The New Tri-State Defender - October 27-November 2, 2022

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VOL. 71, No. 43

Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., with his wife, Audrey, alongside, presented himself as a candidate for mayor of Memphis during an announcement at the Tower Room at Clark Tower on Tuesday.

(Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New TriState Defender)

Sheriff Bonner stakes his claim to a lane in the race for Memphis mayor

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

With Memphis at what he called “a critical juncture,” Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. on Tuesday declared his candidacy for mayor.

Bonner, who is in his second term as sheriff, announced his intention at the Tower Room at Clark Tower as more than 100 friends and supporters signaled their backing.

“So many great things are going on in Memphis right now, so much opportunity.

But we’re in danger of losing those opportunities if we don’t get crime under control.

So, I cannot sit back and watch that happen to the city I love and grew up in,” said Bonner.

“So, with lots of prayer … and with the support of my family and my wife, Audrey, today I am announcing my candidacy and my plan to become the next mayor of Memphis.”

A mayoral run by Bonner has been the source of much speculation in recent weeks, with Bonner neither officially confirming nor denying that he would enter the race. A flyer circulated a few hours before his announcement pointed to his decision.

The flyer detailed what was described as a Mayoral Candidate Meet and Greet set for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 27) at The Pocket at 115 Union Ave. Bonner was listed as one of four “invited and confirmed candidates,” along with attorney and Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner Jr., Downtown Memphis Commission President/CEO Paul Young and Memphis Shelby County Schools Commissioner Michelle McKissack.

Turner and Young have formally declared their candidacies. McKissack has said she was considering a run. Several other notables have indicated – directly and/or indirectly – their interest in succeeding term-limited Mayor Jim Strickland.

The Meet & Greet, which is set for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., is sponsored by the Gen Next PAC, Shelby County Young Democrats, and the Mayor’s Young Professionals Council.

“Many of you have been calling me, meeting with me, encouraging me to run for mayor of the city of Memphis,” Bonner said. “…

When I was first approached about running for mayor, I was in the middle of my second campaign for re-election as sheriff.… I

SEE BONNER ON PAGE 2

October 27 - November 2, 2022

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Life/career of service ends for TN Rep. Barbara Cooper

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Memphis and the state lost a passionate supporter of education, public health, and fighting poverty and its effects with Tuesday’s (Oct. 25) death of longtime Tennessee state Rep. Barbara Ward Cooper.

That was the overwhelming consensus of those who knew and collaborated with her in local government and in the General Assembly, where she was first elected to the House in 1996.

At 93 years old, Rep. Cooper, a Democrat who represented District 86, was the oldest legislator in state recorded history.

Daughter, Tanya Cooper, posted a photo Wednesday (Oct. 26) of Rep. Cooper’s desk at

the state, which has been draped with the Tennessee flag.

Condolences began flooding social media sites from colleagues, friends, sorors, former students, and community supporters.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my longtime colleague and dear friend, Barbara Cooper” said state House Minority Leader Karen Camper. “She was a warrior for her community and the City of Memphis, a tireless advocate on education and equality issues and just a delightful person. We will all miss her.”

Determined to serve in the General Assembly as long as she could do so effectively, Rep. Cooper was looking toward serving another legislative term.

Cooper was running for re-election on the Nov. 8, general election ballot against inde-

Grizzlies on guard …

State Rep. Barbara Cooper (left) at the National Civil Rights Museum for the 2020 Living Legends Awards that she launched three years earlier. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New Tri-State Defender Archives) pendent candidate Michael Porter. She had advanced from the Democratic primary on Aug. 4.

Rep. Cooper had retired from the school system after 42 years. She ran the Title I federal government program for underserved students.

State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, chairman of Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, wrote:

SEE COOPER ON PAGE 2

MSCS records its lowest scores on ‘nation’s report card’ Results reflect COVID’s devastating impact

by Samantha West Chalkbeat Tennessee

In his first game of the season, Memphis’ Dillon Brooks, who has been out with an injury, drew the starting assignment of guarding Brooklyn superstar Kevin Durant, who scored 38 points in the Nets’ 138-124 loss to the Grizzlies at FedExForum on Monday night. Teaming with Brooks on this play is Memphis’ All-Star guard Ja Morant, who along with Desmond Bane, scored 38 points for the home team. See Sports, Page 10, for the story and more photos. (Photo: Warren Roseborough/The New Tri-State Defender)

Memphis-Shelby County Schools showed some of the country’s sharpest declines in math and reading scores on the test known as the “nation’s report card.”

Results from the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, illustrate the pandemic’s devastating effect on learning in Tennessee’s largest school district, where most students are Black and come from low-income families who were hit hardest by the pandemic, and where waves of COVID infections led to prolonged stretches of remote learning.

While district school buildings reopened in the spring of 2021, most students did not return to classrooms until last school year — only to be hit by new disruptions and safety protocols as the delta and omicron variants struck.

MSCS’ most notable declines were in math. The average score for fourth-graders decreased by 12 points from 2019 (on a 500-point scale); for eighth graders, scores dropped by 14 points, the greatest decline among the 26 big-city districts that participated in a special urban assessment program using the NAEP test.

Reading scores also took a hit, with fourth graders dropping 8 points on average and eighth graders falling 6 points from 2019.

This was the first NAEP test conducted since before the pandemic shut down classrooms in March 2020.

MSCS interim Superintendent Toni Wil-

SEE SCORES ON PAGE 2

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The New Tri-State Defender

October 27 - November 2, 2022

NEWS

SCORES

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. engaged with supporters after announcing his run for mayor of Memphis. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

BONNER

CONTINUED FROM FRONT began to reflect on the skills which added value to me… I could be ready on day one…”

His experience as a law enforcement professional equipped him with a set of qualifications that no other candidate can claim,” said Bonner.

“I manage the largest sheriff agency in the state of Tennessee, with a staff of 2,000. And I have managed our budget of $182 million.”

Bonner, whose father was one of the first Black police officers, said as Mayor he could effectively “address the city’s biggest challenge: crime.”

He characterized his candidacy as a unifying one.

“Memphis needs a mayor to bring this city together because we are faced with too many challenges, too many big challenges, if we’re not all headed in the same direction,” he said.

Over the next 11 months, Bonner plans to listen to the concerns of Memphis residents as well as share what his goals are as mayor.

“There are some issues which will be front and center of my agenda,” said Bonner.

“Reducing crime will be priority one, recruiting and retaining officers, hiring more civilian staff so commissioned officers can be out on the street patrolling, using data smart policing as well as smart dispatch so that we can combat this plague we have of crime….”

COOPER

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “This morning, we send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and supporters of State Representative Barbara Ward Cooper. Rep. Cooper was an icon and history maker in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

“She was a mother figure to all who served with her, and she fought vigorously for the voiceless. She will be sorely missed.”

A retired Memphis City Schools teacher who worked in several roles for the district, Cooper was a tireless champion for Memphis students.

State Sen. Raumesh Akbari said, in part: “Rep. Cooper was not just a mentor, friend, and colleague, but was a part of our family.

She was quite literally my political Godmother and helped show me all the ropes for campaigning and being a good public servant. She brought me to the table…I would not have been elected but for her…

“Rep. Cooper helped thousands of people in Memphis and the state of Tennessee.

