Sharde Thomas and The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band
For Memphians, the days leading up to Labor Day are synonymous with good local music. For over three decades, the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival has filled the holiday weekend with select local sounds, often reaching far back into the region’s history. This coming Saturday and Sunday are no exception.
One strength of the festival is its eclectic sampling of local cultural traditions. Latino, Native American, gospel, jazz, bluegrass, electronica, hip hop, rockabilly, reggae, rock, and blues of all stripes will be available. This diversity has been cultivated since day one by Judy Peiser, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Southern Folklore, the non-profit that stages the festival. Peiser has just been honored for her dedication to promoting local music and culture with a brass note on Beale Street, to be dedicated on Sunday.
A recurring treasure of the lineup is Jimmy Crosthwait, erstwhile member of Mudboy and Neutrons and creative dynamo of Memphis for over forty years. This year, he’ll be joining country blues master Zeke Johnson, who learned a thing or two from Furry Lewis himself. Guitar virtuoso Luther Dickinson will also bring some folk and blues flavors to the proceedings.
Many other fine performers will grace the five stages (click here for a complete schedule). But surely the highlight will be Sharde Thomas and The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band. Thomas carries on the tradition of her grandfather Otha Turner, playing fife and leading a drum corps that epitomizes country funk and soul. Though they are based in North Mississippi, the band’s appearances in Memphis are all too rare. Not to be missed!
Candidate Bonner addresses his large crowd at the Racquet Club.
One political race that looms before the voters of Shelby County as more than usually competitive is that for Sheriff, and, though more candidates, both Republican and Democratic, are sure to make a claim upon the job in the 2018 election, there is general consensus on the front end that the candidates to beat are Republican Dale Lane and Democrat Floyd Bonner, both highly credentialed..
Lane, a former Deputy Sheriff, is current director of the Shelby County Office of Preparedness, while Bonner is Chief Deputy Sheriff, the first African American to hold that office.
In a reversal of the cross-party situation in 2014 when incumbent Sheriff Bill Oldham, a Republican, was assisted in his reelection bid by a prominent Democrat, longtime political broker Sidney Chism, this time Democrat Bonner can count on the public support of a major figure from the other party, no less than term-limited Sheriff Oldham himself. JB
Bonner with incumbent Sheriff Bill Oldham,who endorsed him.
Introducing Bonner to a massive and diverse crowd of several hundred at a combination fundraiser/campaign kickoff in the Racquet Club Tuesday night, Oldham lavished praise upon his chief deputy for his career progress through the ranks and his accomplishments and proclaimed, “I’m going to do something that my predecessor [then Sheriff, now County Mayor Mark Luttrell] didn’t do for me, I’m going to fully endorse Floyd Bonner.” The crowd anticipated Oldham and, before his sentence was halfway through, interrupted him with loud and sustained applause.”
Continuing his introduction with a vow to “put the right man in that chair at 201 Poplar,” Oldham then beckoned Bonner, and the two men embraced before Bonner made his own remarks, beginning with a reciprocal tip of the hat to Oldham, acknowledgment of his family members who were present, and a statement of gratitude at the turnout, making special note of the clergy in attendance (no small factor, inasmuch as Lane, too, can boast of support from the religious community).
“I love coming to work every day. There’s no other place that I’ve ever thought about working at but the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office,” said Bonner, a veteran of 37 years in the Department. “I’m not tired yet, I’ve still got a little in the tank, and I enjoy getting up every day.”
Bonner mentioned his role in “being in on the ground floor” of the Department’s expanding responsibility for Juvenile Court detention and noted that he had started his ascension in the Department all those years ago with service in the County Jail, nobody’s idea of a glamor assignment and a piece of experience that he cites by way of encouraging new recruits.
“I tell them now, ‘I started just like you did, I started out slick-sleeved and wild-eyed and didn’t know what to expect….But I’ve had a great career, I love what I do….There’s nobody in this race with more experience than me,” said Bonner, who concluded optimistically, “You know, we are going to win!”
Let’s talk about the B-word. No. Let’s talk about the C-word.
No.
Let’s talk about the fact that there’s an armed guard in front of the Orpheum protecting folks with families who spend their days booking Broadway shows, coordinating the High School Musical Awards, developing concert programs, planning summer camps and curating a popular film series. That’s a dangerous job now, apparently, and media — local and otherwise — only add fuel to the fire by misrepresenting what happened there this week when it was announced that, after a good, 34-year run, the Downtown playhouse would drop Gone With the Wind from its popular Summer film series. No matter what you may have read at The Commercial Appeal’s website this week, nothing has been banned in Memphis. Not Gone With the Wind or anything else. The word “banned” implies a kind of authority the good folks at the Orpheum just don’t have over the distribution and screening of media in Memphis. Any mainstream media that uses that word chooses to pour fuel on a fire that, judging from the presence of the guard out front, may get somebody —probably not the author or editor — burned.
