Month: September 2023

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News News Blog News Feature

Nonprofits Call On Policy Makers to Remedy Memphis’ Predatory Lending Problem

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

The Hope Policy Institute and Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis’ report, entitled “High-Cost Debt Traps Widen Racial Wealth Gap In Memphis,” concluded that there are 114-high cost loan storefronts in Memphis. Twice the number of Starbucks and McDonald’s combined.

out of the 114 storefronts in Memphis, 74 are owned by out-of-state lenders. Two out-of-state corporations own nearly half of these storefronts: Populus Financial Group/Ace Cash Express and TitleMax/TMX Financing. 

As a result, outlets such as TriplePundit have named Memphis as “Ground Zero” for predatory lending.

Amy Schaftlein, executive director of United Housing in Memphis, said these out-of-town companies usually target communities of color, and in Memphis it is typically Black communities. 

“In Memphis, 20 percent of white households are liquid asset poor, compared to more than 50 percent of Black households and more than 60 percent of Latino households in the city,” the report said.

The concentration of these lenders in communities of color continues to take the wealth out of these neighborhoods and communities, said Schaftlein. The report also explained how the “wealth-stripping effects of high-cost loans limits economic mobility” for citizens, and perpetuates “long-standing racial and economic inequalities.”

As a result, Schaftlein said, people can perpetually be in a cycle of debt. “A lot of the time, predatory loans are set up so that they cannot be affordably paid back,” said Schaftlein.

Because of the debt that these communities face, most people have a lack of savings, and cannot put down payments on homes or pay off cars, said Schaftlein. 

“It can really hurt credit scores, ” said Schaftlein. “We see that in communities of color, the credit scores are much lower. It has long-term impact on financial wellness and viability of individuals —specifically Black and brown neighborhoods for longer-term financial stability.”

The practices not only impact communities of color, but the local economy as well. Schaftlein said that during the foreclosure crisis, the subprime mortgage market was “very active.”

This resulted in many minority communities being targeted, many of whom were unable to buy a home, and were kicked out.

“You had a huge loss of any kind of equity that might have been built up,” said Schaftlein.

She also said the lending practices reverberate through generations, causing people to be ousted from home ownership. Consumer and title loans hurt the economy because, as Schaftlein explains, “if you can’t save for your family, you can’t start a business.”

There are alternatives, and opportunities for hope, however. According to Schaftlein, nonprofits like Hope Credit Union and Forward Memphis — and some traditional banks — offer lower-interest consumer loans that can be helpful with savings. 

United Housing also educates people on the predatory nature of these loans, and how people can work on their credit. “The problem is that they’re [non-profits] under capitalized,” said Schaftlein. “They’re not marketed and can’t be on every corner the way payday loans can be.”

Schaftlein said while they can offer alternatives that will help, there needs to be talk with policymakers around capping interest rates on loans. “The laws here are very friendly,” said Schaftlein. “If we have a cap in interest rates — I think it’s 500 percent — it’s in the triple digits, way up there. ”

The report echoes this and explains that lenders in Memphis are able to charge triple-digit rates due to laws enacted by the Tennessee legislature. The report said state law allows payday loans that can result in a 460-percent annual percentage rate (APR) on a loan due in 14 days.

Memphis City Council passed a resolution in September 2020 asking the state legislature to “revoke and ban” business licenses for payday lenders, however the city did not have the power to enforce this, the report said. Schaftlein added that capping the interest rate is a state-level thing, and that many states have done it, meaning Tennessee can too.

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Music Music Blog

James McMurtry Can Really Sell a Song

James McMurtry (Credit: Mary Keating Bruton)

James McMurtry is a songwriter’s songwriter, rightly celebrated for his evocative compositions over the course of more than three decades. Stephen King called him “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation,” and that highlights something unique about the Texas-based performer: writers of all stripes are among his biggest fans. And yet he doesn’t let such praise go to his head. Just listen to his song “Restless,” which begins with the lines:


She gets a little restless in the spring
She might follow the lines you sing
Bullshit though they are
‘Cos sometimes that’s just the thing
If delivered with panache and a certain grace

Perhaps when your father is novelist Larry McMurtry you have a certain perspective on any writerly talents you might possess, or accolades you might accumulate. Certainly that lends perspective on any similarities casual listeners might assume to exist between songwriting and prose-writing.

