Community organizer Keedran Franklin (left) speaks at a Black Lives Matter rally in 2015. A federal order known as the Kendrick Consent Decree prohibits police from gathering political intelligence on activists engaged in lawful dissent. (Micaela Watts)
This story originally appeared on the Institute for Public Service Reporting Memphis website here.
Critics fear a judge’s decision last week will weaken a long-standing federal order that bans the Memphis Police Department (MPD) from spying on citizens.
The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Jon McCalla modifies an order known as the Kendrick Consent Decree by replacing a private attorney who monitors police activities with two lawyers employed by the city of Memphis and assigned to the MPD.
The measure is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN), which successfully challenged MPD and the city of Memphis in federal court for illegally surveilling activists involved in protests against police abuse and other lawful dissent.
But Bruce Kramer, the lawyer who first sued the city in 1976 for MPD’s illegal political intelligence gathering, says the ruling is not in the public’s best interest.
Bruce Kramer
“It’s not as bad as putting the fox in charge of the hen house. But the history of this is that the city has never liked this consent decree and has wanted it to end. This is just one more step towards that process,” Kramer said.
Rev. Elaine Blanchard, an activist who was followed by police and placed on a “blacklist’’ that banned her and scores of others from entering Memphis City Hall without a police escort, said the development is worrisome.
“I don’t believe the police have changed any,” Blanchard said. “I feel that they need oversight. Not from within themselves, but from outside of themselves.”
City officials were not able to immediately respond to a request for comment.
McCalla’s ruling approved the “Kendrick Consent Decree Sustainment Proposal,” filed as a joint motion by ACLU attorney Stella Yarbrough, city outside counsel Bruce McMullen and independent monitor Ed Stanton, a former U.S. Attorney in Memphis now in private practice with the Butler Snow law firm.
The 15-page sustainment proposal emphasizes that Stanton’s 2018 appointment was never intended to be permanent but “was meant to be temporary.’’ It contemplates a transition period ending between July 1 and Sept. 30 when Stanton will be replaced by two compliance officers on the city’s payroll.
“During this transition period, the city will designate at least two employees to serve as Consent Decree Compliance Officers,’’ the proposal says. It recommends two staff attorneys to fill these roles: MPD legal advisors James Thomas and Rosalyn Dobbins.
“Additionally, the Chief of Police has authorized the designation of an additional member to assist the Compliance Officers. The ideal candidate for this position is a current MPD officer with a law degree who will serve at the direction of Ms. Dobbins and Mr. Thomas,’’ the proposal says.
As a safeguard, the proposal calls for the compliance officers to receive “oversight and guidance” from three outside subject matter experts. The proposal recommends three individuals already on Stanton’s monitoring team: Rachel Levinson-Waldman, managing director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program; David N. McGriff, former deputy commissioner and chief of staff of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; and Dr. Theron L. Bowman, a former Texas police chief and president and CEO of The Bowman Group police practice consultancy.
Judge McCalla’s ruling followed a hearing last week when the city, the ACLU, the monitor and the subject matter experts all expressed support for the proposal.
The Kendrick Consent Decree was first entered in 1978 and modified five years ago following new revelations that MPD was again spying on political activists.
The initial decree in 1978 followed revelations that MPD had set up a special unit that used a network of informants and direct police surveillance to gather information on civil rights and Vietnam War protestors and others engaged in lawful political dissent. Created at the height of the Cold War with direct assistance from the FBI, MPD’s Domestic Intelligence Unit was one of a number of police “Red Squads” established across the U.S. in the 1950s and ’60s when many Americans feared the country was vulnerable to communist insurrection.
The unit was exposed after a Vietnam War veteran learned police were keeping a file on his personal and political activities, prompting legal intervention by Kramer and the ACLU in 1976. A judge issued the Kendrick Consent Decree two years later after finding MPD routinely violated First Amendment guarantees protecting free speech and peaceful assembly.
Activist Theryn C. Bond signs her name to a list at a rally at Memphis City Hall in 2017 protesting a “blacklist” created by city officials that designated number of activists, journalists, and critics of Memphis police as threats to public safety. (Micaela Watts)
In 2017, the public learned that MPD was surveilling a new generation of activists after The Commercial Appeal first reported evidence of a “blacklist” that included Blanchard and other private citizens who had no prior interactions with the criminal justice system. Blanchard and three others sued the city, and the ACLU intervened as a plaintiff.
The resulting federal investigation exposed additional digital surveillance that MPD used on activists and journalists who reported on local government.
In 2020, Judge McCalla sided with the ACLU, approving a binding agreement that established new ground rules for the use of surveillance technology. MPD would have to operate within these revamped guidelines under the watch of Stanton and a monitoring team, McCalla ruled.
Kramer said Stanton and the monitoring team “have done a fine job.” But he worries that the two city-employed compliance officers won’t have the same view.
“They’re only going to see what the city wants to give them. It’s not the same as having a real advocate or adverse party reporting deficiencies,” Kramer said.
The proposal approved by Judge McCalla creates a “transition period” that will begin immediately. Stanton will stay on board to evaluate the current duties Dobbins and Thomas already have with MPD and whether they have the capacity to take on the newly created roles.
Following completion of the transition period, a “sustainment period” will begin and run for as long as 24 months. However, the city could move to terminate the sustainment period after 18 months, effectively ending oversight.
Kramer is betting they will.
McCalla could deny what Kramer feels is an inevitable request from the city, but Kramer asks, “Who’s going to contest it? With all respect to the ACLU, which covers the entire state, this isn’t at the top of their priority list.”
Stanton could not be reached for comment. Prior to Wednesday’s ruling, ACLU attorney Yarbrough issued a statement to the Institute for Public Service Reporting acknowledging the eventual conclusion of outside monitoring.
