KOBE BRYANT 1978 - 2020 Tributes to the NBA great - including Griz reporter Lee Eric Smith’s story ‘Reliving Kobe’s last game in Memphis.’ SPORTS, Page 11
VOL. 69, No. 5
January 30 - February 5, 2020
Re-entry
www.tsdmemphis.com
Ceremony gives 91 encouraging sendoff
$1.00
Residency for police, firefighters headed back to Council County Commission mulls similar issue by Erica R. Williams
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Black-owned businesses, professionals set for 8th Best In Black Awards TSD Newsroom “Stepping Up!” is the theme for the eighth annual rendition of the Best In Black Awards hosted by the parent company of The New TriState Defender and set for Feb. 6 at Central Station Hotel, located at 545 S. Main St. The Best Media Properties, LLC presentation is set for 7 p.m., with the V.I.P. Reception unfolding at 6 p.m. “For 2020, we decided to move this event to February to commemorate the excellence in African American achievement,” said Calvin Anderson, president of the Best Media Properties, LLC Board of Directors. Tickets are on sale now for what has become a much-anticipated event among black-owned businesses in Greater Memphis. Established in 2012 by Bernal E. Smith II, the late president of Best Media Properties, the Best in Black Awards (BIBA) event is a vehicle for hundreds of individuals and businesses to receive recognition for their hard work while advertising their products, services, and talents before thousands. Smith passed away in October 2017. The Best In Black Awards continue his legacy of fostering growth and development of the African-American community. The mission of the Best In Black Awards is four-fold: 1) To celebrate African-American owned and operated businesses and professionals in the Mid-South, 2) To identify those businesses most supported by the African American community, 3) To serve as a marketing and recognition platform and 4) Encourage aspiring business leaders. “The term ‘stepping up’ means to increase, augment or advance, espe-
SEE BEST ON PAGE 2
Monique Neeley (right) and other 2020 Shelby County Office of Re-Entry clients stand as they are acknowledged as graduates. (below, l-r) Guest speak Chris Winton and Harold Collins, re-entry office executive director. (Courtesy photos)
by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
As graduations go, the one held last Saturday morning at LeMoyne-Owen College’s Little Theatre had an element of redemption. Centerstage were graduates of the 2020 Shelby County Office of Re-Entry program. “We are just so proud of these graduates, 91 in total, and two-thirds of which have already secured a ‘good job,’” said Harold Collins, the former Memphis City Council member who now serves as the executive director of the re-entry office. “And we define a good job as one paying a good hourly wage with benefits. Today is a good day in Shelby County.” The Shelby County Office of Reentry responds to the needs of returning citizens with the support of the State of Tennessee Department of Corrections and Shelby County Government. Essential reentry resources are concentrated in one place. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris told graduates not to give up. “I would encourage all participants to keep at it
and stay focused. We know that nothing important or transformative happens overnight. You have to stay at it and stay at it for the long haul. It can get hard.” Lots of people give up on their God-given purpose,” said Lee. “Somewhere along the way, they say it’s too tough, it takes too long, it costs too much, and nobody will help me. But don’t look at how things have been. Stay focused on what could be. Work on your goals, and little by little, if you don’t give up, it will all work out, and you will be successful.” Monique Neeley spoke for the 2020 graduates, sharing that she first learned about the Shelby County Office of Reentry while serving time at the Shelby County Division of Corrections. “As I transitioned, each time I had an issue my case manager always seemed to have a solution. … The staff encouraged me, made me accountable and assisted me with whatever was needed to succeed,” she said. “Today, I am the clinical manager with a local medical provider’s
SEE RE-ENTRY ON PAGE 2
“Do you want Memphis tax dollars benefiting another county?” Memphis City Councilman Martavius Jones, who posed the question, said he doesn’t. That’s why the Super District 8-3 representative will seek to remove the ballot question on expanding residency requirements for police and firefighters from the November ballot, despite the City Council’s recent approval. The outgoing council approved the referendum question on a 10-2 vote during its last meeting (Dec. 17). The approved referendum measure sets out that during the next November election residents would get to vote on allowing the Memphis Police Department and Memphis Fire Department to hire applicants who live in nearby counties or within a 50-mile radius of Memphis. The city’s current residency requirement requires all city employees to live within Shelby County. Meanwhile, the issue of residency also is percolating Martavius on the Shelby Jones County Board of Commissioners agenda. A proposed ordinance, rejected on the first of three readings Jan. 27, would allow voters to decide if county employees should be required to live in Shelby County. Currently, the charter requires employees to live in the county. Jones said he would seek to remove the City-Council-approved referendum at the next council meeting, Feb. 4. He said the city’s tax base is at stake. “An eroding tax base means that there is less money to fix Memphis roads, infrastructure and to pay the salaries of the needed public service jobs in Memphis,” he said. Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said the efforts to extend the residency requirements are needed to address a “recruitment crisis.” There are 2,075 commissioned officers in the city and Rallings said the city administration has a goal of a police force of 2,300 by the end of this year. “If we don’t do something about it now, I just don’t know where this is going to go,” Rallings said, reiterating that he and his team have done all that they can to recruit police officers. Jones doesn’t believe that’s the
SEE POLICE ON PAGE 2
Get TSD News, announcements and special promotions in your email! visit TSDMemphis.com to sign up, or scan the code at right!