Tag: MLK Day

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At Large Opinion

Keepers of the Flame

Photo: Evgeniya Leonova | Dreamstime.com

The presidential inauguration in the Capitol rotunda on Monday marked the return to power of the most controversial and scandal-plagued president in American history. It felt a little like when the second plane hit the tower on 9/11 — the moment when we knew it wasn’t an accident.

Monday was also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and here in Memphis — the city where Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 — the celebration of his life takes on a special significance. The NBA’s annual MLK Day celebration featured the Memphis Grizzlies hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the National Civil Rights Museum held a day of events called “Community Over Chaos,” which seemed a most fitting theme.

But before it fades into history, buried by the noisy deluge of Trump drama, I want to take note of former President Biden’s farewell address of last week. As might be expected, he cited the achievements of his administration — the record job-creation numbers, the long-desired ceasefire in the Middle East, the strengthening of NATO, and the ongoing resistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine — but his real purpose in his speech seemed to be to deliver a warning, to address, as he said, “some things that give me great concern.”

Citing President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address to the nation, in which he warned the country about the dangers posed by the “military industrial complex,” Biden decried the rise of a new threat, one he called the “tech industrial complex.”

“Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power,” Biden warned. “The free press is crumbling. Errors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.” No errors detected.

The tech industrial complex was on full display in the Rotunda on Monday, including Sundar Pichai (Google), Tim Cook (Apple), Jeff Bezos (Amazon, The Washington Post), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Threads), and Elon Musk (X, Tesla, Starlink, xAI).

Never have so few had so much unbridled power to influence public opinion and so much money to invest in doing so. And it doesn’t help that they’re supplicating themselves (and giving millions of dollars) to the new president to curry his favor. It’s called obeying in advance, and it’s worrisome stuff. Journalism is in danger of being put out of business by “content providers” that have no ethical qualms about ignoring the truth in favor of whatever makes a profit — or makes the president happy.

CNN, ABC, and even MSNBC have also made at least token moves to ameliorate relations with the new administration. CNN buried Trump critic Jim Acosta in a late-night slot. ABC settled a libel lawsuit with Trump that it easily would have won in court. Facebook eliminated fact-checkers. Companies are getting rid of diversity hiring programs. Macho (“masculine energy”) is all the rage among the tech bros. Women’s healthcare rights continue to be eroded in red states.

Biden called it “a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people,” and cited the consequences “if their abuse of power is left unchecked.” What Biden was describing is an oligarchy. Merriam-Webster (remember dictionaries?) defines it as “a government in which a small group exercises control, especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.”

Can there be any doubt that an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power, and influence is moving into power in the United States, one that threatens our democracy and our basic rights and freedoms?

Democracy depends upon the will of the people, and if the people are misinformed, disinformed, or uninformed, they can be manipulated. As we well know, public opinion — and elections — can turn on well-funded, broadly circulated lies and propaganda.

Our social media platforms are already permeated by disinformation, mostly via bots that skillfully imitate real people and overwhelm legitimate content by their sheer numbers. Artificial intelligence is now upping that deception to previously unknown heights. Biden called AI “the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.”

The former president concluded by saying to his fellow Americans, “It’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keepers of the flame.” That doesn’t feel like malarkey, folks. 

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Volunteer Odyssey’s MLK Days of Service

(Photo: Courtesy Volunteer Odyssey)

To celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this MLK weekend, Volunteer Odyssey is mobilizing Memphians to engage in service projects across the city. 

Throughout the year, the nonprofit connects other nonprofits with volunteers, provides a free platform for volunteer management, and coordinates corporate volunteer opportunities. “So MLK Days of Service is a great opportunity for us to gather several small projects from a lot of nonprofits around the city,” says Volunteer Odyssey executive director Caroline Norris, “doing everything from cleaning up T.O. Fuller State Park and making it even more beautiful, to working with Thistle & Bee to paint their new clinic and get it ready for some of their clients, to packing up food at the Mid-South Food Bank.” 

In total, there are 11 organizations for volunteers of all ages to serve this MLK weekend, with opportunities on Friday through Monday, at different hours through the day. “Our hope is that that will inspire every Memphian to find something, to find a way to plug in,” Norris says. “If it made them fall in love with Room in the Inn, and they had never heard of them before, and now they want to go and serve meals once a month, that can be transformational for some of these organizations.”

