Christmas Parade in Raleigh Ushered in Holiday Spirit

Sandy Cheeks, who belted out a rap song during the 
opening of the Christmas Parade in Raleigh, mixed it up 
with young parade-goers who seemed to know the lyrics  
to her song "Booty Club."

The Raleigh Egypt Marching Band and their majorettes were
one of several marching bands and high steppers performing in
the Bluff City Christmas Parade. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

MEMPHIS, TN – Sandy Cheekz was in rare form Saturday (Dec. 14, 2024) morning when she belted out one of her popular songs before a bevy of listeners who braved the inclement weather and amassed along both sides of Austin Peay Highway to watch the Bluff City Christmas Parade in Raleigh.

Donning rain gear, in some cases, with a few umbrellas hoisted over their heads, men, women and children assembling near the grandstand waited patiently for the procession of parade participants to file past them in their snazzy outfits — but not before Cheekz finished singing “Booty Club.”

Lil’ Rounds, a finalist on the eighth season of American Idol and another one of Memphis’s musical sensations, performed a number herself prior to Cheekz’s cheeky rap song to kick off the Christmas parade.

“In the history of the Raleigh community, I’m the first person to plan a parade and to have them (Memphis Police Department) shut the street down,” said Dr. Telisa Franklin, the parade organizer and reputed businesswoman.

While the slight drizzle coated the parade route down Austin Peay Highway, parade-goers and the organizers refused to allow the weather to dampen their holiday spirit. Franklin said she was determined to pull it off — come what may.

“I wanted to give the community an opportunity to showcase themselves,” Franklin said. “It was everything for me. I came for the children,” she added, “which models what my theme is: ‘I Came for the Community,’ That’s what it’s all about.”

About 40 schools, organizations, businesses, ministries, clubs and more geared up for Franklin’s fourth annual Christmas parade. She rolled out the first Christmas parade in the Hickory Hill community in 2021. Parade-goers watched happily while participants strutted their wares. During the subsequent years, they were just as fervent.

This year, Memphis Mayor Paul Young lauded Franklin and her fourth Christmas parade during the ribbon cutting ceremony to usher in a new era for the Raleigh community. 

Austin Peay Highway — where the hustle and bustle of commerce along the stretch are prevalent and widespread — was once home to The Raleigh Springs Mall, just north of Interstate 40.

The enclosed mall first opened in 1971 and was once teeming with business from walk-in traffic and more. But then in the early 2000s, the mall had reached the end of its lifespan. After multiple court challenges, the city of Memphis razed the property to make room for The Raleigh Civic Center. 

Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell and State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, both sponsors of the Christmas parade and both longtime community activists in Raleigh and Frayser, pointed out from the grandstand that more development is underway for the proud community.

Memphis City Councilwoman Rhonda Logan, who represents District 1 on the City Council, and Memphis City Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas, representing District 7, rounded out the list of parade sponsors.

Parkinson, representing District 98 in the Tennessee General Assembly, was one of the parade’s two grand marshals. The other one was Memphis Shelby County Schools board member Stephanie P. Love, who represents District 3.

Caswell, representing District 6 on the Shelby County Board of Commission, served as host alongside Franklin and DJ Q, a community leader and reportedly the youngest disc jockey at HOT 107.1 FM, a “Tru (sic) Hip-Hop” radio station.

Franklin said this year’s Christmas parade was just as nice or better than the other three. She said she was content just to see the eyes of the children “light up” when school bands marched, blew their horns, and thumped their drums while majorettes danced to the beat.

Also on view were immaculate corvettes and other dainty vehicles rolling slowly down Austin Peay Highway and tossing candy and other goodies to children, who ran into the street and along the sidewalk to scoop them up. 

To Franklin’s delight, the parade participants made the children’s day just a little brighter this holiday season. 

Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

Stage play conjures up memories of a once troubled life

Wanda Faye Taylor-Wilson, played by Sequoia Watson, crumbles
to the ground after smoking tainted dope. Earlier, she'd thought
about drowning her daughter, Kenisha James, in the bathtub,
played by Hailey Summerall. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

MEMPHIS, TN – A two-hour stage play depicting the life of a once troubled woman conjured up memories that seemed all too real to Wanda Faye Taylor-Wilson, who watched herself being played by actors with grit and emotional fervor.

