The New Tri-State Defender - March 30-April 5, 2023

Get TSD news, online anytime at TSDMemphis.com

March 30 - April 5, 2023

VOL. 72, No. 13

www.tsdmemphis.com

$1.00

Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh: “When you start bringing about positive concepts and thoughts into a negative situation, usually positive is going to win. Because that’s what it’s all about anyway, positive and negative.”

(Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

A legacy of transformation: Lance Watson – ‘Sweet Willie Wine’ – Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh The New Tri-State Defender Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson’s decades-long fight for civil rights and social justice has ended. A generation symbol for “the freedom struggle,” he died expectedly on Saturday evening (March 25). He was 84.

Known for decades after the 1960s as Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh, he had been hospitalized for a couple of days so “doctors could check him out,” said his lifelong friend Deke Pope.

“We just went over on Saturday (March 25) to see how he was doing,” said Pope. “Minister Yahweh was feeling good, talking and laughing. It was great. We had a wonderful time. I left, knowing he would be discharged on Sunday and back at home.”

Minister Yahweh died only hours after saying “goodbye” to Pope.

Born Lance Watson on Aug. 19, 1938, Minister Yahweh was a native Memphian, who spent most of his formative years in the Orange Mound community.

Most notably, he became a highly visible member of “The Invaders,” a “black power” component in Memphis. The organization worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who came to the city to support sanitation workers on strike in 1968.

“Suhkara, more than us all, truly embraced the movement and the fight for racial equality,” said Calvin Taylor, a leader of The Invaders.

“His commitment and resolve gave our organization more credibility.

Suhkara was a man of the people.

There was always a genuine concern for the common man. This is the passing of an era.”

In recent years, he carried on that activism by frequently addressing the Memphis City Council about numerous civil rights, social justice, and community health concerns.

As Lance Watson, he began living with his aunt and uncle at the age of

SEE YAHWEH ON PAGE 2

Ten-year-old Tanika Powell (left) of St. Louis, Mo. gifts Tabitha Brown a copy of her book, Re-Re The Reader.

(Photos: Nicole R. Harris/The New Tri-State Defender)

Ralph “RJ Groove” noted that he has long had a vision of doing a vegan brunch in Memphis to expose the community to healthier eating habits.

by Nicole R. Harris

kindness.

“She’s friendly with everybody, so everybody personally thinks she’s their auntie, friend, sister, or vegan mom or whatever,” said Johnson.

So, when he began speaking to her about his desire to co-host events to showcase plant-based — also known as vegan — foods, Brown was all in.

But in March 2020, the world came to a halt because of the COVID pandemic.

“When the pandemic hit and I started doing posts about vegan food on my social media and that process, I started doing pop ups to build the brand of Plant Based Heat,” said RJ Grove. “I ended up moving

Memphis Vegan Brunch yields story of healthy living and a celebrity friend

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Social media, for some, is best utilized for watching trendy videos and posting a photo or two of weekend fun.

For others, sites such as Facebook and Instagram also are a place where friendships are formed. And, if they’re lucky, those friendships will bring one of the most popular, most loved celebrities to town to help promote healthy living.

Six years ago, Ralph “RJ Groove” Johnson found himself in a “social media friendship” with Tabitha Brown, celebrity content creator, author, and entrepreneur.

Brown, who rose to fame in 2017 after posting a viral video of a sandwich review, was known and embraced for her warmth and

SEE VEGAN ON PAGE 2

BRIDGES is ‘home’ for learning opportunities

by Candace A. Gray

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

If there was a Bridge Builders poster child, it would be Mario Hendrix, vice president of programming for BRIDGES. He has been an employee at BRIDGES, a youth transformation organization, for 20-plus years, and affiliated with the nonprofit for more than 30 of its 35 years.

Hendrix and his team currently are recruiting more students for their youth-development and leadership programs.

The deadline for rising seventh

through 12th graders from any school in Memphis is April 10.

The application is available at BridgesUSA.org.

BRIDGES has recruited 800 students and wants Mario 300 more enHendrix rolled before the school year ends.

“Students have the opportunity to attend youth leadership conferences this summer and learn throughout the next academic year,” said Hendrix.

Zaheen Chowdhury (right), a junior at Pleasant View School and a member of BRIDGES’ Youth Advisory Board, attended the 2022 Summer Conference with other Bridge Builders. (Courtesy photo) So, what are they learning? How to take up space, let their voices be heard and how to connect with those who live in different neighborhoods, attend different schools, and have

different backgrounds.

“One of the facets of Bridge Builders is providing a space for

SEE BRIDGES ON PAGE 2

Get TSD News, announcements and special promotions in your email! visit TSDMemphis.com to sign up, or scan the code at right!

The New Tri-State Defender

March 30 - April 5, 2023

Page 2

NEWS

VEGAN

CONTINUED FROM FRONT back to Memphis and opening up the Plant Based Heat restaurant.”

Located on South Highland near the University of Memphis, Plant Based Heat sells meals free of meat, or meat byproducts. Although not everyone who patronizes the restaurant adheres to a plantbased lifestyle, they all partake in the benefits of healthier food, something RJ Grove said is important in the African-American community.

“We grew up eating whatever we can eat, so we have some underlying issues because of that. And a lot of us lost relatives who had underlying health issues throughout the pandemic,” said RJ Grove. “All of that was a big part of me bringing it to Memphis, but to land this location in the heart of Orange Mound and have the response that we have is more than I can ask for.”

When the time came to celebrate his personal, three-year vegan anniversary, RJ Grove wanted to find a way to introduce healthier living to the community.

He circled back to his pre-pandemic conversation with Brown, who agreed to be the celebrity guest at the inaugural Memphis Vegan Brunch (last Sunday).

With nearly 1,000 attendees — many dressed in colorful outfits from the Tabitha Brown clothing line at Target — Memphis Vegan Brunch featured a plant-based spread from nearly a dozen vegan chefs from Memphis and other

Tabitha Brown poses for a selfie with Memphis Vegan Brunch attendees. Around 1,000 people from near and far gathered for the event. (Photo: Nicole R. Harris) cities. For RJ Grove, the vision and decision to host the event was an easy one.

“You always have brunch.

You can go to brunch seven days a week … but we [the Memphis area] don’t have a 100 percent vegan brunch,” he said. “And I was like, how awesome would it be to bring in my sister, Tabitha Brown to do this brunch with us as a special guest.”

Complete with a fashion show and giveaways from corporate sponsor Kroger, guests dined on vegan fare that, unless otherwise noted, might have passed for a regular meal.

