Destination Iraq: 'I knew what I was getting into'

   On Aug. 31, President Barack Obama declared an end to combat operations in Iraq seven years after more than 4,400 U.S. troops loss their lives in a gung-ho war effort that left an ill-fated country in tatters and the American people grappling with a recessive economy and coping with political infighting.
   It's "time to turn the page," said President Obama, making good on a campaign pledge to draw down tens of thousands of U.S. troops from Iraq. Despite the number of battle-weary troops returning home to their families, there are others preparing to deploy in what has been dubbed "Operation Iraq: Enduring Freedom."
   Six U.S. Army reservists from Memphis are part of that number receiving orders to report to Iraq after a 20-day training period ends at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Fort McCoy is a 60,000-acre military installation where reservists and active-component military personnel from all branches are trained.
   Sgt. Eric Heard, Sgt. Courtney Prewitt, Spec. Stephen Cowart, Sgt. Lecarto Pendleton, Pfc. Derrick Smith, and Spec. Benito Casino Henry Jr. will report for training on Dec. 31 and afterward spend up to a year in Iraq. They will be leaving with the 380th Engineering Battalion from Greenville, Miss.
   "We were involuntarily transferred (from the 441st Engineering Battalion in Millington) for mobilization to go help them in Mississippi," said Henry, 28, who is spending the time that's left with his wife, Renetta Williams-Henry, 27, and their children, Reiahnna Sanaa Henry, 3, and Braylen Carlito Henry, 2; and Henry's children prior to marriage, Bre'Niesha La'Sheala Henry, 5, and Benito Henry III, 3.
   "I'm trying to spend as much time with my family as I can," said Henry, who married Renetta more than two years ago. "We don't know how long we're going to be over there."
   Once the reservists are processed, they'll be apprised of their mission. For now, Henry, who has served with the 380th one weekend each month since May, doesn't know what the mission entails or where he might end up once he and the others set foot on Iraqi soil.
   "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began March 20, 2003. Since then, sectarian violence, along with the threat from al Qaeda, continued to mar the country even after former president George W. Bush called an end to combat operations aboard the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
   "Mission accomplished," Bush declared then. But the war lingered on.
   The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes on its Web site various hazardous exposures that U.S. troops had encountered, or can expect, during their tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, another country withering from violence and internal combustion.
   Some of those hazards include: (1) Burn pits: smoke exposure from dioxin, hydrocarbons, ash, etc.; (2) CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating System), burning paint from military vehicles; (3) Contaminated water that could cause cancer; (4) Exposure to cold and heat; (5) Depleted Uranium, which causes any number of illnesses; (6) Infectious diseases, such as Brucellosis, Malaria, Shigella, Nontyphoid Salamonella, which cause cancer and other ailments; and (7) Toxic embedded fragments from bullets and shrapnel.
   "All I got to do is trust in who I'm trusting and return home with all my fingers, toes, and all that," said Henry, referring to his faith in God. "That's what I signed up for. So I can't complain. When I signed that contract, I knew what I was getting into."
   Renetta didn't have an inkling of what war looks like in Iraq and Afghanistan, for that matter, until the images were continuously being flashed across the television screen. But when Benito broke the news several months ago that he was being deployed, "I was in denial. Then I felt numb and angry."
  No one really knows what is going on over in Iraq, she said -- not even Benito.Then she asked herself: "What are we fighting for? Why does he have to be gone for so long? He has a family."
   The questions keep coming to Renetta. And she doesn't have the answers. What will she tell the children in their father's absence? "They'll going to ask about their daddy," she said. "So I'll just tell them that he's at work."
   Renetta works two jobs and plans to quit them as soon as Benito and the 380th are deployed. "I'm planning to spend the time with my children and stepchildren. They'll already miss one parent. I don't want them to miss both of us by me being at work."
   Benito expects to finish the mission by February 2012. Then he'll return to Memphis once again as an Army reservist. Until then, he'll be on active duty status, beginning Dec. 31. "After 180 days of active duty, I'll be considered a veteran with benefits," he said. "I'll have more days than that. Then I'll have more money and benefits to take care of my family."
   Renetta, more than anything, would prefer her husband to stay home.
 

