When guns are involved, no one is invincible. (Photo: Tom Def | Unsplash)
You’ve all heard by now that Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been seen, once again, on a social media live stream flaunting a gun. Back in March, Ja, looking a bit intoxicated, flashed a small handgun on an Instagram Live from a nightclub in Denver, Colorado. He was suspended for eight games following that incident and entered a counseling program in Florida, issuing a statement saying he needed “to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.” On May 13th, another video surfaced of Ja and friends having a big time in a car, with Ja swinging a gun to and fro in the passenger seat.
A few notes: The man is 23 years old. He’s from a small (small) town — he attended high school in Sumter, South Carolina, whose population was just over 43,000 in the 2020 census; for perspective, compare that to the just under 55,000 in Southaven, Mississippi, and 628,000 in Memphis. In 2019, at the age of 19, Ja signed a four-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies worth $39.6 million. Last summer, he signed a five-year extension, a deal worth a guaranteed $193 million, with a potential $231 million if selected for All-NBA. I’m not an avid basketball fan and couldn’t tell you what All-NBA means without googling it. But this isn’t about basketball, Ja’s talent, or even the specifics of these and other reported events (an alleged confrontation with Indiana Pacers players in January, another with a teen at his home in March). This is about a young man, just past the age to even drink alcohol or buy cigarettes, who, like most young men his age, probably wants to have a good time. But unlike most young men his age, he has risen to fame quickly and has millions of dollars to play with, and that could arguably lead to a bad decision here and there, perhaps even a sense of invincibility. With enough money, you can get away with a lot (or think you can). But — especially when guns are involved — no one is invincible.
My issue with all of this has less to do with Ja Morant — who hasn’t broken a law that I’m aware of — having a gun. My issue is that he’s recklessly brandishing a gun.
To bring it closer to home, I’ll share this. Sixteen years ago this summer, I lost a close friend in a similar incident. It was 4th of July, and he and some peers were joyriding, intoxicated, and he was in the passenger seat waving a gun. I have no idea why he’d do that. Other than he was always a little wild, the life of the party, doing crazy stuff like eating live bugs or walking across fires to see people’s reactions. But one bump in the road, a slip of the finger (we’ll never know exactly) caused the gun to go off, and he shot himself in the head. I can tell you that his sister, one of my very best friends, did not want to see her brother in that condition in a local ER. Nor did she expect that night that she’d be by his bedside as he took his last breath. In the blink of an eye, a good time turned tragic — and this is what I’m reminded of when I see people handling guns without regard.
Ja Morant is a role model for countless youth. Waving guns around in public spaces or while jamming tunes in a car with your buddies is not “cool.” And yes, I know the probability of a gun going off on accident is low, but it is never zero. Add alcohol or inexperience to the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster — especially for young folks who’ve never been properly trained on gun safety but sadly could likely get their hands on one with little effort. Guns are for hunting, for protection — not for showing off on a live stream to thousands of impressionable followers. Unfortunately, some will want to emulate this behavior. And they will.
According to Gun Violence Archive, as of May 21st, there have been 597 unintentional shootings in the U.S. so far this year. The most recent in Memphis happened on May 17th, in which a 5-year-old was accidentally shot and injured by a sibling.
This isn’t just about Ja. It’s about a culture in which people don’t respect the fact that a gun can end a life in a split second. Promoting reckless gun use has got to stop. So many lives depend on it.
This summer at the Memphis Botanic Garden, bodiless dresses float above the freshly-tilled garden beds, as if they, too, have emerged from the same soil where plants stretch out their roots. The effect is otherworldly, a dance frozen in time as the greenery around them shifts with the winds, the leaves unfolding toward the sun. For a moment, there is peace.
“It’s more than physically seeing it, but actually feeling whatever feelings come up,” says Kristine Mays, the San Francisco-based artist who hooked and looped the wires shaping these 29 figures featured in the “Rich Soil” exhibition. “My hope is that people will experience it.”
Inspired by the work of Alvin Ailey, who used dance to uplift Black lives in America, Mays created her dancers to be “celebrations to the ancestors, to all the people who have toiled the land, specifically the people who have gone through life invisible, all of the workers that go unrecognized. And so the concept behind it is that these ancestors have now come back and risen through the soil, and they’re rejoicing.”