Photo: Courtesy Volunteer Odyssey

Spots for MLK Days of Service’s opportunities are already filling up, but Norris says not to worry. “Memphis is a last-minute kind of town, and so I know that there’s going to be spots available, especially down with the Wolf River Conservancy at T.O. Fuller State Park. They got hundreds and hundreds of spots.”

“What’s most important is rolling up your sleeves alongside your neighbors and getting your hands dirty, not just talking about what’s going on in our city, but really getting to work,” Norris says. “These organizations need people power, and so there is definitely an organization that is either the cause that you care about or is looking for the skills that you already have or simply just fits into your schedule.”

This year, for its MLK Days of Service, Volunteer Odyssey is also partnering with the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) and Leadership Memphis in promoting their celebrations. Leadership Memphis will host its MLK Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, January 18th, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hollywood Community Center, with the goal to promote health, wellness, and access to resources. In addition to offering free health screenings and activities for the kids, the fair will showcase organizations focused on healthy living.

On Monday, January 20th, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the National Civil Rights Museum will have its King Day, with free admission to the museum and a full day of activities including music, performances, children’s activities, and an online presentation. The museum is also asking for food donations to the Mid-South Food Bank in exchange for discounted admission to be used at a later date, and NCRM is hosting a blood drive. Those who donate blood will receive free admission for up to two people and an MLK Spirit of Service T-shirt (while supplies last). 

“We’re really trying to amplify what our community partners need,” Norris says of Volunteer Odyssey’s partnerships with Leadership Memphis and NCRM. “And so, this collaboration with MLK Days of Service is just a beautiful vision that there’s so much good happening. … Even if you can’t participate in the MLK days of service, use this opportunity to see how you might give back the rest of the year.”

Find out more about the volunteer opportunities available below or follow the link here, where you can also register.

Photo: Courtesy Volunteer Odyssey
  • National Civil Rights Museum: Passionate volunteers are needed to help coordinate #KingDay2025. This year’s celebration will also mark the launch of the museum’s yearlong observance themed Community Over Chaos, highlighting pivotal anniversaries in civil rights history, including the 60th anniversary year of the Selma March and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. | Monday, January 20, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Girls Inc.: Get your hands dirty for a great cause! Girls Inc. needs volunteers to prep their urban farm for the spring. This is a great way to support a mission that inspires and empowers young girls in Memphis. | Saturday, January 18, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Sunday, January 19, 8:30-10:30 a.m.; Monday, January 20, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  • Wolf River Conservancy: This MLK Day of Service event will focus on preserving T.O. Fuller State Park, a historically significant site for the African-American community. Volunteers will assist with hiking trail restoration, playground surface renewal, and invasive species removal. | Saturday, January 18, 10 a.m.-noon
  • Thistle & Bee: Thistle & Bee is transforming lives, and you can be part of their journey! Help paint walls, organize supplies, and clean their new clinic space. Your efforts will directly support survivors of trafficking as they rebuild their lives with dignity and hope. | Saturday, January 18, 9 a.m. to noon | Sunday, January 19, 9 a.m. to noon 
  • Memphis City Beautiful: Join Memphis City Beautiful and partners in Midtown and Orange Mound on Saturday or the Mitchell Heights community on Sunday. Volunteers will plant native trees, clean-up intersections, and help create more inviting spaces in our city. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and get ready to dig in. | Saturday, January 18, 10 a.m.-noon, Sunday, January 19, 10 a.m.-noon
  • Overton Park Conservancy: Repair the Limestone Trail after recent storm damage. Bring a pair of work gloves and a couple of friends. Meet at the East Parkway Pavilion in Overton Park. | Monday, January 20, 9 a.m.-noon
  • Room in the Inn: Room in the Inn provides a welcoming, safe space for those experiencing homelessness, built on love and respect. Lend a hand with projects that directly support their mission. | multiple projects and shifts available
  • Shelby Farms Park: Take part in the Helping Hands project, an ongoing effort to pick up 2,025 pieces of litter by the end 2025. By volunteering, you’ll contribute to keeping one of Memphis’ most cherished green spaces clean and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. | ongoing/open availability
  • Mid-South Food Bank: Join the Mid-South Food Bank to pack meal boxes for the Care Like King Days of Service. Your time and effort will help fight hunger and ensure families across Memphis have access to nutritious meals. | Friday, January 17, 10 a.m.-noon
  • V&E Greenline: Help out on the V&E Greenline. There’s plenty to do to prepare for the spring growth. Meet at Kirby Station (1625 Tutwiler) at 9 a.m. for donuts, coffee, community, and lots of hard work. | Saturday, January 18, 9-11 a.m.
  • Lichterman Nature Center: Helping with trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, trash clean-up, resetting the children’s Discovery Forest, and helping to plant native plants. | Saturday, January 18, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
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Community Unity Council To Host MLK Day Event and March

Photo Credit: Keedran Franklin via Facebook

Street organizations are continuing their efforts to sustainably integrate themselves into Memphis’ community, while also improving relationships with each other.

