Take care of your mind, body, soul, and the planet. (Photo: Hope Film Photo | Unsplash)
This Saturday, the nonprofit Focus on Memphis will host its first Living Green Festival, where attendees can spend the day taking care of their mind, body, and soul, and the planet, too.
“The goal is to promote a green, healthy living style,” says Stephanie Hill, Focus on Memphis’ president. “That’s a big part of our organization. One of the things that we like to promote is mental wellness as well as physical wellness.”
Founded in 2017, Focus on Memphis serves low-income and impoverished neighborhoods in Memphis, providing services such as food pantries, clothing and school supply giveaways, reading programs, job skill training, and much more. In 2021, the group acquired its 501(c)(3). “We’re focused on helping the city, and the city needs some help right now,” says Hill. “We like to step in and help where we can. We’ve been working behind the scenes doing things in the city, but now we want to kind of step out and do some larger things.”
One such goal is establishing a transitional housing facility for youth aging out of foster care. “That’s what we’re working towards,” Hill says, “so we’re just really trying to get recognition, get people knowing more about our organization and who we are. We just thought that this [festival] would be a good way for us to come out and really introduce our organization more so to the city.”
For the day, festival-goers can expect vendors, food trucks, a farmers market, live performances by Hattiloo Theatre, yoga classes, giveaways, and educational sessions about nutrition, wellness, gardening, and green living. The health department will also offer blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, and Covid shots, and the Community Services Agency will present about the programs they offer, like utility assistance and rent and mortgage assistance.
There will also be tons for kids to enjoy (all for free), including an activity center presented by the Memphis Zoo, a kids spa tent presented by Laura’s Kids Spa Parties, inflatables, and more.
A full schedule of events can be found at tinyurl.com/yc3p67sh. To learn more about Focus on Memphis, to donate, or to sign up to volunteer with the group, visit focusonmemphis.org.
Seasonal and regional is in the spotlight at Limelight, thanks to the restaurant’s executive chef DJ Pitts.
“We’re just doing something that is seasonal, regional, prepared well, seasoned well,” says Pitts, 52.
With his background in French, Italian, and Mediterranean cooking, Pitts is also “pulling in different techniques, influences.”
“We have a corn soup on the menu right now. Very simply made. It’s corn purée. We serve that with fermented corn and a little bit of garlic oil. A very simple and straightforward example of what we do with a seasonal ingredient at the height of its freshness.”
Also on his summer menu is a steamed littleneck clams dish. “This dates back to where I come from on the East Coast.
“We’re doing a steamed clams with a mojo verde [sauce]. It’s very bright, punchy. The basis of it is cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. And it’s got vinegar in there that kind of gives it that punch. I think that, for me, is a personal kind of seasonal item from growing up in Connecticut and having clams in the summertime.”
His grandmother, who was from Russia, was a cooking influence when Pitts was growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut. “She was always cooking three meals a day.”
Watching her cook was “something that held some fascination for me at that point in my life.”
His first “hands-on thing” was making pierogi when he was 10.
“Not only did we have a garden, but my grandmother would go foraging for mushrooms. And, being on the coast, I had the opportunity to go clamming. All these experiences led me to have an interest in a culinary career.”
Pitts often cooked for himself and his brother while his mother, who was a nurse, was at work.
He continued to cook after he moved to Memphis — where his father is from — to major in psychology at University of Memphis. Pitts cooked at functions for his fraternity, Delta Chi. Fried chicken was his specialty — thanks to his other grandmother, who was from Memphis. She cooked “more Southern staples: fried chicken, greens, spaghetti.”
Pitts changed his career path after his brother died. “I wanted to find something that not only could I make a career out of, but also felt passionately about.”
He enrolled at New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education. “When I got there I started to excel at it pretty quickly. And that pretty much reinforced that I made the right decision.”
Pitts went on to work in New York for 10 years. Chef Michael Romano at Union Square Cafe was one of his biggest influences.
In 2005, Pitts opened his own restaurant, 626 Douglas, in Wichita, Kansas, where he served “new American regional farm-to-table” cuisine.
He worked for nine years in Nashville before returning to Memphis, and worked at Catherine & Mary’s and Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen.
In January, Pitts became executive chef at the locally-owned Limelight, where he created the spring and summer menus. “They have a seasonal tree in the middle of the dining room. And when that tree changes, that menu changes. Right now, I think the theme of it is an olive tree.”
Pitts loves cooking seasonally, especially in the summertime. “I think this menu is very reflective of that. We have this crostini with spicy eggplant with fresh minced green onion over the top and some saba. Our market salad changes. Right now, it’s heirloom tomato with burrata cheese, compressed celery, and some nice bottarga for a little savory note.
“I try to bring in more things and feature different things. We do have a small footprint, so our menu has to be tighter and more well thought out.”
Pitts takes advantage of the little herb garden in front of Limelight. When they conceptualized the Germantown restaurant, the owners wanted Limelight to have “that farmhouse feel. It’s easy to take that vibe and make it reflective of the menu.”
A.R. The Mermaid (Photo: Tamara May); Jus Bentley (Photo: Jacorri Washington); Glockianna (Photo: Duke Nitty)
While our favorite “Hot Girl Coach” Megan Thee Stallion coined “Hot Girl Summer” in 2019, a new term made its way into the mainstream last summer — and at the hands of Memphis’ own rap princess GloRilla. In 2022, it was almost impossible to open our TikTok FYPs and not find a video with her song “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” It became an anthem for end-of-summer photo dumps and Instagram stories, and a new light shined on our city’s rap scene.
