By Yesha Callahan, The Root

Willow Smith is cool enough to wear her sunglasses at night, and indoors, and just about anywhere and anytime she pleases. And I’m sure she now has plenty of Chanel eyewear to choose from as the face of its Fall and Winter 2016-2017 campaign.

New photos have been released for Smith’s upcoming eyewear campaign, and they’re absolutely stunning. Both photos, in black and white, have Smith wearing Chanel’s stylish sunglasses and regular frames.

In March, Smith was named the ambassador to Chanel, and Karl Lagerfeld seems to have perfectly captured her essence and youth. Here’s to Smith continuing to pave her way through the fashion industry.

By Yesha Callahan, The Root

On Sunday, Jesse Williams received the Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards, and during his speech, the actor and activist spoke of whom he called the true recipients of the award.

“This is for the real organizers all over the country. The activists, the civil rights attorneys, the struggling parents, the families, the teachers of students that are realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do,” said Williams.

Williams went on to speak about and reminded the audience to remember those who died at the hands of police, invoking the memory of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and Rekia Boyd.

“We’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment … ghettoizing and demeaning our creations, then stealing them; gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is—just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real,” Williams said, taking a direct shot at those who appropriate black culture.

Take a look at his speech below.

By Yesha Callahan, The Root

If there’s one awards show out there that will have people glued to their TV screens, it’s definitely the BET Awards. And Sunday’s night show proved to be a spectacular one.

Starting the night off was a surprise opening performance by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar with the duo performing Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” all while dancing in a pool of water. Can you say cleanup in aisle 5? It was obvious that shortly after the performance, Beyoncé bounced to head to London, and her mother, Tina Knowles, accepted her award for Video of the Year and the fan-voted Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award.

But let’s face it. The only reason so many eyes were on the BET Awards was because of its much-talked-about Prince tribute, and it was definitely worth watching.

Sheila E. appropriately closed the show with her tribute, which included “Let’s Work,” ”A Love Bizarre,” ”The Glamorous Life” and “America.” She was also joined onstage by Purple Rain actor Jerome Benton and Prince’s ex-wife, Mayte Garcia.

Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder and Tori Kelly sang “Purple Rain,” while a photo montage of Prince played in the background.

Janelle Monáe, who was mentored by Prince, performed “Kiss,” ”Delirious” and “I Would Die 4 U.”

Then there was Bilal’s soulful performance of “The Beautiful Ones” as the Roots backed him. The Roots also backed Erykah Badu during her performance of “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker.”

All in all, the BET Awards not only provided entertainment, as it usually does, but also political commentary, by way of actors Jesse Williams and Taraji P. Henson.

Henson urged attendees to make the right choice when voting.

“I’m really not political, but it’s serious out here, and for those who think that, you know, ‘Oh he’s not going to win’—think again. So we really need to pull together and turn this country around,” she said.

Below is a full list of Sunday night’s winners and nominees:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist

Beyoncé (winner)

Adele

Andra Day

K. Michelle

Rihanna

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist

Bryson Tiller (winner)

Chris Brown

Jeremih

The Weeknd

Tyrese

Best Group

Drake & Future (winner)

2 Chainz & Lil Wayne

Puff Daddy & the Family

Rae Sremmurd

The Internet

Best Collaboration

Rihanna ft. Drake—”Work” (winner)

Big Sean ft. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign—”Play No Games”

Big Sean ft. Kanye West & John Legend—”One Man Can Change the World”

Future ft. Drake—”Where Ya At”

Nicki Minaj ft. Beyonce—”Feeling Myself”

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist

Drake (winner)

Fetty Wap

Future

J. Cole

Kanye West

Kendrick Lamar

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist

Nicki Minaj (winner)

Dej Loaf

Lil Kim

Missy Elliott

Remy Ma

Video of the Year

Beyoncé—”Formation” (winner)

Bryson Tiller—”Don’t”

Drake—”Hotline Bling”

Kendrick Lamar—”Alright”

Rihanna ft. Drake—”Work”

Video Director of the Year

Director X (winner)

