This week on the Memphis Flyer Podcast, it’s RiverBeat time! Alex Greene talks about his cover story interviews with Chuck D, Bobby Rush, Cage the Elephant, and DJ Zirk. Plus, Memphis rock legend Greg “Oblivian” Cartwright visits to give us the skinny on his latest project The Hypos.
The Shelby County Health Department’s (SCHD) decision as to whether or not they will grant air permits for xAI’s gas turbines could take weeks, officials said.
During Wednesday’s Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, Kasia Smith-Alexander, deputy director of SCHD, said that as the public comment period closes, the agency’s next step is to respond to the comment.
“To give you a timeline on when or if a decision will be made on that permit — probably weeks out, I don’t want to put a date on it,” Smith-Alexander said.
She noted that on Friday the health department held a public hearing regarding the permits, and since then they had received about 300 additional comments.
Officials said the permit is only for 15 permanent turbines, and not 35, which the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) brought attention to in a letter to Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department.
At the commission’s hospitals and health committee meeting, Commissioner Erika Sugarmon sponsored a resolution that asks for an update from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) regarding the “remaining steps and time necessary to connect xAI to the local utility grid.”
The resolution requests that this update be given by June 1
Smith-Alexander said the permanent turbines are supposed to go on the grid “at some point in time.”
The commissioner said her original intent was to have a six-month moratorium for the operation of the turbines, but was informed this would be a request and not a requirement of the health department.
Megan Smith, a staff member of the county attorney’s office, said there is no legal definition of moratorium “in this process as defined by law.”
“This body only has authority that is granted to it by law,” Smith said. “There is no authority to issue a moratorium on this process.”
Sugarmon went on record and requested that the public comment period be extended as TVA, MLGW, and the Chamber of Commerce have not come before the commission to provide updates on the grid. She also asked for a list of people who signed NDAs
While elected officials are working to stop the turbines, this has not stopped the public from asking the health department to deny the permits.
“We call on Shelby County Health Director Dr. Michelle Taylor and Mayor Lee Harris to deny the permit and shut the xAI plant down,” Rep. Justin J. Pearson said before a “Deny the Permit Rally” held Wednesday. “xAI is poisoning our air, and we are organizing to stop it. We want less pollution, not more. Our health is not for sale.”
Orion Overstreet, a University of Memphis student organizer, said they are watching and researching and promised to keep showing up on the issue.
“The young folks in the city are coming together around this issue,” Overstreet said. “We have all eyes on this right now.”
Memphis on the internet.
Clayborn Temple
Clayborn Temple was lost to flames Sunday. The church was a civil rights landmark undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation. The cause of the fire was not yet shared with the public as of press time.
He Did It
Comedian Benny Elbows broke the world record for longest stand-up comedy show at the Hi Tone last weekend. He started close to 6 a.m. last Friday and told jokes for 40-plus hours, ending his show after 10 p.m. last Saturday. Sunday night, Elbows said on Facebook, “I’m awake and I went to Costco.”
Zoom Over the Zoo
The Memphis Zoo’s new Zoomazing Race: Predator vs. Predator, a thrilling dual zip line ride, opened last weekend.
“Like many leading zoos across the country, we are evolving to offer dynamic experiences that appeal to all types of guests, from wildlife enthusiasts to thrill seekers,” the zoo said in an Instagram post.
A single ride is $10 but rides are also available in certain ticket and membership packages.
Memphis residents and elected officials gathered to voice their opinions on xAI during last Friday’s public hearing hosted by the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD). The hearing, held at Fairley High School, was to discuss xAI’s gas turbine permit.
In early April, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution for the department to host a public hearing prior to the approval or denial of the permit submitted by CTC Property LLC, an affiliate of xAI.
The permit is for the 15 permanent turbines for the South Memphis facility, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups and citizens alike. An April 9th letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department, said the organization obtained aerial images in March that showed xAI had 35 gas turbines.
“Our analysis shows these turbines together have a power generating capacity of 421 megawatts — comparable to an entire TVA [Tennessee Valley Authority] power plant — all constructed and operating unlawfully without any air permit in Southwest Memphis, a community that is profoundly overburdened with industrial pollution,” SELC said. The turbines have been linked to emitting an estimated 16.7 tons of formaldehyde.
Prior to the hearing, Representative Justin J. Pearson held a press conference urging citizens to be “fired up against the richest man in the room. … This is how we change the course of history,” he said. “This is how we fight those who say we don’t have power. We show up as Black folk and white folk, as folks from South Memphis and North Memphis, and East Memphis, Downtown, and Midtown, saying what is happening to those in 38109 is happening to all of us.”