Although brunch was the main event, people of all ages crossed state lines for another reason — to meet Tabitha Brown.

As guests lined up to fill their plates, Brown floated from table to table greeting each person; some overcome with tears at the opportunity.

“I’ve been wanting to see her live for so long. She encourages me all the time, said Jacquelyn Smith of Memphis.

“It’s bringing everyone together and it’s just a positive

vibe.”

Cece Watson has been a vegetarian for four years and said events like Memphis Vegan Brunch are important because they showcase healthier eating options in a city known for BBQ. Watson credits her mother, a 30-year vegetarian, with inspiring her to live healthier. Her advice to those who want to give plant-based diets a try?

“Take is slow, don’t try to go cold turkey,” she said.

Brown, a three-time author, wasn’t the only wordsmith in the room. Tanika Prowell, 10, traveled from St. Louis with her mom, Takiayah, to give Tabitha a copy of the children’s book she wrote, Re-Re The Reader.

“I was excited,” she said, still bubbling from the joy of meeting Tabitha.

RJ Grove plans to make Memphis Vegan Brunch an annual affair and hopes to host additional events throughout the year. A second Plant Based Heat location is scheduled to open in Downtown Memphis in May.

BRIDGES

CONTINUED FROM FRONT kids to feel like they’re a part of something – a shared space.

“It’s not a utopian society.

It’s about bringing people together who have difference of opinions, different emotions and creating a space for them to really understand each other on a deeper, non-superficial level,” Hendrix said.

Zaheen Chowdhury, a junior at Pleasant View School, and a member of BRIDGES’ Youth Advisory Board, can attest to the benefits of the program.

“Through Bridge Builders, I have become a better listener and communicator. I have learned the importance of compassion and consideration, all of which allow me to become a better leader,” said Chowdhury.

“Through participating in the yearly summer conferences since the seventh grade, I have met so many different people with different perspectives and experiences; people I woul͟d not have met without BRIDGES.” The Bridge Builders COLLABORATE program is based on three pillars – leadership development, diversity of appreciation, and community action, and is created based on students’ input.

“This organization is not only for youth, but by youth as well. I serve on the Youth Advisory Board of BRIDGES, the youth equivalent of the board of directors. Through my role, I provide youth input and perspective to the highest levels of the organization’s leadership. I am involved in the decision-making processes for curriculum, programming, recruitment, and more,” said Chowdhury.

Through a series of trainings and exercises, like the rock-climbing wall, the “trust fall” and others designed to inspire students to get out of their comfort zones, they learn

Mario Hendrix with other Bridges staff members accompanying Bridge Builders on the Urban Trek. (Courtesy photo) to trust their team members and other valuable lessons that prepare them for life beyond school.

The COLLABORATE program begins in the summer and runs through the next school year. Once students become a Bridge Builder, they’re welcome to attend year after year until they graduate. But for some, that’s not enough.

Hendrix described BRIDGES as a lifestyle for him. He returned as a summer counselor after completing the program and became a BRIDGES intern before choosing to work there full time, earning one of the top leadership roles in the organization and becoming the longest-tenured employee.

“When I first entered the program, I was a rising 10th grader and didn’t want to come. My grandma made me come. I was missing my friends and wanted to go home by that Wednesday.

“But as I continued to attend the meetings, I realized it was different. I met people from across the city, interacted with so many races and cultures that I never would’ve met, and things started to connect for me,” said Hendrix.

Chowdhury agrees and encourages her peers to become a Bridge Builder for personal and professional growth, among other intangibles.

“Do it! Becoming a Bridge

Builder has been one of the most beneficial and rewarding experiences of my life. I have met so many outstanding people through the program and have had so much fun doing so.

“I look forward to my summer conferences every year, making amazing memories and relationships with my cohort members and facilitators,” said Chowdhury.

Hendrix said the program helps students learn responsibility and how to care for their community, all while doing something they might have never done before. He wants students and their families to take advantage of this opportunity to learn and grow outside of the classroom.

“There is a notion that the kids are doing this and that wrong. The youth in our community are seeking an opportunity to be heard, valued, and to have a seat at the table, to interact with other youth, to understand who they are themselves and to feel seen.

“Our responsibility is to get the students in and allow them to see they have valuable thoughts and beliefs so that they can positively impact the Memphis community at large,” said Hendrix.

(Visit bridgesusa.org learn more and apply.)

to

Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson made the transition to Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh. (Screen capture)

YAHWEH

CONTINUED FROM FRONT 4. At 16, he came back to live with his mother.

He attended Hamilton High School but stopped just short of graduation because of “circumstances and situations,” he would always say.

“Those of us of a certain age remember sock-hops,” said Pope. “Minister Yahweh and I had been hanging together since we were 11 years old.

He was known at other high schools because he was such a good dancer.

“Other schools would call him to attend their sock hops too because he was so smooth on the dance floor. Those were the days.”

His post-high school years were troubled, rife with petty crime and stints of incarceration.

“In those days when I was younger, I was a shoplifter and a pickpocket,” he acknowledged during a 2019 taped interview at the Elaine Legacy Center in Elaine, Arkansas for the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

But during his final incarceration, “something was happening” to Lance Watson. He began reading Bible scripture, Mao, and the writings of several great thinkers.

The period was one of transformation and extraordinary self-discovery amid the percolating backdrop of marching and organizing in the South.

Years earlier, he had picked up the nickname “Willie Wine” because of the way he consumed wine, he detailed in the taped oral history.

“As I was going through transition in prison the last time … I had had my religious epiphany…. ‘I said what am I going to call myself?’

Recalling traveling preachers such as “Sweet Daddy Grace,” he settled up calling himself “Sweet Willie Wine.

That’s how Sweet Willie Wine was born. … As I started to do those things that are positive, the name caught on….”

Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh (left), familiar to many as Lance “Sweet Willie Wine” Watson as a member of The Invaders as the civil rights movement unfolded, and James Deke Pope, second president of the Black Student Association at then-Memphis State University (University of Memphis), enter Health Sciences Park after attending a Juneteenth (2021) observance on the campus of LeMoyne-Owen College. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender Archives)

Pam Lee (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New TriState Defender) “It was evident something had happened,” said Pope.

Later, he transitioned to Suhkara A. Yahweh.

“He wanted his new name to reflect his evolved relationship with Yeshua – the One many call ‘Jesus,’” said Pope.

John Burl Smith, a co-founder of The Invaders, reflected upon the death of Minister Yahweh, who was also a lifelong friend.

