Chrysti Chandler plans new home for the Young Actors Guild

The advance students of the Young Actors Guild performed at the April 4th
Foundation's 19th Annual Commemorative Awards. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Chrysti Chandler stood in the back of the room and looked on approvingly while her young dance troupe was performing at the April 4th Foundation’s 19th Annual Commemorative Awards at the Hilton Hotel in Memphis.

This was one of the dance troupe’s finest moments and more than entertainment filler on the program that evening. It was symmetry and poetry in motion. Their precise moves were imbued with the spirit of the ancestors.

“I think they did a great job,” said Chandler, basing her opinion on the applause from the audience and numerous positive comments that were posted on social media platforms.

The venue was one of many for Chandler that showcases the talent and creativity of the members of the Young Actors Guild (YAG), a nonprofit dance and theatre academy she founded 28 years ago.

Chrysti Chandler is the group's founder and
artistic director. (Photo by Sabrina Norwood)

YAG Community Arts is located at 619 North Seventh St. in Memphis. There are two satellite locations: 1926 First Commercial Dr. N. in Southaven, Miss., and 1391 Ferguson St., also in Memphis.

YAG has performed at hundreds of venues in the Mid-South and before prominent individuals since its inception. The impact that YAG has had in the community has touched over 10,000 youth, according to the group’s website.

In 2021, Chandler will be preparing to move YAG’s complete operation into the old Memphis Fire Station No. 22 at Lamar and Pendleton after the building is converted into studio and dance spaces.

The building will be christened the Harriet Performing Arts for Children.

“It will be named after Harriet Tubman (the abolitionist who freed more than 300 slaves),” said Chandler. “We’re planning to break ground in six months and complete it in the next two years.”

There will be space for artists to practice their dance moves and a lobby as well. “I don’t know the seating capacity right now,” she said, adding: “We will do workshops so they (youth) can do their own work on stage.”

After the “Harriet” is up and fully operational, Chandler plans to teach youth to develop, direct and produce their original plays. She wants them to learn the full gamut of production.

“Our hope is to bring in tourists so they can see the talent that we have in Memphis,” she said. “We will have other ongoing productions, but this will be coming from Memphis’ own playwrights.”

If the “pieces” are good enough, Chandler plans to enter them into festivals. She is confident that her group can measure up in talent and creativity, no matter the age bracket.

Alexandria Edwards, for example, is proof that Chandler’s performing arts group can move up to the next level. The 15-year-old breezed through the monologue at the awards program with passion and emotional fervor before the entire group started moving to the music and rhythm of gospel artist Kurt Carr’s “For Every Mountain.”

Alexandria is one of 150 kids that Chandler is training at the dance and theatre academy. “They come from everywhere,” she said, even as far away as Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta, when the summer camps convene.

Three of her students, she pointed out, auditioned in California and were accepted into the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive in Atlanta. Others have gone on to realize varying degrees of success.

In 2006, Gideon McKinney made it as a semi-finalist in Season 5 of “American Idol” before he was eliminated. In 2013, Kris Thomas, also a singing phenom, competed in Season 4 of “The Voice.” And in 2018, Gideon’s younger sister, Evvie McKinney, won the first season of “The Four: Battle for Stardom.”

“I trained them all,” said Chandler, who performed her first play, “Little Red Riding Hood,” when she was just 5 years old in the back yard of her mother’s home in South Memphis.

She converted the patio into a stage. The audience, she said, filled up the backyard. Many of them arrived from Glenview, Castalia and other neighborhoods in South Memphis. Her creativity was just beginning to blossom at that tinder age.

“The arts kept me alive,” she said. “That was my escape.”

Chandler’s group is scheduled to perform a tribute to Michael Jackson, “To Michael With Love,” on May 4, 6 p.m., at the University of Memphis Rose Theatre. This is another opportunity for them to show their teacher and trainer that they are ready for the big stage.

