AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH See stories page 8 & 9
VOL. 69, No. 8
Proposal would overhaul blocked Tennessee voter signup law
February 20 - 26, 2020
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Shelby County Archives evolve with eight historic honorees
by Kimberlee Kruesi Associated Press
NASHVILLE – Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a new proposal to amend the state’s legally contentious voter-registration restrictions that are currently blocked from being enforced during the 2020 elections. Last year, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed GOP-backed legislation that made Tennessee the first state in the country to fine registration groups for turning in too many incomplete signup forms. It also criminalized intentional infractions of other new rules with misdemeanor charges. However, the law immediately prompted two lawsuits and sparked national criticism from those who argued that the law would suppress efforts to register minorities and other voters. A federal judge later blocked the implementation of the law as it awaits trial in February 2021, saying the law would have a “chilling effect” on organizations and individuals seeking to register voters. In the interim, Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday decided to once again back new rules on how to sign up new voters. The latest version would require the state to offer voluntary training on voter registration laws and require voter registration applications be submitted within 15 days of a voter registration drive. The measure would then prohibit the retention of voter information for non-political purposes, as well as require “cybersecurity to be considered” when certifying a voter registration system. “In the face of the federal injunction, these protections are better than no protection at all,” wrote Secretary of State Tre Hargett in a recent letter to lawmakers. Hargett, who had previously argued the original 2019 voter registration law would bolster election security, is submitting a separate bill this year that will criminalize “intentional dissemination of misinformation” surrounding the qualifications to vote, voter registration requirements, voter eligibility and polling dates, times and locations. Under that proposal, it would also be a felony to tamper with voting systems, gain unauthorized access to voter registration databases, “willfully” substitute fake election results and
SEE VOTE ON PAGE 2 WDIA’s Bev Johnson, a Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame inductee, was the moderator for the Memphis Association of Black Journalists’ “Salute to Black Media” at the National Civil Rights Museum. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., the first African American to hold the position, was among the Shelby County legends honored during the African-American History Month Luncheon hosted by Shelby County Register of Deeds Shelandra Y. Ford. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)
by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
Tuesday was one for the record books as the office of the Shelby County Register of Deeds staged its inaugural Black History Month luncheon and celebration, honoring eight “Shelby County Legends.” The venue was the Shelby County Archives, which is located just north of State Rd., across the Greenline, near an entry to Shelby Farms and within eyesight of the Shelby County Correctional Facility. The honorees lauded at what was dubbed “Luncheon With the Register of Deeds” were: • Yvonne B. Acey and David Acey Sr., Africa in April, • Calvin Anderson, The New Tri-State De-
fender, • Dr. Beverly G. Bond, historian, University of Memphis, • Floyd Bonner Jr., Shelby County Sheriff • Shelandra Ford, Register of Deeds, • Temiika Gipson, Circuit Court Clerk, • Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr., New Sardis Baptist Church, and • Wanda Halbert, Shelby County Clerk. Those on hand included Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. “It is our great privilege to honor all of you today,” Harris said. “None of us who got elected in 2018 could have done it without David Acey, (Dr. L) LaSimba Gray, Calvin Anderson and all these other persons being honored today. And so we take great pleasure in honoring you today for your contributions to the citizens of Shelby County.”
Dr. Gray, pastor emeritus of New Sardis Baptist Church and civil rights activist, used the occasion to issue a challenge to Shelby County’s current leadership. “We’ve got enough power in this room to do what we need to do,” Gray said. “Mayor Harris and all of you who are elected officials – let’s make a commitment to fight poverty and crime. We can do it. “Ben Hooks would always say, ‘You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.’ He got it from Eldridge Cleaver, and so I, too, say, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.” Gray was honored for his decades of service as a pastor and activist, who brought social issues to the center, using his signature brand of
SEE ARCHIVES ON PAGE 9
Black press responsibility, role probed at MABJ event
by Erica R. Williams
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
The impact of the black press was at the forefront, as the Memphis Association of Black Journalists hosted “Salute to Black Media,” a panel discussion held at the National Civil Rights Museum Saturday. “We’ve been depending on black media since the beginning; and thank God for black media because we would have no idea what was going on in our community and what was happening
against us,” said Faith Morris, chief marketing officer for the National Civil Rights Museum. Morris was on the panel with several local media trailblazers — former senior writer for Ebony Magazine Lynn Norment, long-time WDIA radio host Mark Stansbury and The New Tri-State Defender Associate Publisher/ Executive Editor Karanja A. Ajanaku. WDIA’s award-winning talk show host Bev Johnson moderated the event. “We have a different way of telling stories
SEE MABJ ON PAGE 2
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