By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Tracy Bethea has a few ideas in mind to expand WDIA’s reach into the community, such as taking The Bev Johnson show on the road or Stan Bell showing up in a neighborhood park and playing music. “WDIA [1070 AM] is a community station. It always has been. That’s why they were the goodwill and good times station,” said Bethea, referring to a slogan the radio station used decades ago to promote its community involvement. Bethea now has an opportunity to implement her own ideas, forge her own path, as WDIA’s newest program director,…
Author: Wiley Henry
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — “I can say without reservation that we’re not closing down shop and looking to pack it in,” said Robert S. White II, sharing his thoughts and feelings about the ministry of Louise Dowdy Patterson and her legacy. Mrs. Patterson, widow of the late Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson, died Nov. 20 at her home in Memphis. She was 84. Mrs. Patterson and her husband co-founded Bountiful Blessings Ministries, Inc. in 1967 and Temple of Deliverance, the Cathedral of Bountiful Blessings in 1975. He was serving as COGIC’s presiding bishop and chief apostle when he died…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Dr. Rochelle Stevens said a year ago that she was looking forward to “shaping and molding” the student athletes at LeMoyne-Owen College after accepting the job as head coach of both cross country and track and field. The season was on the mark to begin this fall. And the first meet was set to take place indoors in January. But Stevens, a two-time Olympic gold and silver medalist, resigned “effectively” Nov. 10, citing “unfulfilled promises and obligations mutually agreed upon” with the historically Black college. Stevens’ letter of resignation was addressed to Amy…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN – One of this country’s preeminent civil rights photographers is receiving widespread attention from Hollywood notables 15 years after his death this month in 2007. Rosalind Withers, daughter of Ernest C. Withers Sr. and director and conservator of The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery in Memphis, said her father’s work is reaching a global audience. In partnership with Orion Pictures (an MGM company) and United Artists Releasing, some of Withers’ iconic photographs are being exhibited with others in tandem with the Till movie. “We (The Withers Collection) worked with the premiere release of the film,”…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — A 4,400 sq. ft. sensory-based playground aptly named Imagination Station will soon become a reality for students in grades K-6 at STAR Academy Charter School, 3260 James Rd., in the Raleigh community. The $400,000 project officially kicked off Oct. 5 with a groundbreaking on the campus of Golden Gate Cathedral, 3240 James Rd., where the single-site charter school is located. Founded in 2004 by Bishop Edward H. Stephens Jr., GGC’s senior pastor, the charter school operates under the auspices of the Golden Gate Development Corporation, a non-profit organization. Dr. Edward Stephens III, the pastor’s…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — The old Melrose High School at 843 Dallas Street once stood as a beacon of pride in the Orange Mound community, where an indomitable spirit remains. Vacant for nearly 40 years, the city of Memphis Division of Housing & Community Development (HCD) is transforming the three-story red brick school building into vibrant commercial and residential spaces. City officials and project partners will break ground on the Historic Melrose Redevelopment Project Friday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. The project is scheduled to be completed in two phases. “We’ll transform the first floor into a neighborhood…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Sylvester Fulton was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2016. “Like anybody else, you’d be surprised, confused, or shocked,” he said. “I was feeling good. I had no side-affects, or nothing.” He opted for treatment at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Newnan, GA. Two treatments of brachytherapy (internal radiation) – three weeks apart – and he’s cancer free. After his second treatment, Fulton looked for organizations that advocate for men, such as a support group. He wanted to get involved; he was discouraged. So, he started his own. “I wanted to do…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Securing the Democratic nomination for governor of Tennessee was a long shot for Dr. Carnita Atwater. But to her surprise, she amassed 56,061 votes in the Aug. 4 gubernatorial primary. Her vote count was impressive but not enough to overtake Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley’s 99,753 votes and Nashville’s Dr. Jason Martin’s 101,221 votes. Martin, the Democratic nominee, will face Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Nov. 8 in the general election. The loss, however, fueled Atwater’s desire to step back into the political arena. On Aug. 5, a day after the election, Atwater formally…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ishoused in the federal building that now bears the name of the late Judge Odell Horton,who presided until his death in 2006.A renaming ceremony took place July 25 amid a cadre of jurists, attorneys, andelected officials, who gathered at the foot of the federal building in Downtown Memphisto witness the unfolding of a new era.Once named after Clifford Davis, a U.S. congressman with ties to the Ku Klux Klan,U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen’s first bill in congress in 2007 added Judge Horton’s name to thebuilding.“One…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Dead people from the 1870s yellow fever epidemic were reportedly buried in unmarked graves on park land that once stood a hospital and a memorial to an infamous Confederate general, Atty. Van D. Turner Jr. discovered during his research. “It’s just been quite interesting learning the full history of the park,” said Turner, referring to the former Forrest Park, now Health Sciences Park. That parcel of land is in the medical district. Once a memorial to Nathan Bedford Forrest, a slave trader and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, now brims with new life. “The…