The New Tri-State Defender - October 26-November 1, 2023

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VOL. 72, No. 43

October 26 - November 1, 2023

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LEGACY: Atty. Ricky E. Wilkins

Determined to speak the truth

by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanaku@tsdmemphis.com

Dr. Clayborne Carson, Kerry Kennedy and Stacey Abrams were the centers of attention as the 2023 Freedom Award honorees. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

Keep-on-keeping-on tone resonates at 2023 Freedom Award ceremony

by Florence M. Howard

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The honorees at last week’s National Civil Rights Museum’s 32 annual Freedom Awards celebration focused on the themes of fighting back against reactionary politics and efforts to prevent a candid account of U.S. racial history and the importance of voting.

The event was held at Downtown’s Orpheum Theatre Oct. 19 and attendees included a who’s-who list of corporate, nonprofit and community leaders from across the city and the state.

This year’s honorees were Georgia

A reflection triggered by the Freedom Award ceremony See Perspective Page 4 voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, international human rights advocate Kerry Kennedy and Stanford history professor Dr. Clayborne Carson, who since 1985 has headed the effort to edit and publish the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Freedom Awards honor individuals who have made “significant contributions in civil rights and who have laid the foundation for present and future leaders in the

battle for human rights.”

While accepting his award, Carson referenced recent efforts by state legislatures, including Tennessee, to quash school lessons about race that might cause “discomfort” to some students.

Carson stressed the necessity of confronting the honest facts of U.S. history.

Kennedy is the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization.

Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were both killed by assassins the

SEE AWARDS ON PAGE 2

Attorney Ricky E. Wilkins envisioned economic justice and political empowerment for African Americans. He even doubled down on that goal after being diagnosed with the rare form of brain cancer that took his life last week (Oct. 19).

A visitation service is set for Friday (Oct. 27) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church-Broad, which is located at 2835 Broad Ave. The funeral is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. on Saturday at the church. Edmund Ford Funeral Home has charge.

A first-generation college student, Wilkins earned his bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University after coming Ricky E. up through Riverview Wilkins Elementary and Carver High School.

A longtime chairman of the Memphis Housing Authority, Wilkins, a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., began his law career at Burch, Porter and Johnson, where he became a partner in 1977. In 2003, he opened the law offices of Ricky E. Wilkins.

What began as a solo practice in the corner of an executive office center evolved into a law

SEE WILKINS ON PAGE 2

Time-hampered City Council steps toward police advisory board

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Dr. Russell Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum, joins others in enjoying the 2023 Freedom Award ceremony

With time of the essence, Memphis City Council members Tuesday (Oct. 24) approved on second reading an ordinance to create a police advisory board to replace the soon-to-be abolished Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB).

A sense of urgency was created earlier Tuesday during the council’s Public Safety & Homeland Security meeting, where it was stressed to members that the window to continue civilian oversight had narrowed significantly.

“You have to pass it today. Otherwise, CLERB no longer exists,” said Antonio Adams, the city’s deputy operating officer and General Service director.

The board is set to expire this month, after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill to prohibit civilian oversight boards in May. “What we decided to do was to adopt in whole the statute replacing our civilian law enforcement review board, because if we didn’t, the law enforcement review board would sunset,” said Adams. “We wanted to make sure this was replaced. We can continue. This sets your floor with respect to this piece of legislation.”

SEE COUNCIL ON PAGE 2

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The New Tri-State Defender

COUNCIL

CONTINUED FROM FRONT State law allows for the creation of a seven-member oversight board. The outgoing CLERB board has 13 members.

The ordinance is an effort to fit within the new state framework, while still providing many of the same objectives.

It was sponsored by Mayor Jim Strickland.

“It is very specific with regards to the investigative, subpoena powers … It is specific with regard to the composition of the board. It is very specific with regards to recommendations of an executive director, as well,” said Adams.

Established in 1994, CLERB is an independent agency authorized to investigate misconduct alleged in public complaints.

In addition to hearing cases, it can make findings and recommendations of action on complaints.

They range from use of deadly force and injuries incurred while in custody, to police harassment, improper arrests, and inadequate investigations, for example.

However, with the pairing down in members, tough decisions will have to be made, temporarily.

When Mayor-elect Paul Young takes office Jan. 1, he will have his say on who stays, goes, or is introduced as a new member.

Adams said, “With regard

to the current board and the current mayor, we will allow the current board to kind of subselect. We will have to go from the current 13 to seven, so that we can continue…until mayor-elect Young decides who will be his seven board members.

Towards the end of the committee discussion, it was asked if former members could still take part in a non-voting capacity.

“This sets your floor. Upon adoption, you can be creative,” said Adams.

The discussion in committee was quickly contrasted by a presentation from the Memphis Police Department leadership.

According to MPD statistics, there were 83 murders over the last three months – a 26 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Police said that number reflects an overall increase in violent and property crimes reported to police.

From January to the end of September, council members were told, there have been 245 murders, a 36 percent increase compared to the same period last year. That is only two murders short of the number recorded for the entirety of last year.

Officers explained that the numbers relate specifically to murders; and not the overall number of homicides that include murder, negligent manslaughter, and justifiable homicides.

WILKINS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT firm housed in a 3,000 squarefoot downtown law firm inside of a 1923 building, which he owned, on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2014, Wilkins made an unsuccessful and mostly self-financed bid for the ninth congressional district seat, polling 32.5 percent of the vote. He emerged committed to taking advantage of lessons learned, including community needs, which he dedicated himself to help address.

Vowing not to seek public office again, Wilkins said, “I’ve got to be in a position to be able to speak the truth to the people. … People are afraid of the truth. They’d rather live a lie than confront the consequences of the truth being exposed….

“I just want this community once and for all to get serious about being fair to all of its people, with African Americans being at the top of the list because we have been the ones most maligned, most discriminated against, most oppressed, most depressed, and most compressed in this community and it’s time for real change.”

In the midst of his battle with Glioblastoma, Wilkins launched MEMPOWER, a campaign and organizing effort designed to achieve both economic justice and political empowerment for African Americans. Later, and with the same self-evident passion, he opened the door to discussion of a Black political action committee to harness the political power of the African-American community and free candidates from what he called the grip of white-owned businesses.