She was a part of almost every fight for civil rights, equity, and against oppression in Memphis… I’m going to miss her text messages, her calls, her wisdom, her love. I cannot imagine a General Assembly without her voice.”

Cooper graduated from Manassas High School and earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from her beloved Tennessee State University.

TSU President Dr. Glenda

The pandemic led to the reduction of programs that were making progress … which must be brought back up to full-scale, said Bonner, adding that summer youth job programs, spring break camp and assisting opportunity youth with finding careers were all effective in curtailing youth crime.

Bonner’s mayoral vision also involves cleaning up neighborhoods by addressing blight, litter, overgrown grass, tires on the street, expanding dumpster days, and making it easier for people to discard trash.

As for jobs and economic development, Bonner referenced Ford’s Blue Oval project near Mason, TN. “With the Blue Oval nearby, we cannot miss the opportunity to bring those next jobs into Memphis,” Bonner said.

“My first economic plan would be reducing crime. This is the most important thing we can do for economic development. It is the most important thing we can do to grow our population and tax base. It’s the most important thing we can do to attract tourism.…

(N)national stories about crime have hurt us.…”

Inviting those at the announcement event to “look around this room,” Bonner said, “Democrats and Republicans, Black and white, young and old – this is the way I will campaign.

“And this is the way I will lead because when Memphis works together, there is absolutely nothing we can’t overcome.”

liams said the district’s students are resilient and will be able to bounce back.

“MSCS has used federal stimulus dollars to make key investments,” she said. “Because of such efforts, we are already seeing evidence that the pandemic downturn is reversing.”

Memphis’ results largely mirror the state and nation. Despite Tennessee’s big bet that tutoring and summer learning programs would help students rebound quicker from the pandemic, the state’s scores slid to their lowest level in math and reading since 2011. That was before the outsize gain on the 2013 exam earned Tennessee the title of the nation’s fastest improving state.

Nationally, students in fourth and eighth grade saw unprecedented declines in math and substantial dips in reading achievement between 2019 and 2022. The declines were broad-based — affecting students in virtually every state and every region of the country.

Other research has already shown that the pandemic derailed academic progress during that period. But the results from the closely watched NAEP provide the most detailed and authoritative accounting yet, with data coming from a representative set of students nationwide and allowing for comparisons across states and some cities.

This is the third time MSCS has participated in the voluntary assessment program for urban districts, called the Trial Urban District Assessment.

The first time, in 2017, the district’s students ranked in the bottom third of the nation.

They remain there this year, with Memphis-Shelby County Schools posting its lowest NAEP results ever. MSCS was the only TUDA district in the

Memphis-Shelby County Schools Chief Financial Officer Tutonial “Toni” Williams at the MSCS Board meeting, where she was named interim superintendent. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender Archives) nation to be among the topfive decliners on every test.

In both subjects and grade levels covered Angela Whitelaw by the assessment, M S C S scores consistently fell below national and large-city averages.

Here’s how the district’s average scores compared: • Fourth-grade math: MSCS’ average score was 216, far below the national average of 235 and the large-city average of 227.

• Fourth-grade reading: MSCS’ average score was 197, while the national average was 216, and the large-city average was 209.

• Eighth-grade math: MSCS’ average was 251, notably lower than the national average of 273 and the bigcity average of 266.

• Eighth-grade reading: MSCS’ average was 242. The national average was 259 and the large-city average was 255.

The district’s NAEP scores underscored how its most vulnerable student groups —

“She is beloved by all but particularly by those in South Memphis.”

— Beverly Robertson Glover said, “The Tennessee State University family is deeply saddened over the passing of State Representative and alumna, the Honorable Barbara Ward Cooper. An educator at heart, … history at 93-years-old. Her commitment to TSU never wavered as she supported legislation to ensure the success of our students and other higher education policies…”

Cooper later earned a Doctor of Religious Philosophy and Christian Psychology at Jacksonville Theological Seminary.

Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO Beverly Robertson said, “Barbara Cooper has been a strong advocate for all things that promoted Memphis, whether economic and community development, quality education and healthcare, or efficient transportation.

“She is beloved by all but particularly by those in South Memphis. We extend our prayers and condolences to her family, friends, the Shelby County legislative delegation, and all her colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly.”

In addition to her decades of service to students, Cooper was an unwavering voice for the community of Memphis and advancing the rights of Black Tennesseans.

Page 2

During her Community Prayer Breakfast in July, Rep. Barbara Cooper was in the good company of Rep. Karen Camper, Rep. G.A. Hardaway and State Sen. Raumesh Akbari. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender) She co-founded the Cooper-Jones Initiative, an education collaboration with the late Rep. Ulysses Jones, Jr. seeking to lift underserved Memphians. Cooper also formed the Harriet Tubman Legacy Awards to honor Memphians who were committed to uplifting the community.

Cooper was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and its community service programs.

Cheryl A. Bingham, president of the Beta Epsilon Omega Chapter of AKA Sorority, Inc., said: She also was a proud member of organizations, such as the NAACP, the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Council of Negro Women.

Rep. Cooper’s steadfast commitment to her neighbors and charitable causes is reflected by the countless number of awards and accolades bestowed upon her through the years, such as the Equal Op-

such as students of color and children from low-inc o m e families — continue to Althea lag beGreene hind their p e e r s academically, especially after their communities were disproportionately affected by COVID. In fourth-grade math, for example, the average score dropped by 12 points among MSCS’ Black students and 6 points among Hispanic students. The average score for white students, meanwhile, increased by 1 point.

In fourth grade reading, the average score for students eligible for the National School Lunch Program, a federal measure of poverty, plummeted by 8 points, while students who were not eligible saw a drop of only 3 points.

MSCS’ performance on the national assessment contrasts with the rosier picture painted by the district’s gains on state standardized tests, which tend to be more closely aligned with state academic standards and curriculum. On those tests, the district’s overall proficiency rate rose about 6 percentage points in a near return to pre-pandemic levels.

District officials trumpeted the results on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program as evidence that MSCS is “trending up.” But they also acknowledged they had a lot of work to do, with fewer than a quarter of MSCS students meeting grade level expectations in each subject.

In a briefing for reporters on Friday, MSCS administrators said they believe Tennessee’s largest school system is still trending up. While TCAP tests were administered in April and May, administrators said

NAEP assessments occurred in January, at the height of omicron.

“This is a snapshot of how student wellbeing impacted academics during a time of heightened uncertainty,” said Angela Whitelaw, deputy superintendent of schools and academic support. “Our students, they epitomize grit and grind. … Our TCAP shows already show our students’ resilience and, with more time, they will continue trending up and learning recovery.”

As they did when TCAP results were released, administrators touted the district’s investments of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal COVID relief aid in a variety of academic strategies, such as increasing access to beforeand after-school tutoring, adding teachers assistants to lower the student-to-adult ratio in K-2 classrooms, adding an academic intervention period to the school day to help students catch up, and holding data nights to keep parents better informed about their child’s academic progress.

MSCS officials also emphasized that standardized assessments are only one factor in how they measure student success and needs.

Board Chair Althea Greene said she’s proud of the MSCS’ growth on TCAP and on Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, known as TVAAS, where the district received the state’s highest ranking for academic growth.

