“I opened this place to fill a hole, to walk the churches’ talk,” said Fred L. Davis about Charity’s House in Orange Mound in June 2018. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
Fred L. Davis, owner of the Fred L. Davis Insurance Agency and the first African American to serve as chairman of the Memphis City Council, has died. The TSD’s story is developing.
Mr. Davis passed around 2:15 pm on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at the home he has shared with his wife for more than 50 years. He had been ill for several months. He was 86.
A staunch advocate for the economic empowerment of African Americans, Mr. Davis is the namesake of the Fred Davis Innovation Center in the refurbished Universal Life Building. Mayor Jim Strickland said that before he ran for mayor Mr. Davis shared some sobering statistics that affected policy his administration embraced to support African-American businesses.
“I’ll never forget when he told me, ‘If I added up all the business transactions in the city of Memphis, one percent is spent with African Americans,’” Strickland recalled. “That’s wrong on so many levels in a city that is predominately African American. If you want to grow the city, you have to grow black wealth.”
Known around Orange Mound as an advocate for uplifting and changing his neighborhood for the better, Mr. Davis opened Charity’s House in 2018. It was named after his late mother.
Fred L. Davis Insurance Agency was the first African-American, independent insurance company in six states – Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Missouri – and one of the first in the South.
Mr. Davis graduated from Manassas High School before earning an accounting degree at Tennessee State University. He met his wife, Ella Singleton Davis, on campus and later married her. He is a U.S. Army veteran.
Mr. Davis leaves his wife and three children, Michael Davis, Marvin Davis and Sheila Davis.
(Check back with TSDMemphis for our developing story on the legacy of Mr. Davis. Read more coverage in this week’s print edition of The New Tri-State Defender, which is distributed on Thursday.)
Dr. Beverly Jean Williams-Cleaves (8/16/43-5/9/20). (Courtesy photo)
Scores of community health fairs and educational outreach programs designed to help people upgrade the quality of their personal health were aided immensely by the work of Dr. Beverly Jean Williams-Cleaves, who died Saturday (May 9) at Methodist Germantown Hospital after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
For many years, Dr. Williams-Cleaves served as an associate professor in the endocrinology division at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences and led the endocrine outpatient clinics at the MedPlex Clinic.
Dedicated to serving her community, Dr. Williams-Cleaves’ numerous civic and social involvements included Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Society for the Arts Inc., Bluff City Medical Society, Leadership Memphis, Healthy Memphis Common Table, board member of LeMoyne-Owen College, and the American Diabetes Association.
Born on August 16, 1943, Dr. Williams-Cleaves was the youngest of three daughters born in Mason, TN to John Ed and Odessa Williams.
The valedictorian of her Manassas High School Class of 1961,Dr. Williams-Cleaves attended Howard University and received her medical degree in 1969 from the University of Tennessee Memphis. She focused on internal medicine as she continued her residency at the prestigious Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and practiced for several years in San Francisco.
A lifelong member of Friendship Baptist Church, she led the establishment of the church’s monthly “Feed the Less Fortunate” events. She and her sisters established college scholarships at Friendship Baptist Church and Manassas High School, as well as a lectureship at UT.
Throughout her career, Dr. Williams-Cleaves received numerous awards and honors and was regularly recognized as one of the city’s Top Doctors in Memphis Magazine.
Her sister, Willie Mae Williams Crittendon, preceded her in death in 2015.
Dr. Williams-Cleaves’ leaves her husband, Calvin; daughter, Marinda Anderson; sister, Ethelyn Williams-Neal, M.D.; nieces, Pam Crittendon Johnson (Doug) and Jehan L. Roberson; nephews, Sheldon C. Crittendon (Lolita) and William C, Roberson; son, Calvin II (Georgette); daughter, Carlotta Cleaves Williams (Terence); 4 grandchildren – Astasia Willams, Terence (T.J.) Williams Jr.; Calvin D. Cleaves III and Addyson Cleaves, and a host of extended family, friends, classmates, colleagues, students and mentees.
