Vol. 2, Issue 2 February 2020 KEEPING YOU UP-TO-DATE MONTHLY WITH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN SHELBY COUNTY, TN i LoveShe l byCoun ty . c om LETTER FROM THE EDITOR By Yvonne D. Nelson, Ph.D., CNC Everyday is BLACK HISTORY Day at NEWSCENE, where NEWS is SEEN; however, this month we made a special effort to focus in on seasoned individuals ages 70 and above who have made a significant impact in racerelations right here in Memphis, Tennessee. We invite you to sit back, relax, and read about some of these individuals and encourage you to reach out and help someone if you can. NEWSCENE is always looking for new content and we hope you will consider sharing your stories with us soon. Please remember to follow us and to subscribe online at iLoveShelbyCounty.com. For those of you who prefer hard copies, thanks for your subscriptions. Subscribe to our printed editions online for $84/year, $42/bi-annually, or purchase a single copy for the low cost of $7/month. You can call us at 901-300-0390, subscribe and/or pay online, or make your check made payable to DI’MANS, Inc. We are always looking forward to getting your emails at NEWSCENEShelbyCo@gmail.com. We can also be contacted by mail at DI’MANS, Inc. dba NEWSCENE, I Love Shelby County.com, P.O. Box 9146, Memphis, TN 38190-0146. HAPPY ‘BLACK FACTS’ IS EVERY DAY MONTH! Thank you, ABOUT THIS NEWSCENE ‘BLACK FACTS’ EDITION... By Dr. Yvonne D. Nelson As the story goes and through the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, black people in America were subjected to unfair practices in every aspect of their lives. Although there were those who challenged this fact, most were too afraid to say or do anything about it and many who tried to change things were unsuccessful in their attempts to so. Because we are a determined people, many Black leaders became household names around the country. While we certainly do salute these individuals for their sacrifices, we also want and need to pay tribute to the less-known names, many of who were responsible for making significant changes in race relations right here in Memphis, TN. Since I myself was not born and raised in Memphis (even though my grandparents, mother, and three uncles were Memphians in the 40s before deciding to migrate to Milwaukee where I was born), I have relied on relationships I have formed since arriving in Memphis 30+ years ago; friends, including Mr. Andrew Withers, son of photographer Ernest C. Withers (someone I fondly called ‘Dad’), and a few others including Orange Mound historian, Ms. Mary Elizabeth Mitchell, to gather information on who to interview. My interviewing criteria was simple. I only wanted people who I could interview today. They would need to be at least three score and 10 years (70) old and I would need for them to provide me with photographs of them from their past. I would also require to only speak to individuals who could recount their past (as accurately as possible). Here is my disclaimer. Should anything you read in this publication waiver from your personal memory, so be it. Unless I personally have made a mistake in quoting an interviewee (which the interviewee him or herself had the opportunity to correct and obviously did not), no corrections will be forthcoming. NEWSCENE tries to be as accurate as possible in recounting days gone by, but we are only human and humans do make mistakes. We hope you will enjoy this and every NEWSCENE edition we publish and we pray you will support our efforts to keep print media alive. ®
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