The father of two daughters, Reghan Wilkins, a human resource recruiter with a Fortune 500 Company, and Rylee Wilkins, a senior majoring in entrepreneurship at the University of Tampa, Wilkins was a member of Next Level Cathedral of Praise Ministry, 1581 Ball Rd., which is pastored by his uncle, the Rev. Dr. Lee Wilkins Jr. “When he received the devastating diagnosis of brain cancer, his faith was put to the ultimate test,” said Pas-

Ricky Wilkins shared these reflections with The New Tri-State Defender following a congressional campaign interview: “…many see the successful attorney not knowing the road that I traveled to get there. That’s why I was telling people on the campaign trail, ‘I’m somebody who literally understands the pain and problems of our community.’” (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender Archives) tor Wilkins, who added that Wilkins “drew strength from like believers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“He shared his journey openly with others in the community and throughout the city becoming a beacon of hope and encouragement for those facing similar battles. Medically it was stated to my wife (Dr. Lisa Carter Wilkins) and I that Ricky would probably live about three years, but God said, ‘I’ll double that’ and he lived 6 1/2 years. To God we give the glory.”

Lillian Hammond met Wilkins in the late 1990’s and they later become close friends.

“He often referred to me as his big sister,” said Hammond. “He helped me through a very difficult time in my life. … I would suggest that his life should be remembered by such terms as courageous, compassionate, conscientious, ambitious, adventurous, loyal, determined, spiritual and definitely lovingly to his daughters and other family members.”

Memphis City Council Chairman Martavius Jones first encountered Wilkins at Howard, where he was a freshman and Wilkins was a campus leader then in his senior year. He was attending Howard’s homecoming when he learned of Wilkins’ death.

“This homecoming for me is bittersweet,” said Jones. “This is where Ricky and I met and then to find out that he passed (while I’m here) at the place where we met is just devastating.”

October 26 - November 1, 2023

Page 2

NEWS

Overall, police said as of Tuesday, 316 homicides had occurred. In 2022, there was a combined total of 302 murders and homicides.

Continuing a trend, car-related property crimes, including auto theft and vehicle break-ins, topped the list. So far, there have been 12,230 car thefts in 2023, compared to 6,963 thefts reported at the same point last year.

Most auto-related crimes are committed by youthful offenders, often under 18-yearsold, officers told committee members.

Still, MPD Deputy Chief Joe Oakley, said “We are seeing drops in both of these crimes.

We think that’s because of the Kia and Hyundai situation and the thousands of steering wheel locks that we’ve given away, as well as our public meetings. We talk about crime strategies to reduce theft from motor vehicle and auto theft.”

Aggravated assault numbers also continue to rise. Through September, there were 5,724, as opposed to 5,398 in 2022, a 6 percent increase.

“I know that we all have experienced upticks in various crimes, but the Memphis Police Department is really focused on violent crime – not just violent crime as a relates to crimes against persons, but also violent crimes that involve auto theft and also carjackings, and things of that nature,” said MPD Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis.

The emcee for the Freedom Award ceremony was television and film actor Tobias Truvillion. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

AWARDS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT spring of 1968 – King in Memphis on April 4,1968 while advocating for striking sanitation workers and Kennedy in Los Angeles, California on June 5, 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Kerry Kennedy spoke eloquently about MLK, mentioning that 60 years ago there was indifference to the plight of African Americans and that some whites there was no

longer an obligation to support Black people because of the number of riots in major American cities, which sprung from Black Americans being fed up their plight.

Kerry Kennedy told the audience there still is a need to bind those wounds and noted that it was just 55 years ago that her father and Dr. Martin Luther King were assassinated.

She added that indifference leads to inaction, which poisons relationships in schools and homes, and breaks a person’s spirit.

Abrams, whose get-out-the efforts resulted her making a strong run for Georgia governor in 2018, narrowly losing to Republican Brian Kemp, and helping President Biden in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.

Abrams encouraged her audience to continue to push for change, saying the fight is not finished and that she will continue to be a voice to march forward “and demand the change we want to see.”

She challenged the audience to join the “march on ballot boxes” by voting.

The New Tri-State Defender

October 26 - November 1, 2023

Page 3

NEWS

‘Shaft’ star Richard Roundtree, considered the first Black action movie hero, has died at 81

by Jonathan Landrum Jr. The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81.

Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy.

“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men,” McMinn said. “The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”

Roundtree, who was born in New Rochelle, New York, was considered as the first Black action hero and became one of the leading actors in the blaxploitation genre through his New York street smart John Shaft character in the Gordon Parks-directed film in 1971. At age 28, it was Roundtree’s first feature film appearance after starting his career as a model.

Roundtree’s “Shaft” was part of a change in how Black movies were viewed in Hollywood, which failed to consider Black actors – especially for leading roles — in projects

at the time. The blaxploitation films were primarily aimed at the African American audiences.

In the film, his character navigated the world of thugs.

He regularly whipped out popular one-liners like “It’s my duty to please that booty.”

“What we were doing was a good, old Saturday afternoon shoot ’em up,” Roundtree said in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press.

Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” theme song – which included the line “You a bad mother (Shut your mouth)” – helped insinuate the original movie into the pop-cult consciousness.

The singer, who died in 2008, said the song was “like the ‘shot heard round the world.”

His single won an Academy Award for best song in 1971 and two Grammys the following year.

After the film’s success, Roundtree returned in sequels “Shaft’s Big Score” in 1972 and “Shaft in Africa” in 1973.

That same year, he played the savvy detective once again on the CBS television series “Shaft,” which lasted only seven episodes.

Roundtree reprised his role in the 2000 “Shaft” film, a revival that starred Samuel L. Jackson. He appeared as Jackson’s uncle in the big-budget film that was aimed at the general audience. Both appeared

Richard Roundtree’s “Shaft” was part of a change in how Black movies were viewed in Hollywood, which failed to consider Black actors – especially for leading roles – in projects at the time. (Screen capture)

career, Roundtree appeared in a number of other notable films including “Earthquake,” “Man Friday” with Peter O’Toole, “Roots,” “Maniac Cop” “Se7en” and “What Men Want” starring Taraji P. Henson. He also made his mark with television roles on “Magnum P.I.,” “The Love Boat,” “Being Mary Jane” and “The Love Boat.”