“While the consent decree remains in effect to safeguard free speech rights, the ACLU-TN, the city, and the Independent Monitor will continue to ensure the city’s compliance,” Yarbrough wrote. “The conclusion of outside monitoring in the coming year reminds us that the work of protecting Memphians’ First Amendment rights is ongoing.”
Photo: Bill Carrier Jr. | Courtesy of the Concord API Stax Collection
The Memphis Flyer podcast is back after a little New Year’s hiatus. In this episode, Chris McCoy and Alex Greene talk about the legacy of Sam Moore, and the season 2 premiere of Severance.
The items proposed for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s special session, scheduled to start next week, carry a price tag of nearly $917 million, with his school voucher plan alone costing $424 million in its first year.
The session is set to only cover three major issues: Lee’s school vouchers, relief for Hurricane Helene victims in East Tennessee, and readying the state to conform to President Donald Trump’s immigration plan, which could include mass deportations.
A proposed law to pay for all of it (called an appropriations bill) has been filed in the Tennessee General Assembly ahead of the session to start Monday. Check it out here:
Here’s a basic breakdown of the costs from the bill:
Education Freedom Scholarships (aka the school voucher plan)
• $225.8 million every year
• $198.4 million just this year
• Total: $424.2 million
Hurricane Helene response:
• $210 million for the Hurricane Helene fund and the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund
• $240 million for TEMA disaster relief grants
• $20 million to rebuild Hampton High School in Carter County
• $6.2 million for affected schools in Tourism Development Zones
• $17 million for incentives for school systems to get more than half of their schools to get an “A” letter grade
The spending bill does not propose spending any money (yet) on Trump’s immigration enforcement plan.
Also interesting is that the bill pays for the special session itself. But no price tag was flashed on that one. Instead, it vaguely covers the whole thing.
“In addition to any other funds appropriated by the provisions of this act, there is appropriated a sum sufficient to the General Assembly for the sole purpose of payment of any lawful expenses, including, but not limited to, staffing, per diem, travel, and other expenses, of the First Extraordinary Session of the One Hundred Fourteenth General Assembly,” reads the bill.
So, Tennesseans are footing the bill for legislators to return to Nashville (travel), eat and drink while they are there (per diem), pay their staff members to help them, and pay for any other “lawful” expense lawmakers may have while conducting Lee’s business.
The slew of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office has prompted organizations like OUTMemphis to be proactive, and to prepare their communities for the challenges ahead.
Today, OUTMemphis Executive Director Molly Quinn, held a virtual press conference to give “quick information” about the services the organization is offering for extra support to those affected by the orders.
“The new presidential administration has issued several executive orders upon inauguration, including new discriminatory and ill-planned guidance around sex and gender identity,” Quinn said. “We anticipated this as a national LGBTQ+ movement. We’re working very closely with our national and local partners to understand the exact impact — and in what way, and what order — on transgender and nonbinary people in the Mid-South.”
On January 20th, Trump signed a number of orders that tackle topics such as immigration, American citizenship, and more. These orders will adversely affect members of minority populations, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Among these orders is one that states “sex” refers to an “immutable biological classification as either male or female.”
“‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity,’” the order said. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy.”
Tennessee already has regulations and restrictions on the state level that are similar to the ones Trump has imposed federally. Last summer, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that residents in Tennessee would not be allowed to change the gender on their birth certificate.
Court documents said “there is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex.” OUTMemphis officials said they are already offering services to help individuals navigate this, as it can be a barrier to accessing social services.
Quinn also said this executive order could immediately impact federal sex-segregated spaces, such as prisons. This would cause transgender women to be transferred to a men’s prison, and transgender men to be transferred to a women’s prison.
The executive order also prohibits federal funds from being used to promote “gender ideology.” This is one of the things Quinn said her and her team are monitoring closely.
“OUTMemphis as an organization benefits from federal programs,” Quinn explained. “We deliver federal dollars for HIV prevention and care, mental health, and housing for youth and adults in the community. All of those programs are based on the idea that LGBTQ people are a protected class with regards to social services.”
OUTMemphis said their immediate focus is their legal clinics and financial resources regarding identification and family rights. They are also looking to expand support systems for minors and teens.
“I think we all know and we all understand the broad spectrum of poor climate for the welfare of young people in our state,” Quinn said. “We have bathroom bans, bad school policy, bad foster policies. We have harmful healthcare policies, and the new federal attacks and stigmatization of transgender people will be particularly harmful to minors and adolescence who are coping with so much.”
Quinn also mentioned that new DEI regulations may also significantly impact organizations like OUTMemphis, as they have benefited from several policy initiatives.
While these orders may be the signal of what’s to come, OUTMemphis said they’re prepared to help individuals access social programs and resources.
“The fight that we have in front of us feels very new, but it truly isn’t,” Quinn said. “We already know how to prepare for Trump. We already know how to prepare for a more hateful state legislature, another wave of corporate bullies, of removing DEI culture within our capitalist systems. This is part of what we’ve done for a very long time.”
Buoyed by President Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, Tennessee’s governor is proposing to fund an immigration enforcement bureau that could take on deportation authority to remove people from the country.
In a proclamation calling a special session to start January 27, Governor Bill Lee detailed creation of a central immigration agency with enforcement powers and a closer relationship with U.S. courts, and possible use of state courts, to remove undocumented people. Lee’s plan establishes a fund to pay for the agency, but he has not given a cost estimate.
Under current law, federal authorities handle immigration law, in some instances working with local law enforcement. But this move would give the state wider latitude to enforce those laws, especially in conjunction with a federal court dealing with immigrants accused of “terrorism.”
The state’s attempt to do the federal government’s bidding sets a dangerous precedent for all of us and our constitutional rights.
– Lisa Sherman Luna, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said Tuesday state and local processes are handled separately from federal immigration matters.