A brass note and Handy Award for Memphis' own

Lewie Steinberg was on hand Sunday evening along with other members of the family for the Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame induction ceremony honoring the legendary Steinberg family, which included Milton, Nan, Morris, Luther, Wilbur, Martha Jean and Diane. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

   During a leisure stroll on Beale Street any given day, you'll notice a number of brass notes inlaid in the sidewalk and inscribed with the names of some of the greatest blues musicians and entertainers past and present, who left their indelible imprint on Memphis and the world.
   Add to that list the names of three more legendary entertainers who were inducted into the 2010-11 Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame this past weekend. The Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame was founded in 1986 to honor those whose musical contributions had largely gone unnoticed.
    The induction ceremony for influential pop group Big Star was held Saturday, Nov. 13, inside of B.B. King’s Blues Club. The group was formed in Memphis in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. After an early breakup and personnel changes, Big Star reemerged in 1993 and continues to influence the music of other artists, according to industry critics. Hummel and Chilton died earlier this year.
   On Sunday, Nov. 14, bluesman "Sleepy" John Estes (1904-1977) and the Steinberg family were each honored with a brass note during a ceremony inside the Historic Old Daisy Theater. Family and friends were on hand to support the honorees.
   Eight members of the family were honored: Milton Gus Steinberg (pianist/patriarch, 1910-1950s), Nan Steinberg (vocalist, 1930s-1940s), Morris Steinberg (saxophonist), Luther M. Steinberg (trumpet/piano), Wilbur Steinberg (vocalist/bassist), Lewie Steinberg (bass/trumpet), Martha Jean Steinberg, international radio personality and radio station owner/executive, and Diane Steinberg-Lewis (pianist/singer/songwriter/ producer/actress/teacher). 

Authentic Beale Street Musicians...

   Estes and the Martha Jean Steinberg were also honored Sunday evening with W.C. Handy Heritage Awards, presented each year to authentic Beale Street musicians who got their start on the street that catapulted many of them to prominence.
   This is the 14th year for the Handy Awards and the 137th birthday anniversary (Nov. 16, 1873) of W.C. Handy (also known as the "Father of the Blues"), for which the awards were named. It was presented by W.C. Handy Museum Preservation and Heritage Tours, Inc.
   The first Handy Awards were launched on Beale Street in 1997 and subsequently moved to other locations over the years, said Elaine Turner, awards founder. "We went back on Beale Street, which was the origin of the first Handy Awards."
   Beale Street, she said, is where music was generated and "where blues musicians can be exposed to visitors who come to Memphis from all over the world seeking to hear genuine Memphis music."
   The honorees for Memphis Blues were the late "Sleepy" John Estes, guitarist; Carl Drew, singer/guitarist; and Johnny Scott, singer/songwriter.
   Southern Soul: Archie "Hubbie" Turner, keyboardist; Soul Breed, recording artist; Freddie Durham, baritone singer; and Clifford Marable.
   Saturday Night, Sunday Morning: Barbara Perry Wright, jazz/gospel vocalist; and Errol Thomas, bassist.
   Music Legacy Award: Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg (1930-2000), pioneering radio personality with WDIA-AM, executive and owner of a radio station in Detroit, community activist and minister.
   Lifetime Music Achievement: Booker T. Jones, organist, pianist, clarinetist, guitarist, trombonist, singer, arranger, composer and producer.
   Master Musician Award: Willie Mitchell (1928-2010), producer, composer, writer, recording artist and engineer.

Welcome Queen Back Home...

   The Steinberg family has played an integral part of Memphis music for more than one hundred years. Those who achieved acclaim were no less than stellar musicians. But one of them, Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg, followed a different path altogether than her kinsmen.
   The Queen started at WDIA-AM Radio Station as an on-air personality in 1954 and, from that point, rose to national and international prominence during her career in Detroit, where she'd become the executive/owner of WQBH Radio Station. She was inducted into the Black Radio Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
   But something was amiss until that day, Sunday, Nov. 14, when The Queen finally got a brass note (with other family members) on "World Famous" Beale Street.
   "I feel like this is a portal for the rest of the coming generations to step through. Our father and grandfather put in the work over 100 years ago," said Diane Steinberg-Lewis, the eldest of Martha Jean Steinberg's three children. Sandra and Trienere are the other two.
   When Lewie Steinberg accepted the brass note on behalf of the family, she said, "My heart was full to see my uncle accept the brass note for those who didn't see it in their lifetime. The Steinberg family has been recognized."
  The honor was a longtime coming, said Steinberg-Lewis, nearly giving up hope that her family's contribution to Memphis music and the world would soon be forgotten. There were 10 Steinbergs, she said. Only three are still living: Lewie, Gladys and Isaac.
   Although her name has been inscribed on the brass note as well, she said the portal that her family has opened for others to walk through has been widened because of her mother's six decades in radio and  unparalleled contributions. 
   Since Martha Jean Steinberg's contribution to music differed from the musical talent of her kinsmen, "I felt she should have a separate brass note, and a separate brass note for the Steinbergs. But I'm happy that the Steinbergs have finally been recognized."

