The New Tri-State Defender (November 20-26, 2020)

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VOL. 69, No. 48

November 26 - December 2, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

Mapping a way forward still a daunting task

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. will be featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Ebony Lemons will be performing with 30 of her sisters.

(Courtesy photo)

Zeta Phi Beta ‘band nerd’ set to step into history, Macy’s Parade

by Stacey J. Smith

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Ebony Lemons always looked forward to seeing the bands in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

She calls herself a “band nerd.”

“I played the clarinet in middle school, high school and some of college, so hearing the bands will take me back to those halftime performances and local parades from when I was a kid.”

Ebony will be up close and personal with it all this year. Along with the bands, Broadway singers, decorated floats and character balloons, she will be performing with 30 of her sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated in New York City.

Ebony said, “Each sorority sister will bring a variety of dance and stepping, so be prepared to be wowed.”

The sorority sent an announcement for auditions for the Zeta Phi Beta Centennial Steppers.

“Before I could decide or respond, I received texts and emails saying I should try out. I submitted an application, auditioned and now I’m on my way to NYC! “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in the 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with Zeta Phi Beta’s National Step Team!”

Ebony was a bit leery because of COVID-19, but the coordinators are taking every precaution to make sure it’s a fun and safe experience.

They were instructed to limit their contact with others prior to the event and to get tested. Upon arrival in New York City, she will get tested again.

“I’m usually not nervous until just moments before the performance, but with this added stressor, I’ll try to handle it by praying, breathing and feeling the energy of my team,” Ebony said. “We are the first Black Greek-Lettered Organization to participate in this special event during our centennial year – I’m sooo excited!”

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporat-

SEE PARADE ON PAGE 2

Barry Burse Jr., who was gunned down in North Memphis seven years ago, played semi-professional soccer while pursuing a degree in international business at Lyon College in Batesville, Ark. (Courtesy photo)

Thanksgiving,

a time of just getting through for BJ’s family

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Vickie Burse still feels the same pain that every other mother feels when she has to leave her child in a cemetery.

“Holidays are the worst. Can I just be honest about it,” Burse said. “Most holidays, you can’t get out of bed. You just stay in bed and try to sleep through the day until it’s over. Holidays are debilitating.”

Thanksgiving is a day when families gather to offer gratitude for life and all its blessings.

In the midst of a global epidemic this year, everyone is being asked to stay home. That’s what Burse was going to do anyway. There is no joy in gatherings without BJ. Barry Burse Jr. was gunned down in North Memphis on July 1, 2013, while visiting an ex-girlfriend. He had just come home after completing freshman year at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. BJ would always come home on break.

“I saw the video of his shooting,” said his mother. “BJ walked up to this guy, the girl’s present boyfriend, and reached out to shake his hand. The man pulled out a gun and just shot him in the chest. The girl said she wanted the

Vickie Burse

During challenging times, families find reasons to be grateful. Additional Thanksgiving stories Page 6 two of them to fight over her. I am angry.”

Burse admits there are families who can inspire others with declarations of hope and

SEE THANKS ON PAGE 6

The elements are hauntingly familiar – rising COVID-19 numbers, the possibility of a vaccine’s arrival still months away and a looming holiday (in this case Thanksgiving) with the potential for exacerbating the coronavirus spread.

Against that backdrop local health officials issued new safety protocols and with that comes the angst about restrictions and the worry about compliance.

On Monday (Nov. 23) during a meeting with the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Shelby County Health Department officials sought to clarify new rules mandating wearing masks in restaurants and other establishments.

The new directives call for restaurants to require diners to wear masks except for when they are eating. Establishments must also end indoor dining at 10 p.m. and seat at no more than 50 percent capacity.

“We are trying to affect behavior that we know exists by the inspections that we do. People are not wearing the mask the whole time they are in the restaurant. And they are taking it off literally the moment they get to the table.

“The takeaway message is the mask should be on except for when you are eating and drinking. But not necessarily taking it on and off, on and off,” said Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter.

Restaurants are permitted to seat outdoor dining, as well as provide curbside pickup and delivery after 10 p.m.

“After 10 and 11 people tend to drink more, particularly on Friday and Saturday. They also tend to be more loud, less likely to wear their mask and pose a risk. Setting curfew is an evidence-based strategy to reduce the number of people who may be exposed or able to transmit,” said Haushalter.

The number of new virus cases has been rising steady in recent weeks.

Tuesday (Nov. 24), there were 377 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths, a sign that the region continues to experience increased community transmission.

The county has recorded 45,952 cases of COVID-19 this year, including 4,815 active cases as of Tuesday, up from 4,125 active cases reported the day before, according to Health Department.

During the first wave of the virus in the spring, hours for restaurants were limited to 10 p.m. The move had positive results.

“When we went to 12 things began to pick up,” said Dr. Bruce Randolph, health officer for the Health Department, who also said the changes were a compromise between closing businesses and doing nothing at all.

“As I have noted the past several weeks, we continue to trend upward in our cases in Shelby County. Over the past week we have averaged about 395 cases per day,” Haushalter said. “We anticipate the numbers will go up after Thanksgiving.”

Service workers have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic.

Due to the directives, many establishments have cut staff – the ones that have survived, that is.

SEE COVID ON PAGE 2

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 2

NEWS Dr. Ishmell Edwards signals end of 50-year career at Rust College

COVID

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

“We are hearing from so many hospitality workers that have become unemployed and negatively affected by the virus, probably more than any,” said Commissioner Mark Billingsley.

Fitness centers also drew scrutiny, in large part because many have chosen not wear a mask while exercising. Strenuous activity also increases and sometimes strengthens respiration. They too were not spared from the mask mandate.

“There have been significant complaints about gym facilities, where people aren’t masking or they take off their mask thereafter,” said Haushalter.

Other transmission hotspots mentioned during the meeting were places of worship and schools.

Extracurricular activities, like sports, were mostly to blame for the increase in school infections. The mandates apply to neither.

The measures are to stem the rising tide of infections until the arrival of a vaccine.

“Our hope rests with the vaccine. The state has informed us that we shall be receiving a vaccine soon, probably after the 15th of December,” said Randolph.

Recently, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca, as well as Oxford University announced the results of trials for their vaccines.

All report efficacy rates at or above 90 percent.

Mass production and distribution efforts are underway.

The Shelby County Health Department will receive more than 22,000 doses. Area hospitals will also receive doses.

The Tennessee Department of Health has put together a plan for its distribution. The first vaccinations will go to those on the frontlines and the most vulnerable, including healthcare workers, police, fire fighters, and residents of long-term care, assisted living and disabled facilities. Teachers, correctional officers and others at risk will follow.

Afterward, it will make its way to the general public. It will be free of charge.

“The Health Department will be working closely with the state and with these healthcare systems to ensure that everyone receives the vaccine, ensure that it is distributed in an equitable manner and encourage people to take it.

“We are hoping we have at least 71 percent. We need that or greater in order for the vaccine to help,” said Randolph.

TSD Newsroom

Picky on purpose…

Volunteers coordinated by Billing Durham, founder of Your On Call Concierge, debone turkeys in advance of the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the Memphis Union Mission. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Gov. Lee: COVID vaccines to be optional in K-12 schools

by Jonathan Mattise The Associated Press

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines will be optional in the state’s K-12 public schools, once they become available.

The Republican said at a news conference that vaccines will be very important for Tennessee to “ultimately really be able to handle” the virus.

But he said he doesn’t foresee COVID-19 mandates for school districts in Tennessee.

