Week of: September 10, 2026, 2026
The latest from tsdmemphis.com
New ‘Aunties Unfiltered’ podcast mixes politics with wit and warmth — Page 3 NEWS
SPORTS
GLORIA STEINEM, FREEDOM AWARD HONOREE, DIES AT 92
HBCU GO’S CURTIS SYMONDS ON THE SOUTHERN HERITAGE CLASSIC — AND THE BUSINESS OF BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS
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Volume 75, Issue 36
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TRI-STATE DEFENDER
Data center moratorium moves forward; long-term solutions offered By James Coleman
tsdmemphis.com President Calvin Anderson
Editor Stephanie R. Jones
Published by The Tri-State Defender POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Tri-State Defender, 1509 Madison Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104. GENERAL INFORMATION: Inquiries may be submitted in writing or by calling (901) 523-1818 or by email. TELEPHONE: (901) 523-1818. The Tri-State Defender (USPS 780-220) is published weekly. The Tri-State Defender 1509 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN, 38104. Second-class postage paid in Memphis, TN. The Tri-State Defender is a member of The National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Tennessee Press Association. All materials covered by copyright. No materials herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher. (901) 523-1818 | 1509 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38104 ••• $60 Annually/$5 Monthly Digital subscriptions are available online at tsdmemphis.com
Week of: September 10, 2026
TSD Contributing Writer
Memphis City Council members kicked off a larger discussion on data centers as a temporary moratorium on the resource-hungry tech facilities continued its advance last week. A pair of competing ordinances outlining the long-term regulation of data centers were added to the consent agenda before the council’s Tuesday, Sept. 1, meeting. The ordinance proposals passed 10-0. Concerns over the data centers have risen with the rapid expansion of the SpaceXAI (formerly xAI) Colossus I and II supercomputer in South Memphis and nearby Southhaven, Miss. A first vote on the moratorium was held during the Aug. 25 committee meetings. If a third and final vote passes, the introduction of new data centers in Memphis will be halted in their tracks for the immediate future. However, the ordinance doesn’t forbid further expansion at existing facilities. A moratorium will buy the council and city leaders time to craft an enduring solution. Councilman Philip Spinosa’s proposal attempts to strike a balance between laying the groundwork for a quickly emerging industry and shielding the public good. The ordinance would ask the city to create a digital infrastructure district, along with a “strategic large-load development” to handle future property and energy demands. Data centers would be held to enforceable, predictable standards through a “source-neutral” operating system. The facilities are currently largely unregulated. Locally, one of the biggest worries over data centers is water consumption. In that respect, the SpaceXAI doesn’t disappoint. Combined, its two locations pour through roughly one million
gallons a day. When fully online, the volume is expected to climb to three million gallons. In fact, some estimates put the number at five million. The water currently is drawn from the Memphis aquifer. The pitch calls for a “low-potable water” development standard to protect the region’s main water source. This boils down to a set of rules that require non-drinking water be used to minimize the impact on fresh supply. Construction on a planned grey water treatment facility to cool SpaceXAI’s GPUs stalled in early April. Of the two ordinances, Spinosa’s represents the more business-friendly proposal. The add-on to the consent
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agenda was quickly followed by Councilman Jeff Warren’s proposal. During previous discussions, Warren has been a reliable critic of data centers. He has also aggressively pushed for the facilities to provide for their own resource needs through zero emissions technology and waterless cooling systems. His proposal mirrors the earlier suggestions. The ordinance would prohibit the use of potable water for “routine evaporative and water cooling,” in favor of “closed loop water circulation systems.” The “progressive” use of renewable energy is also included. This would be obligated by a scheduled phase-out of carbon-based sources of energy.
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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New ‘Aunties Unfiltered’ podcast mixes politics with wit and warmth By Brianna Smith-Herman TSD Contributing Writer
Three influential voices in Memphis politics, communications and civic engagement have joined forces for a new podcast focused on the issues shaping the city’s future. Co-hosts Deidre Malone, Gale Jones Carson and TaJuan Stout Mitchell, who bring decades of experience in government service, political strategy and civic leadership, developed their weekly podcast, “Aunties Unfiltered,” for indepth conversations about politics, public policy and culture. The show examines developments across Tennessee and the nation, spotlighting how government decisions made at the state and federal levels affect local communities. “We’ve spent our careers helping people understand politics and public affairs behind the scenes,” said Malone, president and CEO of The Carter Malone Group public relations firm. “‘Aunties Unfiltered’ gives us the opportunity to have the conversations people are already having around their kitchen tables with honesty, experience and a little laughter along the way.” Jones Carson, president of the Memphis Urban League, said the podcast goes beyond the daily news cycle to analyze current events. “People are hungry for conversations that move beyond the headlines,” Jones Carson said. “We want listeners to hear different perspectives, challenge assumptions and leave each episode better informed about the issues affecting their communities.” Mitchell, a former Memphis City Council chair and Memphis school board chair, said another goal is to make government more accessible and Week of: September 10, 2026
Arrielle Gipson Martin and Kristy Sullivan, on the couch, get a tickle during a taping of “Aunties Unfiltered,” where co-hosts TaJuan Stout Mitchell, Deidre Malone and Gale Jones Carson often inject comic relief while tackling serious topics. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) ON THE COVER: “Aunties Unfiltered” podcast co-hosts, from left, TaJuan Stout Mitchell, Deidre Malone and Gale Jones Carson dissect the effects of governmental decisions on local communities.