   Martha Jean Steinberg's contributions: on-air personality, WDIA-AM, from 1954–63; WCHB-AM, from 1963–66; WJLB-FM, from 1966–82; and was an on-air personality, general manager, vice president/president and part-owner/owner of WQBH-AM, from 1982–2000. WQBH was an acronym for Welcome Queen Back Home. 

A Dental Practice of Community Service

Salim Dove, 13, was in need of a little dental work Thursday, and the best dentist to do the job was his father, Dr. Joseph Dove, who is building his clientele in the Raleigh-Frayser community. Certified dental assistant Kemba Suggars gives the doctor a helping hand. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

   It was only 8 o’clock on a Thursday morning and already the lobby was abuzz with patients waiting to see Dr. Joseph F. Dove at Dove Family Dentistry in the Raleigh-Frayser community. After the patient’s name was called, he or she was escorted through the door that separates the lobby from the hall leading to Dr. Dove’s world of family dentistry.
    Several of the rooms were already occupied with patients needing any number of procedures that Dr. Dove and his colleague, Dr. Philip A. Carter, offer: extractions, root canals, cleaning, fillings, implants, veneers, tooth whitening, periodontal therapy, and many other preventive and cosmetic restorations.
    Dr. Dove has been practicing dentistry for 13 years, six of them in the office complex at 3030 Covington Pike, Suite 150. At 40, he’s building a practice that’s starting to look like a community. Seventy percent of his patients are African American, he said; the rest is Latino. In fact, the neon sign in the window advertises his service to Spanish-speaking patients: “Se Habla Espanol,” which means “Spanish is spoken.”
   Dr. Dove himself speaks a little Spanish and some members of his staff are bilingual as well. “We want everybody to come see us. But our targeted patients are those who traditionally don’t go to see a dentist,” he says. “We’re trained to serve the underserved community, which is our community. There is a lack in a lot of areas, so we try to fill the gap in this area.”
   The Hispanic population in Shelby County is growing exponentially according to recent estimates ascertained by The University of Memphis. Based on U.S. Census figures, Hispanics comprise about 4.5 percent of Shelby Countians, or at least 60,000 to 100,000 -- legal or illegal -- the U of M estimates. The unofficial count could inflate that number even higher.
   The area where Dr. Dove has anchored his dental practice is rife for serving his Spanish-speaking clientele. It is a Hispanic neighborhood where businesses other than Dove Family Dentistry is anchored along Covington Pike near Stage Road and cater both to the emerging Hispanic population and African Americans at-large.
   “We found Memphis to be an area in need of quality and minority professionals,” says Dr. Dove, who was born in Detroit and lived in other cities including Idaho and Texas. He graduated high school in Spring, Texas, in 1986; joined the United States Army in 1987; served two years in active duty and five in the Army Reserves; graduated from the University of Texas-Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Biology; and then from Meharry Medical College in Nashville with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery.
   “I went to the military to go to school,” says Dr. Dove, whose parents, particularly his father, instilled into their eight children the importance of getting a good education. His father led by example and obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Two years later, he’d become proficient in computers.
   “We came up the hard way in Detroit. Nobody gave us anything,” says Dr. Dove, who watched as his father blazed a path for his children to follow. “He had eight children in the ‘70s and managed to obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Wayne State. Then he was able to go into computer programming and worked in Saudi Arabia for 15 years as a computer engineer systems analyst. He retired early.”
   The methodology that Dr. Dove’s father used to motivate his children to seek loftier goals in life has paid off in big dividends. Two other children are doctors as well: a sister who also has a dental practice, in Atlanta, and another sister who is a podiatrist in Las Vegas, where both parents work part time.
   “They are persevering and still together after 41 years,” says Dr. Dove, who has been married to Francine Dove for 16 years. They are the parents of three boys: Salim, 15, a ninth-grader at St. Benedict at Auburndale in Cordova; Naseem, 11, a sixth-grader at Emmanuel Lutheran in the Raleigh community; and Musa, 7, a second-grader, also at Emanuel Lutheran.
   What his father did to encourage him and his siblings, he is doing the same for his boys, even if they want to pursue the field of dentistry. “If they want to follow in my footsteps, fine, but pass me. Go farther. Don’t limit yourself,” he tells them. “But don’t take the short cut. It can come back to bite you.”
   Talking to children and mentoring them is a service that Dr. Dove takes seriously. It is an extension of his commitment to community service, which is an integral part of his dental practice. He volunteers quality time at Jackson Elementary, his adopted school.
   When questions are raised by the students, he answers them with honesty and complete frankness. He engages them like he would his own children in hopes of piquing their interest in higher education and a career pursuit. Dreams can be manifested, he tells them.
   “[President Barack] Obama showed you can dream the impossible,” he says. “So we continue to mentor and challenge them so they can grab a hold of their dreams.”
   But not all children aspire to greatness or have the available resources to help catapult them out of the muck of poverty, stagnation, lethargy, quick fixes and the ill-pursuit of material possessions. The pursuit of materialism and instant gratification, he says, is fleeting.
   “They forget the work that goes into achieving anything. You got to work at it. You got to turn the TV off; pick up a book.”
   So when Dr. Dove combines dentistry, mentorship and community service, he’s certain that this trifecta would motivate his patients, particularly the children ages 13-18, to forge ahead with more than a toothy smile. His mission: “to bring something different to the table, to open doors, provoke thoughts, provoke questions.”
   “We educate patients (including reluctant men) half of the day,” he says.
   Although more men, rather than women, have been known to avoid the doctor’s office, Dr. Dove tries to change that mindset to prevent the possibility of ill-health.” Brothers especially don’t go to the dentist unless something is hurting,” he says. “By capturing them with a toothache, we can educate them on a lot of things. We’d even send them back to their medical doctor for a checkup.”
   Dr. Dove says his approach to dentistry is driven by his personality. He is friendly, affable and has a genuine concern for his patients’ wellness and welfare. “Tomorrow is not promised,” he says. “You’re going to get old someday. We all have to keep striving as long as we’re vertical.”
   Dove Family Dentistry is open Monday through Saturday. Evening appointments are available as well. Call 901-213-9337.