“Vaccines are a choice and people have the choice and will have the choice in this state as to whether or not they should take that vaccine,” Lee said. “That will be our strategy and that is what we think will happen all across the state.”

The comment comes as Tennessee and the country look toward initial, limited doses of vaccine that could arrive in the next few weeks, amid a surge in the coronavirus that is increasingly straining hospital systems. In Tennessee, the first doses, likely through Pfizer, could arrive around Dec. 15, with the initial Moderna vaccines expected a week later, said state Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey.

The first wave will be reserved for frontline health care

workers and first responders, Piercey said. She said the number of initial doses fluctuates pretty widely, but said it could be in the 80,000-100,000 dose range initially, with two doses required per person. She said she’s unsure how quickly the second supply could come.

She said widespread availability would likely be in late spring or early summer.

Pfizer, for one, received permission last month to test its vaccine in U.S. children as young as 12. Some pediatricians worry children younger than 12 may not have a vaccine by next fall for a new school year.

Tennessee law currently allows parents to refuse to immunize their children as long as the state is “in the absence of an epidemic or immediate threat of an epidemic.” Other sections of Tennessee statute allow parents to deny immunizations of their kids “except where the medical examination, immunization or treatment is necessary for the protection of the health or safety of others.”

One Republican state bill would remove the exemptions, allowing parents to opt out of school-required vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill also would give parents the option to cite “right of conscience” as a rea-

son not to immunize their children. It’s unclear how the legislation will fare this winter.

Shelley Walker, spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said in an email that “no one here recalls a time that was ever done” when asked about whether the state had ever enforced the epidemic exception.

Meanwhile, the University of Tennessee system has adopted a new immunization rule that allows the school to require students to have both the flu and coronavirus vaccinations. The rule will exempt students who enrolled only online and are not participating in in-person learning, and also will allow for medical or religious exemptions.

The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Tennessee has risen from 3,312 on Nov. 9 to 3,666 on Monday. The 7-day rolling average of daily deaths, meanwhile, has risen from 33 deaths on Nov. 9 to 54 on Monday.

While most people who contract the coronavirus recover after suffering only mild to moderate symptoms, it can be deadly for older patients and those with other health problems.

(Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville contributed to this report.)

Holly Springs, MS – Rust College has announced the retirement of Dr. Ishmell Edwards, vice president for college relations and director of athletics, as of June 1, 2021.

Edwards’ retirement caps a higher education career spanning five decades, including leadership as director of student activities, associate dean of students, dean of student affairs and director of development.

“I have been blessed to work at Rust College my entire professional career and for that I am eternally grateful. I have seen the institution grow and improve tremendously over the years and I am happy to have been a part of that growth,” Edwards said.

“My greatest joy has been working with young men and women, who come from limited educational backgrounds, to become outstanding productive citizens and successful leaders in their community, in business, law, medicine, education, religion, technology, social work and the list goes on.”

Serving as vice president from 1994-2011 and vice president for college relations since 2012, Edwards provided oversight for several key areas, including institutional advancement, fundraising, grants and contracts, alumni Affairs, public relations, institutional research and the intercollegiate athletic programs.

He is credited with helping raise over $30 million for Rust College.

“Rust College has been fortunate to have the leadership and commitment of Dr. Edwards for five decades,” said Rust College President

PARADE

CONTINUED FROM FRONT ed was founded Jan. 16, 1920 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. by five women affectionately called The Five Pearls.

Zeta is an organization of many firsts and Ebony said, “It feels good to be apart of one of those firsts in our centennial year – I feel like a trailblazer!”

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. is the first organization to be featured, but hopefully, they won’t be the last organization of the Divine 9 to be featured in the iconic parade.

Dr. Ivy R. Taylor.

“His c o m mitment has impacted the lives of thouDr. Ishmell sands Edwards of students, faculty and staff and he has served as a pillar of this institution in helping to advance the mission of Rust College.

While he will be greatly missed, we celebrate his contributions and many accomplishments during his time of service. Dr. Edwards is forever a Bearcat in our hearts.

Rust College is making plans to formally celebrate Edwards’ retirement as the June 1, 2021 date approaches.

A native Mississippian, Edwards first arrived at Rust College in 1967 as a freshman student. He graduated from Rust in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Science and immediately began working for Rust College as assistant director of the Physical Plant. He holds a Master’s and a Doctorate degree (Higher Education Leadership) from the University of Mississippi, where he wrote his dissertation on “The History of Rust College: 1866 – 1967.”

Edwards said the future of Rust College is bright under the leadership of its new president, Dr. Taylor.

“I wish Dr. Taylor and the Rust College administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni continued success as the College transitions into the 21st Century and beyond,” he said.

The Divine 9 is comprised of black fraternities and sororities founded mostly at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

Ebony added, “This is a great moment for Black culture to be celebrated and enjoyed.”

Ebony is a member of the Alpha Eta Zeta Graduate Chapter in Memphis, where she joined in 2015, immediately after graduating from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she was an active member in the undergraduate chapter, Pi Epsilon.

Tune into NBC on Thursday (Nov. 26) to watch. The parade begins at 8 a.m. CST.

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 3

NEWS

Then former Mayor David N. Dinkins and Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim, President of MTA New York City Transit, during the inaugural ride of the Second Ave. Subway. On the night of Nov. 23rd, Dinkins died of natural causes at his home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. (Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York / Patrick Cashin, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

David Dinkins – NYC’s first African-American mayor – dies at 93

by Deepti Hajelaz The Associated Press

NEW YORK — David Dinkins, who broke barriers as New York City’s first African American mayor, but was doomed to a single term by a soaring murder rate, stubborn unemployment and his mishandling of a riot in Brooklyn, has died. He was 93.

Dinkins died Monday, the New York City Police Department confirmed. Initial indications were that he died of natural causes.

Dinkins’ death came just weeks after the death of his wife, Joyce, who died in October at the age of 89.

A calm and courtly figure with a penchant for tennis and formal wear, Dinkins was a dramatic shift from both his predecessor, Ed Koch, and his successor, Rudolph Giuliani.

In his inaugural address, he spoke lovingly of New York as a “gorgeous mosaic of race and religious faith, of national origin and sexual orientation, of individuals whose families arrived yesterday and generations ago, coming through Ellis Island or Kennedy Airport or on buses bound for the Port Authority.”

But the city he inherited had an ugly side, too.

AIDS, guns and crack cocaine killed thousands of people each year. Unemployment soared. Homelessness was rampant. The city faced a $1.5 billion budget deficit.

Dinkins’ low-key, considered approach quickly came to be

perceived as a flaw. Critics said he was too soft and too slow.

Dinkins did a lot at City Hall.

He raised taxes to hire thousands of police officers. He spent billions of dollars revitalizing neglected housing.

His administration got the Walt Disney Corp. to invest in the cleanup of then-seedy Times Square.

In recent years, he’s gotten more credit for those accomplishments, credit that Mayor Bill de Blasio said he should have always had. De Blasio, who worked in Dinkins’ administration, named Manhattan’s Municipal Building after the former mayor in October 2015.

After beating Giuliani by only 47,000 votes out of 1.75 million cast in 1989, Dinkins lost a rematch by roughly the same margin in 1993.

Political historians often trace the defeat to Dinkins’ handling of the Crown Heights riot in Brooklyn in 1991.

The violence began after a Black 7-year-old boy was accidentally killed by a car in the motorcade of an Orthodox Jewish religious leader.

During the three days of anti-Jewish rioting by young Black men that followed, a rabbinical student was fatally stabbed. Nearly 190 people were hurt.

A state report issued in 1993, an election year, cleared Dinkins of the persistently repeated charge that he intentionally held back police in the first days of the violence, but crit-

icized him for not stepping up as a leader.

