At gatherings, I only have to share one fact to get people interested: It’s music from Memphis. 

Growing up in a small, modest African American community, we had each other. I remember how so much was poured into me by the generations of women around me. ... I want to pay forward the inspiration that I have received. 

I own a restaurant in Downtown Memphis, and I can’t tell you the number of times employees ask to leave work at 8 p.m. because they don’t want to miss the only bus they can catch to get home at night. Some will miss out on $40 or $50 in wages because they leave work early.

On this King Day 2020, the 91st birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we do what we do every year. Lift his voice, his ideals, his teachings, his brilliance, his strategic leadership, his love for his family and mankind that put much of what we’re going through and need to change in perspective.

'We must be a unified and united body. If we are not, we run the risks of watering down our legislative authority and allowing outside entities comprised of individuals not elected by the citizens of Memphis, essentially, to make legislative and budgetary decisions.' 

Monday, for the first time in 48 years, Rev. Nicholas Vieron will not conduct his annual Adult Greek Class, a Memphis tradition. His mind and soul are willing. His body, not so much these days.

The high rate of juveniles transferred to adult court in Shelby County is not due to differences in Shelby County youth. It’s due to differences in the operation of our juvenile justice system. 

We can prevent HIV, or we can prosecute it, but we cannot do both.

In the 2010s, we saw real-size people on TV and became experts at streaming. 

Voters of the Ninth District know their congressman sometimes leans toward the outrageous. But he represents his congressional district with passion and commitment and that’s why voters have sent him to Washington seven times. 

Waking up with the flu. A power outage. A bad traffic jam. The Tigers getting into a Power 5 conference. These are all gravity issues. Nothing I do affects them.

For the new decade, Hattiloo Theatre is renewing its vow to amplify the voice of the African American community within the arts community, and doubling down on that effort by investing more in developing artists.

On Jan. 2, 2020, work to renovate Cossitt Library will officially begin. The project is scheduled to be finished in late September.

History tells us that Jesus existed and was crucified. And his birth changed its course. 

On a patrol car ride-along we encountered a public drunk (drove him home), expired tags, cats who set off a house alarm, and a railcar robbery-in-progress of copious amounts of toilet paper. Yup.

For many of the 1,200 homebound seniors served by MIFA each weekday, the volunteer who delivers the meal is the client’s only human contact in a day.

"I was drawn to Teach For America because school was my safe haven away from the chaos at home when I was growing up."

Forever Young Senior Veterans returned 14 veterans, ages 93 to 102, to Belgium in September to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. On these Trips of Honor, the goal is to return the men to the exact locations where they fought.

"The amount of money given is a symbol of the love that comes with it. We bask in that love."

When we drive a vehicle to the grocery store and add a little extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, it doesn’t come out again quickly. For our lives, and those of our children and grandchildren, it’s there to stay.

'Imagine someone wrote you a letter describing who you are, what you need to do, and how you should go about it. Imagine it wasn’t someone you really knew, and yet they act like they know you better than you know yourself. That’s kinda how we feel.'

'I feel a restlessness from our youth in poverty. They want more and I believe as well as the Scouts that they deserve better. They see the haves and have-nots. They know this is not right.'

If you got paid $100 per person for a gig in 1995, you probably still get paid $100 per person for that gig in 2019. In 2020, I hope we’ll demand fair pay for musicians, and be clear about what that means. Fair pay does not equal ‘exposure’ or beer or a sandwich.

More than 26,000 runners participated in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon races, but few generated the kind of outpouring that occurred when Rhodes College senior and former St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patient Adam Cruthirds took his final steps of the full marathon.

As newcomers arrive, whether new employees or hotel operators, billion-dollar real estate developers or ag-tech firms, we import not only their ideas but also their competitive edge.