The Orpheum did what every cultural institution in the country does every single day. The staff made a curatorial decision — a decision that would be valid even if Gone With the Wind wasn’t controversial. Why should Gone With the Wind be a tradition and not Selma? Or Bambi or The Big Lebowski for that matter? Why should there always be room for Gone With the Wind and never room for Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust, which is more regionally appropriate, and tells a different and more vital story of the American South than the blazing, over-the-top romance of Gone With the Wind.
Never heard of Intruder in the Dust you say? This is why we curate. We also curate because culture shifts, what’s relevant now may not be relevant 5-minutes from now. And relevant or not, a 4-hour film like GWTW is ultimately a less valuable investment for theaters like the Orpheum than a 90-minute flick that also sells out. Mad Max: Fury Road, for example, would save the Orpheum two full hours-worth of overhead on everything from labor to utilities.
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So many popular films have been made since 1939, and there are only so many slots on the Orpheum’s Summer series. While there’s nothing wrong with reviving popular films, there are too many great films to choose from to guarantee any one a permanent spot on any lineup. Unless, of course, that film somehow speaks to a community’s identity and has a renewing effect for those who attend. If Gone With the Wind is that film, what does it say about our community?
What fresh bullshit is this?
Let’s also take a minute to talk about propaganda like this article that begins with an admission by the author that, in 2014, he warned everybody that the Left would ban Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles — a paranoid fantasy that hasn’t, and isn’t likely to come to pass anytime soon. His proof: OMG Look what happened to Disney’s Song of the South!
The stat, referenced by Alt-Right-friendly Breitbart, comes from a 75th-Anniversary survey by YouGov.com, a digital polling site described here as, “An online global community of people who like to share their views and opinions on life… marketed more towards individuals who wish to express their opinions about current events and controversial topics.” It’s an “opinions for prizes” shop so we’re looking at a self-selecting sample in a celebratory context, and maybe not an accurate, contextualized example of community opinion. The money quote:
“If there is one last bastion of racism still accepted in America, it is the racial condescension we always see from the left, this constant treating of minorities, especially blacks, as children who are unable to deal with a statue or a word or a movie.”
The problem here is pretty basic — and ironic. Unlike the practically homogenous Right, fighting to uphold this film and its paternalistic race narratives — the Left is made of minorities as sure as Soylent Green (another slot-worthy film) is made of people.
There’s an even bigger problem with this kind of hysterical, and historically unsupported crankmongering. Let’s forget how easily this rhetoric comes apart by inserting nouns like Watermelon and Fried Chicken in place of Gone With the Wind in the headline, and for the sake of argument, let’s accept Breitbart’s highly questionable stats at face value. Let’s allow that 73% of African-Americans do, in fact, love Gone With the Wind so much they want to marry it and have its babies, whether they know anything about birthing or not. So what? That stat doesn’t mean the film’s cultural value merits a guaranteed slot on any Summer film series any more than any other classic or popular film. It’s a meaningless number used in the service of specious rhetoric.
Did I mention that there’s an armed security guard in front of the Orpheum? Because there is. Because the folks over there made what should be the kind of uncontroversial curatorial decision that is 100% their’s to make. Whether it’s in light of the tragedy in Charlottesville, or just because it’s Tuesday. Now people feel endangered because this vintage playhouse — a true Southern cultural treasure — wants to mix things up, expanding its offerings and its audience in the process. It’s bad enough that propaganda organs like Breitbart have become so influential. But it’s shameful when local media turns up the pressure by reenforcing false narratives with badly chosen language.
UPDATE: To be fair as I can be the CA’s John Beifuss has done great work all around. The CA‘s issues stem from Gannett and a culture defined by consolidation not community.
Nobody’s Banned ‘Gone With The Wind’ in Memphis — Even if the Commercial Appeal Says So
In a letter issued Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam urged members of the Tennessee Historical Commission to act on Memphis’ request to remove the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from Health Sciences Park during the board’s next meeting in October.
The 23-member commission has sole authority for the statue’s removal thanks to 2015’s Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, which was passed quickly by state lawmakers to prevent cities like Memphis from removing certain monuments.
“While I support the principle of local governments deciding what to place on their own properties, state laws reserve this desicison for the Historical Commission,” Haslam wrote.
Memphis City Council members voted to pull the monument in 2015. Haslam noted that Memphis officials filed a waiver to remove the statue in 2016. That waiver was denied but Memphis attorneys filed an objection to the ruling on procedural grounds and “the city of Memphis still awaits action by the Historical Commission,” Haslam wrote.
Haslam “strongly encouraged” commission members to vote on Memphis’ request and another waiver request issued by Middle Tennessee State University during their October meeting.
“A refusal to act on the petition in October will only prolong the issue and result in criticism of both the established process and the Commission itself, as this process can work effectively only if the reposnible entities act in a timely manner,” Haslam said.