“The state’s attempt to do the federal government’s bidding sets a dangerous precedent for all of us and our constitutional rights,” Sherman Luna said.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally said Tuesday even though no bill has been filed, he supports including immigration in the governor’s call for a special session.
“President Trump has made clear he intends to reverse the Biden illegal immigration invasion immediately,” McNally said. He added that undocumented immigrants with felonies and criminal records need to be removed quickly.
Lee has confirmed he would activate the National Guard to take on Trump’s plan to deport “criminals” without citizenship status. Trump, though, has mentioned removing up to 18 million people without documentation and revoking birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment to people born in the country regardless of their parents’ immigration status, as well as children born abroad to U.S. citizens. Twenty-two states filed suit Monday to stop his effort to end birthright citizenship.
Trump declared a national emergency for the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, the day of his inauguration, enabling him to deploy armed forces such as National Guard troops, set up more barriers, complete a wall, and allow for unmanned air surveillance. Tennessee has sent its troops to the border multiple times already.
The order also allows the Insurrection Act of 1807 to be invoked, granting the president authority to use troops against Americans involved in civil disorder or rebellion.
A separate executive order he signed Monday stopped some legal forms of immigration, including humanitarian parole for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and ended the use of an app for migrants to make appointments with asylum officers.
Under Lee’s plan, in addition to establishing an immigration agency, the state would have the ability to penalize local government officials that adopt sanctuary city policies. Sanctuary city policies, which limit the sharing of information with federal authorities, are illegal in Tennessee.
The proclamation also calls for revising state-issued IDs to determine a person’s immigration status for voting rights and government services. Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) is sponsoring a measure requiring financial institutions to check the immigration status of anyone attempting to send money out of the country.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, is sponsoring a measure requiring financial institutions to check the immigration status of anyone attempting to send money out of the country. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The immigration enforcement plan will be considered during the special session at the same time lawmakers take up the governor’s private-school voucher plan, Hurricane Helene relief for eight East Tennessee counties and establishment of the Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority to help deliver public-private road construction projects. The state is working on a toll lane along I-24 from Nashville to Murfreesboro as part of an act the legislature approved in 2023.
Several immigration-related bills are sponsored, including one by Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) that requires the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to study the enforcement of federal immigration laws, detentions and removals, as well as state investigations and immigrant-related challenges and progress.
Another measure by Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) requires law enforcement agencies to communicate with federal officials about the immigration status for people arrested for a criminal offense.
A bill by state Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) requires financial institutions to verify the immigration status of a person sending funds outside the United States.
State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) is sponsoring a bill that would exempt undocumented immigrant students who otherwise would be reported by local authorities to federal immigration officials for deportation. A law passed in 2024 requires local law enforcement to tell federal immigration agents the immigration status for anyone arrested for a criminal offense.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network 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.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins engages with students during a visit to Grandview Heights Elementary School in April 2024, soon after she took the job. (Ariel J. Cobbert for Chalkbeat)
Marie Feagins was fired Tuesday as superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, setting the district back to where it has been repeatedly in recent years: searching for leadership.
A bitterly divided school board voted 6-3 to oust Feagins less than 10 months into her tenure, approving a resolution that cited allegations of professional misconduct and poor leadership.
Feagins, a former Detroit school administrator hired by a previous board to lead Tennessee’s largest school district after a prolonged and problem-plagued search, vehemently denied any wrongdoing. She described herself as a target of “false accusations and political maneuvering.”
Board chair Joyce Dorse Coleman introduced the resolution to fire Feagins and was joined in voting “yes” by members Stephanie Love, Natalie McKinney, Sable Otey, Towanna Murphy, and Keith Williams. Michelle McKissack, Tamarques Porter, and Amber Huett-Garcia voted no.
Feagins declined to answer questions from Chalkbeat as she departed the meeting, instead offering her congratulations to Richmond.
In a statement issued later Tuesday night through a public relations firm, Dorse Coleman said Feagins “has not demonstrated the transformational leadership that is critical to the success” of the Memphis district.
“At this pivotal moment, we need a transformational leader who will collaborate effectively with the Board and respect governance protocols, keeping students at the center of every decision,” she said.
The board will hold a news conference at noon Thursday at the district’s central office, the statement said.
After a tense and at times chaotic special meeting Tuesday night, the board approved a resolution Dorse Coleman first introduced Dec. 17 to fire Feagins. The resolution claims that Feagins:
Failed to provide evidence of her statement that district employees were paid $1 million in overtime for time not worked.
Accepted a donation of more than $45,000 without board approval, then misrepresented what happened.
Misled the board and public about a federal grant and its missed deadline.
Feagins’ hiring was supposed to bring stability and rebuild trust after a turbulent 18-month superintendent search, and as the district navigated serious academic and financial challenges, including possible school closures. Instead, months of simmering tension between Feagins and the majority of board members led to a hasty divorce with potentially significant ramifications.
If the decision amounts to a firing for cause the board would avoid paying Feagins in severance — it was estimated at $487,500 as of last month — but potentially open itself up to other costs if Feagins pursues legal action. Feagins began work last April on a four-year contract that was to pay her $325,000 annually.
Lawmakers concerned about the prospect of Feagins being fired also were poised to take action.
Huett-Garcia and community members who spoke during Tuesday’s public comment period raised the specter of greater state intervention to warn board members against voting to fire Feagins.
A long line of speakers come to Feagins’ defense
More than two-dozen speakers — including teachers, alumni, and community organizers — lined up during public comment to support Feagins and criticize the attempt to oust her.
Among them was state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), who drew national attention in 2023 after Republicans expelled him from office over his participation in a disruption at the state capitol. Pearson, who was quickly reappointed and then reelected to office, called the process targeting Feagins unfair and urged the board to “slow down.”
Pearson used sharper language in an interview with Chalkbeat, calling the process “horrendous.”