Benny Boom

Chris Brown

Colin Tilley and the Little Homies

Hype Williams

Best New Artist

Bryson Tiller (winner)

Alessia Cara

Andra Day

Kehlani

Tory Lanez

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award

Kirk Franklin (winner)

Anthony Brown & Group Therapy

Erica Campbell

Lecrae

Tamela Mann

Tasha Cobbs

Best Actress

Taraji P. Henson (winner)

Gabrielle Union

Kerry Washington

Tracee Ellis Ross

Viola Davis

Best Actor

Michael B. Jordan (winner)

Anthony Anderson

Courtney B. Vance

Idris Elba

O’Shea Jackson Jr.

YoungStars Award

Amandla Stenberg (winner)

Quvenzhané Wallis

Silentó

Willow Smith

Yara Shahidi

Best Movie

Straight Outta Compton (winner)

Beasts of No Nation

Concussion

Creed

Dope

Sportswoman of the Year

Serena Williams (winner)

Cheyenne Woods

Gabrielle Douglas

Skylar Diggins

Venus Williams

Sportsman of the Year

Stephen Curry (winner)

Cam Newton

Kobe Bryant

LeBron James

Odell Beckham Jr.

Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award

Beyoncé—”Formation” (winner)

Bryson Tiller—”Don’t”

Chris Brown—”Back to Sleep”

Drake—”Hotline Bling”

Future ft. Drake—”Where Ya At”

Rihanna ft. Drake—”Work”

Centric Award

Beyoncé—”Formation” (winner)

Andra Day—”Rise Up”

K. Michelle—”Not a Little Bit”

Rihanna—”BBHMM”

The Internet—”Under Control”

Best International Act: Africa

Wizkid (Nigeria) (winner)

AKA (South Africa)

Black Coffee (South Africa)

Cassper Nyovest (South Africa)

Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania)

Mzvee (Ghana)

Serge Beynaud (Cote D’Ivoire)

Yemi Alade (Nigeria)

Best International Act: U.K.

Skepta (winner)

Kano

Krept & Konan

Lianne La Havas

Stormzy

Tinie Tempah

By Michael Harriot, The Root

As we enter a new age in which traditional forms of music have meshed into an indistinguishable mosaic of sound and melody, the purest forms of music have seemingly fallen to the wayside. Everything with conventional notes and instrumentation is now called “jazz.” “Rock ’n’ roll” is now anything with a guitar riff. Any black singer belting out earnest lyrics is now classified as R&B—even if he or she possesses neither rhythm nor the blues. Perhaps the most tragic but least-talked-about loss in the arena of disappearing categories is the time-honored tradition of church music.

I am not referring to gospel music. Gospel music is any form of music that refers to religion and Jesus. It has been modernized and bastardized so much that it has become almost identical to secular music. I remember watching the BET Awards and commenting to my friend about the new R&B singing duo who were “thick and fine as hell … ” I almost had to repent when he told me it was Mary Mary.

It’s not my fault. I bet there is someone right now making love to a playlist with R. Kelly’s “Bump n’ Grind” right next to Yolanda Adams’ “Open My Heart.” I won’t even delve into “trap gospel” or gospel rap. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t believe I should have the urge to do the Nae Nae while the ushers raise the offering. One day Kirk Franklin will get caught up in a performance and tell the congregation to “put your hands in the motherf–king air for Jesus” and you’ll remember that I told you so.

Church music is different. Church music is the traditional form of music sung and played only in churches—usually black churches. As someone who has logged more hours in church services than almost anyone on the planet (including the pope), I offer this as a primer for all things church-music related:

The Musicians

If your church only has an organist, I won’t visit. I need a keyboard player. Church music is played by a church band, and keyboard players lead all church bands (which is why the Roots can’t play church music). Most church keyboard players can’t actually read music, but when they play, they make Beethoven look like a two-fingered, tone-deaf hack. A good church band should also have a drummer. Sometimes there is also a bass and lead guitar, and my church even had a horn section, but perhaps the most necessary and unheralded part of the church band actually never sits with the band:

The tambourine player.

