By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — By now most people know that WDIA AM 1070 was the first radio station in the United States in 1949 to provide programming entirely for blacks featuring black radio personalities. Remember Theo “Bless My Bones” Wade, Nat D. Williams, Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg, Maurice “Hot Rod” Hulbert, Ford Nelson, A.C. “Moohah” Williams, Markhum “Mark” L. Stansbury Sr. and other black on-air radio pioneers? They were integral to WDIA’s successful transition from country and western to urban oldies and classic soul. The latter format was conducive to the station’s output of 50,000 watts of…
Author: Wiley Henry
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — When history and culture converge at the historic Robert R. Church Park in downtown Memphis June 14-16, revelers on the ground will experience the best that the Juneteenth Urban Music Festival has to offer. “We’re working hard to bring Memphis the best in music, food and entertainment,” said Telisa Franklin, the festival’s president/CEO. “We’re expecting somewhere around 40,000 people to attend the three-day festival.” Memphis is ripe for such a festival as Juneteenth, where children, adults and entire families come together to support one of Memphis’ longest running African American festivals – now celebrating…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN – When it comes to gun violence, Memphis ranks pretty high compared to cities its size. On any given day, someone is left for dead or seriously wounded. Conflict and violence led to the shooting death of a young man by his friend in an excerpt from “Ritual Murder.” The excerpt focused on the senseless killing and ensuing investigation. “When murder occurs for no special reason on a Saturday night, it’s ritual murder,” said Levi Frazier, narrating the scene when Joe Brown Jr. (Brandon Lewis) shoots and kills his best friend, James Roberts (Willie Perry).…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — More than $511,000 in scholarship offers from 11 colleges is quite an accomplishment for a high school graduate who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when she was two years old. When Ivi D’vynne Wicks graduates from First Assembly Christian School on May 18, she will head to Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, Ga., in August on a full academic scholarship to study pre-med and theater – or filmmaking, perhaps. But Wicks’ academic prowess may not have been possible if her mother, Dr. Sharli K. Adair, hadn’t stepped in and taken control…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Chrysti Chandler stood in the back of the room and looked on approvingly while her young dance troupe was performing at the April 4th Foundation’s 19th Annual Commemorative Awards at the Hilton Hotel in Memphis. This was one of the dance troupe’s finest moments and more than entertainment filler on the program that evening. It was symmetry and poetry in motion. Their precise moves were imbued with the spirit of the ancestors. “I think they did a great job,” said Chandler, basing her opinion on the applause from the audience and numerous positive comments…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Jim McCarter sat quietly in a packed room thumbing through a recently published book that he’d purchased at Novel Memphis minutes before the author’s 6 p.m. book talk and signing Thursday, March 28. While waiting on the former Shelby County sheriff and mayor William Noel “Bill” Morris to address the capacity crowd, an age-old photograph on page 181 in the book, “Bill Morris: A Legendary Life,” caught McCarter’s attention. “That’s my picture. I had to look at it closely,” said McCarter, who’d granted Morris permission to use the vintage photograph. “I showed the picture…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — On Sunday morning, Feb. 24, New Sardis Baptist Church invoked the spirit of African-American ancestry coupled with Afro-centric music and the unadulterated Word of God. This was the culmination of African-American History Month and the presentation of the church’s annual Memphis Living Legends program. The morning worship service was devoted to the men and women whom the church honored and celebrated for blazing a path in their respective fields and making significant contributions in Memphis and beyond. “We honor men and women who have made our society better,” said the Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — In 2017, Sable Otey pushed very hard to make it to the 2018 XXIII Olympics Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea. She pushed and pushed, but couldn’t summon enough strength or push fast enough to rocket the bobsled out of the gate during tryouts in Calgary, Canada. “I crashed several times. At the beginning, I just got out-pushed,” she said. Two U.S. teams made it to Korea. Otey and her pilot failed to qualify. Still, she went on to witness the dazzling display of Olympic glory in Korea. While the memories are still fresh in…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Home is where Eugene Phillips’ heart is and where he feels most comfortable. His heart is also with the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital who grapple with catastrophic diseases. On Sunday evening (Feb. 10), Phillips opened the door of his lavishly decorated home in Germantown to a cadre of special friends who celebrated his birthday over dinner and made a donation to St. Jude. Phillips, whose birthday was Feb. 12, has raised more than $100,000 for St. Jude over the course of 35 years – thanks to an eclectic mix of friends:…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Nearly 60 years ago, eight black students – known as the Memphis State Eight – integrated the former Memphis State University. Before the name was changed to the University of Memphis in 1994, J. Millard (Jack) Smith, who was president from 1946 to 1960, reportedly said, “No blacks shall be admitted as long as I’m president.” Dr. Shirley Raines, the affable president of the U of M from 2001 to 2013, had no problem acknowledging the history-making trailblazers who shattered the color barrier in 1959: Luther McClellan, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Ralph Prater, John Simpson,…