In a 2013 memoir, Dinkins accused the police department of letting the disturbance get out of hand, and also took a share of the blame, on the grounds that “the buck stopped with me.” But he bitterly blamed his election defeat on prejudice: “I think it was just racism, pure and simple.”

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 10, 1927, Dinkins moved with his mother to Harlem when his parents divorced, but returned to his hometown to attend high school. There, he learned an early lesson in discrimination: Blacks were not allowed to use the school swimming pool.

During a hitch in the Marine Corps as a young man, a Southern bus driver barred him from boarding a segregated bus because the section for Blacks was filled.

While attending Howard University, the historically black university in Washington, D.C., Dinkins said he gained admission to segregated movie theaters by wearing a turban and faking a foreign accent.

Back in New York with a degree in mathematics, Dinkins married his college sweetheart, Joyce Burrows, in 1953.

His father-in-law, a power in local Democratic politics, channeled Dinkins into a Harlem political club. Dinkins paid his dues as a Democratic functionary while earning a law degree from Brooklyn Law School, and then went into private practice.

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He got elected to the state Assembly in 1965, became the first Black president of the city’s Board of Elections in 1972 and went on to serve as Manhattan borough president.

Dinkins’ election as mayor in 1989 came after two racially charged cases that took place under Koch: the rape of a white jogger in Central Park and the bias murder of a Black teenager in Bensonhurst.

Dinkins defeated Koch, 50 percent to 42 percent, in the Democratic primary. But in a city where party registration

was 5-to-1 Democratic, Dinkins barely scraped by the Republican Giuliani in the general election, capturing only 30 percent of the white vote.

During Dinkins’ tenure, the city’s finances were in rough shape because of a recession that cost New York 357,000 private-sector jobs in his first three years in office.

Meanwhile, the city’s murder toll soared to an all-time high, with a record 2,245 homicides during his first year as mayor.

There were 8,340 New Yorkers killed during the Dinkins

administration – the bloodiest four-year stretch since the New York Police Department began keeping statistics in 1963.

In the last years of his administration, record-high homicides began a decline that continued for decades.

After leaving office, Dinkins was a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Dinkins is survived by his son, David Jr., daughter, Donna and two grandchildren.

PERSPECTIVE The New Tri-State Defender, November 26 - December 2, 2020, Page 4

Gun violence in Memphis – “ ‘The question is, ‘What are you doing?’ ”

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

They came by the hundreds, some with signs, others with photos of loved ones lost to gun violence – all creating a united front against the rampant gun violence that has taken the lives of nearly 250 people.

Memphis is riddled with tragic shootings concentrated on inner-city. Eight percent, or 30 of those murders were toddlers and young children at the time of the Nov. 14 rally.

According to the Memphis Police Department, a quarter of those murders are gang related.

That morning, Stevie Moore of Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives (FFUN), looked in the parking lot and saw that every parking space was filled, “I said, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”

He wasn’t expecting such a large crowd.

“Thank you for coming, and please don’t let this be your last march. My heart is just full.”

Mayor Jim Strickland offered encouraging words of welcome and thanks for those who came out.

“There are those who have devoted their lives to reducing gun violence, but they need help. And I see an army of people here today,” he said. “Together, we can do it. With God’s help and grace, we can really drive these numbers down.”

Strickland asked participants to remember, “not necessarily the statistics, but the names.” Some have asked to talk with him about their ideas.

“I am open,” Strickland said. “I’m ready to listen to what you have to say.”

Homicides in Memphis – bad and getting worse TSD Newsroom Thirty-two – that’s the number of children and teens listed as victims of homicide in Memphis as of Monday and after the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old girl at an apartment complex in Raleigh Sunday afternoon.

Investigating officers said the shooter was known to them, but no arrests had been made at that time.

With 284 homicides, Memphis has surpassed its record in a year. The previous mark was 228 homicides, set in 2016.

The eight-year-old girl’s killing brought the number of children and teens who have been victims of homicide to 32 this year in Memphis, police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said Monday.

Police were still investigating the fatal drive-by shooting of a 12-yearold boy on Nov. 4. The boy’s relatives said he was walking home from a corner store when he was shot.

Investigations into at least eight of the child homicides have not resulted in arrests. The U.S. Marshals Service has offered $50,000 for information leading to arrests in the unsolved cases.

Shelby County Attorney General Amy Weirich, along with advocates of survivors of violence, also offered brief remarks.

The two-mile trek began and ended at the Juvenile Court parking lot at the corner of Poplar Ave. and Orleans. A highlight was a poignant and emotional recounting of a mother who lost her son to gun violence four years ago.

“I am standing here today as a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a woman of faith,” said Erika Kelley. “And I’m standing here today as a survivor of gun violence.”

On March 18, 2016, she was preparing to attend the visitation for her father in advance of his funeral.

“I got a call that my second-born son had been shot and killed in Murfreesboro, TN,” Kelley said. “He had been robbed and shot 12 times, left in a parking lot where he had been pronounced dead and identified as ‘John Doe.’” Kelley said she was telling her story in hopes that no other mother or father would have to go through the same pain of losing a child to gun violence.

“Two days before he got shot, my son shared the excitement of learning that he had just become a father,” Kelley said. “I have a four-year-old granddaughter who was robbed of her father who won’t see her walk, not here to hold her hand, will never walk her down the aisle to get married.”

The pain is indescribable, said Kelley.

“It is still as painful and as intense as it was four years ago. I am here to say, along with you, ‘Enough is enough.’ I don’t want any parent to become a part of this awful club.”

Moore envisions taking the Unity Walk

Making the Nov. 14 Unity Walk a forerunner of more to come is envisioned

by Stevie Moore and his associates with Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives. (Courtesy photo) to Binghampton, Fox Meadows, Whitehaven, North Memphis – all over the city.

“We want to say with one voice, ‘Enough is enough,’” said Moore. “We want our community to be free from gun violence. get the drug programs we need, the mental health we need – whatever it takes. This gun violence has got to stop.”

Moore also continues to advocate for those who commit gun violence.

“We say, ‘I don’t know what is wrong with these young people.’ Judgment is

made without us knowing what the issues are at home,” Moore contends repeatedly.

“These children don’t have daddies and granddaddies. That’s what’s wrong with them.”

The African-American community, he said, must be responsible for misguided young people.

“The question is, ‘What are you doing?’”

(For more information, call Stevie Moore at 901-502-7387.)

‘It’s time for us to take our city back!’

by Pastor DeAndre Brown (Pastor DeAndre Brown is executive director of Lifeline to Success. This oped was one of several from varied sources made available to local media in association with the Unity Walk Against Gun Violence, which reflected multiple agencies and resources linked in an effort to stop gun violence in our community.)

Memphis is in a crisis. Gun violence has become socially acceptable and criminals are responding accordingly! The question is, “What will we do the curb this crisis?”

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke.

With each act of gun violence, the next perpetrator is becoming more apt to commit his crime. As long as law abiding citizens remain silent, that behavior is normalized. It seems as if many have taken the position that if it isn’t affecting my family

or loved ones, I have nothing to say.

Maybe some have taken the position that the problem is just too big and there is nothing that they can do. I challenge that notion because it is terribly incorrect.

Pastor Behavior that goes DeAndre unchecked becomes Brown normal. When gun violence happens and the community remains silent, it is almost guaranteed that it will happen again. People must know that some behavior isn’t proper and won’t be tolerated. It has to come from the community, not from politicians or authority figures.

The common man has to say, “This will not be tolerated in our neighborhood”.

