There are 18 article(s) tagged Civil Rights:

• October 2024

  • Jury rules against inmate who was beaten in jail

    Cordero Ragland’s family will not receive money from the county.

    By Jody Callahan October 24, 2024

• May 2024

  • Book bans inspire giveaway at National Civil Rights Museum reading festival

    The celebration was held on the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board desegregation case ruling and featured an outdoor giveaway of children’s books for grades pre-K to sixth grade and up.

    By Kambui Bomani May 04, 2024

• February 2024

  • Mother of inmate who died went months unable to contact son

    Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said an independent, preliminary autopsy described a Shelby County Jail inmate’s manner of death as a homicide.

    By Ben Wheeler February 09, 2024

• November 2023

  • Family of slain inmate wants DOJ involvement at 201 Poplar

    Deion Byrd was stabbed Oct. 26 in a holding cell awaiting a court appearance at the Walter L. Bailey Jr. Criminal Justice Center, more commonly known as 201 Poplar.

    By Ben Wheeler November 03, 2023

• October 2023

  • Prosecutors push court to block use of allegations about Tyre Nichols

    Federal prosecutors want to block the use of references to Tyre Nichols’ alleged “bad” character and conduct by defense counsel for the officers accused of beating him to death in pretrial motions and during trial.

    By Aarron Fleming October 20, 2023

• December 2022

  • Sanford: My big brother Louis’ courage, influence and love will never be forgotten

    “Louis had such a dominant influence on my life – perhaps even more than my parents. And I always wanted to be just like him.”

    By Otis Sanford December 01, 2022

• August 2022

  • Member of Memphis State Eight dies

    “Ralph’s impact on our institution and community is immeasurable, and we will forever celebrate his remarkable courage and legacy,” the University of Memphis wrote in a tweet. 

    By Aarron Fleming August 09, 2022

• July 2022

  • Victims’ families languish as state effort to document civil rights-era crimes stalls

    A 2018 law created the Tennessee Civil Rights Crimes, Information, Reconciliation, and Research Center, but provided no additional funding or staff.

    By Laura Faith Kebede July 08, 2022

• June 2022

  • Guest column: Lessons from Memphis can help with a crisis in democracy

    “What can save our nation are movements which mobilize political action over the long haul — like the movements that have happened in Memphis.”

    By Fred Morton June 26, 2022

• July 2021

  • Opinion: End is near for Nathan Bedford Forrest bust at Capitol

    Forrest believed that the worth of Black people was only as laborers, nothing more.

    By Otis Sanford July 22, 2021

• January 2021

  • Civil rights pioneer Miriam DeCosta-Willis dies at 86

    Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis, a civil rights pioneer and champion of gender and racial equality, has died at age 86. 

    By Daja E. Henry January 07, 2021

• July 2020

  • Grizzlies coach opens session with passage honoring John Lewis

    Taylor Jenkins wanted to pause and realize that life and freedom are more than just about basketball.

    By Drew Hill July 30, 2020

• June 2020

  • We the people must fix this

    Police brutality and racism are not just black people’s problem; they’re an American problem, which makes them white people’s problem, too. 

    By Daphene R. McFerren June 06, 2020

• May 2020

  • ‘What is this new world going to be like for my children and grandchildren?’

    “At some point this pandemic will have run its course and we’ll get back to normal. ... Now, the question is when?’’

    By Marc Perrusquia May 22, 2020

• April 2020

  • Fayette County civil rights leader John McFerren dies at age 95

    John McFerren died Saturday of natural causes. He was instrumental in registering African American voters and integrating Fayette County, Tennessee, schools. 

    By Omer Yusuf April 06, 2020

• June 2019

  • City crews replace ‘Forrest’ with ‘Forest’ street signs

    The city on Monday carried out a plan to replace about 30 "Forrest Ave" street signs with "Forest Ave." The change assures the city is honoring trees instead of the Confederate general who was a slave trader and Ku Klux Klan leader.

    By Tom Bailey June 10, 2019

• February 2019

  • Sanford: Russell Sugarmon blazed a trail for racial change in Memphis

    In his early career, Russell Sugarmon played a key role in Memphis' political evolution, both as a candidate for city office in 1959 and as a lawyer for college students who staged sit-ins at lunch counters and public libraries.

    By Otis Sanford February 21, 2019

  • Nelson: Ernest Withers – flawed but no less a hero

    Ernest Withers, the famous Memphis photographer, was also Ernest Withers the informant, a man whose life illustrates Martin Luther King's description of man's dual nature.

    By Michael Nelson February 21, 2019