By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — When Keilah Jones learned that families with limited resources could shop for pennies on the dollar, she took her two children to Legacy Impact Community Resource Center in the Frayser community on Dec. 16 to take part in “Christmas With a Cause.” From noon to 4 pm, parents and their children made their way to the resource center, where thousands of items were available for their choosing and to help make the holiday season a little brighter – particularly for the children. Hosted by Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell Jr. and radio and TV…
Author: Wiley Henry
By Wiley Henry EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final installment of a two-part series about a woman who was able to harness her addiction and begin life anew. MEMPHIS, TN — In all her 62 years, Meishal Berniece Henry had never owned anything with her name on it, such as a driver’s license, automobile, insurance, and a home. The one she once lived in bore her ex-husband’s name. That’s because Henry was battling alcohol and drug addiction for 35 years and succumbed to the powerful lure. She couldn’t shake it, nor could she eradicate it. Not on her own. Then…
By Wiley Henry EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first installment of a two-part series about a woman who turned her life around after a tumultuous battle with alcohol and drug addiction. MEMPHIS, TN — Meishal Berniece Henry is deliriously happy. She earned a college degree in phlebotomy, makes a decent wage on her “dream job,” and purchased a new home in the Alcy Ball community. “I’m doing awesome,” she said. But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, Henry’s journey to happiness didn’t come so easily. It was hampered by destructive behavior – a kind of self-inflicted wound that festered…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN – “Are you proud of me?” Brian Armour Jr. asked his aunt after his performance at Studio Route 29 on Oct. 28 and after leaving the opening of his art exhibit at ArtYard, both in Frenchtown, N.J. “Yes, I’m proud of you, B.J.,” Beverly Towns Williams assured her nephew on the way back to the house. He’d asked Lionel Scrivens, Williams’s partner, the same question before the “big day” had unfolded. “Are you proud of me, Uncle?” Scrivens answered yes. Though Armour was the center of attention that day, he still wanted to know if…
By Wiley Henry EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first installment of a two-part series about adults with special needs. MEMPHIS, TN – Former Memphian Brian Armour Jr. danced for more than 20 minutes at Studio Route 29 in Frenchtown, N.J. He whirled in a black cape, and his moves – smooth, fluid, robotic, theatrical, mimetic – drew applauses. The music was refreshing and original, courtesy of Hop Peternell, an artist and the studio’s co-director. Armour lip-synched the lyrics to three pre-recorded songs that he wrote with audio assistance from Peternell. Studio Route 29, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is a progressive…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — He wasn’t expected to live. But then Christen Dukes beat the odds –– a preemie weighing a mere 2 lbs. and 5 oz. But he couldn’t beat the agony of sickle cell disease and cerebral palsy. He questioned God: “Why me? Why was I born with sickle cell and cerebral palsy? Why do I have to deal with this?” Then it dawned on Dukes that there is more to his life than grappling with his twofold malady. An accomplished trombonist, he would rather make music and help others with debilitating diseases. On Sept. 15,…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — It’s official! The Memphis VA Medical Center (VAMC) has been renamed the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center. The dedication ceremony was July 24. This is the first name change for the VAMC since it was established in 1922. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced a bill in the 117 Congress on Feb. 28, 2022, to add Weathers’ name to the medical center. H.R. 6863 passed both chambers of Congress in 2022 – the House on Nov. 14 and the Senate on Dec. 6. President Biden signed Public Law 117-236 on Dec.…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Before the wanning of Negro League Baseball, Black players with amazing athleticism excelled on the diamond with “speed, strength, quickness, and agility.” “[So] why is 75 percent of Blacks playing basketball, 65 percent-plus Blacks playing football, and only 8 percent of Blacks playing baseball?” Reginald R. Howard, an infielder for the Indianapolis Clowns in the 1950s, asked. The league folded at the end of 1950. Howard calls this period and after “Baseball’s Silent Genocide,” the title of his new book, which GrantHouse Publishers in Memphis released in June. The book’s subtitle – “How They…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — When Kimberly Horton met Jerome Fulton at the 2022 King Biscuit Festival in Helena, Ark., in October, she was bowled over by the depth and intensity of his artwork. She had to tell Andrew Ross, director of the Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Downtown Memphis, which “exposes, educates, and entertains visitors with all that is blues culture.” “I got the two of them together so he could curate an exhibit at our museum,” said Horton, president/CEO of The Blues Foundation, which has operated the museum since it opened in 2015. “When she came…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — A small town in Mississippi felt eerie to Stanley Campbell Sr. in March when he was scouting for a spot to film a character that he’d created to pay tribute to the “foot soldiers” of the civil rights movement. He described the area as wooded with trees hovering over him. He’d mistakenly turned down a beaten path and noticed that pieces of clothing were strewn where he’d ventured a quarter mile on foot. “I’d turned down the wrong road,” Campbell said. He was looking for an ideal location to shoot video of himself as…