“I don’t want the momentum for Memphis-Shelby County Schools to be drowned out by the NAEP story,” Greene said. “Our administrators and teachers are working hard. I want us to be proud of our district and our progress.”

portunity Group Inc. Project Save-A-Student Award, the AFL-CIO Leadership Award, the Dr. Raymond Winbush Award, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Extraordinary Leadership Award.

Godson and community activist Johnnie Mosley said: “She helped us with many fights to keep bus service in underserved areas. Our Citizens for Better Services organization was able to save bus service in Boxtown (in Southwest Memphis), part of Mrs. Coopers district. She stood with us and worked right alongside of us as we fought for that community. This loss hit us hard.”

Rep. Cooper was an active parishioner of St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Rep. Cooper’s name will remain on the Nov. ballot. If she wins, a special election will be held, according to the Shelby County Election Commission.

She is survived by two daughters, Rev. Joan Cooper Burnett and Tanya Cooper; four grandchildren, and a host of other loved ones and friends.

Cooper was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years John D. Cooper and a son, Carl Cooper.

Services were pending. E.H. Ford has charge.

(Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, where she covers K-12 education in Memphis. Connect with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat. org.)

The New Tri-State Defender

October 27 - November 2, 2022

Page 3

NEWS

Water investigations said to test Biden racial equity pledge

by Emily Wagster Pettus Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. Federal investigations into public spending on the failing water system in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city are a test of President Joe Biden’s commitment to racial equity, one of his congressional allies told hundreds of people at a town hall meeting hosted by the NAACP. “President Biden has made a fundamental policy in his administration to talk about equity. And this is an issue of equity and fair treatment about the citizens of Jackson,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson said Monday night at Jackson’s New Hope Baptist Church — the same spacious sanctuary where Biden spoke during the 2020 campaign.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies have discriminated against Jackson by refusing to fund water system improvements in the city of 150,000, where more than 80 percent of residents are Black and about a quarter of the population lives in poverty.

Thompson said the EPA civil investigation is expected to take about four months. The federal agency could withhold money from the state if it finds wrongdoing — potentially millions of dollars. If the state agencies don’t cooperate with the investigation, the EPA could refer the case to the Department of Justice.

Thompson’s congressional district includes most of Jackson. He is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee — one of two congressional committees that also are investigating how Republican-led Mississippi is spending federal money for water system improvements, and whether some of the money will go to Jackson.

Biden spoke at Jackson’s New Hope Baptist Church during a worship service in March 2020 as he was seeking the Democratic

Dr. Berthrone Mock-Muhammad, of the Heart Plus Diagnostic Clinic, tells a town hall audience of the poor quality of the city’s water Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., displays a letter to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves that expresses concern over what he believes is the inadequate federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address the failing water system in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city, Jackson, Miss., Monday night, Oct. 24, 2022, at a town hall meeting, hosted by the NAACP. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

NAACP national president Derrick Johnson, who lives in Jackson, Miss., with his family, tells residents that the state needs to direct federal money toward “clean, safe drinking water for every citizen of this city” during a town hall meeting hosted by the NAACP on the failing water system in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022.

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

nomination for president. Biden was fresh off a win in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, where Black voters gave him a crucial boost — and Thompson introduced the former vice president at New Hope as the “Comeback Kid.” “If I’m the Comeback Kid, there’s only one reason I’ve come back — the African-American community all around the country,” Biden told the mostly Black congregation in Mississippi. He also pledged to look out for people who had been marginalized, isolated and oppressed.

Speaking of Biden on Monday, Thompson said: “I’m going

ment Agency have been overseeing operations and repairs at the facility since then.

By the time Reeves issued the emergency order, Jackson residents had already been told for a month to boil their water to kill possible contaminants. Volunteers and the National Guard had distributed millions of bottles of drinking water. Although the boil-water notice was lifted in mid-September, many residents remain skeptical about water safety.

In a federal complaint Sept.

27, the NAACP said Mississippi officials “all but assured” a drinking water calamity by depriving

to continue to make him a man of his word. He sat right here on the front pew and asked people to support him, and a lot of us did.

And so now, it’s a matter of making sure that promises made are promises kept.”

Jackson has struggled with water system problems for years, and most of the city lost running water for several days in late August and early September after torrential rainfall exacerbated problems at the main water treatment facility. Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared an emergency Aug. 29, and the state health department and the Mississippi Emergency Manage-

Jackson of badly needed funds to upgrade its infrastructure. The organization asked the EPA to investigate the state’s alleged pattern of steering money to majority-white communities with less need.

NAACP national president Derrick Johnson, who lives in Jackson with his family, said Monday that the state needs to direct federal money toward “clean, safe drinking water for every citizen of this city.” He also said the system needs to remain in city control and not be turned over to private contractors or a regional governing board.

“When you consider how water systems are funded in this state, it’s from federal funds,” Johnson said. “And in 25 years of the state of Mississippi receiving federal funds for water, the city of Jackson only received funds three of those 25 years. That’s an inequity that this administration said they were going to address.”

The AP reported in September that years before Reeves became governor, he touted his own track record of fiscal conservatism by citing his opposition to spending state money for Jackson’s crumbling water and sewer infrastructure. The EPA is not investigating Reeves.

(Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ EWagsterPettus.

Tennessee man violently arrested claims racial profiling

by Adrian Sainz Associated Press

SOMERVILLE, TN. – A Tennessee man whose violent arrest for alleged traffic violations is under investigation by state police said Monday that he was stopped because he was a young Black man driving a nice car.

Brandon Calloway and some of his family members spoke with an Associated Press reporter outside a courthouse in Fayette County, where he was scheduled to appear before a judge on charges filed against him in July. The hearing was rescheduled to Nov. 28.

Calloway, 26, was arrested

by Oakland Police and charged with disregarding a stop sign, speeding, disorderly conduct and evading arrest. Video footage of the confrontation leading up to the arrest, which spread on social media, shows officers chasing him through his home, attempting to stun him, and beating him bloody before dragging him away.

One police officer has been placed on paid leave while the

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigates the arrest. Once the TBI probe is complete, the state police agency will give the report to the district attorney, who will decide whether to pursue charges against the officers. The Oakland Police Department did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

According to a police affidavit, Calloway drove through a stop sign about 7:30 p.m. on July 16.

He was then clocked driving 32 mph in a 20 mph zone (51 kph in a 32 kph zone) before an officer attempted a traffic stop. Calloway continued driving until he reached a house, where he pulled into the driveway and ran inside, the affidavit says.

The affidavit says that later Calloway and others were outside speaking with the first officer when a second officer arrived. The officers said they needed to detain Calloway, and he ran back inside the house. The officers kicked down the front door and followed Calloway upstairs, where he ran into a room and locked the door.

Officers then kicked down that

door, used a stun gun on him and began to hit him with a baton, the affidavit says.

The confrontation happened in Oakland, a small town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Memphis. Calloway, who runs a notary public business, said the beating left him with stitches in his head, speech problems and memory loss. He insists he would not have been stopped in the 2020 Chevrolet Camaro he was driving if he was white.

“I just happened to get stopped in a nice car and my dad lives in a nice neighborhood,” said Calloway. “That was the only crime right there.”

