The New Tri-State Defender - January 26-February 1, 2023

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VOL. 72, No. 4

January 26 - February 1, 2023

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With a few days of early voting to go, Justin Pearson waves to passersby outside the voting precinct at Riverside M.B.C. on South Third.

(Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/ The New Tri-State Defender)

In a runaway, Justin Pearson snares District 86 victory

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As attorney Antonio Romanucci described the beating of her son, RowVaughn Wells was moved to tears and comforted by attorney Benjamin Crump and (behind her, left) her husband, Rodney Wells. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/ The New Tri-State Defender)

Pain and anger fuel calls for action and change

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Criminal justice and local elected officials urged patience this week as they investigated the fatal bludgeoning of Tyre D. Nichols, 29, during a Jan. 7 encounter with police officers near his Hickory Hill home.

During a news conference Wednesday (Jan. 25), Kevin G. Ritz, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said, “I would like to share with the community what I told

Mr. Nichols’ family. What I said was that the Department of Justice cares deeply about potential violations of constitutional rights here in Memphis and throughout America.

“I told them we have opened a criminal civil rights investigation. I told them this criminal civil rights investigation will be thorough.

It will be methodical. And will continue until we gather all the relevant facts. As with any other federal investigation, we will go where the facts take us.”

Ritz added, “I want this community to hear

that message, as well. As I told Mr. Nichols’ family, our federal investigation may take some time. These things often do. But we will be diligent, and we will make decisions based on the facts and the law…”

Ritz’s statement mirrored the comments from Memphis City Council members toward the end of that body’s regular meeting Tuesday (Jan. 24).

During the meeting’s public comments seg-

SEE ACTION ON PAGE 3

Family’s resolve to get ‘Justice For Tyre’ strengthened after viewing video footage

by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanakku@tsdmemphis.com

“What did I do?”

That’s what Tyre D. Nichols is heard saying on video that shows the savage beating he took from Memphis Police Department officers on Jan. 7, said Benjamin Crump, the attorney that Nichols’ family hired as they seek justice for his death three days later.

“That was his question,” said Crump, who opened a press conference/rally for Nichols at Mount Olive Cathedral C.M.E. Church at 538 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. on Monday afternoon. The gathering followed soon after viewing video footage at Memphis City Hall.

Specifically assuring community activ-

ists that “we will see what they did to Tyre,” Crump said the Nichols’ family had received assurances from the office of the Shelby County District Attorney and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation “that all the video they got” would be released within one to two weeks.

“They just want to make sure that they can give this family what they want most and that is justice.”

Five Memphis Police Department officers were fired on Friday for their part in what Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said was “the tragic death of Mr. Tyre Nichols.” Fired were now-former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills

SEE TYRE ON PAGE 3

Tyre D. Nichols’ parents -- Rodney Wells and RowVaughn Wells -- at the emotion-filled press conference at Mt. Olive C.M.E. Church after they viewed video footage of the police beating that led to his death. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Voters in Tennessee House of Representatives District 86 Tuesday overwhelmingly chose a new generation of leadership over a veteran politician.

Environmental activist Justin Pearson trounced nine opponents, including lawyer and former Shelby County Commissioner Julian Bolton, garnering 52.3 percent of the votes cast in a special election primary to replace the late Barbara Cooper.

Cooper, who died in October, held the seat for 26 years. Despite her death, she was re-elected posthumously in the Nov. 8 general election.

Bolton, who served on the County Commission for 24 years, finished a distant second with 289 (12.2 percent) votes.

The district stretches along the west side of Memphis and Shelby County from northwest Shelby County to the state line.

At Pearson’s election headquarters, the watch party began long before a winner was declared.

Supporters convened at Campbell’s Business Center with an air of expectancy.

“I am grateful for the trust District 86 residents have placed in me to serve our community as state representative in the Tennessee House,” Pearson said in a statement released later.

“I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors and the great Representative Barbara Cooper, who served ... with integrity and strength for 24 years. I hope to continue her legacy of servant leadership...”

Cooper, 93, was first elected to the state House in 1996.

“We were confident of victory,” said Daphne Thomas, communications director for the campaign.

“This was not just another political campaign. Justin Pearson’s

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SEE 86 ON PAGE 3

The New Tri-State Defender

January 26 - February 1, 2023

Page 2

NEWS

Bill would curb ‘implicit bias’ training in Tennessee schools, universities

by Marta W. Aldrich Chalkbeat Tennessee

Tennessee public schools and universities would not be allowed to require employees to take “implicit bias” training under legislation filed by two state lawmakers.

The legislation also would apply to employees of Tennessee’s education department and state Board of Education.

Currently, it’s up to local school districts, charter schools, and the state to set personnel policies that may or may not include implicit bias training for their employees. Such training is designed to increase self-awareness around subconscious prejudices and stereotypes that may affect how individuals see and treat people of another race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background.

A significant amount of research in education says that such biases may contribute to racial disparities, such as differences in student achievement, learning opportunities, and school discipline between Black and white students. But it’s less clear whether training about implicit bias actually changes behaviors.

The Tennessee bill comes

about two years after the state became one of the nation’s first to enact a law limiting how race and gender can be discussed in the classroom, including conversations about systemic racism. Last year, the GOP-controlled legislature passed another law that could lead to a statewide ban of certain school library books, some of which deal with matters of race and gender.

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga, who is co-sponsoring the bill with fellow Republican Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville, said the measure is needed to protect school employees from policies that could lead to disciplinary action or firing. He cited the case of a Texas nurse who said she was fired by a hospital last year for refusing to take a mandatory course that she said was “grounded in the idea that I’m racist because I’m white.”

Sen. Todd Gardenhire is a Republican from Chattanooga.State of Tennessee “It’s about having to admit to something that you’re not,” Gardenhire told Chalkbeat on Thursday.

Gardenhire, who is white, noted that his legislation would prohibit “adverse licensure and employment actions”

in schools or education-related agencies if an employee refuses to participate in such training.

Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat who is Black, called the proposal “a step in the wrong direction.”

She cast the legislation as a continuation of politically motivated national conversations that seek to pit people against each other instead of fostering policies that promote understanding, respect, and reconciliation among people of different races and backgrounds.

“That is a bill that I think is damaging to children,” Akbari said. “At the end of the day, we want to make sure that they have the safest, most equitable and fairest opportunity when they go to school.”

Implicit bias can hurt people of certain races and backgrounds in their interactions with numerous institutions — from law enforcement and criminal justice to health care and education.

In Tennessee, students of color make up about 40 percent of the state’s public school population, while teachers of color make up about 13 percent of its educators.

