Boys.” His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Even if the Proud Boys change their name, the organization and some members are still indebted to the congregation, whose legal team plans to pursue the money. The Proud Boys have paid $1,500 so far of the judgment, which with interest is at least $3.1 million, according to the church’s attorneys.
“We will be unrelenting in pursuing justice,” Lamar said. “And it is not just for Metropolitan. It is to send a clear
signal to anyone who would intimidate any house of worship or any individual of any race, color, creed, or no creed at all.”
Three blocks from the red-brick church, the city recently demolished its Black Lives Matter Plaza. In contrast, a bold Black Lives Matter sign still stands outside Metropolitan, which is sandwiched between two tall office buildings.
Inside the sanctuary on a recent afternoon, Lamar pointed to pieces of church history: the names inscribed in marble, the places marked in stained glass.
Lamar is working on a book about Black ancestors, whose presence he often feels spurring his church to fight for justice. He has felt them during the court case too.
“The victory for me was ancestral in that it said, keep going. You’ve won this, but it’s not over.”
(Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.)
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
Even the least cynical observers knew this day would come.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the dog whistle has become a bullhorn. The whitewashing of American history is no longer implied — it’s spelled out in ink, signed into law and backed by a government that is now openly in the grip of white supremacist power. In his latest executive order, President Trump has targeted the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, calling for the erasure of what he deems “divisive race-centered ideology.”
He has directed Vice President JD Vance to eliminate these so-called “divisive” elements from the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, educational and research centers, and even the National Zoo. The executive order is chillingly titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” It declares that the Smithsonian, once a symbol of “American excellence,” has become tainted by narratives that portray “American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
“Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order states.
The directive goes further, instructing Vance, along with Vince Haley, assistant to the president for domestic policy, and Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, to work with Congress to block all federal appropriations for Smithsonian exhibitions or programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideolo-
gies inconsistent with federal law and policy.”
The order also aims at the American Women’s History Museum, demanding that no future appropriations “recognize men as women in any respect,” and calls for new citizen members to be appointed to the Smithsonian Board of Regents — individuals committed to enforcing the president’s vision.
This is not an isolated move. Since returning to office, Trump has issued a barrage of executive orders aimed at dismantling every vestige of diversity, equity and inclusion across the federal government. He terminated all DEI programs, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
The National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America initiative — long dedicated to uplifting historically underserved communities — has been gutted. The Pentagon’s website erased the stories of Navajo Code Talkers. A “Black Lives Matter” mural in the heart of Washington, D.C., was demolished. Perhaps most brazenly, the Department
This is not an isolated move. Since returning to office, Trump has issued a barrage of executive orders aimed at dismantling every vestige of diversity, equity and inclusion across the federal government.
of Defense Education Activity banned Black History Month observances at military base schools and ordered the removal of any book or material that mentions slavery, the civil rights movement or the treatment of Native Americans.
Now, the National Museum of African American History and Culture — which opened to national fanfare in 2016 — is in the crosshairs.
“In an almost surprising fashion, the Smithsonian has been outside of the
bounds of political wrangling,” said Samuel Redman, a history professor and director of the public history program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “It’s not as though there hasn’t been political influence … but just in terms of overall funding and support for the Smithsonian, it’s been remarkably consistent.”
That consistency has now been shattered. Trump’s executive order doesn’t just attack the museum — it hints at restoring what many hoped America had buried: Confederate monuments, white supremacist names on federal buildings, and the reinstallation of statues that were taken down during the country’s reckoning after the murder of George Floyd.
What the president calls “shared American values” is beginning to resemble a national doctrine rooted in erasure and oppression.
The Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, was founded on increasing and diffusing knowledge. Established by Congress with funds left by James Smithson, a British scientist, the institution spans 21 museums and the National Zoo, with 11 of the museums located along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Now, it faces its greatest threat yet — not from budget cuts or neglect, but from a government determined to rewrite history at the expense of truth. The stakes have never been clearer as the country watches these moves unfold.
The battle over American history isn’t theoretical. It’s happening now, in plain sight, with executive orders, political enforcers and the full weight of the federal government behind it. “This is about power,” said a Smithsonian staffer who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution. “They’re not hiding it anymore.”
By Lee Eric Smith Special to The Tri-State Defender
In a city built on freight and forward motion, a new chapter is unfolding near the intersection of Walker Avenue and College Street — written in steel, soil, and soul.