“I knew Suhkara even before he became an Invader,” said Smith. “He was a great dancer. He had a paralyzed arm. On the dance floor, he would put it in his pocket and dance with the other arm out.

He made it look cool.

“So other guys started doing it, too. We would go to different sock hops and dances at other high schools. And people started calling that dance, ‘The Willie Wine.’”

Smith brought Minister Yahweh into The Invaders because he felt the organization would give Yahweh purpose and direction.

“The Invaders came out of the Black Organizing Project,” said Smith. “Our work began focusing more on civil rights than just socializing. …. he embraced the fight for civil rights.

“The march to Little Rock and (his involvement with the Poor Peoples’ Campaign in Washington, D.C.,) were examples of his perseverance. …

“The march to Little Rock and (his involvement with the Poor Peoples’ Campaign in Washington, D.C.,) were examples of his perseverance. … He became a folk hero. He was a champion of the people.”

— John Burl Smith He became a folk hero. He was a champion of the people.”

As Yahweh’s “secretary,” Patricia Lee helped him keep documentation in order and she assisted in other efforts.

On Saturday afternoon, she visited him at the hospital, bringing fish and Great Northern beans.

“He ate and visited with friends all afternoon,” said Lee. “He was doing so well that we felt sure doctors would be releasing him the next day — that was Sunday.

“But a little over an hour after I got home, I got a call from the hospital telling me to come back. I drove there as quickly as I could, but he had already passed when I got up there. I believe they said it was a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot.”

Lee said Yahweh had talked about “going home,” and he had prepared for his final arrangements.

“Everything has already been taken care of, and Minister Yahweh talked with Mr. Pope and I about his homegoing,” said Lee. The visitation is set for April 7 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Superior Funeral Home, 460 E. McLemore.

The celebration service will be on April 8 at 11 a.m. at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, 492 E. McLemore.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 30 - April 5, 2023

Page 3

NEWS

As Nashville reels from school shooting, Tenn. lawmakers consider loosening gun restrictions

by Marta W. Aldrich Chalkbeat Tennessee

Nashville teacher Charlene Culbertson arrived at work early Tuesday morning. But she hesitated to walk into the building, a public elementary school not far from the church school where a shooter had killed three children and three adults a day earlier.

“I sat in my car until I felt like I had a good enough mask on to be who my kids expect to see,” said Culbertson, who teaches 20 preschoolers at Shwab Elementary School.

“My little students seem fine today, but I am not,” she said.

“This has been a hard day.”

Teachers and students returned to class at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools after police released chilling video footage overnight showing how a 28-year-old intruder, armed with two rifles and a pistol, shot through a glass door to The Covenant School in Nashville’s affluent Green Hills community.

The shooter, who had legally purchased multiple firearms from five Nashville-area gun stores, entered the school and began firing at students and staff before being killed by a police SWAT team.

Monday’s attack brings the U.S. count to 15 mass school shootings — resulting in the deaths of four or more people — since 1999’s Columbine

High School massacre in Colorado, according to The Associated Press.

“Hearing all of this is heartbreaking. We’re scared,” said 16-year-old Jennie Li, who decided to come to a rally at the Capitol with her younger sister, Mary, instead of going to class at the magnet school they attend in downtown Nashville.

They wanted their student voices heard.

Tennessee has one of the nation’s highest rates of gun deaths, including murders, suicides and accidental shootings. It also has some of the most permissive gun laws.

In 2021, it enacted a law that lets most Tennesseans 21 and older carry handguns without first clearing a background check, obtaining a permit, or getting trained on firearms safety. “Guns are essentially ubiquitous” in the state, a part of the culture, said Nashville Mayor John Cooper.

And state lawmakers in the Republican-controlled legislature are considering numerous pieces of gun legislation to make firearms even more prevalent.

One bill, sponsored by Sen. John Stevens of Huntingdon and Rep. Rusty Grills of Newbern, would drop that age from 21 to 18. The House version would let people carry rifles and shotguns in public without a permit.

Another bill, sponsored by

Becca Dryden, a Nashville mother of two children, speaks Tuesday at a rally against gun violence held outside of the Nashville offices of state legislators who are considering gun legislation. The rally was sponsored by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. (Photo: Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat) Sen. Paul Bailey of Sparta and Rep. Ryan Williams of Cookeville, would allow faculty or school staff members to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds with a permit.

Both measures were scheduled for votes Tuesday in various committees but, after Monday’s deadly shooting, legislative leaders delayed taking up any contentious gun-related legislation until next week.

“Yesterday was a tragic event in this country and this state and in Nashville, and we need to be respectful of those victims and the families of those victims,” said Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga

Republican who chairs his chamber’s judiciary committee.

Gov. Bill Lee agreed. He signed the controversial law to loosen restrictions for gun ownership and has questioned the effectiveness of red flag laws that would restrict gun access for people who are most likely to misuse them.

“There will come a time to discuss and debate policy,” but not immediately, Lee said in a video message released late Tuesday. He called on Tennesseans first to pray for the families of the victims and the shooter, the school, police, and others “who are hurting and angry and confused.”

Among the hurting is Bec-

ca Dryden, a Nashville parent who spoke at a rally outside of legislative offices in downtown Nashville. About a hundred people showed up to the Tuesday event, sponsored

by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which has a chapter in Tennessee.

“This is a really scary time to be a parent,” Dryden said through tears, “and I just want my kids to live a full life. I want them to live. I want to pick them up from school every day — alive.”

Amanda Rosenberger, a college professor in Cookeville, said she survived a 1992 school shooting while attending Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Massachusetts — and still carries the trauma with her every day.

“I’m tired of seeing people crying on the television.

I’m tired of it,” Rosenberger said. “I don’t want to be one of those people any more. We need to stand up for our kids.”

Linda McFadyen-Ketchum, a retired teacher who leads the advocacy group’s Tennessee chapter, criticized GOP leaders for delaying business on gun legislation. The time to act, she said, is now, while the slayings of 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney and school staff members Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, and Cynthia Peak were fresh on everyone’s minds.

“I don’t have any more tears, y’all,” McFadyen-Ketchum told the crowd. “We’ve been crying since Sandy Hook.

We’re cried out. We don’t need a day to mourn. We need a day of action.”

On the other side of Nashville, eighth-grade teacher Kelly Ann Graff had lots of tears. She cried on the way to work on Tuesday. To get through the school day, she put her emotions on the back burner and tried to support her students by answering their questions honestly in an age-appropriate way.

But she’s also worried about the well-being of her co-workers at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, as well as educators across the nation who are overworked, underpaid, undersupported, and grappling with the growing threat of gun violence.