Written and directed by Taylor-Wilson, the play, entitled “Lord! Heal My Brokenness,” was shown Oct. 5 at Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center on the University of Memphis campus.

The stage play is a kind of biopic or an honest interpretation of Taylor-Wilson’s life — from dysfunction to topsy-turvy to a drug-laden world of dope pushing and promiscuity. 

Some scenes invoked painful memories, she said, particularly the one where her stepfather, played by Paul Vance, violently assaulted her mother, Linda Thomas, whom Angela Rogers was able to play with relative ease. 

“I was about seven years old,” recalled Taylor-Wilson, now 50. “I begged him not to hurt my mom. He started fighting her in the living room and then dragged her to the bathroom. He broke her arm after slamming the toilet seat down on it.”

Helpless to do anything other than watch in fear, the young Wanda Faye couldn’t protect her mother from her stepfather’s violent rage. “That’s when I really cried,” said Taylor-Wilson while watching the scene unfold.

“I was very emotional,” she added.

Thomas sat in the audience watching Rogers play her as a battered wife. “It didn’t bother me at all,” she said quite frankly. “That was a long time ago, and I put it in the back of my mind.”

But then while Thomas’ ex-husband was rampaging through the house in the scene and inflicting pain on her, she said, “I did all I could to protect my daughter.” Now she’s proud that Taylor-Wilson was able to let it go.

“She didn’t let it affect her life,” Thomas said. “She turned it all around.”

Indeed, but not before Wanda Faye found herself heading down a meandering path of destruction at gallop speed.

Sequoia Watson appeared in latter scenes playing Wanda Faye, the young adult, who grew up in both LeMoyne Gardens and Cleaborn Homes public housing, returned to the ‘hood, and grappled with homelessness. 

Then she started selling drugs, night clubbing, drinking, battling addiction, running afoul of the police, and got pregnant. “I smoked dope up until the ninth month with both of my daughters,” she said unabashedly.

Wanda Faye’s life was topsy-turvy, had gone completely off the rail. Then she found God at 21. That scene was called “Hope Changes Everything.”

Watson said she had one month to remember her lines. “I got the script a month before the play,” she remembered. “It was challenging. I’d never played a huge role, but I pushed my way through it.”

She’d had roles in several plays before Taylor-Wilson had asked her to join the cast. “Wanda said I was the perfect person to play her as an adult,” said Watson, 37, an educator, author, coach, professional model and dancer, and a businesswoman. 

“I felt honored,” she said. “I just wanted to deliver the message.”

A total of 35 cast members delivered the message — each one playing their part in telling the whole story of young Wanda Faye’s struggle to survive and succeed against the odds.

Kenisha James, her oldest daughter, will never forget the bathtub scene. She’d heard her mother speak candidly about it many times before watching it play out in front of her eyes.

James was five when her mother, hearing a voice within, demanded she drown her baby. Whatever stupor had her bound surrendered to a superior spirit that led her to remove her daughter from the tub and out of harm’s way.

“I think about it often,” said James, now 35. “There’s a sense of sadness and there’s a sense of relief. Anybody would feel sad knowing that a parent had thoughts of killing them.”

She continued: “But then I’m relieved that she didn’t throw away her life. If she had, she wouldn’t be able to continue impacting lives like she’s doing at the shelter. Her legacy would have ended earlier.”

Taylor-Wilson is the president/CEO of Ladies in Need Can Survive, Inc., a 501(c)3 transitional home for troubled women who, like her former self, struggled with drugs, homelessness, and trauma.

Proceeds from the play benefited LINCS.

“You don’t have to stay in your trauma,” said James, a licensed esthetician and owner of a spa and wax studio in Clarksville, TN. “If my mom didn’t have a desire to be better, my sister and I wouldn’t be our best selves.”

Both James and her sister, Charmecia James, 30, had bit parts earlier in the play and watched it from the audience once they’d finished.

Taylor-Wilson, who is married to Derrick Wilson, said there is a way out of trauma. “I feel that sharing my story will provide hope to individuals who may be going through what I went through.” 