Crafted from repurposed shipping containers and powered by produce grown just down the street, the Green Leaf Container Café and Farm Stand is the latest milestone for Knowledge Quest, the South Memphis nonprofit that has been sowing seeds of transformation since 1998. The café officially opened April 1, offering neighbors a place to gather, eat fresh and see what’s possible when homegrown ideas take root.
“To be able to have healthy prepared foods is really the next level,” said Marlon Foster, founder and CEO of Knowledge Quest. “We started with education, cooking demos, nutrition classes. Now, to take food from our organic farm and serve it to the community in a formal café — that’s taking the vision to scale.”
And the setting? A striking mix of agriculture and industry: shipping containers that once moved goods across oceans now serve as the foundation for a neighborhood café where students prep omelets, sear grass-fed burgers and caramelize onions for paninis.
“This is homegrown,” Foster said. “These are South Memphis residents leading the café, leading the organization, creating something that the whole city can come out and support.”
A café grown from the ground
The ingredients come from Green Leaf Learning Farm, a USDA-certified organic farm operated by Knowledge Quest less than a half-mile from the café. Foster says nearly everything on the menu — breakfast and lunch staples served Tuesday through Friday —
originates there. But it’s not just about food access. The café is also a workforce hub.
“Students grow the food. They cook the food. And now, for those interested in being executive chefs or restaurant owners, they can get hands-on experience right here,” Foster said. “Front of house, back of house — it’s all in play.”
In fact, one of those students now runs the joint. Tamia Townsend, who joined the culinary program as a ninth-grader, went on to major in culinary arts in college, worked at the Dixon, and now serves as director of the café.
“She still lives right around the corner. To see her journey come full circle — that’s probably the most gratifying part of this work,” Foster said.
A community culinary celebration
The café’s ribbon-cutting felt more like a block party: clapping neighbors, elected officials, the Cummings K–8 marching band, and plenty of cheers for what this space now represents.
Dr. Christopher B. Davis, president of LeMoyne-Owen College, delivered an invocation and a surprise announcement: The land the café sits on, owned by the college, will be donated to Knowledge Quest.
“This is more than a piece of land,” Davis said. “It’s an investment in entrepreneurship and in the thriving future of South Memphis.”
Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley, who grew up just blocks away, reflected on the symbolism of building something lasting in the place where so many stories begin.
“Some of us moved away, but we never forget South Memphis. It’s the bridge that brought us over,” Smiley said. “This café could’ve been built anywhere, but Knowledge Quest chose to serve our people.”
Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery praised the neighborhood-first approach: “We don’t need anybody else coming in to help us — we can do it right here.”
be able to prepare dishes from food grown in our own farm and serve it here to the neighborhood — that’s taking the vision to scale,” he said.
The café operates Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with plans to extend into evening hours this summer. The team is also finalizing partnerships with delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash.
“Right now, it’s hard to even get a cup of coffee in South Memphis,” Foster said. “Now you can come here, get your coffee, get a frittata, get a salmon panini and know that your money is going right back into youth programming, job training and community development.”
For Foster, the café is both culmination and new beginning.
“We started with a community garden back in 1999,” he said. “To go from that to a café made from shipping containers, built and run by folks from the neighborhood — that’s the work. That’s the dream.
“And we’re just getting started.”
By Lee Eric Smith Special to the Tri-State Defender
April Fool’s Day might not seem like the best time to break ground on a multi-million-dollar school project— especially if you live in Frayser, where the punchlines don’t always land in your favor.
But no fools and no joke: Frayser is officially about to get a sparkling new high school.
With golden shovels and heartfelt speeches, city and county leaders joined students and community advocates Monday to celebrate the start of construction on a brand-new Frayser High School. Commissioner Charlie Caswell quipped: “If we waited one more day, there might’ve been a resolution to put the money somewhere else.”
Prayers answered: Spirit of Apostle Floyd felt
Just across the street from the construction site once stood the Pursuit of God Church, led by the late Apostle Ricky D. Floyd — a man who turned prayer into action in the heart of Frayser. Less than a week after his homegoing service, his family stood before the crowd Monday and his wife reminded them just how deeply her husband believed this moment would come.
“He walked up and down this street carrying a cross on his back, praying for not only this community, but that there would be a new school,” said Pastor Sheila Floyd. “As we stand here before you today, our hearts are full.”