That stance makes that individual a part of the solution. We can no longer sit idly by and watch our fellow citizens get gunned

down in the streets.

The Unity Walk Against Gun Violence is an opportunity for the common man to take a public stand, in concert with other like-minded citizens, to let those that would commit crimes of violence know that the community is watching and that behavior is no longer acceptable. While that may seem simple, it isn’t. There is power in numbers and criminals don’t like witnesses.

As one who has walked on “the other side of the law”, I know the power of the community standing up. Unity in a community is intimidating. When the neighbors would come together, we knew our time was up. Let us not waste this moment!

Too much blood has been spilled in our city. Too many lives have been lost. Too many candlelight vigils have been held.

It’s time for us to take our city back!

(For more information, call LifeLine to Success at 901-729-6537.)

(This story reflects a report by the Associated Press)

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The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 5

RELIGION

Melvin Jones’ children – Caleb Martin, Joshua Eugene, Rachel Elizabeth and Sarah Lillian – during the funeral service held at Mt. Olive Cathedral C.M.E. His wife, Sharon, was held overnight at an area hospital and watched the streamed service.

Barbara Edmond listens to the beating heart of her late son, Reggie, in Coasie Parker. (Courtesy photo)

Give Life Church Challenge helps create heart-filling moments

by Cathy Hart

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

“You know too … that this was GOD’S plan from the beginning,” Barbara Edmond recently told The New Tri-State Defender, as she shared details of her journey as a donor family with the Mid-South Transplant Foundation (MSTF) during the ‘Give Life Church Challenge celebration this month.

The Challenge began Nov.1. Faith communities are encouraged to ask members of their congregations to register as organ and tissue donors.

In April 2014, Edmond’s son, Reggie, was involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident. After a couple of days, doctors pronounced him brain dead. Edmond decided to give life by donating her son’s tissues and organs. The Mid-South Transplant Foundation family has been walking with her step by step.

Reggie’s donation has blessed and saved lives. Joy radiates through Edmond as she talked about her son’s recipients.

“I learned that five people lived because of him,” she said.

She has met Coasie Parker, who received his heart; Jerry, who received one of

his kidneys, and Curt, who received his liver.

“I was 33 years old at that time and I found out Feb. 14, 2014 (Valentine Day) that I needed a heart,” Parker said.

“My process lasted three months and we give all glory to GOD. … On April 9, I received the heart transplant and I’ve been going ever since.”

Parker’s voice amplifies her smile as she describes receiving a gift of Life from Reggie. “Now I tell folks too, it’s hard to keep up with Reggie.”

Keisha Oliver, community relations coordinator for Mid-South Transplant Foundation, said, “I don’t know about you, but seeing Ms. Edmond and Coasie together, knowing that Coasie now has Reggie’s heart made my heart full.”

The Give Life Church Challenge runs Nov. 30.

Religious leaders, donor families, transplant recipients and donation and transplantation professionals participate in services and programs to educate the public about the need for the lifesaving and healing gifts passed to others through transplant donations.

(For more information, see www.midsouthtransplant.org.)

Legacy: Melvin Jones: ‘A tireless fighter for justice’

TSD Newsroom Services were held last Saturday (Nov. 21) at Mt. Olive Cathedral C.M.E. Church for entrepreneur Melvin Jones, founder/CEO of the Black Business Director and a former interim editor of the TriState Defender.

Born January 4, 1954, Mr. Jones, the son of Ernest and Musetta Jones, was the youngest of 13 children. The first in his family to be born in a hospital, Melvin loved his hometown of Hayti, Mo. A 1972 graduate of Central High School, he excelled in academics and athletics and followed his siblings by at-

tending Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. A vocal campus leader, Melvin was president of the Student Government Association while majoring in business administration and minoring in criminal justice.

He pursued a law degree at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, earning his juris doctor. Later, Mr. Jones and his wife, Sharon, moved to St. Louis, where he worked for a prestigious corporate law firm.

However, he wanted to do more, eventually became an entrepreneur. As the publisher of Sunday Morning News in 1982 and later the St. Louis, Louisville and Memphis Black Business Directories,

he Melvin discovered his purpose.

Other business pursuits included the Minority Business Journal, PROUD Magazine and most recently the Memphis Business Contracting Consortium as executive director. With the Consortium, he advocated for minority participation in government and private sector business opportunities.

He created the Memphis African American Hall of Fame and recently published The Called, profiling inspirational ministers in Memphis.

A tireless fighter for justice, he was equally committed to his family, joyfully sharing the achievements of his children:

Caleb Martin (Phoenix), Joshua Eugene (Ann Arbor, MI), Rachel Elizabeth (Charlotte, NC), and Sarah Lillian (Nashville).

Mr. Jones died on the evening of Nov. 15.

He also leaves his siblings: Ellinor Perry, James (Foyette) Jones and Enoch (Sterma) Jones, all from Chicago; Clifton (Lennis) Jones of Aurora, Colo.; Eliza Luvert (Andrew) of Sugarland, Texas; Jesse (Mary) Jones of Memphis and Andrew (Elaine) Jones, Renton, Wash..

He was preceded in death by his parents and five siblings Preston, Paul, Joseph, Ernest Jr., and Vera White.

Here we go again…

The Rev. Derek Clark, pastor of Covenant Church at 2931 Ridgeway, and his wife, Tara Clark, renewed their vows at the church last Sunday (Nov. 22). (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 6

NEWS

Mother’s COVID-19 recovery makes everyday a day of Thanksgiving

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

One Memphis family has been celebrating Thanksgiving since Oct. 30. That’s when Sylvia Carter was released from the hospital.

The odds were that she would not survive her four-month COVID-19 ordeal but she made it. And, three of those months, she “slept” through.

Her story is among many making the 2020 Thanksgiving observance unlike anything most would have imagined a year ago.

“I was the first one to get the virus,” said Carter’s daughter, Khristen Aytchan, 36.

“When I tested positive, I had my son tested. When he came back negative, I shipped him off to stay with a friend.”

Carter also got tested and her initial test came back negative. When she started coughing badly and developed a fever, Aytchan became concerned.

After Carter began suffering from shortness of breath, she was taken to Methodist Hospital. That was June 27, one week after Aytchan tested positive.

Once under the hospital’s care, Carter was re-tested for COVID-19. This time, the test came back positive.

“The shortness of breath continued,” said Aytchan. “They were giving my mother oxygen, but her oxygen levels were not going up. It was scary, really scary.”

Then, on July 5, Carter was put on a ventilator. Aytchan knew that for many, the ventilator was a one-way street. Many patients put on a ventilator never recovered.

“The doctor told us she would be sedat-

A nurse wheels Sylvia Carter out of Methodist Hospital after she survived a four-month COVID-19 ordeal. (Courtesy photo) ed while on the ventilator,” said Aytchan.

“And she had . . . a feeding tube. We couldn’t go to see her because she had COVID-19. It was a really sad and stressful time.”

Then, Aug. 4 came, and Aytchan got a call from the hospital. The settings on her ventilator had been increased; doctors had done everything they possibly could to raise her oxygen levels. But Carter was just not responding. Her oxygen level could not sustain life. Aytchan was told to come to the hospital if she wanted to see her mother one last time.

Carter’s family and close friends joined Aytchan at the hospital. Aytchan’s only contact with her mother was an iPhone close to her mother’s face. She had to watch her mother’s life begin to ebb through a glass

partition.

“We were crying and praying,” said Aytchan. “Just to see my mother in that state, on the ventilator, and I wasn’t able to hold her hand or to embrace her. We prayed and prayed and asked the Lord to save her life. I cried my eyes out. Finally, I went home.”