engaging for the audience. “Our goal is to make politics and public policy approachable,” Mitchell said. “Whether we’re talking about Memphis neighborhoods, the Tennessee legislature or what’s happening in Washington, D.C., we want people to understand why these issues matter and how they can make a difference.” Upcoming topics for “Aunties Unfiltered” include the mid-term elections,
government accountability, public education, economic development, healthcare, social justice issues, civic engagement and cultural trends. The show will also feature elected officials, community leaders, policy experts and other changemakers as guests to discuss issues affecting Memphis and communities across the country. Ramon Johnson and Patrick Malone
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produce the podcast, which is part of The Carter Malone Network. New episodes of “Aunties Unfiltered” are available on The Carter Malone Network’s YouTube channel and major podcast platforms. For more Memphis news and community stories, visit www.tsdmemphis. com and follow the Tri-State Defender on YouTube. TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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Gloria Steinem, defining symbol of women’s movement, advocate for equality, Freedom Award honoree, dies at 92 By Jocelyn Noveck Associated Press
NEW YORK — Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author and activist who became the most visible symbol of the U.S. women’s movement and remained a fierce and eloquent advocate for equality for six decades, has died. She was 92. With her trademark streaked hair and large aviator glasses, Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. Magazine, was a hugely recognizable presence wherever she went. And she went everywhere: Much of her life as an advocate was spent on the road, speaking at college campuses and community centers, at rallies and marches. “You can’t do it on the phone or on the web,” she told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. “You have to be there with all five senses. It should be obvious that people can’t empathize with each other unless we’re in the same room.” Steinem, who had been in declining health, died Wednesday, Sept. 2, at her home in New York City, according to a post on her social media page. She had recently completed a memoir, to be released this fall. “Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the post said. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves.” Though Steinem had recently become more frail physically, her wit and humor remained totally intact, said
Week of: September 10, 2026
her friend and fellow activist, Abigail Disney, who visited Steinem’s Manhattan home recently as those close to her gathered by her side. “Everything Gloria did was rooted in kindness,” Disney said. “It flowed through her political activism.” Steinam was the recipient of the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award in 2019. The museum said in a statement Thursday, that Steinam’s “relentless pursuit of equality transformed the women’s rights movement and broadened our nation’s understanding of freedom and justice.” “For more than half a century, Steinem challenged the systems and assumptions that limited the lives and opportunities of women and girls. Her advocacy recognized the interconnected struggles against sexism, racism, and other injustices,” the statement continued.
Steinem changed her career path after a start as a journalist Gloria Marie Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio. Her father was a traveling antique salesperson; she spent her early years on the road with her parents, not attending regular school. “I just read everything I could get my hands on,” she told an audience at Manhattan’s 92NY earlier this year. She began her career as a journalist, notably reporting in 1963 on degrading conditions in Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire — an undercover assignment she came to later regret. She credits a meeting six years later, where women
Gloria Steinem speaking with supporters at the Women Together Arizona Summit at Carpenters Local Union in Phoenix, Arizona in 2016.
“For more than half a century, Steinem challenged the systems and assumptions that limited the lives and opportunities of women and girls. Her advocacy recognized the interconnected struggles against sexism, racism, and other injustices.” — National Civil Rights Museum spoke out in favor of abortion rights, with changing her career path. “That speak-out was the beginning of activism for me,” Steinem, who had undergone a secret illegal abortion at age 22, told the AP in an email in 2022, reflecting on the reversal of Roe v. Wade. “Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we’re not living in a democracy.” Steinem founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 along with Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug. Unlike her friend Abzug, however, Steinem was not comfortable in front of a crowd. Gradually, with her early speaking partner Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a Black feminist and child welfare advocate, she found her footing. The two formed a powerful partnership at a time when feminism was viewed as largely a white, middle-class movement. In an iconic photo, the two raise their right arms together in the Black Power salute.
Memphian carries the torch Memphian Deidre Malone, current president of the National Women’s Political Caucus, issued a statement
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Thursday on Steinam’s passing. “In 1971, Gloria stood alongside a small group of visionary women to build an organization dedicated to getting women of every party, every background, into the rooms where decisions are made,” Malone said. “More than 55 years later, that mission still drives everything we do.” She added that Steinam’s connection to the organization never faded. “She joined us for one of our Candid Conversations, sharing her wisdom and experience with a new generation of NWPC members, and we were honored to be planning an event with her for this coming November.” Steinam’s influence went far beyond any single organization, Malone said. “She gave language to a movement, she gave courage to generations of women who followed her, and she never stopped showing up for the work, even in her final years.”
Steinem’s visibility endured throughout her life Well into her 80s, Steinem was traveling the globe and speaking out on issues of importance to her. These included everything from genital
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ NEWS price; even into her older years, Steinem expressed frustration that despite her accomplishments, she was often described as beautiful or glamorous. A 1992 Vanity Fair profile even noted her “spectacular racehorse legs.” “Nobody ever called me beautiful until I was publicly a feminist, and that was in my mid-30s,” she told AP in a 2011 interview. “It was clear that label was being assigned to me. The most hurtful part is that you work very hard, and people say it’s because of your looks.”