She recalled how Apostle Floyd would bring boys from The Husband Institute, a Pursuit of God mentor program into the aging school building, comparing it to those in more affluent areas of the city — not to shame them, but to stir something greater.
“He would cry because he would look
at the conditions of the school. Then he would take them to schools in different communities and show them the difference. He told them, ‘If you want better, you’ve got to believe for better, pray for better — and you’re going to have to work harder.’”
Floyd’s vision was never just about buildings — it was about dignity, equity, and opportunity for young people who had long been underserved. It was about setting an example, being a beacon.
“There were times we would come into the Frayser school and just walk back and forth,” Pastor Sheila Floyd said. “Just to show the young people just what love looked like, what a happy marriage looked like, and what hope could look like.”
‘Zigged and zagged’:
A decade in the making
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris didn’t downplay the long road to get to this groundbreaking. “Seriously, this project to build a new school has been zigging and zagging all over the place,” he said. “Sometimes it looked like we were gonna lose the battle to the most ferocious adversary to progress — the status quo.”
Harris noted that the county school system has never built a high school in its 12-year history and called this moment a clear stand against the chronic disinvestment seen in Memphis’ urban core. “Some of our best high schools are crumbling,” he said, naming Whitehaven, White Station, and Snowden among those in dire need of repair.
As part of his remarks, Harris recounted his own experience trying to start a vocational-technical program at MLK College Prep. “We had to run our welding program in the library,” he said. “That’s why this is so important. This isn’t just about Frayser. This
is about the future of public education across Memphis.”
The afternoon’s most moving moments came from those who grew up in Frayser, like Interim Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond — a graduate of Trezevant High School — and Sebastian Morris, lead civil engineer on the project and a product of nearby Greenbriar Apartments.
“This project is a beacon,” Morris said. “I couldn’t be the person I am today without the relationships I built in this community. Frayser raised me. And I’ve been made well.”
Richmond called the new school “a bold statement” and “a turning point for this incredible community.”
“This isn’t just about a building,” he said. “It’s about building momentum … about building opportunities. And most of all, we’re building on greatness already growing right here.”
The program opened and closed with students — fitting for a school that leaders say is being designed with student experience at the center.
Genesis Freeman of Westside Middle School welcomed the crowd, calling the school a “catalyst” for equity in education and economic development. Cameron Hardwell and Andrew Shale of Woodstock Middle promised “cool classrooms, awesome academics, and modern sports facilities,” with a message: “Greatness grows here.”
Principal Vincent Hunter of Trezevant High School — slated to lead the new Frayser Community High School — led the crowd in a rhythmic call-and-response, summing up the day’s spirit in a refrain: “Why? Because Frayser matters. What? Because greatness is growing right here.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young reminded the crowd that while the city government doesn’t directly fund education, none of the city’s goals — economic, safety, opportunity — can be met without investing in schools.
City Councilwoman Dr. Michalyn Easter-Thomas said the groundbreaking was about more than infrastructure. “We are laying a foundation,” she said. “A foundation for dreams, for opportunity, and for the future of our very capable and inspiring young people in Frayser.”
And School Board Member Stephanie Love, who has championed the school through years of pushback and delay, said this was personal. “Every obstacle, every stroke I survived—this day makes it worth it,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Frayser deserves this school. We did it all for the kids.”
As the crowd prepared to leave the site, students reminded everyone why they came. “This school is proof that Frayser matters,” one said. “And our future is worth building.”
‘keeps
Activist-scholar reminds packed house of the spirit, soul and sacrifice of King’s leadership
By Lee Eric Smith Special to the Tri-State Defender
In 2025, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is almost universally respected and loved as an icon of the Civil Rights Movement — a martyr for the cause, the closest thing the movement has to a saint. But in 1968, in the weeks leading up to his assassination on the Lorraine Motel balcony, he was none of those things. And Cornel West took considerable time to remind those at the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Sigma Rho Lambda Chapter, Prayer Breakfast of the sacrifices that King made — and why he made them.
“In America, it’s so easy to pluck a Black man out of his context — to make him into some isolated icon,” said West, noted philosopher, theologian, political activist and social critic. “Then you start sanitizing him, sterilizing him, deodorizing him. And once you do that, you can celebrate the image without wrestling with the message.
“But we gon’ keep it funky this morning,” West said to the crowd’s approval. “Because if you don’t keep it funky, you lose the funk of the truth. You lose the funk of the blood, the funk of the sacrifice, the funk of the sorrow and the sweetness and the soul. That’s what they try to do with Martin — make him respectable, manageable, acceptable.
