Week of: January 8, 2026
The latest from tsdmemphis.com
Grizzlies edge Spurs 106-105 to snap fourgame skid — Page 8 ENTERTAINMENT
BEYONCÉ JOINS SHORT LIST OF AFRICAN AMERICANS TO REACH BILLIONAIRE STATUS — Page 6 Volume 75, Issue 2
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■■ NEWS
TRI-STATE DEFENDER
tsdmemphis.com President Calvin Anderson
Editor Stephanie R. Jones
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Week of: January 8, 2026
Mayor Harris names Jerri Green interim chief public defender TSD Newswire Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced in a news release Tuesday, Jan. 6, he will appoint Jerri Green as the interim Shelby County Chief Public Defender. Green will begin her transition into the role on January 12, 2026. Green has been with Shelby County Government since 2021 and currently serves as deputy chief of staff for the Office of the Mayor. Green received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003. Following law school graduation, she served as a public defender in Davidson County. Green has represented clients in General Sessions and state court, as well as in juvenile court, since 2006. She worked in the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office from 2009 to 2010. She will replace Phyllis Aluko who is set to retire at the end of this month. Since rejoining the Mayor’s Office, Green has taken on major justice reforms like codifying the elimination of excessive use of solitary confinement for adults and juveniles in Shelby County, creating a website for justice-involved residents to find jobs, supporting the staffing of all police precincts with youth counselors, and addressing the proliferation of guns in Shelby County by starting the nation’s first free gun lock by mail program run by a local government, the news release from Harris’s office stated. In 2024, Green has served on the Memphis City Council since 20024. She is also running to be the Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor.
“Jerri Green has dedicated most of her career to helping the indigent, vulnerable, and youth of Shelby County. She brings not only legal expertise, but a lifelong commitment to equity, accountability, and ensuring that every person has a meaningful voice in our justice system. In my office she’s worked to reduce recidivism through common sense programming, like job initiatives,” Harris stated in the new release. “Now, she can bring that innovative approach to the Public Defender’s Office.”
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Memphis City Council member Jerri Green is shown in council chambers in Memphis, Tenn., on July 14, 2025. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, that Green will be appointed interim Shelby County chief public defender. (D’Angel Connell/TriState Defender)
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ PERSPECTIVE
Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn reflects on 5 years since Jan. 6 and the fight for accountability By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
On the fifth anniversary of January 6, a date now fixed in the American conscience, former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn returned to the moment that altered his life and the nation’s course. Appearing on “Let It Be Known,” Dunn spoke about the unforgettable day that’s shaped by time, pain and resolve, revisiting what he has called the worst day of his life. Dunn joined the United States Capitol Police in 2008 and has served as a private first class since 2011. His career placed him on duty for presidential inaugurations, joint sessions of Congress, State of the Union addresses, and hundreds of peaceful protests. As a crisis intervention officer on the USCP Crisis Negotiation Team, he was trained for hostage situations, barricades and mental health emergencies. None of that training, he said, prepared him for January 6, 2021. “I lived the worst day of my life on national TV,” Dunn said. Five years later, Dunn said something he had not always been able to say. “I’ve healed from that trauma,” he said, referring to his personal wounds from that day. The healing, which he made clear, did not mean forgetting. Dunn said it is possible to recover personally while remaining troubled by what continues to unfold in the country. “As we look around at the things that are going on,” he said, “it’s hard to be okay with everything. If you’re okay right now, I feel like you’re kind of like a callous soul.” Dunn said he remains focused on what he can change and where his voice still matters. January 6, he noted, made him known to much of the world, but it did not define the limits of his responsibility. Week of: January 8, 2026
Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington. Dunn, who served on Jan. 6, 2021, has since spoken nationally about his experiences during the attack and his fight for accountability. (NNPA Newswire)