Gloria Steinem was the center of attention at the 2019 Freedom Awards Gala at The Orpheum. (Warren Roseborough/Tri-State Defender)
mutilation to Korean reconciliation, but it was equality for women that took precedence. “Being a feminist means that you see
Week of: September 10, 2026
the world as whole instead of half,” she once said. “It shouldn’t need a name, and one day it won’t.” The constant visibility came with a
Steinem dealt with hostility from many directions Appearing on Larry King’s talk show on CNN in 1990, she was visibly stunned when a female caller greeted her cheerfully, then told her to “rot in hell” because she had ruined “the beautiful American family.” But by then, she noted, at least people were taking feminists seriously. That wasn’t the case in 1972 when she co-founded Ms. Magazine and many commentators — especially male — dismissed it as ridiculous, predicting an early demise. The magazine continues to this day, published by the Feminist Majority Foundation. Steinem never had children, and said
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she never regretted it. “No, not for a millisecond,” she told the AP. “It’s important that some of us not have children, to show that we have a choice.” In 2000, Steinem did something she’d never planned to: She got married, at 66, to British activist and businessman David Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale. The elder Bale died in 2003.
She was a galvanizing speaker, even in her later years On Jan. 21, 2017, when hundreds of thousands of women gathered in Washington in their pink “pussy hats” for the historic Women’s March, it surprised nobody that the keynote speaker, and the most rousing, was Steinem. “We are linked,” she told the crowd. “And this is a day that will change us forever because we are together.” Though many saw her as a singular figure in history, she liked to say that if she hadn’t come along, someone else would have accomplished the same things. By the same token, she said, it was less important that younger people listen to her, and more important that they listen to themselves. “The primary thing is not that they know who I am,” she said, “but that they know who THEY are.”
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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City council restores MATA board with new appointments By James Coleman
TSD Contributing Writer
The Memphis Area Transit Authority board of commissioners is once again fully seated, after the Memphis City Council approved appointments of seven new members during its Tuesday, Sept. 1, meeting. But MATA remains without a permanent CEO or leadership team. A two-person executive trusteeship still controls the public transit system under a transportation trust established by the city in early September 2025. MATA trustee and interim CEO Rodrick Holmes, a partner at law firm Holmes Peters, is responsible for daily operations. Holmes works alongside Walter Person, the city’s chief financial officer, who serves as the financial oversight trustee for MATA’s $32 million budget. The nine-member transit policy board had been operating without a quorum for the past year after five commissioners resigned in late August 2025 when the city declined to hire a new CEO. Mayor Paul Young said the new board appointments mark the initial phase of an eventual transition to a permanent executive management team. “As you all know, the MATA board has been somewhat in flux. There hasn’t been a quorum for quite some time now. MATA as an organization is going to continue to be under this trustee relationship,” said Young. “We all know at a certain point in time we have to move toward bringing in a CEO and reestablishing the structure of MATA. So this is one step in moving in that direction.” MATA’s interim leadership team has received a rare dose of praise following Week of: September 10, 2026
“We all know at a certain point in time we have to move toward bringing in a CEO and reestablishing the structure of MATA. So this is one step in moving in that direction.” — Mayor Paul Young a recent operations update presented to the council that touted a slate of improvements to the beleaguered transit system. Ridership has increased and wait times have decreased, thanks to the integration of modern buses to augment an aging fleet set to be fully replaced. And new bus stop shelters and signage have been installed to restore information on bus routes and improve rider experience. The new board members bring diverse areas of expertise to MATA. William Mallory IV is a fifth-generation member of the Mallory family, owners of The Mallory Group, a 100-year-old logistics and supply chain company. Sharon Harris, vice president of human resources at AnovoRx Holdings, also serves on the LeMoyne-Owen College board of trustees. Willie Gregory is currently senior director of global community impact at Nike. Young also tapped Dr. Gwen Sutton, president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology Memphis, for her expertise in workforce training and development. Tate Wilson, an attorney and CEO of the Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation, brings a philanthropic point of view to the board. Independent living specialist and transit advocate Allison Donald was also selected.
Antwoine Clark, employment development manager at Binghamton Development Corp., was recruited by Young to join the board. Clark is the founder and executive director of the South Side Wildcats, a faith-based youth development organization. “A lot of young people are engaged through his youth sports program. It’s a really remarkable sight to see,” said Young about Clark. Council members also approved the reappointment of Brandon Arrindell, principal and portfolio manager at Southeastern Asset Management, a Memphis-based investment management firm. Arrindell is one of two holdovers from the previous board. The other, Maya Siggers, associate general counsel at Edward Jones, is serving her current term set to expire June 30, 2027. MATA transports riders in Memphis and parts of Shelby County on fixedroute buses, paratransit vehicles and trolleys, covering 280 square miles for 5 million passenger trips annually, according to its website. As interim CEO, Holmes is credited with making significant improvements to the transit system in a single year. His track record has bolstered support for him among some council members, who would like him to retain control of the new board. An earlier interim team of outside consultants made decisions that echoed past mistakes, such as purchasing used buses from other cities to replace the
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aging fleet. The used buses were more prone to breakdowns and required more maintenance. A July 2025 forensic audit ordered by Young revealed years of financial mismanagement and professional misconduct. MATA had no formal budgeting process, and its spending had gone unchecked, contributing to a $60 million budget shortfall. And the transit agency’s funds had been misappropriated for lavish purchases and perks such as catered suites at Memphis Grizzlies games. One council member fears a new board could disrupt current progress. “I asked the mayor just to hold off,” said Yolanda Cooper-Sutton. “What good is a board moving forward right now — to make sure that all ducks are in a row?” Young defended his decision to move forward with board appointments. “I’ve been in the weeds with this on a regular basis and I know that the system is far better than what we all inherited a couple of years ago,” he said. “We want to make sure that we continue to move in the right direction, and I believe that these people have the ability to help us do that.” But Cooper-Sutton disagreed. “You said that the last time and look where we ended up,” she said. Still, the majority of council members supports the appointments, including transportation committee chair Edmond Ford Jr. “This board can be hired, fired — whatever — if they don’t do the job,” Ford said. “We are going to keep it together. We are not going backwards. We are going forwards. We’ve got a lot more things to do.” TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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Tennessee TCAP testing time to increase in 2027 due to new, unscored writing test Melissa Brown Chalkbeat
