The late Bishop G. E. Patterson was a Preacher's Preacher! He preaches powerfully in these 3 clips!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Memphis Gospel Rapper Mr. Del!
Enjoy this clip from Mr. Del a native Memphian and prominent gospel rapper. His latest album is entitled Hope Dealer!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Shawne Williams Catches Fire!
Native Memphian Shawne Williams is having a great sophomore season in the NBA! He is shown here dunking on the Lakers!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Memphis is Tops in Crime!
Well Memphis is known for something else unfortunate! Memphis,Tennessee is #1 in the nation for violent crime!
Memphis #1 in Violent Crime
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis metropolitan area is back on top of the FBI's national ranking for violent crime.
The eight-county metro area recorded 1,262.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2006 _ the highest rate in the nation, according to an annual crime report released this week.
The FBI defines violent crime as homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery.
Memphis was second on last year's list, behind Florence, S.C. That list was based on the violent crime rate for 2005, when Memphis' rate was 1,197 per 100,000 residents.
Click for Entire News Story
Memphis #1 in Violent Crime
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis metropolitan area is back on top of the FBI's national ranking for violent crime.
The eight-county metro area recorded 1,262.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2006 _ the highest rate in the nation, according to an annual crime report released this week.
The FBI defines violent crime as homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery.
Memphis was second on last year's list, behind Florence, S.C. That list was based on the violent crime rate for 2005, when Memphis' rate was 1,197 per 100,000 residents.
Click for Entire News Story
Monday, September 10, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Former Tennessee State Senator John Ford is Sentenced!
Former Tennessee State Senator John Ford is Sentenced!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Memphis Mayoral Candidates!
Memphis Mayoral Candidates speaking for the Coalition for a Better Memphis!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
The Southern Heritage Classic
It's almost time for The Annual Southern Heritage Classic Football Game.
The games pits Tennessee State University vs. Jackson State University!
Southern Heritage Classic.Com
The games pits Tennessee State University vs. Jackson State University!
Southern Heritage Classic.Com
Monday, July 23, 2007
COGIC Memphis.Com-The COGIC Blog
COGIC Memphis.Com is The Church of God in Christ Blog!
COGIC Memphis.Com-The Church of God in Christ Blog
COGIC Memphis.Com-The Church of God in Christ Blog
The Memphis Tigers are Number One!
John Calipari's 2007-2008 Memphis Tiger Basketball Team is Ranked #1 by many Preseason Polls!
Coach Calipari.Com
Go Tigers Go
Coach Calipari.Com
Go Tigers Go
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Memphis 411 Lists Memphis' Top News Sources
Memphis Minority Online.Com's Top Online Media Page-Internet's Top Media Page
Memphis Minority Online.Com's Online Events and News Page
My Black Event.Com
Online at Work.Com
One Hood.US
The Black Dollar.Info
Commercial Appeal.Com
WREG-TV
WMCTV.COM
My Fox Memphis.Com
My Eyewitness News
Memphis Flyer.Com
Thaddeus Matthews.Com
Memphis Minority Online.Com
Mid South Black.Com
Blogging Black.Com
Memphis Mix.Com
Memphis Live Entertainment.Com
US Black.Com
Black America Space.Com
Tri State Defender Online
Preach Stephen.Com
Blog Net News Tennessee
Memphis Business Journal
Memphis Daily News.Com
95.7 Hallelujah FM
Google Search "Memphis News"
Google Search "Memphis Blogs"
Google Search "Memphis"
Google News Search "Memphis"
YouTube Search "Memphis"
MySpace.Com Search "Memphis"
MySpace.Com Search "Memphis,Tennessee"
Mediaverse
Memphis Minority Online.Com's Online Events and News Page
My Black Event.Com
Online at Work.Com
One Hood.US
The Black Dollar.Info
Commercial Appeal.Com
WREG-TV
WMCTV.COM
My Fox Memphis.Com
My Eyewitness News
Memphis Flyer.Com
Thaddeus Matthews.Com
Memphis Minority Online.Com
Mid South Black.Com
Blogging Black.Com
Memphis Mix.Com
Memphis Live Entertainment.Com
US Black.Com
Black America Space.Com
Tri State Defender Online
Preach Stephen.Com
Blog Net News Tennessee
Memphis Business Journal
Memphis Daily News.Com
95.7 Hallelujah FM
Google Search "Memphis News"
Google Search "Memphis Blogs"
Google Search "Memphis"
Google News Search "Memphis"
YouTube Search "Memphis"
MySpace.Com Search "Memphis"
MySpace.Com Search "Memphis,Tennessee"
Mediaverse
Crye-Leike Excels!
Memphis Based Real Estate Firm, Crye-Leike Realtors, is one of the top Real Estate Firms in the country with approximately $6 Billion in Sales! View their website by clicking the link below!
Crye-Leike.Com
Crye-Leike.Com
Friday, June 15, 2007
Stand!