Mark Chin, a Vanderbilt

Students of color make up about 40 percent of Tennessee’s public school population, while teachers of color make up about 13 percent of the state’s educators. Proposed legislation would prohibit the state’s public schools and universities from requiring their employees to complete training on subconscious biases around race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. (Photo: Ruma Kumar / Chalkbeat) University assistant professor who studies racial bias in education, said his research published in 2020 suggests a need to address bias in the classroom.

Using national data, he and his colleagues found larger disparities in test achievement and suspension rates between Black and white youth in counties where teachers hold stronger pro-white/anti-Black biases.

But implicit bias training is not enough to significantly change outcomes, Chin said.

“A single session where people are told of implicit biases is less impactful than sustained, embedded conversations around implicit bias,” he said.

It’s unclear whether or how many school districts or charter schools across Tennessee have policies that require employees to participate in implicit bias training.

Elizabeth Tullos, a spokeswoman for the State Board of Education, said Tennessee does not require such training within its agencies. However, staff members for the board, which sets rules and policies around education, go through the state’s required annual training on workplace discrimination, she said.

Brian Blackley, a spokesman for the state education department, said his agency doesn’t require its employees to participate in implicit bias training either and has not

taken a position on the legislation.

The bill defines implicit bias training as any program that presumes an individual is “unconsciously, subconsciously, or unintentionally” predisposed to “be unfairly prejudiced in favor of or against a thing, person, or group to adjust the individual’s patterns of thinking in order to eliminate the individual’s unconscious bias or prejudice.”

The legislation can be tracked on the General Assembly website.

(Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.)

The New Tri-State Defender

January 26 - February 1, 2023

NEWS

86

CONTINUED FROM FRONT run for District 86 was a movement.

There was always a sense of mission, an air of destiny in our work.”

Pearson came to prominence when he led the fight to kill the construction of the Byhalia Pipeline through the 38109 community. Other social justice initiatives have also endeared him to environmentalists and advocates of racial justice.

“We’re fighting and pushing for justice,” Pearson said in an interview with The New Tri-State Defender outside Riverside Missionary Baptist Church on Third Street in Southwest Memphis, where he campaigned in the waning days of early voting.

“There’s only one candidate who has been prioritizing justice, focused on justice, advocating for justice alongside Barbara Cooper, and that’s got to be me.”

What Pearson and supporters referred to as a “movement,” involves “ushering in the next generation of leadership with the guidance and wisdom of our elders to help us in this fight for justice,” he said.

“The status quo has not served the Black community. It has not served the Memphis and Shelby County

Justin Pearson addresses supporters after the election results showed he handily had won the District 86 state House race. (Courtesy photo) community, and the status quo has not worked. We can’t have people going to Nashville for it to be their retirement job. We need people going to Nashville to work for us.”

Pearson talked of ways for a Democrat to be effective in Tennessee’s Republican super-majority legisla-

Page 3

ture.

“There are opportunities, I think, for solidarity to be created when we’re seeing legislation that is harmful across all 95 counties and harmful to us in particular,” he said.

“But the other work of the state representative is beyond what’s hap-

pening in Nashville. It’s to serve as a voice and a conduit ... in connecting people’s voices in your community to people in power and departments and different administrations at the state level.

“That’s the work that representative Barbara Cooper did so well that I

hope to continue ….”

Thomas said Pearson won over voters with hard work.

“He knocked on doors. Justin was on the phone. He talked to people, so many people. Tonight, Justin came knowing he had done everything. He was spent. He had left it all out on the field. Victory was just the icing on the cake.”

Johnnie Mosley, senior advisor to Pearson, said, “Justin was completely exhausted but happy. He powered through the night, though, taking photos with supporters, talking with all the people who wanted to shake his hand, or give him a hug. He will never forget this night.”

There was no Republican primary candidate for the seat in the August primary elections, and no GOP candidate in the Nov. 8 general election.

Because of that, Pearson is the de facto winner of the seat. Despite that, Election Commission Chairman Mark Luttrell said state law requires a special election for the seat, which will be March 14.

To get Pearson on the job sooner, County Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery said the commission plans to appoint Pearson to seat before the election.

ACTION

CONTINUED FROM FRONT ment, speaker after speaker, some angrily, demanded that the council act to intervene in the investigation, calling for, among other things, the immediate release of video footage of the incident.

Council Chairman Martavius Jones said, “The last thing that we want is some technicality based upon premature actions of any individual up here, anybody, any representative of the City of Memphis that would allow these crimes to go unpunished…

“This investigation is beyond the council’s purview and it’s beyond the mayor. If the family is OK with this…,” Jones said in reference to the family, which has seen videos of the beating, agreeing to wait at least two weeks for officials to release the videos.

Council Vice Chairman JB Smiley Jr. said, “At the next council meeting, I will be offering… (an) ordinance to amend and require reporting of traffic stops; require reporting of excessive force. We’ve got to hold their feet to the fire.”

The ordinance would amend the Memphis City Charter’s public safety section by requiring the Memphis Law Enforcement Office to collect and distribute data on traffic stops, arrests, use of force and complaints.

Nichols reportedly was stopped

by Memphis Police officers Jan. 7 near the intersection of Raines and Ross Roads in southeast Memphis.

His mother, RowVaughn Wells, said he was within two minutes of their home. He died on Jan. 10 from injuries sustained in the incident.

The family’s attorneys, Ben Crump

TYRE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT Jr. and Justin Smith.

“What we can tell you about the video is that it is appalling, it is deplorable, it is heinous … violent, it is very troublesome on every level,” said Crump, adding that again there is evidence of “what happens to Black and brown people for simple traffic stops. You should not be killed because of a simple traffic stop.

“We have to say to America that however you would treat our white brothers and sisters when you have a traffic stop with them, well treat us Black and Brown citizens the same way.”

He acknowledged a commitment to transparency from Mayor Jim Strickland during a meeting that also included MPD Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, “a Black police chief, a Black mother who was very emotional when she talked with Mrs. Wells. She said I’m not offering my response as a chief, I’m offering them as a mother whose got Black children.

“She had tears in her eyes just like Mrs. Wells. She said she was not

Tadarrius Bean

Demetrius Haley

Emmitt Martin III

Desmond Mills Jr.

On stage at Mt. Olive Cathedral C.M.E., the image of a severely beaten Tyre D. Nichols was jarring.

(Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises) and Antonio Romanucci, said findings from an independent autopsy “indicate Tyre suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating…”

After a Police Department internal investigation and an administrative hearing, police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis on Friday (Jan. 20) fired five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — for violating departmental rules regarding, among other things, use of excessive force and failure to render aid.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy has also called for patience. He has asked the Ten-

nessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate the incident.