The teachers are not OK, she said.

“I’m very afraid of us moving on too quickly from this event,” Graff said. “I’m afraid that prioritizing normalcy will enable this new normal of mass school shootings. This shooting hit close to home, and that’s a fact that we need to sit with.”

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

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, March 30 - April 5, 2023, Page 4

Make no mistake, COVID-19 is still here, lurking in the shadows and waiting to pounce on the vaccinated and unvaccinated, alike.

COVID ‘snuck’ me, and I was not ready!

By Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

So, my best friend, Betty Jean, is originally from Mississippi, and the way she talks is comedy gold.

She says stuff like: “My mama ‘nem,” They fixin’ to leave now,” and “Girl, we be havin’ a good time.”

(Many of us use these expressions, but it’s the way Betty Jean says them that gets you.)

And then, there’s this one expression she has when she’s talking about a fight: “The boy snuck him from behind, meaning: “to sneak up on somebody while they aren’t looking.”

Well, that’s exactly the word for what COVID-19 did to me: It snuck me! And believe me, toughing it out was no walk in the park.

In the early morning hours of March 18, a Saturday, I became aware that my blood pressure was rising at an alarming rate. There was a sudden flush, like a feverish shower inside my body.

I became aware that I was only seconds away from losing consciousness.

I did lose consciousness. When I woke up, I realized that something was wrong. I quickly ruled out a stroke because I could still feel both arms and legs.

I wiggled everything just to make sure.

As I started to get up, my limbs seemed extremely heavy and hard to manage.

An excruciating wave of pain pounded the back of my head, at the nape of my neck. I knew there was some kind of crisis happening, but what, exactly, I couldn’t tell.

I knew it couldn’t be COVID because most of that was all over, and I had never tested positive for it.

Well, I was wrong. There were pink lines everywhere.

I crawled into bed, made a few phone calls, then waited for help.

So, you see, I really did get snuck.

COVID-19 is alive …

I thought we said we were done with the pandemic. Didn’t we?

Masks are optional, we’re outside, still careful about handwashing, but not as rigidly, and we’re eating out again.

In the pre-vaccination days when we were still trying to understand the virus, an infection for seniors over 60 might have been a death sentence.

Thank God we have moved well

beyond those days.

But make no mistake, COVID-19 is still here, lurking in the shadows and waiting to pounce on the Dr. Sybil C. vaccinated and Mitchell unvaccinated, alike.

I have developed a new respect for the virus, despite all the wonderful vaccinations and booster shots in our toolbox.

A complication started to develop: My blood pressure shot up past 220 for the first 28 hours or so. Even with a cocktail of three medications, that stroke-level blood pressure persisted.

There was a fever and an excruciating headache.

I have a digital blood pressure monitor and thermometer. I took frequent measures on both. After about 24 hours, there seemed to finally be a change in both.

The measures were coming down, but not quickly enough.

Living alone is great, except when you’re ill. Family and friends came and went, leaving things just inside the front door.

I had plenty of bottled water and juice, but I had no appetite. Besides, I couldn’t smell or taste my food.

My entire head felt like it was in a vise. For nearly two days and nights, I just lay there suffering. It was painful to speak, but my mind kept repeating over and over: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

I drank all the liquids I could hold, and I took the blood pressure meds and aspirin.

I fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep, and when I awakened, the fever had completely broken, and my blood pressure was back below 150.

I murmured my thanks to God, and fell back asleep.

On the sixth day, soreness left my arms and legs. On the seventh day, I got up, scrubbed everything down, stripped my bed and washed.

Then, I gave the place another once over, cleaning and scrubbing as if my life depended on it. I cheered when I tested negative.

And I decided to check and see if another booster is warranted. I never want to go through that again. …Because, like Betty Jean says, “You can’t get caught slippin’. If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.”

Interim Supt.

Toni Williams has inserted herself into the evolving picture that will result in a fulltime superintendent for Memphis Shelby County Schools.

(Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/ GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

A new superintendent – the insider vs. outsider debate!

by Curtis Weathers

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

So last week, Toni Williams officially became a candidate for the Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent’s job.

Williams’ candidacy has received pushback from some people because she was appointed to serve as interim superintendent after telling the School Board she was not interested in being the full-time superintendent.

While I am ecstatic about her decision to pursue this opportunity, I must admit, I am a bit surprised by some of the responses from the community.

We need to quit stressing over the fact that she changed her mind. After six months on the job, I think she probably has come to realize that she too has what it takes to be a successful leader of this school system.

I have no idea who else is interested in the position. As of today, in my opinion, based on what I have seen and heard, she is the right person for the job.

But clearly, there are those who vehemently disagree. And they are passionate about their disapproval.

People are now attacking her character, and, unfortunately, if she gets the job, she’ll have to wear those scars for quite some time.

The school board could have easily denied her request to apply for the position, reminding her of the promise she made at the beginning of the process.

Of course, only the board members can explain why they changed their minds.

The last time I checked, there were 24 other candidates applying for the job. This is not complicated.

While she clearly has an advantage, let her compete with the other candidates, and let’s see who comes out on top.

I have seen this search process unfold many times over the years, and drama seems always to be a part of the procedures.

Curtis Weathers

Here’s my basic argument.

When you get past the fact that she changed her mind about applying for the job, the question of whether we hire an insider or an outsider to lead our school system begins to surface once

again.

I have always been opposed to bringing in people from the outside to do a job people on the inside are capable of performing just as well.

This argument has been hotly debated for years when it comes to transitioning at the superintendent level.

But the fact is that the insider/outsider debate is settled law.

It doesn’t matter!

Many feel that insiders, who have risen through the ranks, would favor stability and slow, progressive incremental change, and would be reluctant to shake up the status quo.

Instead of bringing in new staff and innovations from elsewhere, insiders, they argue, would instead seek new ideas and programs from longtime colleagues whom they trust.

Well, what’s wrong with that?

For many large urban districts, the rule has been to appoint outsiders who promise major changes to improve academic performance and organizational efficiencies.

An outsider, they argue, would come in and shake up the system and disrupt the status quo. They could bring in new people with new ideas from outside the system to improve operations and academic performance.

While all of these are very plausible reasons to justify one’s support for insider or outsider choices, the fact is, there are no credible studies that support the notion that superintendents from outside a school system perform any better than those

from inside the system.

Hiring Toni Williams, however, is a matter of practicality.

I have always believed that we have the talent in our community to lead our school system.

Over the years, we have had multiple superintendents from outside the Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and nothing about their performances left me believing in the magic of outside leadership.