The Community Unity March on Memphis is scheduled for January 20th to commemorate Martin Luther King Day on January 20. Participants will begin their day at 201 Poplar with a brief program at 9 a.m. before marching to the National Civil Rights Museum.

This march is a continuation of the Community Unity initiative that seeks to fix citywide problems while also engaging marginalized groups in Memphis. 

Community organizer Keedran Franklin has worked with city leaders and the public to change the conversation around what most people call “gangs.” 

“We don’t use the word gangs, right,” Franklin said. “That’s code word for local municipalities to get from the feds to say we have a gang problem. We don’t have a gang problem. What we have is under-resourced and underserved people who are creating their own avenue.”

This distinction prompted Franklin to have some “tough” conversations with people, including Mayor Paul Young.

“Mayor Young and myself had to get through some past issues,” Franklin said. “I used to be hard as hell on Paul, back when he was part of HUD(Housing and Urban Development)  and MHA (Memphis Housing Authority), I was hard as f*ck on Paul, because he was with the previous regime. We had to work through our bullsh*t first, which was being open and honest.”

Franklin explained that he also took this as an enrichment opportunity and gave the mayor a copy of King David and Boss Daley: The Black Disciples, Mayor Daley, and Chicago on the Edge by Lance Williams, to help him understand that street organizations originated as political ones that were “left behind because of government interference.”

“It’s not about gangs, [the] streets, and killing,” Franklin said. “They’re actually bettering themselves and growing themselves.”

As an organizer across the country, Franklin said his colleagues would call him after these conversations and after spotting Young in places like Mississippi, they spoke highly of him. Franklin said these instances gave Young the opportunity to see these individuals doing work in the community to better themselves, thus helping to change the narrative around them.

“[To Mayor Young] People are all in these spaces man, doing the work that needs to be done,” Franklin said. “That’s it. Just a lot of tough dialogue, and again, just showing and proving that we aren’t as bad as people saying we are.”

Martin Luther King Day not only provides an opportunity for street organizations to continue their work on a more visible level, but an effort to return civil rights to its mission of inclusivity.

Franklin said the day is about both remembrance and community – including that of the streets. He said the initially planned on participating in another march scheduled for that day, but never heard back from organizers when he reached out.

“I was like, well we’ll do our own march,” Franklin said. “You don’t see these types of guys down there. You don’t see the streets at this event. This is to open their eyes to like, ‘hey there’s something that goes on and we should participate in.’ Don’t be afraid to participate.”

The lack of response seemed to work in Franklin’s favor, as it gave way for him and street organizations to create their own event with the support of groups from the community and around the world. He emphasized this is a “multifaceted effort” from both “inside state and federal prisons,” to outside to ensure that all populations are accounted for.

“The idea is us creating this program, creating these new norms, dropping off at 201, and then marching to the Civil Rights Museum where we will also announce these new norms that these organizations have agreed to move by,” Franklin said. “Pushing the effort for us to move, so we can do better by our community.”

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Volunteer Memphis’ MLK Days of Service

Photo: RDNE Stock project | Pexels

Volunteer Memphis kicks off its annual MLK Days of Service this Thursday, January 11th. The event that encourages Memphis to “care like King” will take place from Thursday through Monday, January 15th, with the goal to complete more than 5.000 hours of service across the Mid-South. 

“It’s five days to recognize Dr. King,” says Reggie Crenshaw, president and CEO of Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis. “And as he said, ‘everybody can be great because everybody can serve.’ I just believe that that is such an important thing for where our community is right now. And being a person who can get out and serve our community is really important. Annually, we have about 300,000 people who volunteer. During last year’s MLK Days of Service, we generated about 6000 hours worth of volunteerism. We had 1200 people that participated.” 