A Memphis Fire Department spokesperson said two of MFD’s personnel involved in the “initial patient care” of Nichols have been relieved of duty pending an internal investigation. The spokesperson did not identify the personnel or a reason for the investigation.

Nichols’ death has garnered national news coverage.

Tuesday, City Council member Frank Colvett and Romanucci appeared in separate interviews on CNN. Romanucci said videos showed that Nichols was beaten “unabashed-

proud of what we were about to see on that video. She said she was proud of many things that law enforcement did in the community, trying to protect the community, serve the community … but not proud of what we were about to see.”

Crump said he has been asked for his response to the fact that all five fired officers are African Americans.

“This is very simple,” he said, drawing upon what he has learned in pursuing litigation against “excessive-force policing. … It’s that it is not the race of the police officer that is the determinable factor of the amount of excessive force that would be exerted. It is the race of the citizen.

“We have to have accountability no matter who tramples on the constitutional rights of our citizens. It is so regrettable that they can’t think of Tyre as their brother because you want to believe that if you thought of him as your brother you wouldn’t have did this to Tyre.”

Crump said the beating of Nichols was reminiscent of the video of the beating of Rodney King in LA decades ago.

“Regrettably and unlike Rodney

King, Tyre did not survive.”

Memphis attorney Van Turner Jr., president of the Memphis Branch NAACP, noted that the church had been the setting when Crump was in Memphis to assist the family of Alvin Motley Jr., an unarmed African-American man killed by a security guard at a fueling station.

Turner brought to mind local eightcan’t-wait law enforcement commitments involving policy changes.

“We have to make sure that when we say no chokeholds, when we say render aid, when we say de-escalation, it has to be followed.”

Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, started his remarks with a request.

“If there are any protests, we would like for them to be peaceful,” he said, adding that anything other “is not what Tyre wanted and that’s not going to bring him back.”

He described what he saw on the video footage as “horrific. No father, no mother should have to witness what I saw today.”

Wells described his son as a “great, great kid” who, among other things, loved taking photos of the sun setting.

“He didn’t deserve what he got.

ly, unabatedly” for several minutes.

Memphis Branch NAACP President Van Turner Jr. and a former County Commissioner appeared on CNN Wednesday.

Asked about the potential for violent protests when the video of the beating was released, Turner, an announced candidate for Memphis mayor, said he hopes the transparency shown so far in the investigation and the quick release of the video “will curtail any acts of potential violence.”

He pointed out that Nichol had agreed to give officials time to do what was needed on their end before the video was released.

Justin Smith

Regarding the fact all of the police officers involved were African American, Turner said, “it was disturbing and devastating,” adding, however, that Black and brown people suffer more in these kinds of

incidents.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton will speak at a public funeral for Nichols at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 1) at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church at North Bellevue and Jefferson.

Attorney Benjamin Crump states his firm’s resolve to get justice for Tyre D. Nichols, with his mother, RowVaughn Wells, alongside.

(Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender) Now what he deserves is justice. The family and the attorneys that we have will not stop until we get justice. And as I said from day one, justice for us is murder one!”

During the Q&A at the end, a community activist asked Crump for “concrete evidence” that the commitment to release the video footage to the public would be honored.

“They said one week, no more

than two weeks,” Crump responded.

“They promised the family that. The family said they would give them that time if they made sure they did a thorough investigation where they would be held accountable. So the family wants justice. They don’t want them to come up with some technicality….

“Now, if they don’t have it two weeks brother, ya’ll do what ya’ll go to do!”

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, January 26 - February 1, 2023, Page 4

Second time around for Gov. Lee

Focus: transportation systems, conservation Efforts and most vulnerable children

by Kimberlee Kruesi Associated Press

Rep. Antonio Parkinson (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender)

‘I just didn’t expect to see five Black faces’

by Rep. Antonio Parkinson Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The recent tragedy involving Tyre Nichols has been weighing on my mind. I’ve seen too many stories in the last several years about African-Americans unjustly murdered by police. You can recite the names as well as I can: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner…the list goes on and on. But it’s more than just that…

It weighs on my mind that this happened in our community. This, like the shooting spree this summer by Ezekiel Kelly, the one that at happened at the Kroger in Collierville and the murder of Eliza Fletcher as she went on her morning jog. But it’s more than just that…

Here’s what else weighs on my mind. It bothers me that five Black officers were the only ones involved in this senseless tragedy. Maybe it’s where my cultural habits and biases kick in…but I just didn’t expect to see five Black faces on my TV screen. I thought there may have been one at most, because this is not what “we” do. This is a learning and transparent moment for me because my hidden or learned biases automatically, in my mind, had me assuming there most of the officers were white. With that came a different kind of anger than what I believed I would feel the information was revealed. For that, I make no excuses and I sincerely apologize. I’m just brave enough to be honest about it.

Once it was revealed that it was five Black officers involved, it was a different feeling inside of me. More of a “hurt” feeling as in: “How could one of us do this to one of us?” In the several phone calls I’ve had since the involved were revealed, one of the people I spoke to raised this question: didn’t they see their own son or nephew in Tyre Nichols as the incident was happening?

This incident also speaks to me in the desensitization of the Black on Black deaths we hear about almost daily. Why am I more hurt about this death, than I have been about the deaths of Black people that occur daily in our city at the hands of other Black people? All of the lives of the [people that died at the hands of others in our city had value. Where’s the outrage?

Where’s the hurt for them? Why are we hurting more in this situation?

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose feelings are confused. I’m sure I’m not the only one who assumed it would be a white officer at the forefront of this horrible death.

But when they are your own, what do you do? You hurt. But how do you handle it? Where do we go from here? How do we ensure that we not only stop another death like Tyre Nichols— but that all Black on Black deaths are avoided?

The response from Black Memphians…and Black America… is being watched and will become fodder for the media. Now that it is your own, what will you do?

(Rep. Antonio Parkinson represents District 8 in Memphis.)

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee kicked off his second term on Saturday, promising to focus over the next four years on improving aging transportation systems, advocating for better conservation efforts and protecting the state’s most vulnerable children.

Lee, a Republican, took the oath of office in front of the Tennessee Capitol on a bright sunny day – marking a stark difference to the governor’s first inauguration when harsh weather forced the historically held outdoor ceremony into a smaller inside venue.

Lee pointed to his push to revamp the state’s complicated education funding system as top accomplishments of his first term, as well as his administration’s work with Ford Motor Co. to build an electric vehicle and battery plant near Memphis.