The amount of time Tennessee students spend taking state standardized tests next spring will increase significantly due to an additional writing test that won’t actually be scored. Tennessee is adding an unscored field test writing subpart to the English Language Arts section of the 2027 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. It will increase total test time by more than an hour for older children and 40 minutes for lower grades. Field testing is not unusual in standardized testing. Testing companies and administrators often use unscored prompts or questions as trials to determine their efficacy before using them on scored exams. Tennessee previously administered writing field tests at other times of the school year. But some Tennessee teachers say they are concerned about adding a significant block of testing at the beginning of an already high-stake testing window next spring. “I feel powerless at times because we see what these weeks of testing do to the kids,” said Chantel Kluemper, a middle school English teacher in Knox County. “The teachers really care about the kids. It’s not that we just don’t want to do tests. It’s that this couple of weeks is draining, and it’s hard to bolster motivation for kids.” A Tennessee Department of Education spokesperson confirmed the state will add the writing field test during the 2027 TCAP and high school end-ofcourse exams. “The state has always and will continue to field test items as a necessary component of constructing a
Week of: September 10, 2026
“I feel powerless at times because we see what these weeks of testing do to the kids. The teachers really care about the kids. It’s not that we just don’t want to do tests. It’s that this couple of weeks is draining, and it’s hard to bolster motivation for kids.” — Chantel Kluemper
that district-led formative and summative assessments do. “I don’t feel teachers feel good about this because it’s just more, more, more,” Kluemper said. “We don’t get information from TCAP that I think is genuinely beneficial and specific for us to know how we can do better, how we can teach that standard better.”
valid, reliable test,” TDOE Director of Media Amanda Chin said. “We made small adjustments to the testing calendar to give schools more flexibility.” For grades 6 and above, this means an additional 85 minutes in ELA testing. That brings the total ELA testing time for higher grades to 315 minutes. Grades 4 and 5 will have an additional 80 minutes of testing time with the new field test. Grade 3, which faces the high-stakes reading retention law, will now have six separate subparts in the ELA test with the additional 40-minute writing field test. Third graders will now take three separate writing subparts, all 40 minutes, in addition to three additional reading-focused subparts. In total, third graders will have 220 minutes of ELA testing next spring. Tennessee requires schools administer the TCAP within a specific testing window, and the state has established a standalone writing testing window from April 7 to 14. A second testing window, for the remainder of the ELA portion and other TCAP subjects, is slated for April 19 through May 6. Kluemper said she believes standardized testing can be very beneficial for educators, particularly with assessments that provide real-time benchmarks to track student progress and
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
tweak teaching strategies to directly align with what is working and what isn’t. The TCAP scoring formula doesn’t provide individualized feedback for teachers, Kluemper said, in the way
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TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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Orange Mound land trust breaks ground on first home and unconventional ownership model ABODE aims to make homeownership affordable now and for the next generation of buyers By Lee Eric Smith
TSD Contributing Writer
The family that eventually buys the new house planned for 1390 Marechalneil St. — part of the city’s new home affordability program — will own the home. But they will not own the land where it will one day stand. That distinction is at the heart of ABODE, the Orange Mound Community Land Trust led by the Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development, and what city officials hope will become a new way to create homeownership in a historic Black neighborhood without pricing out future generations. City officials, residents and development partners broke ground Sept. 8 on ABODE’s first demonstration home, a three-bedroom, two-bath house built on a vacant lot where another family once lived for several decades. “Just last week, I met a young lady whose family’s home stood here on this ground, generation after generation,” said Felicia Harris, deputy director of programs for the city’s housing department. “That’s really what this effort is about — to make sure that for future years to come, we have generation after generation that will be able to live here and grow their families here.” A neighborhood built on Black ownership Orange Mound was established about five miles southeast of downtown Memphis in the late 19th century as a community where Black families could purchase land, build homes and create institutions of their own. More than a century later, city leaders say ABODE is intended to preserve that legacy while helping the neighborhood attract new housing and investment. Week of: September 10, 2026
City officials, residents and developers broke ground Tuesday, Sept. 8, on the site of an Orange Mound Community Land Trust project designed to create homeownership in a historic Black neighborhood without pricing out future generations. (Lee Eric Smith/Tri-State Defender)
“Ownership is key,” said Rasheedah Jones, a member of the land trust advisory committee. “And in Orange Mound, that means something. This is a community with a history rooted in Black ownership.” Jones said that ownership helped create household wealth, along with the identity and strength of Orange Mound
itself. City officials are using the land trust to prevent new investments from causing rapid displacement and driving up property values and rental rates to levels that could displace current residents who would no longer be able to afford to live in Orange Mound. “We all want to see investment in our
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neighborhoods,” Jones said. “We want vacant lots put back into productive use. We want quality housing. We want stronger commercial corridors and amenities. “But investment should create opportunity for the people who are already connected to these communities.” Owning the house, not the land TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ NEWS Rendering of an Orange Mound Community Land Trust home