Pastors Donnie McClurkin and Marvin Winans at the Homegoing of Bis. Gilbert Earl Patterson, Tennessee 4th Jurisdictional Memorial Service!
Can I Live Celebrity Weekend!
Curtis Givens and CGI Entertainment presents Can I Live Celebrity Weekend-July 19-22,2007-Memphis,Tennessee!
CGI Entertainment.Com
CGI Entertainment.Com
The Memphis 411 Endorse Mayor W. W. Herenton for Another Term!
The Memphis 411 Endorse Mayor W. W. Herenton for Another Term! We need 4 more years!
Grizzlies Goodwill!
The Memphis Grizzlies can create a much needed boost in goodwill by drafting or signing Jeremy Hunt!
The Memphis Political Scene
Just when you thought the Memphis Political Scene couldn't get any worse!Click on the link below and prepare to have your mind blowed! What do you think of this?
Memphis Mayor Says He's Victim of Sex Scandal Conspiracy!
Memphis Mayor Says He's Victim of Sex Scandal Conspiracy!
Friday, May 25, 2007
The Memphis 411 Salutes Boston's Fine Jewelry!
The Memphis 411 salutes Memphis Jeweler, Anthony J. Currie and his company Boston's Fine Jewelry. He was featured in an interview by the online magazine,Goodtaste International.Com. Mr. Currie, also known as Tony Currie, is a prominent Memphis businessman that is destined for greater things! His company has been received with much excitement!
View Anthony Currie Interview
View Anthony Currie Interview
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Memphis Yard Sales.Com
Find yard sales in the Memphis area at Memphis Yard Sales.Com or Go Yard Sales.Com
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Bishop Patterson's Memorial and Funeral Services
The late Bishop G. E. Patterson's homegoing services was something to behold. The Memphis 411 will post the following clips of these services!
The Memphis 411 Salutes Blogging Black.Com
We salute Blogging Black.Com. This site has one of the greatest blogrolls in the blogosphere.
New Path Memphis
New Path is a new political action group that is stirring up the Memphis political scene!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
When the Teachers Get Into It
These Memphis Teachers are stepping at a pep rally and I would surmise that some of their stepping days are over. Great effort however! Teachers can have fun too!
Hispanic in Memphis
Hispanics are moving to Memphis in great numbers. Watch this video called Hispanic in Memphis.
The Shawne Williams Story
Shawne Williams didn't have the best rookie season in the NBA. We are still proud of him. Have a better year next year Shawne!
Mid South Black.Com or Memphis Minority Online.Com
The Memphis 411 sends a shout out to one of America's top diversity websites, Memphis Minority Online.Com/Mid South Black.Com.
University of Memphis Basketball
The University of Memphis basketball team is coming off of another stellar season. The team only loses one player, Jeremy Hunt, to graduation. The back to back Elite 8 appearances has Tiger fans hungry for a national championship. Here are several video clips to show what Memphis fans should be excited about. They are video clips of Derrick Rose and Jeff Robinson. Both of these talented newcomers should contribute and help take our stellar team to the next level. This upcoming season will be filled with expectations and hopefully this is the year we will win the big one!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Thaddeus Matthews' Blog
Thaddeus Matthews and his informative blog has changed it's URL to Thaddeus Matthews.Com
Watch Bishop G. E. Patterson
Bishop G. E. Patterson revolutionized the art of preaching! Enjoy this great man of God who recently passed away!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Memphis Loses a Gem in Bishop G. E. Patterson!
Memphis,Tennessee and the entire nation has suffered a great loss with the passing of Bishop G. E. Patterson. He was an icon. Please pray for the Patterson Family, Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ, and the Church of God in Christ, Inc. . Enjoy this awesome clip of Bishop Patterson leading a praise break at Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Now We Couldn't Do that in School!
We couldn't do that in school(Central High in Memphis) back in the day. Could you?
It's Tough in School Now!
What can we do to improve our schools? Can we make the public schools in our inner cities work for our children of color? We want to hear from our black teachers,and parents!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The Memphis Tigers are on a Roll
How far will the University of Memphis go in the NCAA Tornament this year? Will we make it to the final four? The Memphis 411 says the U of M Tigers are Final Four Bound? Did we go out on a limb with that prediction?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Great News Story on Pastor Gary Faulkner and Cummings Street Baptist Church
This is a great story. What do you think of this?
View the Story and Video Here
SPECIAL REPORT -- Can a single action by one person change a life or perhaps touch others who don't even know you? It did for a Memphis woman who was out of job and a home. Yet she still made a small church offering that resonated with others in a way no one could have expected.
"I explain it as God's goodness. I don't know what they explain it as. I believe he does supernatural wonders cause I'm one of those supernatural wonders," says Porche Ward.
Porsche Ward, 33, is a single Memphis mom who knows the power of prayer can mean miracles even during the darkest of days.
