Public forum fleshes out ideas to end opioid crisis in Shelby County

Thurston S. Smith speaks candidly about opioid addiction in Shelby County on Nov. 7
at Bartlett United Methodist Church. Joining him for a Q&A are (l to r) Dr. Alisa Haushalter,
director of the Shelby County Health Department; David Sweat, chief epidemiologist for
the health department; and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith. (Photo by Elatris Estell)

“America has had a fixation on dope for a long time,” said Thurston S. Smith, laying out the facts to a group of community stakeholders attending a forum on opioid addiction Nov. 7 at Bartlett United Methodist Church.

A behavioral health consultant and trainer, and member of the Shelby County Opioid Response Task Force, Smith shed light on the origin of drug abuse and its societal impact in America, past and present.

The task force is comprised of experts and officials in Memphis and Shelby County charged with developing a plan to bring an end to the local opioid crisis. The plan is supported by the city, county, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), and other agencies.

Opioid addiction has become a public health nuisance and destroys too many lives – literally. It is spiraling out of control with deadly consequences that the Shelby County Health Department is trying to bring to an end.

Recent figures compiled by the health department bear this out: opioid related emergency department visits in 2017: 901; opioid related deaths from 2013-2017: 650; opioid prescriptions for pain in 2016: 674,033.

Drug abuse is costing America well over $500 billion annually “in criminal justice costs, lost work productivity, and health care,” Smith pointed out before joining other experts on a panel to take questions from the audience.

While the focus of the forum was on bridging the gap between opioid addiction and the faith-based community, Smith stated forthrightly: “There is no difference to people who are addicted to opioids, crack (cocaine), meth (methamphetamine) and marijuana.”

Those who succumb to either drug, whether illicit or prescribed, often struggle at the onset of the addiction with eventual long-term consequences – even death.

David Sweat noted that the average age of death in Shelby County from opioids is 40. “It’s hitting us on every level, every demographics, and all over Shelby County,” the chief epidemiologist for the health department said.

Opioid addiction and other drug abuses can also lead to jail time, said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith. “We’re trying to encourage law enforcement not to arrest everyone,” he said.

Except street dealers; they will be arrested, said Griffith, adding that it is much more costly to incarcerate someone than to treat their addiction.

“There is no one way to treat addiction,” said Dr. Alisa Haushalter, director of the health department and associate professor of Advance Practice and Doctoral Studies at UTHSC.

There is, however, a major gap in detox beds, said Dr. Haushalter, alluding to the difficulty of securing bed space for those who are drug-addicted. The faith-based community in this regard is called upon to do its part to help thwart the opioid crisis.

Three stakeholders from the faith-based community comprised the second half of the panel discussion: Melvin Lewis, founder, The GAAL House, a transitional center for men recovering from substance abuse; the Rev. Jesse Johnson, program director of No Whispers Initiative at Christ United Methodist Church, touting a ministry that stands up for voiceless individuals currently struggling with mental illness and addictions; and the Rev. Pat Kendall, a pastor at Hope Church, who launched Hope’s recovery ministry 15 years ago and now comprising over 30 recovery and support groups.

Lewis understands the need for intervention. He battled an addiction for 25 years before “God compelled me to help other men who are struggling with addiction,” said Lewis, now in his eighth year in recovery.

The Shelby County Health Department is ground zero for the Opioid Response Task Force in terms of strategy and implementation. The county is chipping in $2.4 million the first year to implement the opioid response strategy map.

The strategy includes launching a public awareness campaign, increasing affordability of evidence-based treatment options, creating an integrated data collection system, increasing access to and availability of Naloxone, and diverting individuals from criminal court into treatment and recovery.

“The problem is chemical dependency,” said Smith, adding, “We need to ensure that members of every community are given a seat at the table.”

Rhonda Myers tells a riveting story about her struggle with cancer

After listening to a riveting testimony on how cancer has ravaged Rhonda Myers'
body, Bishop Edward H. Stephens Jr., senior pastor of Golden Gate Cathedral, and prayer
warriors prayed for her healing and peace of mind. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Five minutes into Rhonda Myers’ 20-minute testimony, tears started flowing in the room. She could barely get through the story without dabbing at the tears in her own eyes.