Toni Williams has been on an extended job interview for more than six months and is being scrutinized daily.

She knows this system inside and out, and with her background in accounting and finance, she is more than capable of managing the resources at her disposal.

She has the proven skills of a top executive who, I’m sure, is more than capable of surrounding herself with professionals who understand urban education.

Our School Board members have all the data they need to determine whether she can successfully lead one of America’s largest urban school systems.

It’s hard to believe they would allow her to apply for the job if they thought otherwise.

As far as I’m concerned, she has two things in her favor: (1) Her extended interview (as interim superintendent) is going exceptionally well.

(2) She is a native Memphian.

I’d like to believe that our school system is a nurturing organization, purposely preparing people for the most challenging of leadership roles.

So let her compete with the other candidates and stop criticizing the lady because she was allowed, and probably encouraged, to change her mind.

Let’s move forward with the process, and may the best person win.

(Follow me, TSD’s education columnist, on Twitter @curtisweathers.

Email me at curtislweathers@gmail. com.)

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

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Mailed subscriptions to The New Tri-State Defender are available upon request. One Year, $35.00; Two Years, $60.00. Request can be emailed to subscriptions@tsdmemphis.com or mailed to Subscriptions, The New Tri-State Defender, 1509 Madison Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104. Delivery may take one week.

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

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The New Tri-State Defender, 1509 Madison Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Any and all inquiries may be submitted in writing by calling (901) 523-1818 or by email.

TELEPHONE: Editorial, administration, display advertising, classified advertising: (901) 523-1818. Fax: (901) 578-5037.

The New Tri-State Defender (USPS 780-220) is published weekly by Best Media Properties, Inc., 1509 Madison Ave., Memphis, TN, 38104. Second-class postage paid in Memphis, TN.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 30 - April 5, 2023

Page 5

RELIGION

‘Triumph Over Trauma’ workshop highlights widespread need for healing

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

A versatile mix of counselors, clergy, non-profit leaders, and individuals who have suffered trauma and are living through various stages of recovery found common ground at The Healing Center in South Memphis on Tuesday.

More than 200 gathered at a workshop to learn how both communities and individuals are affected by trauma.

“This is absolutely awesome for everyone,” said Host Pastor Dianne M. Young. “Not just in the African-American community, but people in every community suffers trauma. I was so proud to have so many communities represented in the workshop. It’s an acknowledgment that we are more alike than different, and we all need to heal from past trauma.”

Presenters explored simple strategies for managing “triggers” which cause victims to relive the devastation of a traumatic event.

“Our immediate reaction to trauma puts us in survival mode: freeze, fight, or flight,” said Asst. Director Jaime Harper, with the Tennessee

Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. “We generally do what we know, what we’ve been taught, taking cues from our environment, our faith, and our community. This workshop is just one example of how we try to create a safe environment for people to come and say, ‘I need help.’”

Harper’s division works with faithbased initiatives, such as those facilitated by The Healing Center to help a “community in crisis.”

“It has been more than four decades that my husband, Dr. William M. Young, began working with the black community concerning matters of mental health and trauma,” said Young. “We have come such a long way, and our message has always been the same. It is safe to talk about trauma and how we’ve been hurt. But also, the great cause for celebration is that Jesus, the Master Healer, can also heal emotions.”

The TAMAR Experience…

Harper and other presenters were touting the efficacy of a premiere program design for addressing trauma and its effects.

TAMAR (Trauma, Addiction,

Mental Health and Recovery) is a seven-week, group treatment, which helps participants understand, not only how to recognize the influence of past trauma on present behavior, but how to identify the “triggers” which spark that behavior.

Triggers remind an individual of the trauma and invokes a response to the memory of a traumatic event, according to Charryse Wright, a trauma consultant.

“Anything can be a trigger,” said Wright. “I was traumatized by sexual abuse. So, when anyone says to me, ‘You know, Charryse, you are really beautiful,’ that triggers me because the past trauma is telling me they want something, which is unhealthy and like all other +triggers, must be addressed.”

Wright said triggers can be a smell, a sound, seeing an object—anything with sensory perception which connects a person to the pain of past trauma.

Triggers influence present behavior, creating a pattern of mostly unhealthy responses to stimuli. The ultimate goal of TAMAR is to teach trauma survivors how to cope in healthy, non-destructive ways.

TAMAR helps participants consid-

Pictured (l-r) Jaime Harper, Dr. Kennard Murray, the Rev. Tondala Hayward, Rev. Neelley Hicks, Pastor Dianne Young, Charryse Wright, and Pastor Terrence Ryans. (Photo: Patricia Rogers) er the cost of behaviors which result from negative triggers. They include: drug use, cigarette smoking, fighting, overeating, drinking, and resorting to sexual encounters.

Countering triggers and helping individuals deal with past trauma and its effects entails gravitating to individuals with character qualities which help others feel safe, loved, and respected.

When negative behavior is being

triggered, and a person is trying to break destructive behaviors which usually follow, simple everyday activities can make a world of difference: watching television, reading, taking a shower, exercise, meditation, stress-relieving breathing, and writing a letter.

(For assistance with emotional crisis and addiction referrals, call The Healing Center at: (901) 370-4673.)

Year one celebration …

‘From a Sister’s Heart’ …

The From a Sister’s Heart 2023 Women’s Conference was held at Anointed Temple of Praise, 3939 Riverdale Road, last Saturday, March 25. The Rev. Dr. Pamela Gray Addison was the conference chairperson. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Union Valley Missionary Baptist Church, 1051 E. McLemore, celebrated the first pastoral anniversary of Pastor Walter L. Gray Jr. and his wife, Kimberly Williams-Gray, last Sunday. The afternoon message was delivered by the Reginald Boyce, lead pastor at Riverside Baptist Church. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

The New Tri-State Defender, March 30 - April 5, 2023, Page 6

The Red Bull Dance Your Style Competition made a return to Memphis after a 2021 stop that was embraced as a success.

Taylor Hampton, a University of Memphis freshman, began her photojournalism internship with The New Tri-State Defender with these captured images.

Red Bull Dance Your Style – Memphis 2023 TSD Newsroom

A

global dance-off contest would be on sound footing with the kickoff in Memphis.

And that’s is exactly what happened last weekend.

By name, it was the Red Bull Dance Your Style Competition and the dance floor was inside the Crosstown Concourse.

A total of 16 performers from the Mid-South and elsewhere were drawn to the opportunity to dance their way to the national finals. They had to maneuver through a single-elimination,

bracket-style competition.