Aytchan waited for the hospital to call, hoping against hope that her mother would make it through that near-fatal episode of respiratory distress.

“I told the hospital when I left, ‘Please call me if anything changes, or I will call you,’” said Aytchan. “The very next day, the phone rang, and it was the hospital.

The doctor said, ‘Somehow, Ms. Carter’s oxygen levels started to go back up.’ They were amazed, couldn’t explain how that

happened. I wanted to say, ‘Do you know about a man named Jesus?’”

Carter’s heart was fine after coming out of that crisis, but tests showed she had suffered a stroke while under sedation.

“Her left side is weaker than her right side,” said Aytchan. “But there was no paralysis.

Those first moments, when she saw her mother awake, are etched forever in her mind.

“I said, ‘Hey Mom, how are you doing?’ And she said, ‘Where is Kameron?’

Kameron is her grandson. And I said, ‘Okay, never mind me.’ But it was so good to see my mother awake and responsive.”

Near the end of September, doctors began weaning Carter off the ventilator. She was then moved to Regional One Medical Center to continue recovery and to begin physical and occupational therapies.

Carter learned that she had been under sedation for three months in the hospital.

There was some confusion on dates, but her memory is in tact.

On Oct. 30, she was released from the hospital, with great fanfare and cheers from hospital staff, family and friends, who had gathered to witness the event. As if back from the dead, Carter had beaten the odds and recovered from the ravages of COVID-19.

“When the Lord answers prayer and lets your loved one live on, it just makes you so grateful,” said Aytchan. “We have been celebrating since my mom got home. We appreciate all the blessings of God. But when Jesus heals a loved one who is so sick, I don’t guess there is much else you need. Every day is a day of thanksgiving.”

Death of son fuels anger, action and activism in holiday season

by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

For those who are grieving the loss of loved ones, Thanksgiving and the coming holiday season may not be the happiest of times.

Add to the mix, life in the throes of a COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns and economic devastation for families and many businesses, and Thanksgiving 2020 doesn’t look like other Thanksgivings celebrations in past years.

This is notably true for Marsha Robinson, a Memphis mother who suffered the loss of a child.

That child’s name was Vincent Delaney Jones, a 23-year-old who was just hanging out at the Westwood Community Center on July 29, 2018.

“Vincent was a young man with an old soul,” said Robinson. “He had a great sense of humor, and I taught him never to lie, to always tell the truth. Vincent would tell other young men, ‘Get your education.

Don’t be a statistic.’”

Jones graduated from Millington High School in 2013. He wanted to finish high school there because his father’s people live in Tipton County.

Beyond the anger of losing Vincent at the hand of another young man, Robinson has moved to effective activism against

THANKS

CONTINUED FROM FRONT faith, but she is not there yet. He left a family shattered and broken-hearted.

“Just this week Monday, we had BJ’s cars moved,” said Burse. “Barry Sr., his father, owns a trucking company, and we had BJ’s cars moved to the lot where Barry Sr., keeps his trucks. His sister, Britney, fell apart. I had to go over and comfort her.”

BJ was gifted a Mercedes sports coup from his parents at graduation, and bought a Camaro with his own money. The Camaro has been in Burse’s garage, and the Mercedes was kept at Britney’s house.

“The tow truck was at Britney’s house for nearly an hour,” said Burse. “She just cried when the car was moved. I can’t bring myself to sell those cars, and I can’t even take seeing someone driving down

gun violence on the streets of Memphis.

While the family is staying in this Thanksgiving, Robinson is posting electronic billboards, two of them, along Interstate 240.

“This year was my first year taking part in the Unity Walk against gun violence a couple of weeks ago,” said Robinson. “It was really something to be out there with other families who have also lost children and other loved ones to gun violence. I just know that I’ve got to do that every year.”

Robinson also set up a fund to honor Vincent at Regions Bank called, “Vincent’s Charity Fund.” Young people seeking to further their education have been awarded financial gifts and scholarships.

“The charity fund is a wonderful way to honor Vincent, who was always telling teenagers not to be involved with gangs,” said Robinson.

Jones worked for the Grizzlies. He obtained his license to serve liquor and, for him, it was great getting the opportunity to see the stars up close at every home game.

“Vincent was continuing his education at Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut,” said Robinson. “He came to me one day and said there was something coming in September. I said, ‘It better not be a baby.’ It was actually his induction into the National Honor Society.”

Since Vincent’s violent and untimely death, the family hasn’t been the same.

Robinson recalls details of that fateful day over and over, the pain of being told her son was dead still fresh, almost like the day he died.

“I went over to my mother’s house, and we were cleaning, just pulling things out of the closet,” said Robinson. “My sister was there, and she kept asking about every hour, ‘Where is Vincent?’ I had told my son days earlier that someone he was hanging out with wasn’t loyal.”

Returning home, Robinson passed by the community center. Children were playing outside. Older boys were on the basketball court. Some were swimming in the pool. It was just an ordinary day. The weather was beautiful, Robinson recalled.

Robinson was in the house when she heard 12 gunshots ring out. Like her neighbors, she came outside to see what was going on.

“We were just talking about how tired we were of people shooting in Westwood,” Robinson said. “We were looking down the street toward the community center. Girls were screaming over near the basketball court.”

But Robinson said it was a “young man on a bike” who rode down the street and told her Vincent had just been shot.

“He said, ‘Are you Vincent’s mother?’ I told him I was, and he said, ‘I just came to tell you Vincent just got shot.’”

After that, the day blurs into Robinson

going down to the community center. She first woke her husband up. Vincent had fallen, dead on the scene at 6:58 p.m.

“They wouldn’t let me on the basketball court, but I looked down and saw those legs and them crooked feet,” said Robinson. “I knew that was my baby.”

Robinson doesn’t remember crying or running at the scene, but she was trying to talk to detectives to find out what happened.

“I blamed myself,” said Robinson. “I should have taken my child with me.”

The family will stay home on Thanksgiving Day, like so many other families cocooning from the COVID-19 spread.

“I am grateful for my life. I’m grateful for my family,” said Robinson. “But life without Vincent changed our family forever. We still have each other. That is something we can be thankful for.”

the street in one them. For Britney, losing BJ is still very painful.”

Burse is chief operating officer of the COGIC Publishing Company, and Britney teaches school locally. Britney was in college living away from home when BJ was killed.

She moved back home after the tragedy.

Burse joins her voice with other Memphis families who have railed against the rampant wave of gun violence on the streets of Memphis.

“You know, you get them through high school and off to college,” said Burse.

“That’s when you sigh with relief that you got your son through the most dangerous time. Even living in Twinkletown, a very, good neighborhood (in Whitehaven), I couldn’t keep my son safe.”

Holidays are a time of solitude for both Britney and her mother. It has been over seven years since BJ’s death, and Burse

realizes that people who don’t understand the depth of their loss, simply feel that “it’s time to move on.”

“I know some feel like I should just be over BJ’s death by now,” said Burse.

“But when I stop talking about BJ, people will forget him. I want them to always remember that he lived, that he was here.”

BJ was working on a degree in international business, and he played semiprofessional soccer while studying at Lyon.

Burse relives the tragedy of losing BJ, over and over. She had flown on business trip to Baltimore. BJ had dropped his mother off at the airport.

“When I got in the car, I fussed at BJ for riding around without gas in his car,” Burse recalled. “He just laughed. Everything was a big joke to him.”

Burse got out and discovered she had left her laptop in BJ’s car. She called him back,

and he came back so she could retrieve it.