Each riveting detail gave the more than 120 women and a couple of men attending the annual Golden Gate Cathedral’s Breast Cancer Survivors’ Brunch on Oct. 20 all the reason to weep. And many of them did.

The majority of the women and one man in attendance are breast cancer survivors. They apparently felt Myers’ pain, her struggle, and her will to survive as she recounted how cancer has taken its toll on her body.

“I was scared at first. My words aren’t always correct. That’s why I had to write everything down on paper,” said Myers, 51, reluctant at first to take on the role of keynote speaker. 

“I wanted women to see how she has persevered. Women need to know how she has endured what she’s gone through,” said Anita Holloway, Golden Gate’s health ministry coordinator.

Holloway had asked Myers to let the Lord use her while telling her story.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the nonprofit Breastcancer.org, an estimated 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women this year in the U.S., along with 63,960 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

Men are at risk too. About 2,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men this year.

For more than 10 years, Holloway has coordinated the church’s Breast Cancer Survivors’ Brunch “to uplift and support women, to inspire each other with their stories, including those who have not gone through with breast cancer.”

“She (Myers) has a story to tell, and she has not given up,” said Holloway, moved to tears herself. After Myers finished speaking, she removed her wig to show other survivors that she is not defeated. Holloway sent up a prayer afterward.

Myers had participated in the survivors’ brunch the last two years, but not as a speaker. “This is the first time at the brunch where people wanted to hug me and kiss me,” she said. “I noticed that a lot of people were crying.”

Myers was first diagnosed with left breast cancer in October of 2012, five months after moving to Memphis from her native New Orleans to take a job as a certified nursing assistant at Spring Gate Rehabilitation Center.

Holloway is the supervisor on the night shift. Myers worked the three to 11 shift, but could no longer keep the job because of her failing health. “I had to quit after having the surgery,” she said

Myers was 45 years old then, the mother of three sons. One of them is deceased. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation followed. During this time, her mother was sick back in New Orleans. She brought her to Memphis. She died two years ago.

 In July of 2013, doctors performed a mastectomy on Myers’ left breast. They discovered lesions under her left armpit. They also found a lump on her right breast. “I didn’t want them to do both breasts,” said Myers, eventually consenting to a lumpectomy.

At this point in Myers’ story, the roomful of breast cancer survivors was listening attentively to the speaker’s poignant message, as if some other malady would be revealed.

Her story continued to unfold; she wasn’t done yet. While undergoing treatment for breast cancer, “my back started hurting,” said Myers, who thought the pain had come as a result of the cancer treatment.

The intense pain drove Myers to Campbell Clinic, where doctors discovered that cancer had invaded her bones. “I had it in my lumbar area, clavicle, and a part of my lungs,” she said.

Not long after receiving the doctors’ dour bone cancer report, Myers started experiencing excruciating headaches. Again, she sought out a doctor. “I went to Germantown Hospital and had an ultrasound done,” she said.

The doctors found four times the amount of lesions in Myers’ brain. In a relative short number of years, cancer laid waste to most her body. It had attacked both of her breasts, her bones, and twice her brain. She’s being treated now at The West Cancer Clinic.

Myers said her words don’t always connect like she wants them to. It didn’t matter to the survivors. They understood her pain – and it gave them a reason to fight just as hard to survive.

Fields chooses gastric sleeve surgery to lose the unwanted pounds

LEFT: Sharon Fields at a prayer breakfast in 2017. RIGHT: With a new look and
a new attitude, Sharon Fields wears jeans for the first time in 10 years.

The most that Sharon Fields has weighed was 405 pounds. The weight was a heavy burden that she could no longer carry around on her five-foot frame. So she decided to do something about it.

“I’d made up my mind that it was time for a change. I have grandchildren and I want to be around for them,” said Fields, a community activist and administrative assistant for Agape Child & Family Services.

Fields’ resolve was strengthened when she learned that she could shed the unwanted pounds by undergoing gastric sleeve surgery. But first she had to prove that she could lose weight consistently before a bariatric surgery team in Tijuana, Mexico, would consider her for the weight-loss procedure.

Because Fields had gained an inordinate amount of weight, the doctors explained to her that a liver-shrinking plan was necessary to mitigate the risk of complications after the minimally invasive surgery.