Every church has a person in the congregation who plays the tambourine as if God were taking score. The frequency of the tambourine cymbals can actually let you know how “lit” the service is getting. If a tambourine player has a slow, steady rhythm, he might be doing altar call, but if if you ever spot a tambourine being beat like it personally denied us reparations, it won’t be long before the Holy Ghost arrives. This is perhaps the greatest tambourine performance of all time:

The Congregational Song

Perhaps the best-known form of church music is the congregational song. Congregational songs are not just a form of music; they are a great indicator of many things. When I attend a church where the audience sings from hymnals, I know I’m going to be out of there in 90 minutes flat, but if they start singing a congregational song, I prepare for a long service, because I know the steps to a congregational song, which are these:

The beginning: Congregational songs are passed down through history by … I don’t know … osmosis. If someone starts a congregational song and you’ve logged as many church hours as I have, you somehow just know it. They all start with a simple premise, like, “Jesus is a way-maker. One day he made a way for me.” I know that sounds easy and uncomplicated, but that is only the opening aria of the congregational-song symphony.

The middle: This is where you find out that not only is Jesus a way-maker, but he’s a heart fixer, a truth seeker and so much more. In fact, whoever is leading the song will definitely run out of adjectives for Jesus. Then “the Spirit” will lead them to just start making stuff up. The longer they sing, the more things Jesus will become: a sickness healer, a car cranker, a rent payer, a remote control finder … and don’t act like Jesus isn’t all these things. One day he found a remote for me.

The refrain: I think that’s right. I’m not a musical composition expert, so I don’t know exactly what a “refrain” is, but there will be a part of the song where they just repeat the same s–t over and over until the Holy Ghost comes. I call that the refrain. While the congregation sings the refrain, the song leader will freestyle and ad-lib:

When I thought my soul was lost …

(He made a way!)

When they cut my cable off …

(He made a way!)

When I cussed out my boss …

(He made a way!)

When the Jets were down by 6 points …

(He made a way!)

And they ran for 60 yards …

(He made a way!)

The clapping part: The last four or five minutes of the selection is just congregational soul clapping as if the DJ played “Follow Me.” (If you don’t know what that means, you probably won’t understand the rest of this article.) The clapping part sometimes introduces something else unique to church music. It will begin with a stilted pause, but soon the song will transform into the greatest part in all of church music:

Shouting Music

Shouting music is a subset within the genre of church music. It is impossible to fully explain shouting music, but imagine if a jazz quartet that also played bluegrass and polka music became simultaneously possessed by the ghosts of all the African ancestors who just wanted to dance one more time. That’s what shouting music sounds like. If love looks like the sun rising, then the Holy Ghost sounds like shouting music.

For years, anthropologists, religious scholars and behavioral psychologists have tried to answer this question: Does the Holy Ghost create shouting music, or does shouting music call the Holy Ghost? No one has ever satisfactorily answered the question, but there is a magical potion to shouting music. If you don’t clap your hands and stomp your feet when you are in the presence of some real shouting music, you are dead inside. I cannot say for sure if God is real or not, or if there is a Messiah who will return to earth to save us all, but if there is—he will not descend from the sky to the sound of trumpets.

When and if Jesus comes back, it will be to shouting music.

The Singers

There are four singers of real church music:

The Church Diva: We all know who this is. She is the best singer at the church and can hit all the high notes, and everyone says she has “the anointing.” I still don’t know what “the anointing” is, but as I have previously conjectured, its roots stems from a Latin word that means “can sing like a motherf–ker.” Before she begins singing a song, the Church Diva will remind you that she has a sinus cold and has been a little hoarse lately—and then proceed to perfectly belt out a song in four octaves, with runs, key changes and notes that operatic sopranos couldn’t hit. But God …

Sister Wilma: Even if her name is different, every church has a sister Wilma. Sister Wilma was the Church Diva 30 years ago, but now she sounds like she’s been swallowing rocks, and her voice is so raspy it sounds like she needs to drink some lotion. She can’t sing. But she can saaang. When Sister Wilma opens her mouth, it’s like shining the Bat Symbol for the Holy Ghost. He’s coming. Cue the shouting music.