Whether it was the infectious Memphis energy in the music videos for “F.N.F.” or “Tomorrow 2” or the rawness and realness of her cadence, GloRilla was met with explosive success. Not only did that put her in the spotlight, but it put new emphasis on Memphis-bred women in rap.
“Memphis female artists are so gangsta,” says Zachary Hurth, a content creator, director, and media consultant, who may be best known for his Back Of The Class (BOTC). The IG channel (@backoftheclasss_) boasts more than 50,000 followers and features “desk freestyles” with up-and-coming Memphis stars, including K Carbon, Gloss Up, and Slimeroni.
“If you remember being in school and you turned around, that’s what Back Of The Class is,” says Hurth. “It’s rapping in the back of the class like we really used to do. It’s like a stage for artists to come and show their creativity, show who really can rap.”
Whether rappers from Memphis “really can rap” has never been a question — the city has birthed a number of rap legends, with Young Dolph, Moneybagg Yo, and Gangsta Boo among them. But a rap renaissance is upon us, and many local women are at the forefront.
Hurth has taken his BOTC project outside of the city — to Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta — and says the Memphis vibe is incomparable. “It’s female artists blowing up everywhere,” Hurth says. “But it’s something about the way a Memphis woman pops; nobody in America — across the world — can do it like them.
“When they come in, they give it their all. They’re not acting,” says Hurth. “And they got this good morale because they’re seeing themselves blow up.”
The Flyer spoke to three of Memphis’ emerging female rap artists (two of whom have been featured on BOTC) who are in the midst of such a “blow up” — women who are contributing to the evolution of the genre.
A.R. The Mermaid (Photo: Tamara May)
A.R. The Mermaid
The titular character of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale has been prone to revamping since her inception. But one artist has decided to do it with an East Memphis flair and an alternative vibe. Her name is Ariel Wright (“Big A.R., not the little one,” she says) — and there’s a new mermaid in town.
A.R. The Mermaid has always known she was “that bitch,” she says, and she’s never needed the validation of others to confirm that.
While mermaids are her mythical creature of choice, her style and brand are a juxtaposition of several identities that pay homage to a few of her favorite female artists. “I got Erykah Badu, which is [representative of] being different. Tina Turner with the rock-star vibes. Rico Nasty with the alternative look and the emo vibes,” she says.
As she draws inspiration from greats before her, she’s also forging her own distinct image and sound. Fashion-wise, you’ll find her scouring the racks of Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and Dolls Kill while rocking her signature black lip. Musically, she describes her style as a mix of alternative, emo, trap music, and R&B, marked by her notable raspy voice and free spirit. “No-fucks-given type of shit,” she says.
Music has always been a way for A.R. to express herself, and she’s well versed in several genres aside from rap. She dates some of her formative experiences to singing in her church, and she was in a singing group during her teenage years.
“I stopped singing when I was 17, 18. Started rapping probably when I was like 20,” she says.
“Honestly, I fell out of love with singing for a second. It just got too crucial. I had to take a break mentally and get my mind right.
“And my way of expressing myself with what was going on at the moment was to rap. Singing wasn’t in me, so I was like, ‘Hey, maybe I should start rapping.’” The 25-year-old says once she started taking that music “to the streets,” it was kismet, and “[the people] started fucking with it.”
When A.R. spoke with the Flyer, she was still riding the high following the release of her single “Sneaky Link.” The music video — her debut single with 300 Entertainment — premiered in May and has since hit over 22K views.
She never expected the song to have a virality to it — it just had a beat, composed by SGULL, that beckoned for a story to be told. “At the time, I was really going through that shit, so it was perfect,” she says. “It was really a vibe creating that.”
Her music teems with real-life experiences (in the case of “Sneaky Link,” the nuances of a secret link-up). The ability to tell stories through music has been freeing, she says, and she recognizes how her Memphis roots have catapulted her into a space where her sound and background are being celebrated.
“Memphis itself creates a whole new sound, just from our lingo, our flow, how we talk, just the sauce itself,” she says. “Being out here in Memphis really made me the artist that I am, like on some put-that-shit-together type of shit.”
Glockianna (Photo: Duke Nitty)
Glockianna
Being able to hold your own in a freestyle battle is the mark of true rap talent, and many Back Of The Class alumni have passed the test with flying colors. One such artist recently went viral on the platform, her session amassing nearly 69,000 likes.
The viral IG performance is almost ironic considering Glockianna didn’t care much for social media initially. “At first I hated social media,” she says. “Like, I hate when people bring up their opinions or how they feel about this person or that person because the person still going to do what they want to do in the end.”
Viewers of Glockianna’s freestyle video fill the comment section with fire emojis and note how “hard” of an artist she is. And when the 16-year-old speaks with the Flyer, that’s exactly how she describes herself — hard.
Glockianna has been rapping since she was 12 years old, and it all started as a way for her to grapple with her emotions. When she was younger, she often found herself getting into fights.
“I was fighting everybody,” she says. “But when I stopped fighting and put the aggression I had toward people to the song, and put it inside my music instead, it became a way for me to cope with my anger.”
Growing up in a family full of musicians, she always felt there was an opportunity for a career in music. But her proclivity to rap wasn’t a given. Her early musical memories are defined by R&B favorites like Jay Morris Group, but, she says, the moment she heard rap, she fell in love with it.