“For 30 days, I could only eat a 4-oz portion of fish, chicken or turkey each day,” she said. “I also had to replace two meals a day with two protein shakes.”

The pre-op was successful. Fields loss the required weight to shrink her liver and was now prepared to head to Tijuana, a cultural mecca bordering San Diego, Calif. She left Memphis on a Tuesday (Sept. 26, 2017), had gastric sleeve surgery performed that Wednesday, and made it home the following Saturday.

Gastric sleeve surgery is a tool to reduce the size of the stomach to help chronically obese patients lose weight. The patient is placed under general anesthesia while a certified bariatric professional makes a small laparoscopic incision into the stomach to remove up to 85 percent of it.

This type of surgery can take less than an hour. Recovery generally takes about 15 days. Results, though not guaranteed, can vary for each patient. Rapid weight loss occurs when patients maintain a regimented diet plan.

 “I started seeing results immediately. My face and neck changed the same day,” said Fields, dropping 15 pounds the first week after the surgery. Before the month was out, she’d loss 45 pounds.

The weight was falling off rather quickly. “After 90 days, I went through a stall,” she noticed. “Then I started losing inches. Then I started losing more pounds. I loss 115 pounds in 10 months.”

Fields weighed in at 288 pounds less than two weeks ago. “I want to be half the size I was,” she said. “I want to be down to 200 pounds. I just want to make sure I’m healthy, though.”

Lugging so much weight around caused Fields’ health to wane. Her knees ached and she tired easily. If she had to walk a short distance, her breathing would become sporadic. She would have trouble catching her breath. She also had all the symptoms of sleep apnea.

“I wasn’t diagnosed with sleep apnea,” she said, “but I couldn’t sleep nonetheless.”

When looking back over the years, Fields recalls picking up weight when she was in her 30s. She said her weight gain was caused by emotional damage that bedeviled her at the onset of adulthood.

“I was in the 350-pound range for the last 10 years,” she said. “And I was close to 400 pounds about six years ago.”

The diet fads didn’t work, she said. She’d tried SlimFast, juicing, and other over-the-counter weight loss products. Still, the weight would come back. “I would lose 10 pounds and gain 15. I wasn’t consistent.”

Fields felt self-conscious, unattractive. Plus-size clothes were available, she said, but too expensive. However, depending on the setting and those close to her, she didn’t worry so much about the weight.

“My church family…my job…they just accepted me,” said Fields, assistant pastor of evangelism at the Pursuit of God Transformation Center. Her immediate family has been supportive too – her three adult sons, two grandsons, and granddaughter.

After the surgery, Fields’ new image started coming into focus. Now this active, single mother can see the results unfolding before her eyes – and she likes what she sees.

“I still have to eat right,” she said. “Gastric sleeve surgery helps you with portion control. If you don’t follow the plan, you can gain the weight back.”

Fields is determined not go down that road again.

Black Panther Party co-founder Elbert ‘Big Man’ Howard spent a lifetime fighting for people

Elbert "Big Man" Howard in 2012. (Photo by Wikipedia)

Those who knew Elbert Howard from the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, or befriended him when he lived briefly in Memphis, referred to him as “Big Man” – not so much because of his six-foot, 250-pound frame, but largely because he stood tall on principle and commanded attention when he spoke out vehemently against injustices.

“He wasn’t just a large and imposing figure, it was the heart that he had for service,” said the Rev. Willie L. Henry Jr., a former member of both the Black Panther Party and The Invaders, a local Black Power youth movement somewhat akin to the Black Panther Party’s mission.

 Henry said he met the affable Mr. Howard in Memphis when Mr. Howard worked as a furniture salesman.

On July 23, Mr. Howard died in Santa Rosa, Calif., at the age of 80 and left behind an enduring legacy and indomitable spirit that encapsulate the man and the Party that he helped to shape into a formidable organization.

Santa Rosa is an hour’s drive from Oakland, Calif., where it all began in 1966 for Mr. Howard, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Reggie Forte, Sherman Forte and Bobby Hutton, the charter members of the Black Panther Party.

