There are 27 article(s) tagged Black Lives Matter:

• February 2021

  • Neo-soul artist Jordan Occasionally celebrates Black joy

    Jordan Dodson, who performs as Jordan Occasionally, wrote the song “Don’t Shoot,” which became an unofficial anthem of the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in Memphis in 2020.

    By Ezra Wheeler February 27, 2021

• January 2021

  • Black Lives Matter crosswalk approved at Cooper and Monroe

    A crosswalk with the words Black Lives Matter would cross Cooper Street at Monroe Avenue near Hattiloo Theatre under a plan approved Wednesday, Jan. 13, by the Memphis Public Art Review committee.

    By Bill Dries January 14, 2021

• September 2020

  • Memphis police adopt new excessive force reforms following Daily Memphian investigation

    But the reforms amount to a hollow ruse, says activist who complained about an officer who shot and killed a Black man in 2013.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 23, 2020

  • Levitt Shell, Graceland tagged with BLM, anti-police graffiti

    Levitt Shell officials say the pandemic has left them in dire financial straights and vandalism is devastating. Graceland was also tagged with graffiti.

    By Linda A. Moore, Jared Boyd September 03, 2020

  • The Memphis 10: Levitt Shell cleans up after recent vandalism, eyes 2021 return

    For the Shell, the problem is the medium, not the message. Tagging has been a recurring issue. “When we’re sitting here empty, and it’s dark, I understand that it’s an empty canvas,” said Shell executive director Natalie Wilson.

    By Chris Herrington September 03, 2020

• August 2020

  • Memphis musicians continue protests in tradition of ‘message music’

    Adopting Stax Records' approach to tackling Black liberation through song, several local artists responded to recent protests with lyrical activism.

    By Jared Boyd August 22, 2020

  • Opinion: It’s time for us to heed those with boots on the ground — the college football players

    During a pandemic and the fight for social justice, why aren't we listening to the ones on the playing field?

    By Steven Johnson August 09, 2020

• July 2020

  • City Council Scorecard: A cell tower falls and a shift on Black Lives Matter Avenue

    The council's Glenview cell tower vote and a series of Black Lives Matter proposals setting the stage for some renamings of public places are the latest entries in our ongoing scorecard of council roll call votes.

    By Bill Dries July 24, 2020

  • Opinion: What it means to be an ally in Memphis

    As a brown American living in a Black and white city, I have often felt like I am standing on the median. I have watched my Facebook friends slowly show their stance on the Black Lives Matter movement: Some have remained quiet ... some are willing to speak up and support the movement.

    By Fara Captain July 22, 2020

  • Renaming commission approved by City Council, Poplar renaming sidelined

    The Poplar Avenue name change to Black Lives Matter Avenue will be among the items the renaming commission considers. The trio of related measures met with mixed results at Tuesday's Memphis City Council session. An ordinance to give the council final approval of any names changes of streets, parks and public places may get some legal rewording before its first of three votes next months.

    By Bill Dries July 21, 2020

  • Opinion: When trivia isn’t trivial

    Bree Newsome is the African American woman who scaled the flagpole at the South Carolina capital to bring down the Confederate flag after Dylann Roof killed nine people in Charleston, South Carolina. It is my hope that her name is not relegated to the dustbins of trivial history. Bree Newsome. Hardly trivial.

    By Steve Montgomery July 19, 2020

  • Stretch of Poplar may be renamed Black Lives Matter Avenue

    The avenue between Front and Danny Thomas Boulevard to be renamed includes the county’s criminal justice center. A majority of the council is sponsoring the resolution, to be voted on at Tuesday’s council meeting.

    By Bill Dries July 17, 2020

  • Ryan Silverfield passes first major test of his tenure

    Silverfield is perfectly fine with disappointing a few people to support his players. And that’s why, before the Tigers take a single snap, Silverfield has already landed the first big win of his tenure.

    By Steven Johnson July 05, 2020

• June 2020

  • Black Lives Matter sees a positive shift in support

    Black Lives Matter is a seven-year-old movement with an ambitious platform beyond the protests of police abuses with which it has been most associated. And in the past month of protests, activists and academics locally have seen reaction to it shift — a shift explored on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast and a recent Hooks Institute forum.

    By Bill Dries June 30, 2020

  • Morant apologizes for post but voices support for Black Lives Matter

    The rookie point guard said an Instagram post did not accurately and clearly convey what he wanted to share.

    By Drew Hill June 29, 2020

  • First 12 days of protests in 12 photos

    Daily Memphian photojournalist Patrick Lantrip takes a look at the first twelve straight days of protests over the death of George Floyd through 12 photos on the one-month anniversary of the first day of protests in Memphis. 

    By Patrick Lantrip June 27, 2020

  • ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted on sidewalks near former Forrest statue site

    Activists have painted Black Lives Matter on sidewalks surrounding the site where the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest stood for decades before it was removed in 2017. 

    By Yolanda Jones June 25, 2020

  • Journalist round table with Karanja Ajanaku

    The associate publisher/executive editor of the New Tri-State Defender explains why the Black Lives Matter movement has recently gained momentum.

    By Eric Barnes June 22, 2020

  • Faith before fear moves Harding basketball standout to speak up

    After George Floyd's death and the upheaval that followed, Harding basketball standout Makyah Thomas-Malone took her school's teachings to heart and spoke out.

    By John Varlas June 15, 2020

  • Conaway: A pass from the cops that I didn’t earn

    I ran from the cops, people. I was driving drunk. The driveway I was parked in belonged to a prominent Memphian, then and now. Then and now, there’s every reason to believe if I’d been black in that driveway, I might never have left that driveway.

    By Dan Conaway June 12, 2020

  • Mayor vows to fight police brutality, but city blocks records

    As Mayor Jim Strickland vows to 'fix' police brutality against African American citizens, his staff puts up roadblocks to accessing records.

    By Marc Perrusquia June 08, 2020

  • The call for police reform is coming from inside – and outside – the house

    When people ask why protests in Memphis have been so different than in most other cities, they’re fishing for a compliment. But there’s one aspect that is never mentioned: They have been smaller than in most other cities. 

    By Chris Herrington June 08, 2020

  • Protest live blog: Night of protests ends peacefully, before curfew

    Protests began early Saturday with two events (one was billed as a rally) occurring in Collierville. 

    By The Daily Memphian Staff June 07, 2020

  • Interfaith leaders call for conversation about racism

    Memphis faith leaders and social justice advocates called Tuesday, June 2, for a meeting with top Memphis and law enforcement officials to address racist roots of violence against black people.

    By Wayne Risher June 03, 2020

• May 2020

  • A death in Minneapolis is a metaphor for the black experience in America

    If this does not create sustained national outrage from the halls of government to the smallest police force in America, if this does not convince you that the Black Lives Matter movement had it right all along, nothing will.

    By Otis Sanford May 28, 2020