"My son has asthma and there was just so many things, one after another -- bills, him being sick and me being sick and I just couldn't hold a job. I never wanted a job. I wanted a career and it got to the point when I thought maybe my kids should go live with their father," says Ward.
Times were tough for Porsche -- no job, a sick child, a lot of bills and she'd lost her apartment. But she never lost her faith and her commitment to do her individual part in making a 'small' offering at Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church.
That offering, unknown to her, would forever change her life in a 'big' way.
"I had $40.00 in my purse and took out $20.00. I said 'God, I got to go work. This is my gas money. I got to buy lunch'. And in my mind he was saying 'Porsche, I will take care of you and I always will," says Ward.
Overcome with a spiritual awakening, Porsche was determined to take her $20.00 to the altar.
"Something said 'Just go...go because the more you sow the more you reap.' It's funny because when I originally walked up, the deacon told me I couldn't pass the rope and I sat back down. I was antsy and I tried to do it again. But this time I didn't ask him if I could pass the rope. I just did," says Ward.
When she did, it led to what some call a miracle.
"People just started coming . They just started coming out of the balcony. They're dropping money over the balcony and I had no idea the money was coming to me. He [the pastor] was saying he was going to bless somebody and I never felt God was going to bless me," says Ward.
"The more I started talking about how we're going to bless somebody with this, they started coming even more. Not only did they walk down, some formed a small line and said they wanted to write a check and meet the person that was going to receive what had been given. It was literally raining dollar bills and it was a remarkable day," says Rev. Gary Faulkner, Sr., Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church Pastor.
It was remarkable because almost $8,000 was collected and remarkable because no one knew who the money would benefit.
Since that Sunday Porsche has paid her bills, found a job as a surgical technician and feels her life has a new mission to help others going through dark days.
"I know I wasn't the only single mother who felt she wasn't able to take care of her kids. I think it's young mothers who need to understand if you make the first step, God will make the next one. I want to be a blessing to someone to let them know if you get up and try that it will happen if you believe," says Ward.
View the Story and Video Here
SPECIAL REPORT -- Can a single action by one person change a life or perhaps touch others who don't even know you? It did for a Memphis woman who was out of job and a home. Yet she still made a small church offering that resonated with others in a way no one could have expected.
"I explain it as God's goodness. I don't know what they explain it as. I believe he does supernatural wonders cause I'm one of those supernatural wonders," says Porche Ward.
Porsche Ward, 33, is a single Memphis mom who knows the power of prayer can mean miracles even during the darkest of days.
"My son has asthma and there was just so many things, one after another -- bills, him being sick and me being sick and I just couldn't hold a job. I never wanted a job. I wanted a career and it got to the point when I thought maybe my kids should go live with their father," says Ward.
Times were tough for Porsche -- no job, a sick child, a lot of bills and she'd lost her apartment. But she never lost her faith and her commitment to do her individual part in making a 'small' offering at Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church.
That offering, unknown to her, would forever change her life in a 'big' way.
"I had $40.00 in my purse and took out $20.00. I said 'God, I got to go work. This is my gas money. I got to buy lunch'. And in my mind he was saying 'Porsche, I will take care of you and I always will," says Ward.
Overcome with a spiritual awakening, Porsche was determined to take her $20.00 to the altar.
"Something said 'Just go...go because the more you sow the more you reap.' It's funny because when I originally walked up, the deacon told me I couldn't pass the rope and I sat back down. I was antsy and I tried to do it again. But this time I didn't ask him if I could pass the rope. I just did," says Ward.
When she did, it led to what some call a miracle.
"People just started coming . They just started coming out of the balcony. They're dropping money over the balcony and I had no idea the money was coming to me. He [the pastor] was saying he was going to bless somebody and I never felt God was going to bless me," says Ward.
"The more I started talking about how we're going to bless somebody with this, they started coming even more. Not only did they walk down, some formed a small line and said they wanted to write a check and meet the person that was going to receive what had been given. It was literally raining dollar bills and it was a remarkable day," says Rev. Gary Faulkner, Sr., Cummings Street Missionary Baptist Church Pastor.
It was remarkable because almost $8,000 was collected and remarkable because no one knew who the money would benefit.
Since that Sunday Porsche has paid her bills, found a job as a surgical technician and feels her life has a new mission to help others going through dark days.
"I know I wasn't the only single mother who felt she wasn't able to take care of her kids. I think it's young mothers who need to understand if you make the first step, God will make the next one. I want to be a blessing to someone to let them know if you get up and try that it will happen if you believe," says Ward.
A Chain or a Crown?