YWCA grateful for $100,000 truckload of goods

 

Dr. Pam Chatman (left), the CEO of BossGiving,
nd Gwendolyn Turner, who runs a Memphis
YWCA shelter, show off some of the items — 
more than $100,000 worth — that Chatman
donated to the facility. Photo by Wiley Henry

MEMPHIS, TN – A local women’s facility recently received a generous donation of household items from Amazon and electronics worth more than $100,000 — thanks to BossGiving, a philanthropic organization.

Delivered by an 18-wheeler in early April, the sizable haul was unloaded at the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) of Memphis, where survivors of domestic violence are given a safe place to stay unbeknown to their abusers.

The donation also includes support for a Women Crisis Transportation Assistance program.   

“All that I tried to do and wanted to do was help victims of domestic violence,” said shelter coordinator Gwendolyn Turner, whose initial plan to start her own shelter was nixed due to extenuating circumstances. 

But a silver lining would eventually materialize in the form of a key position at the facility.

“God so fixed it that He laid it right here in my hand. Everything that I wanted to do is right here,” said Turner, now in a better position to help women on the lam from their abusers.

More help would arrive, however, after a visitor touring the facility suggested that Turner get in touch with Bolivar County, Miss.-native Dr. Pam Chatman, the CEO of BossGiving.

During a tête-à-tête, Turner and Chatman found common ground. Both women love God, both had overcome domestic violence, and both resolved to help others take back their lives.

“We started talking about the goodness of the Lord,” said Chatman, and decided to bless Turner for what she’s doing at the facility and thank her for helping those who cannot help themselves.

Like Turner, Chatman grappled with a form of domestic violence. “For 17 years of my life, I was degraded every day. So why not be a blessing to women that are going through to say, ‘Look at me. Look what God has done for me.’”

Chatman said God cleaned her up and changed her life. “Then He gave me a gift of speaking to tell my testimony,” she said. “I’m truly honored today to do the Lord’s work.” 

A retired news director who last worked for WABG-TV in the Mississippi Delta, Chatman promised God that if He’d remove her tormentor, she’d continue to serve Him for the rest of her life.

She kept her promise after serving 25 years altogether in television. “About 10 or 15 years, we’ve been giving,” she said. “We started out small and now we have graduated to this large scale: $100,000 trucks [filled with a plethora of items].”

BossGiving, a non-profit, is supported with private funds, including support from the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.

The donation to the YWCA is part of BossGiving’s mission to empower and uplift communities by providing “nutritional and essential items needed to support a selective spectrum of women and children.”

Memphis is the first leg of a national tour, said Chatman, also known as “Boss Lady.” Next month it’s Atlanta, GA, then Dallas, TX. From there it’s Alabama and back to Knoxville, TN.

“The journey that I will continue to take every day of my life is all about giving, all about serving,” said Chatman. “I started out using my own money buying 18 wheelers to give to small communities that didn’t have grocery stores, that have high numbers of poverty, that had a lot of low-income families with children.

“I’m from the Mississippi Delta. We’re talking about poverty. I wanted God to use me so I may be able to help people on a large scale,” she said. “We do clothes. We do trucks of food. We do household items.”

To determine who gets help, Chatman said she works a lot with child protection services, a lot with counties and supervisors, youth courts, and other nonprofit agencies that deal with families and children.

“These are seeds, and God is going to do exceedingly and abundantly what you have planted in this administration,” Karen Todd, a YWCA board member, conveyed to Chatman. 

“We are so grateful.”  

MLK III reflects on his father’s life and legacy

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was slain 56 years 
ago. His son, Martin Luther King III, was in
Memphis on April 4 to commemorate his father. 
Photo by Wiley Henry

MEMPHIS, TN – While addressing a dense crowd in the courtyard of the National Civil Rights Museum on the evening of April 4, Martin Luther King III wasn’t sure if he could keep his composure if he was still speaking at 6:01 p.m. That’s when an assassin’s bullet ended the life of his father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King, his wife Arndrea Waters King, and the Reverend Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells were in Memphis on that day to commemorate Dr. King during a ceremony at the museum entitled “Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.”