Aside from environmental and community activists, representatives of the Greater Memphis Chamber were present at last Friday’s meeting. The officials had hosted a webinar days before to address concerns about transparency, water usage, and the turbines.
SCHD’s Taylor told Friday’s audience the purpose of the hearing was to record and hear concerns and comments about the air permit. “What we’re seeking to do today, in addition to getting your comments, is educate the public on the environmental impacts to our communities and encourage all of our elected officials to involve the public in decision making every single time,” Taylor said. “Our community deserves to be educated from a place of truth.”
Prior to opening the comment period, xAI representative Brent Mayo gave a statement but could not be heard over the audience’s booing. “We don’t want you here!” an audience member said.
Commenters, such as KeShaun Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, criticized officials for not doing enough to protect citizens and praised SELC for their work in providing information.
“It’s time we tell the truth about what political abandonment looks like,” Pearson said. “The truth is there is no support coming from our public institutions who are here to protect us.”
Kelsey Huse, a master’s student studying city planning at the University of Memphis, noted she’d been told she shouldn’t care about pollution in South Memphis but rather crime.
“I’m here to tell you how caring about air pollution is caring about crime,” Huse said. “There are many reasons to be against these turbines, but on the subject of air quality it cannot be disconnected from crime.” Huse cited a study from the University of California-Davis that found wind direction could affect irritability and potentially lead to “poor decision-making.”
Glenda Hicks noted South Memphis communities like Boxtown have consistently been disenfranchised. “We care about lives,” Hicks said. “I care about my people, and if you, the representatives, care about the people of Memphis, do the right thing: Deny this permit. Elon Musk — we do not want him in Memphis.”
There are music festivals, and then there are Memphis music festivals. When artists big or small hear that the Bluff City is calling, it hits differently: The history here calls them as much as the prospect of playing to huge Mid-South crowds. And it’s striking just how many global artists have ties to this little corner of Tennessee, either through family or the city’s champion musicians playing in their bands — or simply a love of (sampling?) the city’s music.
That’s especially true for the RiverBeat Music Festival, happening from this Friday, May 2nd, through Sunday, May 4th, at Tom Lee Park. While it’s featuring headliners Missy Elliott, The Killers, and Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals, the fest always starts with record numbers of local acts right out of the gate, built on a foundation of Memphis musicianship regardless of the marquee names. That’s especially true in the festival’s second year. Nearly 30 of the scheduled artists are local (and that’s not even counting all the students at the School of Rock).
But some of RiverBeat’s national touring acts not normally associated with the Bluff City also have strong ties here — none of them bigger than the hip-hop legends who first called on us to “Fight the Power,” who’ll be playing the prime time slot on Saturday night some 40 years after they started.
Public Enemy
It may seem absurd to associate the quintessential New York rappers of righteousness with Memphis, but it’s a deep connection that Public Enemy’s co-founder, Chuck D, is quick to point out. “I got roots in Memphis,” he says. “You know — with Stax. And I got roots in Memphis with Sun. I’m very knowledgeable about it, and Memphis has been great to me back in my past. You know, it’s like I had another lifetime in the Mid-South. Every time I step on that bluff, I mean, I feel like I’m like a cousin.”
He goes on to explain the city’s unique evolution as a distribution center and hub. “I’m a historian, and whenever you take geography and history away from a people, then you’ve got slavery all over again. So when I went into Memphis, I knew where I was going. I knew the history. I knew the history of the music, and I ended up learning even more. The music changed the world, from Beale Street down to Stax on McLemore, Sun Records with Sam Phillips and Elvis. My knowledge and appreciation and research is thorough and just doesn’t talk out of the side of my face, off the top of my head. It’s always with all due respect of my time in Memphis. My heroes are in Memphis.”
Astute readers will note that even Elvis Presley gets some respect, though Chuck D brought the King down a notch when he rapped that “he didn’t mean shit to me” in 1988’s “Fight the Power” — one of that era’s boldest lyrical moments.
“‘Fight the Power’ was a record that was made for the movie Do the Right Thing, which talked about the disparity of heroes. So therefore, in a half-joking type of way, in the third verse, I knock out American heroes like Elvis Presley and John Wayne, to say, like, ‘Hey, what the fuck? Move over,’ you know? I say, if you want to battle me on that, let’s battle. Once you’re going to rap and battle, make sure your words mean something.