Rap has given her an outlet to tell her story, just the way it is. “I’m telling you what happened, why it happened, who did it to me, and how I feel about it basically,” she says.
A lot has happened in a short time since Glockianna honed in on her passion for the genre. She signed to Duke Deuce Enterprises’ Made Men Mafia (Triple M) record label in 2022. And she joined the famed Memphis rapper on stage for his Rolling Loud performance that year. The invitation to perform at the hip-hop festival “was a surprise for me honestly,” she says. “I thought he was joking, but he was like, ‘Nah, for real, you doing Rolling Loud.’”
That experience was pivotal for Glockianna. She’d previously performed in front of much smaller crowds. Even at those smaller shows, she was nervous. “Shaking in my boots,” she says.
But watching videos of her on stage as thousands raise their phones to capture the moment, it’s hard to believe that. She exudes confidence as she raps one of her anthems, “Stomp On Em.”
Glockianna admits that early on she was inclined to stick to the status quo, and not waver from her initial sound. But that has since changed. “When I go back and look at my music from then, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, terrible,’” she says. “I wasn’t really being myself and being comfortable. But my music now? Oh, it’s way better. Ain’t no cap in my rap; I really mean exactly what I’m saying.”
In the March 2023 release, “It Ain’t Glock Fault,” she keeps it real from the start, proclaiming she’s “keeping my foot on some necks” — and the rapper isn’t afraid to call someone out by name to tell it like it is. Though, Glockianna feels she still has to prove herself at times — because trolls still lurk.
“People do not take a young female seriously,” she says. “They see me and they’re like, ‘Oh she’s young and ain’t gonna last long and this and that.’ People think just because of my age and me being a female from South Memphis … they underestimate me a lot.”
There’s a duality to being a younger artist, she says. On one hand, it’s overcoming an archetype; on the other, it’s birthing a mystique. But people can’t help but be in awe of a talent who still maintains a spot on the honor roll.
“When I post on social media, or someone posts me, I get a lot of attention ’cause I’m young and what I say is powerful,” she says. “People love it.”
Jus Bentley (Photo: Jacorri Washington)
Jus Bentley
Artist Jus Bentley’s seventh album, rockS.T.A.R.(2023), is special to her. “S.T.A.R.,” she says, is an acronym for “status, trust, ambition, and respect” — to her, crucial tenets in the star-making process. For the album, she intentionally chose beats she had never rapped over before, or “beats you would never hear Jus Bentley on.”
“How can I make this mine?” the 29-year-old artist explains. “With how I rap, my flow, my cadence, how can I make these beats into a song that would be mine? So I tapped into not only rapping but songwriting.” The project wasn’t just about making one stellar song, but creating several that flow together as a story.
When Jus Bentley first started out at age 16, she was mostly focused on branding, as opposed to making music she found to be meaningful.
“I’m more conscious about what I’m saying [now]. When you grow or when you get older, you have to evolve,” she says. “If you listened to Jus Bentley when she was 18 or 19 versus Jus Bentley now, you’re going to see the evolution, the growth in the subject matter. You’re going to be able to grow with me.”
That growth led to opportunities to record with Don Trip (on Bentley’s “Want It” and Trip’s “Rocking”), and to work with notable artists Zed Zilla and Hitkidd (on “BU$Y”). She’s also earned a musical credit on the Starz hit show, P-Valley.
“I’m confident in who I am as a person, which allows me to be confident as an artist,” she says. “[Back then] I was a confident artist, but I wasn’t confident in myself. I took that time and said, ‘This is the type of artist I want to be,’ and that has helped me be a better person. When you’re a better person, or try to be, you can’t help but to attract good things.”
For her newer work, Jus Bentley was adamant about recording with and having her music mixed by women, so rockS.T.A.R. was mixed and mastered by SkilerJoi, with Lildezzyx as the recording engineer. “I wanted it to be a project that focused on women empowering other women,” she says. “If the majority does not look like you, you’re at a disadvantage. The majority of people that are in music, that promote music, that run music, or can get you to that next level are men. We’re already at a disadvantage from day one — the thing is learning how to navigate through those disadvantages.”
Gary Hart (Photo: Laurence Agron | Dreamstime.com)
Who remembers Gary Hart? If you’ve had as many as 50 birthdays, you almost certainly remember the former Colorado senator and two-time candidate for the United States presidency. If you remember Hart’s name, you likely remember another: Donna Rice. You see, Gary Hart had a girlfriend. And (sit down for this) Gary Hart was married at the time.
I’ll share a brief slice of American-scandal history for those of you who may not remember Hart and friend. Only 47 years old in 1984, Hart sought the Democratic nomination in an election that would send Ronald Reagan back to the White House for a second term. Hart seemed Kennedy-esque: lots of dark hair, a solid jawline, sparkling pearly whites. It wasn’t until the next presidential campaign, though, that we learned just how Kennedy-esque Gary Hart truly was.
In the spring of 1987, thanks to journalists doing what we do, America learned that Hart had carried on an extramarital affair with Rice, a woman he claimed was nothing more than a “campaign aide.” But when a photo of the two in each others’ arms appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer, that was the end of the next Kennedy and any hopes he had of occupying the Oval Office.
I’ve thought of Gary Hart often the last few years, every time the name Donald Trump makes news. It’s been 36 years and nine presidential elections since that tabloid cover ruined Hart’s political rise. But what the hell has happened to presidential scandal? Gary Hart was nationally ridiculed for an extramarital affair and Donald Trump has already served a term as U.S. president.
