Month: June 2020

Categories
News News Blog

Memphis Flyer and Memphis Magazine Writers Win Six Green Eyeshade Awards

The staff of the Memphis Flyer and Memphis magazine were honored with six journalism awards for print-media work published in 2019.

Since 1950, the Green Eyeshade Awards — so named because of the green visor worn by old-time newspaper editors — have recognized the best journalism in an 11-state region of the Southeast.

The competition, which reviews print, television, radio, and digital media, is hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists.

“Through this remarkably challenging time, I’ve been so proud of the work our small, scrappy team has shared with the community,” says Anna Traverse Fogle, CEO of Contemporary Media, Inc. and editor-in-chief of Memphis magazine.

“Our strength at Contemporary Media is our range — both in our titles (we are the Flyer and Memphis magazine) and in our content areas (we cover the arts as deftly as we do politics) — and the Green Eyeshade recognitions are testaments to that range. Congratulations to my colleagues who were recognized. And thanks to my colleagues who deserve awards where no categories exist: those who sell the advertisements that help put these stories in print, those who work to circulate and distribute the Flyer and magazine to newsstands and mailboxes, those who keep the business side of our business running.”

This year’s winners are:

POLITICS REPORTING – NON-DAILIES
First Place: Jackson Baker, Memphis Flyer, for political reporting done throughout 2019.

CRITICISM – NON-DAILIES
First Place: Jesse Davis, Memphis Flyer, for four examples of literary criticism: “Myth and Memory,” “Cosmic Carnage,” “Stranger Things,” and “Harper Lee and Casey Ceps’ Furious Hours.”

GENERAL NEWS REPORTING – NON-DAILIES
Second Place: Maya Smith, Memphis Flyer, “Abortion Battle Lines,” “Taking the Heat,” and “Criminal Injustice.”

SERIOUS COMMENTARY – NON-DAILIES
Third Place: Bruce VanWyngarden, Memphis Flyer, for examples of his “Letter from the Editor” column.

SERIOUS COMMENTARY – MAGAZINES
Third Place: Anna Traverse Fogle, Memphis magazine, for examples of her “In the Beginning” editor’s column.

HUMOROUS COMMENTARY – MAGAZINES
Third Place: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, for examples of his “Ask Vance” history column.

For more information about the Green Eyeshades, visit greeneyeshade.org.

Categories
Book Features Books

Best Non-Fiction of 2010s

We’re normally treated to best-of lists during the holidays, or when most people are otherwise distracted from reading and deterred from contemplation. But quarantining and social-distancing provide the perfect setting to catch up on those must-reads. Here, then, is one journalism professor’s list of the best non-fiction books of the last 10 years. Many carry a strong social-justice message. All are powerful, page-turning narratives.

1. (2010) Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder
Based on sources in nearly a dozen different languages, this jolting account of the murderous policies that decimated eastern Europe will broaden the way you think about World War II.

2. (2010) Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky
A definitive rebuttal to the Internet-is-bad crowd, Shirky makes a persuasive defense of the many virtues of social media.

3. (2010) The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddartha Mukherjee
Humanity’s long struggle to identify, treat, and vanquish cancer is told in this riveting medical history that is, at turns, scientific and philosophical alike. [Pulitzer Prize winner]

4. (2010) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A snapshot in the history of cancer turns out to be a singular part of the scientific quest to understand and defeat it. But Skloot’s most powerful contribution is introducing readers to the unforgettable Lacks family.

5. (2010) The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Alexander wasn’t the first person to explain the systematic exploitation of Black people in the post-civil rights era, but her influential book more than any other put the prison-industrial complex on trial and probably contributed the intellectual underpinnings of the Black Lives Matter movement.

6. (2011) The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
A book so beautiful, so lyrical even, that you will feel as though you’ve come to terms with something significant about American history, shared in the experience, and learned from it.

7. (2012) Brothers: On His Brothers and Brothers in History by George Howe Colt
Equal parts memoir and history, this book tells fascinating stories about such families as the Booths, Kelloggs, van Goghs, and Marxes, often in ways that richly illuminate the more famous siblings.

8. (2012) Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats by Kristen Iversen
Maybe the best memoir in the last decade, Iversen’s arresting look at life in the shadow of a toxic waste site exposes the environmental predation rampant in our society.

9. (2012) The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Stiglitz catalogs the many policy choices in America that keep rich people rich and poor people poor.

10. (2013) Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
Piketty’s sweeping study of inequality shows that capitalism’s defects are both structural and political and thus inherently undemocratic unless checked.