The dresses, she adds, have no bodies so that “anyone could be in the dress. A lot of times people will look at specific dresses and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s Joanne,’ or ‘That’s my Aunt Sheila.’” In turn, the pieces become more about the collective human experience, rather than about the individual.
Even the material itself — the rebar wire — speaks to this sentiment. This kind of wire can be used to mend fences, to hold concrete in place while laying a foundation, or to stabilize railroad tracks. “It makes me kind of giddy to think that I’m using it in a way that’s kind of bringing people together and mending,” Mays says, “mending circumstances and inspiring people to look at just the fact that we’re all humans. … And one of the qualities that I like about [the wire] is that it is lasting. I know that it’ll last beyond my lifetime.”
As the exhibition has traveled from California to D.C. to Atlanta and now to Memphis, Mays says that the pieces adapt to the different environments, soaking up the richness of each location’s history, people, and culture. “As soon as I was asked to come to Memphis,” Mays says, “I was like, ‘Wow, this is great’ — just considering that so many historical things have happened here, that this is the birthplace of so many creative acts.”
To complement the exhibit’s run, the garden will host Rich Sounds on the last Sunday of each month, which will include performances and demonstrations from local arts and culture organizations. This Sunday, May 28th, will mark the first of this series, with Ekpe Abioto performing. Visit membg.org/rich-soil for more information on the exhibit and its accompanying programs.
“Rich Soil at the Garden,” Memphis Botanic Garden, on display through October 1.
Rich Sounds, Memphis Botanic Garden, Sunday, May 28, 2-5 p.m., free with garden admission.
Al Kapone performing “Whoop That Trick” at BSMF 2022 (Photo: Chris McCoy)
The latest Ja Morant contretemps has been batted around so much by sports pundits that it’s almost old news. The Grizzlies’ star point guard has been involved in a troubling series of incidents in the past year, including a near-fight with a teenage kid at his house, threatening a sales clerk at a mall, an incident with a laser beam being pointed at an opposing player’s vehicle, and the now-infamous Denver strip club lap dance/gun-waving scenario that got him sent to counseling and suspended for eight games by the NBA. Finally, there was the recent Instagram Live clip that showed Morant bouncing to hip-hop with a friend in a car and briefly flashing a gun. Morant issued a statement saying that he took “full accountability” for his actions.
As I write this, Morant’s fate with the NBA is in limbo, with most predicting a multi-game suspension at the beginning of next season. Is that a fair ruling, given that GOP legislators and politicians all over the country routinely run ads brandishing guns to demonstrate their love of the ammo-sexual culture? Or given that Kid Rock and other culture-war morons are now joyfully shooting cases of cross-dressing beer? Not really.
Morant did nothing illegal in that IG clip. He lives in a state where anyone can buy a gun and wear it into the nearest Arby’s — or wave it around in his car while listening to hip-hop. He lives in a state where Johnny Cash sang that he “shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.” This incident isn’t troubling to the NBA because it’s illegal. It’s troubling because what Morant did is contrary to the image the league wants to present, which does not include the gangsta rap culture of drugs, strip clubs, gang fights, and hookers.
So maybe the Memphis Grizzlies front office ought to do some soul-searching of its own on this subject. I’m referring to the team’s embrace of the gangsta rap song, “Whoop That Trick” — which it uses as its anthem when the Grizzlies are closing out a win at home. It’s an inclusive, joyous scene, as kids, adults, and senior citizens — Black, white, and brown — chant those inspirational words about whooping someone in a strip club.
You may recall that the song was written by Memphis rapper Al Kapone for director Craig Brewer’s 2005 film, Hustle & Flow, which chronicled the rise of a Memphis pimp/would-be rapper named DJay, played by Terrence Howard. There’s a scene in the film where DJay is sitting in a studio pondering his potential hit, which he’s calling “Beat That Bitch.” His associate wisely suggests that the song wouldn’t receive much radio play, so they change the name to “Whoop That Trick.” The lyrics are still about going into a strip club and beating someone. Man or woman? Google the lyrics and decide. (And check out the words to “Fresh Prince of Utah,” another hip-hop song that became an unofficial victory anthem with its line, “It’s a parade inside my city …”)
On Twitter, when I said that “Whoop That Trick” was about a pimp beating one of his girls, many were quick to assure me that the song was “actually” about DJay whooping up on a dead-beat john and was therefore an inspirational Memphis fight song about overcoming obstacles.