The Pastor: Every black Pastor can sing. The National American Association of Black Preachers will not license any individual who can’t sing. The Pastor might not be able to lead a song on the choir, but at least the congregation will know what he’s singing. Even if a Pastor can’t sing, he will still sing because it’s all about the praise, and he knows Jesus don’t give a …

The Delusional Diva: Everyone has one of these people at their church, although it is not always a woman. There is always one person with an unshakable belief in his or her singing voice, even though that person sounds like that one time I stepped on my dog’s testicles as I was holding him still while trying to clean his ears. Delusional Divas don’t have the anointing. They can’t call on the Holy Ghost. They are the source of all the choir conflict because they bring songs to the choir that the director gives to the Church Diva to lead. The keyboard player never knows what key they are singing in. But they never stop trying, because they love church music, and so should you.

Don’t ever stop trying. Just remember:

Jesus is a voice fixer. One day he fixed a voice for me.

By Keith Sanders, Special to The New Tri-State Defender

The Memphis Grizzlies are in desperate need of shooting and athleticism. With the draft coming up tonight (June 23), most analysts believe that’s the route the Grizzlies will take.

The Griz currently own the 17th pick. I have come up with three players Memphis might select:

Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine could be appealing for his “do it all” skill set. He has the three point shooting the the team needs and is an excellent defender.

Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson may not be the shooter the Grizzlies are looking for — he only shot 37 percent from long range. But he is a athletic scorer that can get you a bucket when needed.

Washington’s Dejounte Murray has great length and quickness. He might be gone before the Grizzlies pick. He’s very good in pick-and- rolls, which will translate straight into the NBA.

Any of these three would be a great fit for the Grizzlies. For more details, check out these player profiles from various draft sites around the Internet. And look for TSD coverage Friday!

By Lee Eric Smith, lesmith@tri-statedefender.com

Finals thoughts:

As the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-1 lead on the Golden State Warriors in Western Conference Finals, my co-worker Myron was bragging about his prediction that OKC would advance. He was ribbing me, because with the Grizzlies on vacation, I’d hitched a ride on the Warriors’ bandwagon.

I admit that OKC was playing ridiculously well — well enough to take one more game and the series. But I told him simply: “Come on, man. Golden State is more than capable of winning three games in a row.” Of course, they did that to advance to the Finals vs. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I don’t feel bad about being a Golden State bandwagon guy. I love the game of basketball. I love watching it played at a ridiculously high level. Steph Curry isn’t just spectacular to watch; he’s also a humble, likeable guy. So, sure, I wanted to see them cap off their record breaking regular season by hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.

And they were in position to do it, too. Inverted logic seems to apply to these Warriors too. Just as it seemed (and proved) completely plausible that Golden State could win three in a row, it also seemed near impossible that they could lose three in a row, right? Surely, with a 3-1 series lead on Cleveland, they could win one more game, right?

Fast Forward to last Sunday. Me being the sucker for underdogs that I am, I was quite impressed with the Cavs’ comeback to force a Game 7 in Oakland. And in this bizarre world, a team with LeBron freakin’ James is somehow the underdog.

On “SportsTwist,” a radio show I co-hosted with Rhonnie “The Socialite” Brewer, she used to give me grief because she thought I was fawning over LeBron as we chatted up the day’s sports. She thought of it as a “bromance,” and even went as far as calling it my “LeBron-mance.”

To me the principle was the same — if you love watching basketball played at a ridiculously high level, how can you not admire the work of LeBron James? And especially in this NBA Finals, where he led the ENTIRE SERIES in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals? BOTH TEAMS. Ridiculously high level. In fact, Cleveland played out of their minds just to tie the series up at 3-3.

So Game 7 put me in a tough position. Sure, I wanted Golden State to finish the dream season with a championship. But I also wanted the Cavs to complete the comeback, and finish LeBron’s “prodigal son” drama — oh, while also giving Cleveland its first championship since Kennedy was president.

