By Tony Jones Rap group Public Enemy’s lead vocalist Chuck D. brilliantly stamped the cultural sea change hip hop was about to For those who want to help, Buckner, who can be force upon the world when his (too most of America) scarily emphatic young black voice proclaimed “F--- Elvis!” on their eponymous 1990 blockbuster single Fight The Power. But the problem is, while the sentiment and the belief behind the statement may have been emphatically honest, it does not mean it is just as emphatically true. And before any little ignorant wanna be shopping mall revolutionaries and old fossil angst eaters want to start to screaming that I need to give up my triple plated real brother pass, let me school you a bit, if you have enough moxie to let me. Oh, I shouted the line out just a loud of my fellow music lovers when the song came out. And even better, I experienced many truly embracing moments of solidarity shouting it out at several PE concerts. I had made my bones as a young music writer, and one of the first tours I ever covered up close and personal (thanks to local impresario Fred Jones) was the first Def Jam live tours, so whenever Public Enemy came through, I was in. Never got to buddy up with them, but I’ve never been into celebrities, just their work. But as much as I love Chuck D’s work as an artist and respect him as a firebrand pubic educator, just as I had to once admonish a local pundit that he had no right publicly writing that O.J. Simpson was guilty of his wife’s amous murder, Chuck D. alike was not given God’s vision to judge the actions of another man which he did not himself witness. Scream until you Tarzan movie ever hatred many black comes from rumors and into the truth of the has nothing to do with Oh, I know the ad nauseum that Elvis can’t do anything for And you can probably want to, but it’s all can find the person made to or in the In other words, Just because a rumor true. He may have for witness tesitmonials of Big E didn’t have a trying to emulate, not knew him. And it may be that one of the first forget the image of every made, but much of the people still hold for Elvis urban legends that easily fit Elvis phenomenon, but it Elvis the man. stories. It’s been repeated once spouted, “A black man me but shine my shoes.” Google up many more if you blither blather unless you to whom the quote was presence. miss me with the fribbish. spreads doesn’t mean it’s all I know, but from the eye his black contemporaries, hatred problem. He was confiscate said those who shocking to you to find out places I recommend any black tourist I meet to visit is Sun Studios. Rufus Thomas, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King regularly recorded at Sun. Sam Phillips, the man who owned Sun and discovered Elvis, couldn’t change America, but he did try. The white folks just weren’t having it. So if anyone would know if Elvis was as bad as the rest, it would be Rufus Thomas, and I talked about Elvis many times with him because I knew him for as long as I have memories. Expletives deleted, this is as close to quoting him as the English language will allow me to duplicate when I asked him about Elvis. To the best of my recollection, Rufus told me the thought of Elvis being racist was more bull crap that they have at the stockyards. Rufus told me directly that white boy had just as much talent and just as much guts as anybody playing in Memphis. He said Elvis used to hang out on Beale Street just like everybody else because he loved black music and he loved black people. He was just a po ass white boy that had it in him. And half the time they had to lend him quarters to buy hot dogs. I got essentially the same story about the face to face Elvis from legendary soul music producer Willie Mitchell. Like everyone else, Elvis called him “Pops,” and loved to have him play personal parties for him. “Yes he did,” Pop’s daughter Yvonne Mitchell confirms. “Daddy played his Christmas parties at the Club Manhattan all of the time.” Got a couple of more for you. When Elvis’s cook Mary Jenkins Langston died at the turn of the century, it bought a wistful note to my heart. I’m not certain if it was her, but there was a lady who lived on Davant Street where I grew up as a child whom we were told was Elvis’s maid, and she kept one of the freshest new cars on the street every year, a thing of 24 13 reached at Anthony.Buckner@shelby-sheriff.org for speaking engagements, spoke briefly about the Shelby County Sheriff Office’s ongoing need for mentors and employers who can provide employment opportunities. “We desperately need mentors,” said Buckner. “We need mentors to come out and sit along side some of our juveniles in custody. Whether you’re coming out weekly or monthly, every little bit counts to these young people. Having someone to simply come along and help read or help them to learn how to read goes a great distance. If you own a business or know someone who owns a business, help get this information out there and help us to provide help for these kids with some job opportunities.” There are an array of opportunities for individuals and businesses to help and Shelby County needs your help getting involved with some of these children. The mission of the Mentor Initiative Today (MIT) program in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division is to promote public safety, a positive change in offender behavior, and to return offenders into society better than they were when they arrived. The Jail Volunteer Services program permits approved volunteer mentors to be matched with offenders to establish a mentoring relationship, to provide mentors with training and scheduled debriefings to ensure compliance with policies and procedures. The program does not discriminate against any mentor based on age, gender, race, color, religious preference, national origin or disability; however participants must be at least 21 years of age to apply and once approved, all mentors must adhere to and abide by SCSO policies, rules, and regulations. “There is no such thing as a child being born bad,” added Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. “I believe that some children are birthed into bad situations.” Additional information on becoming a mentor can be downloaded here. The spring training class for new volunteers will be held from 6 to 8 PM on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at the Training Academy, 993 Dovecrest Road, and the fall session will be held at the same time and place on Thursday, September 12, 2019. For the full schedule of 2019 events, click here, call (901) 222-4811 or email Mark.Berryhill@shelby-sheriff.org.
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