Calloway’s father, Ed Calloway, agreed, remarking that the situation “revealed the issues that we still have with the relationship between police and young African-American males, and this innate fear of being caught up in this situation.”

“If he was white, no, he would never have gotten pulled over,” and the situation would not have escalated like it did, Ed Calloway said.

Brandon Calloway, second from left, speaks with a reporter alongside his family about his violent arrest in July for alleged traffic violations on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in Somerville, Tenn. Also pictured are Calloway’s father, Ed Calloway, left, sister Raven Calloway, second from right, and mother, Dinishia Calloway, right. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz) Ed Calloway also said police unlawfully entered his house.

“It was my home, it was my door that they kicked in,” he said, adding that his daughter suffered trauma when she saw “her brother’s blood all over the floor, all over the walls, throughout the house.”

Brandon Calloway said he would like to see repercussions for the officers involved in his arrest. He said that he is feeling better from his injuries and is in

therapy but gets “really bad anxiety” when he sees a police officer.

His lawyer, Andre Wharton, said he is seeking transparency and accountability from the TBI investigation so that the Calloways can reach closure after the “disproportionate response” by police.

“Closure comes when people realize that a system worked like it should — that it was open and honest and accountable,” Wharton said.

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, October 27 - November 2, 2022, Page 4

Since the 1980s, Willie Herenton, Jerry House, and Kriner Cash have been the only superintendents to have tenures of 5 or more years.

In search of a new superintendent, again!

by Curtis Weathers

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

F

inding the “right fit” superintendent for our school system will be a daunting task. There is so much at stake.

So, what can we look forward to in our search for a new leader: drama, intrigue, suspense, and, yes, uncertainty for sure?

Like everyone, I hope we can find a very capable person to lead our school system. But unfortunately, we have been through a gauntlet of leadership changes over the years and my hopes are at best tempered.

I, like many others, hunger for stability in our system and a steady rise in academic achievement.

During the last 60plus years, over a dozen men and women have served as leaders of our public school system here in MemCurtis phis.

Weathers During that time period, the longevity of leadership at the superintendent level, has averaged just over five years. Over the last 20-plus years, however, the average duration of Memphis Shelby County Schools superintendents has dwindled to just a little over three years.

This is simply not enough time to turn around a complex urban school system the size and breadth of Memphis Shelby County Schools.

Since the 1980s, Willie Herenton, Jerry House, and Kriner Cash have been the only superintendents to have tenures of 5 or more years.

Three of the thirteen superintendents came to the post from school systems in other parts of the country. Seven of the thirteen were interim leaders, including, of course, the district’s current Superintendent, Toni Williams.

Almost all these individuals were allowed to bring their own version of school reform to the district. So, you can expect the same thing from the new superintendent, and the process of improving our schools will start all over again.

There is no question that managing a successful urban school system is one of the most challenging jobs on the planet.

There are so many issues urban systems

Former Memphis City Schools Supt.

Gerry House. (Photo: Rhodes College Digital Archives)

Former Memphis City Schools Supt.

Kriner Cash. (Screen capture)

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Then-Interim Shelby County Schools Supt. Joris Ray conducts an interview with The New Tri-State Defender. (Photo: Karanja A. Ajanaku/The New TriState Defender) like ours have to deal with.

The challenges that lay ahead are daunting, i.e., academic recovery from the COVID pandemic, declining enrollment, teacher shortages, rising gun violence in our community, just to name a few.

Add to that the fact that our district is now operating without two of its top leaders. Both Dr. John Barker, Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Yolanda Martin, the district’s Chief of Human Resources are on administrative leave.

I do not know how long the current search for a new superintendent will take;

some estimates suggest it could take between 18 months and two years to find suitable candidates. Before her stint as board chairperson ended, Michelle McKissack shared the hope for new leadership in place by the end of this school year.

I am praying that our new superintendent gets unanimous support from our school board and that their team will be able to hit the ground running.

The search process is parked in neutral right now, waiting for new board members to get up to speed on the search process.

School reform and improvements take

time. It will take 4 to 5 years before we begin seeing improved results that can be owned by the new administration.

If the new team can show early signs of improvement, the general public and our school board will support them, I hope.

If they struggle, you will once again hear rumblings of discontent from the usual voices of dissident in our school system.

I am cautiously optimistic. But I have seen this movie far too many times in the past.

Let’s pray that it ends differently this time.

(Follow me, TSD’s education columnist, on Twitter @curtisweathers. Email me at curtislweathers@gmail.com.)

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The New Tri-State Defender

October 27 - November 2, 2022

RELIGION

Page 5

Happy anniversary …

Lambert Church of God in Christ, 1070 Keating St., held its Pastoral Anniversary for Supt. Charles Moore and his wife, Gwen Moore, last Sunday (Oct. 23). (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

Farewell …

The life of Bishop William M. Young Sr., who died Oct. 10, was celebrated last Saturday. Dr. Young was the founder of The Healing Center Full Gospel Church. He leaves his wife, Pastor Dianne young, and four adult children – Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission and candidate for Memphis mayor; Shelby County Division of Community Services Director Dorcas Young Griffin; William Young Jr., and Pastor David Young. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

Let’s celebrate …

Progressive MBC observed 28 years of ministry service during the Pastor and Wife celebration for the Rev. Dr. James B. Collins and his wife, Lavonia Collins, during a service at Streets Ministry last Saturday (Oct. 22). The featured speaker was the rev. Terrence tabor. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)

The New Tri-State Defender, October 27 - November 2, 2022, Page 6

“There are reasons for hope, but the rising appeals to violence is ever-present.”

— Taylor Branch

NCRM President Russell Wigginton answers a question from TSD contributor Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

FedEx founder Fred Smith, holding his Freedom Award, acknowledges the appreciation of the crowd. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

Freedom Award gala provides measuring point for Dr. King’s ‘promised land’

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As the National Civil Rights Museum honored the 2022 Freedom Award honorees, the annual celebration afforded a fresh opportunity to ponder where the city of Memphis stands relative to reaching “the promised land” that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about the night before his assassination.

Held last Thursday (Oct. 20) at the Orpheum, the gala served to bestow the Freedom Award upon Fred Smith, founder of FedEx; civil rights historian Taylor Branch and Isabel Wilkerson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller “The Warmth of Other Suns,” about the so-called “Great Migration” of Black citizens out of the South.

For NCRM President and CEO Dr. Russell Wigginton, it was the first full in-person Freedom Award event he has presided over since succeeding the long-serving Terri Lee Freeman. Last year’s event was a hybrid affair shared via social media.

As he made his red-carpet appearance, Wiggington fielded the question about how Memphis moves forward in realizing Dr. King’s vision of “the promised land.”

“Without question, we must continue working on Dr. King’s vision for economic empowerment for those who have none,” said Wigginton.

“There are too many still in poverty, too many still without equal opportunity…but we remain hopeful that we will get to that promised land…

“We will continue to struggle until we effectively address economic empowerment. We must continue that fight. Memphis is a resilient city. We are a resilient people…”

The Freedom Award gala yielded a string of serendipitous and extraordinary moments, with the works of the honorees shining a light on elements that surely are

Freedom Award honoree Taylor Branch amplifies a point he was making on the red carpet. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Author Isabel Wilkerson shares her heartfelt appreciation for the Freedom Award. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender) building blocks for the “promised land” destination.