“Before I went in to the airport, I remember that I hugged him so tightly,” Burse said. “My phone was off during the flight, but as soon as we landed, I turned it back on and saw that I had a message from BJ’s father. I called back and he said, ‘BJ has been killed.’”

Her son’s assailant received five years for second-degree manslaughter, Burse said. That’s when she realized that closure would not come in the killer’s punishment.

Closure would come from God and her faith.

“One day, I know that I will be better,” said Burse. “This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my daughter and all the wonderful memories BJ left us. We won’t be going out on Thursday. I’m just going to stay in and love on Britney. I have our pajamas and hot chocolate all ready.”

Vincent Delaney Jones

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Dear Justyce’ warrants approval by young and old

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Your birthday card had a Black History postage stamp on it.

As always, it was from Grandma and though it’s kind of corny, you look forward to it ever year: a blue or red envelope outside, a sentimental saying with a few bucks tucked inside. Other than bills, ballots, and ads, she’s the only person you know who snail-mails anything, but in “Dear Justyce” by Nic Stone, help can be delivered, too.

The first time Vernell LaQuan Banks ran away, he was nine years old.

His mother’s new man had been beating her again and though Quan hated leaving his little brother and sister there, he knew it was safer for them if he left the house.

And so he went to the park, where he met Justyce McAllister, who was also taking an after-dark break from home.

They kinda knew one another; they lived a block apart in Southwest Atlanta and as it turned out, Justyce’s best friend was Quan’s cousin but that was it. See, Justyce kept clean, stayed in school, studied hard, and went to some fancy white college after graduation, while Quan was arrested the first time at age thirteen for stealing a deck of cards from a convenience store. The second time was for possession of a firearm. His third arrest got him labeled as a “career criminal” and three months in youth detention. By then, his mother had stopped caring what happened to him.

And so Quan found his own family.

He joined the Black Jihads, led by a man named Martel who ruled his “men.” Suddenly, there was someone who cared where

Quan was and that he had something to eat.

The Black Jihad took care of their own.

And in return, Quan took care of them when something happened, quick-quickquick.

Once, Justyce had Nic visited Quan in prison Stone and Quan never forgot it. On his darkest days, he thought of Justyce and how their lives were so different. And so he took out a piece of paper and took a chance at friendship...

Argue this: sometimes, is a choice really a choice? Or is it like a narrow alley with one way out, and somebody’s pushing from behind? That’s one of the hard questions inside “Dear Justyce.”

Really, the entire first part of this book is hard, starting with author Nic Stone’s note to her readers, explaining how this book came to be. It sets you up for what’s about to happen in the story, though it can’t prepare you enough. Not to be a spoiler, but Quan’s letters to Justyce are a gut-punch and what’s toughest to take is that teens – particularly boys, particularly Black boys – may recognize the raw authenticity of every page of it.

The second half, though, is more fictional, with a Hollywood-worthy courtroom drama that’s a little predictable but that’ll nonetheless please an adult as much as it will a 14-to-17-year-old.

So hand this book to your teen, and be sure to sneak it back for yourself. “Dear Justyce” deserves both your stamps of approval.

“Dear Justyce”

by Nic Stone c. 2020, Crown $18.99 / $24.99 Canada 267 pages

Page 7

COMMUNITY The New Tri-State Defender, November 26 - December 2, 2020, Page 8

Rep. Towns moves to make lawsuit against McDonald’s a state concern More former Black franchisees join class action

by John Semien

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

State Rep. Joe Towns Jr. (D-Memphis) has asked the state treasurer to pull the state out of any investments in McDonald’s Corp. because of a class-action lawsuit that alleges the fast-food giant discriminates against minority franchise owners and former owners.

The lawsuit has gained 27 more ex-franchisees to bring the total to 77 named plaintiffs in the suit, originally filed by 52 black former franchisees on Sept. 1, according to a news release from attorney James L. Ferraro, who is representing the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs include brothers Jim and Darrell Byrd, who own stores in Shelby and Fayette counties.

“I don’t believe we should be supporting corporations that deal from the bottom of the deck and discriminate against minority owners,”

Towns said when contacted by The New Tri-State Defender.

“That is not fair. When you invest your hard-earned money in a major corporation you should expect equity and fairness at all times.”

The claims now include nearly 300 stores, with plaintiffs seeking compensatory damages that average between $4 million and $5 million per store, exclusive of punitive damages.

The plaintiffs allege McDonald’s sold itself as a recruiter and developer of Black talent, profited from its Black consumer base and maintained a two-tier system that pigeonholed unsuspecting Black owners and assigned them horrible locations guaranteed to fail, the release said.

Towns said he has sent a letter to Tennessee Treasurer David H. Lillard asking that the state take out any funds invested in McDonald’s and reallocate the money in companies “practicing good corporate citizenship.”

A media team representing McDonald’s had the following e-mail response.

“These allegations fly in the face of everything we stand for as an organization and as a partner to communities and small business owners around the world,” the e-mail reads.

It continued, “Not only do we categorically deny the allegations that these franchisees were unable to succeed because of any form of discrimination by McDonald’s, we are confident that the facts will show how committed we are to the diversity and equal opportunity of the McDonald’s System, including across our franchisees, suppliers and employees.”

Treasury spokesperson Shelli King said Lillard is drafting his response to Towns’ letter.

In an e-mail, she said the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System asset portfolio has an estimated $255 million invested in McDonald’s Cor-

poration, including stocks and bonds.

At the end of FY20, the market value of the TCRS fund was $52.4 billion. The amount invested in McDonald’s would represent .4 percent or less than half of one percent, of the overall portfolio, she said.

“I believe that this is a moment where Tennessee needs to take a stand for racial justice and reconsider our state’s investment in the McDonald’s Corporation,” Towns said in his letter to Lillard.

“We would like to see funds invested in McDonald’s to be divested and smartly placed in other corporations that are practicing good corporate citizenship.”

In a written statement, attorney Ferraro said the company has turned a blind eye to obvious racial problems while promoting its public image.

McDonald’s once boasted a high of 377 Black franchisees in 1998.

That number now stands at 186, even though McDonald’s has increased its stores from 15,086 to 36,059. The cash flow gap for Black franchisees

more than triState Rep. Joe pled from 2010 Towns Jr. to 2019, per National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA) data.

Plaintiffs’ average annual sales of $2 million was more than $700,000 under McDonald’s national average of $2.7 million between 2011 and 2016 and $900,000 under the national average of $2.9 million in 2019.

The lawsuit claims McDonald’s was ruthless in steering Black operators toward the oldest, most decrepit stores in the toughest neighborhoods routinely rejected by white franchisees.

This severely limited opportunities for expansion and growth, and far too often set in place a chain of events – low cash flow, decreased equity, debt and bankruptcy – that led to financial ruin, the release said.

The amended complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.

Legacy: Herman R. Rankins – ‘The Maestro’

by Lee D. Miller III

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

In support of families…

Ten African-American elected officials representing the north part of Memphis teamed up at the loading docks behind Kroger on Austin Peay Highway to give away 200 turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday. The participants were: State Rep. Antonio Parkinson; State Rep.-elect Torrey Harris; Shelby County Commissioners Willie Brooks, Tami Sawyer and Mickell Lowery; Memphis City Council members Rhonda Logan, Michalyn Easter-Thomas and JB Smiley Jr.; and Shelby County Schools Board members Stephanie Love and Althea Greene. (Courtesy photos)

‘Utility Holiday’ to bring relief for nearly 1,400 MLGW impacted by COVID-19 TSD Newsroom Utility assistance for 1,400 customers impacted by COVID-19 has been made available through the Utility “Holiday” program powered by Shelby County Government and Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW).