For more information about the Young Actors Guild, call 901-240-2103 or 662-536-6122. A capital campaign is underway to help transform the firehouse into the Harriet Performing Arts for Children. Contact Sabrina Norwood at 901-240-2103 for details.

Former sheriff and mayor pens book about his ‘legendary life’

Former Shelby County sheriff and mayor William Noel "Bill" Morris discusses his
new book, "Bill Morris: A Legendary Life," at Novel Memphis. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Jim McCarter sat quietly in a packed room thumbing through a recently published book that he’d purchased at Novel Memphis minutes before the author’s 6 p.m. book talk and signing Thursday, March 28.

While waiting on the former Shelby County sheriff and mayor William Noel “Bill” Morris to address the capacity crowd, an age-old photograph on page 181 in the book, “Bill Morris: A Legendary Life,” caught McCarter’s attention.

“That’s my picture. I had to look at it closely,” said McCarter, who’d granted Morris permission to use the vintage photograph. “I showed the picture to Bill and he said he wanted to use it in the book.”

Morris is seen interviewing the owner of Canipe's
Amusement Company in 1968 minutes after Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. was killed. (Courtesy photo)

McCarter was pleasantly surprised that Morris had actually used the photograph.

The black and white photograph captures the moment in time when a bundle – wrapped in a bedspread and containing an overnight bag, binoculars, suitcase, and the rifle that James Earl Ray had reportedly used to kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – was discovered at the entryway of Canipe’s Amusement Company at 424 South Main St.

Morris can be seen through the plate-glass window questioning the owner of the amusement company, Mr. Guy Canipe, which was next door to the boarding house and one street over from The Lorraine Motel on Mulberry where the shot rang out.

McCarter said he was around 17 or so when the photograph was snapped in 1968, minutes after a young sheriff Morris made the scene. McCarter would eventually become Canipe’s son-in-law after marrying his daughter.

The aforementioned photograph, along with the widely published photograph of Morris escorting the accused handcuffed assassin to jail, catapulted the young sheriff into the national spotlight.

Even so, Morris encouraged the audience to read the book rather than provide them with too many details.

The book was published by Legacies in Print on Jan. 1. It is loaded with historical accounts and information on Morris’ exploits in government – as sheriff when pandemonium erupted after Dr. King’s death, and when he was the four-term Shelby County mayor.

The book also includes Morris and community stakeholders, decision makers, pioneers and legends, including his friend Elvis Presley. Add to that Morris’ affiliations, civic involvement, and his role as an unofficial ambassador for the city of Memphis.

 “The last 60 years…there has been a lot of history,” said Morris, explaining his reasons for penning his autobiography. “Some of the history should be recorded differently than [what was covered in] the media.”

Morris pointed out that the arduous writing project began several years ago in his mind before meeting his co-writer, Darrell B. Uselton, who transcribed 268 recordings before working with Morris on his 400-plus-page autobiography.

“It was a little over two years in the process and sometime before that,” Uselton said matter-of-factly. In addition to the writing, the book is punctuated with more era photographs than the ones with Ray that made Morris a household name.

Just to give the audience even more of a peep into the book, Morris dropped a few names, including the infamous mayor Edward Hull “Boss” Crump. Crump – “not Trump,” he joked – built a political machine that dominated Memphis and Tennessee politics for decades.

“Mr. Boss Crump was one of the most marvelous persons I ever met,” he said. “He was good to me.”

The name Richard C. “Dick” Hackett kept coming up in Morris’ discussion about his work in government. He said he and Hackett had often traveled together to bring business to Memphis and Shelby County.

“We were successful, because we worked hard,” said Morris. “We believed Memphis could be better.”

 As a result of their efforts, he added, “I think the community is working better than we ever had compared to Washington.”

“Bill Morris: A Legendary Life” is an important read for those with an appetite for history and compassion for one man’s journey from Itawamba County, Mississippi, to Memphis, where his enduring legacy is anchored.

He eventually raised himself up from the depths of adverse poverty to become an important figure in the political and historic annals of Memphis and Shelby County.