The notion of Trump being excluded from a campaign for the highest office in the land over a mistress seems as laughably silly as a desert coyote coming back to life after repeatedly blowing himself up as he hunts a roadrunner. But that’s the America — that’s the office of U.S. president — we have before us, here in 2023.
How does Donna Rice on your candidate’s resume compare with being twice impeached in your first try at the presidency? How does shagging someone who doesn’t wear a wedding ring you placed on her finger compare with federal charges of absconding with enough classified documents to stuff your bathroom? How does ruining your marriage compare with being the cheerleader for an insurrection mob during your last month as president?
It’s astounding. Rewind to those innocent, clearly naïve days of 1987, and candidate Trump would have been ruined by an association with the likes of Stormy Daniels … his “Donna Rice.” Here in 2023? That association is merely one of three likely indictments candidate Trump will face as he leads (is that the right word?) the Republican party into the election year of 2024.
Jimmy Carter — as decent a man as has ever occupied the White House, if not a great president — essentially turned over the presidency in a 1979 speech when he dared mention an American “crisis of confidence.” Short on confidence? Swagger? Not us hearty Yanks. Let me ask you: What kind of confidence in America do supporters of Donald Trump show when they ignore one scandal after another, each larger in impact than the one before? This is the best we can do? Two impeachments and three indictments. Not to mention, ahem, three wives. (Psst … Donald Trump had a girlfriend, too.)
I was 18 in 1987, and plenty naïve. Even at that age, I wondered if a man might actually be able to lead even if he failed as a husband. My foundational thought was that a man could not lead if he didn’t care fully for the office of president and the country that office represented. He might make mistakes (as Carter did) and he might be short on qualifications (as Reagan was), but an American president would never make us feel scandalous as a country. That was my innocent thinking at its worst. I know Gary Hart would appreciate.
Frank Murtaugh is the managing editor of Memphis magazine. He writes the columns “From My Seat” and “Tiger Blue” for the Flyer.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You are about to read a thunderbolt of sublime prophecies. It’s guaranteed to nurture the genius in your soul’s underground cave. Are you ready? 1. Your higher self will prod you to compose a bold prayer in which you ask for stuff you thought you weren’t supposed to ask for. 2. Your higher self will know what to do to enhance your love life by at least 20 percent, possibly more. 3. Your higher self will give you extra access to creativity and imaginative powers, enabling you to make two practical improvements in your life.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1991, John Kilcullen began publishing books with “for Dummies” in the title: for example, Sex for Dummies, Time Management for Dummies, Personal Finance for Dummies, and my favorite, Stress Management for Dummies. There are now over 300 books in this series. They aren’t truly for stupid people, of course. They’re designed to be robust introductions to interesting and useful subjects. I invite you to emulate Kilcullen’s mindset, Taurus. Be innocent, curious, and eager to learn. Adopt a beginner’s mind that’s receptive to being educated and influenced. (If you want to know more, go here: tinyurl.com/TruthForDummies)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “I could be converted to a religion of grass,” says Indigenous author Louise Erdrich in her book Heart of the Land. “Sink deep roots. Conserve water. Respect and nourish your neighbors. Such are the tenets. As for practice — grow lush in order to be devoured or caressed, stiffen in sweet elegance, invent startling seeds. Connect underground. Provide. Provide. Be lovely and do no harm.” I advocate a similar approach to life for you Geminis in the coming weeks. Be earthy, sensual, and lush. (PS: Erdrich is a Gemini.)
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I hereby appoint myself as your temporary social director. My first action is to let you know that from an astrological perspective, the next nine months will be an excellent time to expand and deepen your network of connections and your web of allies. I invite you to cultivate a vigorous grapevine that keeps you up-to-date about the latest trends affecting your work and play. Refine your gossip skills. Be friendlier than you’ve ever been. Are you the best ally and collaborator you could possibly be? If not, make that one of your assignments.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): There are two kinds of holidays: those created by humans and those arising from the relationship between the sun and Earth. In the former category are various independence days: July 4th in the U.S., July 1st in Canada, July 14th in France, and June 2nd in Italy. Japan observes Foundation Day on February 11th. Among the second kind of holiday is Lammas on August 1st, a pagan festival that in the Northern Hemisphere marks the halfway point between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. In preindustrial cultures, Lammas celebrated the grain harvest and featured outpourings of gratitude for the crops that provide essential food. Modern revelers give thanks for not only the grain, but all the nourishing bounties provided by the sun’s and Earth’s collaborations. I believe you Leos are smart to make Lammas one of your main holidays. What’s ready to be harvested in your world? What are your prime sources of gratitude?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): For many of us, a disposal company regularly comes to our homes to haul away the garbage we have generated. Wouldn’t it be great if there was also a reliable service that purged our minds and hearts of the psychic gunk that naturally accumulates? Psychotherapists provide this blessing for some of us, and I know people who derive similar benefits from spiritual rituals. Getting drunk or intoxicated may work, too, although those states often generate their own dreck. With these thoughts in mind, Virgo, meditate on how you might cleanse your soul with a steady, ennobling practice. Now is an excellent time to establish or deepen this tradition.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I’m wondering if there is a beloved person to whom you could say these words by Rumi: “You are the sky my spirit circles in, the love inside love, the resurrection-place.” If you have no such an ally, Libra, the coming months will be a favorable time to attract them into your life. If there is such a companion, I hope you will share Rumi’s lyrics with them, then go further. Say the words Leonard Cohen spoke: “When I’m with you, I want to be the kind of hero I wanted to be when I was 7 years old.