So, I guess when the L.A. Johns whooped the Memphis Pimps in the playoffs last month, that was hella embarrassing, right?
The Grizzlies adopted a variation of the song (“Whoop That Clip”) during a playoff series during the team’s Grit ’n Grind era. But that was a team with a notable mean streak. Nobody messed with Z-Bo or Tony Allen. The current Grizzlies roster, with the possible exception of Canadian performance-villain Dillon Brooks, looks about as dangerous as a bunch of young Rotarians. The New Zealand center raises sheep. Brandon Clarke (another Canadian) talks like a surfer. Morant acts tough, but at his size, he’s not scaring anyone.
I get that “Whoop That Trick” is performative and part of the team’s historic ethos, but it glorifies a dead-end culture that suckers in way too many of our city’s kids — including our All-Star point guard. So maybe it’s time for everyone — from the top of the organization down to its soon-to-be-disciplined star — to do some image reassessment.
Eric Adams and his grandson Allan sit for a portrait outside of their home on Hayden Place in Binghampton. Recently, new management took over the home and Adams got notice that he has to leave by October because the new management intends to flip his homes. (Photo: Andrea Morales for MLK50)
Eric Anthony knows his Hayden Place duplex needs renovations.
For years, his landlord refused to fix major issues. Multiple times, he’s had feces back up into his sink or flow into his backyard.
But Anthony is even more frustrated by his new landlord Cameron Ellis. A major renovation planned by Ellis, a local real estate investor, will soon result in Anthony’s displacement. And he has no idea where he’s going to go.
“I’m losing control of everything,” Anthony said.
Ellis bought Anthony’s duplex, along with 24 adjacent ones and a small apartment complex, in February. And in recent weeks, he’s started $2 million worth of improvements.
This work by the young, Black investor fills a need. Despite major maintenance issues, the properties have been largely neglected for decades, according to residents and building permit records. And local leaders have long decried the lack of investment in Memphis’ Black neighborhoods that eventually leaves properties falling into disrepair.
But Ellis’ investment plans don’t include renewing any leases, which has left the community reeling. Many of the residents of the Hayden Place and Waynoka Avenue duplexes predated Ellis’ purchase by at least 15 years. They knew their neighbors well, watched out for each other, and enjoyed their streets’ low crime rate. Now, they’re being dispersed.
The same people who endured years of poor maintenance have been told renovations are coming — just not for them.
After enduring unhealthy conditions for years, they’ve now been forced to fend for themselves in an inhospitable housing market. Lost in the progress of Memphis’ core city neighborhoods attracting investment they haven’t seen in decades, these people’s loss is a reminder of the pain that much-needed work can bring.
To capture this pain, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism asked three residents to share their stories, which were edited for length and clarity.
Ellis declined to be interviewed but sent the following response: “Not renewing a lease is not unethical or illegal. Tenants are not being forced out. Simply, the leases are expiring, and we are not renewing.”
Eric Adams and his grandkids Allan and Aaliyah stand for a portrait at their home on Hayden Place in Binghampton. (Photo: Andrea Morales for MLK50)
Eric Anthony, 56
I’ve been over here in Binghampton for about 35 years and in my duplex on Hayden Place for six or seven.
Recently, someone walked around with papers. They said, “We just want to let y’all know we’re not going to renew your lease.”
It was just like saying, “Master said you got to get out of here by such and such time,” or “Find you somewhere to go, cockroaches.”
They ain’t giving us no type of options or somewhere else to live. White people who have good ass jobs will be in my duplex.
I have six grandkids living with me. Finding out we’d have to move felt like I was having another heart attack. I was thinking, “Oh my God, what could happen worse now?”
Where are my grandbabies going to go to school? Our school is in walking distance, and I don’t have a car.
Recently, my blood pressure went up so high I had to go to the hospital because I was worrying so much. They had to keep me overnight.
My doctor said, “You need to stop worrying.” I said, “I can’t. I might not have a place to lay my head anymore. I’m f—.”
You just can’t imagine how it feels for someone to come tell you, “Get gone.”
Who’s to say where we’re going to go? And who’s to say where we’re going to go will be safe? Everybody here is kind of on the same page. We look out for each other. That was just too good to be true.
(Editor’s note: The only homicide on either street in the last 10 years was a justifiable homicide, according to Memphis Police Department data. And there was just one violent crime — an aggravated assault — in the two years preceding Ellis’ purchase.)