Yet Lee acknowledged that his first term involved deep challenges ranging from overseeing the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple fatal tornadoes, catastrophic flooding, wildfires and the 2020 Christmas morning bombing in downtown Nashville. Lee’s wife, Maria, has also been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatments for lymphoma.

“While Maria and I are in a time of struggle, we know that we are not alone in these hardships,” Lee said.

The 63-year-old governor stressed his commitment to civility and dismissed critics of his administration “who thrive on toxic incivility and divisiveness.” It’s been a theme throughout that Lee has repeated ever since he launched his political career in 2017 with his first run for governor.

“We can disagree and stand firm for our beliefs and our principles, but we should never forget the dignity of the other human being,” Lee said. “We should never believe differences are a platform for demonization, or that one man has any greater value than another.”

Lee’s comments come as he has signed off on a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation throughout his first term. and has strongly defended Tennessee’s abortion ban – which is one of the country’s strictest – and downplayed calls to add exemptions to the law. Most recently, Lee’s Department of Health announced it would forgo federal funding to treat and pre-

Gov. Bill Lee: “We can disagree and stand firm for our beliefs and our principles, but we should never forget the dignity of the other human being. ... We should never believe differences are a platform for demonization, or that one man has any greater value than another.” (AP photo) vent HIV which critics have alleged was a move to stop working with Planned Parenthood.

With his eye on his next term, Lee once again touted his sweeping transportation proposal, which will need legislative approval in the coming weeks. He then pushed for the need Sen. London Lamar to “enhance efforts to conserve our natural resources and preserve the environment.” The governor did not, however, expand on what environmental conservation actions he would pursue.

Lee also touched on the state’s troubled Department of Children’s Services, where a recent audit found that the agency has failed to properly protect kids placed in state custody.

“We need to protect children in our custody and in our state with a better foster care and adoption process,” Lee said. “We need to do these things and many more, but we can never abandon the standard of fiscal responsibility that makes our success possible.”

Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat (District 33)-from Memphis, encouraged Lee to help working and middle-class families during his second term and put aside “ideological agendas.”

“We hope Gov. Lee’s second term is defined by expanding access to affordable health care,

housing and child care; strengthening our public schools, our democracy and state services; and a rejection of the extreme partisanship and division that marked his first term,” said the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

A businessman and farmer, Lee handily won reelection last fall in a state that has not seen a Democrat in the top statewide office in more than a decade. His win came after he was the first incumbent governor in about three decades to have no primary opponent. He avoided an intraparty challenge in August in part by leading on legislation on some of the most fiery socially conservative topics, including the right to carry handguns in public without a permit and a strict abortion ban, both of which he signed into law.

To date, Lee has never vetoed a bill sent to his desk from the Republican-dominated Legislature, but he has occasionally let some become law without signing them to signal his unease.

His office does exercise another powerful tool given to governors: executive privilege to keep government records private. Lee once promised to overhaul Tennessee’s public records and open meeting laws, but no action has been taken to date.

“You and I, and this state, have been entrusted with treasures, not meant to be buried but to be spent on helping our fellow man,” Lee said.

“We should recognize our treasures, celebrate our accomplishments, and be challenged by what lies ahead.”

Gov. Lee’s second term must be better than first, House Democrats say Special to The New Tri-State Defender Tennessee Democratic Leaders say Governor Bill Lee’s second term needs to improve in order for Tennessee to live up to its full potential.

Lee was sworn in Saturday outside the State Capitol on the Legislative Plaza in Nashville.

The theme of the Inaugural was “Tennessee: Leading the Nation.” However, Democrats say the state is leading the nation in too many of the wrong categories.

• 3rd highest ranking state in violent crime and gun deaths • 39th in the nation in teacher salaries • 42nd healthiest state • 12th highest in child poverty • 5th highest in bankruptcies and loan defaults • 3rd highest in opioid abuse • 10th highest in drug overdose deaths • 46th in voter turnout Some of those cited include: “While there have been accomplishments in the past four years, such as Blue Oval City in West Tennessee, our state cannot truly be a suc-

cess until every child can sleep safely and soundly at night and be protected and nurtured,” said House Minority Leader Karen Camper (D-Memphis).

That’s not happening with the Department of Children’s Services where we have children sleeping on floors in state office House Minority Leader Karen buildings.”

Camper Camper noted that in his inaugural address, Lee mentioned bipartisanship and working together prominently.

“It’s my hope that the spirit of bipartisanship continues in this upcoming legislative session so that we can develop public policy and budgetary commitments designed to help all Tennesseans share in our state’s economic successes.”

Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville said the Lee’s second term is not getting off to a good start.

“When the first act of Lee’s new Commissioner of Heath is to put the health of Tennes-

Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons

needs.

“We’ve also learned about a push to expand Lee’s voucher program and another attempt to disenfranchise minority voters in Nashville.”

Government in Tennessee is broken, Clemmons said.

“It’s failed leadership at the highest level.

My fellow Democrats in the State Legislature, however, stand ready to do the hard work for Tennessee families, work across the aisle, and enact real solutions to the challenges facing every Tennessee family.”

Information • Inspiration • Elevation Published by Best Media Properties, Inc.

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President Calvin Anderson Associate Publisher/ Executive Editor Karanja A. Ajanaku

seans at risk by inexplicably rejecting federal aid for HIV prevention, that’s a precursor to what could be a very chilling four years to come,” he said.

“We have already seen massive failures in the foster care system at DCS and we’ve been presented a half-baked transportation funding proposal that does absolutely nothing to address our state’s transportation infrastructure

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The New Tri-State Defender

January 26 - February 1, 2023

Page 5

RELIGION

Marvin Sapp debuts ‘You Kept Me’ single TSD Newsroom Marvin Sapp has a new radio single, and it is a song that he just debuted on TV ONE’S Urban One Honors.

Written by Sapp, along with Jarmone Davis, Christopher Leach and Aaron Lindsey, “You Kept Me” is the follow-up to “All in Your Hands,” which reached #1 at Gospel radio and earned a nomination for the 54th NAACP Image Awards in the Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song category.

“You Kept Me” shines as a ballad, offering a thank-you to God for keeping us through the highs and lows of life.

“One of the emotions in this season of emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic is thankfulness and gratitude to God simply for keeping us

intact – health wise, emotionally, financially, all of it,” said Sapp.

“Many people did not come out on the other side of this. We did because God kept us. ‘You Kept Me’ reflects our gratitude for that.”