I was speaking with another preacher the other day and I was kidding with him that he would soon be wearing a gold chain, which would symbolize his ascent to the bishopric in our denomination. He then went on to tell me that he is not working on wearing a gold chain, but his focus was on one day wearing a crown. This stimulated me to think that it is totally amazing that some preachers aspire to reach man made benchmarks of success instead of God's benchmark of success. We are living in a day when everyone has an armorbearer and some have adjutants, but the question of the hour is will some of the preachers who are seeking fame and fortune lead themselves and their armorbearers to Hell? Should we focus on the gold chain, the signet ring, the trappings of ecclesiastical success, or a title as much as we should focus on one day wearing a crown?
Guest Columnist,
Pastor Stephen F. Smith
Sure House Church, Inc.
Guest Columnist,
Pastor Stephen F. Smith
Sure House Church, Inc.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Mayor Herenton One More Term?
Will Mayor W.W. Herenton win reelection once again as Mayor of Memphis?
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Can Anyone Preach Like This?
Can anyone preach like Bishop G. E. Patterson? Is he preaching at it's finest? He gets the vote from The Memphis 411!
Can Memphis COGIC Preachers Preach?
The Memphis 411 thinks Pastor Linwood Dillard, Jr.can preach! He was one of Ebony Magazine's Top 30 Under 30! Pastor Linwood Dillard, Jr. of the, Germantown Community COGIC which is located at 7749 Shelby Drive East in Memphis,Tennessee, is 29 Years old and an engineer by trade. What do you think of this young man? The Memphis 411 thinks he is going places! Do You?
Can Memphis COGIC Preachers Preach?
The Memphis 411 thinks Pastor Stephen F. Smith of Sure House Church, Inc. can preach! Watch this clip of him, it's not a recent clip but it is still very powerful! The Memphis 411 recommends Pastor Stephen F. Smith's online preaching channel- PreachSteve.Com
Can Memphis Area COGIC Preachers Preach?
There has always been talk around town that COGIC preachers in Memphis,Tennessee just holler and shout and don't really say anything with the exception of Bishop G. E. Patterson-The Preacher's Preacher, and Pastor Brandon B. Porter, most local COGIC preachers in the Memphis Area labor in anonymity. The Memphis 411 will start including video clips of several Memphis Area COGIC preachers in order that you might be able to answer the question, Can Memphis COGIC Preachers that Aren't Bishop Patterson Preach?
Cameras and Tickets on I-385
Is it true that they are writing tickets on I-385 in Memphis,Tennessee for speeding based on camera shots of one's vehicle passing by?
Are Memphis Drivers that Bad?
Our city has seen one of the worst weeks for automobile accidents that I can remember. Are Memphis Drivers really that bad?
Chumney for Mayor
What are your thoughts on Carol Chumney's run for the office of Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee?
What is Your Favorite Memphis Website?
Our favorite website is Memphis Minority Online.Com
What is Your favorite Memphis Website?
What is Your favorite Memphis Website?
Monday, January 01, 2007
Letter Addressed to Editor of Memphis Commercial Appeal
City Problems Not All of One Color!
The recent tone in many of the letters to the eitor in the Commercial Appeal has left me amazed. I am aware that Memphis has a decided African American majority. However, local black politicians taking bribes and our inner city's gang problems are not the only things in this city that need to be corrected. Very few savvy individuals would believe that recent federal investigations have eliminated corruption in our city.
Our city has a festering race relations problem that needs to be addressed. So often in the letters to the editor I read that various writers are canceling their subscriptions after your newspaper makes an endorsement that many don't agree with, such as your recent endorsement of Harold Ford Jr. in his run for the U. S. Senate. Every problem in this city does not have an African American face tied to it.
Sensational journalism would dictate that a media outlet would scare the dickens out of its readers each and every day until they are so scared that to miss the daily news for just one day would bring the scourge of our city to each reader's front door. I don't agree with the slant of recent articles and the response that those articles have garnered. For every corrupt local African American politician, for every black gang banger arrested at Houston High or Cordova High that our local media always highlights, there are 20 hardworking local African Americans working exceptionally hard to make the American dream a reality. Let's cover some of them more oftem!
By the way, I don't think that Mayor Willie Herenton killed the manatee!
Stephen F. Smith
Collierville
The recent tone in many of the letters to the eitor in the Commercial Appeal has left me amazed. I am aware that Memphis has a decided African American majority. However, local black politicians taking bribes and our inner city's gang problems are not the only things in this city that need to be corrected. Very few savvy individuals would believe that recent federal investigations have eliminated corruption in our city.
Our city has a festering race relations problem that needs to be addressed. So often in the letters to the editor I read that various writers are canceling their subscriptions after your newspaper makes an endorsement that many don't agree with, such as your recent endorsement of Harold Ford Jr. in his run for the U. S. Senate. Every problem in this city does not have an African American face tied to it.
Sensational journalism would dictate that a media outlet would scare the dickens out of its readers each and every day until they are so scared that to miss the daily news for just one day would bring the scourge of our city to each reader's front door. I don't agree with the slant of recent articles and the response that those articles have garnered. For every corrupt local African American politician, for every black gang banger arrested at Houston High or Cordova High that our local media always highlights, there are 20 hardworking local African Americans working exceptionally hard to make the American dream a reality. Let's cover some of them more oftem!