“These were moving battles related to the film. How come there ain’t no brothers on the wall? If you never saw the movie, then you’re gonna miss the point of the third verse, where I talk about Elvis. One of the things that the song talks about is like, ‘Okay, no more than Elvis. No more than John Wayne.’ We’ve had other heroes, especially in Memphis. Sun Records starts out with a Black roster with Sam Phillips. What? I mean, what does the average person know until they learn some of these things? They need to teach the culture in the school systems. And that’s a beautiful thing about going over to the Stax [Music] Academy, which I intend to visit. Those are my people over there, and a big up and salute to Ms. Deanie Parker, as always. And my people over at Sun. I was over at Sun one time with some engineers — and Rufus Thomas. Also a big up to Boo Mitchell over at Royal.”
The rapper celebrates some of these Memphis icons in his latest “naphic grovel” (a play on “graphic novel”), Interficial ARTelligence: The Moments That Met Me on Akashic Books, in which he illustrates his encounter with several Stax legends during a panel discussion of the Wattstax film. “I’m part of the newer generation speaking up for them,” he writes.
It turns out that Chuck D admires some lesser-known hometown luminaries as well, including the rapper/producer Memphis Jelks, who’s announced that he’ll be making a cameo with the group this Saturday, and local bassist/guitarist Khari Wynn, who’s worked with Public Enemy since 2001. “There’s nothing like Khari Wynn,” says Chuck D. “He was our band leader for 20 years! And he still works on sessions. He plays on Public Enemy records when he’s called up and plays guitar on many songs, and has written a few songs.
“We moved away from the band concept when DJ Lord went to Cypress Hill and Khari went back home to Memphis,” Chuck D explains, “and now we have a more DJ-oriented sort of combination, but Khari’s been doing great things with his band in Memphis.”
When I speak to Wynn, who typically plays bass in (full disclosure) a band we’re both in, I ask him about his guitar work. “I kind of bounce back and forth between bass and guitar,” he says. “Most of the time I play bass, but I did do a lot of guitar work with Energy Disciples [another band Wynn founded]. And there’s actually an Energy Disciples record that Chuck added spoken word to, a track called ‘Eternity’s Promise.’”
Asked if Wynn might join Public Enemy at RiverBeat this weekend, Chuck D offers that it’s a distinct possibility. “We don’t have an open- or a closed-door policy,” he says. “We have a no-door policy. So if Khari wants to get up there with his guitar and play, you know we’re gonna be there.”
Bobby Rush
One RiverBeat appearance that’s guaranteed to have plenty of guitars will be the “Royal Studios Blues Experience” showcase on Friday night, which will bring together different generations of players who bear the blues deep in their bones: Duwayne, Garry, and Kent Burnside of the late R.L. Burnside’s extended family; Kinney Kimbrough, the late Junior Kimbrough’s son; and elder statesman of the blues Bobby Rush.
Originally from Arkansas, Rush now resides in Jackson, Mississippi, yet vividly recalls how all blues players were drawn to Memphis as he was getting started, including R.L. Burnside. “R.L., I knew him well from way back, the first time in 1954, I believe,” he says. “We were all just out there, eating what we could, when we could make $2 or $3 here and there, just playing music, man. He was a farmer, a country boy like myself. We both were young at the time, and I don’t know who was the oldest, me or him, but we were around the same age.
“I was from Arkansas, but we were all music players, looking for a place to eat, drink, and stay with some lady because you couldn’t go into a hotel. That’s when I first started coming through that area, even coming to Memphis, Tennessee. Now, you could go on Beale Street, but you couldn’t go on Peabody Street as a Black man. It just wouldn’t happen, man. Me and Rufus Thomas were working on Beale Street. I was doing what I had to do. Me and B.B. King were down in Helena, Arkansas, and I thought to come to Beale Street because of him and Rufus Thomas.”
Rush, for his part, is delighted to be playing with the “youngsters,” all middle-aged men themselves, and all hailing from North Mississippi. “I relate to them through the father and grandfather, and we’ve made good friends. I did a few things with them in the past. I make it happen, man. They’ve got everything to gain from being with me. I don’t have that much to gain with them, rather than being a friend with their parents. And I want to do something with them because it makes them look good. I’m like the grandfather now.”
Though all these bluesmen hail from Mississippi, their respective approaches to the blues actually contrast sharply. The showcase will be mashing up two different flavors of blues. Rush, rooted in an Arkansas Delta style, yet heavily influenced by his many decades on the electrified Chicago scene, notes the differences between his take on the blues and what’s found in the North Mississippi hill country. “They know about what they were taught in the area because most of them don’t play with changes. It’s just one straight beat. But they got a good beat, and it’s a style. That’s what they know. And it’s an old Mississippi style. I don’t think too many people know about this style, but it’s a good thing to keep it going, you know. It’s a good thing they’re doing it because not many guys around are still doing it.”