“I don’t take leads from any author,” he tells the Memphis Flyer. “I’m not a prose writer. My leads come from Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and people that write songs. It’s a whole different muscle. And you also have the melodic aspect, which we can’t really do without. People will compare my work to poetry but it’s not. I hear a couple of lines and a melody in my head and I chase it. If it’s cool enough to keep me up at night, I finish the song. With poetry, you don’t have to write for an instrument. Your voice is an instrument, so you write words that sing well. You don’t have to do that poetry — it doesn’t have to be sung, it doesn’t even have to be spoken.”

The key principle of songwriting, he says, it that “you don’t want to write words to tie your tongue. And I usually have to tweak it so I can sing it better. You want consonants that roll off the tongue, that drop in the pocket. That way you can talk it or sing it. If you study Kristofferson’s work, that’s kind of how he does it. He didn’t think of himself as a singer. You can sing the hell out of those words, or you can talk them. It gives you more options as to how to sell it. Roy Acuff talked about that. He said, ‘I’m not a singer. I’m a seller.'”

On Thursday, this consummate salesman and his band will be peddling their wares at Lafayette’s Music Room. And lest you think the lyrics, however singable, are the only thing going on with this artist, the music is just as carefully crafted. That makes for some very moving songcraft, as most critics have agreed. His albums Just Us Kids (2008) and Childish Things (2005) were hailed as milestones, with the former earning McMurtry his highest Billboard 200 chart position in two decades (since eclipsed by Complicated Game) and a few Americana Music Award nominations. Childish Things, a few years earlier, spent six full weeks topping the Americana Music Radio chart in 2005 and 2006, and won the Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year, with the politically charged “We Can’t Make It Here” named the organization’s Song of the Year. Still, he keeps evolving.

“I have explored more melodic approaches over time,” McMurtry notes. “The more I sing, the more my range increases. So two records ago I was writing some high stuff, high notes that I wouldn’t have tried earlier. And there’s one song on this record, ‘Blackberry Winter,’ that’s in a little bit higher range than I used to do. But I don’t know that it really matters. It makes it harder!”

That record, The Horses and the Hounds, released by New West Records in 2021, is classic McMurtry, spinning empathetic, wry tales full of the despondent feel of small town America on the skids. “That’s been a thread through most of my work for most of my so called career,” he admits. “I get my details through the windshield because we spent a lot of time going down the highway. But I know that feeling of wanting to get out of a small town. That’s kind of the culture I came from. My dad escaped from a small town in Texas and went to school, and most of his friends were first-generation-off-the-farm grad students. So that was kind of how I was raised. It instilled a skepticism of rural, small towns in me which I later saw firsthand from living in Lockhart, Texas. And I even wound up back in my dad’s hometown for some of the time. It was just like he said!”

James McMurtry and band play Lafayette’s Music Room on Thursday, September 28th at 7 p.m. $25 advance/$30 day of show. Click here for tickets.

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News News Blog News Feature

Election 2023: MATA Offers Free Rides To The Polls

Credit: MATA via Facebook

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) and the Shelby County Election Commission will be offering free bus rides to voters on Friday, September 29th.

This service is also available prior to the deadline for early voting, which is Saturday, September 30th.

MATA said this is an effort to “boost voter awareness” and to “ensure accessibility by eliminating transportation barriers.”

Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA, said election cycles are “critical” and they provide the opportunity for everyone’s voice to be heard.

“We believe that transportation should never be a barrier to voting and our Roll to the Polls partnership is designed to empower individuals to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” said Rosenfeld.

According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) , President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order requiring agencies of the federal government to promote voter registration and participation.  

The FTA said it acknowledges the role that public transportation plays in the lives of Americans, including access to voting.

“Transit providers across the country are distinctly positioned to reduce some of the obstacles Americans face to exercising their sacred, fundamental right to vote,” said the FTA in a statement.

MATA also said they will provide rides to the polls on a fixed route, once early voting winds down.

Prior to this announcement, MATA hosted a “Roll to the Polls” block party on Tuesday, September 12th at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, one of the early voting polling locations.

“We are grateful to MATA for this partnership which encourages residents to Be Voter Ready with equitable access to voting and voter information,” said Linda Phillips, Shelby County Election Commission Administrator of Elections.

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News News Blog News Feature

Tennessee GOP Lawmakers Look to Reject $1.8B in Federal Education Funds

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (left) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (right) flank Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee at press conference on school safety on April 3, 2023. On Monday, the two legislative leaders announced the creation of a panel to study the feasibility of rejecting federal education funding. (Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat)

When Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton floated the idea in February of the state rejecting U.S. education dollars to free schools from federal rules and regulations, most supporters of public education hoped it was nothing more than political posturing.