(This story was first published in the Raleigh community newsletter, "It's All About Raleigh.")

Ulysses Jones Jr. remembered

Rev. Robert Mason, pastor of Greater Middle Baptist Church, gave the eulogy Monday at Hope Presbyterian Church. He said the late Ulysses Jones Jr. was a servant who didn't seek acclaim. His children, Ulysses Jones III and Victoria Olivia, spoke about the love they had for their father.

  Those who celebrated the life and legacy of state Rep. Ulysses Jones Jr. on Monday at Hope Presbyterian Church were told to keep their expressions to two minutes. But friends and colleagues took more time to tell their personal stories about Jones' work ethics and love for the constituents he served.
   The sentiments were pretty much the same: Jones worked diligently for Memphis and his constituents in District 98 (North Memphis, Raleigh and Frayser); he didn't seek acclaim or possess a haughty spirit; he was a man of his words; he fought to uplift the downtrodden.
   The eulogist, Rev. Robert Mason, pastor of Greater Middle Baptist Church, noted Jones' rise from humble beginnings to become a battalion chief with the Memphis Fire Department and a respected lawmaker.
   He said Jones was a servant who didn't seek acclaim. 
   Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. compared the lawmaker to the early disciples of Jesus Christ, saying he had a calling, just like the disciples, that intersected with his day job. "He was multidimensional," Wharton told the crowd of about 250 people, many of them fellow legislators and firefighters.
   Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell Jr. recalled a time when he was sheriff and sought support from a top lawmaker in the Tennessee General Assembly. "I was told to see Rep. Jones," he said, realizing there was a pecking order.
   Dr. Willie W. Herenton, former mayor of Memphis, said Jones was a good man who took care of Memphis, a man of his words. He said the lawmaker respected him and would tell him if a bill wasn't going to cut the muster.
   Shep Wilbun, a longtime friend, spoke on behalf of the North Memphis Round Table, a group of political activists, of which Jones was a member. A former Shelby County commissioner, city councilman, and Juvenile Court clerk, Wilbun said it was Jones who first encouraged him to run for political office.
   But no one expected the children of Jones to speak about their father. "I love my daddy... I was his princess," said Victoria Olivia, trying to get past the tears.
   Ulysses Jones III said while he and his father didn't agree on some things, he loved him just the same. "I loved my father and he loved me." 
   Jones was 59.