Accountability, or apparent lack of it, ran through the conversation. Dunn spoke as civil lawsuits continue against President Donald Trump and as Trump has pardoned those convicted for their roles in the attack. Dunn said he was not surprised, adding that Trump had promised those pardons openly. “I knew it was coming,” Dunn said. “So, I had time to prepare.” Preparation meant action. Dunn said he worked as a surrogate for former Vice President Kamala Harris during the Harris–Walz campaign, trying to stop Trump’s return to office. When that effort failed, he said the pain was not sudden. It was familiar. “The wounds were already there,” Dunn said. “I just had time to brace for it.” Dunn rejected calls to move on from January 6, saying the record remains unsettled. “History bends toward distortion when accountability is denied,” he said. “A hundred years from now, somebody
is going to read about January 6 and read that he was elected again and ask, ‘How could that happen?’” He said Americans do not need explanation to understand what occurred inside and around the Capitol. “You don’t need a talking head,” Dunn said. “Just press play. Put it on mute. Watch.” Dunn recalled how rioters filmed themselves, how juries later watched those same videos in court, and how the attackers felt emboldened. He said they told officers repeatedly that the president had sent them. “They were telling us, ‘The president said we could,’” Dunn said. He addressed comparisons often drawn between January 6 and Black Lives Matter protests. Dunn said Black Lives Matter demonstrators came to the Capitol, protested, shouted, and left. “They didn’t storm the Capitol,” he said. “Every single person went home that night. I can’t say the same thing
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about January 6.” Dunn spoke of officers who died and of others who later took their own lives. He said attempts to equate the events ignore those losses. The conversation turned to the present, with Dunn saying January 6 laid groundwork for what he sees now, from threats against other nations to the erosion of democratic norms. He said Americans were warned in advance. “He told us what he was going to do,” Dunn said. “And when he did it, people acted surprised.” The cost, he said, remains deeply personal. Dunn described election night as feeling like a knife through his heart, saying it was difficult to accept that many voters returned to power a man he holds responsible for one of the darkest days in U.S. history. Dunn said he continues to receive hateful messages and death threats, including in recent weeks. He said he takes precautions, leans on his community, and keeps showing up. “That means I’m doing something right,” he said. Dunn also discussed his New York Times bestselling memoir, “Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th,” which he said was part of his healing. “Where does it end?” Dunn said. “The story is still being written. You can add to it, but you can’t take away from it.” He said he now speaks across the country about resilience, rejecting easy assurances. “I don’t know if it’s going to be okay,” Dunn said. “But I do know if we don’t fight, if we don’t show up, they’re going to steamroll us.” He paused, then offered what he could promise. “If we show up,” Dunn said, “we give ourselves a fighting chance.” TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ NEWS
USPS honors Phillis Wheatley, first published African-American poet, with 49th Black Heritage Stamp TSD Newswire The U.S. Postal Service is honoring Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first author of African descent in the American Colonies to publish a book, with the 49th stamp in the Black Heritage series. The Phillis Wheatley Black Heritage stamp will be issued on Jan. 29. A firstday-of-issue event for the stamp will be held at the Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St., Boston, Mass, the organizing location for the Boston Tea Party revolution. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #BlackHeritageStamp. Born in West Africa and brought to Boston on a slave ship, Phillis Wheat-
Week of: January 8, 2026
ley was enslaved but educated in the Wheatley household. Wheatley published her first collection, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” in 1773. This collection showcased her impressive mastery of various poetic forms, including hymns, elegies and narrative verse, securing her place in history. Freed from slavery that same year, she went on to correspond with figures such as George Washington, who praised her poetic talent. Wheatley’s legacy continues to inspire generations, earning her the title “the mother of African American literature.” Before the Civil War, abolitionists used her accomplishments to affirm the intellectual capability of
people of African descent and argue against slavery. Today, schools, libraries, community centers and university buildings across the country have been named for Wheatley, and she has been the subject of numerous inspirational books for children. In 2003, a statue of the poet was included in a new Boston Women’s Memorial. The first fulllength scholarly biography of Wheatley was published in 2011, with a second biographical study published in 2023, part of an ongoing effort to recognize her resilience in adversity. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using an existing portrait by Kerry James Marshall.