Other people have it worse than me. They told some of my neighbors who didn’t have a lease they had to go immediately. I have until my lease ends in November.
But I’m not going to be able to find nothing by then because I can’t afford nothing. I’m already struggling to pay $575 a month, and it’s hard to find something for less than $650.
I’m on disability. I have custody over my grandbabies, so I need to be with them most of the time. I get an $800 check each month. I try to hustle to make ends meet and pay my light bill. But after I had a heart attack two years ago, I don’t have the energy to do much stuff. And I don’t have a car.
If God is for me, what can be against me? I’m not going to give up on faith. I know He’ll make a way somehow.
But I’m worried I may not be able to take care of my children anymore. I’m a single grandaddy, raising all these children. They’re probably going to have to live with their mom, who didn’t take care of them.
I wish, I wish, I wish I had money so I could take care of my children.
Mary Humphrey stands for a portrait at her new home. Humphrey lived and raised a family at a home on Waynoka Avenue for 40 years until a new company bought the property with intentions to flip it along with other homes and apartments on the street. Humphrey still lives in Binghampton, the community she lived in her whole life, but has had to downsize to a much smaller space. (Photo: Andrea Morales for MLK50)
Mary Humphrey, 75
I’ve been here ever since 1983.
They gave me until October 31st. But they said they’re not going to renew my lease.
How can you just walk up, give a person a piece of paper, and tell them to get out? They’re just throwing us out for nothing.
I am just so confused and I am so angry. I am so angry. I know it’s their property. But I’ve been here 40 years.
Before this happened, I just bought new light fixtures to go all the way through my house. And that’s just money wasted. I feel like just taking them down and throwing them in the garbage; I don’t want to leave it to them.
I’m very angry.
I know we Black. But we’re still human. Treat us right.
In spite of it all, I found somewhere to go. I worked for the University of Memphis for 35 years and have retirement. I found a one-bedroom on Harvard Avenue (less than a mile away). I had to find something.
When they handed me that paper, it was like they were evicting me then. I wasn’t going to wait until October. But a lot of people don’t have nowhere to go. They can’t afford anywhere. I’m angry for them.
We just was family. If I left, I knew somebody was watching out for me. If we got sick, we’d watch out for each other. I knew most all of their children. I’m going to miss sitting on this porch and just looking at everybody.
It’s rough. It’s rough. It’s rough. Sometimes, I sit and cry. We just got to go our separate ways now.
But, it’s going to be alright. God got us. And he gonna take care of us. Because I’m a firm believer in God. And without him, I would have not made it this far.
My mother, who’s dead and gone, always said, “If you put God first, no matter what happens, he can handle it, and you’ll be able to handle it.”
If we live right, we might not be together here on Earth, but when that great day comes, we’ll all get together again.
Eric Brown stands for a portrait outside of the Binghampton Development Corporation office where he’s been working with staff to find a new home. Brown lives in a home with his mother and stepfather on Waynoka Avenue in Binghampton where he lived his whole life. Recently, new management took over the home and Brown got notice that he had to leave by this month because the new management intends to flip his homes. (Photo: Andrea Morales for MLK50)
Eric Brown, 58
The letter said to be out by April 3rd. Then they said we had until May 1st, but I’m praying to God they don’t come evict me.
I have been riding my bicycle around the neighborhood, trying to find somewhere for rent. I haven’t found anything for sure, but I think the Binghampton Development Corporation is going to have something for me in a couple of weeks.
We’ve been in this duplex 18 years, going on 19. I’ve been in Binghampton all my life. I’m 58. I grew up here. I went to Lester Elementary and East High.
My mom, who I live with, is worried. She has doctor appointments on Broad Avenue. If we move out somewhere, she can’t get to her appointments. She’s 79 years old. She walks to the community center and the store. But she’s too old to do too much walking.
I just found me a job at Lost Pizza right here on Poplar — a 10-minute walk.
We don’t want to move out of Binghampton because we know everyone in the neighborhood. If my mom needs to go to the doctor, neighbors help.
Most people on the street have been here for a while.
Binghampton is home.
Eric Brown talks to his mother in front of their home. (Photo: Andrea Morales for MLK50)
Editor’s note: Since the initial interview was conducted, Eric Brown and his mother leased a house on Allison Street from the Binghampton Development Corporation. They love the look of their new place and are excited to move in. While Brown and Humphrey have secured new premises, Anthony’s next move remains unclear. To support him directly during this time, his CashApp is $ericanthony0.