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your theme for the coming weeks is “pleasurable gooseflesh.” I expect and hope you’ll experience it in abundance. You need it and deserve it! Editor Corrie Evanoff describes “pleasurable gooseflesh” as “the primal response we experience when something suddenly violates our expectations in a good way.” It can also be called “frisson” — a French word meaning “a sudden feeling or sensation of excitement, emotion, or thrill.” One way this joy may occur is when we listen to a playlist of songs sequenced in unpredictable ways — say Mozart followed by Johnny Cash, then Édith Piaf, Led Zeppelin, Blondie, Queen, Luciano Pavarotti, and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Here’s your homework: Imagine three ways you can stimulate pleasurable gooseflesh and frisson, then go out and make them happen.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Fire rests by changing,” wrote ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. In accordance with astrological omens, I ask you to meditate on that riddle. Here are some preliminary thoughts: The flames rising from a burning substance are always moving, always active, never the same shape. Yet they comprise the same fire. As long as they keep shifting and dancing, they are alive and vital. If they stop changing, they die out and disappear. The fire needs to keep changing to thrive! Dear Sagittarius, here’s your assignment: Be like the fire; rest by changing.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There’s ample scientific evidence that smelling cucumbers can diminish feelings of claustrophobia. For example, some people become anxious when they are crammed inside a narrow metal tube to get an MRI. But numerous imaging facilities have reduced that discomfort with the help of cucumber oil applied to cotton pads and brought into proximity to patients’ noses. I would love it if there were also natural ways to help you break free of any and all claustrophobic situations, Capricorn. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to hone and practice the arts of liberation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone,” said Aquarian author Gertrude B. Stein. She was often quirky and even downright weird, but as you can see, she also had a heartful attitude about her alliances. Stein delivered another pithy quote that revealed her tender approach to relationships. She said that love requires a skillful audacity about sharing one’s inner world. I hope you will put these two gems of advice at the center of your attention, Aquarius. You are ready for a strong, sustained dose of deeply expressive interpersonal action.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, 95 percent of high school students acknowledge they have participated in academic cheating. We can conclude that just one of 20 students have never cheated — a percentage that probably matches how many non-cheaters there are in every area of life. I mention this because I believe it’s a favorable time to atone for any deceptions you have engaged in, whether in school or elsewhere. I’m not necessarily urging you to confess, but I encourage you to make amends and corrections to the extent you can. Also: Have a long talk with yourself about what you can learn from your past cons and swindles.
Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds takes her oath of office as Tennessee’s new education commissioner, effective July 1, from Gov. Bill Lee. Beside her are her husband, David, and son Luke. Courtesy of the State of Tennessee
Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.
She feels prepared for that role, having overseen state-level education policy work in Texas for nearly a decade, including six years as its No. 2 administrator. She also has years of policy and political experience at the federal level, and most recently led policy work for the advocacy group ExcelinEd, founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
“Implementation is kind of my sweet spot,” Reynolds said. “When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did.”
Since her official start on July 1, Reynolds’ schedule has been packed with meetings with staff, lawmakers, government officials, and education stakeholders.
Among the latter is JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, who described Reynolds as “straightforward and direct.”
“She made it clear that she is here to serve students and educators in Tennessee. … I think she will do well here if she will stay above the political fray,” said Bowman, who was a frequent critic of Reynolds’ predecessor, Penny Schwinn.
This week, the new commissioner travels to Memphis, home to the state’s largest school district, for introductions with local officials and community leaders.
Last week, in her first media interview since Lee announced her hiring in May, Reynolds sat down with Chalkbeat to talk about her background, priorities, and leadership style. Since she’s on a learning curve in a new state, questions about policy specifics were off the table.
But she was open about her own K-12 experiences as a public school kid growing up in Harlingen, Texas, a heavily Hispanic community in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border.
She described how, as a Hispanic American and a female, she experienced discrimination. As a first-generation college graduate and the oldest of four children of working-class parents, she benefited from scholarships and financial aid. And, as a parent of three children, one of whom was diagnosed with a disability in elementary school, she tapped both public and private schools to find the best fit for her family.
Reynolds said she jumped at the chance to join the administration of Lee, a Republican businessman who pushed for sweeping changes to education in his first term and was easily reelected last year.
“Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better,” she said. “I want to be part of that story.”
Below are highlights of Chalkbeat’s interview, which has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Getting to know you on a personal level, describe your own education experience. Did you go to public schools? Private schools? How did they shape you?
My only early experience in a private school was attending a Catholic school in pre-K. From kindergarten through 12th grade, I went to public schools in Harlingen.
From an early age, my mom drilled into me that “you got to go to college.” So I was always in a competition to be at the top of my class. I was going to be an astronaut, by God!
I loved math but, when I took trigonometry in high school and it wasn’t connecting, my teacher was like, “You know, you’re a girl. You really don’t need to be doing this. You probably should just drop my class.” So I did.
I was shy and I couldn’t wait to get out of Harlingen. I was blessed with a great school counselor. When I told her I wanted to go to college, she said, “OK, here’s what you need to do.”
