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Otis Sanford

  • Geoff Calkins
  • Otis Sanford
  • Dan Conaway
  • Chris Herrington
  • Guest Columnists
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Premium Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Herenton’s refusal to debate is a ‘grievous error’

    Willie Herenton still trails Mayor Jim Strickland in the mayor’s internal polls. A televised debate would be Herenton’s chance to convince skeptical voters that he’s still got it. 

    By Otis Sanford August 29, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Mayor mines campaign gold with Nickleberry endorsement

    An unassuming, 87-year-old, recently retired black sanitation worker provides a powerful and authentic endorsement of Jim Strickland.

    By Otis Sanford August 23, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: ICE agents didn’t target plant owners in Mississippi raids. Why not?

    Investigators knew that the owners acted illegally by hiring undocumented workers. If they wanted to make this crackdown an example of equal justice, they would have pulled owners out of their offices the same day they snatched immigrant workers away from their frightened children.

    By Otis Sanford August 15, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Will Memphis voters sit this one out?

    Because of our toxic political climate, the two biggest motivators that drive voters to the polls are anger and excitement. The city election is nonpartisan and falls between the 2018 midterm and next year’s presidential contest, which may leave Memphis voters complacent.

    By Otis Sanford August 01, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: We’re waking up to the crisis among young black men

    Poverty, crime and implicit bias have a devastating effect on black male students. Researchers found the educational achievement gap between black and white students amounted to "the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession.”

    By Otis Sanford July 25, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: His seat is a target, but Cohen is having the time of his political life

    U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, first elected in 2006, plans to seek reelection in 2020 and 2022, but it's no secret that more than a few Democrats are positioning themselves to run for the seat the moment he decides to step aside.

    By Otis Sanford July 11, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: There’s a patriotic message behind desegregation busing

    African-Americans were not about to just show up at all-white public schools and trust that they would be accepted. It required the power of the federal courts – and in some instances the muscle of the federal government – to force change.   

    By Otis Sanford July 04, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Vote for a mayor who can handle a crisis

    As former Memphis mayors Dick Hackett and A C Wharton can attest, the top city job requires political skill in the face of bad news or calamity.

    By Otis Sanford June 27, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: One voice is missing in the Brandon Webber case

    District Attorney John Champion is not serving as a P.R. spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service or any other law enforcement agency. He is speaking out for the Hernando shooting victim, whose ordeal has mostly gotten lost amid the violent unrest, the finger pointing and vigils that occurred after Brandon Webber was killed.

    By Otis Sanford June 20, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    This is America, where thoughts and prayers replace gun laws

    Most of us believe the Second Amendment gives us the unfettered right to own practically any type of weapon – high powered or otherwise – along with unlimited ammunition and accessories to go with it. The Virginia Beach shooter had several extended magazines that allowed him to continuously fire at his victims and responding police officers.

    By Otis Sanford June 06, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Casada should resign

    If Casada thinks that removing Cothren as chief of staff and smoothing things over with contrite words on the radio will put an end to the scandal, he is mistaken. The bipartisan chorus of calls for him to resign will only get louder, and Democrats are intensifying their demands for a TBI investigation. 

    By Otis Sanford May 09, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: The People’s Convention – The political force awakens

    Sequels are seldom as good as the original, but if this year's version of the People’s Convention sparks an increase in voter turnout and civic engagement, it will be well worth it.

    By Otis Sanford May 02, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Mayor’s race may show which way the wind will blow in 2020

    Biden, 76, will face plenty of left-leaning challengers as he battles for the Democratic nomination. Among those challenges is the notion that the primary campaign will not be kind to anyone with moderate political views.

    By Otis Sanford April 25, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Legislature wields 1960s-style tactics to punish voter registration drives

    Instead of fueling another racial fight over the right to vote, lawmakers should be promoting better ways to help individuals and groups with the registration process. 

    By Otis Sanford April 18, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Where Memphis mayoral candidates stand on crime

    As the 2019 city mayoral election starts to gain steam, there is little discussion about fighting violent crime, particularly by former mayor Willie Herenton and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, the two major opponents vying to unseat Jim Strickland.

    By Otis Sanford April 11, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: A Morehouse Man moves into leadership roles. Naturally.

    The history-altering transfer of public property to an upstart nonprofit transformed Van Turner from mild-mannered lawyer and county commissioner to gutsy leader, willing to take the heat for removing Confederate symbols of slavery and racism.

    By Otis Sanford March 28, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Three ways of doing business in mayor’s race

    The 2019 mayor's race is shaping up as a three-way contest representing the past, present and, perhaps, future of city politics.

     

    By Otis Sanford March 21, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Criminal justice reform is not a black thing

    White inmates represent 58 percent of the total federal prison population, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The First Step Act, designed to lower mandatory-minimum sentences, shouldn't be considered an altruistic act exclusively for black inmates.

    By Otis Sanford March 07, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    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
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Miss. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves must clarify stance on race relations

    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.

    By Otis Sanford February 14, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: A serious look at Memphis poverty requires more than a math equation

    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.

    By Otis Sanford January 31, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Gov. Lee should change position on removing Forrest’s bust from Capitol

    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. 

    By Otis Sanford February 07, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Luminary Awards shine well-deserved light on 10 women change-makers

    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.

    By Otis Sanford January 24, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Mayor Strickland has the Big Mo

    "Big Mo" – as in Momentum – is a nickname that just might stick. And as Mayor Jim Strickland makes his re-election bid, he would be wise to embrace it.

    By Otis Sanford January 17, 2019
  • Otis Sanford

    Sanford: Haslam’s decision to grant clemency to Cyntoia Brown reflects his governing style

    Gov. Bill Haslam's highly-publicized and celebrated decision granting full clemency to Cyntoia Brown is indicative of how he has governed during his two terms: a compassionate conservative moved simply by the desire to do the right thing.

    By Otis Sanford January 10, 2019

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