Jacob Steimer is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Email him at Jacob.Steimer@mlk50.com
This story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power, and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today.
Posted to Instagram by someone who apparently stole the Brother Juniper’s account
Memphis on the internet.
Hijacked
Someone — we’re guessing the guy above — apparently hijacked Brother Juniper’s Instagram account this month. A stream of delicious food photos was interrupted by three photos of the guy above. Then, the account went completely dark with an ominous note: “This account for sale. Contact DM.” The page has now been removed.
Tweet of the Week
Posted to Twitter by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Rodrigo da Costa is Memphis' latest acquisition. (Credit: 901 FC/USL Championship)
Aaron Molloy warned them, to be fair. His first-half left-footed pile driver had thundered off the crossbar after some nifty footwork, but the Irishman was in no mood to show such mercy again. So when Molloy collected a layoff just outside the box in the 2nd half, it was no surprise that his shot found its way into the bottom corner to give Memphis a 2-1 victory over Tulsa. The 901 FC captain is leading by example, and the rest of his teammates are following suit. And that’s a good thing, since the last couple days have seen a sizable shake-up at the top of the pitch.
Early-season foibles aside, 901 FC have been humming along nicely under coach Stephen Glass. They haven’t quite yet achieved the stoutness of Ben Pirmann’s peak last season, with goalkeeper Bill Hamid having to make several crucial stops last Friday. But everything’s moving in the right direction, as evidenced by the team’s current seven-match unbeaten streak in the USL. A big part of that is the dynamic midfield duo of Molloy and Jeremy Kelly, who are helping Memphis control possession (an average of 55 percent-per-match so far this season) and frequently pop up in goal-scoring sequences. The two bossed Tulsa’s midfield last weekend, leading all players on the field with 63 and 60 completed passes, respectively.
And most crucially, Molloy scored the winner with his first goal of the season, while it was Kelly’s deflected shot that led to 18-year-old Nighte Pickering opening the scoring for Memphis. Pickering eased into action after he signed last season before breaking out with a debut bicycle kick goal, but his importance to the team is growing. In seven appearances, he has two goals and two assists, and already looks like he belongs among the rest of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinalists.
Memphis has gone goalscorer-by-committee, with plenty of players contributing to the attack. Luiz Fernando leads the way with four goals and two assists in nine appearances (evidence of his own growing influence on the team), while three players are sitting on two goals scored. That’s just as well, since last season’s top scorer Phillip Goodrum has been ice cold in league play since he accused Memphis of blocking his exit over the summer. But that’s immaterial now, as 901 FC announced Monday that Goodrum would be headed to Tulsa, in exchange for Rodrigo da Costa and an undisclosed transfer fee.
It’s a bit grating to see another high-caliber striker depart, but it just hadn’t been clicking for Goodrum in Memphis this season. But newcomer da Costa should provide yet another high-quality option for an attack that already boasts Laurent Kissiedou, Bruno Lapa, and Dylan Borczak, among others. The Brazilian debuted in USL in 2019, and since then has notched 36 goals and 25 assists. This season, he’s got three goals and one assists in nine appearances, and in terms of chances created, his 30 is second only to … that’s right, Molloy. da Costa can function as both a midfielder and an attacker, giving Glass another option to unleash as part of a fluid attack.
Memphis doesn’t play again until Saturday, June 3rd against Miami FC. That should give da Costa plenty of time to bed in and help Memphis move up from its 6th position in the Eastern Conference Standings.
Tennessee travel spending hit a record-breaking $27.5 billion in 2022, state leaders announced recently.
The feat is according to preliminary data released by U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics. The new data put Tennessee in the top 25 states for travel spending. Tennessee also rose from 14th place in 2020 to 11th in the ranking for 2021 and 2022.
U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics
“Tennessee’s tourism, leisure, and hospitality industry is leading the nation, and we are grateful to our hardworking industry for making these historic new milestones possible,” said Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell. “Visitors come for our incredible scenic beauty, dining, and world-class attractions, and keep coming back for our unmatched hospitality. There’s nowhere better to live, work, and play than Tennessee.”
The leisure and hospitality industry employs more than 352,000 Tennesseans. Tourism is the state’s second-largest industry and contributed $1.8 billion to the state coffers last year.
