UofM’s Hooks Institute announces 2024 Hooks National Book Award winner
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The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis has selected “Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America” by JoyAnn Reid (Mariner Books) as the 2024 Hooks National Book Award winner. The book award will be presented in February of 2026.
“Joy-Ann Reid effectively explores Medgar and Myrlie Evers as partners in love and in civil rights activism. What makes this book so interesting is that it really explores the two of them together, the love story that they had and the impact of their love story in Medgar’s work, but also the work that Myrlie takes up after Medgar is assassinated. We see them working as co-leads in civil rights and that’s not something we normally see, and that’s what makes this such a compelling book,” says Dr. Terrence Tucker, chair and professor in the University of Memphis Department of English and chair of the Hooks National Book Award committee.
“In the push for civil rights, we usually think about it in terms of anger or outrage, but Reid’s book brings love into the center of the civil rights movement … the love for people in addition to the love Medgar and Myrlie had for each other and their family. The power of their love led Medgar and Myrlie Evers to work tirelessly to make our country better.”
Evers was assassinated June 12, 1963 outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi.
“Joy-Ann Reid uses Medgar and Myrlie’s relationship as a lens through which to explore the on-the-ground work that went into winning basic rights for Black Americans, and the repercussions that still resonate today,” the publisher’s description continued.
The Hooks Institute’s National Book Award is presented to a non-fiction
book published in the calendar year that, through scholarly research, best furthers understanding of the American civil rights movement and its legacy. Finalists for the national book award were chosen from 47 books that were nominated for the 2024 award.
In addition to “Medger & Myrlie” the award finalists were:
• “Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America” by Aaron Robertson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• “From Rights to Lives: The Evolution of the Black Freedom Struggle” by Françoise Hamlin and Charles McKinney, Jr. (Vanderbilt University Press)
• “Survival is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde” by Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• “John Lewis: A Life” by David Greenberg” (Simon & Schuster).
President Calvin Anderson Editor
Stephanie R. Jones
Gov. Lee: Gang violence, crime constitute ‘grave emergency’ justifying deployment
Appeal challenges court’s authority, plaintiff’s standing — but not merits of case
By Lee Eric Smith TSD Contributing Writer
Perhaps the most striking part of Gov. Bill Lee’s request to overturn a judge’s ruling that the National Guard was unlawfully deployed to Memphis is what it doesn’t say.
Nowhere does the appeal address the central question raised in court — whether the governor can legally send troops into Memphis without a request from local officials or approval from the Tennessee Legislature.
Instead, Lee argues that Memphis’ crime problems qualify as a “grave emergency,” that the Guard remains necessary, and that a chancery court should not have the power to overrule a governor’s public-safety decisions.
“A single chancery-court judge cannot override the Governor’s mobilization of the National Guard without appellate review,” reads the opening line in the 28-page document filed with the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
“The court below issued an unprecedented injunction that substitutes its own judgment for the Commander in Chief’s,” the opening statement continues. “The separation-of-powers implications of that move alone justify intervention. And that’s to say nothing of the actual, on-the-ground harms if this Court doesn’t intervene.”
The lawsuit — filed in October by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr., State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, State Rep. Gabby Salinas, and others — argues that the governor bypassed every safeguard Tennessee law requires:
• Local leaders never requested troops.
• The legislature was never convened or asked to authorize the deployment.
• No rebellion or invasion exists.
• Civilian policing is not a permissible National Guard mission under state law.
In her Nov. 14 ruling, Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal agreed that plaintiffs are “substantially likely to prevail” and that the deployment is “unlawful.” But she paused the injunction for several days to allow Lee to appeal — a window the governor is now using to try to keep soldiers on Memphis streets.
Lee’s appeal leans heavily on a portrait of Memphis as a city in crisis — one facing a “grave emergency,” he argues, that fully justified mobilizing the Guard.
The filing cites Tenn. Code Ann. §58-1-106(a), a statute that allows the governor to mobilize the Guard “in case of riot, rout, tumult, breach of the
peace, or grave emergency.”