Memphis jookin’ queen Ladia Yates, founder of the L.Y.E. Academy, hosted the Red Bull event. As did comedian DC Paul of New Orleans.

And there were special guests, including two popular Memphis rappers – NLE Choppa and Duke Deuce.

Eight U.S. qualifying events are slated, with the winners moving on to Chicago for the Red Bull Dance Your Style National Final in May. Frankfurt, Germany will host the World Final in November.

The New Tri-State Defender

March 30 - April 5, 2023

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 7

TSU advances to Honda Campus All-star challenge national championship The Tennessee State University Honda Campus All-Star Team is headed to the National Championship, with a chance to win the title and a $75,000 institutional grant from the motor company.

The Honda Campus All-Star Championship (HCASC) consists of four-student teams facing off in head-to-head competition, quickly answering questions about history, science, literature, religion, math, the arts, pop culture, and sports, before another team can.

The team of ‘brainiacs’ practice several times a week and includes TSU scholars Cameron Malone, the team’s captain who is a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering from Oak Ridge, TN; Kelley Zumwalt a senior majoring in History and Political Sciences from Nashville, TN; Morgan Gill, a sophomore majoring in Urban Studies/ Pre Law from Stockbridge, GA; and Tyler Vazquez a sophomore majoring in Biology and Pre-Med from Winston Salem, NC. Malone said the scholars made it to the playoffs last year, but are excited about qualifying for the national tournament this time. “We have a really good chance to win it all this year,” Malone said.

“The actual teamwork involved in our team sets us apart. We have confidence in our members when they are answering questions.”

This is the 26th year TSU has participated in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, a competition that consists of 32 HBCU teams vying for the national title.

This year’s campaign competition is April 17 in Torrance, California.

The team coach is Political Science Professor, Dr. John Miglietta.

“TSU has won $193,500 in cumulative grant money since the inception of the program,” Miglietta said.

“The team and I are looking forward to traveling to Torrance, California, for the National Championship Tournament.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity that American Honda provides to showcase the academic achievement at historically Black colleges and universities.”

TSU earned the bid to the national competition after its second-place finish at the qualifying round, in early March at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. The university won the National Championship in 2007.

This year’s HCASC theme is “Friends for Life,” as the corporation encourages the students to network, and build friendships that last a lifetime. The tournament culminates with the final eight teams playing each other April 17th at the American Honda headquarters.

The competition will be streamed April 2021 on www.hcasc.com.

Tennessee State University Honda Campus All-Star Team members competing during a recent game in Atlanta against Voorhees University.

Pictured (l-r): Morgan Gill , Cameron Malone, and Tyler Vazquez. (Courtesy photo)

Headed to the national championship are (l-r) Tyler Vazquez, Morgan Gill, John Miglietta (coach), Kelley Zumwalt, Cameron Malone.

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, March 30 - April 5, 2023, Page 8

D.A. Mulroy parts with his ‘personal beliefs’ to seek death penalty for Ezekiel Kelly

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

If ever there was a case tailor-made for the death penalty, Ezekiel Kelly’s murder spree is it, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said.

In a Monday (March 27) news conference, Mulroy announced that Ezekiel Kelly will face capital punishment for an early September reign of terror last year that forced the city of Memphis into lockdown.

Mulroy has often voiced his opposition to the death penalty as a matter of personal conscience. But Kelly’s brazen Sept. 7 shooting spree, which left three dead and four critically wounded, compelled Mulroy’s first reach for the death penalty since taking office Sept. 1.

“I’ve made no secret of my opposition to capital punishment as a policy matter,” Mulroy said. “If I were a legislator, I would vote against it.

But as DA, I have to enforce the law as written, even if I disagree with it.

“The facts of this case compel me to seek the maximum penalty provided under the law, regardless of my personal beliefs.”

Kelly managed to elude police for

hours, shooting victims and hijacking vehicles to create citywide chaos.

Memphis police and other law enforcement agencies were left scrambling Steve to pinpoint KelMulroy ly’s whereabouts after it was determined the multiple shootings were the work of one gunman.

Kelly even taunted police by posting live footage in real time of himself on Facebook and Instagram aiming weapons and shooting people.

Kelly’s rampage, which lasted more than five hours and extended from Memphis to Southaven. Multiple law enforcement entities joined the chase to capture Kelly, who was taken into police custody just after 9 p.m., in Whitehaven.

“If this case isn’t death-notice worthy, then no case is,” Mulroy said.

Mulroy said his conversations with victims’ families indicate that they concur and support his decision to seek the death penalty in Kelly’s case.

Ezekiel Kelly had a blanket stare as a judge outlined next steps during a preliminary hearing last October. (Screen capture) However, Mulroy received some pushback shortly after his news conference at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center.

Just City Memphis, a non-profit agency is committed to criminal justice reform and offers assistance to ex-felons seeking employment, better housing, educational loans, and expungement, issued the following statement: “Just City does not support the Shelby County District Attorney’s decision to pursue the death penalty in the matter of State of Tennessee v. Ezekiel Kelly. Seeking the death penalty means embarking on a com-

plex, decades-long effort to take yet another life.

“Endless hearings and procedural maneuvers will delay accountability for those responsible and deny justice for victims and their families.

The death penalty is not applied evenly across race and income level, and it should not be considered at any phase of prosecution. Death sentences are disproportionately handed down to Black people, particularly in Shelby County.

“More than half of all Tennessee death row inmates are Black, and half are from Shelby County. A growing body of evidence tells us that the death penalty does not deter crime and will not improve public safety in our community.

“Furthermore, modern application of the death penalty by lethal injection is largely experimental and often does not go as planned…The District Attorney should consider other sentences that are more humane, effective, and responsive to victims, their families, and public safety.”

Despite his own objection to capital punishment, Mulroy said notice to seek the death penalty in Kelly’s case was filed prior to the news conference because conditions surrounding the crimes dictated the action.

Under the law, Mulroy explained, any first murder-degree conviction is eligible for the death penalty, if one or more aggravating factors defined in the statute are met.

Kelly’s case meets four of those factors. Any one of them, alone, make his case death-penalty eligible.

Those factors are: • The defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies, other than the present charges, whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to the person.

• The defendant committed “mass murder,” which is defined as the murder of three or more persons, whether committed during a single criminal episode, or at different times within a 48-month period.

• Murder was committed in the course of an act of terrorism (see TCA 39-13-805 Commission of Act of Terrorism).

• Murder was committed at random, and the reasons for the killing are not obvious or easily understood.