Can a guy be on two bandwagons at the same time?

I’m happy for LeBron and Cleveland. I’m disappointed for the Golden State Warriors, but happy for them at the same time. Some people would say that their 73-9 season is meaningless without the championship. I say rubbish to that. Let’s put it like this: One way or another, someone is crowned an NBA champion every June. But no team has cracked 70 wins in more than 20 years. To me, the 73 wins is in many ways more impressive.

But I know Steph, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the rest of the squad don’t feel that way. They’re hurting, and honestly, they’re probably pretty ticked off — and highly motivated. Remember how the San Antonio Spurs returned with a vengeance after losing to Miami in the 2013 Finals? They ripped through the league and playoffs, and finished off the Heat 4-1 to with the title in 2014. I’m eager to see Golden State in the fall — and a little scared. The concept of that squad angrily getting even better is both awesome and terrifying.

Of course, my ultimate dream is to see a championship parade down Beale Street. But if I can’t have that, maybe the basketball gods will bless us with a third matchup between these two MVPs and their teams.

And maybe I’ll be able to pick a bandwagon instead of trying to ride them both at the same time.

Draft Day — yawn

It’s a sad reality of the printed newspaper business: One day it’s news, the next day it’s old news.

Take for instance the NBA Draft, which takes place tonight (June 23). The Grizzlies own the No. 17 pick, and one of our talented interns, Keith Sanders, has compiled his ruminations on who the Grizzlies might choose.

So here’s the thing: If you’re reading this any time after June 23, the Grizzlies have already made their pick. You know who it is, and all of Keith’s prognostications are, well, old news.

But go ahead and read them anyway. Keith is a promising student journalist at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who wants to do sports videography. He’s graduating in December and his draft preview is worth checking out — even after the draft is over.

And then there’s this: Will it even make a difference? The Grizzlies are so historically bad in the draft that no one – not even their fans – expect them to find an impact player, like, EVER. In fairness to the Grizzlies, one reason they’ve struck out so much recently is because they’ve been a playoff team. Outside of trades to move up, a playoff team typically won’t have a lottery pick, which is where the most talented players tend to go. Finding an impact player – let alone and immediate impact player – is extremely rare outside the lottery.

But there’s still gold down there. Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Rodney Hood were all selected with later draft picks. So I hope the Grizzlies get this one right. But I’m not optimistic.

But whatever you do, check out Keith’s preview. And after that . . .

GRIND ON!

By Josh Boak, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON— When the U.S. housing bubble peaked a decade ago, soon to burst with far-reaching consequences, the pain was particularly severe for black and Hispanic Americans.

A disproportionate number of minorities succumbed to subprime mortgages and foreclosures and lost their homes. Their collective loss of home equity and shift toward rental housing could widen America’s racial and ethnic divides well into the future, according to researchers and housing advocates.

The drop in home ownership has grown so severe that it could impede wealth creation for generations of minority families, said Antoine Thompson, executive director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the nation’s oldest minority trade association.

“We lost a lot of wealth,” Thompson said. “We are reaching epidemic and crisis levels in black America.”

The decline dovetails with a broader shift toward renting in the aftermath of the housing bust. An analysis by The Associated Press has found that rising rental costs and stagnant pay are making it harder to save to buy a home. Longtime homeowners, by contrast, have enjoyed rising home equity and lighter mortgage bills resulting from lower mortgage rates.

The problem is most pronounced among minorities who already had lower ownership rates before the bubble. Actions such as “redlining” — which for decades denied loans to minorities — excluded African-American neighborhoods from government-backed mortgages. This made it harder for minorities to buy even as the U.S. economy surged after World War II and overall home ownership rates climbed.

Many minority homeowners who bought or refinanced during the bubble eventually became trapped by predatory mortgages, some requiring no money down and monthly payments that eventually ballooned.

Just 41.5 percent of African-American households own their homes, down from nearly 50 percent in late 2004, according to the Census Bureau. The share of Hispanic homeowners dropped to 45.3 percent from roughly 50 percent. Both drops were sharper than the decline in white home ownership — to 72.1 percent from roughly 75 percent.