Cage the Elephant
At first glance, the ties between the indie rock hitmakers Cage the Elephant and Memphis may not be obvious. Some have compared their sound, justifiably, to the Pixies or other bands of that era, but really their approach has always been to break out from any one style. As guitarist and producer Brad Shultz notes, “We will always go into a record trying to really come to the table with a mindset of genre-blending, pulling different things from different genres that don’t necessarily go together. When you smash them together, something special happens.”
Aside from the band’s reverence for the eclecticism of both the first and second “British Invasions,” from the Beatles to Blur, Shultz says, “We attribute that to our ADHD, which I think is more of a blessing than a curse. It’s always suited us well to have our minds go in five different directions.”
Speaking of the British, that culture has always figured heavily into the band’s evolution, especially when all the members moved en masse from their hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, to London, England, around 2008. “It was a big eye-opening and learning experience for us,” Shultz says. But before that, Memphis loomed large in their world.
“Memphis definitely had a big kind of blues influence on us, especially very early in our career,” he notes. “And Memphis was in our regional tours. We would play a show in Nashville, one in our hometown of Bowling Green, one in Memphis, one in Chattanooga, one in Knoxville, and in Louisville as well. We would pick a week out and just hit every one of those spots. So, you know, it’s another full-circle moment to go back to Memphis, where we played tiny, tiny clubs and come back and do these festivals.”
The sounds of the Bluff City also impacted the band, Shultz says. “We were always big fans of Otis Redding — our father kind of raised us on that. And Bill Withers [produced by Booker T. Jones], who I don’t think was a Stax artist but definitely had a huge impact on us.”
This will be a watershed year for the band, as they’ll be connecting with their influences from both sides of the Atlantic, playing in Memphis and then opening on the American leg of the Oasis reunion tour this summer. “It’s such an incredible honor,” says Shultz. “You know, they’re a band that had a huge influence on us, so it’s just kind of crazy that we’re opening up for them. A real full-circle moment.”
DJ Zirk
Perhaps RiverBeat’s ultimate full-circle moment will come when seven rap innovators from the 1990s will take to the stage Friday evening as the “Memphis Rap OGz,” featuring La Chat, Crunchy Black, Al Kapone, Skinny Pimp, DJ Zirk, Gangsta Pat, and DJ Spanish Fly. While Al Kapone has kept up a steady supply of releases in over the years, lately melding his unique rap style with some heavy blues flavors, others on the bill have not had such a high profile. DJ Zirk, for one, bowed out of the spotlight in favor of doing production work for years, before resuming his release of new material around 2018.
“I was very honored that I was one of the ones that was picked,” says Zirk. “I mean, I would have done it for free. I really want to do it for my city, my hometown, and, you know, just let them experience the Memphis sound.”
That would be the new Memphis sound, the sound of crunk, that’s been ruling the airwaves for the past 20 years, from Three 6 Mafia to Yo Gotti to the late Young Dolph. It all began with the mixtapes created by the OGs back in the ’90s, a Southern alternative to the dominant West Coast or East Coast hip-hop of the time.
“When me and DJ Squeeky came out,” says Zirk, speaking of the pioneering producer of 8Ball & MJG and Young Dolph, “we had a totally different, unique sound. You know what I’m saying? We were driven by bass, you know? It’s Boom Boom in the trunk! All our stuff had that bass in it. But people loved it! And we came up in the age of hip-hop, where hip-hop wasn’t about bass. So we got so much criticism, you know, because Memphis was hip-hop at a certain point in time.”
Zirk’s enthusiasm is contagious as he recalls those years. “We were like, ‘We’ve gotta invent ourselves,’ and that’s when we started producing and doing more records together. And since then, our music has never stopped. The only time we had it on hold was somewhere in the late ’90s, really, or maybe 2000, because it was like everybody was taking a piece of our sound. When we were starting it, nobody was really doing what we were doing.”
In Zirk’s reckoning, the challenges to hip-hop’s sound taking place in the South weren’t uniform by any means. But the power of the Memphis sound was undeniable. “When we went to places like Mississippi, Texas, or Georgia, people would look at us and be like, ‘Who are they?’” he says. “Nobody had that sound. And think about it: It was dark; it was funk; it was bass-y. It wasn’t like Miami or people in Atlanta. And in Texas, they would take somebody else’s record and slow it down, right? With the Squeeky thing, we were producing our own stuff. And our style was deep and slow. So when people heard us, it was like, ‘Wow, that’s it!’ Because you can DJ, you can play it in the club, and people will dance off it. It’s like people that got a whiff of this sound and, man, it was like, copied, copied, copied, re-copied. Now it’ll turn into funk; it’ll turn into trap; it’ll turn into a lot of different stuff. And that’s the thing: Now it means we can sit and talk and say, ‘Wow, what we did transformed so many styles.’”
