Several takeaways from Thursday's COVID briefing and the rise in cases. Among them: We're not as bad off as Florida, but we're bad enough that local and CDC officials are alarmed.

We cannot undo the past. But we most certainly can learn from the mistakes of the past.

At Memphis, head coach Ryan Silverfield is encouraging his assistants to have real conversations with players about real things and for players' voices to be heard. Assistants John Simon and Anthony Jones have taken that to heart, while also wondering what lies ahead for their own children. 

Public safety includes not taking actions that risk turning up the city’s temperature at a volatile time. In those moments the mayor needs to be an agent of restraint.

It began as a poem written during the War of 1812. A century later “The Star-Spangled Banner” was our unofficial national anthem. Today, without the social injustice conversation that accompanies it, we might barely notice it at all. 

The good news about the Memphis mask ordinance so far: People aren't really freaking out about it. The bad news: Too many seem to be simply ignoring it.

"While the MPD has some ways to go before it is fully reflective of the communities it serves, do we really believe that officers brought in from outside counties or states will improve any situation?"

"Nuance and process are the boring but essential virtues we need to make good decisions about matters like state flags, Confederate monuments and public holidays."

We should be as bold and bullish about our contemporary black music as we are about all of our claims to fame, from FedEx and Holiday Inn to historic music attractions to dry rub ribs.

A funky triangle bounded by Park, Lamar and Airways would be the first shopping center where things would start to change, where black and white Memphis would mix and mingle, where Memphis would start to look like Memphis.

A house fire led a Ridgeway student to consider dropping out to aid her family. A Peer Power mentor says, "She was just one step from leaving it all behind."

A study released this month found that men are less likely to wear masks in public than women. 'Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness, and a stigma,' one of the study’s authors said.

KIPP gave up on their students, families, faculty and staff after only a few years of operation. This was a financial decision that is inequitable to the historic Alcy Ball community in South Memphis.

Police in places where law enforcement has higher status have taken a knee in solidarity with citizens demonstrating in the streets. These departments have also used much less force against civilians.

Our rising coronavirus rates pre-date the protests – they correspond to our general loosening of restrictions and specifically to Memorial Day – and there’s no specific tracing evidence at the moment that ties cases to them. 

A year ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light to the new owners of Kimbrough Fine Wine & Spirits. But their victory may be Pyrrhic.

Local nonprofit leaders who signed a call to action wanted to go beyond solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Like the protesters in the streets, we knew this moment called for us to not only speak out on the policing of Blacks but to the condition of our Black communities as well.'

There has been a lot of speculation on projected savings if MLGW changes energy suppliers by individuals with personal interests. But there are facts that cannot be challenged.

But don't worry. Our grandchildren could not possibly do anything but improve on that.

There is no denying that we are at a tipping point in this country’s long-overdue reckoning with race and police brutality. And our response to this moment has created three distinct groups – the objectors, the addressers and the deniers.

Without truck drivers, hospitals would begin running out of basic supplies such as syringes and catheters; service stations would begin to run out of fuel; and food shortages would develop.

Tennessee Department of Education has also warned districts to plan for driver shortages. On social media, some drivers have suggested that returning to their bus jobs may not be worth the hassle.

In creative spaces it seems better to employ white people capable of appropriating black vernacular, style and originality in ads. But of course, the dearth of black people “has nothing to do with race.” 

My anchors and roots require me to educate black and brown children, to teach them their history and prepare them to change the future.

As we move along on reopening the “Weconomy,” employers and employees need to understand that both have crucial roles to play in making reopening safe.