Mr. Howard fought until the end for human rights for all people, Carole Hyams-Howard wrote under her byline in the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper about her husband and his legacy.

“Thanks to all of you who helped him, encouraged him, were patient with both of us, and loved him,” she wrote.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, Mr. Howard’s family, friends and comrades from the Party, both former and current members, will celebrate his life and legacy in the Bobby Hutton Grove in deFremery Park at 18th and Adeline St. in West Oakland, Calif.

The grove of trees was named for Bobby Hutton, who joined the Black Panther Party at the age of 17. He was killed in April of 1968 by Oakland police officers near deFremery Park.

Oakland had become a bastion of deep-seated angst that black residents were feeling about the police during that era of hostilities and civil unrest. Sporting tams to one side and taking up arms in a militaristic show of force, Mr. Howard and his comrades were prepared to defend the black community.

Although history has recorded much of the tumult and deadly confrontations between the Panthers and law enforcement, Mr. Howard and his comrades nevertheless continued to focus on the mission.

He alone was responsible for setting up a free medical clinic for sickle-cell anemia and a work-study program for parolees, his wife said. The Panthers also created a free breakfast program for poor school children.

“No where in history did a few people with determination and a few resources have such an impact on a lot of people across the country,” Mr. Howard reflected in a story in Memphis’ Tri-State Defender in 2006.

The first editor of the Party’s newspaper, The Black Panther, Mr. Howard was a prolific writer. He wrote about the inequities and economic depravation that often relegated black people to sub-standard living conditions.

He also spoke “truth to power” – to use a familiar cliché – and carried the Party’s message of “Power to the People” across the world. In fact, he would say, “Power belongs to the people.”

As the Party’s international spokesperson, he penned articles, wrote books and lectured extensively on some of the horrid conditions affecting African Americans and improving black America’s self-worth on treks to Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

“When Bobby Seal needed a defense during the trial of the ‘Chicago Eight,’ it was Big Man who kept things going,” Henry pointed out. Seal was charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Mr. Howard was an active member of the Party from 1966 to 1974. After the police raids, jailings and killings, the Party was reduced to tatters. But the big man’s activism and penchant for social and economic justice never waned.

Condolences and tributes were published in the San Francisco Bay View for Mr. Howard, including those from his daughter and cousin.

“He spent his life fighting for the people…all over the world,” said Tammi Moore Miller, Mr. Howard’s cousin.

Mr. Howard meant so much to Tynisa Wilson. “Today, I lost someone so special, so great – my daddy,” she said.

UT rolls out its nationally accredited Mobile Stroke Unit

Dr. Andrei Alexandrov, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at
UTHSC, and the medical director of the Mobile Stroke Unit team, shows the members
of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) the unit's advanced
technology. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

If you are having stroke symptoms, you should rush to the hospital as soon as possible. Every minute that you delay will cause the death of 1.9 million brain cells, a leading international nursing expert in acute stroke management warns.

“People should not wait when having stroke symptoms,” said Dr. Anne Alexandrov, a professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing and chief nurse practitioner of the UT Mobile Stroke Unit.

On June 26, Dr. Alexandrov and a team of clinical experts and administrators touted the virtues of the UT Mobile Stroke Unit, which was on display in front of the UTHSC Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) at 26 South Dunlap.

Weighing in at 14 tons, the comprehensive stroke center on wheels is equipped with a hospital-quality CT scanner with advanced capabilities for brain imaging as well as imaging of the blood vessels in the brain.

Launched in 2016, the $1.1 million stroke center is capable of responding and treating stroke emergencies on average 72 minutes faster than the traditional hospital response time and can improve the odds of recovery, the experts say.

Unlike other mobile stroke units, the team of experts on the UT Mobile Stroke Unit quickly preps the stroke patient before the trip to the catheterization laboratory, Neuro Intensive Care Unit or Hospital Stroke Unit, thus bypassing the emergency room altogether.

“If we get called by 911, we can go to the person’s house,” Dr. Alexandrov said. “We can do a CT scan, clinically examine the patient, and diagnose a stroke much faster…which is 72 minutes faster than going through an emergency department.”

The rollout of the Mobile Stroke Unit was also ripe for the announcement of the first-of-its-kind national accreditation from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) for patient safety, radiation safety, dedication, continuous improvement, and commitment to quality care.