“Dad was killed this day…this is Thursday…56 years ago at 6:01 p.m., just 30 or so minutes from now,” said King, clearly welled up with emotions.

“This is a challenge to stand here at the spot that my father walked out of the room here behind me and lost his life,” said King, who was 10 years old in 1968 when tragedy struck his family and turned their lives topsy-turvy.

“He didn’t see me graduate from high school or from his beloved Morehouse College. He didn’t get the chance to meet my wife, or our daughter (Yolanda Renee King), or so many other things,” said King, chairman of The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a nonprofit progressive think tank founded in 1961. 

Arndrea Waters King also said it was difficult for her family to stand next to room 306 and deliver remarks about her father-in-law, whom she has never met. Nevertheless, her reflections were just as heartfelt. 

“We’re here today to remind America that the Dream is alive, that love is alive, that hope is alive,” she said. “We’re here to remind America that no matter how difficult the days are, how dark it may seem, those words still ring true that Martin Luther King Jr. reminded all of us on April 3, 1968.”

Dr. King didn’t make it to the mountaintop, she said, referencing his prophetic speech at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ on the eve of his death. “But he ignited in each and every one of us a vison and a dream.” 

Arndrea Waters King is president of the progressive think tank. She said it is up to each one of us in 2024 to do our part in making Dr. King’s global vision of “The Beloved Community” a reality for all of God’s children.

“We’re here today because we’re a strong people. We are a mighty people. We’re here today to remind America that we will continue to stand until all the triple evils of racism, bigotry, poverty, and violence are things of the past,” she said.

Wells addressed the issue of Dr. King’s life and legacy through the prism of a pastor. Dr. King was a Baptist preacher who once pastored Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.

“It was with a pastor’s sense of justice that Dr. King employed us to follow the commandments that have been given to us by our creator so that all would be well with us to love God, to be truthful in all of our dealings, to eschew violence,” said Wells, rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown, TN.

Wells noted in Micah 6:8 in the Bible that we should “…do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God,” and added that all children should be judged “not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character, which is the essence of our creative being.”

Meanwhile, King asked a pointed question: “What is wrong with society that chooses to remove someone who was only promoting love?”

He concluded by saying that we haven’t learned anything from his father’s teachings. “Dad told us we must learn nonviolence or we may face nonexistence,” he said.  

 Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

Bill Pickett Rodeo rides into Memphis

These children from the Frayser community in Memphis 
were provided free passes to the Bill Pickett Rodeo in 2023.
Courtesy photo by Abundant Earth Global

MEMPHIS, TN – Nearly 50 children in Memphis will get an opportunity to attend the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo on Saturday, April 13, at the Agricenter ShowPlace Arena, 105 S. Germantown Parkway in Cordova, TN. 

Thanks in part to a generous donation to Abundant Earth Global, a community development corporation seeking to end poverty in the Frayser community through education, the children will attend the rodeo for free.

“One of our associates that supports our Abundant Earth Success Academy, Mr. George Summers, wanted to work with us to see if some of our students wanted to go to the Bill Pickett Rodeo,” said Edith Ann Moore, board chairperson of the CDC.

The Abundant Earth Success Academy was a 9-week pilot program the CDC offered in 2023 on Saturdays to enhance the reading, math, and music skills of children in first through the fifth grade. 

However, some of the children that attended the academy and now attending the rodeo live in the 38127 zip-code area of Frayser, a thriving low-income community where Abundant Earth Global is located at 847 Whitney Ave.

“Last year was our first outing,” said Moore, also a minister and former Shelby County commissioner. “We had 15 children and their parents. We took them to the rodeo. Also, we gave them lunch at McDonald’s before we went. That’s what got it started.”

The rodeo features Black cowboys and cowgirls performing calf roping, bull riding, bronc riding (bucking horse), bareback riding, and bulldogging, where a cowboy or cowgirl drops from a horse and wrestles a steer to the ground.

Two shows are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at billpickettrodeo.com or you can call Miss Kitty for more information at 901-487-4722.