But on Monday, Sexton and his counterpart in the Senate, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, took the significant step of creating a legislative panel to conduct a comprehensive review of Sexton’s pitch. 

The panel will look into the feasibility of doing without federal support for K-12 students and report back to legislative finance and education committees by January 9th. Currently, Tennessee receives up to $1.8 billion from the federal government for its schools, most of which supports low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

Federal funds typically make up about a tenth of a state’s K-12 budget.

No state has ever rejected federal funding for its students and schools. But Sexton has said that by rejecting the federal funds that Tennesseans help generate through their taxes, the state can eliminate the federal strings attached to those dollars, and make up the funding difference with state money.

McNally, in a statement Monday, cited the state’s “excellent financial position” while deeming Sexton’s proposal as “worthy subject of examination and study.”

Tennessee has been flush with cash in recent years, but its revenues have begun to flatten.

Last month, when the legislature approved $100 million in one-time funding during a special session on public safety, Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs his chamber’s finance committee, warned that Tennessee needs to tighten spending in the future. And last week, state Finance Commissioner Jim Bryson reported that state revenues for August — the first month of Tennessee’s fiscal year — were $39 million less than budget estimates.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, one of two Democrats named to the panel, said the trend should diminish any appetite to forgo federal cash.

“Most of us know how important federal funds are to our state budget, whether for our schools, roads, or health care,” Akbari told Chalkbeat. “My goal on this task force is to support the continued use of federal funding for K-12 education.”

“Besides,” she added, “Tennesseans pay federal taxes. Why should our tax dollars go to support schools in Georgia or California or New York, and not our own schools?”

Many Republicans, though, bristle at the federal oversight tied to receipt of federal education dollars.

Most notable are civil rights protections for students based on race, sex, and disability. Tennessee’s Republican-dominated government has challenged the spirit of those protections by passing laws in recent years to restrict classroom discussions and library books related to race, gender, and bias, as well as to prohibit transgender youth from playing girls sports and restrict which school bathrooms they can use.

“This working group will help provide a clearer picture of how much autonomy Tennessee truly has in educating our students,” Sexton said in a statement Monday. 

A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee said he looks forward to reviewing the panel’s findings. The governor “remains committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure all Tennessee students have access to a high-quality education, while pushing back on federal overreach,” said Elizabeth Johnson, Lee’s press secretary. 

The speakers appointed the 10 members to the exploratory panel, five from each chamber:

• Sen. John Lundberg, R-Bristol (co-chair)

• Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington (co-chair)

• Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis

• Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald

• Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville

• Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro

• Rep. Ronnie Glynn, D-Clarksville

• Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville

• Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge

• Rep. William Slater, R-Gallatin

In a September 22nd letter creating the joint working group, the speakers outlined four tasks:

• Identify the amount of federal funding the state, districts, and schools receive and the laws associated with accepting such funds

• Examine how the state, districts, and schools use or intend to use the funding, and whether there are conditions or requirements for accepting such funds

• Report on the feasibility of the state rejecting federal education funding

• Recommend a strategy on how to reject certain federal funding or how to eliminate unwanted restrictions placed on the state due to receiving the funding

Last month, the Sycamore Institute reported that Tennessee distributed $1.1 billion in federal funds to school districts across the state — or about 11 percent of total district revenues — in 2019-20. The nonpartisan think tank also calculated that each of Tennessee’s 142 school districts received between $314 and $2,500 per student in federal funds, accounting for 3 percent to 20 percent of each district’s total revenues.

The group’s report said school districts most reliant on federal dollars tend to be more rural, and have more low-income and disabled students, less capacity for local revenue, and lower test scores in English language arts.

Tennessee already ranks in the bottom fourth of states in spending per pupil, and eliminating a key funding source would have serious consequences, said Gini Pupo-Walker, executive director of The Education Trust in Tennessee.

“We would not only redirect Tennesseans’ federal tax dollars to other states in the country, but we would have to dip into our rainy day fund in order to maintain our current level of education funding, limiting our capacity to invest in our students in the future, particularly those most in need,” Pupo-Walker said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education, which in February called Sexton’s proposal “political posturing,” said students need more — not fewer — resources to support academic recovery following the pandemic, as well as to address a crisis in youth mental health.