Countywide data on tourism is due from the company in August. However, the firm’s latest data for the Memphis area said visitors spent $2.6 billion here in 2019.
A Memphis Tourism and Greater Memphis Chamber report released in August 2022 said tourism jobs in Memphis had returned to pre-pandemic levels and that the industry had made a “full recovery.” That report said tourists spent $3.4 billion here in 2021.
Yesterday, news and social media erupted with celebrations of the great jazz composer and collaborator, Sun Ra, who was born on May 22, 1914 — and rightly so. From the 1950s until his death in 1993, the musical innovator’s refusal to bow to the conventions and niceties of his day was prescient, even prophetic. Yet the most committed devotees of his story noted the birthday celebrations — ranging from discounted Ra LPs at Goner Records to the New York radio station WKCR broadcasting a full 24 hours of his music — with no little irony.
Ra himself had no use for birthdays, especially his own. In John F. Szwed’s Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra, the musician is quoted as saying, “I’m not human. I never called anybody ‘mother’… I’ve separated myself from everything that in general you call life.” This, he explained, impacted the very notion of a birthday in particular. “I don’t remember when I was born. I’ve never memorized it. And this is exactly what I want to teach everybody: that is is important to liberate oneself from the obligation to be born, because this experience doesn’t help us at all. It is important for the planet that its inhabitants do not believe in being born, because whoever is born has to die.”
With that in mind, it’s worth noting that Sun Ra seems to be living his best life, even as we approach the 30th anniversary of his death on May 30th. Respected by only a narrow niche of jazz aficionados half a century ago, his music has continued to grow in renown to this day, both globally and right here in Memphis. The upshot being that Sun Ra’s music is more available than ever.
Case in point: the new mega-collection of three LP’s (or two CD’s), a BluRay and a DVD of material from his 1974 film, Space is the Place, courtesy of the Sundazed label’s imprint, Modern Harmonic. Not only is the feature film made available with greater clarity than ever, the soundtrack can be enjoyed as a stand-alone experience, and an entire album of unreleased material is also included.
Of course, Sun Ra contained multitudes, helping to shape free jazz even as he cherished the old Fletcher Henderson big band arrangements that he exhorted his band to learn note-for-note. Typically, one samples the various eras of Ra’s proclivities with some record-collecting time travel, with his earliest and latest years being more “conventional,” and his middle period, from the late ’60s through the ’70s, being the most “out.” Yet with this package, due to the film’s semi-autobiographical purview, one can hear all of that and more.
For the uninitiated, Ra built up a whole mythology around himself that was in full flower when the movie was made. His penchant for Afrocentric imagery and outer space themes may seem gimmicky to some, but a closer inspection reveals it to be his way of shaking off preconceptions so as to foster a more imaginative state in viewers and listeners. And the ideas — musical, theatrical, and political — that he hoped to put across were very serious indeed.
“It’s after the end of the world — don’t you know that yet?” says a voice as the film begins, and the low-budget spaceship and alien world setting of the first scenes frame all that comes after, with science fiction’s air of epochal speculation. And right from the start, the serious political intent behind such whimsy is apparent.
As Ra wanders a strange planet, bedecked in the raiment of a pharaoh, he notes that the Black people of earth could thrive there. “Without any white people there, they could drink in the beauty of this planet.” To confront the suffering of earth, he makes it clear that he’ll defy the laws of nature itself. “Consider time has officially ended. We work on the other side of time,” he quips, before proposing to “teleport the whole planet [earth] here through music.” Then the film cuts to the title: SPACE IS THE PLACE.
The realm of the fantastic permeates the film, even as it delves into the rough living in Chicago’s poorer neighborhoods, and a meandering tale of Ra gambling with a pimp-like character known as The Overseer. Without spoiling too much of it, rest assured that the film is chock-full of surprises and unexpected turns — and music.
That’s the point of the three LP’s, of course, and they make for galvanizing listening on their own. This was at the height of Ra’s embrace of experimentalism, but upon deeper listening, sonic structures emerge, as his band, the Arkestra, slaloms from wildly percussive jams to synthesizer squelches to mambo to something approaching doo-wop. Voices chant “Calling Planet Earth!” A segment featuring Ra as “Sonny Ray,” a pianist in a strip club, starts with his renditions of classic boogie woogie, only to become more eccentric and frantic (causing patrons’ glasses to explode in the film).