I got a merit scholarship to attend Southwestern University, where people in the financial aid office became my best friends and I was able to cover tuition increases through a combination of work-study and Pell grants. By then, I wanted to become an accountant. But after taking a political science class with a truly dynamic professor, I changed my mind. I wanted to save the world.
Your selection was announced by the governor’s office on the same day that Schwinn’s impending departure was announced. How did you come to this job?
A lot of the work I did for the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) was not only to advocate for its policy agenda but to work across the country with other advocates and supporters and philanthropy. I was on the proverbial “list” of people across the country who might be interested in being a state-level deputy or chief. And I’ve paid my dues. I had thought maybe I might lead the Texas Education Agency someday. But I wasn’t actively looking. I’d been at ExcelinEd almost seven years and loved my job.
This spring, the governor’s office here called and wanted to talk about Tennessee’s chief position and I said, ‘Of course I’ll talk.’ What a great opportunity to meet Gov. Lee, who had a great relationship with Gov. Bush. (During the week of April 11) I came to Nashville and met with (Chief Operating Officer) Brandon Gibson and then interviewed with the governor the next day.
When I walked into his office, everybody was so awesome. Gov. Lee looked at me and said, “Why do you want to be commissioner of education in Tennessee?” I basically said, “Who wouldn’t want to be commissioner here?” Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better. It’s still strong in accountability and assessment. There’s great work passed in this administration and previous administrations. And then, just the fact that the governor really cares about education, that it’s a priority.
Tennessee is just a good place to be. I want to be part of that story and the continued success of this state with kids. At this agency, we don’t touch kids every day, but we help influence what happens in the classroom because of the supports and resources that we provide.
When I walked out of the governor’s office, I said to myself, ‘I want to work for that man and I’m going to be really disappointed if I don’t get the offer.’
About a week and a half later, I got the offer.
What did you and Gov. Lee talk about in your interview? Why do you think he picked you?
Bottom line, this job was going to be about implementation and execution of the agenda passed through the legislature and through his leadership and (Penny Schwinn’s) leadership at the agency. A lot has already been done. Now the hard work is the implementation piece and that is kind of my sweet spot.
When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did: Making sure resources are there, thinking about the right resources, bringing folks in to support those implementation efforts — all the pieces of the puzzle that need to come together to ensure that kids and educators get what they need to be successful.
But sometimes implementation also requires you to say no to some things or to certain vendors.
Because of your policy work with ExcelinEd, with its focus on school choice and privatization, many stakeholders think your selection suggests that voucher expansion and advancing choice programs are Job One for you under this administration. How would you respond?
First of all, it’s not about privatization. Our No. 1 priority at ExcelinEd was to improve the system because we know that about 90 percent of our kids are in a public school system. Second priority is the options outside the system, which includes ESAs (education savings accounts, a kind of private school voucher), charter schools, open enrollment, public school choice, letting parents go where they want to go in the public school system. Third priority is reimagining the system, so really thinking about what other ways we can develop these comprehensive high schools. That’s how we think at ExcelinEd, and that’s why I think I was a good candidate for this job.
Yes, ESAs are part of the package, but it’s not the only package. There is no silver bullet when it comes to education. ESAs are great, but they’re not for everybody. It all depends on the parents and the families and what they want to do and what options they want to pursue.
It wasn’t that long ago that a Tennessee governor wouldn’t think of choosing an education commissioner who didn’t have teaching experience. But you don’t, nor do you have a teaching license. How will you have “street cred” with educators here, given that your background is primarily in policy and politics?
As a parent of public school kids, I’m as close to the classroom as you’re going to get because I’m a consumer of the public school system. To say that my experience is irrelevant, I don’t think it’s very fair. But in that vein, I also want to listen and learn. Earlier today, for instance, I met with folks at the Tennessee Education Association (the state’s largest teacher group).
I’ve got to come at it with empathy and support. Have I done their job every day? No, I haven’t. But we’re all in this together. I’m going to listen. I’m going to engage and implement in a way that is fair and where the decision-making is transparent.
The department has had a number of significant departures in recent months, including Chief Academic Officer Lisa Coons and Deputy Commissioner Eve Carney, who was a veteran manager responsible for many of the state’s biggest education programs and initiatives. How are you building out your cabinet and filling out gaps in leadership? Will you look inside or outside of the state?
I’m looking for the best qualified folks, but my preference is to find people in Tennessee. We just hired Kristy Brown from Jackson as our chief academic officer. We need to fill the role of chief program officer, and I’d love to find a Tennessean for that. I don’t feel the need to look outside of the state because I think there’s a lot of qualified people here. Tennessee is where reform really percolated and expanded and continues to live.
Have you and your family officially moved from Texas to Tennessee, or do you plan to?
I’m here and I’m moving soon into a place in East Nashville. My husband is staying in Austin with our youngest son, who’s a rising junior, until he finishes high school. Our son wants to look at colleges here, so I’m super excited.
I don’t know if I’ll go back to Austin to live. We’ll see.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
The Cooper-Young Festival, slated for Saturday, September 16th, has named a nationally recognized artist to headline its musical stages this year — though he’s not exactly a household name.
Doug MacLeod doesn’t do arena tours with multiple costume changes, but he’s the real deal, and has been for 40 years. That’s when he made his recording debut on Pee Wee Crayton’s Make Room For Pee Wee, and the guitarist and singer has been celebrated as both a side man and solo performer ever since. And while the award-winning blues man grew up in New York City, it’s only fitting that he now calls Memphis home.
