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.  

When reporting on economic development, the media often emphasizes tax breaks while downplaying the net new taxes generated. This leads many people to simply misunderstand how incentives work and can have serious repercussions for a community, as can be seen in New York with Amazon.

The bold new design for Tom Lee Park aspires to create one of the country's great waterfronts while sending a message that Memphis is a place that embraces its past but isn't defined by it. 

From the St. Jude expansion to the reinvigorated Edge District, Memphis has much to celebrate. But some people have questions and concerns about the Memphis River Parks Partnership's proposal for Tom Lee Park. The concerns and questions should be addressed.

E Pluribus unum is our nation’s traditional motto. Conservatives are drawn to the unum – the unity – in that motto. Liberals often prefer the pluribus – the diversity. Wouldn’t it be great if all our flags allowed us to put aside the pluribus among us and experience the unum?

Mississippi’s Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is running to be the chief executive of a state where nearly 40 percent of its citizens are African-Americans. They and everyone else in Mississippi deserve to hear directly from him a definitive statement on race relations in 2019.

Some cities just naturally make stories. Others just make noise. Orderly and predictable are safe, but funky and unique are a lot more fun. New Orleans and Memphis are what they are because of those latter traits.

Cities evolve or die. Look at places like Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta and even Louisville and Austin. Compare those to Little Rock and Jackson, Mississippi. Which do we want to be more like?

Too many people are engaging in dangerous rhetoric that encourages people to “resist” all forms of authority, including law enforcement. This slander must stop – and it must stop right now.

Infrastructure is key to continued growth in Tennessee’s economy. In Memphis, we must continue to invest in world-class transportation systems and we must look to new solutions to fund these investments.

We have an obligation to the next generation to provide them with every opportunity to be successful. That success begins with an educational system that is nimble and inclusive of a variety of options from which parents can choose.

As our country continues to debate over how we secure our borders, whether or not to build a wall to keep people out of our country, we might consider taking a closer look at those who are born within it. Hate is killing our country.

The Tennessee Republican Party must find the political courage to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust – a blatant symbol of Tennessee’s shameful history – out of the Capitol rotunda and into the museum, and replace it with a hero that is more representative of all Tennesseans. 

If history is any guide, the new Memphis Express professional football franchise will do fine. The big question concerns the league, the new eight-team Alliance of American Football.

Despicable behavior isn’t new, people at their worst doing what they do because they can. What’s new is the lack of national outrage, the shrugging of our national shoulders, a coast-to-coast “so what.”

People talk about school choice. But school choice doesn’t truly exist if parents don’t have access to good schools. There is a solution that can help: unified enrollment.

What effect would a serious intraparty challenge to President Donald Trump’s re-nomination have on his chances of being elected for a second term?

In an otherwise carefully crafted State of the City address that was full of symbolism and substance, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland included one line that may have caused more confusion than clarity.

On the 50-mile drive over to Brownsville, Marsha Thompson told us a story.

Jamie Woodson is stepping down as CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) after eight years.  Woodson says there’s still much more to do for students in Tennessee.

The 10 women honored with Luminary Award medals this year represent the diversity, racially and otherwise, that makes Memphis a cool place in which to live.

Who exactly is driving the opaque process by which the Office of Planning and Development amends the UDC, and what does it mean for a city struggling to attract and retain people and businesses?

Historian Jimmy Ogle has an encyclopedic knowledge of Memphis – and he generously shares it with anyone he thinks might want to know. As he prepares to move closer to family, he's leaving us with what he calls his "bicentennial gift": a farewell storytelling series.

Over the past two centuries, presidents almost always have become more effective and less influential during their first two years in office. President Donald Trump has defied these patterns.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris calls on the University of Memphis and Shelby County Schools to lead the way on higher minimum wages.