“It’s the best I can do to tell the truth,” Morris said. “You can’t write an autobiography unless you tell the truth.”

New Sardis honors ‘Memphis Living Legends’

The 2019 Memphis Living Legends. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

On Sunday morning, Feb. 24, New Sardis Baptist Church invoked the spirit of African-American ancestry coupled with Afro-centric music and the unadulterated Word of God. This was the culmination of African-American History Month and the presentation of the church’s annual Memphis Living Legends program.

The morning worship service was devoted to the men and women whom the church honored and celebrated for blazing a path in their respective fields and making significant contributions in Memphis and beyond.

“We honor men and women who have made our society better,” said the Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr., New Sardis’ pastor emeritus and worship leader for the morning celebration.

The Rev. Darell Harrington, pastor of New Sardis Baptist
Church, delivers an impactful message to honor and
celebrate Memphis Living Legends.

Donning African attire, the church’s leadership team – headed by its pastor, the Rev. Darell Harrington – welcomed the 2019 Living Legends: State Rep. Karen Camper, Captain Albert T. Glenn, Dr. Howard Glenn, Bishop William Graves Sr., Estella Mayhue-Greer, Henry Hooper, Bobby O’Jay Jones, Clarence Jones, Jerry C. Johnson, John McFerren, Tajuan Stout-Mitchell, the Rev. Dr. Rosalyn R. Nichols, Rosetta Hicks Peterson, Dr. Larry Robinson, Mark Russell, Dr. Theresa James Shotwell, Madeleine C. Taylor and Fayth Hill Washington.

Jimmy Ogle, Shelby County’s historian and past chairman of the Shelby County Historical Commission, was presented The Frances Wright Award. Wright was a 19th century Scottish-born abolitionist, social reformer, lecturer, freethinker and writer.

Honoring “living legends” was the brainchild of Dr. Erma L. Clanton, a playwright, lyricist, former teacher and member of New Sardis. The inaugural salute to living legends began in 2003 after Clanton, now 96, pitched the idea to Gray.

Celebrating black achievement in the U.S. first began in 1926 as Negro History Week – the precursor of Black History Month – founded by Carter G. Woodson, an historian, author, journalist and founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Of course, James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” known as the “Black National Anthem,” was integral to the program – as it is each year – and key to setting the tone for the morning.

“Everybody here today – black, white, blue or green – that’s your native land,” said Gray, referring to the continent of Africa. “Native land should be replaced with Africa because we all came from the continent.”

Harrington posed the question: “How does our history impact the relevance of our present?” and composed his message, “The Transformative Power of Truth,” from John 8:31-36.

Recognizing the history of black contributions throughout his sermon, Harrington referred to the passage in John when Jesus said to the Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” Then he added: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“What does it mean in the 21st century to be free?” Harrington asked the congregation. He followed up with an answer to the question: “It should mean you ought to serve God.”

He said Black people have offered the world the best that the world has to offer and added, “It’s easy to forget one’s history. It’s easy to forget because we’ve become comfortable.”

Using as an example, he said, “It was illegal to write, but God made a way.”

Harrington continued to espouse the relevance and cultural significance of black pioneers and trailblazers, and undergirded the message with the importance of keeping God first.

“We celebrate black history,” he said. “But we have to celebrate a risen Savior.”

Former Olympian pushes hard to develop student athletes in track and field

Former Olympic bobsledder Sable Otey, who runs a sports development training
program at Briarcrest High School, trains and conditions student athletes for track and
field. From left: Otey, Darrian Joiner, Lyndsey Herron, Jada Okhiria, Regan Casey
and Kynnidi Caffey (background). (Photos by Wiley Henry)

In 2017, Sable Otey pushed very hard to make it to the 2018 XXIII Olympics Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea. She pushed and pushed, but couldn’t summon enough strength or push fast enough to rocket the bobsled out of the gate during tryouts in Calgary, Canada.