“The dire situation in Memphis — with the highest crime rate in the country — constitutes a grave emergency,” the appeal argues, adding that “endemic organized crime in Memphis acts as a combination to oppose the enforcement of law by force and violence.”
Throughout the filing, the governor’s lawyers cite violent crime data, gang activity and public-safety pressures as the basis for the emergency declaration. The document frames Memphis’ situation as “urgent,” “severe,” and “ongoing,” repeatedly emphasizing that the governor has a constitutional duty to respond.
FBI and federal databases, however, do not formally rank cities by crime rate, and such comparisons depend heavily on city-limit reporting and
methodology. Still, Lee’s appeal repeatedly uses the label “highest crime rate” to justify the Guard’s presence.
Moskal ruled that he misapplied the statute. Lee argues that Memphis fits that category.
“The Governor determined that a grave emergency exists in Memphis and Shelby County,” the appeal states, pointing to shootings, homicides and what it describes as “persistent gang-driven violence.”
Without the Guard, the state argues, “the emergency will deepen,” warning that removing troops “risks immediate and irreparable harm to the public.”
What the appeal doesn’t say
Lee’s appeal makes no defense on the merits of the case. It scarcely mentions the merits at all.
Rather than defending the way Lee deployed the Guard, the State’s filing seeks to erase the legal questions altogether.
Lee’s lawyers contend the governor has “exclusive” authority to declare an emergency and deploy the Guard without permission from local governments or the General Assembly — and that courts cannot “second-guess” that determination.
The appeal seeks to pause Moskal’s temporary injunction, which found that Lee is likely violating Tennessee law by deploying troops to patrol Memphis streets as part of President Trump’s Memphis Safe Task Force.
Moskal’s ruling cited more than 150 years of constitutional guardrails meant to prevent exactly this kind of military involvement in civilian policing.
If the Court of Appeals grants Lee’s
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a press conference in Memphis. Lee is appealing a lawsuit alleging that the National Guard was deployed to Memphis unlawfully.
Trevia Chatman President, Bank of America Memphis
A book full of commonsensical self-care tips for Black women
Book review
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
You’ve just about had it. Everything and everybody is on your last nerve, which marks the official end of any self-restraint you might have had. You’re out of patience, out of breath, out of any shred of willingness to give things more time. You’re out of cares. Nope, as of now, and in the new book “Bloom How You Must: A Black Woman’s Guide to Self-Care and Generational Healing” by Tara Pringle Jefferson, you’re taking care of you now.
All it took was a minor health crisis. With two kids, a freelance business and eighteen hour days, Tara Pringle Jefferson had been experiencing a lot of pain that she usually powered through — until she couldn’t anymore. Her doctor examined her, then told her to take the weekend off. Seriously, rest.
This made Jefferson think. For generations, Black women had made sure what needed doing was done. How did they cope under oppression, overwork, with few resources?
Looking into the lives of influential Black women in history, she discovered the secret: Self-care. Even Coretta Scott King took time away from Martin and the family, Jefferson says. Black women have a legacy of self-care that’s usually passed down from mother to daughter, and it’s up to each woman to make sure
she finds what makes her feel complete again.
Jefferson offers ways to get you started.
Physical Wellness reminds you to moisturize your skin, eat right, get enough sleep, and enjoy the body you have. Host a sister circle for Social Wellness. Find your own definition of success for Professional Wellness. “Do church” in a new way for Spiritual Wellness. Don’t let a need for Mental Wellness be stigmatized. Find your inner child, learn to play again to tap into your Creative Wellness. And know that you are a child of survivors who gave you strength but who also passed down intergenerational trauma, so be gentle and kind to yourself. Remember: you’re still rehabilitating.
As with most self-help books, “Bloom How You Must” is full of a lot of commonsensical things you probably already know. Also, as with most self-help books, it’s always nice to be reminded, with the info you need all in one place.