All of these sounds are conveyed in glorious mono, as originally intended, yet the arrangements and recording techniques help create a spaciousness that rivals the most stereophonic mixes. And for those who truly get off on vinyl, the tri-color LPs green, gold, and silver shine like gems. True, the box set runs a hefty $125, but the experience is so immersive, the world-building so complete, that any listeners looking for something fresh (from half a century ago!) will find it well worth the price.
Tennessee’s third-grade reading proficiency rate jumped by more than 4 percentage points to 40 percent on this year’s state tests. But that means up to 60 percent of its third graders could be at risk of being held back under the state’s tough new retention law.
The results, based on preliminary scores, showed some level of improvement in all four of the state’s reading performance categories. The percentage of third graders who scored as advanced readers, the state’s top performance category, rose 3 percentage points to 13 percent, the largest figure in over a decade.
Tennessee released the statewide data Monday as families began receiving news about whether their third graders scored well enough on spring tests to move on to fourth grade.
While the state won’t release the final scores until this summer, the preliminary scores offer the first statewide glimpse at the effects of a controversial 2021 law passed in an effort to stem pandemic learning loss and boost Tennessee’s long-lagging scores for reading.
Gov. Bill Lee, who championed the 2021 law, called the gains “historic.”
“While we still have a long way to go before we reach the goals laid out in legislation,” Schwinn said, “I appreciate the ongoing efforts of Tennessee schools as they implement summer and tutoring programs to provide students not yet on grade level with the supports they need to thrive.”
Tennessee has about 75,000 third graders. The early data showed 35 percent scored as “approaching” proficiency, down 1 percentage point from last year; and 25 percent scored “below” proficiency, down by 3 percentage points last year in the state’s bottom category. Another 27 percent were deemed to have met the state’s threshold for reading, up 2 percentage points from last year.
Those who weren’t deemed proficient readers may retake the test this week to try to improve their score, or may have to attend learning camps this summer or tutoring sessions this fall to be eligible to advance to fourth grade.
But the state’s numbers do not factor in students who are automatically exempt under the law. Those include third graders with a disability or suspected disability that affects reading; students who have been previously retained; and English language learners with less than two years of instruction in English language arts.
“Exemption decisions will be dealt with at the local level, in compliance with the law,” said Brian Blackley, a state education department spokesman.
Knox County Schools was among the first school systems to report district-level results, with more than a third of its third graders at risk of retention. The district shared scores with families on Friday night and gave them until Sunday to sign up their child to retest this week. More than 1,200 Knox County third graders retook the test on Monday, said spokeswoman Carly Harrington.
About 38 percent of Nashville students face possible retention based on an analysis of performance and exemptions by Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
Chattanooga-based Hamilton County Schools reported that more than one-fifth of its third graders either did not score proficient in reading, or did not meet the state’s exemption criteria. “We are in the process of notifying families right now,” spokesman Steve Doremus said Monday.
In Rutherford County Schools, a large suburban district south of Nashville, about 30 percent of third graders may have to satisfy additional learning requirements to be eligible to advance to fourth grade.
School officials in Memphis did not immediately answer Chalkbeat’s questions about third-grade performance.
“We’re working to support the families of our third-grade students over the next few days as they prepare for retests, appeals, our MSCS Summer Learning Academy, and end-of-year celebrations,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a statement.
In releasing statewide data on Monday, the department reversed course from its stance last week.
Historically, the state has not publicly released data from preliminary student-level scores, which are protected by federal confidentiality laws. Blackley said Friday that would continue to be the case. On Monday, however, he said the public release of some statewide results was an attempt to increase transparency because of the high stakes for third graders.
“We understand there’s a lot of interest,” he said, “so we wanted to give a comprehensive view of third-grade data for English language arts as soon as possible.”
This year’s third graders were the youngest students affected by school disruptions during the pandemic. Their kindergarten year was shortened by three months when Gov. Bill Lee urged public school officials to close their buildings in March 2020 to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The resulting state-funded learning interventions have proven popular, but the retention policy has received widespread criticism.
It’s “worth remembering this broken 3rd grade retention policy was rushed into law during a 4-day special session without any input from educators or families,” state Sen. Jeff Yarbro tweeted over the weekend.
The Nashville Democrat questioned the adequacy of the state’s financial investment in education, its interpretation of scores from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, and the law’s focus on third graders.