In 1995, Roundtree received

Reflecting on the “Shaft” films in 2002, actor Richard Roundtree told The Associated Press, “What we were doing was a good, old Saturday afternoon shoot ’em up.”

(Photo: Charles Sykes/ Invision/AP/File) a lifetime achievement award at the MTV Movie & TV awards.

“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men. The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”

— Patrick McMinn again in the same roles in the 2019 film starring Jessie T. Usher.

Jackson called Roundtree the “prototype” and the “best to ever do it” in a social media post.

“SHAFT, as we know it is & will always be his Creation,” he said of Roundtree. “His passing leaves a deep hole not only in my heart, but I’m sure a lotta y’all’s, too.”

Through his 50-plus year

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PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, October 26 - November 1, 2023, Page 4

Single-bias incident bias motivations by category This bar chart shows the 2022 and 2021 data for bias motivation categories for single bias incidents.

Hate crimes surge, leading to an urgent call for unity and action

The National Civil Rights Museum’s 2023 Freedom Award ceremony was punctuated by this musical salute. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

A reflection triggered by the Freedom Award ceremony

by Florence M. Howard

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The history of the National Civil Rights Museum is rooted in the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was gunned down as he stood on the balcony of the then-Lorraine Hotel here in Memphis.

Dr. King had come to support Memphis’ striking Sanitation Workers. My stepfather, James Winton, was one of those workers.

My mother, Frankie Mae Winton, strongly encouraged my father to participate and so he did.

She even rode one of the many chartered buses headed to Dr. King’s funeral so that she could be there in person.

Having grown up in the cotton fields of segregated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, my mother had a sense of history. She was born in 1937 and was the daughter of the Rev. Robert McAtee and his wife, Mattie Chism McAtee.

I don’t know if it was growing up in Mississippi, all the years she worked for successful Jewish employers, or an innate sense of justice, but my mother, 5’9”, always stood tall on issues of justice. She always stood up for the underdog.

For example, when we lived in Midtown near the Hogue and Knott supermarket on Lamar, we once encountered a white store manager who had caught a Black teenager stealing a package of hot dogs. He held onto the young man, loudly accus-

ing him of stealing from the store.

As the confrontation unfolded, my mother announced from her position a few feet away that, “You’ve called the police, so let him alone.”

Everything stopped. The manager ceased his tirade and the boy looked sheepishly at Florence M. my mother.

Howard It was my mother’s sense of right and wrong that prevailed in everything that she did. She was truly the daughter of a Baptist minister and was a Civil Rights activist in her own right. She served on the usher board at Greater Middle Baptist Church on Lamar, which was pastored by the Rev. Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, who served as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1977 to 1992.

The National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award was inaugurated in 1991 to highlight the contributions to freedom, equality, and justice made by distinguished recipients such as Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, and James Farmer.

That brilliant idea has lit the path for many to stand up for right and to be counted among those who sincerely care about people – all people.

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released its comprehensive Hate Crime Statistics for 2022, revealing a troubling surge in hate-fueled incidents across the United States.

Recent attacks in New York and Chicago are stark reminders of the urgent need for increased awareness and action.

In 2022, the FBI transitioned to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for data collection, representing a significant step towards more accurate reporting. The new data reflects submissions from 13,293 law enforcement agencies employing NIBRS data, covering over 256 million U.S. inhabitants.

Additionally, data from 2,431 non-transitioned agencies was accepted, representing 55,441,278 inhabitants, expanding the population coverage to 93.5 percent.

The Hate Crime Statistics 2022 report reveals that law enforcement agencies reported 11,634 criminal incidents involving 13,337 related offenses motivated by bias towards race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.

In New York, a Sikh man recently faced a vicious attack aboard an MTA bus in Queens. The assailant, allegedly expressing xenophobia, targeted the victim and attempted to remove his turban – a sacred religious symbol – forcibly. This incident is a stark reminder of the persistent hate plaguing American

society.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, another recent horrific incident resulted in the tragic murder of a six-year-old boy. Wadea Al-Fayoume and his mother fell victim to a brutal attack, with the assailant singling them out due to their Muslim faith. The suspect, Joseph Czuba, now faces charges of murder and hate crimes.

This shocking incident highlights the devastating consequences of hate-fueled violence.

In response to the surge in hate crimes, President Biden released a statement condemning the 25 percent increase in antisemitic incidents from 2021 to 2022. He stressed the imperative of unity in speaking out against hate and bigotry, pledging his administration’s dedication to combating antisemitism and Islamophobia.

While there was a positive 38 percent decrease in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, the overall levels remained stable, underscoring the need for sustained efforts to eradicate hate-fueled violence.

Anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes rose 16 percent, and Muslim and African Americans continue to be overrepresented among victims, Biden said.

“There’s more to do when it comes to ending hate-fueled violence,” the president insisted. “That means coming together and speaking out against hate and bigotry in all its forms. All Americans deserve to live their lives with dignity, respect, and safety.

(Follow Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire’s senior national correspondent @StacyBrownMedia.)

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The New Tri-State Defender

October 26 - November 1, 2023

Page 5

RELIGION OPINION

The Bible and Black people: A torrid love affair The centrality of the Bible in Black life cannot be overstated

by Rev. Osagyefo Sekou Newsone

The Bible is not always right,” the Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley posted on Facebook. Crowley, a Harvard-educated pastor, continued, “We do not believe that our sacred text is written by God. It is not inerrant, humans wrote it. Sometimes the Bible is wrong and hermeneutics of suspicion are right!”

Sending Black Christians into a frenzy of defense and denunciation, Crowley’s post received 1,800 comments and was shared 449 times.

While the post received supportive sentiments, the very idea that the Bible is not the pure and perfect word of God was simply too much to bear for many. There was a clear divide between the seminary-educated and those who were not.