The best thing about this self-help book is that author Tara Pringle Jefferson focuses exclusively on the self-care and well-being of Black women. In doing so, she reaches into history to remind readers that the stress they’re experiencing today is a modern problem, but it’s also nothing new. The care she advocates, therefore, has tinges of ancestry, which is comfortable but can
also be surprising, in that she candidly discusses sex, relationships and changing the way readers approach their spiritual well-being. Readers who are open and willing to change for better health and happiness may be taken aback by that, but it’s undoubtedly also going to leave you thinking.
Men who are curious can absolutely read this book but it’s not for them — it’s purely for Black women who need help they can only get from inside. If that’s you, then find “Bloom How You Must.” Because you must have it.
304 pages
“Bloom How You Must: A Black Woman’s Guide to Self-Care and Generational Healing” by Tara Pringle Jefferson c.2025, Amistad $28.00
Memphis parents criticize proposed K-8 school merger due to safety concerns
By Bri Hatch Chalkbeat Tennessee
Parents at a Memphis elementary school are concerned about student safety in a proposed K-8 merger next year that comes as part of a larger district school closure plan.
In September, interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Roderick Richmond recommended the transfer of the Lucy Elementary building to neighboring Millington Municipal School District at the end of this school year, in order to comply with a 2023 state law and address chronic underenrollment. Richmond also recommended closing four MSCS schools, a proposal that board members are expected to vote on in February.
But children currently attending Lucy would likely not be able to transfer to Millington, because they are still zoned for MSCS. District leaders say merging students with Woodstock Middle School would fill empty classroom seats and offer new amenities, like a renovated gym.
Right now, only around 30% of seats at Lucy Elementary and Woodstock Middle School are in use. Combining the two schools would boost that figure to over 70%.
“We have 12 K-8 grade structures, so we understand exactly what we need to do to make sure we get it right for your babies,” said MSCS Regional Superintendent Debra Fox-Stanford at a Wednesday hearing.
But some parents aren’t sold on that idea. Jeffery Porter has a daughter in second grade. He said last year, an older student gave her a THC-infused gummy candy while on the bus ride home.
“She had to go to the hospital; it was bad,” Porter told Chalkbeat Tennessee. “And now, she could be riding the bus with eighth graders. That’s bigger kids, they’re close to being grown. We’re really worried about that.”
Porter said he will likely try to send his daughter to a different elementary school through the district’s open enrollment process. But MSCS leaders said Wednesday that the process opens for applications on Jan. 27, before the school board is set to vote on Lucy Elementary’s transfer. Offers are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Lucy Elementary needs $2.5 million in maintenance upgrades in the next two years, according to an independent
“I understand if [merging the schools] is the best they can do for now,. But I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have that young of kids around that big of kids. Bullying’s a big issue, and that’s just like setting it up.”
— Jeffery Porter
report released this spring. Stanford-Fox said transferring the building to Millington before the 2027 deadline
set by state lawmakers will allow MSCS to funnel that money more directly to Memphis students.
“The proposal to transfer the school to Millington early will keep the district from investing any additional funds into a building that they will no longer operate,” she said. “We can continue to make Woodstock Middle School even better.”
MSCS leaders said Wednesday that they don’t know yet if Woodstock would be able to offer prekindergarten classes, which Lucy Elementary currently does. As for the seven staff affected by Lucy’s transfer, which parents raised concerns about in the district’s first closure hearing, there will be a “special transfer period” to apply to work at Woodstock.
Audrey Williams, director of transportation for MSCS, said bus monitors can be assigned if issues arise from students from different grade spans mixing. But Porter said he’s not convinced that will solve everything, especially because those same safety issues come with cafeterias and hallways.
“I understand if [merging the schools] is the best they can do for now,” he said. “But I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have that young of kids around that big of kids. Bullying’s a big issue, and that’s just like setting it up.”