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Caption: The U.S. Postal Service’s 49th Black Heritage stamp honors Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), the first African American author to publish a book, recognizing her lasting influence on American literature and culture. (Photo Credit: USPS)
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
GIVE BLOOD You have the power to transform a life. Join Vitalant and the National Civil Rights Museum for the MLK Spirit of Service Blood Drive on Martin Luther King Junior Day, January 19, 2026. Click here to make an appointment to donate blood and be a part of something bigger than yourself.
Week of: January 8, 2026
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TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ ENTERTAINMENT
Beyoncé joins short list of African Americans to reach billionaire status By Stacy M. Brown
transformed global fame into ownership stakes that surpassed album sales. Michael Jordan turned athletic dominance into long-term equity. In each case, the turning point was not applause, but control. Beyoncé’s wealth also arrives during a period when conversations about Black economic power are growing sharper. Black households continue to hold a fraction of the wealth of White households, and Black entrepreneurs remain more likely to be denied loans or charged higher interest rates. Against that reality, the visibility of Black billionaires carries weight, even
NNPA Newswire
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has joined the small and closely watched group of Black American billionaires, a milestone that places her alongside a handful of individuals who built vast wealth in a country where Black ownership has long been restricted, delayed or denied. According to Forbes, Beyoncé is now worth at least $1 billion, making her one of only a few artists and Black women in the United States to do so through entertainment, business control and ownership. She joins her husband, Jay-Z, who became hip hop’s first billionaire in 2019, as well as a short list that includes Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and a limited number of others whose fortunes stand out precisely because they remain so uncommon. Black billionaires remain an exception in America. Forbes has reported that fewer than 20 Black individuals worldwide have reached billionaire status, despite Black Americans playing an essential role in building the nation’s economy. The gap between contribution and compensation continues to be shaped by segregation, discriminatory lending, exclusion from ownership and financial systems that consistently placed barriers in front of Black ambition. Beyoncé’s rise into this space did not arrive through novelty or chance. It came through structure. Over time, she moved beyond performing within the industry to controlling it. Her company, Parkwood Entertainment, became the center of her creative and financial decisions, allowing her to retain ownership of her music, manage her tours
Week of: January 8, 2026
as it highlights how rare such outcomes remain. There is no suggestion that one fortune corrects generations of imbalance. But there is meaning in documentation. Beyoncé’s entry into the billionaire class records what happens when talent is paired with ownership in a system that rarely allows both. It shows what becomes possible when the work, the image and the profits remain under the same roof. Beyoncé has spoken sparingly about wealth, choosing instead to talk about control and protection. “No amount of money is worth my peace,” she said.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Wikipedia Commons)
and oversee production. That control proved decisive. In 2023, her “Renaissance” tour traveled to 39 cities and included 56 shows, drawing more than 2.7 million people and generating more than $500 million in revenue. The scale was historic, but the economics mattered just as much. Producing and managing the tour largely in-house allowed Beyoncé to capture profits that artists once surrendered to labels, promoters and intermediaries. The concerts were visible. The ownership was quieter. That approach mirrors the path taken by other Black billionaires whose wealth came from insisting on possession rather than permission. Jay-Z expanded from music into business by retaining equity and investing early. Oprah Winfrey built a media empire by controlling her platform. Rihanna
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TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ ENTERTAINMENT
Books for Mental Healt by various authors
c.2025, various publishers $29.99 - $34.95 various page counts
Open your mind to these book about mental health Book review Terri Schlichenmeyer For months, your brain has been full. Full of holidaying and end-of-yearing and remembering all the things that needed done by the new month. Full of gifts and celebrations and news and weather reports. Now, maybe it’s time to see what else goes on inside your cranium with these great new books about mental health. If you struggle to know what’s truth these days and what’s not, then “The Gaslit Brain: Protect Your Brain from the Lies of Bullying, Gaslighting, and Institutional Complicity” by Jennifer Fraser, Ph.D. (Prometheus Books, $34.95) might be the book you need. Using stories to show, not tell, Fraser helps readers put themselves
Week of: January 8, 2026
in situations, so they can learn how to identify a gaslighter. She then looks at the personality traits of someone who gaslights before teaching readers how to deal with the person who tries to lie to you. This is an especially helpful book for anyone who relies on the truth, and accepts nothing less. Worldwide strife is on everyone’s mind these days, and “Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain” by Nicolas Wright (St. Martin’s Press, $30.00) is a science-based book that will help you understand long-term ramifications of conflict. It takes you from wars and warriors throughout history, to modern warfare and why it might seem like the world is constantly at battle. This is not just a book for warriors on the field, though. Wright says that we are wired to do battle — whether
it’s overseas, in your neighborhood, or sitting at your workstation. You’ll be fascinated by this book. So how do you know what you know? Is it because someone else knows it? Do they know that you know? Ach, so confusing, so relax your mind a little and read “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows … Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life” by Steven Pinker (Scribner, $30.00), and it’ll all make sense. In this book, you’ll see how “common knowledge” is uncommonly necessary for human society, and how we naturally slip right into using it — until we don’t, and then all kinds of bad things can happen. This is a book that may boggle your mind sometimes but it’ll also open your eyes to how our society works.
