Author: Matthew Harris

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Partnership Formed to Combat PPE Waste

The Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, and Keep Tennessee Beautiful announced a three-way partnership on Tuesday, August 18th. The partnership aims to reduce personal protective equipment litter and educate the public on proper PPE and single-use mask disposal.

“This partnership is a response to a rise in PPE litter, which TDOT has begun to notice on rights-of-way, and how we, as state agencies, can work together to share one impactful message,” TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright said.

TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright

Through the partnership, the groups will release a series of posts highlighting proper PPE disposal. Posts and additional messaging will be shared electronically by all three entities and made available through KTnB and their statewide network of affiliates. Proper PPE disposal has also been worked into TDOT’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” litter prevention campaign.

All social media posts will center around three main points:

  • Single-use masks, gloves, and wipes should not be placed into any recycling containers or disposed of on the ground. Improper disposal creates health and environmental hazards.
  • All PPE should be properly disposed of in a trash receptacle.
  • Wearing a reusable or cloth mask instead of single-use masks can reduce the amount of PPE waste going to landfills and help fight the spread of COVID-19.

“In these unusual times, unusual problems arise, and the litter of personal protective equipment is an example,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said. “We encourage all Tennesseans to be mindful of this issue and maintain their commitment to the beauty of our state. We are grateful to TDOT and Keep Tennessee Beautiful for their partnership in this effort.”

TDOT spends $15 million annually on litter pickup and prevention education. Through its efforts, the amount of roadside litter has decreased by 43 percent since 2006. Despite this, nearly 100 million pieces of litter occur on Tennessee roadsides at any given time.

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Countywide Poll Finds MPD Has Room to Improve

A countywide poll conducted last month found that respect for law enforcement in Memphis was at an all-time high, but confidence in law enforcement and their ability to effectively police their communities was lacking among African Americans.

The poll was conducted as part of the Safe Community Plan. Launched in 2007, the Safe Community Plan is a community-based crime reduction initiative spearheaded by the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission.

The Safe Community Plan hopes to strengthen community engagement in crime prevention efforts, empower the Memphis Police Department’s ability to reduce violent street crime, and improve intervention programs for ex-offenders. One of its key jobs is to foster a positive relationship with the community.

The poll was comprised of 450 registered voters, 294 of which were registered in Memphis. Forty-eight percent of the respondents identified as white, 46 percent as African American, and 5 percent as other. One percent refused the poll countywide.

Bill Gibbons

Ninety-five percent of those polled stated that they respected local law enforcement, 67 percent strongly agreeing and 28 percent somewhat agreeing. Seventy-eight percent stated that they support the hiring of more police officers. 

Race and ethnicity became a factor in answers when it came to the quality of policing experienced by Memphians.

Fifty-six percent of African Americans gave a positive rating for neighborhood policing efforts. Among white respondents, 85 percent gave positive ratings for neighborhood policing efforts.

Fifty percent of African Americans felt that local law enforcement is doing an excellent or good job enforcing the law in their communities. Among white respondents, confidence in local law enforcement was at 80 percent.

Trust in local law enforcement was also a problem, with only 45 percent of African Americans responding they felt that local police are doing an excellent or good job of being honest and trustworthy. Worse, only 37 percent of African Americans felt that local police are competent at solving crimes that occur across Shelby County.

President of the Crime Commission Bill Gibbons commented on the results, stating the need to improve.

“Respect for local law enforcement and support for more police officers is overwhelming across the board among various subgroups polled. At the same time, there is a feeling — especially among African American respondents — that there is room for improvement, ranging from reducing violent crime to reducing unnecessary use of force.”

A full breakdown of the report can be found at memphiscrime.org.

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Operation LeGend Hopes to Curb Violent Crime in Memphis

Thursday Afternoon United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced Operation LeGend will be expanding into the City of Memphis.

Operation LeGend is a sustained, systematic, and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant

“The most basic responsibility of government is to protect the safety of our citizens,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Today, we have extended Operation Legend to Memphis and St. Louis, two cities experiencing increases in violent crime that no resident of those cities should have to accept as part of everyday life.”

The move will lead to 40 federal investigators from the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Homeland Security Investigations Unit being deployed in the city, 26 of which will remain in Memphis for the foreseeable future.

The federal investigators will be working with ongoing investigations through the Multi-Agency Gang Unit, the goal of which is to combat violent gangs, gun crime, and drug trafficking organizations.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance has also pledged $200,000 to support Operation LeGend’s violent crime reduction efforts in the city of Memphis, in addition to a prior grant award of $1.4 million to Shelby County to help bolster their law enforcement infrastructure.

Memphis has experienced a significant increase in violent crimes over the year with homicides in the city up 49 percent since 2019. The Shelby County District Attorney General stated that Memphis has a “public health crisis” as well as a “public safety crisis.”