THE NORTH MEMPHIS ROUND TABLE: From left (first row): state Rep. Larry Miller, state Rep. Joe Towns Jr., Rev. Melvin D. Wade, and Rickey Peete. From left (second row): Jim Sellars, Antonio (2-Shay) Parkinson, Randy Wade, Shep Wilbun and City Councilman Joe Brown. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

Ulysses Jones Jr. carved himself a legacy

   Not many people would remember the name Harper Brewer, the state legislator who Ulysses Jones Jr., then a newcomer to the political arena, defeated in the 1986 Democratic primary and then another opponent in the general election to represent North Memphis and Raleigh in the Tennessee General Assembly. 
   Erma Lee Laws, former columnist and society editor for the Tri-State Defender, had to reach deep into her memory bank to recall that defining moment in history when the young political upstart toppled the veteran legislator who'd made an indelible mark in Nashville before his death in 1990.
   Key moments in history seldom slip past Laws, who is 80. But the 13 consecutive elections that Jones won since defeating the seven-term incumbent, including his last one on Nov. 2, forced Laws to push Brewer's legacy back into the recesses of her mind because of the legacy that Jones had carved for himself in House District 98.
   "Was it Harper Brewer that Ulysses Jones defeated to win that seat?" Laws asked Wednesday, a day after she'd learned that Jones had died unexpectedly Monday from complications of pneumonia at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital.  
   He was 59. 
   For 37 of those years, Jones worked his way up to the position of battalion chief with the Memphis Fire Department. He was one of the paramedics dispatched to Graceland in 1977, where Elvis Presley was found unresponsive. Resuscitation efforts were futile, and Presley was taken to the former Baptist Memorial Hospital on Union Avenue, where he was pronounced dead.  
    Jones had served on a number of committees, including, among them, serving as chairman of the State and Local Government Committee, chairman of the House Ethnics Committee, and the Governor's Minority Business Development Advisory Committee.
   A number of Jones' friends and colleagues admired his handy work and touted his skills in the Legislature. He fought for causes dear to his heart, said state Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, Dist. 88, such as protection for state employees, and the Tennessee Education Lottery, with help from then-state senator Steve Cohen, the current ninth-district congressman. 
   Miller had known Jones for 25 years and used to talk to him several times a week. He'd seen his colleague a week before his death and expected a call from him that weekend. That call never came. Instead, he got one Tuesday morning from Shep Wilbun, former Shelby County commissioner, city councilman and Juvenile Court clerk, who informed him that Jones had died.
   "I was stunned and shocked."
   Miller said Jones had encouraged him to run for the seat nine elections ago. The seat had been in Republican hands and redistricted in 1992 to favor a Democrat. "He approached me about running. I agreed. Then he became a co-campaign manager with Shep Wilbun, Joe Towns Jr. and Rickey Peete."
  Jones was a gentle giant and an effective legislator who led with authority, he added. "His thumbprint is on a lot of legislation."
   "One of my greatest memories was Ulysses' ability to maneuver and compromise," said state Rep. Johnnie Turner, D-Memphis, Dist. 85, who sat behind Jones in the House of Representatives and observed the veteran legislator at work. 
   Turner said it was Jones who persuaded her to run for the seat that her husband, Larry Turner, had occupied before his death last year in November. "He said, 'I think you should run for Larry's position. You could promote his legacy.'"
   Although Turner has served only six months as a legislator, she said her political career has been enriched by Jones' "skills and ability to get things done, his ability to maneuver and compromise, and the respect that he earned from his colleagues."
   When bills were debated on the House floor that appeared to be thinly veiled tax increases, Jones took it upon himself to see the bills' defeat, Turner remembers. "He would rub the Republicans the wrong way on taxes, if they would present such a bill. He was just that way."
   As a freshman legislator, Jones was mentored by veteran lawmaker Lois DeBerry, who guided him through a House-full of scrapping legislators who battled across the aisle that separated Democrats from Republicans. Newcomers, she said, would avoid this form of scrapping and remain upstairs. 
   "They were very reluctant to come downstairs. I told him that if he didn't come downstairs that I was going to tell his constituents. Now look what he has accomplished."
   Jones learned the art of compromise and at times remained steadfast when championing those bills that affected his constituents one way or the other. "He was looking forward to returning to the General Assembly to fight for lottery scholarships," said DeBerry, adding that Jones' death "puts everything, his life and policies, into perspective." 
   His death, she said, conjures up memories of two other legislators who died within a three-year span: state representatives Turner, who died last year, and Gary Rowe, who died in 2008.
   "In the House of Representatives, Gary Rowe sat behind Larry Turner and Ulysses Jones sat in front of Larry Turner. That whole row has been wiped out."
   After Jones' seat is declared vacant, the County Commission will start the process of appointing someone to fill the seat until the governor calls for a special election, said DeBerry, adding, "The people should not be without representation." 
   Jones' wake and visitation will be held Sunday (Nov. 14), from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Middle Baptist Church, 4982 Knight Arnold Rd. A second visitation will be held Monday (Nov. 15), from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, at Hope Presbyterian Church, 8500 Walnut Grove Rd. 
   The funeral will follow.
  