The central idea behind ABODE is relatively simple, even if the legal structure behind it is not. A buyer would purchase the house by qualifying for a mortgage, buying the residential structure and then building equity over time without owning or having a claim to the land, which remains with the land trust. ABODE uses a shared-equity ownership model, according to Harris, the housing department’s deputy director, which gives the homeowner a portion of the home’s appreciation when it is sold while resale restrictions such as owner-occupancy requirements and income limits for future buyers are intended to keep the property affordable for the next qualifying buyer. “So even if a person were to sell five or 10 years from now, they will take with them part of the equity,” Harris said. “Part of the equity will stay with the home … so that we can guarantee that it will be affordable for future generations to come.” Building wealth without losing affordability During the groundbreaking ceremony, city officials connected the project to the creation of generational wealth. The first homeowner gets the benefits of ownership – stability, equity and the opportunity to pass wealth forward – while a portion of the value of the public investment remains when the home is resold at unrestricted market prices. City council member Jana Swearengen-Washington said the model is Week of: September 10, 2026
intended to preserve both sides of that equation. “It gives families a chance to own a quality home at an affordable price,” Swearengen-Washington said. “It preserves the affordability for the next family. It allows us to grow without pushing people out who made Orange Mound special.” ABODE was established in early 2023 by the city with a $400,000 grant from Living Cities, a national community development foundation, to purchase 12 parcels of land. The demonstration home will be built on one parcel, while the remaining 11 sites are expected to be offered through a public solicitation for additional affordable homes. More properties could be added to the trust over time, city officials said. The Marechalneil home will be the first and serve as the model. Plans call for a single-story house with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, including one ADA-compliant bathroom. The design includes front and rear porches, an optional accessible entrance ramp, energy-efficient appliances, high-performance insulation and windows, water-saving fixtures, and adherence to MLGW EcoBUILD standards for 30% less energy usage compared with standard homes. Jimmie Tucker, co-founder of Memphis-based Self+Tucker Architects, said his firm designed the house to fit Orange Mound rather than simply dropping a generic affordable-housing prototype onto the lot.
“We didn’t want to have a home that could just be designed and fit anywhere,” Tucker said. “It was important that this house and these other 11 homes all are very fitting for the Orange Mound community.” For homebuilder Carlos Fifer, president and CEO of Fifer & Associates, the project is personal. “We grew up a couple of blocks away from this location,” Fifer said. “So this is near and dear to our hearts to see our community grow, to see the opportunity of affordable homes, something new, something fresh in this area.” Affordability in a changing market The median price for homes sold in Memphis is about $202,000 for the three months ending in July, according to Redfin, up 2.5% for the same period a year earlier. But Orange Mound remains far less expensive. Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, reported a neighborhood median sale price of about $75,000 at $62 per square foot over the same period, though these figures are based on few sales and do not reflect the cost of newly built housing. Real estate listings offer another view. In June, Realtor.com reported a median asking price of $114,000 at $103 per square foot in Orange Mound, up more than 14% from a year earlier. Median rent stood at $1,162 a month. The mix of inexpensive older housing, rising asking prices and new investments is part of what makes Orange Mound a test case for the city. A new, energy-efficient house such as the ABODE demonstration home is not directly comparable to the neighborhood’s older housing stock. At roughly 1,430 heated square feet, Orange Mound’s current $103 price per square foot would put the value of a similar house at roughly $147,000. New construction could command considerably more. The challenge for Memphis is how to encourage reinvestment without losing the affordability that has historically made neighborhoods such as Orange Mound accessible to working families. Housing as a Memphis growth strategy
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Mayor Paul Young tied the project to his administration’s broader goal of adding 10,000 housing units in the city’s core by 2030. “One of the things that we’ve seen has been population loss in our community,” Young said. “And part of the reason that we’ve lost population is not because people were scared. It was because they couldn’t find the housing product they want right here in the heart of our community.” Adding quality housing can help stabilize Memphis’ population and strengthen neighborhoods, Young said. But he also acknowledged the other side of reinvestment. “As we think about investment coming back to our neighborhoods and the fears of gentrification, this is one of the tools that helps us prevent that and make sure that residents are able to stay here,” Young said. He also said concentrated redevelopment can have an impact beyond the homes themselves, encouraging nearby owners to improve their properties and drawing development to other vacant parcels. “We think that this is going to be a catalyst for more activity in this community,” Young said. From one vacant lot to 11 more homes The city’s housing department expects to issue a request for proposals in the coming weeks for development of the remaining 11 ABODE properties, Harris said. At least one is expected to be reserved for an emerging developer. The city also plans to hold a community meeting later this fall to share more details about the land trust. For Orange Mound resident Lilli Jackson, however, the significance of Tuesday’s groundbreaking was less about housing policy than about who gets to remain part of the neighborhood. “The Orange Mound Community Land Trust allows us to be good stewards and grow our neighborhoods without pushing people out,” Jackson said. “This is our neighborhood, our history, our future. And today we are building that future together.” TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
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HBCU GO’s Curtis Symonds on the Southern Heritage Classic — and the business of Black college sports The veteran media executive talks national exposure, empty seats, NIL, alumni investment By Lee Eric Smith
TSD Contributing Writer
When Curtis Symonds looks at the Southern Heritage Classic, he sees considerably more than a football game: He sees a model. Long before Symonds became president and co-founder of the digital streaming platform HBCU GO, he knew Southern Heritage Classic founder Fred Jones Jr. Their relationship stretches back more than 30 years, to Symonds’ days as an executive at BET, when he helped bring Black college football, including the Classic, to national television. Now the two are working together again. HBCU GO will broadcast Saturday’s 37th Southern Heritage Classic featuring Alcorn State University and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. And on Friday, Symonds will serve as special guest speaker for the Classic Coaches Luncheon at the Renasant Convention Center. But ask Symonds about the Classic and the conversation quickly gets bigger — not because he leaves the subject, but because, in his view, the Classic sits inside a larger question facing historically Black colleges and universities: How do HBCUs turn the enormous cultural power of Black college sports