“I got expelled in an unjust and unfair way,” he said. “I know what it looks like and that’s what’s happening now.”
The meeting grew heated when the board’s outside counsel, Robert Spence, said his review found the allegations against Feagins were true. McKissack interjected, accusing Spence of acting like he was in a courtroom giving “Perry Mason editorializing.” Dorse Coleman threatened to “clear the room” repeatedly as audience members booed and heckled.
When the room quieted, Spence said Feagins violated her contract and deviated from board policy, and that she exhibited a pattern of untruthful statements. The board then voted to release Spence’s lengthy report to the public, although it was not released immediately.
Before voting to terminate Feagins’ contract, the board rejected a counterproposal from board member Huett-Garcia to keep Feagins and attempt to repair her relationship with the board. Under that resolution, Feagins would have had to provide monthly updates to the board, and board members would have been required to complete board governance training.
Even the superintendent’s most vocal board supporters said Feagins bore some responsibility for the deterioration of her relationship with the board since she started.
Still, McKissack pleaded with her colleagues to listen to community members and adopt the counterproposal to retain Feagins, which she described as fair and balanced.
“We can hit the reset button on all of this,” she said. “We absolutely can do this together.”
It was clear last month that at least five board members were inclined to sever ties with Feagins. But Dorse Coleman hit pause, casting the deciding vote on a proposal to delay the discussion until this month to allow for more deliberation and a response from Feagins.
During a board committee meeting last week, Feagins shared a point-by-point response to the allegations against her. She said some school board members presented misleading and false information, calling the effort to fire her “politically motivated” and vowing not to resign.
Board member McKinney leveled additional allegations at the committee meeting, accusing Feagins of “a pattern of failed leadership” and citing graduation issues, inadequate staffing, and cutting student support systems.
That prompted McKissack to say some of her peers were “hell-bent” on dismissing Feagins, and Huett-Garcia said McKinney was “crossing the line of governance.”
When it came time to finally vote on the resolution to fire Feagins at Tuesday’s special meeting, the discussion was more procedural than emotional. The board members in favor of ousting her did not make speeches explaining their vote. The roll call was taken, and the votes were tallied.
“The resolution was adopted,” Dorse Coleman said. “Thank you.”
Superintendent drama has been running for more than two years
A different board took a markedly different approach in parting ways with Joris Ray, who resigned in August 2022 in the midst of a board-ordered outside investigation over claims that he abused his power and violated district policies. That board approved an agreement that gave Ray a severance package equivalent to 18 months’ salary — about $480,000. The agreement also ended the investigation into Ray before any findings were made public.
District administrator Toni Williams then took over as interim superintendent. She went back and forth on applying for the job on a permanent basis, and ultimately withdrew from consideration. The district restarted its national search in June 2023, after the board agreed on a fresh set of job qualifications and criteria. That eventually led to Feagins’ hiring.
Feagins lasted just 110 days in the role, or less than one-fifth as long as Williams served as interim superintendent.
Before coming to Memphis, Feagins was an official in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which, by contrast, has experienced a long period of leadership stability under Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
One of Feagins’ harshest critics in recent weeks has been board member McKinney, who unseated then-board Chair Althea Greene as District 2’s representative in the August 2024 school board election after campaigning as an advocate of leadership change. She signaled in her campaign that she would emphasize communication and community involvement, telling Chalkbeat: “Family and community engagement must be meaningful, genuine, inclusive, and responsive to truly support our students.”
Memphians are “tired of watching their students graduate but not be prepared for postsecondary opportunities,” McKinney said on election night. “At some point we have to decide who will be responsible for this. If things haven’t worked under that leadership, it’s time to try something new.”
McKinney was one of four newly elected board members last year. But Feagins’ board opposition included a mix of veteran and new board members: Dorse Coleman, Williams, and Love joined with McKinney and two other newcomers, Murphy and Otey. The other newly elected board member, Porter in District 4, sided with Feagins, along with McKissack and Huett-Garcia.
As the meeting room emptied Tuesday night, Overton High School Spanish teacher Noah Nordstrom said he felt shocked, heartbroken, and betrayed by the vote to fire Feagins.
Nordstrom, 26, said he fears ripple effects in classrooms, with teachers returning to a feeling of low motivation that was prevalent before the superintendent position was filled.
“For the last year under Dr. Feagins there’s been this new hope, this new sense of motivation, like our district is going somewhere,” Nordstrom said. “And now it feels like we’re going back.”
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
This image of Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid was just too good not to share. Memphis Memes 901 titled it “the beautiful, snow-capped mountains of Tennessee.”
Records Request
Posted to Facebook by Steve Mulroy
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy fulfilled a “burdensome” records request from state Sen. Brent Taylor recently. Taylor, of course, is seeking Mulroy’s ouster from the job during the legislative session this year.
The request included 4,000 documents, 16,000 pages, six boxes, and more than 150 staff hours to complete, Mulroy said. “Things like this are a distraction from the real work that our office has to do. But we will fully cooperate with legislators.”
GIF Level
Posted to Reddit by u/Melodic-Frosting-443
Reddit user Melodic-Frosting-443 took the Memphis-Shelby County Schools situation to GIF level with a photo of the board surrounding Marie Feagins, overlaid with Stealers Wheel lyrics, “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right …” (You could see it above. But we’re not The Daily Prophet.)
Stax salutes a fallen hero. (Photo: Courtesy
Stax Museum of American Soul)
Back during the initial flowering of Stax Records, as the label went from success to success in its first half-dozen years, and all its rooms buzzed with an ever-expanding staff trying to keep up with popular demand, one star in particular had a tendency to saunter away from the studio, where the action was, and take a detour down Stax’s back hallways from time to time. Deanie Parker, one of the label’s first office employees who soon became their lead publicist, remembers it well — that’s where she worked.