The audience rode a sudden wave of emotion as FedEx’s Smith, who is included among Forbes 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, recalled his days in Viet Nam. “There was a man, my staff sergeant, Richard Johnson,” said Smith as the huge screen on the Orpheum Theatre stage showed a striking image of Staff Sergeant Richard Johnson in tan uniform.

He is African American.

“We fought together, got in some tight spots,” said Smith.

“He trained me. … We were close friends. Before we could get home, he was killed in the line of duty. His son, Richard, is here tonight.”

The younger Johnson, seated near the front, stood and waved to the audience, acknowledging the enthusiastic applause.

“Your father would have been

so proud of you,” Smith said as the screen showed the son wiping away tears.

“I dedicate this Freedom Award to Staff Sergeant Richard Johnson,” said a tearful Smith amid a roar of applause that an extended ovation.

Branch, recognized as one of the foremost historians of the civil rights movement for his Pulitzer-Prize-winning trilogy “America in the King Years,” said he was “overjoyed to be here.”

He put that joy in context.

“There are reasons for hope, but the rising appeals to violence is ever-present,” said Branch.

While a call for “racial healing” sounds good, it is, in fact, not a real concept, said Branch. “…To heal is to restore a previous condition of wholeness, which has never been existent in the United States…,” Branch said.

During a brief interview on the

Jeffery Robinson was the recipient of a Special Tribute at the 2022 Freedom Award Gala. (Courtesy photo) red carpet, Branch said that “Jan. 6 was no surprise. …Votes don’t matter to Putin or to the stormtroopers who invaded the capital.”

A chord of optimism ended Branch’s remarks as he urged for the emulation of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders, calling them “pioneers and modern founders” just as surely as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

“Let us all be disciples of freedom,” he urged.

Wilkerson spoke of her chronicle of the Great Migration, calling herself “a child of the Great Migration.”

Wilkerson’s father, a Tuskegee Airman, joined the six million African Americans who fled the racially oppressive South for destinations in the North, seeking better opportunities during the first half of the 20th century.

“Black people were immigrants in the land of their birth,” said Wilkerson. “No other group had to act like immigrants. They defected from the Jim Crow South because of the caste system that goes back 400 years in our country…

“My father … would devote most of his life trying to understand that which propelled him to leave the place he loved so much, but he felt did not love him back…”

Wilkerson said she continues her work on the next project about caste, which is a follow-up of her newest release, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.”

Also honored during the gala was Memphis-born Jeffery Robinson, a longtime ACLU executive, whose work on racial justice and education inspired the 2022 documentary, “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America,” currently on Netflix. Some segments were filmed at the museum.

The New Tri-State Defender

October 27 - November 2, 2022

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 7

‘The White Wall’ – ‘hold it tight, and make room on your lap for your jaw

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The big red-brick building down the road is where you get your groceries.

You have to drive there, past the shiny chrome car dealership, left by the green gas station. The yellow fast-food place is your kids’ favorite; that’s in the same block. And that large brown building? That’s where you do your banking and keep your money. But, as in the new book “The White Wall” by Emily Flitter, can you get that money out?

A number of years ago, when she was a banking reporter for the New York Times, Flitter tried to follow a lead on a Black man who’d been fired from his job at a major financial company. It turned out to be a weak lead but meanwhile, she met a lawyer who turned her toward a much bigger issue: racism in the financial industry.

Recent polls show that most Americans have no idea that there’s a racial wealth gap.

They don’t know about the Black / White gap in family wealth. They have no clue that Black families fared much worse in the 2008 financial crisis than did whites, or that they’re struggling again in this post-Pandemic time.

The truth is that racism thrives in banking institutions where, Flitter says, Black consumers are often profiled as “suspicious” by white bank employees, even if they have a paper trail of proof for their own money. Black borrowers are often given less service and more wrong information; Flitter also found instances where skin color determined interest rates.

Bank customers who are Black aren’t always offered the valuable perqs that white customers get. Insurance companies are not servicing Black homeowners the same as they do white homeowners. Not even Black business owners escape racism within the financial industry.

That isn’t even mentioning the proportionately low number of Black employees in those institutions, or the insufficient number of high-level leaders.

Clearly, says Flitter, “Corporate America has a long way to go.”

Pick up your copy of “The White Wall,” hold it tight, and make room on your lap for your jaw. It may be dropping a lot while you’re reading this shocking book.

Or maybe not. What’s in here might not come as much of a surprise to some readers who live this reality every day – and for that, author Emily Flitter has some words for you,

Native Memphian Fredrick Harper, Mr. Hamilton 1999, is one of the producers of ‘Meet the Snows’. (Courtesy photo)

‘Meet the Snows’ in Memphis Special to The New Tri-State Defender

starting with this: what you’ve experienced is no anomaly.

For Wall Street and for every large business in the nation, she offers more in an entire chapter devoted to ideas on how to do better by making financial services more accessible for Black Americans. On that, there’s good news in Flitter’s final words and that’s a happy start but, judging by the many, many stories she shares, readers could absolutely be forgiven for any lingering pessimism...

“The White Wall: How Big Finance Bankrupts Black America”

by Emily Flitter c. 2022 One Signal Publishers / Atria $28.99 336 pages Still, this informative book is easy for even the most busy executive to read and use, and its essential message shouts to be heard. This book could create new consciousness, or “The White Wall” may also leave you blue.

Among the hot independent films of 2022 is “Meet the Snows,” which combines art and entertainment to create social awareness around human trafficking in one grand performance.

“Meet The Snows” will be screened Thursday (October 27) at 7 p.m. at The Wolfchase Cinema located at 2766 N Germantown Pkwy.

The film is written by Keidra Ponder and Ron Taylor, directed by Robert Peters, and brought to life by a team of talented actors.

“Meet the Snows,” is a movie that has multiple layers, one being a focus on how criminal enterprises abduct people for human trafficking. The action-drama focuses on the dangers of human slavery, sex trafficking, and the lengths one family will go to save their child.

One of the producers, Fredrick Harper, who is originally from Memphis but currently resides in Atlanta, performed a featured role, and has music on the soundtrack under the moniker One Deuce.

“It was only proper to screen the film in Memphis,” said Harper.

Ron Taylor, who is the executive producer of the project, already had Memphis in the que.

Harper started out performing poetry, recording music, and acting in high school. He placed fifth in the Tennessee’s High School Speech and Drama League (THSSDL) on behalf of Hamilton High School, where he was Mr. Hamilton 1999.

A self-described public servant, Harper is a board member of several organizations that help those in need, and an entrepreneur, who provides jobs in the community. He is on the Arts Counsel in Fairburn, Georgia, and is committed to lending his business savvy and creativity to the arts and entertainment world.

Harper’s most recent project was working with world-renowned author “Zane” as the second assistant director to her upcoming film project “Killer B&B.”

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, October 27 - November 2, 2022, Page 8

SBA chief champions access to resources and tools for aspiring entrepreneurs

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

As the administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Isabella Casillas Guzman travels the country to promote business ownership and encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to access SBA resources and tools.

That mission landed her in the Hall of Mayors at Memphis City Hall Oct. 20 for a “Fireside Chat,” staged as part of a multi-city tour.