Week of: September 10, 2026
into greater visibility, revenue and longterm institutional strength? Symonds talked with the Tri-State Defender this week about his long history with Jones, HBCU GO’s expanding reach, why television alone cannot fill stadiums, the financial disparities surrounding NIL and why HBCUs need to think differently about the business of athletics. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. TSD: Your relationship with the Southern Heritage Classic goes back much further than HBCU GO, correct? Curtis Symonds: I’ve known Fred Jones Jr. for over 30 years now. I helped him with the Classic years and years back when I was senior vice president of affiliate sales and marketing with BET. I think people underestimate Fred. Fred does the majority of this Classic by himself. He doesn’t have a big army like many others who do bowl games on the PWI (predominately white institution) side, where they have 20 or 30 people working for them. Fred is basically a one-man shop with a few people to help him out. So to grow this thing over 35-plus years is a credit to him. I was big on bringing Classics to BET. Fred was one of those. You had the Tennessee State-Jackson State game, and it became an annual game and a
hotbed. I was the first one to put the Southern Heritage Classic on national television with BET, and that helped get more people aware. Then I left BET, and he went the ESPN route. When I sold my HBCU GO channel to (media mogul) Byron Allen, I called Fred for a meeting and said, “Hey man, we need to work together. Let’s get the Classic on HBCU GO.” TSD: What does HBCU GO bring to the Classic now that wasn’t there before? Symonds: The way Allen Media Group has built this is that we have the game on our syndicated package on Saturday. So we’re reaching 99% of television households. In a local market, you don’t only get the game on HBCU GO. You might get it on a CBS channel, a CW channel or another station in that market that bought the rights to our game. That gives you added distribution. And then you’re talking about Amazon Prime, Roku and others. You’ve got a nice distribution package out there where people can now see more of the Southern Heritage Classic. TSD: College football has seen enormous growth in media-rights revenue. Why hasn’t more of that money found its way to HBCUs? Symonds: No one has been doing a big marketing job of getting the word out. People like yourself end up writing
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Curtis Symonds
about it, and more and more people begin hearing about it. But we’re not doing a bang-up job around the country driving the visibility of HBCU sports. Look at how ESPN promotes PWI games. You hear about a Saturday game on Monday. They’re telling people, “We’ve got this player and that player. Watch us at 12 o’clock, and we’ve got this game right behind it.” If you’re a sports nut, you’re right there. In the old days of ESPN, they were covering HBCU sports, but you never knew about it. You had to flip around channels and go, “Oh, by the way, this HBCU game is on ESPN.” We have a lot of people who are sports nuts, but we don’t have enough people out here telling the story hard enough. TSD: But there’s another part of TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ SPORTS this. You’ve been pretty outspoken about HBCU fans actually coming inside the stadium. Symonds: I keep saying, let’s talk about why we are not getting more people in the stadiums. I’m giving you national television. I’m putting you in 99% of television households and more than 90% of Black households. Come on, help me out a little bit. Show off. What happens in the HBCU circle is you might have 10,000 to 15,000 people outside tailgating who don’t even come into the stadium. They’d rather party outside than come into the game. Older alumni will support because the university means something to them. But this new generation doesn’t necessarily have that same mindset. TSD: Doesn’t television sometimes create that tension? If I can watch the game from home, why buy a ticket? Symonds: Eddie Robinson taught me something about that years ago. When I first came to BET in 1988, the great Eddie Robinson was still coaching Grambling. We rolled our trucks into Louisiana for a home game, and he would not let us on the football field. He said, “Oh no, you can’t show the game on television.” He thought television was going to hurt the number of people in the seats. It took me a long time to convince people: “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to add to it if you work with me.” If you build a destination event like Fred has done with the Southern Heritage Classic, people are going to come because they want to experience the atmosphere. They see it on television and say, “Oh, man. I need to come to Memphis.” Even if their team isn’t playing. TSD: And that seems particularly relevant to the Southern Heritage Classic because Fred Jones has built so much around the game itself. Symonds: That’s the beauty of it. Years ago, there was a big Classic in Indianapolis — the Circle City Classic. They brought all kinds of different teams in, so it didn’t matter who played. People wanted to come for the culture. And that’s what Fred has done with the Southern Heritage Classic. He’s Week of: September 10, 2026
built it to the point where he has a following. People know it. That’s what we have to do more of — tell the story of everything that’s happening around these events nationally, not wait until Saturday for people to find out. TSD: You’ve said before that HBCU GO wants to capture more than what’s happening inside the sidelines. Symonds: I’ve got a new theme I’m getting my people behind: “HBCU GO: The culture is calling.” When we say “culture” in our community, people usually mean Black culture. I’m talking specifically about HBCU culture — tailgates, fraternities, sororities, lifestyle, the whole nine yards. We want people to get more in depth with what’s happening inside the culture at an HBCU. That’s what I’m trying to drive. TSD: So when we talk about getting more people into the stadium, there’s also the perception that the best football is somewhere else — Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, the major PWI programs. Is that still part of the problem? Symonds: It’s a mindset. And the other thing I keep preaching to presidents at HBCUs is that you’ve got to improve your facilities. In today’s world, you can’t have a top-notch recruit walk into Prairie View’s weight room, then go over to the University of Houston and see twice the equipment. That recruit is looking at that and thinking, “No, no, no.” A lot of athletes think, “If I go to an HBCU, I can’t get to the league. If I go here, I have a much better shot.” That isn’t necessarily true, but that’s the perception. TSD: That gets us to name, image and likeness. What is the untold story of HBCU athletes and NIL? Symonds: The untold story is that the universities don’t have the money like PWIs. They don’t have the big-time sponsors behind them. Michigan puts more than 100,000 people in the stadium every game. Multiply that by what people are paying for tickets. That’s a lot of money.