Mulroy said his office has provided discovery of evidence to the defense and will continue to work cooperatively with Kelly’s defense in the interest of bringing justice in this case.

Mulroy said the case could be tried as early as six months.

Reclaiming Klondike rally aims to stop the violence TSD Newsroom The Rev. Walter Green, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, and others in a North Memphis collaborative committed to stopping the violence in the Klondike Community, rallied at the church on Tuesday.

Klondike, said Green, is the second oldest African-American community in Memphis.

“Lately it has become overwhelmed by violence, drugs, blight …, um, um, low income.

We need to do something for our community. We recognize we can’t wait for politicians,” he told The New Tri-State Defender.

“We can’t wait for other folk.

We live here, we work here, we worship here. We have a responsibility to being here. That means we have to not just talk about how bad it is, we gotta ask ourselves what are we committed to, to making it better.”

Feeding the hungry and providing needed clothing are among the things that Friendship, which was founded in 1904, is committed to, he said.

“But more than that, we commit to building character, building heritage and culture,” and he said, “to surround folk with resources that they can connect to so they can have a better quality of life.

Because if there is no sense of quality of life and heritage, then we will continue to see our communities fall apart.”

Building marriages, building families and equipping young men with “the tools necessary to be a man in the community,” is a must, he said.

Green emphasized that the rally reflected a collaborative.

“It’s not just Friendship. It’s a collaborative of agencies, churches and business folk here in this community,” he said.

Strategy is evolving, including a focus on building community pride. On Friday, a documentary on the history of Klondike will be shown at the church.

“So many folk don’t even understand the history, what exists,” said Green, who added that initiative would involve working and praying forward.

The Rev. Walter Green of Friendship Baptist Church said a “collaborative of agencies, churches and business folk” are rallying to reclaim Klondike. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/ GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

The New Tri-State Defender

March 30 - April 5, 2023

Page 9

NEWS

CLASSIFIEDS

Daughter: Mississippi tornado victim was ‘beautiful soul’

by Michael Goldberg and Robert Bumsted

1509 Madison Ave. Memphis, TN 38104 PH (901) 523-1818 HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

DEADLINES: Display ads Friday 5 p.m.

Classifieds ads Monday 5 p.m.

STANDARD RATES: $6.00 per line for 1 column ad.

Rates are non-commissionable and are quoted at the net rate. No refund for early cancellation. For additional information contact Sales Dept. at (901) 746-5201 or email: advertising@tsdmemphis.com.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Some categories require prepayment. All ads subject to credit approval. The New Tri-State Defender reserves the right to correctly classify and edit all copy or to reject or cancel any ad at any time. Only standard abbreviations accepted. Copy change during ordered schedule constitutes new ad & new changes. Deadlines for cancellation are identical to placement deadlines. Rates subject to change.

Associated Press

ROLLING FORK, Miss. – With her sister behind the wheel, Queen’terica Jones rushed across the flat Mississippi Delta as a powerful tornado bore down on their mother’s home. The howling winds lifted the rear of their car off the ground and slammed them into a churchyard.

They arrived too late. The tornado had already killed their mother, ruined her home and devasted the town of Rolling Fork. With no electricity, survivors used cellphone flashlights to pick through the wreckage. Jones said she found her mother’s lifeless body face-down in the yard, bloodied by nails that struck her head.

“I wouldn’t wish this pain upon nobody, not even an enemy,” Jones said Tuesday.

Her mother, Erica “Nikki” Moore, worked as a personal care assistant and is survived by six children. She was “a beautiful soul” who loved to pray and help people, Jones said.

“She was amazing. A sweetheart,” Jones said. “I mean, ain’t nobody perfect. Everybody goes through something, but our mom — everybody that’s known our mom knows she had a heart of gold.”

At least 21 people in Mississippi and a man in Alabama perished as menacing storms tore across the Deep South over the weekend.

The toll was especially steep in Sharkey County, in western Mississippi, where Moore was among 13 people who died in a county of 3,700 residents.

County Coroner Angelia Eason said the losses hit the close-knit community hard.

“I had to identify family, that’s what it felt like,” Eason said.

“When something like this happens, we tend to come together even closer. We didn’t just lose 13 people. We lost 13 family members.”

The storm wiped out multiple generations: A woman and her elderly mother were killed, Eason said. Others were in the wrong place at the wrong time: A man from Yazoo City had traveled more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) for an auction in Rolling Fork.

TJ Herman said his sister, Linda Herman, and their mother, Luvella Herman, died when the tornado

CLASSIFIEDS

ADJUSTMENTS: PLEASE check your ad the first day it appears. Call (901) 523-1818 if an error occurs. We can only offer in-house credit and NO REFUNDS are issued.

THE NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER assumes no financial responsibility for errors nor for copy omission.

Direct any classified billing inquires to (901) 523-1818.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH LAUDERDALE PASTOR POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT 682 South Lauderdale Street Memphis, Tennessee 38126 Apply online at www.first baptistlauderdale.org or https://www. facebook.com/profile. php?id=100089583129895.

Application Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Tornado survivor Jermaine Wells said the tornado “went through Rolling Fork and made us a ghost town. We need help, moral support. … Look in your heart to help…. (Screen capture)

“When something like this happens, we tend to come together even closer. We didn’t just lose 13 people. We lost 13 family members.”

— Angelia Eason wiped out the mobile home park where they lived. Linda had retired after working in restaurants, and she took good care of their mother, said TJ, who lives in Rockford, Illinois. He said his mother and sister enjoyed their uncomplicated life in Rolling Fork.

“Matter of fact, we brought our mom up here once, and we had to turn around and take her back the next day when she found out that we had to lock our doors up here,” TJ said Tuesday, referring to his hometown of Rockford. “In her community, nobody locked their doors. She didn’t like it very much up here.”

Lonnie and Melissa Pierce lived a quiet, peaceful life in the town before the tornado swept up a neighbor’s semi-truck and dropped it onto their brick home like a bomb, killing the married couple.

Lonnie’s friends and neighbors say the retired welder was fond of

hunting and bass fishing. Melissa volunteered for a local Christian charity that operates a small thrift store.

“They were good. About the best, I can tell you that,” said neighbor Harvey Cockrell, 76, a fellow welder who worked with Lonnie for decades.

A mound of broken rubble was all that remained of the couple’s home after the twister packing winds of up to 200 mph (320 kph) hit Rolling Fork late Friday. The 18-wheeler remained perched atop the debris Monday, and deer antlers that had been among Lonnie’s hunting trophies covered the couple’s yard.