“We are committed to building an economy that works for everyone,” said Guzman. “Black and brown women have been leading entrepreneurship for the past 10 years.

President Biden remains committed to overcoming the barriers to small businesses being connected to capital.”

Moderator April Thompson, with WREC TV, questioned three chat panelists — Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Operation Hope founder John Hope(ck) Bryant, and Guzman.

Strickland shared a story about the late Fred Davis, who owned his own insurance company and was a former City Council member.

“Thirty years ago, I saw my friend,

Fred Davis, and he asked me if I knew what percentage of people patronize Black businesses. I said ‘no,’ and he told me it was one percent…

After I was elected, he told me that it was still one percent…In a city that is 65 percent Black, I knew that wasn’t right.”

Strickland said he made intentional moves to make the city’s contracting services more accessible to minority businesses. The number moved “from 12 percent to almost double that number.”

He added, though, “I realize that it’s still not enough.”

Bryant commended Strickland’s effort to make the city’s bidding processes more equitable for small and minority business owners.

Operation Hope provides services centered on financial literacy, credit counseling, home ownership, and programs designed for successful entrepreneurship.

Bryant referred to “Dr. King’s dream” and what it has to do with economic empowerment.

“Dr. King gave his life in this city,” said Bryant. “It’s the event we want to forget, but we must always remember. It is the event we want to forget, but we must always remember…Everything is about money.

The first Reconstruction was about freedom. The second was about poverty…the Poor People’s Campaign, and the third is about opportunity and ownership…”

Bryant has partnered with the SBA to provide services and mentorship to aspiring business owners. His initiative “1MBB,” one million Black businesses by 2030, was praised by Guzman.

Bryant said there are only 2.6 million “Black businesses” across the country. And of that number, 96 percent have no employees.

Guzman said she came from a family of small businesspeople, and that she “came to the SBA knowing what needed to be done for small businesses.”

“The SBA has a profound potential to truly help small businesses,” said Guzman. “We need to eliminate the barriers small business owners face…such as access to capital and credit lines. There has been a decline of Black businesses in government contracting because of systemic problems.”

Guzman said a rollout of new initiatives would help millions of businesses. Capital and financial products will “meet businesses where they are.”

SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman (center) in the Hall of Mayors with (r-l), April Thompson, John Hope Bryant and Mayor Jim Strickland. (Courtesy photo) Additional strategies and tools to small businesses taking advantage of capital and marketing opportunities are included in the plan.

“Small businesses will be able to take advantage of global opportunities,” said Guzman. “When small businesses are globally engaged, the economy is lifted as well as their communities. This level of investment in America will be historic.”

Utilizing the tools and services of

1st Class Montessori celebrates 31st anniversary with ‘fun outside’

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“I can’t believe it’s been 31 years,” said Evelyn Hibbler, owner of Midtown’s 1st Class Montessori School.

The youthful 69-year-old took time away from a Friday afternoon celebration with students and parents.

This year’s anniversary on Oct. 21 was conveniently set the day before Hibbler’s birthday.

“It doesn’t seem all that long ago that we went to each neighbor and told them we were opening our school in their community,” Hibbler said. “It was 1991, and today’s more harmonious racial climate was non-existent. We had doors slammed in our faces, but we just kept right on to the next house.”

Despite the challenges of “never enough money in the beginning” and the struggle to meet city codes for private schools, 1st Class Montessori opened with great fanfare and a nearly full roster. Students were excelling with the Montessori method, and more students came.

Hibbler chose to forego a banquet to mark the occasion and celebrated with a bouncy castle, cupcakes, hot dogs, chips, and soda.

For Hibbler and staff, it was good to celebrate outside.

“The day is just perfect for the children to play outside,” said administrator Erin Parrish. “So many days during the pandemic, we weren’t in school, and the kids were home. I never thought I could miss the screams and laughter of children, running and playing outside, but I have.”

Although Hibbler opened the first African-American-owned Montessori school in Shelby County, she prides herself on having a multi-cultural student body and staff.

“We wanted our son to be educated with children of all races,” said Evan Fields, mother of Ayden Christopher. That is an important part of his education, I feel. He loves coming to school, and he loves his friends. That’s all he talks about at home.”

Hibbler was a public-school teacher when she became interested in the Montessori teaching method.

The Montessori teaching method is a nontraditional approach that focuses on “fostering a sense of independence and personal development in the classroom.”

The philosophy was created by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, while working in Rome in the late 1890s with developmentally delayed children.

After successfully running the school at 1336 Peabody Ave., Hibbler opened a Cordova location, hoping to duplicate the success of her Midtown school.

“After 10 sessions in Cordova, we made the decision to close,” said Hibbler. “So much of my time was being consumed in operating two schools.

We closed for good in Cordova after much prayer. There are some other dreams I want to pursue.”

Hibbler is an ordained minister and has recorded children’s songs that have been locally promoted.

She wants to continue writing learning-based songs for children.

“I created a character we call ‘Miss Classy,’” said Hibbler, “with a book and videos.

“Our children love Miss Classy, and they love her songs. We want to share Miss Classy with other children as well. I know they will love her just as much as our children do.”

The school serves children from pre-school to second grade.

Operation Hope gives new businesses a greater chance for success, Guzman said.

Also, the 1,600 SBA centers around the country offer great resources.

Bryant said businesses fail within the first three to five years. All businesses need technical support.

Credit score is important. The owner must have a 700-credit score for the business to be “bankable,” Bryant said.

Free rides to polls available Friday TSD Newsroom

There was a very visible indication that 1st Class Montessori School at Cleveland and Peabody was celebrating something special. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley/The New Tri-State Defender)

Balloons and cupcakes could not sway Ayden Christopher to give up his place in the bouncy castle line. But it was tempting.

The Shelby County Election Commission, Shelby County Voter Alliance and Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) will once again offer free rides to the polls during Early Voting.

MATA is offering free rides to voters all day on fixed route buses Friday, Oct. 28, during the Early Voting period in advance of the November 8 election.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for voters to get to the polls,” said Linda Phillips, administrator of elections for the Shelby County Election Commission.

“Through our partnership with MATA and the Shelby County Voter Alliance we are doing everything we can to help voters cast their ballots during the Early Voting period, when voters can drop into any of the 26 Early Voting locations.”

Gary Rosenfeld, MATA CEO, said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Shelby County Election and the Shelby County Voter Alliance. … Our residents who wish to use public transportation to go vote early, can do so free of charge.”

Ian Randolph, spokesperson for the Shelby County Voter Alliance, said members of the SCVA are doing everything they can to get the word out about the free transportation opportunity for voters.

“Free rides to the polls is something we’ve wanted for a long time,” Randolph said. “It shines a good light on the city of Memphis that the transit authority is making such a commitment to helping citizens vote.”

Early voting ends Nov. 3.

For a list of MATA’s fixed routes, visit https://bit.ly/3gB1Wjq. For a list of the early voting sites, visit https://bit.ly/3TFnyKf.

The New Tri-State Defender

October 27 - November 2, 2022

Page 9

NEWS

Adidas ends partnership with Ye over antisemitic remarks

by Alexandra Olson and Anne D’Innocenzio Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Adidas ended a partnership that helped make the artist formerly known as Kanye West a billionaire and lent the German sportswear an edgy appeal, but ultimately couldn’t survive a mounting outcry over the rapper’s offensive and antisemitic remarks.