“Every now and then, he just walked in the door,” she recalls a little wistfully, “with little gifts for the girls in the office, little packages. That’s the kind of person he was.”
Now, scores of mourners will be sending flowers to that same soul singer, Sam Moore, the high tenor partner of Dave Prater in Stax super duo Sam & Dave, who died at the age of 89 on January 10th in Coral Gables, Florida, from post-surgery complications. This week, we pay tribute to the great Sam Moore by revisiting the pivotal role he played in the history of Stax and all soul music, as remembered by two who were right there with him: Deanie Parker and David Porter.
(Photo: Bill Carrier Jr. | Courtesy of The Concord API Stax Collection)
Sam Moore: The Stax Years
The quieting of one of soul music’s most expressive voices sent powerful shock waves throughout the music world — certainly among his late-career collaborators like Bruce Springsteen, but not least in Memphis, where Moore and Prater, singing the songs of Porter and Isaac Hayes, helped bring the Stax sound to its fullest fruition in the mid-’60s, becoming overnight sensations with hits like “Hold On, I’m Comin,’” “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “I Thank You,” and “Soul Man.”
Even then, “Sam Moore got along especially well with the administrative staff,” says Parker, recalling those spontaneous gifts. “He was the most gregarious of the duo. He was a great conversationalist and very personable. Dave was rather laid-back, kind of quiet.
“Keep in mind, now, that I was not in the studio with him all the time because I was in administration,” Parker goes on. “But because of our proximity to each other, it gave me an opportunity to get up and, when the record light was not on in Studio A, go in and observe and listen — not only to their rehearsals, but to the final takes and the playback.”
Surely anyone at Stax was rushing down the hall to hear the hot new duo’s latest, once the hits were hitting, for they were taking the Stax recipe to a whole new level of artistry. Yet while those songs are now part of the Stax canon, the definitive statements of the Memphis Sound, the success of two newcomers named Sam & Dave was not a foregone conclusion when they arrived.
Deanie Parker heading up the publicity desk at Stax (Photo: Courtesy Bill Carrier Jr. | The Concord API Stax Collection)
Newcomers
“There was no one interested in Sam & Dave,” songwriter David Porter told Rob Bowman in the liner notes for The Complete Stax/Volt Singles: 1959-1968. “It was like a throwaway kind of situation [to] see if anything could happen with them.” Indeed, it seemed no one at Atlantic Records, who had a distribution deal with Stax, knew what to do with this singing duo from Florida, who’d had little luck with their scattered singles on the Marlin, Alston, and Roulette labels. Despite this, said Porter, “I was very much interested in Sam & Dave.”
But were Sam & Dave interested in Memphis? Atlantic had “loaned” the duo to the smaller label that was showing so much promise, but in 1965 Stax was hardly a household name. Moore’s reaction, according to Parker, was, “Who wants to go to Memphis?” Moore had his sights set on crossover pop stardom in the Big Apple, not moving to what seemed like a backwater. “He really did not have a positive impression about Memphis,” Parker says. “And apparently he was not all that familiar with Stax, which stands to reason, because when Sam & Dave got here, we only had a couple of stars. We just had Rufus and Carla, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, the Mar-Keys, and Otis [Redding]. I don’t know that we had more than those in the category of the top stars.”
Moore himself described the situation hilariously in his acceptance speech for Sam & Dave’s induction into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in October 2015. “When Dave and I first came to Memphis,” Moore recalled, “the first person I saw was David Porter. He had on a small hat, a big sweater, and his pants looked like pedal pushers. Water came into my eyes.” Moore paused for laughter with impeccable comic timing. “Then it got worse: I saw Isaac. Isaac had on a green shirt with a low-cut neck, like that, a white belt, chartreuse pants, pink socks, and white shoes. I started crying harder. I wanted to go home.”
There must have been more than a little truth to that, for, as Moore went on to explain, “I had in mind to sing like Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Wilson Pickett … but then they introduced us to these two guys and we went inside and they introduced us to the songs. And they didn’t sound nothing like Jackie Wilson and all these people! And then I turned to Dave … and he was trying to get a phone number to get to the airport.
“Being the new kids on the block, we had nothing to say. So we had to go on in there.”
In fact, they were walking into the Stax brain trust, which had always dared to be different. When Sam & Dave’s pre-Stax singles tried to emulate the more polished soul of Wilson or Sam Cooke, albeit without their orchestral flourishes, the results came off as rather corny. Now it was 1965, and pop music was getting edgier, from Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” to the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Even James Brown, whose biggest hits had been ballads like “Try Me,” was cooking up material like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”
Porter and Hayes mapping out the next Sam & Dave hit (Photo: Courtesy Bill Carrier Jr. | The Concord API Stax Collection)
Dream Team
David Porter, who saw their potential early on, inched them toward a rawer take on soul music when he penned the shuffling, feel-good “A Place Nobody Can Find” for them, though the B-side, written by Porter and Steve Cropper, was a more tender ballad, with sassy horns thrown in for good measure. Unlike their later hits, Prater was given the lead vocal, though Moore’s upper register parts hinted at the harmonies that were to come. It wasn’t until their next single that Porter and Hayes teamed up to produce the duo, and their nascent songwriting partnership blossomed. And they gelled not only in the substance of the songs, with Porter crafting lyrics for Hayes’ music, but in the strategy they mapped out for the two new kids on the block.
Reflecting on that strategy today, Porter says that Sam & Dave “didn’t have a concept as far as the artistic direction that they needed to go. That’s why Jerry Wexler, the president of Atlantic Records, brought them to Memphis, in hopes of finding whatever that was — he didn’t know what it was. But we had our concept of what we wanted to do, and that was to bring it out of the church, the spirituality out of the church, and have the music emphasize what we called the low end of it, the bass, drums, and guitar, and the underlying chord progressions in the low end, paired with the gospel persona of it, the spirituality of the church.”