West Virginia sculptor Jamie Lester will create the sculpture of West Tennessee frontiersman and statesman David Crockett for an iconic spot on the Tennessee State Capitol.
State lawmakers agreed to erect a statue of David Crockett on the capitol grounds in 2021. Efforts to do so go back to at least the creation of the David Crockett Commission in 2012. (Read our previous story on this here.)
Crockett’s statue will replace a statue of racist, segregationist newspaper editor and politician Edward Carmack. He was, among other things, the editor of the Memphis Commercial newspaper when he incited a mob against anti-lynching activist, journalist, editor, and business woman Ida B. Wells. The mob destroyed her newspaper office.
Carmack was shot and killed by political rivals in Nashville, near where his statue was erected in 1927. The statue was installed, however, by a prohibition group (Carmack was also a staunch prohibitionist) that thought his big-profile death could further their cause.
Protesters tore down Carmack’s statue in 2020 during the turmoil following the police killing of George Floyd. One of the 2021 bill’s sponsors, Sen. Steve Southerland (R-Morristown), even told The Chattanooga Times Free Press at the time, he “didn’t think it would be possible to remove Carmack.” The newspaper story said, Southerland “smiled and then added: ‘Someone removed it for us, so they did us a favor.’”
Lester and his company, Vandalia Bronze, were selected Tuesday by the State Capitol Commission (SCC). The vote came after several meetings of a group to find sculptors, receive proposals, and narrow down 28 proposals to the finalists for the SCC. That group of technical advisors included David Crockett experts, sculptors, legislators, state officials, Tennessee Arts Commission members, architects, and historians.
Lester and his team have produced projects for the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance, and he created a life-sized sculpture of actor Don Knotts for the city of Morgantown, West Virginia. His work also includes numerous sculptures of people in business, sports, politics, and religion.
Artists for the Crockett statue were scored in three categories. Lester scored highest of them all in each category. His proposal for Crockett shows the man as a “guardian of the frontier” standing atop a stone with his dogs Rattler and Tigger beside him. Crockett’s body for the statue will likely stand eight to nine feet tall, according to State Architect Ann McGauran.
Crockett’s dogs, it seemed, helped to win Lester’s design admiration and votes.
“I personally love the incorporation of the dogs,” said Tennessee Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson after the vote Tuesday. “I’m a dog person. I think the dogs make it really special.”
To this, McGauran said the dogs got plenty of discussion from the group of technical advisors working on the Crockett statue project.
The State Building Commission will soon vote on Lester’s contract. If approved, his team will deliver a one-third scale model of the final design. If the design is approved, the Crockett statue will be delivered and ready for installation on the south side of the capitol by 2026.
Nine Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis high school sites will close at the end of the current school year. Officials said this is a result of American Rescue Plan Act funds running out.
Club officials sai they were awarded $9 million in federal funding from the City of Memphis in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.With these funds, the nonprofit was able to open 10 high school club sites.
While the funds ran out in October 2024, the organization made the decision to continue funding these sites through the current school year.
On May 24 the sites at Booker T. Washington, Hamilton, Raleigh Egypt, Ridgeway, Sheffield, Trezevant, Westwood, and Woodale will close. These sites focused on workforce development and job readiness. This consisted of interview and application prep, workplace visits, and opportunities to become certified in welding, culinary arts, and forklift operation.
“This is the hardest news we’ve had to share,” Gwendolyn Woods, CEO of Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis, said. “It’s particularly difficult, because some of these schools are in high-crime areas, and business owners around the sites told us crime started to fall when we gave the high schoolers positive things to do after school.”
Woods has been with the organization for 10 years, starting as a club director and working with kids directly. She said they always wanted to expand their programs – providing a safe place for students to go after school.
“We all know most violent crimes happen after school hours,” Woods said. “3,500 kids had access to our programs after school. This gave the schools[and] parents peace.”
The organization reported that 100 percent of high school seniors in their programs graduate with future plans in mind including going to college, getting a job, or enlisting in the military. They also said 57 percent of alumni said “the club saved their life.”