“I crashed several times. At the beginning, I just got out-pushed,” she said. Two U.S. teams made it to Korea. Otey and her pilot failed to qualify. Still, she went on to witness the dazzling display of Olympic glory in Korea.

While the memories are still fresh in Otey’s mind, she has not regretted her Olympic experience. Instead, she has refocused her attention on coaching and training student athletes in track and field.

She has a wealth of experience to offer budding athletes training in sprints, hurdles and jumps, including speed development training, strength and power training (without weights), and post injury training.

Sable Otey demonstrates resistance training with Darrian
Joiner, a 17-year-old senior at Briarcrest High School.

“I want to develop athletes,” said Otey, a conference champion at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where she received a B.S. in Exercise Science in 2011. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Education in 2012 at National University in San Diego, Calif.

On Saturday, Feb. 16, Otey ran through a series of exercises at Briarcrest Christian School with a half dozen student athletes in the school’s weight room. She runs a sports development-training program there after school.

“If you give me a kid, I promise you’ll see a difference in 30 minutes,” said Otey, confident of her ability to produce quality athletes.

She wouldn’t get an argument out of Jada Okhiria, an 18-year-old senior at Briarcrest. “She helps me a lot. I see a huge difference from over the years since she’s been coaching me,” said Okhiria, a triple jump and long jump specialist.

Okhiria has played competitive tennis too since she was nine years old and has been active in track and field since the eighth-grade. After graduation, she plans to walk on at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

Okhiria is a jumper, not a runner. Other student athletes like Darrian Joiner and Lyndsey Herron are runners. The Briarcrest seniors work out several days a week after school to improve their athleticism.

Much of Otey’s training includes biomechanics and center of mass to keep student athletes from hurting themselves. “A lot of kids get injured because they are not trained how to run properly,” she said.

Joiner gets the point. “I’m learning how to get mentally stronger and how to condition my muscles for endurance,” the 17-year-old said. “She [Otey] helps me to focus on technique and work on the little things, like form.”

Joiner has trained for the triple jump, the long jump, 4 x 100 meters, 4 x 200 meters, 4 x 400 meters, the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. She has also trained for the shot put.

“But I can definitely use more help,” she conceded.

Herron’s personal best in the 100-meter race is 13.2 seconds. She also runs the 200 meters, the 4 x 100 meters and the 4 x 200 meters. “I want to see if my time is low enough to qualify for a track scholarship,” she said.

Working with student athletes is a synch for Otey. She works them into shape and literally pushes them to do their very best, much like what she had to do herself. Her teaching method comes from her Olympic training.

“She’s teaching me form, endurance and how to get out of the block,” said Herron, 17, who has run track since fifth-grade. “I’m learning how to run long, not lean back, but forward…run on my tiptoes, not my heels.”

While Otey works hard to equip and empower her student athletes, she continues to work out herself. She’s five months pregnant with her second child and still expends energy while maintaining the physicality that made her an Olympian.

Motherhood is important to Otey as well. So is her 14-year marriage to Rueben Otey and their business, Millionaire Millennial Movement, a financial services firm. Otey is the chief executive officer.

That day in Briarcrest’s weight room, the group of student athletes couldn’t believe that their trainer was physically fit to demonstrate the proper way to lift the weight bar.

One of them exclaimed, “…and she’s pregnant too!”

Otey just smiled. She’s used to pushing the limits.

Friends celebrate Eugene Phillips’ birthday with a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Eugene Phillips and Anita Ward-Richardson stop to take a look at one of several
photos of her hanging in a hallway in Phillips' home that he named in her honor.
(Photos by Wiley Henry)

Home is where Eugene Phillips’ heart is and where he feels most comfortable. His heart is also with the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital who grapple with catastrophic diseases.

On Sunday evening (Feb. 10), Phillips opened the door of his lavishly decorated home in Germantown to a cadre of special friends who celebrated his birthday over dinner and made a donation to St. Jude.

Phillips, whose birthday was Feb. 12, has raised more than $100,000 for St. Jude over the course of 35 years – thanks to an eclectic mix of friends: doctors, CEOs, entertainers, entrepreneurs, ministers, business owners, social justice advocates, and others.