The Tennessee Historical Commission is a 24-member board with members spread evenly throughout the state’s three Grand Divisions. However, one of the West Tennessee seats is vacant, according to the commission’s website. The term of that seat is set to expire at the end of next month.
The commission is set to meet on October 13 in the East Tennessee city of Athens.
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The Tennessee State Capitol Commission will begin it review of a move to remove a bust of Forrest from the state house. Haslam called for the bust’s removal in 2015, after the murders of African American church goers in Charleston, South Carolina.
Haslam issued this statement about the bust earlier this month.
“My position on this issue has not changed – I do not believe Nathan Bedford Forrest should be one of the individuals we honor at the Capitol,” he said. “The General Assembly has established a process for addressing these matters and I strongly encourage the Capitol Commission and the Historical Commission to act.”
Companies have committed to spending some big bucks to build a new school in Frayser, an auto body shop Downtown, and some new golden arches on Union, all according to city building permits pulled Monday.
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Memphis Business Academy, a charter school focused on economics and financial literacy, plans to build a new school at 2180 Frayser Blvd. in the Frayser Plaza strip mall. That project is valued at just north of $4.9 million.
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ABRA Auto Body and Glass has locations all over the Memphis area from Horn Lake, Collierville, Bartlett, and more. A new building permit suggests the company will expand that empire into the heart of the city with a new shop at 296 Adams.
The company plans to retrofit the old Tennessee Valley Electric Supply Co. building (the one that also reads “Tvesco Inc.” on the side) in a $2.3 million project.
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The existing McDonald’s on Union in the Medical District just isn’t cutting it anymore. That seems to be opinion of the store owners there as they want to replace the building with a brand new one worth about $950,000.
City officials are preparing for the lingering effects of Hurricane Harvey, including heavy rainfall and possible flooding to reach Memphis later this week, according to a statement released Monday by the City’s Division of Public Works.
Officials say low-lying areas are the most susceptible to flooding — or temporary ponding — due to overwhelmed drainage systems.
Public Works director Robert Knecht says the City has been working to prevent this and will investigate areas that don’t drain quickly. He asks that citizens notify the City of such areas.
“We have been preparing for the storm by inspecting and clearing storm drains, inlets, and checking other essential areas,” Knecht said. “Crews are working to clean debris-filled storm drains and inlets to help minimize any potential for street flooding.”
For those who have experiences water entering their homes during past heavy rainfall, officials encourage those residents to take preventive measures to reduce the chance of flooding, by clearing gutters, downspouts, and storm drains near their homes.
Storm equipment, as well as personnel are on standby, ready to respond to any flood-related emergencies. Officials say residents can contact the Department of Drain Maintenance at 901-357-0100 for more information or assistance.
Designers will soon study the area around the Memphis Zoo parking lot to begin sketching out a plan for a new lot there that is promised to end parking on the Overton Park Greensward.
That information popped up recently on the city webpage for information about the project. The city said employees of Powers Hill Design, the firm chosen to design the new lot, will soon “conduct initial reconnaissance (survey, tree survey, geotech, etc.) of the project site.”
Powers Hill will come up with three designs and present them first to the Advisory Team, which includes officials from the mayor’s office, project funders, community representatives, and representatives of key park anchors like the zoo and Overton Park Conservancy.
That group will make recommendations on design to another team, the “design team,” and then to the city. The Advisory Team will also share information throughout the process with the public and ensure public feedback is included throughout. After the designs are presented to that team, they’ll be posted online for public review and feedback.
After that input is included in the design, Powers Hill will present a concept plan to the Advisory Group and to the public. After the public hearing, Powers Hill will then incorporate that input, “where possible,” into a final concept plan to the city.
A Memphis attorney was disbarred last week on a complaint from a woman who remained legally married for six years, though the the attorney had told her she was divorced.
The Tennessee Supreme Court disbarred Timothy Allen Price from the practice of law in the state. Price was already suspended from practicing law and had been in trouble with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (TBPR), the agency that oversees attorneys in the state, since 2010. But a recent complaint earned him the toughest sentence.
“Mr. Price prepared a fraudulent divorce decree and misrepresented to his client that she was divorced,” reads a statement from the TBPR. “She did not learn of the fraud until six years later.”
The board suspended price in 2010 after he failed to respond to a disciplinary complaint and that he “poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.” He was censured the next year, because in 2009 Price had been paid by a client to get a copy of a client’s criminal history but never did it.
He earned another suspension in 2011, after the board followed up a complaint from a client in an immigration case and found that “Price had abandoned his practice.” Price has not been reinstated to practice law here since then.
Today, Music Video Monday takes you back to the long ago days of 2009.
You might remember 2009 as the depth of the Great Recession, but the Memphis pop punker known as Frenchie! remembers it as halcyon days of slumber parties and first love. That’s because you’re old, and Frenchie! is not. Bathe your mind in the extreme short term nostalgia of “SMR GRLZ”:
Music Video Monday: Frenchie!
If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com
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