Bill Pickett (William M. Pickett) was a Black cowboy, rodeo performer, and actor who was born in Jenks Branch, Texas, on Dec. 5, 1870. He died in Ponca City, Okla., at the age of 61.

The Bill Pickett Rodeo is celebrating 40 years and bills itself as “The greatest show on dirt.” Some kids have never been to the rodeo, said Moore, or may not know anything about Bill Pickett. 

But they are interested nevertheless, she said. “What it does is give them something to look forward to the next opportunity, to do something, and to go places. It instills discipline.” 

The rodeo may be a bulldogging experience for the children, but the CDC’s overall goal is to “end poverty through education and ingenuity,” said Moore, who along with her daughter, Ester B. Moore, have been working diligently to bring the CDC’s goal to fruition. 

The CDC was launched in 2018. Ester B. Moore is a co-founder and executive director. Lee Eric Smith Sr., a multi-media journalist, is also a co-founder of the Memphis-based non-profit.

“The idea came from wanting to grow food,” said Ester Moore, who taught tomato classes for the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension. She also taught farming classes.

“We got started in the agriculture and kind of farming framework,” she said. “So, we started growing from the house and decided we were going to teach other people in the community how to grow.”

After a year of so she decided she’d spend most of her time educating people, such as “introducing new words and definitions, and going over fractions…how to measure.” Then she approached the board. After a little retooling, education became the CDC’s driving force. 

“Of course, education covers many different areas,” she said. “Now we have our own building, our own land, and a couple of project houses we’re looking to fix up that we got from the land bank.” 

Ester Moore said the team is moving full steam ahead. “We are growing a community, but you can’t grow a community unless you grow the people in the community.”

To make a financial donation, contact Abundant Earth Global by email at AEGCDC@GMAIL.COM or call 901-209-9411. 

Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

Honoring Black Union Soldiers Massacred at Fort Pillow

 

Ronald C. Herd II observes a painting of his at an art 
exhibit in 2017 that represents the carnage at Fort 
Pillow in Henning, Tenn., during the Civil War. 
Photo by Wiley Henry

MEMPHIS, TN – When Dr. Callie Herd learned that a “massacre” had taken place on April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow, a Union garrison in Henning, Tenn., she and her son, Ronald C. Herd II, sprang into action.

They have honored the Union’s Black soldiers since 2016 – those who fought and died at Fort Pillow, whom they discovered buried in 109 unnamed graves in Section B at the Memphis National Cemetery, 3568 Townes Ave.

This year marks the 160^th anniversary of what is known as the “Fort Pillow Massacre.” It begins with a commemorative art exhibit on April 6 at Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, 333 Beale St. 

Presented by The WEALLBE Group, Inc. – an umbrella organization advocating for responsible social entrepreneurism and activism via the arts, media, and education – the art exhibit is titled “We Remember Fort Pillow.” 

The opening reception is from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., with entertainment provided by DJ Kai’yrs Slayer, Jackie Murray, Bro. Bridge Muhammad, John Smith, and Herd, who plays a trumpet.

Herd also heads a list of featured artists, including Frank D. Robinson Jr., Mycal Smith, Darlene Newman, Myke Newman, Carl E. Moore, Phillip Dotson, Sir Walter Andrade, Madam Z (Zelitra Traylor), Marz Rockswell, Roy Hawkins Jr. and Fatia Webb.

“I believe that we as artists…we’re not only here to express, but also to capture the mood of the times and to preserve history,” said Herd, also an historian known as R2C2H2 Tha Artivist.

This is the third installment of the commemorative art exhibit in recent years, which ends April 20. “We’re using art to tell our story,” added Dr. Herd, an activist and author of a college preparation blog. 

On April 10, the commemoration continues at Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church, 3890 Millbranch Rd., with a 6:30 p.m. service. The Reverend Dr. Earle J. Fisher is the host pastor.

During the service, The WEALLBE Group will present legacy awards to state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, James “Deke” Pope, Cedric Moore, Akbar Khalifahm, Dr. Louvisia Conley, Anthony Elmore, Mary Mitchell, and Fisher.

“A great deal of them [Black Union soldiers] were buried in mass graves and they never really had a church ceremony,” said Dr. Herd, calling attention to the massacre and added: “We’re going to tell the people all about Fort Pillow.”