“It’s a blessing to have friends to donate money to St. Jude in honor of my birthday,” Phillips said.

Willie Bland, wife of the late bluesman Bobby Blue Bland,
relaxes in the room that Eugene Phillips named in honor
of his friend.

Raising funds for St. Jude sparked Phillips’ interest decades ago after longtime community activist Sandy Vogel Lewis escorted him on a tour of the campus. She had served more than 20 years on St. Jude’s board before she died in 2010.

“I was so impressed,” he said. “They [St. Jude] do so much for children and their families.”

Phillips embraced Lewis as a dear friend. She was credited with helping St. Jude’s founder Danny Thomas grow the hospital into a worldwide pediatric treatment and research facility.

“I told Sandy that my birthday would always be celebrated for St. Jude,” he said.

A photo of Lewis hangs in Phillips’ home. In fact, just about every wall in his two-story home is adorned with photos of his friends and St. Jude contributors. The photos are keepsakes, irreplaceable memories, he said.

Some rooms are named in honor of his friends – for example, the late rhythm and blues entertainer Rufus Thomas. His memories are framed in each photo and embody the man that Phillips had happily regarded as his good friend.

“Rufus was so happy. It [a room in his honor] meant so much to him,” said Phillips, recalling those special moments when the entertainer would come over and drift off to sleep on a soft, cushioned recliner.

Another friend and entertainer, the late Bobby Blue Bland, is featured prominently in another room. His eyes seem to glare at the onlooker. His wife, Willie Bland, said her husband appreciated the honor.

“He liked it,” she said. A private duty licensed practical nurse, Bland didn’t hesitate to lavish praise on Phillips. She appreciates their friendship. “Eugene has been a friend of ours for so many years.”

Bobby Blue Bland died in 2013. His voice wails from a recording that Phillips plays whenever he feels a need to relax in the room that he named in honor of his friend. Sitting quietly, he reflects on the good times.

 “When I’m here at home and all over the place, it’s good to have the memories,” said Phillips, noting that the memories will occupy his mind for the rest of his life.

Anita Ward-Richardson and Phillips were neighbors once. She remembers when Phillips first talked about supporting St. Jude. It was around the time when her million dollar selling, chart-topping single, “Ring My Bell,” caught fire in 1979.

She and her husband, Stephen R. Richardson, are frequent guests at Phillips’ birthday celebration each year. Her appreciation for Phillips is evident: “Eugene is such a wonderful person. He’s so kind.”

They came – couples and singles, near and far – to celebrate with Phillips, to fellowship with one another, to support a worthy cause: St. Jude’s children.

Several guests conversed with one another and shared stories. Phillips made them all feel at home. They made him feel special. He was a jovial host.

Zeina Alwfeu and Michael Fahr were present. So were Louisette and Dino Palazzola, Mimi Bell and Sonny McQueen, Doris and Bubba Bridges (comedian Steve Harvey’s mother-and father-in-law).

Other guests included Anita and James Bridges, Janelle and Reginald Eskridge, Gwen Nelson and Roosevelt Boyd, Sarah Schwab, Rick Abraham, Michael Donahue, Gina Roberts, and Dr. Gregory Hanissian.

Rahechelia and Elder Aaron L. Patterson made the trip all the way from Munford, Tenn., about 30 miles outside of Memphis. They have celebrated with Phillips for about four years now.

Giving the host his props, Patterson – who serves as minister of worship at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ and president of the missions department – said, “His dedication is unparalleled.”

He said the reason for the birthday celebration is to support St. Jude. “And we look forward to it each year.”