“Any elected leader in any state threatening to reject federal public education funds should have to answer to their local educators and parents in their community about the detrimental impact it would have on their community’s education system and their students’ futures,” the spokesperson said.

A statement from the Tennessee Disability Coalition said the group wants to work with the panel “as a resource in conveying the vital importance of federal education funding for students with disabilities.”

“As the past 50 years have shown us, these funds and associated regulations have dramatically improved outcomes for Tennessee students with disabilities and served to protect them from institutionalization, segregation, and marginalization,” the group said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from the U.S. Department of Education.

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.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest Returns

Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest founder Brian "Skinny" McCabe with "The Big Cheese" created by Josh McLane at South Point Grocery (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Thank goodness. The gooey, tantalizing Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest returns November 5th.

The annual event is back after four years with lots of grilled cheese sandwiches from competing teams as well as live music, cheesy gifts, a cheese-eating competition, and food trucks. It takes place between noon and 4 p.m. in front of and inside the Hi Tone at 282-284 Cleveland Street, which will be blocked off between Larkin Avenue and Peach Avenue. The Hi-Tone will be open with live bands on both floors. Deejays will provide tunes outside.

The event’s creator, Brian “Skinny” McCabe, will be back, too. “I don’t even know when or how I thought of the idea, but it was a really, really long time ago,” he says.

McCabe had just moved his club from Poplar Avenue to its first address on Cleveland Street. “I was sitting around thinking of stuff to do and cool things to bring to the neighborhood,” he said.

He originally thought about holding the event inside the club. “Then I put the Facebook event up and got crazy response and had to figure out how to talk to the city and get the street shut down.”

The festival was a hit. “A couple of thousand people showed up.”

Jack Gould and Claire O’Connell sample grilled cheese at the 2018 Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest (Credit: Michael Donahue)

McCabe chose grilled cheese sandwiches because he likes the sandwich. “It’s one of my favorite comfort foods of all time. So easy. So cheap. Bread, butter, and cheese. It’s so straightforward.”

He also likes them made a certain way. “I personally love Texas toast and Country Crock butter,” he says, adding, “And then you sprinkle some Everything Bagel seasoning on there. Two or three Kraft singles. And then toast it up. Cut it corner to corner — not width wise.”

Memphis Grilled Cheese festival is always held on a Sunday to accommodate restaurant people who can attend on their day off.

McCabe raises money for charities with event proceeds. This year, the festival will benefit Thrive Memphis — “an organization that helps special needs and handicapped children.”

He has his reasons for always holding the event in November. “I don’t want to eat hot food when it’s hot outside. I want it to be the last street festival of the year. And warm people up. And if the grilled cheese doesn’t warm you up, the Hi Tone will be open with lots of whiskey to sell.”

McCabe doesn’t yet know how many teams will participate this year, but the competition is open to everybody. “It can be you and your buddies. It can be restaurants, law offices, Wiffle ball teams.”

Participating teams pass out grilled cheese to those who give donations for the fundraiser. Whichever team raises the most money is the grand champion. 

And some of those teams load on the cheese, McCabe says. “You have so much cheese on there you won’t be able to whistle for days.”

But he has a solution to that problem. “Whisky will get things moving. Because alcohol is the cause and solution of all problems.”

Teams also can compete for “Best Tomato Soup.” Grilled cheese and tomato soup just go together, McCabe says. Growing up, he “always had tomato soup to either dip it in or accompany it. Some people use chicken noodle soup instead. That’s totally fine. I’ve tried it both ways.”

And teams can vie for “Most Ridiculous.” McCabe has seen all types of ingredients, including steak, pork belly, a quail egg, and even stuffed animals, on the grilled cheese sandwiches. “One year I saw a grilled cheese sandwich dipped in funnel cake batter and fried. And that was wild.”

Some of the braver attendees participate in the grilled cheese-eating contest. “We set down a plate of 20 or 30 grilled cheese sandwiches in front of you. Whoever eats the most in a designated amount of time is the winner.”

Winners receive prizes. “We’ve got all kinds of little knick-knacks and stuff.”

Bram Bors-Koefoed, who won the grilled cheese eating contest in 2018, received a pair of socks dotted with images of cheese along with a toaster. “I think my wife and I found those just out and about somewhere,” McCabe says. “We collect stuff all year long. Anything that has grilled cheese on it.”