At the PWIs, athletics is the flatout moneymaker. Football at most of those big schools drives revenue for the entire athletic program. At an HBCU, athletics historically hasn’t been seen the same way. It’s more, “OK, we have sports.” Now the whole game is money. If you want to grow, you’ve got to drive the money. Our alumni, in some cases, are in positions where they could help, but they don’t put money into athletics on the scale you see elsewhere. And NIL has exposed that difference. TSD: You also connect the money problem to alumni giving. Symonds: Absolutely. I’m a Central State guy. I tell our alumni: If all of us put in $5 a month, we could build a decent endowment over a few years. Five dollars a month. That’s like going to get a beer. If everybody put it in and let it grow, it would be a great way to show appreciation for the university that helped you do something. And athletics is the same way. If people came back and really put a couple of dollars into the school, then you could improve facilities. You could attract better athletes. You could move the needle. TSD: Can sports — particularly football at Division I HBCUs — actually help change the financial picture for these institutions? Symonds: I think you’ve got to build relationships over time to do that. It isn’t something where you wave a wand and suddenly the picture changes. The other problem at a lot of HBCUs is they don’t have somebody to manage that business side and get it going. They put it all on the coach or the athletic director. Well, they’re swamped trying to run the program. They’re trying to get to practice at 4 o’clock. You need somebody whose job is building those relationships. TSD: Right. Your coach and athletic director understand athletes and X’s and O’s. They may not necessarily be the first people you want walking into a corporate boardroom trying to build a multimillion-dollar relationship.
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Symonds: Exactly. You hit it right there. And the thing schools don’t always understand is that a person like that could basically pay for themselves — if you invested in them. That’s all. Invest in them. TSD: You’ve said HBCUs have to start looking at athletics more like a business. But what are they ultimately selling? Symonds: There’s nothing like an HBCU education. You are molded into somebody. I grew up at Central State University. My mother worked there for 40 years teaching physical education and dance. My dad worked in maintenance for 50 years. I was a physical education major. I followed my mom’s footsteps, but I’ve never taught a day in my life. I got into marketing and have been in it ever since. And I tell kids all the time: If I can make it into some of the biggest media halls of fame in this business as a guy with a physical education degree, that should tell you something. You can get there. But what’s your motivation to get there? You are molded into somebody. That’s what an HBCU can do. The problem is we don’t tell young people that story early enough. TSD: Which brings us back to something like the Southern Heritage Classic. It’s football, but Fred Jones has always positioned it as something larger — education, culture, entertainment, community. Is that part of why the model works? Symonds: Absolutely. That’s why you build a destination. It isn’t just who wins the football game. It’s the atmosphere. It’s the entertainment. It’s the culture. It’s people seeing themselves on television. It’s somebody sitting at home watching and saying, “I didn’t know all of this was going on.” That’s what Fred has built. And that’s what we have to keep telling people. You give people a reason to come — and then when they come, you give them something they want to come back to. TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ NEWS
Lonnie Bunch to retire from Smithsonian leadership following clash with Trump administration By Meg Kinnard and Gary Fields Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution following a tumultuous year in which President Donald Trump tried to remake the portrayal of U.S. history by the Smithsonian museums and other cultural entities. Bunch said in a news release Tuesday that he was departing the position he had held since 2019 “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The Smithsonian said he would leave the post at the end of the year. Bunch’s departure comes two months after a White House report branded the leaders of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, an indication that Trump could be preparing to install his own team. Anthea M. Hartig, the first female director of that museum, faced growing scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer after the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report saying the museum’s leadership doesn’t tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.” Three weeks after the report’s release, Trump ordered his administration to install signs in front of the U.S. history museum telling visitors that some Week of: September 10, 2026
of the exhibits are inaccurate. Hartig pushed back, telling lawmakers during congressional hearings that the report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.” There had been speculation that firings were in the offing. Trump doesn’t have the power to fire leaders at the Smithsonian with the swiftness he’s managed at other top cultural institutions in Washington, most notably the Kennedy Center, where a board of his supporters named him chairman. The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and so-called citizen regents. Roberts, who serves as Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a release that Bunch had “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.” The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The announcement has left questions about some Smithsonian programming. Bunch is scheduled to speak Sept. 25 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at an event entitled: “Understanding America: 10 Years of Excellence.” The museum did not immediately respond to a question about how Bunch’s
retirement might impact the event. The Smithsonian has been under examination by the Trump administration since 2025 as it has focused on the images and messages presented to the public as the nation approached its 250th anniversary. A March 2025 executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, led to signs being changed at federal parks, exhibits being altered or in some cases removed, and military bases being renamed. Trump specifically cited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and argued that the Smithsonian as a whole was engaging in a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.” Several months later, the White House ordered a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibitions before the country’s 250th birthday, with a goal of aligning the institution’s content with Trump’s interpretation of American history. In a letter sent to Bunch at the time, the White House detailed the steps it expected the organization to take as part of the announced review. The examination is of all public-facing content, including social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals,” according to the letter. That review initially focused on eight museums — the National Muse-
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Lonnie Bunch is stepping down after a challenging year where President Donald Trump has been pushing to reshape how U.S. history is portrayed, affecting entities like the Smithsonian. (Wikimedia)
um of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. California Democrat, Sen. Alex Padilla praised Bunch in a statement for not shying away from the nation’s history. “In the face of Donald Trump’s attacks on the Smithsonian, Secretary Bunch spoke truth to power and reasserted his commitment to defend and uphold American history and values. While I respect his decision to depart, the job now falls to the Board of Regents and Congress to ensure the success of his work will remain for generations to come.” Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and can be reached at http://x.com/ MegKinnardAP TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ NEWS Cassandra Wilson, Grammy Awardwinning jazz singer from Mississippi, has died By Maria Sherman Associated Press
NEW YORK — Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer has died. She was 70. Dubbed America’s best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Wilson was best known for her genre-bending voice, which expanded the boundaries of traditional blues-based jazz and worked effortlessly across folk, pop, R&B, country and beyond. At the heart of all her work was her idiosyncratic contralto, a soulful sound distinctly tied to her roots. As Jon Batiste put it in a eulogy on Wednesday, Wilson sounded like the South. She died in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning, Sept. 1, the Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist. Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” said a statement from her manager to jazz radio station WBGO.