New book about leadership lessons includes Memphis State Eight

Dr. Shirley Raines, former U of M president and author of "An Uncommon
Journey," recognizes Bertha Mae Rogers Looney (right of Raines) and Luther
McClellan, two members of the Memphis State Eight, during a book talk Jan. 26
at Novel Memphis. (Photos by Wiley Henry)

Nearly 60 years ago, eight black students – known as the Memphis State Eight – integrated the former Memphis State University. Before the name was changed to the University of Memphis in 1994, J. Millard (Jack) Smith, who was president from 1946 to 1960, reportedly said, “No blacks shall be admitted as long as I’m president.”

Dr. Shirley Raines, the affable president of the U of M from 2001 to 2013, had no problem acknowledging the history-making trailblazers who shattered the color barrier in 1959: Luther McClellan, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Ralph Prater, John Simpson, Bertha Mae Rogers Looney, Eleanor Gandy, Rose Blakney-Love and Sammie Burnett Johnson.

She pointed out two of them among the audience – McClellan and Looney – who came to hear her expatiate on her new book during a book talk and book signing Jan. 26 at Novel Memphis in the Laurelwood Shopping Center.

Raines is a capable storyteller, an effervescent spirit, which is quite evident in the stories she’s woven together comprising the book “An Uncommon Journey: Leadership Lessons from a Preschool Teacher Who Became a University President.”

“The stories are told from the experiences that you helped me live,” said Raines, speaker, consultant and author, interacting with the surrounding audience.

Dr. Shirley Raines autographs a copy of her book for Luther McClellan.

The Memphis State Eight gets a nod in the book. She first recognized the significance of their rightful place in history and hosted a former dinner and reception in their honor on campus in 2006. A historical marker was erected in front of the Administration Building in 2012.

Much of the credit goes to Markhum “Mark” L. Stansbury Sr., then special assistant to Raines and a longtime luminary over the airwaves at 1070 WDIA. He didn’t want the group to be forgotten and their determination to pursue a college education under dire conditions to be omitted from the annals of history.

“Dr. Raines was really a great president. She was sincere and open to change. And I appreciate her sincerity,” said McClellan, who left Memphis in 1962 during his sophomore year at the university.

“It’s amazing. It’s overwhelming,” added Looney, acknowledging the attention the group has been receiving and the “small contribution” that she said she’d made during that turbulent era in Memphis’ history.

She didn’t want to speak ill will of Smith during his day; however, she did speak favorably of Raines: “Dr. Raines is awesome. It reflects the leadership she gave to the university.”

 “They mean so much to me,” said Raines, recognizing her supporters and others in the audience (including Stansbury) who helped to shape her career as a leader and an academic. She rose from humble beginnings on a sharecropper’s farm in Bells, Tenn., to serving a stint in early childhood education, to serving at the helm of the university as its first female president.

Bells is a quaint city in Crocket County, Tenn., 72.9 miles from her home in Memphis “to be exact,” said Raines, who first eyed the big city of Memphis while growing up in Bells.

“Memphis was always special to me,” she told the audience. “I always wanted to live in Memphis…if the cotton crop was good.”

Born on the farm, Raines’ hardworking parents didn’t quite see the sunny side of an education after high school. Her mother had a 12th-grade education, she said, and her father made it to eighth-grade.

Why write the book?

“I wrote this book to tell my stories, and to inspire leaders, especially aspiring women leaders, who are wondering if they should take their next leadership step,” Raines explained in the book’s preface.

She’s had some invaluable experiences and life lessons on her journey from Bells to Memphis and developed the skillset that would catapult her as a formidable leader tasked with an awesome responsibility. This is the crux of the book.

The manuscript started out at 600 pages, she said, “but my editor said nobody would buy it. So I cut it to 300 pages.” Then she whittled the book down again to about “170-something” pages.

The book starts out with Raines’ formative years and builds from there until she lands the big enchilada at the U of M that naysayers, including her husband, didn’t think she would be selected.

“I was really nervous and really wanted the job,” said Raines, who interviewed with the search committee. “My husband told me that I couldn’t do it. So I had to do it.”

Laughter followed.

She did it her way and set the U of M on a trajectory going forward. She created The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, for example, and raised millions for the U of M Community Health Building.