Seeing the importance of these programs is what encouraged the club to keep operating these sites after the funds ran out. She said the organization still worked to provide funds by talking to different community leaders, however she noted it costs $2.1 million to run the 10 branches alone.
Woods said it was a hard decision, especially since she served as COO when these clubs first opened, where she was tasked with hiring “passionate” staff members. This announcement will impact 49 employees.
The nonprofit is still working to serve the students who were members at one of the sites, and are looking to provide transportation to their “traditional” sites. They have also added a program specialist role, where a staff member will facilitate Boys and Girl Club activities inside the affected high schools.
“If somebody wants to fund these programs then we feel like at short notice, we can build them back up again,” Woods said. “Right now we have to work with what we have, and we plan to focus on our traditional sites.”
After the closure, 11 sites will be open including two high school sites located at Craigmont and Melrose
Woods said they are also working on recruitment, marketing, and fundraising. Through fundraising, they are able to offer memberships for $10, with scholarship options available.
“Right now we have a grant team and a development team that are really working from sun up to sun down to secure funds for the organization and the work that we do,” Woods said.
Shock, sadness, and a promise to persevere dominate reactions from community leaders and organizations Monday on the overnight fire which gutted Clayborn Temple in Downtown Memphis.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young
This morning, we woke up to heartbreaking news: a devastating fire has ravaged one of our city’s greatest treasures, Clayborn Temple.
Clayborn is more than a historic building. It is sacred ground. It is the beating heart of the civil rights movement, a symbol of struggle, hope, and triumph that belongs not just to Memphis but to the world.
Standing in the shadow of that steeple, generations of Memphians found their courage. Today, in the face of this tragedy, we must find ours once again.
We grieve deeply for what has been lost, but we also stand ready to honor Clayborn’s legacy the only way we know how: by coming together to restore, rebuild, and remember.
The spirit of Clayborn Temple cannot be burned away. It lives in every act of justice, every fight for equality, every dream of a better future that takes root in Memphis.
I want to personally thank the brave firefighters who responded so quickly this morning. And I pledge to the people of Memphis: our city will stand with the leaders, funders, and caregivers of Clayborn Temple to help ensure this sacred place rises again.
Clayborn Temple has seen struggle before, and it has always overcome. So will we.
Anasa Troutman
founder and executive director of Historic Clayborn Team; founder and CEO of The Big We
Early this morning, our beloved Historic Clayborn Temple — a sacred landmark in our city and our nation — suffered a devastating loss due to a fire.
Our hearts are heavy with grief. For decades, Clayborn and the iconic I AM A MAN signs born in its basement have stood as an international beacon of resilience, faith, and the work to build beloved communities. It is a living testament of our past sacrifices and our future hope.
Clayborn’s true spirit was never in the walls alone. It lives in us.
Even as we mourn, we must remember: resilience is our birthright, but so is the space to grieve. Our ancestors endured, grieved, rebuilt, and transcended unimaginable losses. We will do the same.
To everyone who has loved, supported, and prayed for Historic Clayborn Temple, we are still committed to her restoration. The spirit of Clayborn is stronger than any fire. We are deeply grateful to the Memphis Fire Department and other authorities for their swift and courageous response.
For now, we ask for your prayers, your support, and your belief in the enduring power of this place. This is not the end, but a call to remember who we are, and to build again with faith, courage, and abundant love. If you can support, please visit Clayborn.org and give if you can.
Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy
Today, Memphis stands at a poignant crossroads, grappling with two profound events echoing the city’s complex history and enduring spirit.
I’m so saddened to hear that a fire ravaged Clayborn Temple, the site of Dr. King’s last address. Despite early reports, I’m hoping that this historic and sacred space can be restored. Without the brave efforts of the Memphis Fire Department, things could have been even worse.
Meanwhile, we start the trial of police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols. I’m hoping for justice for Tyre and a renewed awareness of the need for policing reforms as we strive toward better realizing Dr. King’s vision.
We meet setbacks in our journey to the mountaintop, but the climb continues.
We Are Somebody
(nonprofit for the working class)
Clayborn Temple was influential in the Civil Rights movement and served as a launch pad for a march for sanitation workers’ rights in Memphis.
Without Clayborn Temple, We Are Somebody doesn’t exist as we know it. Our mission is rooted at the intersection of civil rights and labor rights, our logo calls back to the famous I Am A Man signs that came out of Clayborn Temple. We Are Somebody stands on the shoulders of the movements that Clayborn Temple birthed.
While the loss of the physical structure is devastating, the spirit of the civil and labor rights movement can never be burned down. We will continue to uplift the history of our movements, recognize the struggle those who came before us faced, and celebrate the accomplishments of their sacrifice and hard work.