MacLeod’s bio notes that he first studied with a one-eyed country bluesman from Toano, Virginia named Ernest Banks, who also gave him the principles of music and performance that have guided him ever since: “Never play a note you don’t believe” and “Never write or sing about what you don’t know about.”
Unlike many blues artists, MacLeod plays only his own compositions (and he’s written over 300 songs), but his music has also been recorded by many other artists, including Dave Alvin, James Armstrong, Eva Cassidy, Albert Collins, Papa John Creach, Big Lou Johnson, Albert King, Chris Thomas King, Coco Montoya, Billy Lee Riley, Son Seals, Tabby Thomas, and Joe Louis Walker.
Local and international fans of the Blues Music Awards know his name well, and just this May The Blues Foundation announced in its 44th Annual Blues Music Awards that MacLeod was the winner of the 2023 Acoustic Artist Award. Earlier this year, Downbeat also named MacLeod’s 2022 record as an album of the year.
“Doug MacLeod’s A Soul To Claim, like many of his 21 previous albums, makes it clear that he’s an archetype of the top-level blues storyteller: wry, sharp-witted, virile, inclined to poke fun at sentiment,” wrote Frank-John Hadley in Downbeat Magazine. “MacLeod bestows his music with a human intimacy that’s a function of his affable personality and the original material he works with. With natural authority and charisma, he communicates one-on-one with listeners.”
Meanwhile, there will be plenty of other music at this year’s Cooper-Young Festival, as is only fitting for the neighborhood calling itself “Memphis’ largest historically hip neighborhood dating back to 1849.” Here’s the full lineup:
Memphis Grizzlies Stage 12:30 pm Steve Lockwood and Old Dogs 1:30 pm Robots Attack 2:30 pm Switchblade Kid 3:30 pm Avon Park 4:30 pm SKIFF
Guaranty Bank Stage 11:15 am Brian Blake 12:15 pm Mike Hewlett & The Racket 1:15 pm Short in the Sleeve 2:15 pm Raneem Imam 3:15 pm Rowdy & the Strays 4:15 pm Max Kaplan & The Magics 5:15 pm Headliner – Doug MacLeod
Sweet Pickle the dog and that doggone reporter at HollyWoof (Credit: Kaitlin Brucker)
I’ve covered many debut fundraising-galas.
But not just because of the event name or the fact live dogs were among the guests, HollyWoof was one of the best premier galas I’ve been to.
HollyWoof, a benefit for New Beginnings Animal Rescue based in Olive Branch, Mississippi and Friends of Horn Lake Animal Shelter, was July 22nd at Theatre Memphis. Hollywood, of course, was the theme. Tables were set with little gold canine-sized Oscars.
Hollywood Feed and Theatre Memphis were two of the main sponsors.
“We’ve had auctions before, but this was our first gala,” says Rene Crider, who, along with Rachel Phillips, is a dog intake coordinator at New Beginnings. “We hope it’s an annual thing.”
The silent auction was stupendous. A total of 224 items were included, Phillips says.
Items included a $300 gift certificate to Folk’s Folly and, from Roadshow BMW, the opportunity to drive a BMW from Thursday until the following Tuesday.
Other items included spa nights, spa treatments, hair products, dog baskets, and camping equipment, Crider says.
Silent auction items at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue) HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)
April and Mara Nelson, cat coordinators for New Beginnings, were responsible for the mystery bags and collecting auction items.
The event also included a wine pull. “We got rid of all our wine, so that was good,” Crider says.
The dinner was fantastic. John Wheeler and his son, John Dalton Wheeler, catered the meal, which included pork loin, green beans, and the best glazed carrots I’ve ever eaten.
John Wheeler and John Dalton Wheeler at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The excellent desserts were by Melissa Walker and Shannons Sweet Confections. Shannons did the paw print cookies.
HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue) HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)
HollyWoof also included a live auction, but there was only one item to bid on — a cake. But what a cake.
Keisha Jackson of Tasty Pastry in Cordova, Tennessee made the cake, says Deborah Sharp. “I met her on NextDoor,” Sharp says. “I live in Cordova. All the cakes are unbelievable that she does. I asked her for a donation. She donated three different sizes and costs of cakes, which was unbelievable, for the silent auction.
“Then we thought, ‘Maybe we could do a live auction with one of her cakes.’ So, I contacted her and sent her some pictures of cakes I found online, Hollywood and such.”
Sharp asked Jackson to decorate it with “Hollywood glamor and accents of dogs and cats.”
The cake, which Sharp described as “just wonderful,” was “a two-layer cake with fondant. It’s got the red carpet and Hollywood decorations.”
The cake, which included three dog figurines on top — with one on the red carpet — went for $250.
Keshia Jackson created the Hollywood cake for HollyWoof (Credit: Deborah Sharp)
Sharp brought her two dogs — Cheddar and Nugget — to the party. “I was gone all day. I can’t leave the girls. And they’re so good.”
They were all dog tired when they got home after midnight, Sharp says. “I thought I was tired, but these girls… Socializing is tiring.”
A dogged party goer with Nugget at HollyWoof (Credit: Brian Patterson)
Valerie Calhoun, who attended with her husband, John Elkington, was an emcee along with Brian Patterson. Patterson’s wife, Stacey Patterson, did the centerpieces.
Brian Patterson and Valerie Calhoun at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)
HollyWoof, apparently, was a successful fundraiser. As for the exact figure, Lisa Hayes with Friends of Horn Lake Animal Shelter, says, “We’re still trying to figure that out, but it looks like it’s going to be close to $20,000.”