The IAC is a nonprofit organization that evaluates and accredits facilities (including UT’s Mobile Stroke Unit) that provide diagnostic imaging and procedure-based modalities. The mission is to improve health care through accreditation.

The CT mobile unit is the first of its kind to receive accreditation in the country. It is a distinction that sets the technologically advanced mobile stroke unit a world apart from others.

Dr. Ken Brown, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UTHSC, said this is a proud moment in UT’s history. He said the mobile stroke unit’s national accreditation “is a noteworthy accomplishment.”

 “The prestigious, three-year accreditation is in the areas of Neurological CT/Acute Stroke (computed tomography) and Vascular CTA (computed tomography angiography), both diagnostic imaging tools used on the unit to determine stroke treatment.”

“It’s [accreditation] a rigorous process,” said Mary Lally, IAC’s chief executive officer, referring to accreditation standards. “They have to have quality safety and safety for the patient.”

What UT is doing is innovative, she said, adding: “I understand the importance of this innovation and technology that will benefit patients. This technology will save lives. The team has paved the way for all others in stroke management.”

Dr. Andrei Alexandrov, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at UTHSC, is the medical director of the Mobile Stroke Unit team. (He is married to Dr. Anne Alexandrov.) Since its rollout, the mobile CT unit has responded to emergency calls at least four to five times a day.

He said it takes the team approximately seven minutes to arrive at a diagnosis after the mobile stroke unit pulls up to the scene, which, he added for example, is three minutes longer for paramedics to assess patients with chest pain.

Stroke statistics are rather grim in the United States. It is the leading cause of death and the No. 1 cause of permanent disability in adults. Dr. Alexandrov and the stroke unit team are striving to reduce the treatment time to improve the odds of recovery after a stroke occurs.

Every minute counts.

Friends, relatives and business leaders pay tribute to Jesse H. Turner Jr.

Jesse H. Turner Jr., accompanied by his wife Joyce Hays Turner, chats with a supporter
who celebrated his retirement on June 20 after serving as president of Tri-State
Bank of Memphis. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Friends, relatives and business leaders gathered June 20 underneath a tent on the parking lot of the Tri-State Bank of Memphis in the Whitehaven community to pay tribute to the bank’s president for his decades of service.

There was an intermittent drizzle and then a quick shower of rain at the most inopportune moment. But the inclement weather on that evening didn’t stop the retirement celebration for Jesse H. Turner Jr.

“This is about legacy,” Dr. Lucy Shaw Henderson, the bank’s board chair, explained to the 100-plus attendees. “We are what’s called a legacy bank. The Turner family is a significant part of that legacy.”

The legacy began in 1946, the year A. Maceo Walker and his father, Dr. Joseph Edison Walker (founder of the Universal Life Insurance Co.), founded the bank to serve the financial needs of the African-American community.

In 1949, Jesse H. Turner Sr., an ex-U.S. Army officer and CPA, was hired to balance the bank’s books. He would work his way through the ranks to become the bank’s president.

During the 1950s and ’60s, when the civil rights movement was reaching a boiling point, bank officials reportedly kept the vault open one night to provide bail money for protesters.

There were other incidents as well where the bank’s resources were doled out to support a cause or loaned to churches, organizations and black colleges. Community service was key to the bank’s legacy.

After the death of the elder Turner in 1989, his son replaced him as president in 1990. He had been a board member since 1983, served as chairman from 1994 to 2011, and CEO from 1989 to 2016. He’s stepping down from the helm, but will remain on the board.

“It was under Jesse’s leadership that this bank grew and prospered,” boasted William H. “Bill” Bufford, noting that Turner worked countless hours to steer the bank in the right direction.

The daylight hours often spilled over into the night, Bufford and the others at the podium attested. It was customary, they said, to get a call from Turner with something on his mind that he needed to discuss.

But that has been Turner’s modus operandi, each speaker noted. He is gentle, soft-spoken – as he is known – and to the point. So when Turner called after hours, the receiver would listen intently. 

Meanwhile, Turner continued to keep abreast of the latest trends in banking and sought to keep Tri-State Bank solvent. Unfortunately, time brings about a change and banking institutions often look for innovative ways to increase deposits.