MSCS will host another community meeting about the proposed transfer of Lucy Elementary Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Woodstock Middle School.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
MSCS leaders have proposed merging Lucy Elementary School with Woodstock Middle to fill more empty seats. (Larry McCormack for Chalkbeat )
Students receive new shoes during holiday season through Soles4Souls and TVA partnership
TSD Newsroom
Students at Memphis College Preparatory Elementary School didn’t have to wait for Christmas morning to find out about one gift they would receive. Thanks to Soles4Souls and the Tennessee Valley Authority about 250 students went home with a brand new pair of sneakers 23 days ahead of the holiday. Soles4Souls, the Nashville-based global nonprofit that creates opportunity through shoes and clothing, partnered with the Tennessee Valley
Authority for a shoe distribution event for students at the school on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The Tennessee Valley Authority West Region provided a $25,000 grant to support 1,250 students receiving new shoes in Memphis and Shelby County during this school year. The grant supports Soles4Souls’ 4EveryKid program, which provides brand-new athletic shoes to students across the United States. While the program has in the past focused on children from families experiencing housing difficulties, all
of the approximately 250 K-5th-graders at Memphis College Prep received sneakers.
Soles4Souls and TVA staff and volunteers measured the children’s feet and provided shoes to all students in attendance. “Data from 4EveryKid school partners shows that proper-fitting footwear for children allows them to attend school, participate in sports and stay active, which can lead to a brighter future,” said Jamie Ellis, Soles4Souls’ vice president of strategic communications.
Lauren Keys, of MCP, said the school wanted all students to receive shoes so none will be stigmatized based on life circumstances. “We didn’t want to single anyone out,” Keys said. “Children do so much better when they fit in with other children.”
Plus, she added, “It’s one less thing for parents to have to worry about this holiday season,” Keys said.
Since 2006, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 112 million pairs of shoes and pieces of clothing in 139 countries.
Students at Memphis College Preparatory Elementary School received an early holiday surprise as Soles4Souls and the Tennessee Valley Authority teamed up to provide brand new athletic shoes to every K–5 student. With support from TVA’s $25,000 grant to the Soles4Souls 4EveryKid program, volunteers measured students’ feet and helped distribute nearly 250 pairs of sneakers — ensuring all children could head into the season with comfort, confidence and one less worry for their families. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender)
Genesis Parker, managing director of school for Memphis College Prep, and Tyree Daniels, executive chairman for Memphis College Prep, celebrate the successful shoe distribution event benefiting all K–5 students.
Amy Renfro of Bealls pitches in during the shoe distribution event at Memphis College Prep.
COMMUNITY
New Raleigh farmers market breaks ground
Development latest in makeover of troubled former mall site
By Lee Eric Smith TSD Contributing Writer
The long-discussed vision for a permanent farmers market in Raleigh moved a step closer to reality this week, as city and county officials joined community leaders to break ground on a new market and food-truck park at the Raleigh Municipal Complex.
The project, which will sit alongside the police precinct, library, lake, trails, and skate park already on the site, is being framed as both a neighborhood win and a model for citywide redevelopment.
Mayor Paul Young said the new market continues the transformation of the former Raleigh Springs Mall property into a civic anchor for the community, a change that has already helped attract new investment along the Austin Peay corridor.
“What was once a mall that had fallen into decline has returned to being a community hub,” Young said. “Since the city invested in this site, we’ve seen new businesses open and more people gathering here. This market is part of what’s next — more opportunity, more growth, more access.”
For years, Raleigh’s farmers market operated through volunteer efforts without a permanent structure. Deputy Housing and Community Development Division Director Felicia Harris said the new building will finally give the market stability and visibility.
“Residents can now access essential services without leaving their neighborhood,” Harris said. “Volunteers have held this together for years. This gives them the home they deserve.”
City Councilwoman Rhonda Logan, who represents the district and has pushed for the project across multiple administrations, said the market’s construction represents the fulfillment of
a long community-led effort to reclaim and reimagine the site.
“This is more than stalls and picnic tables. It’s a promise that Raleigh is worthy of investment,” Logan said.