The Urban Institute forecast last year that Hispanic home ownership will rise slightly through 2030 but that African-American homeownership will tumble to 40 percent by 2030 if U.S. economic growth is about average and 38 percent if growth is slow.

A series of sudden emergency expenses cost Carmen and Ricardo Ramirez their one-bedroom condominium in Washington Heights, a neighborhood near Manhattan’s northern tip.

The couple had bought their home in 2005 for $299,000 with an adjustable-rate mortgage that was popular during the bubble and destructive during the bust once the interest and principal payments were adjusted higher.

Life seemed manageable until 2010, when the recession forced them to close their steakhouse restaurant. Then Ricardo suffered a traumatic brain injury during a fall in 2011, and Carmen suffered a back and leg injury in 2012. Her parents later died, and the funeral costs caused the couple to miss mortgage payments, triggering fees for late payments that led to foreclosure.

“Have you ever heard the saying, when it rains, it pours?” said Carmen, 61. “Well, it was one after the other with us.”

Bankruptcy failed to save the condo, which their board refused to let them sell at a loss.

Now, the couple is out of their home and in an assisted living facility after receiving relocation help from the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, which promotes affordable homeownership.

“We got nothing back — except a tax bill,” Carmen said.

Without home equity, it has become disproportionately hard for minorities to borrow to start a business, send their children to college or finance a retirement.

In the Boston area, nearly 80 percent of whites own homes and enjoy a median net worth of $256,500. By contrast, just one-third of African Americans own a home, and their median net worth is a mere $700, according to a report last year by the Boston Federal Reserve.

In Los Angeles, Mexican Americans have a median net worth of $5,000, and only 45 percent of them own homes, according to a similar analysis by the San Francisco Federal Reserve. Contrast that with the $355,000 median net worth for whites living around Los Angeles, 68 percent of whom own homes.

Even as homeownership rates were rising during the bubble, there were signs that homeowners who had refinanced with adjustable-rate mortgages were being pushed out.

Starting in the 1990s, these mortgages, with balloon payments or other onerous terms, were pushing African-American homeowners back into rentals, according to research by a pair of sociologists, the University of Buffalo professor Gregory Sharp and Cornell University professor Matthew Hall. It marked a striking reversal from the gains made after the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which barred discrimination based on race, religion or sex.

Sharp and Hall”s 2014 paper found that African Americans were 50 percent more likely than whites to lose their homes and become renters. This trend had begun as minorities either bought or refinanced with the sub-prime mortgages that lenders had marketed to them. The two sociologists adjusted their data for income, debt loads and life events. They found that race was the leading explanation for why people lost homes they owned and turned back to rentals.

“It’s a clear story of persistent and growing racial stratification in the housing market, a shift from exclusion to exploitation,” Sharp said. “That’s not just income. That’s race. That is going into segregated neighborhoods and sort of preying on people.”

By TSD Newsroom

The Southern Region Conference of the Progressive National Baptist Convention got underway Monday (June 20) with an opening service at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church-Westwood.

The annual session runs through Friday, with the Sheraton Memphis Downtown, 250 Main St., as the main hotel and conference activities next door at the Crowne Plaza Memphis Downtown.

Dr. Reginal Porter, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, is the Southern Region Vice President and is completing his final year in that position.

“I thank you for your support and for giving me the opportunity to serve you,” Porter noted in a written message to Southern Region members.

“This is an election year and Second Vice President Pastor Gil Wright has decided to move forward. That means a new first and second president will be elected in this session.”

Porter asked the region embrace St. Jude Hospital as it mission project for this year. Each church was encouraged to bring a $100 donation for St. Jude, with a tour of the world-class hospital built into the conference schedule.

Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie, general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, delivered the message of hope during the opening service at Mt. Vernon-Westwood, where the Rev. Dr. James Netters Sr., the church’s senior pastor, served as host. The service was accented with musical selections. After the procession of the Progressive National Baptist Convention Mass Choir and the “Call of Worship” by the Rev. Roger Brown, pastor of Greater White Stone Baptist Church, soloist Rose Winters sang “Oh Give Thanks Unto The Lord,” with Eddie Miller serving as director.

Scripture readings by the Rev. Stanford Hunt, pastor of Salem Gilfield Baptist Church, and the Rev. Wade Bryant, pastor of Monumental Baptist Church, preceded prayer by the Rev. Melvin Watkins, co-pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church-Westwood, and the congregational hymn “Blessed Assurance.”

Next came the welcome by the Rev. Harvey Jackson, pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church-Carnes, followed by two songs of praise: “Faithful Over a Few Things” (Anthony Prather, director), and “Even Me” (Eddie Miller, director).

Mayor Jim Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell brought greetings. Next, soloist Detris Cobb sang “You Brought Me Through This” (Shakira Bryant, director).

The Rev. Dr. Noel G.L. Hutchinson, pastor of First Baptist Church-Lauderdale and president of the Tennessee Progressive Council, presided over the offering appeal with the musical backdrop of “Every Praise” (James O. Pope, director).

Dr. Porter made the “Presentation of the Messenger” prior to the selections “Oh How Precious” (Paolo Tenno, soloist; Datris Cobb, director) and “Thank You, Thank You Jesus” (soloist Jessie Williams, Jeffery Matlock, director).

After Dr. Boddie’s “Message of Hope,” the Rev. Dr. Anthony Henderson, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church, extended the invitation to discipleship as Jeffery Matlock directed “Oh To Be Kept.”

Host Pastor Dr. Netters delivered closing remarks, with the benediction by Dr. Boddie.

By Steve Megargee, AP Sports Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Zaevion Dobson, a high school football player who was shot to death while shielding two girls from gunfire, will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs.

The 15-year-old Dobson will be the youngest person ever to win the award, which has been given annually since 1993. The award recognizes individuals who embody the spirt of Ashe, who dedicated his life to human rights advocacy.

Dobson, a sophomore at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, died Dec. 17 while protecting friends from a shooting. Knoxville police said the girls shielded by Dobson were unhurt.

“There’s nothing more courageous than somebody sacrificing their own life for somebody else,” said Maura Mandt, the ESPYs executive producer.

In the days after Dobson’s death, President Obama sent a tweet praising the teen’s actions and saying, “He was a hero at 15. What’s our excuse for not acting?” Obama cited Dobson again in a January speech on gun violence and called his decision “an act of heroism a lot bigger than we should expect from a 15-year-old.”

Dobson’s mother, Zenobia Dobson, will accept the award on his behalf during the July 13 ESPYs ceremony in Los Angeles that will be aired on ABC. Dobson’s brothers, Zackelyn Dobson and Markastin Taylor, also are expected to attend.

“He would light up the room,” Zenobia Dobson said. “He was just so sweet. He had a warm spirit. His spirit was awesome, amazing. He was an amazing son. He was so sweet. He would always compliment me. He would always compliment his friends.”

Zenobia Dobson said her son was passionate about football and often would watch video of his favorite players to research them as much as possible. He rooted for the Denver Broncos and considered recently retired Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch one of his favorite players.

She also said her son had a history of standing up to bullies.

“He would stop bullies from bullying,” she said. “He got bullied at a young age. He stepped up to the bully, and once he stepped up to the bully, he wasn’t afraid. If he saw kids getting bullied, he’d step in and say, ‘Don’t bully them.’ ”

She added that “there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t cry” when she thinks about her son.

“I’m just so honored to be his mother,” Zenobia Dobson said. “I will always love him in my heart, but since his passing, I love him even more. I draw closer to him every day. I visit him at the cemetery every day, and I just talk to him every day, every single day. Even when I wake up in the morning, his picture is right there on my dresser and I can look at him. Even if my eyes are closed, I still say, ‘Good morning, Zaevion,’ or ‘Good night, Zaevion,’ ‘I love you, Zaevion,’ ‘I miss you, Zaevion.’ ”

Previous winners of the Ashe Courage Award have included Muhammad Ali, Dean Smith, Billie Jean King, Pat Summitt, Michael Sam, Caitlyn Jenner and four United Flight 93 passengers who helped prevent a Sept. 11 hijacking.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Ronda Racha Penrice, Urban News Service

The roots of soul food run deep.