Julie Clark and Rachel Phillips at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Chris Frazier, Lisa Hayes, Sandy Williams, Gail Johnson at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Fred Smith with his dog, Sweet Pickle at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Carrie and John Russell at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)John Wheeler, John Elkington, Brian Patterson at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Allen and Kay Iskiwitz at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Bruce Thompson at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jude Knight, Debbie Litch, Michael Donahue, Gary Beard at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Marlon and Ashlan Guzman at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Joe Lackie and Gary Beard at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jeremy Stephenson at HollyWoof (Credit: Michael Donahue)We Saw You
The Cold Blooded Three front man has a new album, Where Wasn’t I?, and his new single “Hate This” harkens back to Reager’s Memphis punk roots. The video is directed by David Stockwell.
“This is the second of three videos shot to green screen in Graham Burks’ (Loose Opinions) garage,” says Reager. “The director, David, really tried to match the frenetic energy of the song visually, and I think he nailed it. The song was written in a period of personal chaos and fractured friendship, the manic vibes really sell it. Yes, those are Ric Flair ‘woos’ in the chorus.”
Listen for me on an upcoming episode of Reager’s Back To The Light podcast. If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
Geologists divide time into epochs, which can last tens of millions of years. The end of one epoch and the beginning of another is marked by clearly definable features in the geological record, such as the layer of extraterrestrial iridium laid down at the end of the Cretaceous by the asteroid which killed the dinosaurs. All of human history has taken place in the Holocene epoch, but recently, the effects of climate change and industrial society have led scientists to the conclusion that we are living in a new epoch. The Anthropocene is defined as the time when human actions became more important to the state of planet Earth than natural activity. The Anthropocene’s beginning is represented by a layer of radioactive fallout from Cold War atomic bomb tests which will remain visible in the soil and rocks for millions of years.
The first atomic bomb was detonated in New Mexico in July, 1945, and the man history calls its father is J. Robert Oppenheimer. He was a brilliant physicist who had led a titanic effort to win a war by harnessing the very essence of the universe. Twenty years later, as the growing nuclear arsenals of the United States and the USSR threatened humanity with mass extinction, Oppenheimer was interviewed on television about what it was like when his bomb went off. He said he remembered a quote from Hindu scripture: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is about how a person can go from the pinnacle of scientific achievement to a hollowed-out husk of a man trying to atone for the evil he unleashed on the world. The three-hour epic, shot on IMAX film stock specially formulated for the task, is ostensibly based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. But Nolan owes a conceptual debt to Michael Frayn’s Tony-award-winning drama Copenhagen. Frayn used repetition and multiple points of view to tell the story of a fateful conversation between physicist Werner Heisenberg, head of the Nazi nuclear program, and his mentor Niels Bohr, who was about to flee to the United States.
Nolan takes us through Oppenheimer’s rise and fall from two different points of view: One POV, titled “Fission,” is Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) defending his life choices to a committee which would ultimately revoke his security clearances and end his career. The other POV, titled “Fusion” is Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.), the first Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, as he faces a Senate confirmation hearing to become Eisenhower’s Secretary of Commerce. Fission, which covers Oppenhimer’s chaotic personal life and the development of the bomb, is in color, while Fusion, which details the anti-Communist witch hunt which destroyed him, is in black and white.
In the color memories, Murphy embodies the quiet, enigmatic charisma described by those who followed Oppenheimer into the darkness of Los Alamos. In the creamy black and white of Fusion, he becomes the skeletal embodiment of the industrial death machine. Downey is unrecognizable as the duplicitous social climber Strauss. Matt Damon is outstanding as Gen. Leslie Groves, the back-slapping Army Corps of Engineers officer who is in way over his head overseeing the Manhattan Project. Jason Clarke gives the performance of his life as Roger Robb, the attack dog prosecutor who exposes Oppenheimer’s darkest secrets.
Nolan’s always had problems writing female characters, so the women don’t have much to work with. Emily Blunt is all drunken hysterics as Kitty Oppenheimer. Florence Pugh puts up a good fight as Jean Tatlock, Oppenheimer’s doomed Communist mistress.
The Trinity bomb test, which comes about two hours into this three-hour epic, is a near-silent tour de force of fire and portent. The scientist’s queasy victory party, held in a cramped Los Alamos gymnasium, may be the best single scene Nolan has ever done.
If only the whole movie were that great. Oppenheimer is both too long and has too many cuts—a cinematic quantum paradox! At times, Nolan seems acutely aware that he’s making a movie about a bunch of weirdos writing equations on blackboards for years on end. He tries to spice things up by editing dense conversations about physics, philosophy, and politics like frenetic action sequences. In one gorgeous shot, we see Oppenheimer finally alone with The Gadget that will define a new geological epoch. It should be the tense calm before the storm, but Nolan and editor Jennifer Lame bury that gold in a blizzard of mediocre images. I found myself wishing Ludwig Göransson’s relentless, pounding score would just chill for a minute. The nonlinear structure that works so well in Copenhagen hobbles the forward momentum, and makes the complex story even more confusing.
Oppenhiemer is a return to form for Nolan after the fiasco of Tenet. There’s a great movie hiding amidst all of the formal pyrotechnics. But I guess it’s too much to ask for a lighter touch from a director who is about as subtle as an atomic bomb.