Thursday’s event is a VIP reception, but the following days are open to the public, with volunteer opportunities available on Volunteer Memphis’ website according to each day’s theme. Friday is Youth and Education Day, Saturday is Health and Wellness, Sunday is Service Sunday, and Monday is Community Cleanup. For those who are not able to attend any of the volunteer opportunities listed, Volunteer Memphis also has virtual and DIY opportunities, like making care packages for those experiencing homelessness or writing thank you notes for essential workers. “There’s huge opportunities for us to get involved and get engaged,” Crenshaw says. “It’s just taking the time just to do it.”

For Saturday’s Health and Wellness Day, Crenshaw says, Volunteer Memphis will host two community fairs, one at the Orange Mound Community Center at 10 a.m. to noon and the other at the Hollywood Community Center from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The fairs will have vendors with free vaccines, free diaper and baby item distributions provided by Bare Needs Diaper Bank, information about joining the Healthier 901 movement, health information, games, and a live DJ from 10 a.m. to noon. The fair at the Orange Mound Community Center will also have food distributions provided by the Mid-South Food Bank. Both fairs need volunteers. 

“Generally nationally [organizations] only recognize MLK Service Day for one day,” Crenshaw says. “Right but we do it for five days. The need is so great. Last year we had 93 volunteer projects, and we’re hoping to move towards a much higher number of volunteer projects. So, you know, just trying to do it for one day does our community a disservice. And what we do is get people engaged and volunteer like this yearlong, not just waiting until this time of year.”

At this, Crenshaw remarks that Volunteer Memphis has 480 agencies in their portal and 30,000 registered volunteers. “This year, we’re actively participating in eight counties in West Tennessee and in six counties outside of West Tennessee,” he adds. 

Learn more about MLK Days of Service here, and find Volunteer Memphis’ year-round opportunities here. 

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National Civil Rights Museum Hosts Virtual “Remembering MLK” Event

Brian Nabors (Photo: Courtesy briannabors.com)

On Easter Sunday, the National Civil Rights Museum will present a virtual commemoration in honor of Dr. Marin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy on the 53rd anniversary of his death. This year’s event will feature a conversation with Rev. James Lawson, a key King ally in pursuit of nonviolent philosophy who trained a number of activists on civil disobedience. A performance of “Precious Lord,” Dr. King’s favorite gospel hymn, will be presented by the vocal ensemble Adajjyo. A keynote from Dr. Bernard Richardson, Dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University, will explore King’s last days. The broadcast will culminate with a moment of silence at 6:01 p.m., the time King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

Following the commemoration is the world premiere of “Caged,” a commissioned Chamber Orchestra piece by African-American composer Brian Nabors, performed by Iris Orchestra and Memphis Symphony Orchestra Diversity Fellows. The piece takes listeners on an energetic, rhapsodic journey through a range of emotions.

“This work embodies our need to ‘let loose’ and release the restrictive tension that quarantining and the pandemic as a whole brought upon us,” Nabors says. “This piece pairs the barbarous with the deeply introspective and brings listeners to an inward reconciling of the grief many are feeling during this difficult time. Although we may feel ‘caged’ at the moment, the power of music is what continues to lift our spirits and will eventually pull us through to the other side.”

Both groups of artist fellows will also present a live outdoor performance in Overton Square on April 11th at 3 p.m. The concert will showcase underrepresented composers and feature a live premiere of “Caged.” Nabors will attend and give an exclusive introduction to his work.

Remembering MLK, online from the National Civil Rights Museum, civilrightsmuseum.org, Sunday, Apr. 4, 5 p.m., free.

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Opinion The Last Word

Living the Dream: Are We Really Working in Service to Dr. King’s Vision?

CREDIT: Phil Stanziola, NYWT&S staff photographer courtesy wikimedia commons

By the time you read this, we will have celebrated a national holiday commemorating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a civil rights pioneer, a champion for nonviolent struggle toward equality and justice, and an outspoken critic of the United States of America. He was a visionary whose idea of the American future was radical during his time, and that vision remains radical today.

Many of us, even people reared on Memphis’ soil, even people old enough to remember the thunderclap of his assassination and the void that followed, have softened our view of Dr. King and his ideologies. We see his legacy of civil rights activism as something of the past, and the injustice that he opposed as a historical blot on the American tapestry that we are quickly rubbing away. After all, because of the efforts of Dr. King and other activists, we now live in a post-racial country. Our collective work to end racism has borne fruit, and discrimination no longer exists within these borders. The American dream has been realized.

Phil Stanziola, NYWT&S staff photographer courtesy wikimedia commons

Martin Luther King Jr.