By the way, I don't think that Mayor Willie Herenton killed the manatee!
Stephen F. Smith
Collierville
Ex Gangbanger Turns Life Around!
The right man
The Commercial Appeal
By David Waters
Ex-gangster turns life around, now he's on a mission with a message
January 1, 2007
T.J. spent a lot of years trying to be the man, but he turned out to be the wrong man.
"When I was recruiting for the gang, my first question was, 'Does his father stay with him?' 'Cause I don't need that," said Terrell 'T.J.' Johnson, a product of what he calls the North Memphis DNA -- Daddy Not Around.
Advertisement
"Give me a single mama with four boys by four different men, you know what I'm saying? You know they need money, protection, status, power. They need a strong man in their life. I'm going to supply them, even if I'm the wrong man."
T.J.'s drug-dealing, gang-banging, childhood-robbing days are long behind him. He was released from prison in 1999, freed from his sins in 2003. Now he's trying to be a good man by working for the right man as pastor of -- "take a long breath before you say it" -- the Greater Fellowship Faith Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Church in Bolivar, Tenn.
Pastor T.J., a bear of a man with a booming voice and a bone-crushing handshake, talks to kids every chance he gets. He tells them
his story -- how he was bad news before he found the Good News, how he was lost and then found, how he died and was reborn.
"Getting caught and getting punished isn't what turned me around," T.J. said. "It was the grace of God that turned me around. That and people who came into my life and treated me like a child of God. I needed those people with me when I was a kid, when my mama was on crack and when my daddy was not around. It was the O.G. (original gangster) in the 'hood that raised me."
T.J., who will admit to being in his 30s, was born in Chicago and brought to North Memphis to live with his great-grandparents when he was about 3. He attended Caldwell Elementary and Frayser High, but he got his real education in the alleys and empty lots of the Scutterfield neighborhood.
"My mother died a junkie," T.J. said. "She never stayed with us. She was always on the go. She had five children by five different men. ... I don't know my father. My great-grandparents were churchgoers, but they were too old to raise me. It was guys on the outside that took me in, the gangsters who said, 'Hey, this is what a .38 looks like and this is what a .45 looks like. I was taught how to hustle. It's like the mafia."
T.J. said he started running drugs when he was about 9, dealing drugs when he was about 15. He formed his own gang, the Insane Disciples. He had all the money, cars, girls, guns and insanity he needed.
"I found out that crime does pay," T.J. said. "I really couldn't spell and I couldn't read that good, but I could count money. I could use a triple-beam to weigh and measure drugs. I got caught up and fascinated. I got smothered with that type of life. If you don't fight you get beat or killed. You had to be hard. I had a spirit on me to throw gas on you and set you on fire. I had a bad spirit."
T.J. got caught up. Eventually he got caught. He was arrested late in 1991 and charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to manufacture, deliver and sell. He pleaded guilty in March 1992 and was given an eight-year suspended sentence and fined $4,012. Two years later, he violated his probation. He was in prison until 1999.
When he got out, T.J. found his way to the city's Second Chance program, which helps one-time felony offenders re-enter society. Along the way he met Dr. Rita Dorsey, former head of the criminology department at Southwest Tennessee Community College. In 2002, Mayor Willie Herenton appointed Dorsey to direct the city's new Juvenile Violence Abatement Program.
Dorsey hired T.J. to help. She also treated him like a child of God. She taught him about taking responsibility. She taught him to identify and appreciate his gifts and how to be a role model.
T.J. spoke to hundreds of kids in dozens of city and county schools.
"Programs don't work. People work," Dorsey said. "I tend to be cynical when it comes to cons and ex-cons, but T.J. is sincere and he's effective. Kids listen to him because he keeps it real. He's been there."
T.J. got another second chance about three years ago when he met Bishop William Young and his wife, Pastor Diane Young, co-founders of the Healing Center Full Gospel Baptist Church. T.J. was struggling. His mother had died of an overdose. A month later, his younger brother was killed in a drug deal in Atlanta. T.J. vowed to avenge his brother's murder.
The Youngs taught T.J. about repentance and forgiveness. They taught him about grace. They taught him the Bible story of Saul, the Christian killer who -- by the grace of God -- became the Apostle Paul.
T.J. felt like a new man.
"What you see in T.J. is an example of a transformed life," said Bishop Young. "I've seen a lot of guys who said they've changed, but this guy is genuine. He shows he has changed."
Now, T.J. is pastoring the church in Bolivar, which was founded by the Youngs. He's trying to be a father to his 18-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. T.J. and his wife, Lisa (they were married in 2004), have formed the Wake Up Youth Foundation. They have a van, recently donated by WREG-TV, Dobbs Ford, City Auto and vanwraps.com.
They also have a mission and a message.