“But he wasn’t trying to be acceptable. He was trying to be faithful. He
was telling the truth, and the truth made people uncomfortable.”
In a half-hour no-notes address inside the National Civil Rights Museum — just steps from where King was gunned down in 1968 — West delivered what felt less like a speech and more like a reckoning.
He wove scripture with street wisdom, theology with social critique, blues with Black prophetic fire, riffing on everything from the blues to the church elder who sang soulfully, if not always in tune. Here’s a sampling:
On the Blues: “What is the blues? Catastrophe, lyrically expressed. That’s what Martin was dealing with. Don’t talk to me about America having a ‘race problem.’ No — America has had catastrophes visited upon Black people. And you don’t respond to catastrophe with a management strategy. A catastrophe demands transformation.”
On Music, Soul and Substance: “Thank God for the men’s choir at Shiloh Baptist Church. Three weeks out of the month, some of them never sang in tune — and that’s all right. These days, everybody wants to sing in tune but don’t have enough soul to touch your heart. I don’t want seven words sung eleven times. I want the real thing. I need drama. I need nurture. I need a story in my song. Music isn’t just entertainment — it’s constitutive of who we are. It sustains our sanity and our dignity.”
On Speaking Life Into Young Peo-
ple: “One of my Vacation Bible School teachers used to tell me, ‘Little Cornel, don’t you ever forget — the kingdom of God is within you. You ought to leave a little heaven behind.’ That’s what Martin heard. That’s what so many of us were given by grandmamas and daddies and uncles and deacons and ushers — a transference of dignity and love that this country couldn’t take from us.”
But for all the riffs and rhythms, West always circled back to King’s radical, sacrificial love — a love that cost him dearly. Especially when he spoke out against the war in Vietnam. And particularly when he decided to take on the cause of impoverished garbage workers in Memphis.
“People said he went too far,” West said. “That he was gonna mess up the Civil Rights Movement by getting involved in the anti-war movement. But Martin said, ‘You never understood me.’ He said, ‘A Vietnamese baby has the same value as a baby in Tennessee.’ Because he heard that in church: Jesus loves the little children — all the children of the world.” That unflinching global compassion — from Memphis to Vietnam to South Africa — came at a cost. West reminded the audience that at the time of King’s death, more than 70 percent of Americans disapproved of him. Even among Black Americans, support had waned.
“Everybody loves him now,” West said. “But back then? He was dangerous. Because he was telling the truth — and the truth is costly.”
Then, West brought the audience into one of the most human moments of King’s life — his arrest in Georgia, where he was transported for hours in a paddy wagon with a German shepherd beside him.
“Brother Martin was hunched over when he got out,” West said, his voice softening. “He couldn’t even walk a straight line. And all he could do was look up at his daddy and say: ‘This is the cross we must bear for the freedom of our people.’”
For West, that moment was not just history — it was instruction.
“You don’t just talk about the cross,” he said. “You’ve got to carry it. And if you really love like Martin loved — if you’re really committed to the least of these — you’ve got to be willing to die on it.”
In the end, West’s message wasn’t about nostalgia. It was a call to courage. A call to service. A call to truth, even when truth makes people uncomfortable.
“The greatest among you will be your servant,” he said. “Not the one with the most followers, not the one with the brand. The one who loves the deepest. The one who sacrifices the most.”
Agape Child & Family Services brought together hundreds of families, local leaders, faith communities and supporters for an afternoon of entertainment, connection and celebration during Agape Fest 2025 at Sycamore View Church of Christ.
Despite periods of rain, attendees came out Saturday with energy and excitement to take part in one of the city’s heartfelt spring celebrations.
Agape Fest, formerly known as the Faith Family Festival, bridges gaps between churches from all races and ethnicities, bringing unity and love on the day after the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. The event featured a vibrant mix of live music, local vendors, family-friendly activities and opportunities to engage with local churches and community partners.
David Jordan, Agape’s president and CEO, emphasized the impact of the turnout and the festival’s continued growth.
“Agape Fest represents everything we stand for as an organization,” Jordan said. “It is about coming together as a community, celebrating love and supporting one another across neighborhoods and backgrounds. Seeing so many families show up, even through the rain, reminds us that our community is strong, hopeful and resilient.”
iHeart Radio personality Stan Bell and speaker and author Monique Scrip served as co-hosts for the event. Together, they brought energy and warmth to the stage, engaging the crowd and keeping the momentum going throughout the day.