For those who have gone through the rigors of graduate education, the Bible is sacred literature subject to criticism. The hermeneutics of suspicion is second nature in their biblical interpretation. There are a set of historical facts that guide one’s understanding.

First and foremost, the Bible is not a singular book – rather a library of 66 books, with different authors, and in many instances, we do not know who the authors are. …

Contemporary Christianity imposes a univocality on the collected books – meaning we read a unified voice that tells a singular story about Jesus as the savior of the world. In most Black folks’ minds, the Old Testament points toward the cross and the New Testament looks back at the cross.

This is an interpretive stance. It is not Biblical. It is theological – a set of beliefs that we impose on the Bible.

Moreover, the Bible as we know it has been through several translations and different iterations yielding different emphases in different Christian communities at different times. For instance, the notion of Jesus as a personal savior is a recent idea – barely a century old in a 2,000-year-old religion. Christianity’s emphasis and Biblical interpretation change over time and space. In a word, the Word has changed.

For many, the “Bible” must be clear, consistent and unchanged. Black commitment to Biblical inerrancy is as much existential as it is theological. For a Christian people whose entire existence in the hell of North America has been uneasy, certainty is necessary to keep from losing one’s mind.

My grandfather – an elder in the grand old Church of God in Christ – believed that the Bible was “written with the very finger of God.” It was not simply a matter of literalist understanding. The Bible holds a potent power of Black imagination. In “The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible,” Allen Callahan illustrates the deep connection between Black people and the holy text: “Slavery’s children entered history from below: from their straitened vantage they came to see in the holy scriptures that God grants victory to the unlikeliest people – people like themselves – and by the un-

Rev. Osagyefo Sekou likeliest means. The Bible privileges those without privilege and honors those without honor. And so there is a special affinity between the Bible and the rankest of its readership’s rank and file. Its accounts of the exaltation of the humble and humbling of the high and mighty have appealed to people in the humblest of circumstances.”

For many Black folks – historically – it was their first encounter with literature.

The Bible was a source of aspirational literacy.

Callahan writes: “The Bible was the chief goal of literacy for African Americans, for whom religion was both opportunity and mandate to acquire letters.” When the enslaved saw preachers read from the Bible, they described it as the Talking Book. To this end, slave narratives are replete with the desire to learn to read the Bible. To “make the book talk” is the highest compliment in Black preaching. It is only uttered when the homilist is exquisitely rendering the interpretation of scripture that is poetic and life-giving.

The poetry of the King James version was not lost on them. They celebrated the eloquent recitation of Bible verses both a home and in sanctuary. In my family, we were required to say a verse before our meals. Saying your Easter piece often entailed memorizing and performing with great elocution the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. The most celebrated preachers are those who “rightly divide the word” – the careful consideration of the meaning that the Bible bore on the quotidian of Black existence. That meaning should not be taken lightly.

Moreover, the Biblical narrative has served to empower and describe Black emancipation. Whether it be the quest to escape slavery, the struggle against Jim Crow, or the Great Migration, the story of Black people has taken up the Exodus story to communicate their divine right to be free. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Harriet Tubman were called the “Moses” of our people. The Bible animates much of Black self-understanding.

In his recent book, “Black is a Church: Christianity and the Contours of African American Life,” Dr. Josef Sorett writes about the way Christianity – and the Bible by consequence – shapes the contours of Black life and literature: “To my mind, modern black literary and cultural expression, activism, organizing, and intellectual life—each of which is of-

Book caption: In “The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible,” Allen Callahan illustrates the deep connection between Black people and the holy text. ten presumed to be secular—reflect a peculiarly Afro-Protestant mode of inquiry, inheritance, and repertoire.”

Sorett continues to illustrate the way that the Bible via Afro-Protestantism structures mean-making as “an ethical apparatus, institutional form, and aesthetic performance that animates (all) black subjectivity and social life, especially, but not solely, in the United States.”

To be sure the Bible was used to teach docility and command Black people to believe that their lot in life was ordained by God. “Slaves be obedient to your masters” was a common admonishment given in sermons to the enslaved. Howard Thurman – mystic and mentor to Dr. King – recalled that his formerly enslaved grandmother refused to read anything beyond the four Gospels because the Epistles were used to affirm her bondage. Thurman’s grandmother is deploying a hermeneutic of suspicion. Yet, the Bible also revealed the possibility that God was on their side. From the Stono Rebellion (1739) to Nat Turner to Fredrick Douglass to the Civil Rights Movement, the Bible was an inspiration to resistance to enslavement and white supremacy.

The centrality of the Bible in Black life

cannot be overstated. So much so that the physical book takes on ontological significance. My family was recently gifted a large white Bible with gold lettering. I was reminded of the family Bible of my childhood. Written in the King James version, this Bible – cared for by my grandmother – housed the family’s history and artifacts.

In addition to the family tree diagram on the first few pages, obituaries, birth certificates, semblances of a will and flower petals from deceased loved ones’ floral arrangements were neatly placed between the pages of the Holy Writ. The Bible kept our family genealogy – a shrine to our past, present and future. Every family I knew as a child had that Bible in their homes.

In the United States, Black people’s encounter with the text is fraught with meaning. Our ancestors were beaten for reading this book. The Bible authorized our subjection and authenticated our experience.

In short, Black folk and the Bible have a torrid love affair.

(The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, a pastor of Valley and Mountain Fellowship United Methodist Church in Seattle, is a religious studies Phd candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London.)

The New Tri-State Defender, October 26 - November 1, 2023, Page 6

Snapshot – Black films set for the Indie Memphis Film Festival Special to The New Tri-State Defender The Indie Memphis Film Festival, which kicked off on Tuesday (Oct. 24), is showcasing its commitment to diversity and representation in media imagery during its six-day run.

In addition to the 6th year of the Black Creators Forum, the festival that extends through Sunday (Oct. 29) will screen over 50 films by Black filmmakers and/or centering the narratives of Black cultures and lives.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the Black films being shown, including films by and about Memphians!

unique cultural and societal issues.

Black Lives Matter.

“Banel & Adama” Banel and Adama are fiercely in love.

The young married couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.

“Belly” IMFF presents this ’90’s classic starring DMX in honor of hip hop’s 50th anniversary.

Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood, where they are respected by many and feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?

“Donna and Ally” Donna and Ally are two Black sex workers, who have transformed the trials of a 12-year run from the law into a relentless pursuit of legendary status. Their world, encapsulated in raw humor and undying hope, promises non-stop laughter. Unraveling a narrative that is as authentic as it is captivating, they prove that there’s no force mightier than a woman with a dream.

“Friday” In tribute to hip hop’s 50th anniversary, the Indie Memphis Music Festival (IMFF) presents the 1995 cult classic starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker.

“Friday” follows a day in the life of Craig and Smokey – two guys in Los Angeles hanging out on their porch on a Friday afternoon, smoking and drinking, looking for something to do and finding trouble.

“Black Barbie: A Documentary” For filmmaker Lagueria Davis, it all started with her 83-year-old Aunt Beulah Mae and a seemingly simple question, “Why not make a Barbie that looks like me?”

“Black Barbie” is a personal exploration that tells a richly archival, thought-provoking story that gives voice to the insights and experiences of Beulah Mae Mitchell, who spent 45 years working at Mattel.

Upon Mattel’s 1980 release of Black Barbie, the film turns to the intergenerational impact the doll had. It probes how the absence of Black images in the “social mirror” left Black girls with little other than White subjects for self-reflection and self-projection.

Beulah Mae Mitchell and other Black women in the film talk about their own, complex, varied experience of not seeing themselves represented, and how Black Barbie’s transformative arrival affected them personally.

“Queen Rising” In this film by Memphian Princeton James, struggling school teacher Madison strikes a lucrative book deal to help solve her financial troubles. As she dives into her dark past surrounding the “College Town Slayings,” she realizes it may still be a part of her present after all.

“I Am” In the documentary “I Am,” Memphians Amanda Willoughby and Jessica Chaney tackle the issue of mental health in the African-American community via candid and revealing interviews with five Black women, who speak about their journey with anxiety disorder. Angela, Grae, Angel, Santyria, and Chloe share their stories and the remarkable ways they cope as they face

“Mami Wata” When Zinwe visits her late grandmother’s village – a small rural fish village – she must confront her true spiritual destiny to usher in a new age of blessing and prosperity, and save her people from the hands of the ruthless and violent Sergeant Jasper.

“Scary Movie” In the Wayans Brothers hilarious spoof on “Scream” and the “scream queen” genre, a familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves stalked by a more-thanvaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody!

“Yam Daabo” Poverty and misery break out with a vengeance in a Mossi village within the borders of the Sahel. For the people of the country, a choice has to be made: either await international assistance or travel further inland to the richer areas of the country. Salam and his family opt for the second solution, with all the sacrifices that this entails. A new life can now begin for them.

They discover love, joy, hate, violence and feelings that hunger and thirst had made them forget. **Meet the filmmaker in person after the screening!

“American Fiction” Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes.

Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

“Birth of Soul Music” Memphis filmmaker George W. Tillman is the creative force behind “The Birth of Soul Music” – a story that explores legendary beginnings at Memphis’ own Club Paradise.

“I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” The 1988 cult classic from Keenan Ivory Wayans starring OG heavyweights Antonio “Huggie Bear” Vargas, Jim Brown, Anne-Marie Johnson and Ja’Net Dubois (“Willona”), with memorable cameos from up and comers at the time Chris Rock, Dawnn Lewis (Jalessa) and Kadeem Hardison (Dewayne Wayne). Memphis legend, Isaac Hayes, makes an appearance.

Jack Spade returns from the army to his old ghetto neighborhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, a powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol, who used to fight bad guys in the ’70s.

“Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” A look at the life of poet Nikki Giovanni and the revolutionary periods in which she wrote, from the Civil Rights Movement to

“White Chicks” Another Wayans Brothers hit!

Two FBI agent brothers, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, accidentally foil a drug bust. To avoid being fired, they accept a mission escorting a pair of socialites to the Hamptons, but when the girls are disfigured in a car accident, they refuse to go.

Left without options, Marcus and Kevin decide to pose as the sisters, transforming themselves from Black men into rich white women.

“JOURNEY(S): Addis to DC” “JOURNEY(S): Addis to DC” is a visual “docupoem” anthology that combines oral history with original poetry, animation and archival imagery to honor the stories of Ethiopian women in America, and Black women across the diaspora. **Meet filmmaker Saaret Yoseph in person “Keeping Time” This meditation on what it means to maintain continuity with the past is told through the kaleidoscopic journey of a young drummer, who must learn how to guide a multi-generational band into the

future after being named their new bandleader.

“La Bonga” On April 5, 2001, shortly after a nearby massacre at the hands of paramilitaries, two hooded strangers entered the farming town of La Bonga and delivered a letter. The note accused the town of sympathizing with the FARC, the largest guerrilla group in Colombia. They were given 48 hours to leave or be forcibly removed. The entirety of La Bonga – 150 families – fled that same day.

Over time, the jungle that surrounded the town swallowed it whole. An entire generation knows only of their birthplace through the stories of their parents and grandparents.

Prompted by the tenuous Colombian peace agreements of 2016 and led by the only person who has attempted to live there again – María de los Santos – the townspeople decide to resurrect a festival honoring their patron saint, Santa Rosa. To do so, they must confront the jungle to reclaim their home while facing the realities of attempting to reconstruct a place that no longer is.

Interspersed with the epic journey of the main group, we accompany María travelling by herself with her 15-year-old granddaughter, Dayanis, who has never set foot in La Bonga. Maria attempts to instill in Dayanis the image of the land she loves, believing that if she remains the only person to actively seek a path to return, La Bonga will be lost forever.

“Mountains” While looking for a new home for his family, a Haitian demolition worker is faced with the realities of redevelopment as he is tasked with dismantling his rapidly gentrifying Miami neighborhood. **Meet the filmmaker in person “Mist Melodies of Paris” In the second short film directed by Julius-Amédée Laou, a West Indian man named Richard (Greg Germain) is haunted by memories of “his war” fighting on behalf of the French government in Algeria.