From Jackson to the world Born and raised in Jackson to musician Herman B. Fowlkes and teacher Mary Fowlkes, Wilson showed an early love of music listening to Motown, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. At 6, she started piano lessons. She Week of: September 10, 2026
played clarinet in marching bands. She performed at coffeehouses and in cover bands while studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was placed in her Jackson neighborhood in 2010. In the early ‘80s, she mentored under jazz greats in New Orleans before moving to New York City and joining Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective — eventually becoming its main vocalist. Her instantly recognizable voice earned her four Grammy nominations and two wins for best jazz vocal album. Those were in 1997 for “New Moon Daughter” and 2009 for “Loverly.” In 2015, it was Wilson who gave a special concert at the famed Apollo Theater to commemorate the 100th birthday of blues singer Billie Holiday, the legendary American jazz vocalist who died in New York City at age 44. That same year, Wilson released her last album, “Coming Forth by Day,” an homage to Holiday. In 2022, Wilson was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the highest honors awarded to jazz musicians in the United States.
Tributes pour in “She had an unmistakable vocal tone, phrasing and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me,” Batiste said in his tribute to Wilson on Instagram. “Her Mississippi heritage was always present in everything no matter how
At the heart of all Cassandra Wilson’s work was her idiosyncratic contralto, a soulful sound distinctly tied to her roots. The Mississippi native died Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.
Cassandra Wilson received a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Jackson in 2010.
expansive her artistry evolved,” he wrote in the caption of a clip showing them together on Brazilian TV in 2009. “She was one of the first people to take me on tour around the world, the great Cassandra Wilson.” Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city “has lost an extraordinary native daughter, and the world has lost a sin-
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gular musical voice.” “Cassandra Wilson carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi with her wherever her music reached,” said the mayor’s statement, shared with WJTV. “Her work had rare depth of character and a profound understanding of how music moves people, tells stories and connects generations.” TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com
■■ ENTERTAINMENT
Kids Books for Almost-Fall by various authors and illustrators c.2026, various publishers $19.99 each various page counts
Fall kids’ reading: Four new picture books for indoor time Book review By Terri Schlichenmeyer Pretty soon, you’ll want to add another blanket to your bed at night. You’ll want a jacket or sweater when you go outside, and your shoes won’t be sandals. Fall is coming, and you’ll be staying indoors a little bit more, which means you’ll have time to read and these books are great for your fall … Have you had a good summer? Some people have — but some kids are sad this fall. In the new book “Love Lives On” by Dorena Williamson, illustrated by Ana Latese (Magination Press, $19.99), Will’s family has experienced a tragedy and it’s pretty scary.
Week of: September 10, 2026
How the adults around him react, dealing with loss and gun violence, grief and healing are at the heart of this book. Beware of that before you hand it to a sensitive child. But if your 4-to-7year-old needs a book like this, here’s a helpful story for you all. Determination. That’s what you want for your child, and “Better Than a Touchdown” by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, illustrated by Nneka Myers (Flamingo Books, $19.99) will get your child in the right direction. When Jalen arrives for his first day of school, his friends break the bad news to him: There won’t be any school football this year. What? Jalen was sure that this year, the perfect touchdown was
within his grasp. He tried other activities, but nothing compared to football. Then he thought of an idea that just might work. Was it possible, with teamwork, to have a football season of their own? Your 3-to-7-year-old will want to find out. So your child is a little bit different. Big deal. In “Simply Winnie” by supermodel Winnie Harlow, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud (Penguin Workshop, $19.99), that difference is actually a benefit. Winnie is an artist, a painter, a designer, a glam-girl, and she’s fabulous! But Winnie doesn’t fit in sometimes, and she hates looking like everybody else. Even her new best friend likes to go along with the crowd. Winnie
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wonders which is better: to be like other kids or to just be Winnie? How can a one-of-a-kind girl be true to her one-in-a-million self? Kids ages 3-to-7 will love this book, especially if they’re uniquely beautiful, too. And finally, for the kid who wants a story with meaning and lots of pictures, look for “Black Hands: Builders of Our Nation” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Crown, $19.99). Black history isn’t just a one month a year thing, as this book shows. Its powerful but spare narrative is great for quiet times, and the words are such that you can read them every day. For your 2-to-5-year-olds, they’ll sink in quickly.
TRI-STATE DEFENDER | tsdmemphis.com