Lindsay said he thought of Sapp when he first heard “You Kept Me.” “I knew Marvin Sapp’s iconic voice would be perfect for the song. As the producer, co-writer and musician on the song, I knew that our charge was to help explain the faithfulness of God and allow listeners to feel encouraged and blessed by the message of the lyrics,” he said.

“I hope that people feel this message, even within the song’s craftsmanship. Every detail that we added – every inversion, every inflection, every arrangement, every choice – was to communicate that no matter where you are in your life, God is right there with you and will

never leave you nor forsake you.”

“You Kept Me” is the second single from Sapp’s 14th album, “Substance} (Elev8/ThirtyTigers), which is available everywhere digital music is sold.

Thirty Tigers is a Nashville-based music label services company founded in 2001 by Grammy Award-winning producer David Macias and Deb Markland. Thirty Tigers is distributed exclusively by The Orchard.

Elev8 Entertainment is a multimedia entertainment company founded in 2020 by Sapp.

An author, radio show host and internationally renowned singer, Sapp has a 30-year music career punctuated with multiple awards.

After a lifetime in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sapp moved to the Dallas area and became senior pastor of The Chosen Vessel Cathedral in Fort Worth in 2019.

Marvin Sapp: “Many people did not come out on the other side of (COVID).

We did because God kept us. ‘You Kept Me’ reflects our gratitude for that.”

Super Sunday 2023 …

Super Sunday – an annual observance at Mt. Moriah East, where the Rev. Dr. Melvin Charles Smith is the host pastor – was a spirit-filled gathering with multiple soul-stirring expressions. Delsa “Fireball” Fleming served as program director.

Pictured in the lineup of pastors are (l-r): Pastor Darrell Pettis ( program overseer); Dr. Larry Howard; the Rev.Willie Jamison Jr.; the Rev. Orlando Franklin; Rev. Dr. Smith; Dr. Ed Parker Jr.; the Rev.Timothy Hayes; and the Rev. Ricky Dugger, president of the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley/The New TriState Defender

The New Tri-State Defender, January 26 - February 1, 2023, Page 6

Tyre D. Nichols doing one of the hobbies he loved, skateboarding.

(Screen capture)

Skating for ‘Tyre’ Skateboarders answer call

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

At 29, Tyre D. Nichols was a bit old for skateboarding, his stepfather Rodney Wells said he told him.

But you don’t stop doing something that you loved as much as Nichols.

And, added Wells at a Monday (Jan. 23) rally for Nichols, not something you were that good at.

Nichols died Jan. 10 three days after being beaten by Memphis police officers after a traffic stop near his Hickory Hill home three days earlier.

He began skateboarding when he was 6 years old, his mother, RowVaughn Wells, said.

So, the family deemed it appropriate for other passionate skateboarders, to gather Monday outside Memphis City Hall, where the family viewed the footage of Nichols’ fateful encounter with Memphis police officers, five of whom have been fired.

A motley band of skateboarders showcased their tricks and twists. They all had one thing in common, besides the love of skateboarding.

“Of course, I have been watching the Tyre Nichols case, and I have been super distressed about what happened. I knew I had to be here today,” said Dr. Joy Brooke-Fairfield, a professor of media at Rhodes College.

“But not only to show my support for Tyre’s family. Protests have a kind of joyfulness about them. There is a sense of freedom and power about exercising our voices to stand up and say, ‘This is not right.’

“There is something really beautiful about us coming together as one community — skateboarders, people holding signs, and others who just needed to be here this morning. Despite the senseless tragedy of Tyre’s death, there is power in our voices.

It is joyful.”

Here’s what others who answered the skateboarders call had to say.

“Tyre Nichols’ death is yet another instance of social injustice. Everyone should be concerned about this issue.” – Kirkwood Vangeli, an associate with the Memphis Medical District Collaborative “The family … requested for skateboarders to show up Downtown at City Hall on the Plaza. This was a way to provide emotional support for the family. The call went out on Saturday. I believe more skateboarders would have come had there been more notice. I’m sure many more wanted to come out to show their support.”

– Joshua Adams, organizer with Black Lives Matter “Yet, another black man has died at the hands of police because of a traffic stop.

We are tired of it. But today, we lay aside our anger and frustration to remember our brother, Tyre. He was a skateboarder, a Black skateboarder. We used to be rare, but more and more you see Black skateboarders.

“I love the idea of honoring Tyre in this way. It’s fun. It’s positive. It’s non-vio-

Skateboarders who answered the call of Tyre D. Nichols’ family for support outside of Memphis City Hall. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender) lent. And it’s an opportunity to take our minds off how scary it is to be Black and get stopped by the police. The fact that the officers were also Black demonstrates an extreme case of self-hate. It is the result of all this ‘alpha male’ talk.” – University of Memphis student “Rico” “I love skateboarding, and my music is very important to me. I work in a warehouse. I wanted to come out and celebrate Tyre’s life and his love for skateboarding.

What happened to him is too close to home.

We get tired of hearing about Black men losing their lives over something minor when they come in contact with the police.

It could have been any of us. That is why I am here. We must bring attention to this issue. It happens everywhere, all across the country.” – Kameron Blakely “This family is in so much grief. I wanted to come out and show support. Calling for skateboarders to come out today on the Plaza is such a small thing to ask. We heard about the family’s request on Saturday.

Tyre had so many friends. I met him at a skatepark a few weeks ago.

“When he ran from those police officers, he was running for his life. They may have pulled guns. I guess we won’t know why he ran until the video is released.

“My question is, if these officers are bold enough to do what they did to Tyre with their body cams on, what have they done when the cameras were not running.”

– Luke Sexton, 48 “I wanted to be here with the skateboarders because I am the mother of three sons, 19, 20, and 24. One of my sons is a skateboarder. He often goes to Toby Skatepark behind the school board,” said Michelle McKissack, a member of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board,

Josha Adams

Kameron Blakely

“Rico”

who also is considering a run for Memphis mayor in October.

“I feel very deeply for this family. Tyre should have felt safe, being stopped by five African-American police officers. That should have been calming for him. But that was not the case. I’m just wondering

how something like this even happens. In a post-George Floyd world, how does this even happen?”

“As a member of the school board, it makes me want to go back and re-evaluate how we handle our students. Somehow, we need to find ways of supporting families.”

The New Tri-State Defender

January 26 - February 1, 2023

ENTERTAINMENT LITERATURE

As memoirs go – and this is a kind of memoir – ‘My People’ is really different

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

You try to stay on top of things.

You keep your eyes and ears open for news of what’s going on because you know that being informed is being forewarned.