“Maybe, just maybe, our efforts should focus on instruction & interventions in K-2 (if not earlier),” Yarbro wrote.
In Memphis, Sen. Raumesh Akbari said the possibility of holding back thousands of third graders based on a single test score was “manufactured chaos.”
“There are so many student interventions we could be supporting to improve reading comprehension. High-stakes testing, with the threat of failing third grade, is not one of them,” said Akbari, who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Many school officials also question whether TCAP is the best measure of a child’s ability to read.
“The promotion requirements around one TCAP data point don’t portray simple ‘reading ability,’” Rutherford County Schools Superintendent James Sullivan said in a statement.
“Instead,” he said, “the TCAP third grade English Language Arts assessment is a measure of a student’s performance on all Tennessee Academic ELA Standards including the ability to interact, decipher, comprehend, and analyze comprehensive text.”
Adrienne Battle, director of schools in Nashville, said her district did not agree with the law’s retention policy, but is working with its families to navigate the law’s impacts.
“It is important for children, parents, and the community to understand that if a student didn’t score proficient on this one test, it does not mean they failed, that they cannot read, or that they are not making learning progress,” Battle said. “Tennessee has some of the highest standards in the nation for student expectations.”
Local pushback caused legislators to revisit the law during their most recent legislative session. Among other things, lawmakers widened criteria for determining which third graders are at risk of being held back, but the changes won’t take effect until next school year.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
Laura Testino contributed to this report from Memphis. Contact her at ltestino@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Litter on Tennessee roadways decreased since 2016 and while Memphis appears to be most littered city here, West Tennessee was the least.
All of this is according to a new litter report from Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and Keep Tennessee Beautiful (KTNB). That report, called the 2022 Tennessee Statewide Litter Study, found that litter along interstates, U.S. highways, state highways, and local roads decreased by about 12 percent over the last six years.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
However, the figure is still staggering. The report said that 88.5 million pieces of litter (larger than four inches) exist on Tennessee roadsides at any give time, down from 100 million in 2016. And these are only pieces of littler that are four inches or longer, visible to passersby. The report found about 679.7 million pieces of litter that were four inches or smaller and may not be visible on roads.
For the study, a team identified 120 locations across the state, split evenly between each Grand Division, road types, and rural and urban areas. Two-person teams armed with computer tablets visited the sites and counted the litter there.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
In Memphis, teams visited spots along I-40, I-55, Elvis Presley Blvd., New Tchulahoma Road, Thomas, Lamar, 385, and Riverdale. The study does not specifically call out Memphis as the most littered. However, a heat map of litter in it certainly seems to prove the fact.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
While not discussed in detail, another chart in the study shows that West Tennessee had the least amounts of litter along its roads.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
Plastic products remained the most-littered items along Tennessee’s roads. The report found nearly 285 million plastic items, comprising more than 37 percent of the state’s total litter in 2022. That’s up slightly from more than 35.6 percent in 2020. The biggest offenders were plastic bottles: water bottles, juice/tea/sports drinks bottles, and soda bottles in that order.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
”Plastic product types, recycling processes, and secondary market changes have significantly impacted how plastic materials are handled, both in Tennessee and nationally, since 2016,” reads the report, albeit vaguely. “This may contribute to plastics composing more than one third of the total materials on Tennessee roadways.”
Paper products followed plastic. Researchers found more than 165 million pieces of paper litter in the study. Paper comprised 21.5 percent of all littler found in the study, up from 18 percent found in 2020. The biggest offender in the group was the generic “other paper” category, which was 16 percent of the paper litter. While it’s not known what products are there, what’s not there are fast food items, napkins, paper bags, junk mail, newspapers, receipts, and other products that had their own categories. One uptick, though, was in cardboard products for what the study called “the Amazon Effect.”
Cigarette-butt litter was cut nearly in half between 2020 and 2022, according to the report. While butts were nearly a quarter of all littler in 2020 (24 percent), they comprised only about 13 percent of litters last year.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation
This may be explained, in part, to the changes in tobacco usage over time (e.g.,increase usage of vape pens) and less need to dispose of cigarette butts on the larger roadways,” reads the report.
Butt litter saw massive decreases along interstates and U.S. highways but remained steady on state highways and local roads. Also, researchers still found plenty of cigarette and cigar butts out there, nearly 98 million of them.