T.J. has taken that message all the way to the Washington. He spoke earlier this year at a conference for the President's Help America's Youth Initiative. In recent weeks, he has spoken to children and adults in Denver and Atlanta and several other cities.
It's a message he used to deliver all over Memphis and Shelby County. Late last year, the city, facing budget shortfalls and shifting away from community policing, pulled the plug on the Juvenile Violence Abatement Program. Dorsey was appointed to another position. T.J. was let go. But T.J. still speaks to kids and adults every chance he gets.
"Most of the kids I deal with today, they say, 'My mama be tripping' or 'My daddy, I don't know where that sucker's at.' They're angry. They're raising themselves. ... No wonder we've got 14-year-old kids having kids. That 14-year-old girl is on her own and she's easy prey for men. That 14-year-old boy has a friend who's 21 and you wonder why you've got a Glock in your house.
"I know. That 14-year-old boy was me. That man preying on the girls was me. We've got to raise our children. They can't raise themselves, and that's where the problem is. A lot of men, especially black guys, we say we're not with our baby's mama because of what that woman did to us ... .
"My point is this," said T.J., taking a long breath before he said it.
"See, it's the black man who has to go back and get his child. We've got to take care of our families. I mean the black man. If you don't raise your child, another man will and it will be the wrong man.
The Commercial Appeal
By David Waters
Ex-gangster turns life around, now he's on a mission with a message
January 1, 2007
T.J. spent a lot of years trying to be the man, but he turned out to be the wrong man.
"When I was recruiting for the gang, my first question was, 'Does his father stay with him?' 'Cause I don't need that," said Terrell 'T.J.' Johnson, a product of what he calls the North Memphis DNA -- Daddy Not Around.
Advertisement
"Give me a single mama with four boys by four different men, you know what I'm saying? You know they need money, protection, status, power. They need a strong man in their life. I'm going to supply them, even if I'm the wrong man."
T.J.'s drug-dealing, gang-banging, childhood-robbing days are long behind him. He was released from prison in 1999, freed from his sins in 2003. Now he's trying to be a good man by working for the right man as pastor of -- "take a long breath before you say it" -- the Greater Fellowship Faith Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Church in Bolivar, Tenn.
Pastor T.J., a bear of a man with a booming voice and a bone-crushing handshake, talks to kids every chance he gets. He tells them
his story -- how he was bad news before he found the Good News, how he was lost and then found, how he died and was reborn.
"Getting caught and getting punished isn't what turned me around," T.J. said. "It was the grace of God that turned me around. That and people who came into my life and treated me like a child of God. I needed those people with me when I was a kid, when my mama was on crack and when my daddy was not around. It was the O.G. (original gangster) in the 'hood that raised me."
T.J., who will admit to being in his 30s, was born in Chicago and brought to North Memphis to live with his great-grandparents when he was about 3. He attended Caldwell Elementary and Frayser High, but he got his real education in the alleys and empty lots of the Scutterfield neighborhood.
"My mother died a junkie," T.J. said. "She never stayed with us. She was always on the go. She had five children by five different men. ... I don't know my father. My great-grandparents were churchgoers, but they were too old to raise me. It was guys on the outside that took me in, the gangsters who said, 'Hey, this is what a .38 looks like and this is what a .45 looks like. I was taught how to hustle. It's like the mafia."
T.J. said he started running drugs when he was about 9, dealing drugs when he was about 15. He formed his own gang, the Insane Disciples. He had all the money, cars, girls, guns and insanity he needed.
"I found out that crime does pay," T.J. said. "I really couldn't spell and I couldn't read that good, but I could count money. I could use a triple-beam to weigh and measure drugs. I got caught up and fascinated. I got smothered with that type of life. If you don't fight you get beat or killed. You had to be hard. I had a spirit on me to throw gas on you and set you on fire. I had a bad spirit."
T.J. got caught up. Eventually he got caught. He was arrested late in 1991 and charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to manufacture, deliver and sell. He pleaded guilty in March 1992 and was given an eight-year suspended sentence and fined $4,012. Two years later, he violated his probation. He was in prison until 1999.
When he got out, T.J. found his way to the city's Second Chance program, which helps one-time felony offenders re-enter society. Along the way he met Dr. Rita Dorsey, former head of the criminology department at Southwest Tennessee Community College. In 2002, Mayor Willie Herenton appointed Dorsey to direct the city's new Juvenile Violence Abatement Program.
Dorsey hired T.J. to help. She also treated him like a child of God. She taught him about taking responsibility. She taught him to identify and appreciate his gifts and how to be a role model.
T.J. spoke to hundreds of kids in dozens of city and county schools.
"Programs don't work. People work," Dorsey said. "I tend to be cynical when it comes to cons and ex-cons, but T.J. is sincere and he's effective. Kids listen to him because he keeps it real. He's been there."