Somebody’s got to watch what happens in your state and your city. Somebody needs to keep track of the goings-on in your neighborhood.

And in the new book “My People” by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, somebody needs to testify.

It was hot that early July day in 1959 when Charlayne Hunter and a friend went to the Court House in Atlanta to get their college applications certified. That day, they hoped to enroll in the University of Georgia but, though the papers were all in order, the judge refused to sign them, accusing the pair of wanting to cause trouble.

“All this talk made little sense to me,” Hunter-Gault says now.

She’d been “the only Negro” in schools before, so attending the all-white University of Georgia didn’t seem like a big deal.

Still, they weren’t accepted – at least not then but a year-and-a-half later, a federal judge ordered the university to enroll both Hunter and her friend.

That’s not the end of this particular story but a degree in journalism is – and so Hunter (later, Hunter-Gault) went to work reporting the news at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, not long after her own activism.

This book is a collection of some of her columns and interviews.

Perhaps because of her own experiences

in education, she writes of schools, integration, and curriculums. She tells tales of other Civil Rights icons, John Lewis, the Panthers, Mandela and Tutu, The Black Women’s Community Development Foundation, Shirley Chisolm. She writes about living and working in South Africa and in Harlem.

Personally, Hunter-Gault writes of her jobs in newspaper and television, what a delight it is to find a good vacation spot, and how to talk to young people about Trump and today’s current events.

And she sings the praises of Black newspapers, that “’tell their story.’”

As memoirs go – and this is a kind of memoir – “My People” is really different.

You have to look quite a bit between the lines to get author Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s story; it’s here, just not presented in the way you expect a life story to be.

Instead, Hunter-Gault wraps her experiences inside the things on which she reported in these columns from the middle 1960s to just a few years ago.

What’s interesting is that the columns, despite the age of some of them, seem as fresh as if they were written last year.

Hunter-Gault’s work often focused on reporting issues of racism and inequality and the people who fought those things through the years, and yet readers will see the modern relevance. Sadly, however, there’s no editorializing or commentary on that; the columns merely stand on their own.

Still, this collection-cum-memoir is a fascinating read, especially for someone who’s looking for a unique sort of historical record. For you, “My People” is the thing to put at the top of your to-be-read pile.

“My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives”

by Charlayne Hunter-Gault c. 2022, Harper $27.99 347 pages

Page 7

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, January 26 - February 1, 2023, Page 8

Trailblazing Dr. Thomas E. Motley Sr. dies at 83

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Those who turned out to be with Dr. Charles Champion (right) as he received the Authur S. Holmon Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by the University of Memphis Black Student Association during the 2022 Black History Month Opening Reception (Feb. 1), included his wife, Carolyn (left), and (lr) Yvonne Acey and David Acey of the Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival, Inc.; Memphis State Eight civil rights pioneer Bertha Rogers Looney, and Mark Stansbury, retired UofM assistant to the president and WDIA Radio personality. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender Archives)

Dr. Charles A. Champion lived a life befitting of his name

TSD Newsroom Born in Memphis in 1930, the number of people Dr. Charles A. Champion befriended during his life’s journey would be difficult to calculate. Any number any one person comes up with could easily be increased by one more.

Dr. Champion made serving the community and developing products that promote healing with natural ingredients his life’s work. He died Saturday (Jan. 21).

“We mourn his departure but celebrate his incredible life and legacy,” his family said in a released state-

ment. “He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Dr. Champion spent his career creating and providing remedies to treat many common illnesses. His dedication and love for people and his community were evident in his work.”

Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store, 2369 Elvis Presley Blvd., long has been the center of a community orbit anchored by Dr. Champion, who had the enviable quality of leaving the individuals he met with the sense that he appreciated their uniqueness as part of the whole.

A 1955 graduate of Xavier University College of Pharmacy, he was

Dr. Charles Champion shows a visitor some of the memorabilia that makes Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store, 2369 Elvis Presley Blvd., a community treasure. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender Archives) drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after obtaining his degree. He served as a pharmacist in Germany during a two-year tour of duty. Back in Memphis, he began working at John Gaston Hospital’s pharmacy, solidifying his place in history as the first African-American pharmacist to work in a Memphis hospital.

After 12 years at John Gaston, Dr. Champion took a job at Katz Drug Store and became the first African-American pharmacist hired by a chain in the city.

Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store is a family business established by Dr. Champion and his

wife, Carolyn Bailey Champion, in 1981. The Champions married in 1958. She is the daughter of Walter and Loree Bailey, who were the owners of the Lorraine Hotel when Dr. Martin Luther King was fatality shot on a balcony there on April 4, 1968.

Two of Champions’ daughters, Carol Champion (also known as Cookie) and Charita Champion, become pharmacists. Their late daughter, Chandra Champion, served as a pharmacy tech and her daughter, Jessica Champion, stepped in to assist with business operations.

Services are pending.

Cummings and LaRose will continue blended operation through the end of the school year TSD Newsroom Memphis Shelby-County Schools has decided that students at Cummings K-8 Optional School will remain in the LARose Elementary School building for the remainder of the school year.

Cummings students relocated to LaRose following the collapse of the drop ceiling at the Cummings library

on Aug. 15.

MSCS officials said the decision to maintain the current arrangement results form positive feedback from parents, the District’s desire to offer students stability, and some unexpected construction delays.

While repairs could be finished as early as this spring, MSCS said in a media release that it was in the best interest of students to eliminate any

avoidable disruptions during TCAP testing season According to MSCS, principals Staci Hendrix and Dwana McGuire, alongside teachers, classroom assistants, cafeteria workers, crossing guards, and custodial workers, “have worked valiantly to create an environment where both Cummings and LaRose students are thriving.”

Cummings Principal Dwana McGuire and LaRose Principal Staci Hendrix are united in the work. (Courtesy photo)

115 years of service…

A joint Founders’ Day Celebration took note of a legacy of service and sisterhood on Jan. 15. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Dr. Thomas E. Motley Sr., the first African-American Internal Medicine physician to serve in Memphis, died Jan. 11, at Methodist University Hospital.

The 83-year-old Dr. Motley was honored by the Memphis City Council when he retired in October 2021.

Former Memphis City Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen posted on social media: “Dr. Thomas Motley Sr. will truly be missed. It was heartwarming to give him his flowers while he lived.”

Former patients and their families flooded social media platforms with expressions of sympathy and praise for “his caring and compassionate manner,” which endeared him to many.