The Utility “Holiday” program served customers who owed $500 or less in previous bills and opted into MLGW’s Deferred Billing COVID-19 payment plan. Each customer had $185 credited to their MLGW account to go towards their outstanding utility bill.

Announced this work by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Shel-

by County Board of Commissioners Chairman Eddie Jones, the new program cost $257,890 and was funded through the Federal CARES Act. “The risk of losing your utilities or falling too far behind to catch up is one of the terrible fallouts from this pandemic,” said Harris. “Our Utility Holiday program will provide utility assistance to hundreds and hundreds of families in Shelby County who previously told MLGW that they were facing hardship. …

“During this difficult time, we must be determined to not let the pandemic steal our joy. We hope that the notice that these families will receive soon will be a welcome holiday surprise.”

Jones said the program with MLGW has been relatively seamless.

“They’ll enter a few keystrokes, and, presto, these families in need will get utility relief out of funds that Shelby County has set aside.

Although this is a terrible year and a challenging time, we hope Shelby County Government’s Utility Holiday program brings a smile to the faces of some of the families in the most need.”

Gale Jones Carson, MLGW vice president, Community and External Affairs, said, “In times like these, it is exciting to know we have programs that meet the direct needs of our residents.”

Whether the call was for hot jazz licks, woodwind or brass expanses on the music scales or staccato taps on the drums, the George Washington Carver High School bands responded to the majestic directions of “The Maestro” – Herman R. Rankins.

Mr. Rankins led teenagers in marching bands, concert bands and jazz bands as Carver’s band director from 1958 to 1979. He died Nov. 9 at his home in Los Angeles.

Among a string of great band directors that graced the Memphis area during a period spanning the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Mr. Rankins graduated from Manassas High School and earned a bachelor’s degree at Arkansas AM&N University (now University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).

He taught briefly in Louisiana before returning to the newly opened Carver High School in South Memphis.

Carver bands became known locally and regionally for excellence in many genres of music.

The marching bands performed high-stepping and fast-paced routines in the traditional Memphis Christmas, Cotton Carnival and Cotton Makers Jubilee parades.

Carver’s high school football games were not complete without halftime shows that included intricate precision patterns in motion and dancing to the latest R& B grooves.

The band also performed at Tennessee State, Arkansas AM&N and Morris Brown College halftime shows and parades.

In concert settings, Mr. Rankins introduced band members to some of the greatest and most challenging classical music. He fostered the talent of many great musicians. He allowed his students to explore jazz – the music he loved most – and display their improvising skills and talents by arranging and performing the music.

In 1977, The Carver Jazz Band accompanied the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) organization, performing at the Coconut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

There, students met Quincy Jones, Alex Haley and performed as the opening act for Ray Charles.

The Jazz band continued its gigs in Memphis, performing at weddings,

proms, Miss Black Memphis and Miss Black Tennessee pageants, civil rights events at Monumental Baptist Church and Memphis State University (now Herman R. University of Rankins Memphis) basketball games.

He taught band members discipline, to be competitive but humble, to be focused and how to persevere until their goals were achieved.

He taught them that music is the universal language and how to use it to overcome everyday barriers.

Under his direction and leadership, students earned their way onto All-City bands, the McDonald’s All-American band, with some achieving international acclaim through Stax Records.

A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Mr. Rankings was like a father-figure me to early on. We grew to be brothers, sharing experiences at some of his favorite jazz venues – Club Paradise, Malunda’s, the Music Box, the annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, the Lighthouse on Hermosa Beach and Catalina Bar & Grill.

We spent hours on the phone talking about the treasures in life (family and faith) and the love for most types of music.

Mr. Rankins is survived by his children Keith and Keisha and granddaughters Kaia and Keila.

Funeral services begin Wednesday (Nov. 25), with visitation from 3 p.m.-6 p.m. at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME, 538 Dr. M.L King Jr. Ave., and again Friday from 9 a.m.-10:55 a.m.

The funeral service is set for 11 a.m.

The host pastor is the Rev. Dr. Peris Lester, with the Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith delivering the eulogy.

Burial will be at 2 p.m. at New Park Cemetery, 4536 Horn Lake Rd. E. H. Ford Mortuary has charge.

Services will be live streamed on Facebook & YouTube: www. mtolivecathedral.com; facebook. com/mtolivecme; YouTube.com/ MOCCME. (Lee D. Miller III played trumpet in the Carver band.)

ith es.

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 9

CLASSIFIEDS NOTICE TO BIDDER(S) Sealed bids will be received by the Shelby County Government in the Department of Housing, 1075 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38134 until 9:30 a.m. on December 18, 2020, as shown below: MULTIPLE AND ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REHABILITATION JOBS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS BID NOTICE. BIDDER(S) MAY ELECT TO BID ON ANY OR ALL OF THE JOBS IN THE NOTICE. SEALED BID I000646 DUE: December 18, 2020 1. Rehabilitation of Owner-Occupied Housing Units throughout Shelby County some of which may require the use of lead based paint safe work practices and techniques; and Detailed specifications for items above may be obtained in the Shelby County Department of Housing at the aforementioned address beginning December 4, 2020. All bids will be opened and publicly read by the Shelby County Government at the time mentioned above at the Department of Housing, 1075 Mullins Station Road Memphis, TN 38134, (901) 222-7600; TTY Number (901) 222-2301; or for information in Spanish 901-222-3993. Award recommendations will be posted at the following website http:// www.shelbycountytn.gov/3453/ Contract-Opportunities upon review of the bid opening results.

As a condition precedent to bidding, each bidder must apply and qualify for a Vendor Number and Equal Opportunity Compliance Eligibility Number prior to the submitting your response. Your EOC number must be displayed on the outside of your envelope for each bid submission.

Reminder: Effective January 2020, in order for your bids to be accepted on projects, contractors must have met with the Housing Site Inspector and received a receipt for the current Shelby County Housing Construction and Rehabilitation Specifications Manual. Interested contractors not currently on the contractor list should contact the Department of Housing in order to schedule a meeting with the Housing Site Inspector. If you are currently on the contractor list but have not received a receipt for the current Construction and Rehabilitation Specifications Manual, your next opportunity to do so will be in January 2021.

NOTE: Selected contractors will be required to check the SAM system to ensure that any subcontractors it selects do not appear on the debarred/ suspended registry.

The label, which is attached to the specifications shall be completely filled out and attached to the bid submission envelope.

You must display your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number or your Locally Owned Small Business (LOSB) Number on the outside of your envelope and a copy of all licenses and insurance policies must be included in your submitted bid package. Unless the label is completely filled out and your current E.O.C. Eligibility Number is noted thereon your bid may be returned to you unopened. Should your label be lost or misplaced, please note the appropriate information in the lower lefthand corner of your envelope.

The Department of Housing encourages participation from WBE, MBE, LOSB, and Section 3 Contractors under these rehabilitation programs.

The Shelby County Government reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informalities therein.

By order of LEE HARRIS, MAYOR SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Scott Walkup, Administrator

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: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: D0134J0C000210 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $600.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 2:30 p.m. on February 12, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 06906500000600 Tax Sale #: 1503 Price Offered: $400.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 9:00 a.m. on February 12, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 07103500000160 Tax Sale #: 1503 Price Offered: $800.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 12, 2021, 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.

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.

DEADLINES: Display ads Friday 5 p.m.

Classifieds ads Monday 5 p.m.

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

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

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: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 07202700000250 Tax Sale #: 1503 Price Offered: $500.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:00 p.m. on February 12, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 0410440000004C Tax Sale #: 1602 Price Offered: $550.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 10:00 a.m. on February 9, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

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

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 07207900000380 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $800.00 Terms: Cash

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE

Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10)

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

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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 2:00 p.m. on February 12, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property:

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 January 12, 2021, 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.