Bram Bors-Koefoed won a toaster and a pair of socks in the 2018 grilled cheese eating contest at the Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest. With him is Brian “Skinny” McCabe (Credit: Michael Donahue)

For the first time, McCabe had trophies made for the grilled cheese team winners. The metal-and-plastic trophies are topped with grilled cheese and tomato soup statues.

This year’s festival will feature “a whole kids’ activity section” with balloon animals and face painting, McCabe says.

Live music will be provided by Sunweight, The Memphis Winslows, and The Heavy Pour.

Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival sounds like it would be heaven for its creator, but, McCabe says, “I rarely get to eat any grilled cheese. I have to go home and make my own after the festival because I’m just busy.”

For more information or to participate as a team, go to memphisgrilledcheese.com.

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Nylon Strings” by HEELS

Today we have the premiere of a new clip by Music Video Monday frequent flyers HEELS.

“Nylon Strings” is from Brennan Whalen and Josh McLane’s album Pop Songs for a Dying Planet. Director M.K. Hancock classes up the joint with a roving ballet dancer and some mountainous landscape shots.

HEELS will next grace a stage on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Hi-Tone for what is being billed as HEELS & Hunter’s Halloween Hamburger Havoc. Hopefully, this video will tide you over.

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

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News News Blog News Feature

Report: Tourism Spending Rose Above $4B Here Last Year

(Photo: Memphis Tourism)

Tourism topped a record-breaking $4 billion in spending in Shelby County last year, up from 2021, and enough to rank second in spending among Tennessee’s 95 counties. 

These are the finalized figures from U.S. Travel and Tourism Economics and released recently by the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development (TDTD). The report shows spending here rose 16 percent from 2021’s spend of $3.4 billion to just over $4 billion. The new figure showed growth over 2019’s pre-pandemic activity when tourists spent more than $3.7 billion in Shelby County. 

Credit: State of Tennessee

Visitor spending in Shelby County brought more than $391.8 million to state and local tax coffers. State officials said without this tourism money, each Shelby County household would pay $1,105 more in state and local taxes. Tourism spending also supported 27,745 jobs here. 

What did visitors buy here? Food and beverage topped the list with more than $1.3 billion spent. Transportation ($956.7 million), accommodations ($669.5 million), recreation ($566.1 million), and retail ($490.6 million) rounded out the top five spending categories. 

Credit: State of Tennessee

About 141 million people visited Tennessee last year and spent around $29 billion, a figure higher than the preliminary report issued earlier this year.    

   “Tennessee is thriving as tourism is soaring,” said Mark Ezell, TDTD Commissioner. “Our industry’s hard work is paying off with record levels of visitor spending and significantly outpacing inflation.” 

Shelby County ranked second to Davidson County in spending last year. Nashville saw tourist spending rise 35 percent from 2021 to a record $9.9 billion.   

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We Recommend We Recommend

On the Fly: 9/22-9/28

The Pink Palace Crafts Fair celebrates its 51st anniversary this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy Museum of Science & History)

🎭 Fat Ham
The Circuit Playhouse 
Performances through October 8
To go or not to go? Ha! There’s no question when it comes to Playhouse on the Square’s latest production. Fat Ham is a deliciously funny retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set in the American South, where William returns home after his father’s death and must confront corruption and betrayal, deciding whether to seek revenge or forge a new path. The DRAMA! Catch a performance on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through October 8th. For tickets ($25), go here, or if you’re brave enough to pick up the phone, call  901-726-4656.

🎡 Mid-South Fair at Landers Center
Landers Center
Thursday, September 21-October 1
Come one, come all to the Mid-South Fair! Since 1856, the fair has been serving up great food, great times, and even greater memories. Enjoy an array of family-fun activities from over 50 rides and a wide array of ground acts stationed around the property. More information here and purchase tickets here. 

🎭The Wasp
First Congo Theater in Cooper-Young
Performances September 22-October 8
Thanks to Quark Theatre, Memphis is about to be home to the American debut of The Wasp, the critically acclaimed play written by London native Morgan Lloyd Malcolm in 2015. A psychological thriller, The Wasp unravels the relationship between once-childhood friends Heather and Carla, who have lost touch since school where a bully incident tore the two apart. At the start of the play, the women reunite 20 years later over tea at a cafe, where one offers the other a significant amount of cash and an unexpected proposition. What ensues is a dark exploration of how trauma shapes us. The DRAMA! Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at quarktheatre.com. Performances will run September 22nd through October 8th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinées at 2 p.m. (Oh, and if you wanna be in the know before you go, check out this Flyer article.)