Dr. Russ Wiggington, president
National Civil Rights Museum
The recent fire that consumed Clayborn Temple is a devastating blow, not only to Memphis but to the nation. This historic church, a nerve center of the Civil Rights Movement, was more than just bricks and stained glass; it was a beating heart of a community that chose unity over division, progress over fear, and community over chaos.
Clayborn Temple stood as a symbol of organized resistance and hope during the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. When marchers filled its sanctuary, it wasn’t just about better wages; it was about dignity, about declaring that Black lives and labor mattered in a city that often acted indifferent. In the years since, despite cycles of neglect and efforts at preservation, Clayborn Temple remained a powerful reminder that in the face of obstacles, violence, and hatred, collective action and faith can build something stronger.
Its destruction by fire is another somber chapter in a long story of devastated sacred spaces. But if history teaches us anything, it’s this: Clayborn Temple will rise again, because its foundation was never merely physical. It was spiritual. It was communal. And that foundation cannot be burned.
Make no mistake, the spirit of “Community Over Chaos” is stirring. Leaders, activists, stakeholders, and ordinary citizens should be rallying, just as they have for generations. Financial recovery efforts must be coordinated. Preservationists should be examining the remains to save what they can. Plans for rebuilding — not just restoring the past, but reimagining Clayborn Temple for future generations — must be underway.
We rebuild and protect. The protection strategies have now become mission-critical: fire-resistant construction materials, modern surveillance, integrated fire prevention systems, and stronger community engagement must anchor the rebuilding. But just as important will be reaffirming what Clayborn Temple always stood for: justice through unity, faith in action, and an unwavering refusal to yield to adversity.
Memphis has a choice: mourn in isolation or rebuild in solidarity. History — and Clayborn Temple’s own story — points clearly toward the second. Chaos may have been embedded in a fire, but the community will light the way forward.
Clayborn Temple was, and will continue to be, a house not just of gathering, but of movement, resilience, and rebirth. Fire can take down walls, but it cannot destroy the spirit that built them.
State Sen. Raumesh Akbari
Sen. Raumesh Akbari
“Heartbroken to wake up to the news that Clayborn Temple — sacred ground for the Civil Rights Movement — has burned.
Clayborn was never just wood and stone; it was a beacon where Memphis sanitation workers demanded dignity, where faith carried hope, and where courage took root. To all who fought to restore it, and to all who believed in its future, this loss is devastating. On that historic stage, I was able to speak at the Women’s March in 2017, a surreal experience.
The spirit and living legacy of Clayborn will endure. It must. And from these ashes, we will rise. Memphis always has.
Telling jokes for 40-plus hours is no laughing matter.
That — with some breaks — is what Memphis standup comedian Benny Elbows plans to do between 6 a.m. April 25th through 10:15 p.m. April 26th at “40 + Hours of Stand-up” at the Hi Tone at 282-284 North Cleveland Street.
Elbows, 40, will try to break the current Guinness Book of World Records record, which belongs to a comedian who did 40 hours and eight minutes straight.
It’s not going to be easy.
“There are a lot of rules,” Elbows says. “I get a rest break. Every hour you perform, you get a five-minute break.”
But he can bank his breaks. So, Elbows plans to take a break every two or three hours and then take a couple of 30-minute naps on the second day. “I’m trying to use them judiciously and save enough up to get a nap or two.”
Another Guinness rule is that comedians must have at least 10 people in the audience at all times or they will be disqualified. Elbows has been in a “mad scramble” on social media trying “to raise awareness” about his upcoming comedy marathon.
He has to have witnesses to make sure at least 10 people are there. “They can’t be associated with me. Monday, I called a staffing agency to hire staff to come in and observe and fill out the log books required by Guinness.”
He’s allowed to repeat his material — “a joke or a bit” — every four hours. “And at the beginning of the last hour I’m going to try to record an album.”
Asked to describe his brand of humor, Elbows says, “I remember years ago someone talked to me after the show and they said, ‘I can’t tell if you’re a really smart dumb person or a really dumb smart person.’ I think that’s about it. I try to reach for interesting topics or things I think are interesting that no one else is talking about. But, sometimes, at the same time talking about me personally. And then it also ends up being pretty silly. I don’t take myself seriously. I’m out there trying to make people laugh.”
Elbows has a game plan. “I’m probably going to start off and immediately look at my notes. I imagine that happening. I’ll immediately forget all the material.”