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If this is all enough to keep you awake at night, well, then you need “Nightmare Obscura: A Dream Engineer’s Guide Through the Sleeping Mind” by Michelle Carr (Henry Holt & Company, $29.99). Your alarm goes off, you’re wide awake, but what do you remember about your dreams? Carr says that you can learn to “harness” the dreams you have for better mental health, including problem-solving, and you can learn to avoid those bad, troubling dreams that ruin your rest — and the rest of your day. Not enough reading for your mental health? Then ask a librarian or bookseller for more, and they’ll usher you to a section filled with self-help. Grab these four great books and others, then open your mind with good information and fill it up.
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
Grizzlies edge Spurs 106-105 to snap fourgame skid
■■ SPORTS
By Clay Bailey
Associated Press
Cam Spencer scored 21 points, including five in the final 1:26, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat San Antonio 106-105 on Tuesday night, offsetting 30 points by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama in his return after a two-game absence. Spencer’s 10-foot baseline jumper with 36.5 seconds left were the final points. San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox took a 15 footer with 5 second left but was blocked by Memphis’ Santi Aldama, and the Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak. Jaren Jackson Jr. also had 21 points for Memphis, and Jock Landale finished with 19 points. Spencer had eight rebounds and eight assists. Wembanyama’s 30 points led the Spurs while Julian Champagnie finished with 23. Stephon Castle had 15 points before fouling out with 3:13 left. Wembanyama, who played 21 minutes, was 10 of 20 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from outside the arc. Memphis led 101-100 with 2:44 left when Fox, who started 1 of 13 from the field, was in the midst of six straight points, taking the San Antonio lead to 104-101 with 1:39 to play. But Spencer’s late burst gave Memphis the victory. After a poor first half, Memphis opened the third on a 20-7 run to erase San Antonio’s 11-point lead. Wembanyama had 12 in the period and Memphis held an 82-81 advantage into the final quarter. The first half was rather sloppy with both teams making less than a third of their shots until late in the second frame. Memphis had 13 turnovers as the Grizzlies struggled to generate any offense. Week of: January 8, 2026
Grizzlies Santi Aldama scores.
Christian Koloko of the Grizzlies goes in for the slam.
Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s tallest player, scores for the San Antonio Spurs. (Photos: Warren Roseborough/The Tri-State Defender) ON THE COVER: Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Grizzlies (left) blocks the shot of Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs.