And yet, as with Ray Charles and so much of the finest soul music, the gospel underpinnings supported very secular, worldly sentiments. Lyrically, Porter paired the world of the bluesman with the spirit of church. And that came as a shock to the singers, who had both grown up singing in church choirs.
“David Porter and Sam could clash,” Parker recalls, “but it wasn’t hostile, and it didn’t last but a few minutes. It was like they were sparring, you know? Of course, Isaac’s thing was the keyboard, he was the melody man, and Porter was the lyricist. And sometimes Porter had to stop and help both of the guys understand what he meant when he wrote, ‘Coming to you on a dusty road.’ You know what I’m saying? Because this was not Sam & Dave’s environment. This was David Porter’s environment from the area around Millington, Tennessee.”
And so a great foursome was born, beginning with the single “I Take What I Want,” which, as Bowman notes, “was to provide the model for the majority of Sam & Dave’s Stax 45s.” By the time “Hold On, I’m Comin’” dropped in March of 1966, topping the R&B charts and reaching number 21 on the pop charts, that model was locked in. After crafting a song and a sound, Porter and Hayes would only need to give the duo a brief rundown before they got it. Porter can still picture it today: “I’m standing there with them, and I’m looking at them as I give them the lyric sheet. We go through the melody at the piano, and then by the time they get on the microphone, they go into another world. They made it their own, and that’s when you know you’ve got something special.”
And so, even if “Sam was the dominant one,” as Parker recalls, and more prone to pushback, both Sam and Dave were consummate professionals. “We had to go on in there,” as Moore recalled, and they did.
Porter says, “There never was a comment like, ‘Well, I don’t want to do that song. I don’t like that song.’ Because we produced the albums, even when we were doing a song by some other writer, and on occasion we would do that, they still didn’t object. They would bring their own spirit and commitment to wanting to make it as good as it could possibly be. And they did that.”
The Key to the Speedboat
The foursome’s recipe for success not only gave Sam & Dave’s career a boost; it solidified Stax’s standing as a label. As Robert Gordon writes in Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion, “their album Hold On, I’m Comin’ proved to be the breakthrough for Stax’s album sales. In all the company’s years through 1965, they’d released only eight albums. … In 1966 alone they released eleven albums and Sam & Dave’s Hold On went to number one on the R&B album sales chart. Albums were good business.”
Parker likens it to the fledgling label acquiring a sleek new machine. “They reminded me of a speedboat,” she says. “A boat that nobody was 100 percent familiar with because they were not on the water in the speedboat every day. They had to figure out a lot of things mechanically, and they had to become acquainted with each other. And I’m talking about Sam and Dave and David and Isaac. Once Sam and Dave found their groove with David and Isaac, it was like they had found the key to speedboat. They then began to realize that they had more going for them with their new producers than they’d ever imagined.”
If the speedboat was designed by the producers, Porter makes it clear that Sam & Dave supplied the spark of ignition. “You, as a creator, can create something that you know is strong and good, but when you have an artist that’s able to create their own individuality through the spirit of what you’ve done, then you’ve got something special. That’s the thing that made Sam Moore such a special talent, as well as Dave: They would go into the ownership of the message. I would tell them where the vibe was, and they would have to live the spirit of the message. That’s where true artistry comes in. And the more songs we wrote for them, the more comfortable they would get into doing it.”
Or, as Porter wrote on social media after Moore’s death, Sam & Dave “were always filled with passion, purity, individuality, and believability, grounded in soul.”
The road grew dustier and rockier as the years rolled on, with Atlantic claiming ownership of all Stax masters prior to 1968, and taking Sam & Dave away from Memphis. The duo never reached the heights of their Stax records again, and split apart as Moore struggled with addiction through the ’70s. Yet, with the help of his wife Joyce MacRae, whom he wed in 1982 and who now survives him, he kicked drugs (coming to support several GOP candidates along the way) and revived his career without Prater (who died in a car crash in 1988).
By the time he spoke to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame 10 years ago, Sam Moore had fully embraced his Stax past. “Coming from a humble beginning, with no formal training in singing or anything, we were just two guys who got out there and took the church with us, like Al Green did. … I’m going to say this to you: Thank you Memphis people, the band, the friends that Dave and I met all those years. …They believed in us. They stuck with us. Every record company that we had been with just didn’t know what to do with us. Sixty years later, I’ve been doing this. I’m blessed.”
Sam Moore knew he’d helped build something for the ages. As David Porter reflects now, “The music that was done by the four of us together will live on forever. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
With over 30 years’ experience in researching, reviewing, and selecting Top Doctors, Castle Connolly is a trusted and credible healthcare research and information company. Our mission is to help people find the best healthcare by connecting patients with best-in-class healthcare providers.
Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Its online nomination process is open to all licensed physicians in America, who are able to nominate physicians in any medical specialty and in any part of the country, as well as indicate whether the nominated physicians are, in their opinion, among the best in their region in their medical specialty or among the best in the nation in their medical specialty. Then, Castle Connolly’s research team thoroughly vets each physician’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, and, if available, outcomes data. Additionally, a physician’s interpersonal skills such as listening and communicating effectively, demonstrating empathy, and instilling trust and confidence are also considered in the review process. The Castle Connolly Doctor Directory is the largest network of peer-nominated physicians in the nation.
Through the nomination process, Castle Connolly also identifies female physicians for their annual Exceptional Women in Medicine award. This award was created by Castle Connolly in order to recognize female physicians who are often underrepresented among award recipients in the medical community. Physicians selected to be recognized for this honor are a subset of the female Top Doctors on their website who are the best in their specialties, in their communities and throughout the nation, delivering exceptional patient care. This award not only recognizes physicians who have greatly contributed to healthcare through clinical care, research, community service, education, and leadership, but who have also improved healthcare outcomes for issues specific to women. Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be selected and profiled for Exceptional Women in Medicine award.