11. (2013) Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser
The terrifying suspense in this book hearkens the film Chernobyl as it details how catastrophically a number of secret mishaps could have gone, including the accidental explosion in 1980 of a nuclear missile in central Arkansas. [Pulitzer Prize finalist]

12. (2014) In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
The harrowing story of the USS Jeannette’s ill-fated 1879 voyage to explore the Arctic Ocean and reach the North Pole.

13. (2014) Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
One of the smartest critics of the last quarter-century, the late Christopher Hitchens suffered no fools, even when he was diagnosed with cancer. His reflections on life and politics are characteristically fearless.

14. (2014) The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
The planet changes every day, most of it marked by loss of life, and Kolbert chronicles it compellingly, whether she’s traipsing through bat caves in New England or exploring Panama for golden frogs. [Pulitzer Prize winner]

15. (2015) American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidemic by John Temple
America’s opioid addiction isn’t an accident. It’s a seedy crime story borne of greed and lax government oversight.

16. (2015) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Heartbreaking journey through the looking-glass of race relations in America, as told in a letter to his son. [Pulitzer Prize finalist]

17. (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
A brisk and lively account of where we came from and how we got here.

18. (2016) Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
Mayer’s investigation pulled up the rock to show the dirty money sloshing underneath.

19. (2016) Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Desmond’s stunning account of how fragile the American cycle of housing and homelessness is stems from his immersive journalism and a thoroughgoing but compassionate sociology. [Pulitzer Prize winner]

20. (2017) Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
This shocking detective story about the Osage in Oklahoma will haunt you, as few murder mysteries can, because of how it intersects with that unique horror of Americana — namely, its racism.

21. (2018) Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight
Blight manages to humanize this icon, with all his fears and flaws, while still conveying his charisma, intellect, idealism, and sheer bravery. [Pulitzer Prize winner]

22. (2018) Like War: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking
A scary explanation of our online world, told with enough examples to give you pause every time you read an article or see a picture.

23. (2018) The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age by David E. Sanger
The cyber wars more commonly associated with science-fiction are demonstrated with chilling clarity in this frightening examination of our many digital vulnerabilities.

24. (2019) Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
This deeply reported history of The Troubles reveals all the irony, tragedy, and craziness that beset Northern Ireland, starting in the late 1960s. And it speaks volumes about the power of memory in every era.

25. (2019) She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Journalism procedurals aren’t as common as their police counterpart, but when they’re done well they’re just as exciting and, in this case, hugely consequential. All the President’s Men for the 21st century.

Joe Hayden is a professor of journalism at the University of Memphis.
Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Tattoos, Piercings, and Eats

Ian Brown and his wife, Tay, at The Rook x Raven Tattoo Creative



Tattoos and chicken wraps are among the “menu” items at The Rook x Raven Tattoo Creative. Customers who want to get inked or pierced can grab a bite to eat or drink at The Rook x Raven Coffee x Kitchen.

“That’s something I came up with,” says the tattoo shop’s owner Ian Brown. “Because in all the years I’ve been tattooing, tattoo artists probably eat just very, very bad. I wanted to provide us with something to keep the blood flowing, the mind sharp — low-calorie super foods that keep us going.”

They offer coffee, including cappuccino and lattes. “We also drink a lot of coffee. I figured I’d add all that together. We also have smoothies.”

Brown, who added the kitchen two years ago, says they make wraps, salads, and bowls in chicken, fish, or veggies. The menu “varies from time to time,” he says.

He wants to serve healthy food, Brown says. “We’ve gotten so used to eating things that aren’t real. We don’t know what real food tastes like anymore. I was just trying to get us back in the swing of foods that have nutrients in them, that are fresh. I don’t compromise on the quality.”

And, he says, “We don’t do anything frozen.”

Except the smoothies, of course.

Brown practices what he preaches. “I grew up with a grandmother who was real big on fresh vegetables and making sure there was plenty of fruit in the house. She was health conscious and conscious about what we consumed. I learned a lot from her.”

He converted part of the tattoo shop into a kitchen, he says. “I actually gutted what used to be a station and turned it into the kitchen.”

Customers can’t eat chicken bowls or other Rook x Raven cuisine while they’re getting inked. “You’re not going to eat while you’re getting tattoos. But it’s not uncommon for someone to come in for an appointment and grab something to eat, grab coffee, and then get a tattoo. You can have drinks back there. And we give you time to eat. 