 
  

Herbalist: Hundreds of thousands of people will die

    Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, and particularly here in America, are dropping dead, a local herbalist contends, all because of a deadly cocktail mixture consumed often at the kitchen table: fat, cholesterol and calcium.
    “I guess you could say, ‘Who’s coming to dinner?’” said Frank A. Taylor Jr., better known as "Franco," a master herbalist and international health educator speaking to a health-conscious group on Day 4 (Nov. 2) of a five-day workshop called Health Revival at Breath of Life Seventh-Day Adventist Church (BOL), 5665 Knight Arnold Rd.
    “If you got a lot of fat in your body, it pulls the calcium to help digest it. When the two (fat and calcium) come together chemically, they clog your system and form a glue-like substance (cholesterol), which prevents oxygen and blood from getting to your brain, heart and other parts of the body.”
    The medical term for this deadly concoction is called atherosclerotic plaque, said Taylor, who doesn’t claim to be a medical doctor or an authority on medicine. Instead, he bases his findings on 31 years of thorough research and the ongoing study of alternative medicine.
    He did study premed, though, for two years at Maryville College in Maryville, Tenn., and left there to study premed at Charlotte North Carolina Community College in the evenings while working a full-time job. He stayed there as well for two years and then changed course.

Sickness and death: Two deciding factors...

    Taylor’s father, Frank A. Taylor Sr., had suffered a debilitating stroke and languished in grave health at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, despite the hospital’s worldwide reputation for cardiovascular breakthroughs. He died in 1972 at the age of 52 when Taylor was 22 years old, just a few years into adulthood.
    “He was muscular, well built and strong, a construction worker. Something wasn’t right. The top cardiovascular clinic in the world couldn’t keep him alive. So I turned against medicine and started studying alternative medicine,” he said. 
   Taylor then dove straightway into the books at sanatoriums in Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky and absorbed the knowledge that he needed to move expeditiously into alternative medicine.
    “I saw people get well (at the sanatoriums). I knew this was the right track for me,” said the 60-year-old teacher, consultant and proprietor of herbal products at Right Stuff Health Systems, 3145 Hickory Hill Rd, in the Hickory Hill community.
   Since then Taylor maintains he’s worked with more than 11,000 people who sought his expertise in alternative medicine, which, he adds, includes switching, or moderating, the consumption of animal products for a more healthier diet of grains, nuts, fruit and vegetables.
    Taylor’s 81-year-old mother, Geraldine L. Taylor, is a cancer survivor. He doesn’t take credit for her longevity, but says nonetheless that a good healthy diet helps to slow down such diseases.
    “You got to change your diet. You got to stop complaining about being sick and stop blaming God because of your choices,” Taylor told the group. “If you eat basically animal products, that’s unassisted suicide.”

A living testimony...