“In the midst of a public health crisis, we are dealing with a public safety crisis. This help from our federal partners will mean justice for more families devastated by all of this violence. For that I am grateful. But for lasting change, we need the community to do more. We need a coordinated community reaction to the disturbing number of murders —- to the number of children we have buried. We need everyone to do their part to combat the growing number among us who embrace violent behavior.”

Operation LeGend began following the murder of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro early on June 29th. Operation LeGend was first launched in Kansas City on July 8th and has expanded to Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

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President Trump Bans Social Media Apps TikTok and WeChat

CREDIT: Kon Karampelas

Kon Karampelas

Late Thursday evening, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders banning social media apps TikTok and WeChat from operating in the United States in 45 days.

President Trump Bans Social Media Apps TikTok and WeChat

Under the ban, transactions between American companies and citizens and the Chinese tech giant Tencent would be prohibited if they are not sold to American companies under the allotted time.

The executive orders do not state what ownership percentage or global markets would have to be given to American companies to pause the ban. The Trump administration has also stated that any deal would have to include a “substantial amount of money” coming to the U.S. Treasury.

The Trump administration had been critical of the apps, stating that their data collection process could put Americans at risk despite numerous experts citing their data collection practices were on par with the industry standard.

Nonetheless, in his executive orders, President Trump stated that the apps could “allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”

President Trump had initially set a deadline of Sept. 15 for when ByteDance, owner of TikTok, would need to sell the social media app to an American-owned company. Microsoft has been in talks of acquiring TikTok’s business in certain markets, specifically the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but has shown little interest in their other markets.

The move leaves a lot in the air as Tencent is also the owner of some of the largest U.S.-based game developers in the world. The company retains full ownership of Riot Games, developers of popular games League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and Valorant; 40 percent ownership of Epic Games, developers of the popular shooter Fortnite; and 5 percent ownership of Activision Blizzard, the parent company of the developers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Destiny 2.

Though White House officials confirmed that the initial wave of bans will not affect video game companies owned by Tencent, potential Chinese retaliation and subsequent executive orders could put them at risk.

President Trump Bans Social Media Apps TikTok and WeChat (2)

TikTok released a statement following the announcement where it expressed confusion and shock at the decision.

“For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.”

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House Blocks Amendment To Bar U.S. Military Recruiting on Video Game Sites

An amendment proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that would bar the U.S. military from using the popular video game streaming site, Twitch, was struck down in the House last week.

Launched in 2011, Twitch is now one of the largest video game streaming sites in the world, with more than 15 million average users per day. Users tune in to watch personalities play games as well as interact with them through the chat feature. `

The proposed amendment to the House Appropriations Bill would have prohibited the use of funds for military recruitment via Twitch and other esports activities. The amendment was introduced in response to the aggressive recruiting that had been used by all branches of the military on the site, with the U.S Army being the most prevalent.

The U.S military branches had been cited on multiple occasions for their predatory recruitment tactics that seemed to target children visiting the site. In early July, the U.S Army was given a warning by the site for using fake giveaway links that directed people to recruitment pages.

Piyush Kumar, founder of Memphis-based esports team, Glaive Esports, was critical of the practice.

“I think that U.S Army recruitment is important, but there is a reasonable place for it,” said Kumar. “There is a section on Twitch called “Just Chatting,” where content creators can directly speak to viewers about a range of topics, and many of them can be educational. I see no harm in the military giving educational presentations on the platform about joining the military, but baiting viewers with false giveaways is not the right way to go about it.”

The tactic was also condemned by Ocasio-Cortez.

Though the draft of the amendment was initially approved, Ocasio-Cortez relayed frustration at her colleagues’ lack of knowledge regarding the amendment via Twitter following the vote.

House Blocks Amendment To Bar U.S. Military Recruiting on Video Game Sites (2)

Both the U.S Army and the U.S Navy have denied wrongdoing and have stated that they will continue to stream on Twitch.

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Federal Legislation Would Ban Greyhound Racing Nationwide

CREDIT: Southland Casino Racing

Southland Casino Racing

New federal legislation would end greyhound racing nationwide and also ban the use of live animals for greyhound training.

The bill, known as the Greyhound Protection Act, was introduced Wednesday by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) and Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-San Fernando).

“Greyhound racing will soon end in the United States, and this bill allows for a managed phase-out of the activity to enable planning to provide homes for the dogs and certainty for the owners, workers, and breeders in the industry,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “Greyhound racing is dying, and it’s best to manage the shutdown of the industry to allow for a soft landing for the people and the animals involved.”

The bill comes in the wake of a national investigation by GREY2K USA which found rampant cases of animals abused in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The investigation found evidence of “farms” training dogs by allowing them to chase and maul live animals to accustom them to chasing the mechanical lure used for racing.

“Our new investigation of greyhound breeding farms shows that dog racing is cruel from start to finish,” noted Christine A. Dorchak, president and general counsel of GREY2K USA. “This is an antiquated industry with a compulsion for cruelty.

In June, Texas’s last track became the most recent one to announce an end to live racing. Alabama’s lone track announced an end to live racing effective in April. Last October, Southland Casino Racing stated that they would close their West Memphis track by December 2022.

