VOL. 59, No. 39 NEWS DIGEST


Eviction from Beale Street yields racism, sexism claims


by Sonya R. Young Special to the Tri-State Defender


rector of Ground Zero Blues Club, said Mon- day’s eviction from the premises at 310 Beale Street is a tale of unkept promises. According to Burns, he and partner Natosha


Yeah!...


After his first victory as University of Memphis Tigers football coach, Larry Porter settled in for a review. See story, game photos in Sports, page 5. (Photo by Warren Rose- borough)


SAVE THE DATE


Elder Granger, MD. will speak on how to eliminate health care dispari- ties during the 7th Annual Bluff City Memorial Lecture on Friday, Oct. 1 at the Peabody Hotel. The free workshop, which begins


at 7 p.m., is sponsored by Bluff City Medical Society and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Now a health care consultant,


Workshop to explore healthcare disparities Retired U.S. Army Major General


Anthony Burns, manager and marketing di-


Huffstickler were squeezed out of business by “low-down” businessmen who refused to accept Burns and Huffstickler into their “good ole boys club.” In an interview Wednesday evening with the


One Section/Inserts


September 23 - 29, 2010


www.tristatedefender.com 75 Cents


Tri-State Defender, Burns said, “We were scammed and tricked into this (business deal).” Here is the story he told: John Elkington, CEO of Beale Street leasing


company Performa Entertainment Real Estate, introduced Burns and Huffstickler to Clarksdale, Miss. lawyer Bill Luckett. Luckett and actor Morgan Freeman shared ownership of Ground Zero with Elkington under the company GZBC, LLC. Huffstickler and Burns’ corporate entity – Zone Entertainment, LLC – agreed to take over Elkington’s interest and paid more than $190,000 to get the struggling club out of debt. Later, Luckett and Nashville area resident Gary Sisco approached the pair about relocating to Beale from a venue on Lt. George W. Lee St. “I was so amazed that Ground Zero was cho-


Granger is a native of West Mem- phis, Ark. He is former deputy direc- tor of TRICARE Management Activity. He will examine the topic “The Military Health Care System: A Model for Eliminating Health Care Disparities.” A free reception will follow the


workshop. For more information, call 901-


344-8010. - INDEX -


• Readers sound off in letters and on the Web. See Opinion, page 4—5.


• Can a once troubled agency help build a 21st century workforce?. See Community, page 10.


• New COGIC Web site brings Convocation to fingertips See Soul Survival, page 11.


• Raven’s “Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue” interview See Arts & Leisure page 12.


Anthony Burns said the eviction from Beale St. was a scam and had nothing to do with a failure to pay rent. (Photo by Warren Roseborough)


Sex scandal snares mega- church pastor Eddie Long


by Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell Special to the Tri-State Defender


lanta’s mega-sized New Birth Mis- sionary Baptist Church filed charges Tuesday of homosexual abuse against their former pastor, Bishop Eddie L. Long. After attorneys for the widely


Raven-Symone’ Christina Pearman


MEMPHIS WEEKEND FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY H-94o Partly Cloudy - L-68o H-82o


REGIONAL TEMPS LITTLE ROCK NASHVILLE


JACKSON, MS Scat T-Storms


Friday H-93 L-70 H-93 L-68 H-95 L-68


- L-64o H-79o


Saturday H-79 L-66 H-82 L-63 H-92 L-67


Iso T-Storms - L-61o


Sunday H-78 L-59 H-71 L-61 H-84 L-63


ceptible to sins of the flesh, but every pastor and leader in the Christian church must be watch- ful,” said Dr. William M. Young, executive director of the Emo- tional Fitness Centers of Ten- nessee. “I have been in counseling for more than 40 years, and it’s just a fact that pas- tors are as susceptible to sexual sin as anyone else.” Young said, “We are praying for


Whalum Jr., pastor of The New Olivet Baptist Church, warned against a rush to judgment. “(First Lady) Sheila and I know


Bishop Long’s family and the New Birth congregation.” The Rev. Dr. Kenneth T.


what it’s like to go through the cru- cible of uninformed public opinion based on lies and insinuations,” said Whalum. “We urge Memphi-


SEE LONG ON PAGE 8


action. “Not only is Bishop Long sus-


church community as early morn- ing news broadcasts reported the story, airing remarks from an at- torney and spokesperson who claimed that “photos, emails and text messages” will support the charges against Long. Local pastors offered varied re-


known Long publicly denied those charges, a third man filed a similar lawsuit on Wednesday in DeKalb County Superior Court. Shockwaves rolled through the


At The MED, growing a new culture is infectious


ʻA better job than I applied for,ʼ says new president/CEO


by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanaku@tri-statedefender.com


through those doors. Who would want to eat on the other side of those doors?” Coopwood asked, looking back to his arrival. “That’s what I thought coming in with a new per- spective. And this organization, I guess, had been told ‘no’ so much that folks quit seeing that.” Some six months later, the doors have a new look, as does other as-


new president/CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis – does- n’t have X-ray vision and none was needed to see the scrapes, chipped paint and filth on the doors leading into the hospital’s cafeteria. “I think all employees went


Dr. Reginald W. Coopwood – the Coopwood Reginald


pects at what most call The MED. The bot- tom line of the hospital’s finan- cial books also reflects a new color – black. “I don’t want


fixed, come on down,’”


to tell you that, ‘The MED is perfect,


it’s


is immersed in an internal build phase that involves changing the cul- ture inside, said Coopwood, who ar- rived from the Nashville area in February. “But when we emerge out of that – even before we have a new building, you’ll see marketing, you’ll


interview with the Tri-State De- fender. “We still have some work to do. We absolutely do. There are still a lot of opportunities.” The hospital built to serve the poor


Coopwood in an said


see opportunities to reintroduce this organization to the community.”


hospital system in Nashville – where he’d lived all his life – to take on a situation that he described as “pretty dire”. Many in Nashville considered it a crazy move. A surgeon, Coopwood meticu-


A leap of faith Coopwood left a publicly owned


lously weighed the options. Was he going to be satisfied to retire as head of a 100-bed hospital – where he had been a resident, surgeon and chief medical officer – that at best could expand to 125 beds? And, most importantly, “Are my


skills transferable to a completely unknown entity?” He ran from the opportunity, a


couple of times, he said, because of The MED’s widely publicized diffi-


SEE MED ON PAGE 8 Two former members of At-


Luckett and Sisco promised to match her $300,000 investment. Luckett promised the use of the Ground Zero trademark and appearances by Freeman. Burns said Freeman never made an appear-


would pay the holding company for Luckett, Freeman and Elkington (GZBC, LLC.) $75,000 to have an interest in the club. And after spend- ing weeks working around the clock to prepare the club to reopen in May, Huffstickler said Ground Zero never received any money – which was earmarked for operating capital – from Sisco.


SEE EVICTION ON PAGE 8


I need your attention…


For the Orange Mound Youth Sports Association, football is an opportunity to mentor. See Sports, page 15. (Photo by Earl Stanback)


ance. Huffstickler said it was agreed that Sisco


sen to go over to Beale,” Huffstickler told the TSD by phone. “I couldn’t believe it.” Huffstickler said to make the move happen,


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