Once the storm passed, Jermain Wells, a neighbor of the Pierces, went door-to-door searching for survivors in need. When he got to the wreckage of the couple’s home, there was nothing he could do.

“We couldn’t get them out,” Wells said.

April Johnson, a mother of five, was killed while working the cash register at a discount store in town.

The storm destroyed the business.

“She was a hardworking, loving kind who would go out of her way to help people,” said Dianne Berry, a cousin to April’s mother.

“She always had a smile.”

Berry said April’s son played

football and she was always willing to drive other kids to games and practices. “She would fix them little snack bags,” Berry said.

Shaquana Stubbs’ brother, Daryl Purvis, also died in Rolling Fork.

“He was a very kindhearted person,” Stubbs said of Daryl, who worked in landscaping. “He was the life of the party. He’ll do anything to make you laugh, and everybody that knew him loved him.

You couldn’t do nothing but love him.”

In addition to the heavy death toll, the same storm system injured dozens of people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings during four days in which it pummeled the South from Texas to the Carolinas.

In the Mississippi neighborhood where the Pierces were killed, it was difficult to believe anyone had survived. Cockrell and his wife, Mary Cockrell, took cover in the central hallway of their home when the tornado struck. Their home was destroyed, and they lost nearly everything but their lives.

“It’s like a war zone,” Mary Cockrell said. “Everything’s torn to pieces.”

(AP reporter Emily Wagster Pettus contributed to this story from Jackson, Mississippi.)

PUBLIC NOTICE THE MEMPHIS URBAN AREA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION In compliance with federal regulations 23 CFR 450, the Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has made available the Draft Mid-South Safety Action Plan for a 30-day public review and comment period, from March 30, 2023 – April 28, 2023. These documents will be made available for review from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, in the offices of the Memphis MPO located at 125 N. Main Street, Room 450, Memphis, TN 38103, or for download from the Internet at: memphismpo.org. The English language copies and the Spanish language summaries are also available for public review in the library systems of Shelby, Fayette, DeSoto, and Marshall counties.

Comments may be submitted to Pragati Srivastava, Memphis MPO, 125 N. Main Street, Room 450, Memphis, TN 38103 or via email at Pragati.Srivastava@ memphistn.gov.

It is the policy of the Memphis MPO not to exclude, deny, or discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, veteran status, familial or marital status, disability, medical or genetic condition, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in its hiring or employment practices, or in its admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities. All inquiries for Title VI and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or for persons with disabilities that require aids or services to participate either in the review of these documents may contact Nick Warren at (901) 636-7146, fax (901) 636-9404; or email Nick.

Warren@memphistn.gov to make accessibility arrangements.

This notice is funded (in part) under an agreement with the State of TN and MS, Departments of Transportation.

SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, March 30 - April 5, 2023, Page 10

Grizzlies stay steady; six-straight win downs Atlanta’s Hawks ATLANTA – In a game that was single-digit close much of the way, the Memphis Grizzlies bent but did not break as they beat back the Atlanta Hawks 123-119 on Sunday evening.

For the Grizzlies (47-27), it was the sixth straight win and the ninth in the last 10 games.

Notably, it was Ja Morant’s return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the first two games following his NBA suspension for conduct deemed detrimental to the league. Morant, who led the Grizzlies in scoring with 27 points, also had 6 assists.

While it was a road game for the Grizzlies, there were cheers aplenty for Morant.

“This is home. I was born in Georgia,” said Morant, particularly acknowledging the young admirers.

“It means a lot,” said Morant, declaring that “I have got to set better examples. Having them behind me brings me joy and it is only right I go out there and perform at a high level for them.”

By his assessment, Morant is not yet back to pre-suspension form.

“It is getting there. I am getting a lot more comfortable out there,” he said. “I am getting my legs under me. My staff is preparing me each and every game. I have got to continue to trust them.”

In the first quarter, neither team had more than a three-point lead until Tyus Jones connected on a three-pointer putting Memphis up 29-23 with 1:25 left. Memphis

led 34-27 heading into the second quarter.

Desmond Bane, who has averaged 22-plus points over the last six games, had six points in the opening quarter. He finished with 25 points, connecting on 3 of 6 from three-point range.

“I think he just goes about his business … with the ball and without it,” said Taylor Jenkins, Memphis’ head coach. “It (scoring) may be in a flurry or it may be here or there. He comes in and stabilizes us.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. – 15 points, 5 blocked shots and 8 rebounds – continued his dominance.

“It is hard to offensively game plan against what he does,” said Jenkins. “He sometimes comes out of nowhere. … He finds a way to get his hands on shots. He is doing a great of altering shots on the perimeter and at the rim. It is special to watch.”

With 6 seconds left in the first half, Jackson flew in to block the shot of John Collins at the rim.

A foul was called, followed by technical fouls on Jackson and Jenkins. Memphis was leading (60-54) before the play.

The call was overturned, but the Hawks made the two free throws on the technicals. At the half, Memphis led 61-56.

Memphis bumped the lead to seven points to start the third quarter before the Hawks wiped away the lead in less than a minute and tied the score at 63. Atlanta All-Star Trae Young scored 13 of his 28 points in the quarter.

Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Grizzlies blocks the shot of Paola Banchero of the Orlando Magic. (Photos: Warren Roseborough)

In his return to the starting line-up, Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 27 points and also had 6 assists. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender) Still, the Hawks (37-38) lost ground and trailed 96-89 heading into the fourth quarter. scored 33 points in the quarter, but they lost ground to the Grizzlies. Morant had 11 points in the quarter.

Xavier Tillman Sr., who only scored one point in the first quarter, added eight of his 14-second half points.

“He did a great job of playing off his teammates,” said Jenkins.

Dillon Brooks, who routinely is booed by opposing fans on the road, got a fresh sample of the arch-villain treatment. From the opening tip to the final whistle, a section of State Farm Arena alternately booed or chanted “We hate Dillion.”

“It is cool. I love the boos,” said Brooks (six points, five assists, 2 rebounds), who was saddled with foul trouble.

“It gives me attention. Even when I am not the focal point of everything. It is a way to get under a team’s skin.”

With Grizzlies all around, Trae Young of Atlanta floats in two of his game-high 28 points.

Memphis’ Xavier Tillman Sr. battles Franz Wagner of Orlando battle for a loose ball.

Tracking the Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night in the first of three straight home games at the FedExForum. Up by 23

points at one point, the Grizzlies held on to defeat the Magic (113-108).

Memphis (48-27) has won 12 straight home games and 7 games in a row.