He does know what his first joke will be. “My first joke I think I’m starting off with is a dick joke. I feel that’s appropriate. It’s the first joke I ever wrote: ‘I’m a tall guy. People always ask me everywhere I go the same three questions. I’ll go ahead and answer them. ‘I’m 6-10. I played basketball. And it’s a girthy three inches.’”
As for the rest of his material, Elbows says, “I have jokes that I have been fine tuning over the six-year course of me doing standup.”
He likes “doing new things” on stage. “And doing things in different ways. Like I would do improv and I would write sketches. I would write satirical news.”
Comedians don’t have to pigeonhole themselves. “There are so many ways to do it. So many avenues.”
The comedy marathon is “like a new challenge. But also a new opportunity. This is a whole new medium to try to do something new with.”
“One of the challenges is going to be keeping it interesting and coming up with new things to talk about. Of course, I’m going to try to keep it as diverse as possible. I want to keep people laughing through the 40 hours.”
But then there’s another Guinness rule. “Guinness thought of everything. The rule is there can’t be more than a minute silence.”
Elbows isn’t worried about that. “I was at an open mike the other night. I tried to see how long I could be silent. It felt forever, but I think it was five seconds. A minute is an eternity to be silent.”
This isn’t his first comedy marathon. He participated in similar Guinness world record events in Nashville. He was one of multiple comedians in 80-hour marathons. “Each year we beat the record by five minutes.”
A Memphis native, Elbows didn’t grow up cracking jokes for people. “I always had a problem with shyness. Being awkward. That’s who I was growing up.’
He was in high school when he realized he could be funny. A girl who sat next to him in class was his first audience. “I would say snide, sarcastic things behind the teacher’s back. I would make her laugh.”
He thought, “That’s cool. I didn’t know that was a thing.”
Performing standup is just a continuation of that high school experience. “It’s one of the things I really appreciate about standup. People say, ‘Oh, the audience was off tonight,’ or whatever. But you get instant feedback. You know immediately if what you said was funny or not. It’s a true assessment of what they feel about you and about what you’re saying.”
Elbow’s first standup comedy performance on stage was at the old P&H Cafe. “My friend, Mike, who was hosting, said, ‘Just go up. You know that joke you told me.’”
Elbows got up on stage and told his dick joke. “No one laughed.”
But Elbows was hooked. “One of the things I’ve learned is you can have great material, but you have to learn how to deliver it. There’s no substitute for getting on stage and getting the experience.”
Living in Memphis has helped him as a comedian, Elbows says. “Memphis is a very DIY city for a lot of the arts. And especially standup. It’s a place where, if you want to get something done, there’s a place for you to do it. You’ll find people who will work with you. Help you achieve what you want to do.”
Hi Tone owner Brian “Skinny” McCabe is one of those people, he says. When Elbows was a victim of a car jacking in 2018, McCabe, who he’s known for years, was “nice enough to provide a spot for a benefit show.”
Elbows decided to make an album during his Hi Tone marathon because the audio and video equipment are already going to be there. “I might as well get as much out of this as I possibly can and try to record an album. I like the novelty of it. You’re hearing a performance that maybe you would never hear anything like it again. You’re hearing someone who might be stream of consciousness.” And, Elbows adds, “I like the idea of exploring what happens to a comedian when they have to perform for 40 hours straight.”
Admission to “40 + Hours of Stand-up” is free, but people must register for the last hour when the album is being made. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-40th-hour-a-world-record-and-stand-up-album-recording-tickets-1275432576169
The Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) and the Downtown Mobility Authority have announced discounted parking rates at 10 garages.
Through a partnership with Premium Parking the DMC is offering a $5 rate available Sunday through Thursday for three hours. This rate is available at the Peabody Place Garage, First Park Place, Mobility Center, Gayoso Garage, Shoppers Garage, Huling Lot, Bakery Garage, Gus Lot, Sterick North Garage, and Sterick East Lot.
Users have the option to extend their time upon expiration, to which an hourly rate will apply.
According to the DMC this promotion will be available throughout the spring and summer. From now until May 31, the rate is applicable from 5 to 9 p.m. On June 1, visitors can access the rate from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. on the same days until August 31.
DMC President and CEO Chandell Ryan said this is an effort to invite more people to Downtown Memphis during the week.
“We want this program to support Downtown restaurants and businesses by making parking more accessible and affordable,” Ryan said. “With success, we hope to add additional garages to the program.”
The commission has made a point to address parking Downtown. According to their 2019 Downtown Memphis Parking Study, this was identified as a “defining issue for the future of Downtown growth.” They said this is partly because many “uses” compete for parking throughout the day.