During his illustrious career of nearly half a century, Dr. Motley served in a number of leadership posts in mediDr. Thomas cine, including E. Motley Sr. medical director for Cardiac Rehabilitation and the Department of Preventive Medicine and Methodist Healthcare Systems; Chief of Staff for Methodist Extended Care Hospital, and founding partner of the Eastmoreland Internal Medicine Group.

Dr. Motley also served as a consulting physician for St Francis and Baptist Memorial Hospitals.

He was born in Whiteville, Tennessee on May 15, 1939 to Robert and Elma Coleen Motley, owners of Motley and Rivers Funeral Home.

He graduated high school at the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, N.C. He earned a B.S. degree from Howard University in Washington, DC, and continued at Howard University College of Medicine for his medical degree.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Motley opened his practice in Memphis, making his way into local medical history. Over the course of his career, he remained a source of pride for many seniors, who called him their doctor and a friend.

Dr. Motley contributed to numerous medical research studies as a clinical science principal investigator. He was also an active member of numerous scientific and medical organizations, including the National Medical Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, Bluff City Medical Society, and the Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society.

A devout and valued member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Dr. Motley also belonged to multiple community organizations, including Omega Psi Phi, Inc., and the Memphis Chapter of Delta Boule.

Dr. Motley was a devoted family man and was married to Sharon Motley at the time of his death. He and his late wife, Comora C. Motley, were the parents of the late Thomas E. Motley Jr. M.D. and Todd S. Motley, MD. He was a proud grandfather of three and a stepfather of one son.

The funeral service is set for Thursday (Jan. 26) at 11 a.m. at Church of the Holy Communion, 4645 Walnut Grove Road. Interment will follow at 2:30 p.m. in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the Motley family requests that donations be sent to the Emanuel Center, 604 St. Paul Ave.; Memphis TN 38126.

R. S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, 2944 Walnut Grove Road, has charge.

The New Tri-State Defender

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(SB-I000718A), Microfilm for Digital Machines

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NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000720A, A0 Planetary Scanner.

Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn.gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described Sealed Bid. SEALED BID I000720A DUE DATE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023 AT 2:00 PM CDT (SB-I000720A), A0 Planetary Scanner Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

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Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

SEALED BID I000721A DUE DATE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023 AT 2:30 PM CDT (SB-I000721A), High-Volume, High-Speed Scanner Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I00718A, Microfilm for Digital Machines. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn. gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described Sealed Bid.

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The Authority is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination based on the grounds of age, race, sex, color, national origin, disability, marital status, military service, or sexual orientation in its hiring and employment practices and in the admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services, and activities.

By order of: Scott A. Brockman, A.A.E. President and CEO Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000719A, Digital to Microfilm Machines. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn. gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described Sealed Bid. SEALED BID I000719A DUE DATE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2023 AT 2:30 PM CDT (SB-I000719A), Digital to Microfilm Machines Shelby County is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer, drug-free with policies of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

LEGAL NOTICE Request for Statement of Qualifications MSCAA Project Number 16-1408-01 RW 9/27 Runway Status Lights - Design Statements of Qualifications for RW 9/27 Runway Status Lights - Design will be received by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (Authority), Procurement Department, 4150 Louis Carruthers Road, Memphis, TN 38118, until 2:00 PM local time on Thursday, February 16, 2023.

The Information Package, including a description of the scope of services, the selection criteria, the required response format, and additional instructions may be obtained on the Authority’s website at www.flymemphis.com on or after January 19, 2023.

All Respondents are responsible for checking the Authority’s website up to the submission deadline for any updates, addenda or additional information. The successful Respondent must meet the DBE participation goal for this project, which is 0%, and sign a contract with the Authority that includes Federal Aviation Administration provisions, if applicable, regarding Buy American Preference, Foreign Trade Restriction, Davis-Bacon, Affirmative Action, Debarment and Suspension, and Drug-Free Workplace, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all responses to this request in whole or in part; to

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Tempia Waddell Tax Parcel #: 01305900000260 Tax Sale #: 1803 Price Offered: $3000.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 28, 2023, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Anthony SY Tax Parcel #: 08204400000510 Tax Sale #: 1801 Price Offered: $13,500.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:30 a.m. on February 28, 2023, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

Shelby County Land Bank 584 Adams Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 (901)222-2400

NEWS

Page 9

U.S./World News

Door of No Return: Yellen visits onetime slave-trading post

by Fatima Hussein Associated Press

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Shelby County Government has issued Sealed Bid number I000721A, High-Volume, HighSpeed Scanner. Information regarding this Bid is located on the County’s website at www.shelbycountytn.gov . At the top of the home page, click on the dropdown box under “Business”, Click on “Purchasing” and “Bids” to locate the name of the above-described Sealed Bid.

January 26 - February 1, 2023

GOREE ISLAND, Senegal — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen paid a solemn visit last Saturday (Jan. 21) to the salmon-colored house on an island off Senegal that is one of the most recognized symbols of the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade that trapped tens of millions of Africans in bondage for generations.

Yellen, in Senegal as part of a 10-day trip aimed at rebuilding economic relationships between the U.S. and Africa, stood in the Gorée Island building known as the House of Slaves and peered out of the “Door of No Return,” from which enslaved people were shipped across the Atlantic.

She was guided on a tour through various corridors and tight quarters in the house, shaking her head in disgust at what she was told about the economics of how slaves were valued.

“Gorée and the trans-Atlantic slave trade are not just a part of African history. They are a part of American history as well,” Yellen said later in brief remarks during her visit.

“We know that the tragedy did not stop with the generation of humans taken from here,” she added. “Even after slavery was abolished, Black Americans — many of whom can trace their descendance through ports like this across

Africa — were denied the rights and freedoms promised to them under our Constitution.”

Later, in an interview with The Associated Press, Yellen said that while promoting diversity and racial equality is a key goal, “the administration has not embraced reparations as part of the answer.”

The economic benefits that major slave-trading nations, including the United States, reaped for hundreds of years on the backs of unpaid labor could amount to tens of trillions of dollars, according to research on the commerce.

And in the U.S., African slaves and their children contributed to the building of the nation’s most storied institutions, including the White House and Capitol, according to the White House Historical Association.

Yellen acknowledged the ongoing ramifications of that brutal past in her public remarks.

“In both Africa and the United States, even as we have made tremendous strides, we are still living with the brutal consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade,” she said.

In a guest book at the house, she wrote that it served as “an important reminder that the histories of Africa and America are intimately connected.

While I am pained by its past, I am also heartened by the vibrant community I have seen

here. I take from this place the importance of redoubling our commitment to fight for our shared principles and values of freedom and human rights wherever they are threatened — in Africa, in the United States, and around the world.”

