By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Of the more than 106,000 people on the national waiting list for an organ, eye or tissue donation to become available, 4,000 of them are Mid-Southerners (Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi), according to the Mid-South Transplant Foundation. But there aren’t enough registered donors to save each one of them or to give them the ultimate gift of life. Startling statistics bear this out – and they’re rather grim, almost unimaginable. Eighty-three percent of patients overall need a kidney. Ten will die each day while waiting on a life-saving organ; and a new name is added…
Author: Wiley Henry
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Dr. Rochelle Stevens – a silver medal winner in track and field at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and a gold medal winner in the same event at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta – is LeMoyne-Owen College’s new head men and women track and field coach. William Anderson, LOC’s athletics director, made the announcement at the college on Oct. 28 during a news conference with LOC President Dr. Vernell Bennett-Fairs, who’d tapped Anderson in July to run the athletics department. Former NBA head coach Lionel Hollins, recently selected as LOC’s assistant…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — If you’re a jazz aficionado, you’d know something about the late, great Jimmie Lunceford and his legacy. If you’re not familiar with the jazz master, you could learn a lot during the weeklong Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival, Oct. 24-31. For example, Jimmie Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was a jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader who was considered the equal of Duke Ellington, Earl Hines and Count Basie during the 1930s swing era. Here’s another tidbit: Lunceford was an athletic instructor at Manassas High School and organized a student band called the…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — John Burl Smith hasn’t given up the fight. He’s just using a different tactic, a different course of action. Now he speaks and writes about the plight and triumphs of Black people rather than organize protest marches. A founding member of The Invaders, a ‘60s-era militant group boasting Black power in Memphis, Smith has cobbled together his experiences and perspective on the Black man’s journey in his new book, “The 400th: From Slavery to Hip Hop.” Published by Nelson & Nelson Press, LLC in July (2021), the 950-page book is perhaps Smith’s crowning…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Several books have been written about Beale Street, but none perhaps as concrete, definitive and thoroughly researched as “Beale Street Unforgotten: A Business and Landmarks Directory and Gallery of the 1960s Beale Street Area.” Published by GrantHouse Publishers (2021), authors George C. Grant and Mark Stansbury gleaned from various sources a bevy of facts about the Memphis landmark – including “personalities and places” – and cobbled them together into a timeline that captures the essence of the street’s glorious past. Grant said the idea for such a book derived from a discussion with the…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of the Juneteenth Movement,” was in Memphis Aug. 28-31 to promote her children’s book, which is the first leg of the “Change is Possible Tour.” Aptly titled “Juneteenth: A Children’s Story,” the book was written by Lee, who was largely responsible for petitioning Congress to set aside June 19 as a federally-recognized holiday. “We want you to know that Juneteenth is not a Texas thing, and it’s not a Black thing. It’s a ‘we’ thing,” said Lee, 94, who lives in Texas. “Now that we have it as a holiday,…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Dr. Erma Clanton had one life to live. Much of it was devoted to teaching, nurturing, mentoring, developing and illuminating the artistry within young people – whether it was in song, public speaking, or onstage in the theatre. Her reputation was widespread. She was known to bring out their best and shaped many of them into professional singers and actors on the local and national stages. A lyricist, playwright, stage director, and educator, she was their guiding light. Dr. Clanton was born in Memphis on Feb. 5, 1923. She was 98 when she died…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Dr. Charles A. Champion is not shy about praising God for longevity and the path he took that led him to become the quintessential pharmacist and herbalist in Memphis and Shelby County. He’s 90 years old, married 64 years to Carolyn Bailey Champion, and has two daughters – Dr. Carol “Cookie” Champion and Dr. Charita Champion Brookins, both pharmacists, holding down Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store since their father is semi-retired. His grandchildren – Charles Edwin Champion, a chemist; Jessica Champion, a financial adviser; and Rikki Brookins, an assistant – are integral to the…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN – Dale McNair is struggling to keep his blood oxygen level from cascading down into the danger zone. To help him breathe, he ambles along each day with two oxygen tanks in tow. Reginald Johnson struggles too, but in a different way. His wife Shirley was deprived of oxygen and struggled mightily to breathe in the ICU at Methodist North Hospital. She didn’t make it. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on both families. Dale McNair, however, is fortunate to be alive. His wife Secelia prayed that God would restore his health. He still struggles, though. The…
By Wiley Henry MEMPHIS, TN — Before COVID-19 unleashed malady into the world, the city of Memphis had already in place an initiative to keep the city’s 8,300 employees safe from a wide array of safety hazards. The initiative was actualized July 16 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, where more than 1,800 citizens – including 700 city employees, more than 350 youth, and 65 vendors – gathered under a glistening sun for the City of Memphis Workplace Safety & Compliance Safety Fair. “The main purpose of it [safety fair] is to make sure that we’re providing up-to-date information to…