T.J. got another second chance about three years ago when he met Bishop William Young and his wife, Pastor Diane Young, co-founders of the Healing Center Full Gospel Baptist Church. T.J. was struggling. His mother had died of an overdose. A month later, his younger brother was killed in a drug deal in Atlanta. T.J. vowed to avenge his brother's murder.
The Youngs taught T.J. about repentance and forgiveness. They taught him about grace. They taught him the Bible story of Saul, the Christian killer who -- by the grace of God -- became the Apostle Paul.
T.J. felt like a new man.
"What you see in T.J. is an example of a transformed life," said Bishop Young. "I've seen a lot of guys who said they've changed, but this guy is genuine. He shows he has changed."
Now, T.J. is pastoring the church in Bolivar, which was founded by the Youngs. He's trying to be a father to his 18-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. T.J. and his wife, Lisa (they were married in 2004), have formed the Wake Up Youth Foundation. They have a van, recently donated by WREG-TV, Dobbs Ford, City Auto and vanwraps.com.
They also have a mission and a message.
T.J. has taken that message all the way to the Washington. He spoke earlier this year at a conference for the President's Help America's Youth Initiative. In recent weeks, he has spoken to children and adults in Denver and Atlanta and several other cities.
It's a message he used to deliver all over Memphis and Shelby County. Late last year, the city, facing budget shortfalls and shifting away from community policing, pulled the plug on the Juvenile Violence Abatement Program. Dorsey was appointed to another position. T.J. was let go. But T.J. still speaks to kids and adults every chance he gets.
"Most of the kids I deal with today, they say, 'My mama be tripping' or 'My daddy, I don't know where that sucker's at.' They're angry. They're raising themselves. ... No wonder we've got 14-year-old kids having kids. That 14-year-old girl is on her own and she's easy prey for men. That 14-year-old boy has a friend who's 21 and you wonder why you've got a Glock in your house.
"I know. That 14-year-old boy was me. That man preying on the girls was me. We've got to raise our children. They can't raise themselves, and that's where the problem is. A lot of men, especially black guys, we say we're not with our baby's mama because of what that woman did to us ... .
"My point is this," said T.J., taking a long breath before he said it.
"See, it's the black man who has to go back and get his child. We've got to take care of our families. I mean the black man. If you don't raise your child, another man will and it will be the wrong man.
Commercial Appeal Article States Memphis Going Majority Black!
Metro going majority black
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By Jimmie Covington
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December 31, 2006
The Memphis metro area is poised in a few years to become the nation's first large metropolitan area with a majority African-American population.
A good indication of what's to come can be gleaned from 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates that show the non-Hispanic white population in the eight-county Memphis metro area dipping below 50 percent for the first time.
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The estimates show that group at 622,235 residents, or 49.4 percent of the area's 1,260,905 residents. The same 2005 estimates show 568,875 African-American residents, or 45.1 percent of the total population.
The numbers mean that while the non-Hispanic white population is still the largest group in terms of percentage, no single group makes up more than 50 percent of the total population -- for now. If current birth-death and migration trends continue, African-Americans will claim the 50 percent-plus distinction.
When that happens, the Memphis area may draw even more study than it is already receiving, says Dr. Louis Pol, a demographer at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a former faculty member at the University of Memphis.
"Clearly, people will be asking questions about how does a metro area with a predominantly African-American population do with regard to economic development, job growth and that type thing," he said.
"There will be issues regarding political structure and how people vote and whether or not they have been successful in bringing county and city services together. That is always a big issue in lots of places."
The Memphis area doesn't have the largest or the fastest-growing African-American population, but for several decades it has ranked No. 1 in percentage of African-American population among the nation's large metro areas.
The 2000 Census showed the Memphis area's black population at 43.2 percent. In the No. 2 spot was New Orleans at 37.4 percent, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 resulted in a drastic reduction in New Orleans' population.
The U.S. already has 14 other metropolitan areas in which groups other than non-Hispanic whites make up more than 50 percent of the population, but the Hispanic population is the majority group in all but one of those areas. The Asian population is the largest group in Honolulu.
In the nation as a whole, the Census Bureau projects that non-Hispanic white residents will make up only 50 percent of the nation's residents by 2050. Non-Hispanic white residents now make up about 67 percent of the nation's population. The coming shift is primarily the result of the rapid Hispanic population growth.
Four states -- California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas -- already have groups other than non-Hispanic whites as the population leaders statewide. The Hispanic population is again the key factor in all but Hawaii, where Asians are the top group.
In the Memphis area, the white total was listed as 657,481, or 52.1 percent, in the 2005 estimates. However, the estimates show that 35,246 of the white residents were Hispanics. Under Census Bureau classifications, Hispanics can be of any race and most Hispanics report themselves as white.
Subtracting those who are Hispanic gives the figure of 622,235 for non-Hispanic whites.