The split will leave Adidas searching for another transcendent celebrity to help it compete with ever-larger rival Nike, but will likely prove even costlier for Ye, as the rapper is now known. The sneaker giant became the latest company to cut ties with Ye, whose music career has been in decline as he courted controversy.

Adidas said it expected to take a hit of up to 250 million euros ($246 million) to its net income this year from the decision to immediately stop production of its line of Yeezy products and stop payments to Ye and his companies. Its shares closed down more than 2% on Tuesday.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

ADVERTISEMENT For weeks, Ye has made antisemitic comments in interviews and social media, including a Twitter post earlier this month that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON. He was suspended from both Twitter and Instagram.

Ye expressed some regret in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman posted online Monday, in which he characterized his initial tweet as a mistake and apologized to “the Jewish community.” An email message sent to a representative for Ye was not immediately returned.

Adidas has stuck with Ye through other controversies over his remarks about slavery and COVID-19 vaccines. But Ye’s antisemitic comments stirred up the company’s own past ties with the Nazi regime

that the company had worked to leave behind. The World Jewish Congress noted that during World War II, Adidas factories “produced supplies and weapons for the Nazi regime, using slave labor.”

Jewish groups said the decision to drop Ye was overdue.

“I would have liked a clear stance earlier from a German company that also was entangled with the Nazi regime,” Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the main Jewish group in the country where Adidas is headquartered.

Adidas, whose CEO Kasper Rorsted is stepping down next year, said it reached its decision after conducting a “thorough review” of its partnership with Ye, whose talent agency, CAA, as well as Balenciaga fashion house had already dropped the rapper. In the hours before the announcement, some Adidas employees in the U.S. had spoken out on social media about the company’s inaction.

Despite the growing controversy, Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, believes that Adidas’ delayed response was “understandable.”

“The positives are so substantial in terms of the audience it appeals to — younger, urban, trendsetters, the size of the business,” Adamson said.

“I’m sure they were hoping against hope that he would apologize and try to make this right.”

Adidas doesn’t break out Yeezy sales numbers, but the impact will be more severe than expected given that the brand has ended production of all Yeezy products and ceased royalty payments, according to Morningstar analyst David Swartz in a note published Tuesday.

Swartz projects overall Adidas revenues to reach $23.2 billion euros ($23.1 billion) this year, with the Yeezy brand generating 1.5 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.99 billion), or nearly 10% of the total. The pricy brand accounts for up to 15% of the company’s net income, Swartz said.

Forbes estimated that Adidas accounted for $1.5 billion of Ye’s net worth and without the deal, it will fall to $400 million, including his music catalog, real estate, cash and a stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company Skims. Forbes said it will no longer include Ye on its list of billionaires, though the rapper

has long insisted the magazine underestimates his wealth.

Ye has alienated even ardent fans in recent years. Those close to him, like Kardashian and her family, have ceased publicly defending him after the couple’s bitter divorce and his unsettling posts about her recent relationship with comedian Pete Davidson.

Carl Lamarre, Billboard’s deputy director of R&B/Hip Hop, said many Ye fans have been disappointed by him, but the implosion of his business endeavors was difficult to watch for those who admired the rapper’s ability to reach new heights of success beyond hip-hop.

“This is someone who potentially laid down the blueprint for a lot of musicians coming up,” Lamarre said.

“When you see someone graduate to his level of superstardom and transcend into business, into fashion and touches that billionaire point, for our community, for hip-hop, for African Americans, that’s very aspirational.

“But the same kids, even myself who were once super-fans, you try to defend him but every day he gives you a reason not to be able to,” Lamarre added.

The rapper, who has won 24 Grammy Awards, has been steadily losing audience on the radio and even his streaming numbers have declined slightly over the last month. According to data provided by Luminate, an entertainment data and insights company whose data powers the Billboard music charts, his airplay audience has slipped from 8 million in the week ending Sept. 22, to 5.4 million in the week ending on Oct. 20. The popularity of his songs on streaming on demand also went down in the same period, from 97 million to 88.2 million, about a 9% drop.

Ye has earned more of a reputation for stirring up controversy since 2016, when he was hospitalized in Los Angeles because of what his team called stress and exhaustion. It was later revealed that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He has suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast,” among other comments. He also was criticized earlier this month during Paris Fashion Week for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to the show and putting models in the same design.

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Oct. 19 - Nov. 3 www.BillLeeWorks.com Paid for and authorized by Bill Lee for Tennessee. Fred Decosimo, Treasurer

After he was suspended from Twitter and Facebook, Ye offered to buy Parler, a conservative social network with no gatekeeper.

The fashion, music and apparel world continued to distance themselves from Ye on Tuesday.

Foot Locker said it was cutting ties with the Yeezy brand and pulling Yeezy shoes from its shelves and online sites.

Gap said it will remove Yeezy Gap product from its stores shut down yeezygap.com. Universal Music Group, which owns the Def Jam label, said Tuesday in a statement that Ye’s music and merchandise contracts ended last year. MRC studio had announced Monday that it is shelving a complete documentary about the rapper.

A Vogue spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that the magazine and its global editorial director, Anna Wintour, have no intentions of working with Ye again after his most recent controversial remarks and behavior.

Jewish groups have pointed to the danger of the rapper’s comments at a time of rising antisemitism. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League who on Tuesday applauded the decision

by Adidas to drop Ye, said his organization has documented a tripling of harassment, vandalism or violence targeting Jews since 2015.

“We’re operating in an environment today where antisemitism is empirically on the rise,” Greenblatt said. “When people with large platforms give license to antisemitism and other forms of bigotry, it creates an environment where these kinds of activities have a degree of permission they might not have had before.”

Lamarre said he understood that Ye was suffering from mental health and personal issues, but that only makes it more important to pause and reconsider giving him a platform for his offensive comments.

“We are watching someone who was a beloved superhero in the African American community spiral in front of our eyes,” he said. “But this is someone who is kind of falling on his own sword.”

(Associated Press writers Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Leanne Italie in New York, Ryan Pearson and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.)

NOTICE OF INTENT TO TAXING AUTHORITIES You are hereby notified that The Shelby County Board of Commissioners and The City Council of the City of Memphis, Tennessee are planning to hear and take action on creating a Redevelopment Trust Fund for the Klondike Area (Please see the included map). The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will likely take action on a certain ordinance on October 31, 2022 (Please note revised date) and The Memphis City Council will hear the same on November 1, 2022. Subsequent or alternate meetings will be published in the Daily News and New TriState Defender newspapers.

City of Memphis is prerequisite to creating the Klondike Redevelopment Trust Fund for the Area. The Klondike Community Redevelopment Plan for the Area, specifies how community redevelopment activities can facilitate the rehabilitation, conservation, or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of this area, including economic development funded by tax increment revenue calculated at a property tax baseline established by a certain date in order to implement tax increment financing; and fund the redevelopment trust fund to finance improvements in the Area.

A Finding of Conditions Necessary for Community Redevelopment in a Klondike Area and Adoption of a Community Redevelopment Plan for the Klondike Area by joint resolution of The Board of County Commissioners of Shelby County, Tennessee and Council of the

For additional information contact Andrew Z. Murray, President, City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency, 850 N. Manassas St., Memphis, TN 38107; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 70386, Memphis, TN 38107, Telephone: (901) 304-7921.