The lineup included performances from:
• Agape Children and Youth Choir (featuring Cordova High School Choir, Kooler Kids and Perfecting Gifts)
• Bluff City Praise
• Cordova High School Choir
• Highland Youth Group Student Worship Team
• Julian Cross
• Kooler Kids
• Perfecting Gifts
• Princeton James Productions
• United Voice Worship
• Young Actors Guild
• Yung Titan with Corey Curtis and B-Radical Agape was especially honored to welcome Mayor Paul Young and Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ”
Davis. Their presence underscored the importance of civic engagement and collaboration in building stronger communities.
A special tribute honored Ambassador and Pastor Ricky Floyd, whose life and legacy left a lasting impact on families and communities throughout Memphis. Agape also thanked his family and friends during a moment of remembrance.
On the cover:
“Over the past year, our administration has worked hand in hand with you all, not just to balance the budget, but to build a strategy that builds on what Memphians want and deserve: a cleaner, safer, stronger and more investable city.”
— Mayor Paul Young
By James Coleman Special to The Tri-State Defender
Mayor Paul Young’s proposed budget for FY2026 aims to strengthen Memphis’ financial foundation by contributing to the city’s fund balance, a key factor in its credit rating and borrowing power. A city’s “fund balance” is what is left over when you subtract all expenditures from the revenue that is collected. During a presentation to the Memphis City Council, Young outlined a nearly flat $880 million proposal, which would mark a shift after the city did not contribute to its fund balance in FY2025.
“Our goal this year is to make a significant contribution to the fund balance,” Young said. “It will take all of us working together to achieve it.”
The meeting, held Tuesday, April 8, focused on the draft budget’s key priorities, including funding for public safety, blight remediation and staff pay increases. While the budget proposal is nearly identical to last year’s $858 million budget, Young emphasized the importance of fiscal discipline, especially as federal pandemic relief funds have expired.
“In FY2025, we did not contribute to the fund balance. But it is imperative that we do so this year,” he added.
Personnel costs would make up the majority of the draft’s funding. If approved, the city’s payroll for FY2026 would total $631,902,617, with the bulk
directed toward staffing the city’s two largest employers: the police and fire departments. Staffing for blight control efforts also remains a priority.
“We’re going to continue to focus on public safety and anti-blight efforts,” Young said.
Nearly 79% of the administration’s proposal is dedicated to public safety and blight remediation. The Memphis Police Department would receive $14.5 million for fleet upgrades, while the fire department would get $5 million for its fleet. Fire department staff will also receive a 5% pay raise agreed to last year.
The priorities outlined in the budget remain consistent with FY2025.
“Over the past year, our administration has worked hand in hand with you all, not just to balance the budget, but to build a strategy that builds on what Memphians want and deserve: a cleaner, safer, stronger and more investable city,” Young said.
Materials and supplies make up 19.5% of the proposal, while 8.2% is allocated for grants and subsidies. “Other” costs account for the final 1.6%.
Despite a slight drop in revenue from a shared sales tax with the state, Young’s proposal calls for no new taxes. As a result, council members were warned that any additional expenditures added during budget negotiations would need to be offset.
The only increases in the budget are for continuity of service, property as-
sessments, the city’s pension fund and inflation. The proposal was trimmed by $30 million after the initial draft was compiled from requests from various city divisions.
“In this environment of uncertainty, with costs rising everywhere, we made the choice to hold the line. That decision came after hundreds of tough choices across our divisions,” Young said.
Several key projects, however, remain in the budget.
The FY2026 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) allocates $24.6 million for asphalt paving projects throughout the city. Another $8.6 million is earmarked for the planned Southwest Twin multiuse facility in the Westwood community. The Wolf River Greenway would receive $6.4 million, and Smart City projects would get $7.5 million. A new library in Parkway Village and additional public safety cameras are also included.
Transit is also expected to be a topic during budget negotiations. However, any discussion of MATA’s budget will likely take place behind closed doors. During a recent Transportation Committee meeting, City Attorney Alan Wade quickly halted discussions when the transit authority’s budget was brought up.
MATA’s use of credit cards is currently under investigation after an internal
audit revealed $144,000 in questionable expenses. Council members’ inquiries about the duration of the practice were also rebuffed.