More than 20 years later and still carrying internal trauma, he is mad as hell and can’t take it anymore; Jean-Claude Mejstelman’s synthesizer score brings an antic, theatrical quality to the story, and a cameo from the filmmaker adds a dash of surrealism. **Meet Black French filmmaker Julius-Amedee Laou in person during his first US tour.

Hometowner Documentary Shorts: “SLICE,” “The Blues,” “Intersectionality: The Documentary” Hometowner Narrative Competition Shorts: “ETTO” and “r.e.g.g.i.N “ Hometowner Features: “The Reaper Man,” “Spirit of Memphis” Seeking Sincerity Shorts: “Dressed” from Bethaiel Alemayoh, the current IMFF screenwriting resident **Bethaiel Alemayoh will be at IMFF in person.

(For the full festival schedule visit: https://imff23.indiememphis.org/schedule.)

The New Tri-State Defender

October 26 - November 1, 2023

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 7

‘The Vice President’s Black Wife’ proves there are a lot of things about history left to learn

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The deed to the house will be yours, free and clear, very soon.

Once the mortgage is paid off, yep, the house and the land are yours. Follow the paperwork, and there are many things you can outright own: a bike, a truck, a dog or cat, but unlike the story you’ll find in “The Vice President’s Black Wife” by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, that doesn’t extend to a spouse.

In the late 18th century, when America was merely a teenager, “Kentucky was the frontier,” says Myers, with great stands of trees between “vast swath[s] of rich, fertile land.” Robert Johnson was a surveyor in that area, and he liked what he saw. He and his wife arranged to buy several thousand acres of the best farmland around.

This made Johnson a wealthy man and, by extension, his oldest son would never want for a thing. And so when young Richard, born in 1780, was all grown up but still unmarried, his parents gave him a plantation and a hundred slaves to run it.

One of them was Julia Chinn.

Fourteen years old, Julia was pretty, smart, and capable; in fact, Richard’s mother chose her to run his house while he was away in Washington, particularly because of her intelligence and her management abilities.

It didn’t take long for Richard to notice Julia, or for him bed her, then wed her.

Myers hints that spite made Richard do it, or that he was flaunting social mores. It

surely wasn’t illegal to sexually assault one’s female slaves; in Kentucky, it wasn’t illegal to marry someone of another race, either.

Was there affection in the marriage or, as Myers suggests, was it a business transacAmrita tion, with Julia trading Chakrabarti her freedom for their Myers daughters’ future?

We may never know. Richard didn’t sell Julia and he never freed her, though his girls received manumission. But after his service as Vice President of the U.S. and his death at a ripe old age, his brothers conspired to erase the family he loved...

Sometimes uneven, sometimes repetitive, but at the same time, so very interesting, “The Vice President’s Black Wife” proves that there are a lot of things about history left to learn.

Starting with Julia’s mother, author Amrita Chakrabarti Myers begins in a commonplace place – the lives of enslaved women and children – but she departs from the norm by telling tales with a large dash of feminism. In many ways, as she shows, women both white and enslaved often had much more power than history books would like us to believe and that, surprisingly, extended to Julia Chinn. It’s truly eye-opening.

Still, this book is chilling in the whatifs – perhaps even more so because Julia

was well aware of them and so are readers.

These possibilities will leave you shaken with the twist in the story at the end of the book, which will send you racing back to re-read the preface.

Or you might just re-read it all because “The Vice President’s Black Wife” is that kind of book, indeed.

“The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn”

by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers c.2023 The University of North Carolina Press $30 296 pages

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, October 26 - November 1, 2023, Page 8

City Council slates election-related measures for finalapproval vote

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Attempting to avoid a repeat of the recent mayoral election, Memphis City Council members Tuesday (Oct. 24) approved on second reading a pair of proposed election-related charter amendments.

Eying a return to partisan elections, one would allow party-run primary races for city elections. A companion ballot question would require runoff elections, if no candidate netted a majority of the vote – 50 percent, plus one.

If they pass with a majority votes in their third and final readings, both referendum questions would appear on the 2024 ballot.

If voters agree, they will take ef-

Building on tradition …

LeMoyne Owen College celebrated the dedication of two buildings on campus during an event held last Sunday. The dedication ceremony served to honor Wylodine Patton (Class of ’64) and James Patton, and Myron Lowery (Class of ’68). Pictured: The Rev. Roger Brown delivers the building blessing; City Court Clerk Myron Lowery (also former Memphis City Council and interim mayor), with his wife, Mary, and Shelby County Commissioner Mickell M. Lowery (a LOC graduate) and his family. (Photos: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

Southwest selects Braylin Laster to direct philanthropic strategy Beginning Nov. 1, Braylin Laster will bring his personal insight into the Southwest Tennessee Community College student experience as the new associate vice president (AVP) for Institutional Advancement and Resource Development.

Growing up in the inner city in a family of eight children, Laster, according to a Southwest media release, understands the benefits of a community college and the financial opportunities available to students.

Without philanthropic giving, attending Lane College would have been almost impossible. He is a first-generation college graduate and scholarship recipient.

“We faced many financial challenges growing up,” said Laster, a Little Rock native. “I got a scholarship to attend college. Now, it’s time to pay it forward and create financial opportunities for other students.

“I am honored to join the Southwest Tennessee Community College team. I look forward to developing fundraising and alumni engagement programs to support student initiatives and fund student scholarships.”

Laster will provide strategic direction, vision, and management of

“We faced many financial challenges growing up. I got a scholarship to attend college. Now, it’s time to pay it forward and create financial opportunities for other students.”

— Braylin Laster the College’s overall institutional advancement efforts. He will lead and manage its philanthropy strategy to grow the institution’s financial resources, and engage donors, foundations, and corporations to secure a deep and sustainable investment in the College’s programs, student success, and faculty and staff development.

Since 2017, Laster has served as the director of Alumni Affairs for Lane College, procuring more than six million dollars to support Lane College’s mission, programs, and services.

“Braylin brings to the College a

proven track record of success in philanthropic strategy Braylin and relationship Laster building, exactly what we seek to expand our educational opportunities and services for students,” said Southwest Tennessee Community College President Dr. Tracy D. Hall. “We look forward to what the future brings.”