    Rev. Hosea Wright, pastor of Zion Hill Church in Senatobia, Miss., has been singing Taylor’s praises. He heaped more on Taylor Tuesday night after Taylor had worked with him over a period of time to get his blood pressure under control.
    “I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at 39. My cholesterol was high. My liver was sluggish and I would wake up tired,” said Wright, whose cousin died of cancer at 40. Wright was overweight and didn’t want to follow her to the grave.
    “We got to eat to live and not live to eat. I've never seen so much eating until I joined the church,” said Taylor, a strict vegetarian who equates a healthy diet with the Bible’s prescription for good health.
    To those who denounce the benefits of a meatless diet and the healing properties of herbs, Taylor turns to the Bible: “Scripture tells us in Ezekiel 47-12 that the fruit of the tree shall be your meat and the leaves thereof shall be your medicine.”
    Taylor’s message is on point and Bible-based, said BOL Pastor Nelson Stokes. “He’s trying to help us pull the physical health together so that it covers the whole man. If my health is out of line, then my emotions are going to be out of line, my spirituality is going to be out of line...”
    You can’t worship God if you’re sick, he said.

   (For more information, contact Franco Taylor at 901-859-7344, by email at brofranco@teacher.com, or visit his Web site at www.rightstuffhealthsystems.com)

The ‘wrong’ and ‘right’ side of the midterm elections

     When reality finally sets in a few days after the 2010 midterm elections, the loser may wonder what might’ve gone wrong on the campaign trail and why the message didn’t resonate with voters at the polls. For the winner, it is a call to duty and a mandate from voters to make good on campaign promises.
    In either case, the midterm elections ended with a thud for losing candidates and a bounce for the winners. It also came as no surprise that the Republicans would wrest a number of seats in Democratic bastions across the country, including the governor’s seat that Democrat Phil Bredesen now occupies until January.
    After he’d won the race for governor, Knoxville mayor Bill Halsam promised he’d be the governor of all Tennesseans. “I promise you this: Whether you voted for me or not, I will be the governor of all of Tennessee,” he told an estactic crowd at his local headquarters in the Park Place Centre.
    Halsam, a Republican, turned the state from blue to red after convincingly defeating Democrat Mike McWherter, a Jackson, Tenn., businessman and the son of former Tennessee governor Ned McWherter. McWherter found himself limping all the way to the finish line long after Halsam had crossed it earlier Tuesday night.
    At last count, with all 95 counties reporting, the governor-elect had a total of 1,041,576 votes in the winner’s column compared to McWherter, who garnered 529,983 votes according to the Tennessee Department of State.
    McWherter conceded defeat after realizing that his chances of wresting the governorship from Halsam were nil and unobtainable, and pledged, for the most part, to work with the governor-elect.
    But what went wrong with McWherter’s gubernatorial bid from the onset that caused him to come up short at the polls and miss that coveted opportunity to clench the brass ring of victory?
    “A large part of it was the fact that Bill Halsam had so much money,” said Van Turner, chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party. “He spread the money (around), and he was effective.”
    Although McWherter bested Halsam in Shelby County, Turner noted that McWherter’s candidacy was largely swept up in the backlash against President Barack Obama and the Democrats. The Tea Party movement, he added, was much to blame as well.
    “They (Tea Party) believe all the problems (in this country) were caused by Obama, and Tennesseans bought into it. [Now] they’re talking about repealing the 1964 Civil Rights Act and overthrowing the government.”
    Bill Giannini, chairman of the Shelby County Election Commission and former chairman of the Republican Party of Shelby County, agreed that Halsam benefited from the national mood. But contrary to most candidates, he said, “Bill kept his campaign positive.”
    Negative political advertising was horrendous on both sides, Giannini pointed out. However, “Bill always maintained the topics that he wanted to talk about as governor and it resonated with voters. Voters wanted to hear what the candidates would do (if elected).”
    And Halsam did just that and succeeded, he said.
    Now that the governor's office and the Tennessee House and Senate are in the hands of the GOP, both parties are now braced to start a new chapter in governance: The Republicans, without fail, are expected to set their own agenda, and the Democrats, henceforth, are expected to rebuild their base.
    “I’m just excited that we don’t have a lawsuit filed on us after this election,” said Giannini, referencing the lawsuit that Democrats filed against the Election Commission after the Republicans swept 10 countywide races in the Aug. 5 primary election.
    After much legal wrangling on both sides, Chancellor Arnold Goldin dismissed the lawsuit in October, in which Democrats were claiming the election results were “incurably uncertain.”
    Goldin didn’t agree.

A word to the GOP...

    Although the Republicans are basking in victory, Giannini warns them to be mindful that the outcome could be quite different during the next election. “If the Republicans don’t govern responsibly, they will be in the same shape that they were in in 2008,” he said. “The Republicans have got to realize they were given another chance to govern and reach out (to the people).”
     The “people,” in this case, are African Americans. “You can’t expect one demographics in the community to come and support you if you don’t reach out,” he said. “They got an opportunity to govern in the black community and represent the will of the people instead of the legislators.”