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TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ COMMUNITY
The Memphis school board election looks different this year. Here’s why it matters. By Bri Hatch Chalkbeat
Memphis voters will choose an all-new school board this year in an unprecedented mega-election that comes as state lawmakers push to dilute the power of the locally elected board. For the first time, the 2026 ballot will include candidates for all nine Memphis-Shelby County school board seats. And those vying for the open positions will also compete in a partisan primary in May. These changes are part of what some state and local officials say is a plan to increase voter turnout and school board accountability. But others argue the moves are unconstitutional and retaliatory. The MSCS board filed a lawsuit in December against the local election commission to stop it from holding races for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. Those races would cut short five members’ terms, a move the lawsuit calls “legislative punishment masquerading as election reform.” Memphis school board members have faced heavy backlash from some parents and community leaders, in addition to government officials, since voting to fire former Superintendent Marie Feagins last January. Some say the 2026 election changes are a reaction to that decision. But there’s much more at stake, including school closures and a new superintendent hire. And in the midst of the district’s upheaval, the board’s own authority could be usurped by the state in the coming months. Here are four reasons why the 2026 board election is so important.
For some, it’s a long-awaited reckoning for Marie Feagins’ ouster During months of back-and-forth votes from the county commission, some MSCS parents and community members testified that the school board needed to be held accountable for abruptly firing Feagins, who they say was making good progress. Board members have said the mega-election is retaliation for that decision. Four of the five members who will lose two years of their elected terms voted to oust the former superintendent. Others say Feagins is a factor in the election up-
Week of: January 8, 2026
heaval, but not the driving force. “The firing of Feagins is a symptom of the problem, but it was not the only problem, and it wasn’t necessarily the triggering problem,” said Luke Cymbal, vice president of the Shelby County Democrats. Cymbal said it’s more about low literacy and high absenteeism rates in the district, academic underperformance issues that have long plagued the district. Mauricio Calvo, a former MSCS board member and director of Latino Memphis, said Feagins’ firing sparked a lot of anger in some parents. “People were really upset, but they didn’t care enough to go and vote last year,” he said. “Suddenly they’re like, ‘I want to recall board members; they should be fired,’ and that’s not a thing.” Rep. Torrey Harris, a Democrat from Memphis, has already filed a bill that would allow voters to recall local elected officials — including school board members — in the upcoming legislative session.
Significant state intervention could be coming Two Republican Tennessee lawmakers, Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, say they will revisit an effort to establish a state-appointed board of managers in MSCS. If White and House GOP leaders get their way, the board would have significant decision-making authority, diluting the power of the elected school board. The results of an independent financial audit of the district, also pushed forward by state lawmakers last year, are expected to come out in 2026. An early report should be released at the beginning of the year, White said in December. While Taylor’s Senate bill last year established an oversight body with limited authority over district decisions, White and other House leaders are adamant the group needs voting authority on major school board decisions like budget creation and large purchases. Local Republican leaders are hopeful that support for a takeover could propel some conservative candidates to win MSCS board seats. Regardless, debates about how best to work with the state on MSCS issues will likely play a major role in the 2026 elections. MSCS leadership decisions are coming MSCS is due for a new superintendent at the end of
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July. Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said he wants the permanent role, but it’s unclear if the MSCS board will conduct a formal search. The last superintendent search took over a year and stalled multiple times because of board infighting. Board members kicked off an informal review of Richmond’s 10-month performance in November. They’re expected to discuss results from anonymous staff surveys and give their input in January. Meanwhile, Feagins’ lawsuit against MSCS in which she seeks to be reinstated as the district’s top leader is still ongoing. She also recently announced a bid for the 2026 Shelby County mayoral race.
School closures and building upgrades are on the way In February, the current MSCS board is set to vote on a proposed list of four school closures and the transfer of one elementary school to a neighboring district starting next year. Up to 10 more schools could be closed by 2028, according to a long-term facilities plan released in December. The new plan didn’t name which schools will be suggested for closure in the next few years. But it did say most recommendations will be concentrated in the Northwest and Southwest districts, where chronic underenrollment and facility conditions are at their worst. In town halls this fall, parents raised concerns about teacher relocation and student safety, especially at schools that could merge students from different grade levels. But the long-term plan suggests leaning even more on K-8 or 6-12 schools. The next school board will be in charge of approving the 2027 and 2028 closures and directing the first wave of needed building upgrades and repairs. That includes securing funding, such as asking the Shelby County commission for a $750 million bond for the next 10 years. Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat. org. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com