“Every war that we participated in, we’ve shown our patriotism,” her son said. “If it wasn’t for Black men, there wouldn’t be a United States of America. I hope people recognize the importance of Black men sacrificing for the good of the country.”

On April 12 at 10 a.m., a national wreath laying ceremony will take place at the Memphis National Cemetery, where nearly 300 Union prisoners – most of them Black – were shot to death after Fort Pillow fell to Confederate troops.

During the ceremony, The WEALLBE Group will present more legacy awards to the late state Sen. Reginald Tate, state Rep. GA Hardaway, and Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku, the former executive editor/associate publisher of The New Tri-Tate Defender.

Also, another wreath laying ceremony, a presentation, and other activities will take place on April 13 at Fort Pillow State Historic Park in Henning, Tenn., from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

The Black Union soldiers, or the “U.S. Colored Troops,” as they were called, were killed at the behest of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general, slave trader and Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

On that fateful day of April 12, 1864, blood flowed like the Mississippi River. Many of them who perished on the battlefield remain “unknown.” That’s why the Herds are paying homage to them. 

Fort Pillow is approximately 40 miles north of Memphis.

Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

One-of-a-Kind Food Truck Serves Hope and a Meal to Memphis Homeless

 

The Daughters of Zion homeless food truck serves daily 
meals to the homeless and hungry in downtown Memphis.
Photo by Wiley Henry

MEMPHIS, TN – Sean Roberts lost his landscaping job more than a week ago. Now he and his friend, Tiffany Smith, are experiencing homelessness. 

“My boss moved and gave up the job; he moved on,” said Roberts, 33.

On Saturday (March 9), nearly two dozen homeless and hungry men and women — Roberts and Smith among them — were treated to a tasty meal that Daughters of Zion, a 501(c)3 organization fighting poverty and homelessness, served from a food truck.

They had a choice of roast beef, turkey, or chicken salad sandwiches, with bow tie pasta salad, homemade cake, and a bottle of water — courtesy of Recover Food, Feed Hope, an outreach ministry based at Church of the Holy Communion.

“There are a lot of people in need,” said Roberts, calling the homeless food truck a blessing.

Smith, 32, agreed.

Each day, seven days a week, the homeless congregate outside First Presbyterian Church-Memphis at the corner of Poplar Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard in anticipation of receiving a meal.

And each day, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., the Daughters of Zion homeless food truck serves the homeless and hungry at that location and others throughout Memphis and Shelby County.

The food is prepared in a commercial kitchen at Jesus People Church-Memphis in the Hickory Hill community. The food truck, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, is equipped with a mobile kitchen.

Daughters of Zion leases space at the church, where Dr. Gerald Kiner is pastor. He said 80 percent of the food is cooked fresh each day by Chef Cynthia Washington and served from the food truck.

The nonprofit was birthed at the church by two mothers, Mary Butler and Marsha James, said Kiner, the executive director. “They wanted me to start an organization for women to help them learn the Bible.” 

Conceived in 2007, Daughters of Zion seeks to improve the lives of the underserved by providing various services such as business development, career planning, and youth programs. Feeding the homeless is one of its services.

Kiner knows something about being hungry. As a little boy growing up, he said, “My mother had five children, and we didn't have much at all.” His father died when he was 12 and the family struggled mightily. 

“We were on public assistance,” he explained.

On Sundays, the family attended church. After the benediction, congregants could eat for $5. “My mother couldn't afford $5 a plate,” said Kiner. “When I became a pastor, we serve the church for free every Sunday.”

Twenty-one years later, the congregants at Jesus People Church still eat free. “I never charged,” the pastor said, “because I knew what it felt like to be turned away and you're hungry.”

Devoid of food as a child would strengthen Kiner’s resolve as a pastor to feed the homeless and hungry. “The homeless who don't have money — like I didn't have money — and get a plate for free, that's a wonderful feeling,” he said.

That feeling and Kiner’s determination to feed the homeless and the hungry is bolstered by Matthew 25:35 (NKJV): “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.”