In January 2016, Tri-State Bank announced the sale of its headquarters, a 23,000-square-foot building at 180 South Main St., to Beltz Investco GP for $3 million. The deal included Beltz becoming a depositor and stockholder.

The infusion of funds and the repositioning of the bank’s operations, including the $1 million renovation of its Whitehaven location, helped to extend the life of the black-owned bank.

Alden McDonald, president, CEO and founder of Liberty Bank & Trust in New Orleans, La., knows a lot about the banking industry and particularly the trials of black-owned banks.

McDonald has spent the last 50-plus years of his life in banking and laments the struggles that black bankers endure to stay competitive. “There was once 100 African-American banks [in the U.S.],” he said. “Today, it’s less than 20.”

McDonald and Turner are friends. He, too, has survived periods of financial instability. “We’ve gone through some serious times – all of us,” he said, and urged the assembly to pass down the message that institutions like Tri-State Bank are important.

Darrell K. Thomas, owner of Thomas Consultants, echoed McDonald’s sentiments. “Everyone has challenges, but this has been a great bank,” said Thomas, noting that he may be one of the bank’s largest depositors.

He added, “We need Tri-State Bank to succeed.”

Turner expects the next generation of bankers to grab hold of the legacy and steer the bank toward greater prosperity. “The final task of any generation is to hand the bank over to the next generation,” he said.

Sickle Cell Awareness Concert benefits St. Jude

Christen Dukes (third from left on trombone) and his friends play Minglewood Hall
to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where he received treatment
for sickle cell anemia. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Christen Dukes has struggled with sickle cell anemia since birth 22 years ago. He weighed a mere 2 lbs. and hasn’t forgotten the doctors and the hospital that kept him alive.

On Friday, June 8, Dukes, a stellar musician, hosted his 5th Annual Sickle Cell Awareness Benefit Concert at Minglewood Hall. Proceeds from the ticketed event benefited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It takes $2.2 million a day to operate St. Jude, which has one of the largest sickle cell treatment programs in the country. Approximately 75 percent of the funds necessary to sustain and grow St. Jude come from public contributions.

Dukes started contributing to the hospital’s bottom line to say thanks and to create awareness of the ravaging blood disease. Albeit minuscule to some, the money is a token of his appreciation.

He set this year’s goal at $10,000 and entreats friends and supporters to contribute.

“This has grown tremendously than when I first started,” said Dukes, a senior at Visible Music College in Memphis majoring in music engineering and production/performance. He’s also studying the business of music.

“I can see it [benefit concert] going places than when I first envisioned it,” he added.

Dukes plays a mean trombone. This was evident when he and his band of musician friends – Ebony Angel, Christopher Patrick Bounds, The PRVLG, Cameron Bethany, Tia Henderson, Chordz, Deonna Pruitt, and others – played a two-hour jam session.

Some of the musicians and singers – equally adept at delivery and performance – are Dukes’ college-mates; some of them are from Stax Music Academy, where he graduated high school and is now a member of the Stax Music Alumni Band.

“Since he first started this project, his friends have been so supportive and have done everything to help him,” said Katherine Williams, Dukes’ mother. “When he calls on them, they are there.”

Williams is Dukes’ staunchest supporter. She’s his rock too. “She’s amazing,” said Dukes, underscoring the point that she’s been by his side since birth. “Some parents will support their kids, but her support is beyond normal.”

She’s not shy or reticent to return kudos either. “I think he’s doing a great work for a great cause. It’s something that’s greatly needed,” said Williams, adding, “It’s an awesome thing to give back and make a difference.”

Dukes is encouraging people to get tested and screened for sickle cell. “He’s helping those within his circle,” Williams said. “Now his friends know more about sickle cell. They know that it’s inherited from birth.”

“It makes me feel good that I’m able to give back and help others through this event and any other thing that I’m doing,” he said. “It makes me feel good that I’m doing something meaningful.”

Sometimes disappointment flares up like the pain that Dukes feels on a bad day. Still, he forges ahead, dismissing disappointment and encouraging himself to carry on come what may.