“I’m weird about somebody sitting there eating while I’m tattooing. I’d just rather not have a whole lot of movement and stuff going on. An occasional sip of a drink is okay, but I try to keep everybody focused on what’s going on. We can take a break and they can just eat and we can get back to work.”

Born in Michigan, Brown grew up in Memphis. Tattooing was all he wanted to do when he was at Germantown High School. “I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember being able to pick up something and draw with it. I was always the go-to person to get somebody to draw something.”

He didn’t start drawing professionally until he graduated. “I’d gotten an apprenticeship,” Brown says. “I was at community college and got the opportunity to apprentice. Pretty much that day I gave up community college and pursued that. I remember my mom giving me a hard time about that decision. I think I made the best choice. I’m happy.”

His first shop was a partnership in Touch of Ink in East Memphis. He then became sole owner of The Skull & Rose, which was on South Second next to Paula & Raiford’s Disco. “We used to throw big art shows and smaller concerts.”

He opened Rook x Raven in 2016 while he still owned The Skull x Rose. He eventually gave up the Downtown shop and concentrated on his Cordova shop. 

Brown named it “Rook x Raven” because a rook is the opposite of a raven, he says. It just has a white beak. “So, I was thinking in my mind like a yin and yang kind of a thing.”

Among his tattoo designs are detailed drawings of Mohammad Ali and Elvis. “I’ve done so many Mohammad Ali’s. When we were Downtown we did so much Elvis, man, it was ridiculous.”

Brown used to alternate between cooking and tattooing, but now his wife, Tay, is “pretty much taking care of it.”

Tay learned to cook from her grandmother. “I was always in there with her, helping her,” she says.

Asked what are their most popular menu items, Tay says, “I would say the chicken bowl and the salmon wrap.”

The chicken bowl is “baked chicken, wild rice, sautéed bell peppers, onions, and black beans. And I put a little avocado in it.”

The salmon wrap is “spinach mixed with basil. And it has bell peppers and salmon, of course. And I make some spicy mayo. So, it’s a mixture of mayo, sriracha, and a little oil.”

The Rook & Raven Tattoo Creative is at 2821 North Houston Levee Road, Suite 106, in Cordova: (901) 570-3161

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Tell Me A Memory: Jon Bryant Crawford’s Video Portraits of Memphis

Memphis has always been a refuge for misfits and outcasts, which is why a queer community quietly thrived here in the underground for decades. Nowadays, things are far from perfect for LGBTQ+ folks, but they can live openly and tell their stories like never before.

Filmmaker Jon Bryant Crawford used his residency at Crosstown Arts to collect stories from queer Memphians young and old. Tell Me A Memory collects the stories, told simply and honestly, without embellishment by the filmmaker. Crawford’s relentless focus brings out the inner beauty of honesty in his subjects.

Tell Me A Memory: Jon Bryant Crawford’s Video Portraits of Memphis

Here’s Memphis historian Vincent Astor telling Crawford one of my favorite Bluff City stories: The legend of the first legal (well, semi-legal) drag show in Memphis.

Tell Me A Memory: Jon Bryant Crawford’s Video Portraits of Memphis (2)

Crawford’s work is featured this week on the Indie Memphis Movie Club. Tonight, (Tuesday, June 30th) Crawford will speak about his work with guest moderator Tony Horne on Indie Memphis’ weekly Q&A event. You can watch at 8 p.m. CDT via Eventive, YouTube, or Zoom, but you’ll need to RSVP for the Zoom conversation here. 

Categories
News News Blog

Bars, Prisons, Nursing Homes Could See More Virus Restrictions

CREDIT: City of Memphis/Facebook

City of Memphis/Facebook

A masked Dr. Bruce Randolph, Shelby County Health Department officer, delivering remarks during Tuesday’s briefing of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force.

Bars, prisons, and nursing homes may see added restrictions in the next few days to stem the swell of positive virus cases in Shelby County.

Now, nearly 10.3 percent of tests for COVID-19 are coming back positive. That translates to new daily cases of around 200-300 people.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said Tuesday he hopes to avoid a return to Phase I of the Back to Business plan, which limited capacity at businesses around the county. However, additional measures may be added soon to help stop the virus’ spread.

When pushed to describe the measures, Harris said there were “several things under consideration” but new restrictions may be ahead for bars and places “where you see a lot of social activity.” Harris did not detail any new restrictions that may come.

He also said prisoners “need protection,” after rolling out a slate of new protections for them at correctional facilities under the county umbrella. Finally, nursing homes may get new restrictions, as they are the source of 40 percent of the county’s deaths, he said.