Yellen’s trip to the island is one that many dignitaries have made, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Today, Gorée Island is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yellen’s stop there during a trip meant to revitalize U.S.-African economic relations is one that evoked the massive costs of the slave trade. There has been a resurgence in interest in determining the true cost of slavery on the generations impacted.

The House Financial Services Committee in recent years has studied how U.S. banks and insurance companies profited from the practice of slavery before it was outlawed in 1865. There have also been hearings on the study and development of reparations proposals in the United States.

In the AP interview, Yellen said the administration was “working in many ways in communities of color and low-income communities to try to bring more capital to advance lending and other things,” she said. “It’s a critically important goal.”

SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, January 26 - February 1, 2023, Page 10

Tracking the Tigers at the midway point

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Heading into the midway point of their American Athletic Conference schedule, the University of Memphis Tigers are in one of the better positions they have been in since hometown hero Penny Hardaway stepped into the head coaching spot.

The Tigers (15-5, 5-2 AAC), are in third place, only one game behind the No. 2-ranked Houston Cougars (18-2,6-1). The Tigers are yet to play Cougars, with the first matchup set for Feb. 19 in Houston.

In his four prior seasons, Hardaway’s Tigers were working their way toward being on the right side of the post-season NCAA Tournament bubble at the conference’s midway point.

As the Tigers push forward, Hardaway has achieved an unofficial milestone in his coaching career. In the recent win over the Cincinnati Bearcats, Hardaway notched his 100th coaching victory.

“I am blessed to be the coach here in Memphis,” said Hardaway, who starred with Memphis Tigers before putting his All-Star-level talent on display for years in the NBA. “From the first game that I came in here, I was excited to be here. I am still excited to be here. I haven’t lost that feeling of wanting to win for this city and university. My wins are great, but it wouldn’t have happened without the great players and staff.”

Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams have been the two lights guiding the offense for this season’s Tigers. Davis has won a record number

of Player of the Week Awards from the American Conference.

Williams is the reigning winner of this week’s award.

One of the best guards in Terry the country, DaDavis vis is averaging 21 points per game. He scored a season-high 42 points in the double-overtime loss at Central Florida.

Williams, who is averaging 16.9 points, has been a steadying force for the Tigers and the acknowledged emotional leader, albeit a bit too much at times, drawing the referees’ whistles.

In the games that Williams has fouled out, the Tigers have lost. Also, in those games, he received a technical foul. In college, a technical foul also counts as a personal foul. In the last three games, he has been a controlled force.

While Alex Lomax has been the leader on defense, he’s on the injured list. Banged up over the course of the season, the Tigers are moving toward getting healthy at the right time.

Jayden Hardaway, who had been out, played in a reserve role in the Cincinnati win. Center Malcolm Dandridge, who played with impact early on, is projected back next week.

Lomax may be out the next couple of weeks but is expected to return in time for the start of the conference tournament in March.

“I am looking at one game at a

Head coach Penny Hardaway now has 100 wins guiding the Tigers. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender)

An inspired DeAndre Williams set his Memphis career highs with 29 points and 15 rebounds as the Tigers beat the Wichita State Tigers 88-78 at FedExForum on Jan. 19. time,” said Hardaway about the injuries. “I understand we are not at full strength. It is next man up. These guys are prepared to go out. They a capable of winning. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You have to go and compete and go 1-0 every game.”

Memphis has won 15 straight

Kendric Davis recently received the Oscar Robinson Player of the Week. It was the first time a player from the University of Memphis or the American Athletic Conference has received the award. home games and is on a three-game winning streak.

Next up is Thursday’s game against the SMU Mustangs at FedExForum.

The first 1,000 fans will receive a Billy Buford bobblehead. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

Road-reeling Grizzlies!

Below .500 finish already a lock on five-game road trip

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Memphis Grizzlies, who swung out West with big expectations after an 11-game winning streak, had lost three straight heading into the hostile environment of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Jan. 25).

The longest road trip – five games in 11 days – of the season already is certain of a below .500 finish. It wraps Friday with a visit to Minneapolis to play the Timberwolves.

One of the best teams in the league at home (20-3), the Grizzlies’ road record was 11-13 as they prepared to tangle with the Warriors.

“It starts with our mentality,” Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins. “You have to be that team that is playing with the edge and urgency, especially on the road. You have to create your own energy.”

By the numbers The Grizzlies (31-16) are second in the Western Conference and 2.5 games behind the pacesetting Denver Nuggets. They are 3.5 games ahead of the third-place Sacrament Kings, who handed Memphis its second-worst loss (33 points) point-wise during the current downward-spiraling road trip By the measure of defensive efficiency, the Grizzlies are the best team

Dillon Brooks, who fouled out with nine points, applies defensive pressure against LeBron James, who scored 23 points in the Lakers’ 122-121 win in L.A.

Ja Morant finished with 27 points (eight assists) against the Suns as the Grizzlies were two points shy of a 29-point comeback in Phoenix on Sunday night. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender) in the NBA. They have a defensive rating of 109.6 points per game.

Ja Morant is still among the lead leaders in scoring with 27.2 points per game. Desmond Bane continues to be one of the best three-point shooters averaging 42.8 percent per game.

The Grizzlies lead the league in rebounds with 40.6 rebounds per

game. They are second in the league in blocked shots with 6.0 per game.

Jaren Jackson Jr. has become a defensive force and is the anchor to the number one-rated defensive team. He is among the leaders in total blocks and is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.

Reserve forward Santi Aldama is the most improved player on the team

this season. He only appeared in 32 games last season. This season, he has started 16 times and appeared in 44 games. He is averaging 9.3 points per game. His three-point percentage, which was 12.5 percent last season, is 37.4 percent.

Starting forward Dillon Brooks has received 13 technical fouls this year.

If he receives 18, he will have to sit out a game.

Injuries Injuries are a way of life in the NBA and the Grizzlies have had their fair share. Jackson and Bane pretty much have rounded back into playing shape after extensive absences.

Danny Green, who was acquired during an off-season acquisition, has not played all season. He tore the an-

terior and lateral cruciate ligaments in his left knee while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals in May. On Wednesday it was announced he is set to return. Feb. 1.

Also this week, it was announced that Steven Adams would be out for 3-5 weeks with a knee injury suffered in the waning moments of the Memphis’ attempt to comeback from a 29-point deficit against the Phoenix Suns. They come up two points short.

Adams may be back in the rotation soon after All-Star break.

Closing note The Grizzlies return to the FedExForum on Sunday (Jan. 29) to face the Indiana Pacers. Tipoff is set for It 5 p.m.