Frank Sea Tax Parcel #: 06012400000500 Tax Sale #: 1602 Price Offered: $600.00 Terms: Cash

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 07101400000760 Tax Sale #: 1503 Price Offered: $400.00 Terms: Cash

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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 2:30 p.m. on February 12, 2021, 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.

DL Galvao Consulting & Communication Corp Tax Parcel #: 04202500000130 Tax Sale #: 1602 Price Offered: $500.00 Terms: Cash

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:

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 January 12, 2021, 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.

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:

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

Carolina World Property's LLC Tax Parcel #: 07204100000070 Tax Sale #: 1503 Price Offered: $500.00 Terms: Cash

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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 1:30 p.m. on February 12, 2021, to be held in

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SALE OF REAL PROPERTY

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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 December 17, 2020, 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.

DL Galvao Consulting & Communication Corp Tax Parcel #: 06907100000040 Tax Sale #: 1603 Price Offered: $500.00 Terms: Cash

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:

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

Price Offered: $300.00 Terms: Cash

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: DL Galvao Consulting & Communication Corp Tax Parcel #: 02905100000230 Tax Sale #: 1603

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:

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 2:30 p.m. on January 27, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

BY SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-2507, that Shelby County Government has received an Offer to Purchase for the following property: Christopher Myers Tax Parcel #: 04707800000290 Tax Sale #: 1004 Price Offered: $175.00 Terms: Cash Additional Offers to Purchase, of at least ten percent (10%) higher, may be submitted within Ten (10) working days of this notice. If additional offers are received during this ten (10) day period, all prospective Purchasers must attend a Public “Bid Off” at 1:30 p.m. on February 3, 2021, to be held in the Shelby County Land Bank Office, to determine the highest and best offer. The property shall thereafter be sold to the prospective Purchaser making the highest and best offer without warranties of any sort.

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

The New Tri-State Defender

November 26 - December 2, 2020

Page 10

SPORTS

Taking note of Tigers basketball as the COVID-19 season looms

by Terry Davis

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

O’Bryan Goodson

Joseph Dorceus

Thomas Pickens

Calvin Austin III

Sean Dykes (Photos by Terry Davis)

Memphis rocks Stephen F. Austin – the takeaways

by Terry Davis

The Memphis Tigers improved to 5-2 on the season with an impressive win over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 56-14 at the Liberty Bowl Stadium. The Lumberjacks were a replacement game for UT Martin that canceled the game at the start of the season.

The game was on pins and needles in the first half. White interception returned for a touchdown put the Lumberjacks on the board. Memphis went into the half with a 20-14 lead. As per usual the Tigers dominated the second have outscoring the Lumberjacks 36-0.

Here are some takes from the Memphis and the Stephen F. Austin game:

surrounded him to congratulate him. The Cartwright got injured in the Arkansas State game and was feared done for the season with a toe injury. He said the doctors gave he a chance he could come back this season, so he worked hard to make Terry that a reality.

Davis Joseph Dorceus had seven tackles and a sack, four of the tackles were for a loss. Rodney Owens had four tackles and grabbed his third interception of the game. The defense only allowed 7 points.

By the numbers

‘ U’

Memphis had balance on all fronts. The team passed for 269 yards, rushed for 305 yards, and only allowed 224 total yards on defense. This is the first time the Tigers defense has not allowed more the 300 in a game since 2019.

Brady White passed for 269 yards and threw one touchdown. He is sits atop the standings in the number of touchdowns passes with 82. He is only 508 yards from being the all-time passing leading in total yards.

Kylan Watkins rushed for 100 yards. This second career 100-yard rushing game. Marquavius Weaver rushed for 95 yards and scored his first career rushing touchdown. Tim Taylor broke free on his only rushing attempt,t going 47 yards and scoring his first career touchdown.

“This system is built for playmakers,” wide receiver Calvin Austin III, who continued his hot streak.

“Just because you are in one position you will get a chance to play in many different positions.

You can stamp us Weapons U.” Austin had 173 receiving yards on 10 catches. He scored on a 64-yard punt return TD and threw a pass for a two-point conversion to tight end Sean Dykes. His punt return was the longest in school’s history since Roderick Proctor’s 63yard return in 2015 against Missouri State.

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Defense shines John Cartwright the sophomore defensive tackle from Madison, MS was expected to miss the entire season due to an injury. He not only played in the game he had an interception. After the interception, the entire sideline in unison

The University of Memphis men’s basketball team made its way to South Dakota to play in the Crossover Classic, which already has made headlines for the teams that will not be in it because of the coronavirus.

Designed initially as a star-studded get-together, the Tigers and West Virginia’s Mountaineers now are the top programs remaining in the field.

The Crossover Classic is set to run from Wednesday (Nov. 25) through Friday (Nov. 27). And no, fans in attendance are not part of the mix.

Tigers tip off against St. Mary’s in what is the season opener for both teams. And while Lester Quinones has some soreness in a knee, the Tigers have no major injuries.

South Dakota is currently a hot spot for COVID-19. Teams are in a mini bubble to reduce the possibility of any players getting infected.

Ahmad Rhad is the only Tiger player who did not make the trip. He was left in Memphis due to contract tracing.

Meanwhile, the playing status of the heralded DeAndre Williams is uncertain, but it doesn’t have anything to do with virus. It has to do with his transfer status.

“There is frustration. We went through this last year with Isaiah Stokes,” U of M head coach Penny Hardaway. “I know the system is going to work in favor of the kids this year.

It is frustrating that it hasn’t happen so far.”

The tournament setup calls for the Tigers to play three games and in three days.

“It helps you because there are no favorites,” said Hardaway. “You are playing good teams. St. Mary’s is a good team that has upset teams in the NCAA tournament. It is going to be good for us and will bode well for us down the line. You respect the teams that are here.”

Here are some tracking-Tigers notes:

Jermaine Johnson The former Melrose High School coach has returned home to be a part the Memphis basketball coaching staff.

Hardaway said it would only be for oneyear trial basis. Johnson previously was at UT Martin from 2014-2020.

Johnson was successful at Melrose from 2007-13. He developed the school into a top-25 program in the nation and he won five straight District 16 AAA championships.

Melrose was the state title winner in 2010 in a 37-win season.

He played high school basketball at Ridgeway High School.

At Melrose, Johnson coached McDonald’s All-American Adonis Thomas. He has coached 12 professional players, including eight who have played in the NBA. This is his second stop at the University of Memphis. He was an assistant under John Calipari from (1999-2003).

Moussa Cisse There had been a chance that Cisse would not be available. On Saturday (Nov. 21), just before the Memphis football team took on Stephen F. Austin, it was announced that Cisse had been cleared to play. He had been practicing and did make the trip to South Dakota.

Schedule Memphis basketball schedule was released Nov. 19 and, already, there is a change.

Ole Miss has canceled the game on Dec. 5 because of COVID-19 issues. The highlight out-of-conference game will be against the Auburn Tigers in Atlanta on Dec. 12.

The Tigers will have their home opener on Dec. 2 against the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Posters for the men’s and women teams have also been printed and available across the city.

Next up: The Tigers are set to travel to play the Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy. They were supposed to play Navy two weeks ago, but that game was rescheduled because of COVID-19.

The game will be played Saturday (Nov. 28) at 6 p.m. (CDT) can be seen on ESPN2.

The Memphis game that was scheduled against Tulane has been moved to December 5 in New Orleans.

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