“We earned this win. And this is just one phase of the broader vision for this space, a space that brings people together the way Raleigh Springs Mall once did.”
City planners say the market and food-truck park will complement the existing outdoor amphitheater and allow for festivals, cultural programming and small-business activity. Logan said she expects everything from concerts to themed food events.
“It’s an opportunity for creativity and community,” she said. “Whatever the neighborhood wants to do, this gives us the place to do it.”
The project has drawn support from a mix of leaders who helped develop
the early concepts, including faithbased organizations, nonprofit partners and neighborhood groups. Raleigh
CDC executive director Ronald Meredith traced the vision back to longtime community champion Apostle Sammy Holloway.
“We’re small in number but powerful,” Meredith said. “This will surprise people once it’s complete.”
Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell pointed to county funding for surrounding street improvements as an example of the multi-level commitment to Raleigh’s redevelopment.
“These partnerships are how we keep Raleigh moving forward,” he said.
The design team, led by DT Design Studio, incorporated input from farmers and vendors to ensure the space supports market operations as well as food-truck business. Project coordinator Demetrius Halliburton, a Raleigh
native, said the work is personal.
“I grew up here. I invest here. I care about this community,” he said. “It’s important to be part of something that brings Raleigh together again.”
Officials expect construction to take three to six months. Young said the market aligns with Memphis 3.0, the city’s long-range plan that prioritizes investments in community “anchors” — key gathering points in every neighborhood.
“This site is an anchor for Raleigh,” he said. “And we’re looking for opportunities like this in every community across the city.”
Logan said the market’s opening will mark not just a new amenity, but a reaffirmation of Raleigh’s identity and voice in the city’s future.
“Raleigh refuses to be overlooked or underestimated,” she said. “We’re building, growing, and winning together.”
Memphis and Shelby County officials joined community leaders Tuesday, Dec. 9, to break ground on development of a new farmers market and food-truck park on the site of the former Raleigh Springs Mall. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender)
COMMUNITY Cohen, LISC announce new home repair grant program for seniors
By Elbert Hubbard Jr. TSD Contributing Writer
Congressman Steve Cohen and leaders of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) announced on Dec. 8, that $3 million in federal grants have been secured to fund home repairs for low income seniors in Memphis.
LISC is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations aiming to assist communities with certain health and economic issues. The Memphis LISC prioritizes community revitalization and development.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants will fund the Critical Home Repairs for Seniors Program, through which seniors can apply for grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to use for home repairs.
Nigel Roberts, the program’s executive director, said these grants, which will benefit about 170 homes, will provide seniors peace of mind when it comes to home repair costs.
“Memphis faces an affordable housing crisis, particularly with our senior residents,” Roberts said. “Fourty percent of our houses were built before 1970. Many houses needed major repairs. Not only do we need to preserve these homes, but we need to protect the wellbeing of our neighborhoods. We need to empower our seniors to protect their most valuable asset, their home.”
Roberts said the goal is for Memphis senior residents to have a safe, repaired, and functional home, and for every citizen to have equal access to housing.
Cohen said there are two grants — one for $1 million and another for $2 million — to fund the program. He said affordable housing is important for senior citizens in Memphis along with safety and security in their homes.
“We have many seniors with an asset in their home,” he said. “They have
security problems and high energy bills.
If your house is not insulated well, air can escape and the energy bill can go up.
“My office, the LISC team, and the Housing Authority have been working with the Hospitality Hub and the Alpha Omega Veterans association and other organizations in order to get housing for seniors.”
Some seniors were skeptical about the program, including AJ Green, who attended the news conference. Green said he waited for three years for a roof repair through a similar program from Shelby County.
“I’m still waiting for winterization. They have not come here yet,” Green said. “The rep said in a few months they would get the money and start
repairing the houses.”
Yet, he said he plans to apply for the program, hoping that things will turn out different.
“I talked to the lady who is in charge, and she told me to call the hotline and she will let me know,” he said. “Its just like everything in Memphis. Everything is a waiting list with the county programs. The lady I talked to said to call and apply before the money runs out. I didn’t know much about this program until my cousin called me and told me to rush down here.”