Mary McCallum-Stewart isn’t as well-known as Sylvia Woods, purveyor of Harlem’s legendary eatery, Sylvia’s Restaurant. But McCallum-Stewart also built a soul food legacy. The Jackson, Mississippi native launched her own soul food empire in 1969. Los Angeles’ M&M Soul Food Restaurant was inspired by her nickname, “Mississippi Mary.”

Although McCallum-Stewart passed away in 1998, her contribution thrives through various restaurants that bear some form of her name. They reach from southern California to Las Vegas, where her younger brother Ventress McCallum expanded the business. Her daughters Nicole Shaw and Debra Ratliff run Mary Stewart’s Southern Soul Food in the city of Rialto in the L.A. metro area.

“We had to learn by our mom showing us,” Shaw says of their culinary inheritance. “It’s not like us cooking by watching Food Network, by measurement. You can’t cook by measurement . . . We had to learn by our mom showing us, ‘This is what you do,’ and you cook by taste.”

Oxtails — cow tails, actually — are their most popular dish, along with greens, mac and cheese, yams, and red beans and rice.

For most, the term “soul food” harkens back to the 1960s’ civil rights and black power movements. But the term has a longer history, says Adrian E. Miller, the Denver-based author of Soul Food: The

Surprising Story of An American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time. Shakespeare employed the expression in his first play, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. During early American history, black Americans used “soul food” in a religious context for centuries. Black jazz musicians created a style of play in the 1940s known as “soul food” that white musicians couldn’t easily duplicate. Soul food became most popular, though, during the 1960s.

“What happens in the ’60s is that ‘soul food’ as a term gets racialized and radicalized,” says Miller, also known as “the Soul Food Scholar.” “The Black Power advocates were trying to figure out, ‘How do we connect the very diverse African-American communities around the country?’ because what was happening in the rural South resonated with people to some extent, but what was going on in the urban North and out west was different. So they decided that culture was one of the best ways to connect people, and food was the great connector.

“[Also,] the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, by this time in the mid-’60s, had expelled all the white members. A manifesto of theirs was leaked to The New York Times, and that manifesto said that white people can’t understand things like ham hocks, brains, pig’s feet, which was news to white Southerners because they’d been eating the same foods for 200 years.

“So, at that point, in that decade, ‘soul’ becomes ‘black,’ and ‘Southern’ becomes ‘white,’ and we’re still living with the legacy of that today. So much so that African-American contributions to Southern cuisine have been obscured,” Miller says.

National Soul Food Month, observed in June, is in its 15th year, says Charla Draper, a former food editor for both Ebony and Southern Living magazines. She now provides food consulting and public relations through her company, It’s Food Biz.

“National Soul Food Month grew out of a conference that was hosted in Chicago by one of the organizations I belong to, the Culinary Historians of Chicago,” Draper says. “The conference occurred in 2000 and 2001. The conference was called Grits and Greens and, in the second year of the conference, we created the National Soul Food Month identity, just really to help spread the word.”

Today some may view soul food as the unhealthy cuisine that black Southerners carried over from slavery. But the “unhealthy” assessment, Miller says, is untrue. “When you look at what people were eating, it’s actually closer to what we call ‘vegan’ today because there wasn’t a lot of meat,” he says. “[Meat] didn’t anchor the meal the way it does now.”

Food pioneer Edna Lewis — whose grandparents were enslaved — recalled in her revered 1976 cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, fried chicken was “a very special dish … produced only once a year in late spring through early summer” in her native Freetown, Virginia. Today, fried chicken is widely considered a soul food staple.

One main soul food feature never changes, however. “We just cook from the heart,” says Nicole Shaw. “We just cook from the foundation of what we were brought from.”