Pol said when the Memphis area does become more than 50 percent African-American, it may be at least a decade, and perhaps two or more decades, before another large metropolitan area reaches the same distinction. However, Pol said a few smaller metro areas may have already reached that point or are almost there.
The five-county Jackson, Miss., metro area is nearing having African-Americans as the largest group, for example. But with a 2005 population estimate of 522,580, the Jackson area is not yet considered among the nation's large metro areas.
Rick Schneider, geography instructor at Northwest Mississippi Community College at DeSoto Center in Southaven, said he believes employment opportunities and housing availability are among factors that are shaping the demographics of the Memphis metro area.
"When you look at job growth in Memphis, my reaction tells me, from looking down on Shelby Drive and State Line Road, etc., and seeing those warehouses growing up like mushrooms, that the opportunities are in service industries," Schneider said.
-- Jimmie Covington: (662) 996-1406
BY THE NUMBERS
Estimates from 2003 show the Memphis area ranked fifth in the percentage of African-American population among the nation's 361 metro areas. The four with higher percentages (all smaller markets) were:
Albany, Ga., 49.2 percent
Sumter, S.C., 48.9 percent
Pine Bluff, Ark., 46.4 percent
Jackson, Miss., 46.1 percent
Story Tools
E-mail this story | Print
By Jimmie Covington
Contact
December 31, 2006
The Memphis metro area is poised in a few years to become the nation's first large metropolitan area with a majority African-American population.
A good indication of what's to come can be gleaned from 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates that show the non-Hispanic white population in the eight-county Memphis metro area dipping below 50 percent for the first time.
Advertisement
The estimates show that group at 622,235 residents, or 49.4 percent of the area's 1,260,905 residents. The same 2005 estimates show 568,875 African-American residents, or 45.1 percent of the total population.
The numbers mean that while the non-Hispanic white population is still the largest group in terms of percentage, no single group makes up more than 50 percent of the total population -- for now. If current birth-death and migration trends continue, African-Americans will claim the 50 percent-plus distinction.
When that happens, the Memphis area may draw even more study than it is already receiving, says Dr. Louis Pol, a demographer at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a former faculty member at the University of Memphis.
"Clearly, people will be asking questions about how does a metro area with a predominantly African-American population do with regard to economic development, job growth and that type thing," he said.
"There will be issues regarding political structure and how people vote and whether or not they have been successful in bringing county and city services together. That is always a big issue in lots of places."
The Memphis area doesn't have the largest or the fastest-growing African-American population, but for several decades it has ranked No. 1 in percentage of African-American population among the nation's large metro areas.
The 2000 Census showed the Memphis area's black population at 43.2 percent. In the No. 2 spot was New Orleans at 37.4 percent, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 resulted in a drastic reduction in New Orleans' population.
The U.S. already has 14 other metropolitan areas in which groups other than non-Hispanic whites make up more than 50 percent of the population, but the Hispanic population is the majority group in all but one of those areas. The Asian population is the largest group in Honolulu.
In the nation as a whole, the Census Bureau projects that non-Hispanic white residents will make up only 50 percent of the nation's residents by 2050. Non-Hispanic white residents now make up about 67 percent of the nation's population. The coming shift is primarily the result of the rapid Hispanic population growth.
Four states -- California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas -- already have groups other than non-Hispanic whites as the population leaders statewide. The Hispanic population is again the key factor in all but Hawaii, where Asians are the top group.
In the Memphis area, the white total was listed as 657,481, or 52.1 percent, in the 2005 estimates. However, the estimates show that 35,246 of the white residents were Hispanics. Under Census Bureau classifications, Hispanics can be of any race and most Hispanics report themselves as white.
Subtracting those who are Hispanic gives the figure of 622,235 for non-Hispanic whites.
Pol said when the Memphis area does become more than 50 percent African-American, it may be at least a decade, and perhaps two or more decades, before another large metropolitan area reaches the same distinction. However, Pol said a few smaller metro areas may have already reached that point or are almost there.
The five-county Jackson, Miss., metro area is nearing having African-Americans as the largest group, for example. But with a 2005 population estimate of 522,580, the Jackson area is not yet considered among the nation's large metro areas.
Rick Schneider, geography instructor at Northwest Mississippi Community College at DeSoto Center in Southaven, said he believes employment opportunities and housing availability are among factors that are shaping the demographics of the Memphis metro area.
"When you look at job growth in Memphis, my reaction tells me, from looking down on Shelby Drive and State Line Road, etc., and seeing those warehouses growing up like mushrooms, that the opportunities are in service industries," Schneider said.
-- Jimmie Covington: (662) 996-1406
BY THE NUMBERS
Estimates from 2003 show the Memphis area ranked fifth in the percentage of African-American population among the nation's 361 metro areas. The four with higher percentages (all smaller markets) were:
Albany, Ga., 49.2 percent
Sumter, S.C., 48.9 percent
Pine Bluff, Ark., 46.4 percent
Jackson, Miss., 46.1 percent
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