Harris said his administration is also now checking with state officials on whether the county has the authority to mandate the wearing of masks. Talks on the topic are new, he said, but “right now we do not believe the county has the that authority and [the county] only has it if the state tells us that.”

Dr. Bruce Randolph, Shelby County Public Health Officer, said that local hospitals have now reported less than 20 percent patient capacity — moving the needle from the green zone to yellow zone on capacity.

“We’re in the yellow zone but not deeply in the yellow,” he said. “We’re concerned but not panicking and we’re maintaining a watchful eye [on hospital capacity].”

Randolph opened and closed the day’s briefing of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force with a note about the upcoming Independence Day holiday. He urged citizens to follow safety procedures like wearing a face mask or covering, washing your hands, and maintaining social distance.
[pullquote-1] “We’ve experienced increases with other holidays like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day,” Randolph said. “We are anticipating increases associated with the Fourth of July. But we’re hoping you prove us wrong and that we will stay safe and the things that will avoid infection.”

Categories
News News Blog

Germantown on Viral Video: ‘Our Community Is For Everyone’

Germantown on Viral Video: ‘Our Community Is For Everyone’ (3)

Germantown officials issued an official statement on a viral video that sparked protests in the Memphis suburb Monday.

Protestors showed up at the home and workplace of resident Lloyd Crawford, a man caught in the video telling a man holding a Black Lives Matter poster he was not welcome in the city.

Germantown on Viral Video: ‘Our Community Is For Everyone’ (4)

Germantown’s statement began with a nod to the Constitution’s First Amendment, noting its rights “are protected and respected by the City of Germantown.”


“We also want to be clear — our community is for everyone. You are welcome. You are safe.

The city of Germantown takes pride in the diversity of our community. The way we conduct ourselves professionally and personally means we carry out our duties ethically and with compassion toward the community that we serve.

Germantown on Viral Video: ‘Our Community Is For Everyone’

“We treat all people equitably regardless of background, race, religion, political views, or orientation. We expect human decency. Our workforce is built upon a foundation of positive relationships and mutual trust. There is no room for racism and no room for personal violence in our community.”

Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo said, “The voice of one individual does not represent the voices of the more than 40,000 people who call Germantown their home Our community values a culture of excellence and kindness, and this incident does not reflect who we are as a community.”

Categories
News News Blog

Viruses Cases Jump by 594 After Reporting Lag

COVID-19 Memphis
Infogram

Viruses Cases Jump by 594 After Reporting Lag

Test results reported Tuesday morning showed 594 new cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County.

The high figure comes after a glut of test results shut down the state’s reporting system for two days. Since the last report, 4,997 virus tests have been administered in Shelby County.

The county’s overall average positive rate for COVID-19 rose slightly again to 7.8 percent on all test results. The total number of COVID-19 cases here stands at 9,904. The death toll rose by four since the last report and is now 185 in Shelby County.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Gov. Lee Extends Emergency Order on Coronavirus

Evidently spurred on by rising numbers of coronavirus cases in Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee has extended his state-of-emergency order (or “Executive Order Number 50,” as the Governor’s office refers to it) until August 29th.

Among the principal provisions of the order are to:

*Urge Tennesseans to continue limiting activity and staying home where possible, as well as following health guidelines and maintaining social distancing;

*Urge persons to wear a cloth face covering in places where in close proximity to others;

*Urge employers to allow or require remote work/telework if possible;

*Provide that persons with COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms are required to stay at home, and that employers may not require or allow employees with COVID-19 to work;

*Limit social and recreational gatherings of 50 or more persons, unless adequate social distancing can be maintained. (This provision does not apply to places of worship or to different directives on the subject issued by the six Tennessee counties, including Shelby, that maintain county health departments.);

*Provide that bars may only serve customers seated at appropriately spaced tables.

The governor also signed Executive Order Nos. 51 and 52, which extend provisions that allow for electronic government meetings subject to transparency safeguards and remote notarization and witnessing of documents, respectively, to August 29, 2020.

Categories
News News Blog

Nonprofits Call Out Officials’ Non-Response to Demands on Equality, Justice

A Black-led coalition of nonprofit leaders called out elected officials Monday morning for failing to take “tangible” action to address systemic inequalities and racial injustice.

At a press conference in front of Memphis City Hall, the heads of local nonprofits reiterated the demands in an open letter that the coalition sent to elected officials earlier this month.

The letter urged officials to take steps to address police brutality, over-policing, poverty wages, education, and systemic racism.

