The New Tri-State Defender

By Matt Brown and Matthew Junkroski WASHINGTON — Voting rights, the work of the civil rights movement and racial justice took center stage on the National Mall Friday, with protesters gathering ahead of midterm elections and following a wave of changes to voting laws and redistricting that some have condemned as detrimental to Black Americans.

“Every Inch a Lady: My Amazing Journey from Dear Harlem to Haute Couture & Beyond” by Audrey Smaltz with Alina Mitchell, foreword by Michael Kors, c.2026, Amistad, $27.99, 256 pages Snaps, zippers, buttons, ties. Pull that garment up, wrap it around. You know what you like and how to wear it. The color is perfect for your skin tone. The fabric enhances your form.

A big contract can transform a small business. It can also put one out of business. That was among the lessons two veterans of the Obama Presidential Center brought to Memphis on Aug. 25, sharing what they learned working on one of the nation’s most visible construction projects with minority-owned and smaller firms hoping to grow into bigger opportunities of their own. At The Mid-South Business Continuum’s Economic Development Forum, held Aug.

By Jack Brook and Kristin M. Hall, Report for America Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a federal anti-crime task force in Memphis fatally shot an armed 20-year-old man in the back, according to an autopsy report obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, contradicting police accounts that said the man was facing the troops when they fired.

Heidi Kuhn has spent nearly three decades serving in Shelby County government in roles such as public health caseworker, victim advocate and criminal court clerk, before running for office outside the county’s borders. But now, Kuhn is the Democratic nominee for Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. She worries it’s a political race that gets no attention. “I feel like most of the concentration has been on the 5th and the 9th,” Kuhn said in an Aug. 18 interview with the Tri-State Defender.

By Mukta Joshi and Joseph Cranney, Verite News SENATOBIA, Miss. — For many residents of this tiny city about 40 miles south of Memphis, the fatal police shooting of a 1-year-old Black toddler in June became a flashpoint after years of complaints about discriminatory and overzealous policing. The toddler, Kohen Wiley, was killed when police officers shot at a vehicle he was in after they responded to a shoplifting call at a local Walmart store.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved an amended ordinance Monday, Aug. 24, prohibiting the use of solitary confinement for discipline, punishment or retaliation at the Shelby County Youth Justice and Education Center at 3420 Old Getwell Road. Solitary confinement can only be used now at the youth detention facility as a temporary measure to prevent immediate harm. Children can be detained for just two hours at a time for a total of six hours a day.

The first few seconds of a 911 call often determine everything that follows, and information can be just as important as speed. In Memphis, city leaders hope a new method of response during those initial seconds will  improve the way mental health emergencies are handled. “Not every emergency is the same,” Mayor Paul Young said.

Jo Ann Street believed a park could be more than a patch of grass. It could be a refuge, a classroom and a gathering place. And her unwavering belief that children in North Memphis deserved shade overhead, room to run and flowers in bloom compelled her to create beautiful outdoor spaces they could call their own. For more than a decade, Street organized cleanups, confronted people who littered and advocated for investment in neglected parks.

With one foot out the door, a who’s-who of outgoing Shelby County elected officials were honored by the Shelby County Commission during their final meeting on Monday, Aug. 24. The honor roll includes the Shelby County mayor, sheriff, property tax assessor, county clerk, trustee and the majority of the commission. Moreover, several represent “firsts” in Shelby County government. Most entered office following the 2018 election.