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To keep in tip-top shape and health, sometimes a professional medical opinion is in order, whether you have an achy back or what may be the flu. Fortunately, Memphis and the Mid-South is burgeoning with clinics and hospitals on the cutting edge of medical care and research.
Finding a doctor who fits your needs and who you can trust — now — can be the hard part. So, let this year’s list of Exceptional Women in Medicine be your guide while searching for the care that’s right for you. After all, these are women who have dedicated their lives to improving their patients’ health, no matter the ailment or stage of life. Whether it’s allergies, dermatology, pediatric cardiology, or ophthalmology, these doctors are ready to listen to and care for you.
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A PRIVILEGE WITH A TOLL
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto is grateful to treat some of the toughest cases at Regional One Health’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center.
by Toby Sells
Imagine working under “incredible stress, sometimes with limited resources” while still providing world-class care for most of the Mid-South’s gunshot wounds, stabbings, car accidents, and more.
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto calls it a privilege.
Filiberto joined Regional One Health as a trauma surgeon in July 2017. The hospital’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center is designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. That means the center offers the highest level of care possible for patients with severe and complex injuries. It’s the only Level 1 Trauma Center within 150 miles of Memphis.
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto (Photo: Regional One Health)
Before joining Regional One, Filiberto attended medical school at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn in New York and completed her general surgery residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. She completed her surgical critical care fellowship at University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). She said she wanted to go into medicine “for as long as I can remember.” She believes doctors provide a critical service to patients and help them improve and live the healthiest lives possible.
Filiberto said she chose surgery because she enjoys the technical aspect of operating. More specifically as a trauma surgeon, she is immediately able to address a patient’s life-threatening injuries in the operating room or the emergency room. Much of the time in Memphis, this includes gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and car accidents.
“The biggest challenge is the mental, physical, and emotional toll of caring for critically injured patients,” Filiberto said. “Seeing adolescents involved in gun violence, taking care of patients with severe traumatic brain injuries who don’t improve, and telling family members their loved one has died are all challenges.
“Sometimes, I spend hours taking care of someone, spending a great deal of time and resources, and they die despite maximal life-saving efforts. Then I have to move on to the next trauma like it didn’t happen because we need to focus on taking care of the next patient. And then I try to go home and compartmentalize it, so I can spend time with my family. But how can you not think about it?”
Filiberto teaches surgery courses at UTHSC and trains residents and fellows in trauma and surgical critical care. She publishes regularly in journals such as Injury, Journal of Surgical Research, and Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. She is also chair of Regional One’s ICU Operations Committee and director of its Trauma Intensive Care Unit.
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Allergy & Immunology
Nora Daher
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Daher Asthma & Allergy Clinic
2136 Exeter Road
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 203-6055
Christie F. Michael
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Bariatric Surgery
Virginia Weaver
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UTMP Weight Management and Wellness Center
57 Germantown Court, Suite 204
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 758-7840
Cardiovascular Disease
Jennifer S. Morrow
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
Maureen A. Smithers
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Sutherland Cardiology Clinic
57 Germantown Court, Suite 100
Memphis, TN 38018
(901) 763-0200
Neeraja Yedlapati
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
Child Neurology
Tanjala T Gipson
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Amy L McGregor
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists Neurology Clinic
848 Adams Avenue, Suite L400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Namrata S. Shah
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Dermatology
F. Gwen Beard
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Luella G. Churchwell
Dermatology East
1335 Cordova Cove
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 753-2794
Robin H. Friedman-Musicante
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
795 Ridge Lake, Suite 200
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 726-6655
Frances K. Lawhead
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Purvisha J. Patel
Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Associates
7658 Poplar Pike
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 759-2322
Malika Tuli
Mid-South Dermatology
6644 Summer Knoll Circle
Bartlett, TN 38134
(901) 372-4545
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Toni M. Whitaker
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Lisa M. Myers
Endocrinology and Diabetes Specialists
1920 Kirby Parkway, Suite 120
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 334-5464
Gynecologic Oncology
Linda M. Smiley
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Hematology
Marquita N. Nelson
Regional One Health
Regional One Health Sickle Cell Center
880 Madison Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 545-8535
Infectious Disease
Shirin Mazumder
Methodist University Hospital
Methodist Medical Group
1325 Eastmoreland Avenue, Suite 370
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 758-7888
Internal Medicine
Joan Michelle Allmon
Allmon Internal Medicine (AIM)
526 Halle Park Drive
Collierville, TN 38017
(901) 910-3246
Natascha S. Thompson
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
UT Internal Medicine BMG
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
Catherine R. Womack
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
UT Internal Medicine BMG
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
Medical Oncology
Sylvia S. Richey
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Carmel S. Verrier
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Neurology
Violiza Inoa Acosta
Methodist University Hospital
Regional One Health
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Semmes Murphey Clinic
6325 Humphreys Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 522-7700
Barbara Cape O’Brien
Neurology Clinic
8000 Centerview Parkway, Suite 500
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 747-1111
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lanetta Anderson
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Women’s Physicians Group
681 South White Station Road, Suite 111
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 276-3222
Heather Pearson Chauhan
Exceed Hormone Specialists
7512 Second Street
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 312-7899
Claudette J. Shephard
Regional One Health
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Regional One Health Outpatient Center
880 Madison Avenue, Suite 3E01
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 515-3800
Ophthalmology
Lauren C. Ditta
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute 930 Madison Avenue, Suite 200
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Mary E. Hoehn
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute 930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Natalie C. Kerr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute
930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Otolaryngology
Victoria L. Lim
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville
Shea Clinic
6133 Poplar Pike
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 761-9720
Courtney B. Shires
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Pediatric Cardiology
Karine Guerrier
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 2
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Jennifer Kramer
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Nithya Swaminathan
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 2
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Rebekah K.H. Shappley
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-5437
Pediatric Dermatology
Teresa S. Wright
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Pediatric Endocrinology
Alicia M. Diaz-Thomas
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Infectious
Diseases
Bindiya Bagga
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Nephrology
Margaret C. Hastings
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Rima Zahr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Otolaryngology
Rose Mary Stocks
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 1
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Pulmonology
Patricia J. Dubin
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Tonia E. Gardner
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Catherine D. Sanders
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Rheumatology
Terri H. Finkel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Department of Pediatric Rheumatology
50 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Linda K. Myers
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Rheumatology + Dermatology Associates, P.C.