Charges to the company’s American Express card included $10,000 in purchases from online retailer Amazon, $7,000 from consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, and $5,000 in PayPal and Venmo transactions, along with other miscellaneous expenses.
The credit card has been deactivated, and discussions are ongoing with First Horizon Bank about an e-card program, e-payments and other payment services. Travel has been restricted to mandatory employee safety training.
Interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin was fired Friday, March 28.
“I know we had a robust conversation about MATA earlier,” Young said.
Meanwhile, Young’s decision to prioritize the city’s fund balance aligns with the expiration of millions of dollars in federal funding. Beginning with the FY2022 budget, the city used $100 million in CARES Act funds, followed by $161 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, to cover deficits in the city’s budget. While the latter expired in 2022, the deadline for APRA fund obligations ended in 2024.
The expiration of federal funds contributed to a $1.9 million deficit in FY2025. Young hopes to turn the shortfall into a $7 million contribution to the fund balance in FY2026.
By Richard Walker Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Memphis starting guard Jaylen Wells broke his right wrist on a hard fall on his arm and head from a midair collision at the end of a fast-break dunk during a victory over Charlotte on Tuesday, likely ending the rookie’s season right before the Grizzlies go into the playoffs.
Wells was down for eight minutes before being lifted by medical personnel onto a stretcher with his head strapped in to restrict motion and taken to a hospital, where he had movement in all of his extremities, interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said.
“It puts everything into perspective seeing that situation and to see Jaylen there,” Iisalo said. “He’s an incredibly tough kid and had a great season.”
Wells caught an outlet pass from Ja Morant and went up to the rim, when KJ Simpson undercut him from behind after trying to catch up to the play. The contact caused Wells to lose his balance while in the air and land awkwardly on his side as his head slammed against the court near the baseline.
“It’s tough. I threw the pass and turned around and was doing our little touchdown celebration. When I got there, the first thing I saw was blood, and I’ve got a weak stomach,” Morant said. “We’ve just got to stay with him and keep praying for him. It’s next man up. Obviously that hurts. Guys will just have to be ready.”
The game was delayed a total of 23 minutes, including warmup time for both teams. Officials called a Flagrant 2 foul on Simpson after a replay review for unnecessary contact, which comes with an automatic ejection. Simpson immediately bent down to check on Wells after their collision and was visibly distraught while Wells was being tended to in the silent arena.
A 2024 second-round draft pick out of Washington State, Wells has yet to miss a game for Memphis while starting 74 of 79 games. The 6-foot-7 Wells entered Tuesday’s game with averages of 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The Grizzlies with the win moved into a tie for fourth place in the crowded Western Conference race, but they could still drop as low as eighth.
“It puts everything into perspective seeing that situation and to see Jaylen there. He’s an incredibly tough kid and had a great season.” — interim coach Tuomas Iisalo
Request for Qualifications for Architectural Design Services for Regional One Health Rebuild
Regional One Health, through its partner Covalus|Allworld, has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for architectural design services as the first step in a comprehensive campus modernization project. The RFQ, issued on April 1, 2025, invites qualified architectural firms to submit their credentials by April 21, 2025 for consideration.
This RFQ aims to gather detailed information on each firm’s size, capabilities, experience, available staff, special resources, current workload, financial strength, and other key factors to facilitate a thorough side-by-side evaluation. The most qualified firms will be shortlisted and invited to participate in a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) process.
The selected firm will play a crucial role in shaping the future of Regional One Health through the planning and programming phases of the campus modernization project. This includes assessing current and future space needs, optimizing facility design for patient care, and ensuring the project aligns with the hospital’s goals.
Beginning April 3, 2025, the documents comprising the RFQ may be obtained from the following link: https://www.regionalonehealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Regional-One-Design-RFQ.pdf
Deliver your response to this Request for Qualification as indicated herein on or before
1509 Madison Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104
PH (901) 523-1818
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
4:00 p.m. (CDT), April 21, 2025. Submit your response electronically to https://covalus.egnyte.com/ul/15OFGZDziz
After submission, notify the following:
Adam Martens at amartens@covalus.com
Eric Burk at eburk@covalus.com
Chris Acuff at cacuff@allworldmail.com
Patrice Thomas at pthomas@allworldmail.com
Please attempt to limit the file size to 10 MB. Your submission must include a signed copy of Attachment B. Late RFQ responses will be rejected and will not be considered for award. Additional instructions for submitting proposals are included in the RFQ.
