Jerome Wright

Candidates for Memphis mayor and City Council do not have to be Memphis residents when they run for office but must be residents when they take office, according to a legal opinion. Unless successfully challenged in Chancery Court, the opinion by attorney Allan Wade apparently...

Memphis voters in August will get a second chance to extend the number of terms the mayor and City Council members can remain in office.  The council, on third and final reading Tuesday (May 24), approved an ordinance that, if approved by voters on Aug....

The COVID-19 virus and its variants continue to dominate international, national and local news as a top news story some 20 months after the pandemic began to severely impact how people went about their daily lives. Locally, The New Tri-State Defender (TSD) has chronicled since April 2020...

It has been nearly 14 months since the COVID-19 pandemic severely altered how much of the world’s population, including those in Memphis and Shelby County, shopped, congregated, worshipped, learned, worked, traveled and celebrated special occasions. Locally, The New Tri-State Defender (TSD) has chronicled since April...

I Am My Sister’s Keeper, which helps single working mothers increase their earning potential, has received a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. Margaret Cowan, the nonprofit’s founding keeper, said the money is for operational expenses that will help the organization increase its...

As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches a full year of negatively impacting the lives of people here and around the world, disrupting businesses and most people’s daily activities, three Memphians The New Tri-State Defender has followed since April continue to make personal and career adjustments...

As the city, county and state governments mandated a host of restrictions last spring aimed at curving the spread of the COVID-19 virus, The New Tri-State Defender introduced readers to three Memphians navigating their way through the virus’ impact professionally and personally. The TSD has...

A fresh lesson in patience -- Six months ago, The New Tri-State Defender began an ongoing account of how three Memphians were coping with the coronavirus amid government-directed restrictions to slow the virus’ spread. Restaurant entrepreneur James Cook and barber William Gandy Jr. have taken financial...

ARISE2Read, the religious-based organization with a mission to have the inner city’s second graders reading at third-grade level, is making adjustments to effectively continue its mission during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have created a virtual platform so that our volunteers will be able to work...

A timely rescue --  Entrepreneur James Cook took his family on vacation to Destin, Fla. last week and, while there, helped save a man and his two sons from drowning. Cook, his, wife, children, and Cook’s sister Jannah Cook, were on a boat anchored off Crab...