When Dukes launched his first benefit concert, the crowd was relatively small. Perhaps they were trying to get a feel for what Dukes was trying to accomplish. “I told him not to be discouraged,” Williams said then. “It’s a good cause.”

The benefit concert continues to grow – from a church venue to a more relaxed, intimate setting at Minglewood, where supporters were able to mingle and lounge at draped tables and partake of hors d’oeuvres.

While Dukes and his friends were belting out instrumentals and solo-led adaptations of familiar songs, their overall performance could have rivaled any seasoned performer. Preserving the moment, Terry Dukes focused his camera lens and fired the shutter.

In addition to music, Dukes is learning photography from his father. He hopes to be just as gifted as a photographer as he is a trombonist. “He’s showing me the ropes,” Dukes said.

It’s another opportunity that Dukes doesn’t take lightly. His father, who is proud of his son’s advocacy and philanthropy, has been front and center at each benefit concert with his camera ready to frame the moment.

“I look up to him for wisdom,” Dukes said. “I can depend on my dad.”

Dukes and his mother are already thinking about next year’s benefit concert for St. Jude. “I don’t plan on stopping,” he said.

Youth will take center stage at Juneteenth

Ivi Wicks performing at the Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival.
(Photo by Leslie Thompson)

Ivi Wicks was 11 years old when she first learned that African Americans began celebrating Juneteenth two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a historic document abolishing slavery throughout the Confederate South.

Maggie Townes was seven when she was first introduced to Juneteenth. Now she’s 10 and still kicking up her heels, so to speak, as one of Juneteenth’s dainty little models that will perform on one of several stages.

“I enjoy Juneteenth,” said Maggie, passing to the fifth grade next year at Sea Isle Elementary. “I was a princess one year, a queen another year, and I won an award last year.”

The celebration continues June 15-17 at historic Robert R. Church Park on “World-Famous” Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, where music will reverberate throughout the park.

Wicks and Maggie will be present and showcasing their talents.

Although music has been the epicenter of Juneteenth, there will be an outpouring of entertainment, food vendors, games, a car show, play rides and inflatables for the children, a jobs fair, a veterans’ 5K Walk/Run, and two awards shows taking center stage.

More than 40,000 visitors near and far are expected to attend the three-day celebration. And just as many visitors – including a number of children – will learn for the first time about that sordid era comprising America’s history.

“African Americans were being separated because of racism,” said Maggie, summoning her knowledge of the tumultuous slave trade. “This [Juneteenth] was a time when slaves were freed.”

 “We recognize that our children need to learn about the history of Juneteenth and why we celebrate our freedom from slavery,” said Telisa Franklin, president/CEO of the Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival, one of the longest running cultural festivals in Memphis for African Americans.

“We also recognize that we have to acquaint children with the knowledge of our ancestors who died and fought valiantly to break the yoke of servitude in order that generations henceforth would take pride in their history and the future that they are shaping,” Franklin added.

Although education is one of Wicks’ strong suits, “they don’t teach Juneteenth at my school,” she said.

Wicks will be a senior at First Assembly Christian School, a private, college preparatory Christian school in Cordova. She is just one of many young people getting an education about Juneteenth outside a school setting.

Singing is Wicks’ forte, including performing and choreographing an African dance number at this year’s youth talent showcase and awards. “Wakanda,” the homeland in Marvel Comic’s Black Panther, is the central theme.

Wicks said her mother, Dr. Sharli Kay Adair, Juneteenth’s director of Operations, insisted that she learn the significance of Juneteenth and what it means for African Americans to be free.

“That inspired me to go for my dreams and aspirations,” she said. “Mostly, it inspired me to be who I am and to be my own person. As long as you know who you are, you will thrive.”

Wicks is ambitious and has kept her eyes on a set of goals. She plans to become an entertainment attorney and then return to college to study medicine.

Even at such a young age, Maggie knows she is special and knows what she wants to do in her adult years – thanks in part to her parents’ tutelage and their embrace of Juneteenth.

“I enjoy learning new things about Juneteenth,” she said.

Maggie could take what she’s learned and apply it in a classroom setting some day once she’s certified to teach, which is her career goal. For now, she’s gung-ho about modeling.

“We are revving up the festival this year with something for everybody,” said Franklin.