🖼️ 51st Annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair
Audubon Park
Friday-Saturday, September 22-23, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, September 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair benefiting the Museum of Science & History returns for its 51st anniversary. The three-day affair will have nearly 150 artists from around the country showing off and selling a variety of eclectic pottery, jewelry, paintings, woodwork, leatherwork, sculpture, woven goods, and so much more. Attendees can marvel at demonstrations by master craftsmen, enjoy a cool beverage and a bite to eat from food/drink vendors, kick back and enjoy live music, and entertain the kiddos at the petting zoo and with a ride on the popular choo-choo train, plus wall climbing and pony rides. Early bird tickets are $8/adult, $6/seniors and military, $3/children 5-12, and under 5 free. Best get your tix here. 

 📖 Reading and Book Signing with Michael Kiggins
Burke’s Book Store
Friday, September 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Michael Kiggins is coming to Memphis to sign his debut novel, And the Train Kept Moving. The book is about Bryan Meigs, a gay alcoholic with OCD who struggles with the aftermath of getting date-raped and potentially infected with HIV. Oh, and the story is set in Memphis. Find out more here. 

🎨 2023 New Public Artist Fellowship Exhibition
Urban Art Commission
Friday, September 22, 6-9 p.m.
This exciting event offers visitors the opportunity to experience more traditional works created by UAC current fellows while eagerly anticipating the completion of their sculptural projects. The evening’s opening reception will include light hors d’oeuvres and drinks during the first hour, followed by remarks from fellows, where they will share insights about their experiences in the program so far. UAC’s fellows are Ethan James McVay, Kong Wee Pang, Brandon Scott, Pam McDonnell, Kendrick Pendelton, and Justin Bowles. RSVP for the free event here. 

🍪Meet the Author: Chloe Joy Sexton
Restaurant Iris
Friday, September 22, 6:30 p.m.
Join Novel at Restaurant Iris for a live cooking demonstration with dinner to celebrate Chloe Joy Sexton in honor of her book Big Yum: Supersized Cookies for Over-the-Top Cravings. The chefs at Iris will offer an intimate two-course dinner, and Sexton will do a live cooking demonstration, preparing a vanilla cheesecake with a berry compote. Tickets ($75) are required for this event and include a copy of Big Yum and the opportunity to meet the author and have your book signed. A virtual option is available for $23.99 and includes a signed copy of Big Yum and a link to watch the live cooking demonstration. Find more information about the event and purchase tickets here. And, hey, we got to talk to Sexton about her book, so why not give this Flyer piece a read?

💃 The Barbie Rave!
Black Lodge
Friday, September 22, 9:30 p.m.

Come on, Barbie, let’s go party! If you’re a Barbie girl in the Barbie world, great news: You’re invited to get plastic and throw down on the dreamhouse dance floor, as Black Lodge goes pink for a Barbie-themed rave. DJs will keep the music going all night, and catch Barbie visual insanity on the big screens. There’ll also be a special photo booth and specialty drinks. You’ll definitely want to get dolled up for the event in your best Barbie-esque outfit. Tickets are $10, and the event is 18+. Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!

💥 Memphis Comic Expo
Agricenter International
Saturday, September 23, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 
Sunday, September 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Memphis Comic Expo is one of the few remaining creator-focused conventions that shines a spotlight on artists and writers in the world of comics. Bringing you the best in local & regional talent, up-and-coming creators, and of course, the big names, this expo has one of the best comic-creator lineups in the South, a cosplay contest, panels, vendors, voice actors, artists and writers, food, drinks, and more. This year Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will make a special appearance. Find more information on the two-day extravaganza here. Tickets are $40 for Saturday general admission and $35 for Sunday general admission. Kids (12 and under) get in free. 

💃Latin Fest 901
Overton Square
Saturday, September 23, noon-6 p.m.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Cazateatro Theatre Group at this free, family-oriented festival, where family and friends can gather to listen and dance to live Latin music, taste some Latin food and drinks, and enjoy vendors and crafts for kids. Prior to the fest, catch Cazateato’s Roja, a Colombian take on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The performance is free and will take place 11-11:30 a.m. at TheatreWorks. RSVP here. 

🎶 Memphis Country Blues Festival 
Overton Park Shell
Saturday, September 23, 7 p.m.
The annual Country Blues festival is returning to Overton Park Shell this year with some additional programming. The evening starts with the sounds of Alvin Youngblood Hart followed by the official presentation of the Shell’s blues marker. Then stick around because the night will only grow in energy as the North Mississippi Allstars make their way to the stage to honor the history of this Shell event. Admission is free. Read this article for an inside scoop. 