SALES PERSON The New Tri-State Defender is looking for a few sales consultants to sell print ads, digital ads and event sponsorships for the organization.

The candidate should have some sales experience. The position will offer both commission and base pay. For serious inquiries email your resume to administration@ tsdmemphis.com.

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The New Tri-State Defender, October 27 - November 2, 2022, Page 10

Grizzlies profit from the evolution of Morant-Bane duo

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Four games into the Grizzlies season, an epic battle was waged on the floor of the FedExForum, with Memphis’ tandem of sharpshooting guards signaling to the NBA world that when at their best they are an elite pair.

All-Star Ja Morant and his backcourt mate, Desmond Bane, each had 38 points and 7 assists as they led the Grizzlies (3-1) to a 134-124 win over Brooklyn in a game that saw the Net’s duo of Kevin Durant show out with 38 points apiece.

A crowd of 17,392 got to see in person what television audiences throughout the country witnessed and what Memphis’ Dillion Brooks aptly called “a great game to be a part of and to watch.” “(Bane) being able to go out and do both, score the ball from all three levels and also get teammates involved, is a big key to our success this year,” said Morant. “Tonight, I felt like was his best game at doing both at a high level. As you can see, it shows in the stat book, and it shows in our win column, what that does for us on the floor.”

Bane’s multi-level effectiveness opened up the court for Morant and the rest of the team.

“Credit to our other guys, being able to knock down the three at a good clip and also get themselves involved on catch-andgo’s and other areas of the game,” said Morant.

Notably among the performances of the “other guys” was Santi Aldama’s17 points in 32 minutes of action and Brandon Clarke’s 13 points off the bench.

With his points output, Durant became the twentieth leading scorer in the history of the NBA. “The 3-point line killed us today. The two top scorers (Morant and Bane) hit more threes than me and Kyrie Irving.

We matched them in scoring, but it’s the 3-point line that separates us (9-to-16),” said Durant.

“They couldn’t stop us either. We shot 54 percent. We got to the line, like I said, we passed the ball well, did not turn it over.

They shot better than us from the 3-point line.”

Morant set the tone for the Grizzlies, getting off to another great start. He finished the first quarter with 15 points as Memphis led 39-34. In the second quarter, the star power of the Nets showed up. Brooklyn outscored the Grizzlies 35-25 and took a

69-64 lead into halftime.

A 6-0 run with two three-pointers from Bane to start the third quarter quickly erased the Net’s lead and forced a timeout with Memphis up 70-69.

To say the Grizzlies Terry got hot in the third Davis quarter would be an understatement. The team scored 45 points in the quarter, including 19 from Bane 4 of 5 three-pointers. At the end of three, Memphis led 109-97.

The fourth quarter was just a battle of wills as the teams traded baskets. The closest the Nets would get to the Grizzlies would be six points.

Morant and Bane’s 76 combined points set a franchise record for combined points by two teammates, surpassing their previous record (74) set on Feb. 16, 2022 against Portland.

“So impressive. Just the balance, the way they do it,” said Taylor Jenkins, Memphis’ head coach. “Both of them scored in the paint, free throw line, finishes at the rim, three-point shooting. …”

Jenkins reveled in the team’s “great balance,” detailing it this way: “58 points in the paint, 16 threes, all-around great effort by the group, but especially those two guys.”

Nets head coach Steve Nash said, “I thought we lost our focus there a little bit, especially starting the third. I called an early timeout, but I think we gave up 45 (points) in the third quarter. That was it. …

“It’s four weeks together tomorrow. We have to stick to the process; we have to continue to improve. We showed signs and after not a great first quarter defensively, we found our way back into the game and had a lead, but 45 is too much.”

As for Bane’s impressive second half, Nash said, “I thought we lost him too many times. We were not staying attached. We weren’t talking, so there was some confusion. He was getting space, and we weren’t able to catch up, just losing our game plan and our coverages. He got free too often.

Obviously, he made everything. We gave him too many opportunities, as well.”

The Grizzlies are on the road for the next four games. They will return to FedExForum on November 4 to face the Charlotte Hornets.

Desmond Bane, who got off to a slow start shooting this season, was a problem for the Nets, particularly in the third quarter.

Desmond Bane (left) and Brandon Clarke put the defensive clamps on Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving. (Photos: Warren Roseborough/The New Tri-State Defender)

Fairley holds off Freedom Prep to secure district championship with perfect record

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Freedom Prep Academy’s Eagles and the Fairley High School Bulldogs knew when the schedules were released that the winner likely would secure the District Championship.

Add on that both teams entered the game undefeated in district play and the likelihood of a hard-fought contest went up exponentially.

The result was a classic 14-6 defensive battle with Fairley (10-0) holding off Freedom Prep (7-2, 5-1 district). Last season Fairley defeated the Eagles 24-20.

“It was a helluva football game. It was playoff football,” said Fairley head coach Fredrick Copeland. “Going 10-0 don’t come easy. I can’t describe it. It is a great ride. We are glad to be here after losing 22 kids last season.”

The only district loss the Bulldogs had last season was to the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences (24-0).

This year, they wanted to turn that

The captains of the Fairley Bulldogs before the start of the game against Freedom Prep with an undefeated season on the line.

(Photos: Terry Davis/The New Tri-State Defender) With a playoff atmosphere apparent, the Freedom Prep captains prepare for what turned out to be a playoff-caliber game for the district title. silver plate into a gold one.

“It means everything,” Copeland said about finishing on top of the district. “This was playoff football. It is cold outside; the ground is hard. It means everything to the school and the community.”

The Eagles got the first opportunity to get on the scoreboard. They had the football first and 10 from the 35-yard line. They drove to inside of the five-yard line but were stopped by the Bulldogs’ defense. The game was

scoreless going into halftime.

The Eagles had another golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard.

On a punt attempt by Freedom Prep, a Bulldog returner touched the football while it was on the ground and the Eagles recovered on the 9-yard line. Two plays later, Desi Hemphill rumbled into the end zone on a sixyard touchdown for the first score of the game (6-0). The run attempt failed for the two-point conversion.

The Bulldogs answered with a

7-play touchdown drive that had seven penalties combined by both teams. FPA had two 15-yard personal foul penalties that extended the drive for Fairley. The Bulldogs had three delay-of-game penalties, including two after the four-yard, game-tying touchdown by freshman running back Quinterrion Hollins. Quarterback Andrew Johnson found freshmen wide receiver Jaylon Russell for the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs their first lead (8-6) with 2:00 minutes left in the third quarter.

Fairley had 128 total yards on offense. Freedom Prep finished with 171 total yards and had 93 penalty

yards on 10 violations.

Noting the mistakes, Copeland said, “We just will celebrate all week and come back and practice the next week. When we get ready for the playoffs … we will preach discipline.

We have to stay humble.”

With a forfeit on their schedule for this week, the Fairley Bulldogs will wait to see whom they will host in round one of the playoffs on November 4.

“We are going to do something special for these kids for bringing the Regional Championship to Fairley,” said Copeland. “We are going to treat them right this week.”