Andre Matthews of the Chickasaw Nation of Memphis said while the money is good, it is not enough to support the houses seniors live in.
“It’s a good start, but we need triple that three million dollars,” Matthews said. “These houses are rotten on the inside with termites and pests. Then many of them got bad pipes running through them with lead, rust and fluo-
“Fourty percent of our houses were built before 1970. Many houses needed major repairs. Not only do we need to preserve these homes, but we need to protect the wellbeing of our neighborhoods. We need to empower our seniors to protect their most valuable asset, their home.”
— Nigel Roberts
ride. Even the pipes are 100 years old. It affects the health of the people.”
Cohen said seniors have many needs that this program can help resolve.
“Whether it is repairs that make their houses safer to prevent injuries, and for energy costs for seniors who want to stay in their home, this program helps to do that,” said Cohen.
He added that to prevent scams and safeguard applicants, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, which is partnering with LISC, will vet prospective contractors. “They have a great reputation for doing good work. They will see to it that they will get good contractors that do quality work.”
Roberts said although funds are limited, seniors should not be discouraged from applying.
“We wish we had $10 million,” he said. “We will use the $3 million to provide (assistance to) as many homeowners as we can. That $3 million can provide for about 170 homeowners. We really try to spread the money to help as many seniors as possible.”
Nigel Roberts, executive director of Local Initiatives Support Corp., explains details Tuesday, Dec. 9, of $3 million in federal funds allotted for senior citizens to repair their homes. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender)
Steve Cohen
■■ SPORTS
Memphis hires Charles Huff as football coach after one season at Southern Miss
Associated Press
Memphis has hired Charles Huff as football coach after his one season at Southern Miss.
Athletic director Ed Scott announced the hiring Monday with Huff replacing Ryan Silverfield, who left for Arkansas on Nov. 30.
“Early in our search process, Coach Huff quickly rose to the top of our list as a dynamic leader with a proven track record of building strong, competitive programs,” Scott said. “He brings a championship mindset, tremendous drive, and more than 20 years of experience working alongside some of the top coaches in college football.”
Huff went 7-5 with Southern Miss this season after taking over a program that went 1-11 in 2024. That was the program’s best regular-season record since 2019. The six-win turnaround was one of the biggest improvements in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season.
He takes over a program in Memphis that was ranked as high as No. 22 this season before three straight losses for an 8-4 finish. The Tigers are playing North Carolina State in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 19 in Tampa. Interim coach Reggie Howard will oversee the Tigers in the bowl game.
“The level of consistency the football program has had over the recent years is incredible,” Huff said of Memphis, thanking university officials for trusting him to lead the program. “To the city of Memphis and Tiger Nation, it’s time to STAND UP! To the players and administration, it’s go time!”
Southern Miss named Blake Ander-
Charles Huff, hired as Memphis’ new football coach, takes over the Tigers after leading Southern Miss to a 7-5 season in his lone year with the program. He replaces Ryan Silverfield, who left for Arkansas on Nov. 30. (Courtesy Mississippi State Athletics)
son as interim coach for the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23 against Western Kentucky.
Huff went 32-30 at Marshall between 2021 and 2024, capped by a win in the 2024 Sun Belt Conference championship game. Huff coached Marshall to a bowl in each of his four seasons, and he notched wins over then-No. 8 Notre Dame in 2022 and Virginia Tech in 2023.
He worked for Nick Saban at Alabama in 2019 and 2020 as associate head coach and running backs coach working with Najee Harris. He was at Mississippi State in 2018 and coached Saquon Barkley during the coach’s stint at Penn State between 2014 and 2017. Huff was at Western Michigan in 2013, the NFL’s Buffalo Bills in 2012, Vanderbilt with coach James Franklin in 2011, his alma mater Hampton in 2010, Maryland in 2009 and started his career at Tennessee State in 2006.
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