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Online Lecture Series Focuses on Black Lives in America

CREDIT: Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash

Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash


This week the national nonprofit Braver Angels continues its 2020 social action campaign with a series of lectures centered around sharing the experiences of African Americans in the United States.

The goal of their 2020 campaign is to “show the American people how to ‘fight right’ — how to compete with one another politically and engage our differences in a way that builds our bonds rather than destroys them.”

Braver Angels is a grassroots organization that works to closes depolarize politics. The group consists of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents and hosts lectures, guest speakers, film views, and open panels with the hope of finding common ground in politics.

This Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m., the group will be hosting an American Public Forum scholar Glenn Loury, media entrepreneur, and activist Joy Donnell, and businessman/community advocate Nel Glover in a discussion on the future of Black America. The event will be moderated by Braver Angels.

On Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m., the Braver Angels community and Americans from across the country will debate the subject of reparations and the logistics behind them in modern times. Coleman Hughes, Roderick Graham, Jason Hill are guests to look out for during the live stream.

Finally, on Friday starting at 8 p.m., Braver Angels will be hosting the inaugural meeting of the Braver Angels Film discussion group by doing a deep dive into the movie Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America.

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Shelby County Schools to Go All-Virtual This Fall

Shelby County Schools to Go All-Virtual This Fall


As the numbers of confirmed COVID–19 cases continue to rise in Memphis, Shelby County Schools superintendent Dr. Joris M. Ray announced Monday that the district will begin its school year fully virtual starting on August 31st.

The move came amid growing national pressure for schools to remain closed due to the COVID–19 pandemic. However, Ray cited the growing number of cases and uncertainty of the pandemic as major factors in the decision. 

“Safety signage, spacing desks, more hand sanitizer, and masks simply cannot make a school safe in a community that is experiencing a daily triple-digit increase of virus cases,” Ray said in a video announcement. “There are more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County — a 9.3% positivity rate and growing. Science tells us that by September, our community will reach the same trajectory as New York City, and this figure does not account for the students returning to school.”

Teachers will have the option to teach remotely or in classrooms, but all students will rely on remote learning until further notice.

To supplement the process all students will be given a digital device and have the opportunity for an internet hotspot, based on need. Shelby County Schools will also continue to provide meals for students and accommodations to students who receive special education services.

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Council Committee Approves ‘Black Lives Matter’ Renaming

Memphis City Hall

The Memphis City Council’s planning and zoning committee passed an amended form of a resolution that called for the renaming of a stretch of Poplar Avenue to Black Lives Matter Avenue.

The committee voted eight to four in favor of the amended form of the resolution with councilwoman Rhonda Logan abstaining. Though the committee unanimously agreed in the sentiment behind the resolution, conflict arose after, as an amendment called for a change in the location of the stretch of road and a street to also be named in honor of the late John Lewis. 

Through the resolution, the location and name of the stretch of road will be reviewed by an advisory committee established earlier in the day to assist the council regarding city of Memphis street, park, and place names. The resolution was initially proposed by council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas in a press conference Monday morning.

The council plans to use the Land Use Control Board to rename the stretch of Poplar between Front Street and Danny Thomas Boulevard.

“This particular stretch was chosen because it highlights where … we spend most of our budget and our citizen’s tax dollars and the target institutions in which we have the current capacity to change for the present and for future generations,” said Easter-Thomas.

Council member JB Smiley was critical of the committee’s decision, citing that they had the power to make a decision today.

“For far too long we have been pushing and kicking the can down for Black people to get what they deserve,” said Smiley. “What we are proposing today is simply telling Black folks your time for justice should be delayed. I cannot fathom why people, particularly in the city of Memphis, would want to delay what’s due.”

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SCS and U of M Partner to Found George Floyd Memorial Scholarship

CREDIT: University of Memphis

University of Memphis

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, local educators have banded together to create a new opportunity for Memphis-area students.

Shelby County Schools (SCS) superintendent Joris Ray and University of Memphis president M. David Rudd have committed to the creation of the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship fund as a means of fighting the systemic racism and racial inequality faced by African Americans in education.

The fund will provide college scholarship support for African American Male Academy members, as well as college-readiness preparation.

The African American Male Academy is a partnership between SCS and the university, aimed at improving graduation rates throughout Memphis. The academy targets middle-school-aged African-American boys with the goal of creating a hub of inclusive excellence that exposes middle-school boys to African-American professors and staff. The first class of 50 was inducted into the program on Sunday, June 7th.

“I’m proud to join my good friend, Dr. Rudd, in this work of putting a laser-like focus on the empowerment of young men of color in middle schools across the city,” said Ray. “Through this memorial scholarship, we’ve set out to ensure that George Floyd did not die in vain, and that his final cries for breath will forever be ingrained in our consciousness.”

Rudd granted that this was “only one small step” toward productive change and that the U of M would be continuing to make “concrete changes and reforms” in the coming months.

More information about the African American Male Academy can be found here.