Laster received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Lane College in 2017 and a Master of Business Administration from Bethel University in 2022.

In 2019, Laster was among 31 local business professionals to graduate from the Jackson Chamber’s 41st Leadership Jackson (LJ) class.

In 2022, he served as vice president of Public Relations for the UNCF National Alumni Council (NAC) Board of Directors. He was awarded Exceptional Advisor of the Year at the 73rd UNCF National Alumni Council conference. He is an Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. member and in the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA).

fect in 2027. Both were sponsored by council Chairman Martavius Jones.

The late U.S. District Judge Jerome Turner in 1991 eliminated runoff provisions for citywide offices, citing that the city’s charter had been rewritten in 1967 to keep a Black candidate from being elected mayor.

Legal experts have advised the council that any change in the runoff provision likely would need court approval.

The current push to reform the city’s elections comes after the Oct. 5 candidate-laden mayoral election.

Seventeen candidates vied for the mayor seat, which did not have an incumbent because Mayor Jim Strickland is term limited.

The eventual winner, Mayor-elect Paul Young, won with 27.6 percent of the vote. He takes office Jan. 1.

Topgolf Memphis features 72 outdoor, climate-controlled hitting bays across two levels. The venue integrates Topgolf’s stateof-the-art Toptracer technology, offering insights into each golf ball’s flight path, distance, and other captivating metrics. (Courtesy photo)

Topgolf enters Memphis with a fusion of entertainment and golfing bliss

by Brianna Smith-Herman Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Topgolf, a trailblazer in modern golf entertainment, is gearing up to unveil its newest attraction in Memphis on Friday (Oct. 27).

The sports entertainment haven blends innovative golf experiences with mouthwatering cuisine, refreshing libations, pulsating music, and an atmosphere of pure enjoyment.

Imagine a space where both golf novices and seasoned players can bask in the game within a laid-back, pressure-free ambiance.

Topgolf, which also has venues in Nashville, East Ridge (near Chattanooga), and Knoxville, is at 3450 S. Germantown Road north of Winchester Road.

The Memphis launch marks Topgolf’s 83rd outdoor venue in the United States and its 93rd globally.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said his administration has long endeavored to bring Topgolf to Memphis.

“I am thrilled to officially welcome

them here. This dynamic addition not only enriches our entertainment offerings but also brings our community together.”

Topgolf Memphis will employ approximately 400 “playmakers,” fulfilling roles as hosts, bartenders, ball retrievers, and more.

The venue features 72 outdoor, climate-controlled hitting bays across two levels. Each bay has lounge-style seating or high-top tables.

The venue integrates Topgolf’s state-of-the-art Toptracer technology, offering insights into each golf ball’s flight path, distance, and other captivating metrics.

There is a full-service restaurant, helmed by a colossal 28-foot video wall, a rooftop terrace, more than 200 HDTVs, music, and year-round family-friendly programming.

Gen Gray, Topgolf’s chief operating officer, said, “We’re thrilled to bring our fourth venue to the state and introduce even more people to the game of golf in our Topgolf way, where all that matters is you have a good time.”

The New Tri-State Defender

NOTICE TO BIDDERS REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS DUE: NOVEMBER 21, 2023, AT 4:00 PM Shelby County Government, (the County), an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer, seek to retain the services of a real estate consulting firm to assist with property acquisition services for the following roadway improvement project: HACKS CROSS ROAD WIDENING PROJECT From Shelby Drive to Stateline Road PIN #:123349.00 (RFQ# 24-010-06) LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

2009 Ford Edge silver gray VIN 2FMDK38649B887842 Anyone holding interest in this vehicle contact Elise Sanford - 901 562-7293 by certified mail

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 REDDICK, JR Tax Parcel #: 05905900000070 Tax Sale #: 1803 Price Offered: $4,000 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 9:00 a.m. on November 20, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Larrina Dixon Tax Parcel #: 02602300000180 Tax Sale #: 1804 Price Offered: $2,300 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 9:00 a.m. on November 17, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Danita Farmer Tax Parcel #: 04205900000200 Tax Sale #: 1804 Price Offered: $62,000 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10)

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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 November 17, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Jamice Johnson Tax Parcel #: 06007400000080 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $5,400 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 9:00 a.m. on November 21, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Shannon Dabney Tax Parcel #: 03507700000100 Tax Sale #: 804 Price Offered: $3,000 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 November 21, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 04307600000110 Tax Sale #: 1902 Price Offered: $5,500 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 11:00 a.m. on November 21, 2023, to be held in the Shelby County

October 26 - November 1, 2023

Page 9

CLASSIFIEDS

THE NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER CLASSIFIEDS

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

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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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 04305400000260 Tax Sale #: 1902 Price Offered: $4,500 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 10:30 a.m. on November 21, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 04305500000020 Tax Sale #: 1902 Price Offered: $4,500 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 November 21, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant

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to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Jason Harris Tax Parcel #: 03503700000420 Tax Sale #: 505 Price Offered: $843.75 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 9:00 a.m. on November 27, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Ronald Price Tax Parcel #: 03400600000260 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $4,500 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 November 27, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Mark Beanblossom Tax Parcel #: 02506200000020 Tax Sale #: 1702 Price Offered: $3,000 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 October 27, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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:

Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 03802600000300 Tax Sale #: 1902 Price Offered: $4,500 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 10:30 a.m. on November 27, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150 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: Jorge Escalon Tax Parcel #: 03804600000160 Tax Sale #: 1803 Price Offered: $4,500 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 11:00 a.m. on November 27, 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 1075 MULLINS STATION, BLDG. E-1 MEMPHIS, TN 38134 (901) 222-1150

SPORTS

The New Tri-State Defender, October 26 - November 1, 2023, Page 10

Questions and issues abound as Grizzlies tip off new season

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Memphis Grizzlies enter the 202324 season looking to find a winning groove with three new starters.

The season tipped off Wednesday night (Oct. 25) with the New Orleans Pelicans visiting FedExForum.

(Visit www.TSDMemphis.com for the game story.)