On tap will be the show-stopping Juneteenth Evening of the Stars (a youth talent showcase and awards), the Memphis Juneteenth Lifetime Achievement Awards, the Ultimate Dance Showdown, a mobile outdoor educational museum, a Memphis Juneteenth Jobs & Career Fair, and Praise Fest at Memphis Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is the mother lode of music and entertainment, she said.

For more information about the Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival, contact Telisa Franklin at 901-281-6337 or log on to www.memphisjuneteenth.com.

New menu-reading, web-based app a game-changer for the blind and visually impaired

     

Stephanie Jones, who lost her sight 12 years ago, tests a menu-reading,
web-based app using her iPhone that was developed by Helen Fernety of
ShopABLED, LLC to help the blind and visually impaired order from a
restaurant menu without assistance. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

     Reading the menu at a restaurant wouldn’t take much effort for most sighted diners. But for the blind and visually impaired, trying to figure out what to order and what the meal would cost could be a daunting experience.

     Just ask Stephanie Jones, who had to rely on her children and friends to read the menu so she could order what she really wanted. “Whoever was with me would read the menu,” said Jones, the mother of five children. “I used braille menus in the past, but they’re not always updated. But you learn to work through it.”

     Jones is one of many diners who can’t make heads or tails on a menu without assistance. But a recent call from Helen Fernety could be a game-changer for Jones and other diners if restaurants subscribe to a menu-reading, web-based app that Fernety has developed.

“Helen called the Clovernook Center (for the Blind & Visually Impaired in Memphis) to explain the product, and I happened to be the one who talked to her,” said Jones, who teaches braille and the iPhone accessibility feature at Clovernook.

Eager to test the app, about 13 of Jones’ students gathered at Soul Fish Café to order from an online menu of authentic southern-style soul food. “As soon as I logged in, it was perfect,” said Jones. “It gave me headings, pricing, descriptions…everything was perfect.”

Her students – pretty much hyped over their experience – agreed: “It was perfect.” Fernety couldn’t have been any happier that her product passed muster. She knew she was on to something big – something special that would make dining much easier for the blind and visually impaired.

Fernety, who struggled early on with her own disabilities, is the CEO of ShopABLED, LLC, a collaborative group in Little Rock, Ark. “focused on improving ‘life skills’ for people with different abilities through technology with a focus on user centric product development.”

The first product from ShopABLED’s drawing board is of course Menus4ALL, the low vision/no vision mobile restaurant menus app that is being developed in multiple languages for the blind and visually impaired. Work on the app began two years ago.

“We have a very innovative product,” said Fernety, an accessibility expert who moved to Memphis from Little Rock one year ago. “The app is based on my friends’ needs. They don’t have a lot of choices (at restaurants) – because they can’t read menus.”

The app works using the accessibility features in a smart phone and computer. For Android users, the blind and visually impaired can access the pre-installed TalkBack screen reader. The iPhone and iPad – both Apple products – use VoiceOver, a gesture-based screen reader.

“We’re building the app for both platforms,” said Fernety, who had overseen 21 prototypes with the help of freelance app developer Shawn Hartman of Little Rock. For $300 a year, restaurants can subscribe to the service.

“It would be wonderful to get 50 restaurants to be accessible to people who are visually impaired,” said Fernety, noting that the website version is ready for the market. “We’re not a mobile app yet. That’s the next level.”

It’s called the Native App, which will roll out soon. Also, for those who use Lyft, a smart cab link is located at the bottom of the menu. If a customer needs a ride to and from the restaurant, the app will detect the link.

“This is huge for me. I can do this by myself,” said Jones, who lost her sight 12 years ago. She has spent six of those years teaching at Clovernook.

Jones is not the only visually impaired person in the dark, so to speak. According to the National Eye Institute, 4.2 million Americans ages 40 and older are visually impaired. Of that number, 3 million have low vision. By 2030, when the last baby boomers turn 65, the number of visually impaired Americans is projected to increase to 7.2 million, with around 5 million of those having low vision.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disabilities, Fernety is making it easier for the blind and visually impaired to access Menus4ALL and enjoy their dining experience.

For more information about Menus4ALL, contact Helen Fernety at 501-590-6723 or email her at helen@Menus4ALL.com.