🖌️ Intro to Graffiti and Basics of Using Spray Cans Workshop
Ravine
Sunday, September 24, noon-3 p.m.

Unleash your inner artist and join David Yancy III for a thrilling team-building workshop. Starting with a fascinating introduction to graffiti and the basics of using spray cans, this workshop will guide you through the process of creating your own masterpiece on the wall. You’ll learn how to structure letters, apply traditional graffiti techniques, and fill them in with captivating colors. But don’t worry if you’re an absolute beginner; this workshop is suitable for all levels and ages, and there will be an instructor there to offer expert guidance and support. All funds help support the artists of Paint Memphis. The class is $30/adults and $15/kids.

There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.

Submit events here or by emailing calendar@memphisflyer.com.

Categories
Book Features Books

Michael Kiggins’ And the Train Kept Moving

Photo: Courtesy Michael Kiggins

Earlier this month, Michael Kiggins released his debut novel, And the Train Kept Moving (Running Wild Press). Set in Memphis, the book uncovers the story of Bryan Meigs, described as “a gay alcoholic with OCD who struggles with the aftermath of getting date-raped and potentially infected with HIV.” It’s a story about mental illness, addiction, and compulsion, and it’s a story about a doomed quest for revenge. 

A former student of the University of Memphis, Kiggins now lives in Nashville but will return to Memphis for a reading and book signing at Burke’s Book Store this Friday at 5:30 p.m. In anticipation of the event, we spoke with the author about his debut novel and his writing journey. Here’s what he had to say. — Abigail Morici

Memphis Flyer: What drove you to write this book?

Michael Kiggins: It started off almost 20 years ago as part of my MFA thesis, but it was a completely different book. It’s gone through several drafts. The narrator and protagonist of the final published draft was originally a secondary character. Just full disclosure, I have OCD, kind of bad, and I just sort of locked into Bryan as the narrator and his mental illness and how that shapes the way that he looks at the world and reacts to the things that happened to him and the things that he does became the spine of the novel. I kind of wanted to explore [OCD] — sort of like, what if a person dealt with what I have sort of have dealt with and mostly gotten over, but that person didn’t [get over it] and what if they went into a really dark place because of it? And I wanted to study that in a time that advances in HIV treatment were there, had been there for about seven years, but it was nine years before the FDA would approve PrEP and 12 years before marriage equality. So much better times than the early ’80s and early ’90s, But his mental illness and just fixations and obsessions can’t really let him see past his own fears of infection. … 

There have been times in previous versions where [the novel] was third person and I just felt like it wasn’t clicking, that it was too removed. And I think one of the strengths of the narration in this final version is that you are so locked into Bryan’s sort of headspace, and — I don’t know if I succeeded at this — but I wanted readers to sort of feel trapped as he is in his own thoughts.

Why was it important for your character to have OCD?

OCD in popular culture and then media often gets reduced to very simplistic things often about tidiness and anal retentiveness, and I really would like for people to inhabit a character who is constantly on guard, trying to protect himself, not really fully understanding exactly how that is ruining his life. I wanted [readers] to feel the obsessive nature that often just gets reduced to a punchline. Also, by using the first person narrator, I wanted them to sort of sympathize with Bryan, but at the same time, by the end of the novel and over the course of the novel, to really begin questioning their allegiances, and why maybe they originally identified with him. I mean, he does some horrible stuff. The novel opens and we know he’s murdered somebody. To me the novel is a tragedy, but the narrator of this novel believes this is sort of a comedy in the classic sense. He is deluding himself. He thinks he’s claimed a victory, but we can hopefully recognize just the pure tragedy of it. 

Why did you choose to set your novel in Memphis over any other place?

I have been in Nashville since 2002, but I was in Memphis from the fall of 1993 until May 2002. I went to undergrad when it was still Memphis State University at the time. And I worked in the mental health field for a few years.Then I realized I didn’t want to do that with my life. So I Hail-Mary-ed an application for [University of Memphis’] MFA program and got in. I started writing [the story] in Memphis like little scraps of scenes here and there, and I didn’t change it because, I don’t know, I love Memphis to death. To me, Memphis was just such a character in the novel itself. And there’s just something about the city that when I lived there, I knew so many people that had been there forever and would rag on the city but they’d never moved. In certain ways, I wanted Bryan to be sort of emblematic of the kind of person who has stayed in Memphis maybe too long, but doesn’t really know how to move on with his life. 