Except it hasn’t. We owe both Dr. King and the day we observe in remembrance of him more respect than a blind sweep of his teachings and legacy beneath a sheet of self-congratulatory misinformation. This is just as true in Memphis as it is anywhere else.

Legislation in favor of a national holiday recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was first introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) in 1968, four days after he was assassinated. Originally envisioned as a call to continue Dr. King’s unfinished work, the fledgling national holiday faced constant congressional roadblocks, and legislation supporting it was routinely defeated by officials who cited King’s possible communist ties, his extramarital affairs, and — unofficially — good old American racism as reason enough against any formal recognition of his life. After Herculean efforts from those who supported the holiday, including a multi-million-signature petition from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, endorsement from Chicago mayor Harold Washington, several congressional testimonies from Coretta Scott King herself, and a Stevie Wonder protest song, the first national King Holiday was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and finally observed in January 1986. Only 17 states celebrated the first national King Holiday, and it wouldn’t be recognized as a federal holiday in all 50 states until 1999.

During the holiday, many citizens, including thousands in the Mid-South, participate in some form of volunteerism in the spirit of Dr. King’s statement that “everyone can be great because everybody can serve.” But Dr. King referred to a more lasting sort of service than we allow for in our decontextualized take on this quote. In “The Drum Major Instinct,” the sermon that this quote is lifted from, he discusses serving humanity as Jesus did, with love and with a heart turned toward complete justice for all humankind.

“Say that I was a drum major for justice,” Dr. King said, referencing in this sermon his commitment to transformative economic justice, to ending American imperialism, and to grounding his activism in a true and total love of all oppressed people and a desire for their well-being that dove deeper than the political. Dr. King died fighting for economic and social justice for workers and ending wars as well as for racial justice. He fought for a lasting state change for America, not for his image and philosophy to be warped in order to serve the liberal-guilt industrial complex. It is easy for us, on the national holiday and throughout the year, to pretend to act in service to Dr. King’s life and teachings, but if we are not truly committed to transforming the lives of others, to, as Dr. King said in the closing of his sermon, making “this old world a new world,” then what are we doing?

A commitment to transformative change in this city means a commitment far beyond a weekend volunteering spree. It means fighting day in and day out for those Memphians who find themselves economically and socially dispossessed. It means committing ourselves to an intentionality of vision that includes recognizing that our city faces a complex network of intersectional challenges. It means devoting ourselves to interracial and intercultural inclusivity in more than just our social network feeds. It means challenging ourselves on the very ideas that our country is built on, and determining for ourselves whether we are truly working toward the ideas and moral vision that Dr. King presented to us when we enable systemic ills like mass incarceration, economic injustice, and inequality in housing and transit access to disproportionately hinder certain members of our community.

Four days after we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, we are swearing into the office of the president a temperamental toddler of a man whose every action sends many Americans sliding into deep depression and anxiety. Most of us assume that if we were to resurrect Dr. King in a post-Trump inauguration America, he would find himself appalled to the point of returning to his eternal slumber. But would he be less appalled by the America he would have found himself in four years ago, during the presidency of a man touted as the literal representation of his teachings? We must ask ourselves: Have we really been working in service to Dr. King’s dream of visionary, transformative equality, or are we just pretending?

Troy L. Wiggins is a Memphian and writer whose work has appeared in the Memphis Noir anthology, Make Memphis magazine, and The Memphis Flyer.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Game 40 Preview: Grizzlies vs. Pacers

After a disappointing 10-11 start, the Indiana Pacers had already crept up to 17-13 when the Grizzlies played them in Indianapolis on New Year’s Eve, and the Pacers continued their ascent afterward, going 7-3 since and moving to within 2.5 games of the top seed in the East.

The Grizzlies built a nice lead in that earlier meeting only to suffer one of those now-familiar offensive collapses, getting outscored 28-16 in the fourth quarter and losing 88-83.

Today’s rematch, of course, is being televised nationally on ESPN as part of the NBA annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate. Tipoff is noon.

As always, three thoughts. But we’ll make this one an “and one”:

1. Martin Luther King Day: The game itself is secondary today to honoring the legacy of Dr. King. The annual pre-game symposium, held on the FedExForum practice court, will feature NBA greats Patrick Ewing and Elgin Baylor, and one of sports’ most transcendent figures, the great Jim Brown. The halftime show will feature New Orleans R&B star Aaron Neville.

The reason we’re here: