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September 3 - 9, 2020
VOL. 69, No. 36
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Black Caucus and Gov. Lee on unsettled ground amid protests by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Tennessee’s governor refused to meet with peaceful protesters and the state’s lieutenant governor re-tweeted a post that appeared to support violence against Black Lives Matter protesters and Antifa, an ultra-liberal group known for civil disobedience actions. As a result, Gov. Bill Lee and Lt. Gov./Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) were blasted in a Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators (TBCSL) virtual meeting on Zoom Aug. 26. Controversy between the two factions spilled over into this week as a clear breakdown in communication became evident. It started weeks ago when Lee refused to meet with protesters or the caucus, according to TBCSL Chairman G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis). “Those kids were peacefully protesting and they asked for an opportunity to speak with the governor,” Hardaway said. “They stayed there faithfully (for) 62 days, asking to speak with him, and he wouldn’t do it.” Hardaway said Lee’s “refusal to speak with those young people” sparked anger among caucus members, who then asked for a meeting with Lee in a letter. The governor called Hardaway last week, according to the TBCSL chairman. “Instead of just hearing them
Computer-savvy Mackenzie Bailey, a fourth grader at Grahamwood Elementary School, focuses on a lesson while at the dining room table on Monday, the first day of classes for Shelby County Schools. (Courtesy photo)
SCS weathers all-virtual opening State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, said Gov. Bill Lee should have met with protesters demonstrating outside of the state Capitol. (Courtesy photo) out, Lee called a special session so the Republican Senate could push through a bill making capitol protest a felony,” Hardaway said. “Then he calls to meet with the caucus. I told him, ‘I have to see if the caucus wants to meet with you, sir.’ It took him so long to respond to us.”
Lee’s administration countered Hardaway’s account that the governor has skirted TBCSL’s attempt to meet with him. “Our office has reached out to the Black Caucus to schedule a meeting for the near future,” said Gillum Ferguson, Lee’s press secretary. “The governor has met with the Black Cau-
cus on numerous occasions during his tenure, in addition to many oneon-one conversations with individual members.” TSCBL members had mixed feelings about the governor’s response to their meeting request.
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Years after playing for John Thompson, Memphis-born former Georgetown player still carries life lessons by Lee Eric Smith lesmith@tsdmemphis.com
Over the course of the late John Thompson Jr.’s legendary coaching career at Georgetown University, it’s no stretch to say he touched the lives of hundreds of young men from across the nation, leaving a lasting impact on his players both on and off the court. In the early 1990s, one of those players was a young standout at Raleigh-Egypt High named Kevin Millen. Nowadays, it’s common to see Millen’s 6’7” lanky frame and easy smile on Beale Street, where he works to keep the entertainment district looking its best. But 30 years ago, Millen was a multipositional freak on the court whose talent eventually landed him at Georgetown under Thompson’s tutelage. And while Millen’s hopes of a pro career never manifested, he still carries with him the life lessons that Thompson imparted. “First of all, let me say that Coach Thompson had a masters degree in philosophy,” Millen said. “So coach was a person that knew and studied the mind and knew how to get the best out of a child’s mind. From 18 to 22 you’re still basically a child.
“What made me a better person was Coach Thompson got us in class and made sure we were doing what we’re supposed to do.” — Kevin Millen “What made me a better person was Coach Thompson got us in class and made sure we were doing what we’re supposed to do,” said Millen, now 47. “Because it’s easy to fall off track if you don’t have that person who’s like ‘You got to go to class, you got to stay on top of it.’” Millen said he first popped up on Thompson’s radar when Craig Esherick, one of Thompson’s assistants, spotted him at the Dave Krider All-American Basketball Camp in Cinncinati. “At Dave Krider, I rocked the camp,” said Millen, who remembers averaging 24 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and five assists in his senior year at Raleigh-Egypt. “I was great when I was young. I was a really great basketball player. Some of the best were at this camp, and my attitude and athletic ability allowed me to do well. And Coach Thomp-
After starring at Raleigh-Egypt, Kevin Millen was recruited to play for legendary Georgetown University Coach John Thompson Jr., who died last Sunday (Aug. 30). (Courtesy photo) son heard about me after that one camp.” Millen was coveted by Bob Huggins at Cinncinati and of course by then-Coach Larry Finch at Memphis State. But Thompson came to watch Millen play at Raleigh-Egypt and lured him to Washington D.C. “I knew I could play basketball, but I was shady on the education,”
Millen recalled. “But once I got to Georgetown, I had to kick in on education and upgrade my basketball.” It was there that Thompson helped Millen develop into a more rounded person both on and off the court. Not only was he exposed to the nation’s capital, he got to travel to Israel with
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‘We’re standing strong in this district’ by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Imperfection is to be expected on the first day of school, even when there isn’t a global pandemic driving an all-virtual opening, which was the case for Shelby County Schools this week. For one thing, technology was not fully cooperative as thousands of students logged on almost simultaneously during the first school day of the 2020-21 academic year on Monday (Aug. 31). “There were some glitches and kinks that had to be worked out,” said Elsie Bailey, ex-principal of Booker T. Washington High School. Bailey’s 10-year-old granddaughter, Mackenzie Bailey, sat at the dining room table, busy with her lesson. The Grahamwood Elementary School fourth grader is a computer-savvy ‘whiz kid.” Bailey said the virtual model is simple and quite practical. Under this teaching model, teachers teach, either remotely from home or from their classrooms at school. “The parents’ job is to create a quiet place for children to sit undisturbed while they learn. I think our superintendent has done a wonderful job,” the former teacher and principal said. “He Ray) made the decision to go completely virtual and took the leadership of distributing the devices to our students and providing hotspots so that each child could use their device for school. There were firstday hiccups, but they were smoothed out in the end.” Last Friday ahead of the first day
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