“It was a great university before we got there, but we made it better,” Raines said unapologetically, owing her success to the life-lessons she learned over the years and her ability to lead the way.

“I always thought Dr. Raines was a great person. But on yesterday (Jan. 26), her stock went up with me,” said Stansbury, who shared the same sentiments about Raines with his radio listening audience.

Replaced 1956 bronze medal just as golden for Olympian Margaret Matthews-Wilburn

After Margaret Matthews-Wilburn won the bronze medal in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, for the 4x100-meter relay, she was swept up in euphoria.

That glorious moment in Melbourne would turn to sadness decades later when Matthews-Wilburn discovered her bronze medal missing after speaking to students and showing them her prized medal during a school assembly.

“I didn’t know for several weeks that it was missing,” she said.

Front row (l to r): Dr. Rochelle Stevens, Margaret
Matthews-Wilburn and the Rev. Beatrice Holloway.
Back row: Donavan Ellison and Martin A. Truitt.
(Courtesy photos)

The bronze medal had vanished. But Matthews-Wilburn’s stupendous achievement and coveted bronze medal would not be lost to the ages, thanks to her goddaughter, Dr. Rochelle Stevens, a two-time Olympic gold and silver medalist.

“I was devastated to hear what had happened. I was like, ‘You never told me,’” said Stevens, who learned that Matthews-Wilburn’s bronze medal was missing when the two Olympians were interviewed for a television show.

On Dec. 23, Stevens surprised the legendary track star with a replacement bronze medal that arrived in time for a surprised medal ceremony at Word of Life Healing Ministry, where the Rev. Beatrice Holloway is senior pastor.

Holloway is Stevens’ mother and her former Olympic coach.

“Thirty years is a long time to be without my medal. It is so precious to me now,” said Matthews-Wilburn, who sprinted to a third-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay with teammates Mae Faggs, Wilma Rudolph and Isabelle Daniels.

Stevens knew how important the bronze medal had been to Matthews-Wilburn, who was 21 when that special moment in Melbourne was indelibly etched in the history books.

That’s why Stevens contacted Cindy Stinger of the United States Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland. While the glory days in track and field are gone, the bronze medal had been a source of pride for Matthews-Wilburn, a member of the famed Tigerbelle Sports Club at Tennessee State University.

“She’d never requested another medal or reported it missing,” said Stevens, compelled to do something without tipping off Matthews-Wilburn. “She said, ‘If I could get a duplicate…it doesn’t have to be the real thing, I would be happy.’”

Presenting the bronze medal to Margaret
Matthews-Wilburn.

Stevens requested a replacement medal in January. “They told us that it would take six to 12 weeks,” she said.

After an 11-month investigation, IOC voted to replace the bronze medal. The United Parcel Services delivered the replacement medal in December.

“We got it back and I thank God for Rochelle. It took a lot of effort,” said Matthews-Wilburn, choosing to rave about Stevens’ exploits on and off the field rather than talk about her on.

“Rochelle is a special person,” she said.

While it seems Matthews-Wilburn is downplaying her achievements, Rudolph spoke highly of her teammate’s athletic prowess on the field in a 1988 Sports Illustrated story that Ralph Wiley wrote entitled “Born to be a Champion.”

Wiley captured the heart and soul of the formidable Wilburns, a family of athletes: Barry Wilburn, cornerback for the Washington Redskins’ 1988 Super Bowl team; Kelvin Wilburn, who played cornerback for one year at TSU; their father, Jesse Wilburn, a star running back for TSU; and, of course, Matthews-Wilburn, a sprinter and the first American woman to leap a record 20 feet in the broad jump in 1957.   

Rudolph spoke highly about Matthews-Wilburn’s athleticism in Wiley’s story: “She could beat anybody on a given day, and she let you know the day might be today.”

A native of Griffin, Ga., Matthews-Wilburn was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. She is a retired educator in Memphis.

After returning home from the ceremony, Matthews-Wilburn found herself at peace. “I slept with it [bronze medal] on my pillow,” she said.