[pdf-1]

“While a few have responded with language of good intentions, no one has hit the mark,” said Sarah Lockridge-Steckel, CEO of The Collective Blueprint. “Many haven’t responded to the demands at all.”

Lockridge-Steckel said the coalition is still awaiting a detailed response from the Memphis City Council, the Shelby County Commission, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Memphis Police Department (MPD) Director Michael Rallings, Sheriff Floyd Bonner, and District Attorney Amy Weirich.

Lockridge-Steckel said the group’s demands fall into three key areas. The first relates to over-policing, police brutality, and police accountability.

“Policies are a small piece of this work, especially when we have Memphis police officers on camera violating their own policies,” Lockridge-Steckel said of officials’ recent commitment to following “8 Can’t Wait” policies.

Lockridge-Steckel also said that the promised investment in the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) “likely amounts to less than $100,000,” noting that Nashville invests $1.5 million a year into its civilian review board.

“We appreciate the city adding CLERB subpoena powers to its legislative agenda for next year, but in the meantime we demand that Mayor Strickland and MPD director Michael Rallings provide access to the records requested by CLERB so that CLERB can serve its purpose,” Lockridge-Steckel said. “The public must have transparency.”

The group is also urging the city council and MPD to develop a process to share data on violations within the police department and the actions taken as a response.

“Most immediately, we demand the officers that use excessive force at recent protests are held accountable,” Lockridge-Steckel said. “Lastly, a great concern was the non-committal response by Director Rallings about dropping the charges of protesters. We renew our call that all charges be dropped against people who are exercising their First Amendment right to a peaceful protest.”

The second area of demands relate to economic justice and creating a city “where everyone can thrive,” Lockridge-Steckel said. “We can’t say we care about poverty, that 50 percent of our children live in poverty in our city today, and not be willing to address the wages and jobs our people have.”

The coalition is asking that the Greater Memphis Chamber track data on how much corporations are paying and “how they are treating their employees.”

Additionally, the group is urging the Chamber, along with the city and county, to issue a living wage pledge, asking corporations to pay living wages and ensure temporary employees have benefits and health insurance.

Finally, the group demands a reprioritization of the city’s and county’s budget: “We ask the city and county to renew its investments in education, from tech education to arts education.”

Additionally, the group is calling for an end to “predatory practices,” such as “exuberant court costs.”

“All we have heard is silence,” Lockridge-Steckel said. “We demand that we move toward participatory budgeting processes.”

Lockridge-Steckel notes that the city’s police budget “continues to grow.” MPD recently received a $9.8 million grant from the Department of Justice that Lockridge-Steckel said should go toward crisis intervention and community health solutions.

“We need solutions that speak to the needs of our communities,” she said.

Natalie McKinney, executive director of Whole Child Strategies, said it is the responsibility “as nonprofit leaders, to hold our city and county officials accountable for protecting and serving its people.”

“We must make them commit to acting in favor of equity, in favor of justice, and in favor of transparency to everyone they hope to represent,” she said “We want them to act responsibly, to rely on accurate and transparent data and proven practices, but to also move swiftly and deliberately toward a new agenda for Memphis.”

McKinney said the group will continue to apply pressure to elected officials to “drive this work forward.” The coalition will do that by creating task forces to address economic equity, criminal justice reform, and budget accountability.

“This is just the beginning,” McKinney said. “We ask for allies to stand with us in this movement. And as allies, we are asking you to recruit and to lift up an authentic voice of your Black and brown community members. Too often lawmakers and policymakers drive forward with ideas targeting these communities without ever hearing any real input from the people that would have the lived experience.”

Finally, McKinney asked that the public reach out to elected officials and urge a response to the coalition’s demands.

“We cannot let more lives be lost to violence, to poverty, and to systemic racism,” McKinney said. “It is our hope that in four years rather than lamenting the same challenges, we are celebrating the results of these changes.”

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Tony Manard

Music Video Monday is keeping hope alive.

Like most people, Memphis songsmith Tony Manard and his friend Rice Drewry spent the spring in coronavirus lockdown. They co-wrote “Together Alone” about the experience, and recorded it remotely. “The song is about reaching out to your people, even in isolation. This idea is to use your phone for something other than a portable anxiety factory,” says Manard.

Vincent Manard, Tony’s son and keyboard player, directed the music video with graphic help from Asayah Young. The shoot took a single afternoon. “We had to get creative to keep everybody safe,” says Manard.

The song and video invites you to hang out on Manard’s front porch, which becomes a beacon of hope in troubled times.

Music Video Monday: Tony Manard

If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.