Consolidation: Not this time

   For the third time, a metropolitan referendum to merge Memphis and Shelby County governments failed at the polls. With 183 of 185 precincts reporting (98 percent) Tuesday night, 67,480 Memphians, or 50 percent, voted to consolidate and 65,012, or 49 percent, voted to keep the governments separate.
    Voters in suburbia, or those outside of Memphis, remained steadfast and hard-nosed in their determination to stay clear of consolidation. With all precincts (64) reporting, those who pulled the level for consolidation tallied at 13,633, or 15 percent, compared to the 76,988, or 84 percent, who were adamant about remaining, once and for all, autonomous.
    Proponents of consolidation will no doubt gear up for another opportunity to merge both governments, just as those who oppose consolidation will meet them at the polls for another showdown in the distant future. Until then, consolidation will not to pass the muster until the voters in both Memphis and Shelby County avoid another impasse.

Sharpton: The issue is ‘co-option,’ not consolidation

The Rev. Al Sharpton, national president of the National Action Network, was called to Memphis on Oct. 28 to urge Memphians to vote "no" on the consolidation referendum in the upcoming midterm elections. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

  
  Whether you’re for or against consolidation, the Rev. Al Sharpton, national president of the National Action Network, weighed in on the controversial issue Thursday evening, Oct. 28, before an anti-consolidation crowd and slate of reporters eager to hear what the preacher and civil rights leader had to say at the Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center.
    “If you’re the only ones putting up your charter, that’s not consolidation, that’s co-option,” he explained. “The issue is, why would you negate and try to have political power and then dilute that power and share with others on an unequal basis?”
    Sharpton was invited to come to Memphis at the behest of local NAN president Gregory Grant, Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
    When Grant called his national president a few weeks ago about the ongoing consolidation fight, Sharpton said he was on the campaign trail with Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who represents the 3rd Congressional District in Jacksonville, Fla.
    “I was saying to Congresswoman Corrine Brown that I got to get off the campaign to go to Memphis because of consolidation,” Sharpton recalled. “She said, ‘You got to do that because they did it in Jacksonville.’”
    Jacksonville merged with Duval County in 1968. Indianapolis, another city often mentioned to as an example of functioning consolidation, merged with surrounding Marion County in 1970.
    The political climates in Jacksonville and Indianapolis may or may not be as cloudy as the political climate in Memphis, but a storm of contention had been brewing a decade before and after the Metropolitan Government Charter Commission was given the green light to rewrite the charter for a new metropolitan government.
    Last year, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., former County Commissioner Deidre Malone, and then-Memphis City Council chair Myron Lowery hosted listening tours to gage the response to consolidation. The six suburban mayors still oppose the idea, so do some Memphians.
    In 1962 and 1971, both city and county voters rejected consolidation efforts. When the polls open on Nov. 2 for the midterm elections, the electorate on both sides -- in Memphis and the outlying suburbs -- will get another chance to vote “for” or “against” consolidation.
    Should it pass, Sharpton said consolidation will inevitably lead to the dilution of political power that African Americans have enjoyed in Memphis. He said jobs will be eliminated, not created.
    “We’re not crazy. We know the difference between consolidation and co-option,” Sharpton said. “We know the difference between when you make the decisions, we lose the power to have specific protection over our jobs.”
    Brian Stephens, executive director of Rebuild Government, a nonprofit community coalition promoting consolidation, said Sharpton doesn’t know the concerns of Memphians, or “if he’s gotten all the facts.”
    “He’s not going to get the vote on this issue,” Stephens said.
    Sharpton alluded to Stephens’ comments when he said, “When I hear these people talk about why are we interested in a local issue, it is always a local issue with national ramifications.”
    He cited Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., as an example of a local issue, “but it changed national segregation.” But then, he added, “When anybody tries to localize civil rights, it shows they don’t understand what we’re doing.”
    Whether you agree or disagree with Sharpton’s rhetoric and political perspective, does he have the “Midas touch” to sway the vote on consolidation come Election Day? He urged everyone in the audience to vote “no.”
    “We got to continue to fight and not move backwards, and the only way to do that is solidarity,” said Lee Saunders, AFSCME’s national secretary-treasurer, who introduced Sharpton to the Memphis audience.