8143 Walnut Grove Road
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 753-0168
Pediatric Urology
Dana W. Giel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Pediatrics
M. Michelle Bowden
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Emilee Dobish
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Janet D. Geiger
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
River City Pediatrics
1717 West Massey Road
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 761-1280
Elisha M. McCoy
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Dawn H. Scott
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Le Bonheur Pediatric Downtown
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 310
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 523-2945
Ellen J. Stecker
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
River City Pediatrics
1717 West Massey Road
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 761-1280
Plastic Surgery
Devra Becker
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
University Plastic Surgeons
1068 Cresthaven Road, Suite 500
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 866-8525
Patricia L. Eby
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Cosmetic Surgery Specialists of Memphis
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 360
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 752-1412
Radiation Oncology
Martha Tibbs
Methodist University Hospital
Methodist University Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology
1265 Union Avenue, Shorb Tower, Floor 1
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 478-7367
Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility
Amelia Bailey
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Fertility Associates of Memphis
80 Humphreys Center, Suite 307
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 747-2229
Surgery
Dina M. Filiberto
Regional One Health
Regional One Health Elvis Presley Trauma Center
877 Jefferson Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 545-7100
Alyssa D. Throckmorton
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Medical Group
7205 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 200
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-8950
Urogynecology/Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery
Val Y. Vogt
Methodist University Hospital Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
PURE Academy students at a Medtronic Field Trip (photo credit: PURE Academy)
PURE Academy, a nonprofit private boarding school, recently opened its new facility located on 3295 Chelsea Avenue Extended.
“At PURE Academy, every young man deserves the chance to overcome challenges, discover their potential, and succeed,” officials said. “With a 100 percent graduation rate and an 83 percent college enrollment rate, along with 17 percent of students entering trade school or military careers, this expansion provides the capacity to impact even more students and continue shaping the future of Memphis youth. ”
Prior to opening the new location, PURE Academy was located in Whitehaven, where they were only able to house 25 students. The Chelsea location is currently in its first phase and can house 64 students. At full capacity, they will be able to hold 250.
“Urban agriculture is a key piece of PURE Academy’s programs, serving as hands-on education and social-emotional outlet spaces,” officials said in a press release. “The outdoor areas on the new campus will include classrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, meditation [areas] and small meeting spaces, creativity zones, technology hubs, and fitness areas.”
CEO and founder Melvin Cole, founded the PURE Youth Athletics Alliance in 2012 after being released from prison, following a pact he made with God to make a difference in the lives of young men who looked like him.
Cole initially started a little league team to reach youth through sports. Through coaching, he was able to see the different walks of life his players came from, some having no adult supervision, electricity, food, and more.
Shortly after, Cole and his fiancée opened their two-bedroom apartment Downtown to about 15 young men. This experience helped him to see the “deficiencies” in the education system.
“At the time I got with a good friend and said ‘what if these kids lived with me, but we put them in a private school, so we’ll take care of the environment,’” Cole said. “The environment is what’s creating the kid — the mind, the adult that comes up and commits crime, and has that way of thinking.”
This led Cole to his own introspection, where he found he wasn’t inherently “bad” as a child, but he was a product of his environment. He found this to be true for several of his kids. According to the 2024 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet from the University of Memphis, the city has a poverty rate of 22.6 percent, while child poverty is 36.3 percent.
Cole was able to get the boys he housed tested into a school, however they scored in the zero percentile in reading, writing, and math. As a result, Cole closed down his for-profit gym and turned it into a “home-school tutorial” — known as their pilot program.
“The first year we got a 3.7 grade-level jump,” Cole said. “The next year we had a 3.1 grade-level jump.”
After seeing these results, Cole was ready to put his students up against standardized testing such as the ACT to see their placement. Not only were his students scoring in the 20s on their first attempt, but one student from the pilot program received a full athletic scholarship from Texas A & M.
“We went screaming ‘it works, it works!” Cole said.
Fast-forward to 2020 when school and inner city sports began to shut down. Cole said he approached his board about the importance of sports in many of his students’ lives, saying, for some, it was the only way to change the trajectory of their lives.
Cole then launched a football team, and began looking into Category 1 private certification in the state for non-public schools. After meeting the requirements, PURE Academy was officially launched.
PURE Academy’s core mission is rooted in opportunity in lived experience. This also extends into their curriculum, which focuses heavily on real-world application and situations. Cole said he found this was the best way to not only keep students engaged, but to catch those who had fallen behind in other school systems.
“We created something that was going to be successful for the kids,” Cole said. “These kids are just like me — if not in worse situations. The treatment and the curriculum was easy to build. If you don’t teach kids how to apply knowledge, it’s pointless.”
At its core, PURE emphasizes the importance of equaling the playing field for those less fortunate. He said kids can’t choose if they live in poverty or not, which means they shouldn’t miss out on the opportunities offered to their peers.
“These kids need the same damn opportunities we got to be successful,” Cole said. “People forget that. Our children that are living in double the national average of poverty, they cannot create opportunity for themselves. We have to help them, period. If you’re not helping, you’re hurting.”