What made you shift from working in the mental health field to pursuing creative writing?

I wasn’t an English major in undergrad. And in fact, I didn’t have enough English credits from undergrad when I got into the MFA program so I had to take some extra classes, but I wrote my first novel in high school. But when I graduated with my B.S. in psych, I worked in the mental health field, and by the end of that, I was so stressed that I had worn deep gouges into my steering wheel, just from the stress. Eventually, I went to work for Friends for Life, and it was one of the most rewarding and fulfilling jobs in my life. But I lost many clients to HIV. I had recently lost one of my favorite clients, and my partner was like, ‘Michael, do you want to do social work for the rest of your professional career?’ And it was such an obvious question, but I hadn’t really ever considered it. At that point, I had been writing a lot, but before the MFA program, I’d never been in a writing workshop. So that sort of opened my eyes to how much I needed to learn. But the program probably saved my life. If I had stayed in the mental health field without any sort of options, I don’t know who I would be today.

Do you feel that you were able to benefit by having another career before pursuing writing professionally and by working on this book for almost two decades?

I’m so grateful for the time I had to really just put this aside to grow as a person, to reconsider what I was attempting to do, and to maybe shed some of my youthful or late 20s, early 30 pretensions. I’m dealing with a lot of heavy topics, and with the very different book that it was way back then [when I first started], I don’t think I had enough insights to accomplish what I was trying to even then. So, yeah, the many extra years really let me sort of interrogate things on a deeper level and just simply refine my writing at the sentence level. But I’m also very grateful and glad that I’m being published before I’m 50. 

And the Train Kept Moving is available for purchase on Amazon and Burke’s Book Store. An audiobook is in production. 

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Tennessee Leads Nation in Arresting and Punishing Pregnant Women

Photo by niu niu on Unsplash

Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina lead the nation in arresting and criminally punishing women for allegedly posing a danger to their fetuses, according to a report released by advocacy group Pregnancy Justice.

Nationwide, nearly 1,400 people were arrested or subject to disparate bail, sentencing, and probation for conduct related to their pregnancies between 2005 and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2022 dismantling abortion rights, the report found. The vast majority were poor, white women, though poor Black women were disproportionately represented.

Tennessee accounted for 131 of those cases.

“Pregnant people have been criminalized at an accelerating rate for actions that would not be illegal but for a person’s pregnancy,” Lourdes Rivera, president of Pregnancy Justice, told reporters on Tuesday.

The report shows a substantial increase in the number of people being charged for crimes tied to pregnancy. In 2013, Pregnancy Justice released a report that found that law enforcement had targeted 413 pregnant people between 1973 — which marked the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion — and 2005. The new findings show those instances have tripled.

When we talk about back alley or secret abortions, that’s not the real risk to people’s lives.

– Nina Gurek, Healthy and Free Tennessee

Advocates pointed to two key drivers in criminalizing pregnancy: the expansion of so-called fetal rights or “personhood” laws and a more punitive approach to substance use among pregnant women — even as many states move to decriminalize drug abuse in line with evolving approaches to  addiction. The majority of criminal cases documented by Pregnancy Justice related to substance use, including marijuana, cocaine, or methamphetamines. In about one-quarter of these cases, the substance was legal: such as nicotine, alcohol, or prescription opiates.

In Tennessee, both factors hold true. Tennessee law says that “life begins at conception.” 

In 2014, Tennessee also became the first state in the nation to enact a “fetal assault law.” It allowed women to be prosecuted for drug use during pregnancy. The measure was criticized by state and national health and advocacy groups and was allowed to expire in 2016. Several efforts to reimplement the law have been introduced in the Tennessee Legislature since. 

Nina Gurek, policy director for Healthy and Free Tennessee, said that despite the law’s expiration her organization continues to hear of prosecutions involving pregnant women on child abuse or neglect charges involving legal and illegal substance use allegations.

“We know it’s still happening,” she said.

The Pregnancy Justice report warns that more people could face criminal charges or increased bonds or sentencing as states have enacted abortion bans and restrictions.

Tennessee’s strict abortion ban explicitly exempts pregnant women from prosecution for seeking abortions. But Gurek said she places no trust in the law’s protections. “When we talk about back alley or secret abortions, that’s not the real risk to people’s lives, it’s handcuffs.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.