“We serve between 70 and 100 people a day right now, and going once a day with one truck,” said Kiner, thanking Shelby County government and several county commissioners for funding the non-profit’s first homeless food truck.

“I love the food truck,” said Keara Portlock, who lost her job at a fast-food restaurant about four months ago. “It’s a great establishment. They’re considerate to homeless people.”

Originally from Massachusetts, Portlock has lived in Memphis for a year. Without income, the 25-year-old shelters at churches. Though her predicament may be grave, homelessness hasn’t dampened her spirit.

Flashing a grateful smile, Portlock said this about the food truck: “They serve good meals every day. Nine times out of 10, it will be hot.” 

Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

A ‘Simple Song of Freedom’ for the World Today

 

Some of the singers and musicians who participated in  
the “Simple Song of Freedom” project included Primo
Candelaria of The Coasters (left), Pete Molinari, Mario
Monterosso (the song’s producer), Carla Thomas, and J.W. 
Lance, also with The Coasters. Photo by Jamie Harmon

MEMPHIS, TN – Not since the 1985 release of “We Are the World,” the chart-topping single benefiting USA for Africa, has there been a constellation of superstars collaborating for a charitable cause — famine relief.

But then there was Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream,” which he recorded after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. Written by Walter Earl Brown, it’s an ode to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. 

And in Memphis, an eclectic group of singers and musicians were assembled to remake Bobby Darin’s 1969 protest song, “Simple Song of Freedom,” to call attention to yet another quandary — war and upheaval around the world.

Darin was a songwriter and actor. His million-selling single “Splish Splash” catapulted him to fame in 1958. He went on to churn out more hits and died of congestive heart failure on Dec. 20, 1973.

Part of the proceeds from “Simple Song of Freedom” will benefit the Novick Cardiac Alliance, a global health care organization in Memphis that serves children with cardiac disease in low and middle-income countries. 

The remake of “Simple Song of Freedom” was spearheaded by Mario Monterosso, an Italian-born guitarist, songwriter, and producer. In this collaborative effort, the collective voices of local, reputed musicians — dubbed the Memphis Freedom Band — emoted about peace and love. 

“The message contained in this song through resoundingly bold sounds matches perfectly with the spirit of the City of Memphis, which remains today the capitol of music and soul,” said Monterosso, a resident of Memphis since 2016.

The project began over a year ago, said Marie Pizano, president of the non-profit MVP3 Foundation and owner of MVP3 Records. “The project sat for a while until I came onboard. Within less than a month, I got everything done.”

Pizano said she assumed the mantle after meeting Monterosso some time ago after he asked if she could do something [to help move the project along]. “So, I picked up the ball and helped him get to the finished line,” she said.

The song project was produced, recorded, and filmed at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis with engineering assistance from Scott Bomar, an Emmy Award-winning film composer and Grammy-nominated music producer.

“It’s incredible what they put together,” said Pizano. “It starts off with opera and goes into country. You got R&B from Carla Thomas. You got the Stax Academy kids. You got gospel in there. It was beautifully orchestrated.”

Nearly 50 singers and musicians participated, she said.

The MVP3 Foundation and MVP3 Records released the song on Nov. 26 through Select-O-Hits, one of the largest independent record distributors in the county. Select-O-Hits is owned by Sam W. Phillips and Johnny Phillips. 

Their father, Tom Phillips, and their uncle, Sam Phillips, co-founded Select-O-Hits in 1960. In 1952, they founded Sun Records, an independent record label and the home of Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and others.

A video of “Simple Song of Freedom” was released on Dec. 20 in honor of Bobby Darin, who died on that day 50 years ago. And a behind-the-scenes documentary is now in the editing process and expected to be released in late spring.

"This is a beautiful rendition of ‘Simple Song of Freedom,” said Amy Abrams of 7S Management, on behalf of the Bobby Darin Estate. “The world today is in a state of unrest, similar to the time this song was written….” 

Priscilla Presley chimed in as well. “If Elvis were here, he would join in this anthem of hope,” she said. “Elvis and Bobby Darin dared to dream of a better world through their music.” 

“Simple Song of Freedom” was released on all music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, amazon music, YouTube, and Tidal.

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