Gone is Dillion Brooks, who was traded to the HousTerry Davis ton Rockets. In has stepped Marcus Smart, who was acquired in a trade from the Boston Celtics this summer.

All-Star guard Ja Morant starts the season on bench as he serves a NBA-mandated 25-game suspension in association with social media posts that show him flashing a gun.

And this week, the Grizzlies announced center Steven Adams will miss the season due to a knee injury.

For Smart, a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the start of the looming season was like the “first day of school….

I just talked to my wife and we had the jitters. We are ready for this start. I am excited and the team is excited. I am ready to get out there with these guys.”

Adams’ injury is a big blow. With Adams Memphis is one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA. Without Adams, who missed much of last season, including the playoffs after injuring his knee, the Grizzlies sink to the bottom tier in that critical category. The Grizzlies likely will have to look to the free agent market to acquire a replacement for this season.

Jaren Jackson Jr. on his reaction to the news of Adams said, “I was sad. That is my brother,” said Jaren Jackson Jr., who is coming off of his first All-Star season and is the reigning Defensive Player of the year.

“You never want to see injury in the

Jaren Jackson Jr. takes a shot during a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers. sively and defensively,” said Jenkins. “It is on everyone to step it up. We have a lot of strengths with this group. A lot of competitors and guys who are going to lay it on the line.”

New offense

Ja Morant (left) at a practice session. Second from right is Marcus Smart, who joins the Grizzlies after a trade with Boston. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender) sport. I know how hard he wanted to get his body where he wanted to play.”

Jackson was eager to start the season at home at FedExForum.

“I can’t wait to play here. It is like first-day vibes. It is another chance to get better. It is a long season and we get to start at home.”

For Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins, Adams’ injury is, “Tough news for sure. It has been a collaborative effort between (General manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations) Zach (Kleiman) and I over the last couple of months. We wanted to make sure Steven got every approach to be ready for the season. It was where he wanted it to be.”

But two days before the tipoff of the regular season, the Grizzlies were faced with turning the page without Adams.

“Steven unlocked so much for us offen-

The Grizzlies have made some adjustments to how they approach their offensive philosophy. The goal is to improve the half-court offense. And if it works, the Grizzlies might get better production in the playoffs.

Jenkins said it may take a couple of months before the offense tweaks can be fully evaluated. Even with Adams and Morant unavailable, Jenkins said the resolve to implement the new offensive approach would remain the same.

Transactions

Former UofM star Derrick Rose is back in Memphis, where he will play with the Grizzlies after playing with the New York Knicks last season.

Memphis has exercised the options for several players: Ziaire Williams, David Roddy, Santi Aldama and Jake LaRavia.

Aldama and Williams are entering their third seasons with the Grizzlies. LaRavia and Roddy are starting their second seasons with the team. All four have shown promise. And with the Grizzlies in need of front-court size with the absence of Adams, any one or combination could become part of a trade.

In a seven-day span, Memphis will play three games at FedExForum and one road game. That sample size should give management a chance to evaluate what direction the team may need to take.

Memphis’ victory over UAB was a journey of discovery

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In a game that renewed a rivalry with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Memphis Tigers “found a way” to secure a 45-21 win that earned them continued possession of the Bones trophy, which resembles a rack of ribs.

The Blazers held a 10-5 advantage entering the game in Birmingham, with Memphis having won the last game in the series.

“Offensively, we did some decent things in the first half. Defensively, there were missed tackles, missed assignments and bad execution.

It was as bad as it could have gone for us. We were able to find a way,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said.

The Tigers will stay on the road and face North Texas State on Saturday (Oct. 28) at 2 p.m. CDT in Denton, TX. The game can be seen on ESPN+. Memphis returns to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Nov. 3 for homecoming against the South Florida Bulls.

On bringing the Bones trophy back to Memphis, Silverfield said, “It is an awesome trophy. I appreciate rivalries. It is a cool trophy. I am glad to have it back in Memphis. Our goal is to always fill our trophy case. I am happy for the guys.”

The Tigers improved to (5-2,2-1 American Athletic Conference).

In the first half, UAB was rushing the ball at will against the Tigers while using three quarterbacks. In the second quarter, the Tigers’ defense slowly began to take control of the game. Malik Feaster’s interception return for a 36-touchdown tied the game at 21-21.

“We had to make the adjustments to all of the different quarterbacks,” Silverfield said. “There

Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield is in good company after the Tigers secured the win against UAB and maintained possession of the Bones trophy. were way too many missed tackles in the first half. It turned in our favor in the second half.”

Feaster said a pregame emphasis on getting turnovers paid off. ““We put an emphasis on getting the ball, when the opportunity comes our way, to capitalize on it. That is what we did throughout the week. That is what we did today.”

UAB only managed 49 total offensive yards in the second half. Simeon Blair nearly had a pick six when he returned an intercepted pass 41 yards. Blair also had a fumble recovery and Cameron Smith had an interception.

Blair on his first career interception said, “It meant a lot to me,” Blair said of his first career interception. “We were getting a lot of pressure on their quarterbacks. They were changing them in and out. The pressure we were giving them from the defensive line was making them a little nervous. I just did my job

Simeon Blair (5) was a major factor on defense, with an interception and a fumble recovery. (Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender) and the ball came right to me.”

Blake Watson rushed for 125 yards. Seth Henigan threw for 159 total yards two touchdowns.

In the second half, the Tigers had possession of the football for nearly 23 of the 30 minutes.

Koby Drake, who has become a security blanket for Henigan, had a career-high 6 receptions for 51 yards to lead the Tigers in both categories.

“I didn’t even know I had six until my teammates told me,” Drake said. “I did not expect to.

I just got open and found seams in their zones.

It just happened. I am glad it helped the team

out, but I’m just going forward.”

Drake has shown a penchant for catching passes over the middle.

“When the ball is in the air all I can think about is to come down with it,” he said. “It is a part of the game; it is what they need me to do and that is what I am going to do.”

Silverfield called Drake “Mr. Reliable.

“He is a young man that continues to show up. I am so pleased with him. It is not always flashy, but he makes great plays. He makes some great catches on the ball. He is not the biggest or fastest, but he makes plays.”