A visitation will be held on Thursday (May 14) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and funeral services will take place on Friday (May 15) at 1 p.m, with both at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., Memphis, TN 38134.
Due to the current pandemic, attendance at both the visitation and funeral service will be limited to 100, including family and face masks are required. Live Streaming of Dr. Beverly Williams-Cleaves service will be available through Serenity Funeral Home’s website.
A full memorial service to include representatives of the many groups and organizations Dr. Williams-Cleaves was associated with will be scheduled for a later date.
(For more information, call Serenity Funeral Home, 901-379-0861.)
Tennessee State University is using $3.6 million of its allocation from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to address student expenses related to the disruption of campus operations during the pandemic.
NASHVILLE — Tennessee State University will use $7.2 million in federal aid to help students and support institutional needs as a result of COVID-19.
The funds are being provided to TSU as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The university has received $3.6 million, the first half of the allocation, which is specifically for student expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the pandemic. The university has distributed the funds as emergency financial aid grants to students. The remaining amount will be released later and is reserved for institutional use to cover costs associated with significant changes due to the coronavirus.
Human Performance and Sports Science major Maddison Metcalf says she will use the money to enroll in summer school. Metcalf received her emergency funds on Monday.“This was unexpected, but very much needed,” says Metcalf, a rising TSU senior. “I had an old laptop and the online class load added more wear and tear to the device. I used the money saved for summer school to help me get another one.”
Fellow rising TSU senior Matthew Benton is putting his money away for the upcoming semester. “The funds went directly into my savings to help me pay for the fall semester,” says Benton. The business major from Atlanta adds that he wants to make sure all expenses are covered for his final year at TSU.
“The university is attempting to assist as many students as possible that have been impacted by Covid-19,” says Horace Chase, TSU’s vice president of business and finance.
“Qualifying undergraduate students, graduate students, PELL eligible students, and those experiencing hardships as a result of the pandemic will receive financial support.”
The funds will help students cover “those unplanned expenses,” adds Chase, that have occurred as a result of the pandemic.
Graduate students will receive a one-time grant of $500. Undergraduate students who are not PELL Grant eligible will receive $600, and undergraduate students who are PELL eligible will receive $800.
This funding is separate from refunds or financial aid students have received from the university. Last month, TSU students received housing and meal refunds.
“Each student has her or his own unique challenges as a result of Covid-19,” says Chase. “These funds are flexible and allows them to be used in a way that best suits the students’ individual needs.”
Terrence Izzard, associate vice president of admissions and recruitment at TSU, says “finances play a major role in a student’s ability to enroll, persist, and graduate from college.”
“TSU is committed to doing all we can to help students remain in school,” says Izzard. “Funding from the CARES Act is certainly helping us keep talented students enrolled.”
The university will use the second half of the allocation to enhance online learning and other expenses associated with new campus operation measures implemented because of COVID-19. Summer sessions are 100 percent online. They started May 4 and run through August 6.
(For more on campus operations affected by the coronavirus, and student information, visit http://www.tnstate.edu/covid19.)
At Cash Saver, masks and glovers for employees are parts of the safety standard. Courtesy photo)
The grocery business has required an “interesting adjustment” since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Memphis, said Rick James, Cash Saver grocery store chain owner.
“This is a time we have never experienced before,” James said. “People need to feel safe, and so we have required every employee to wear a face covering and gloves while working in all our stores.
Rick James of Cash Saver: “The communities we serve are part of our family, and family takes care of one another.” (Courtesy photo)
“Being safe from the coronavirus will be utmost in our minds for some time to come. I think it will be a while before things return to anything resembling ‘back to normal.’ Masks, gloves and social distancing is our new normal.”
For the past few weeks, James’ Castle Retail Group LLC has made temporary changes to maximize their service to a community under siege as Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris issued safer-at-home mandates to try to slow the spread of the virus.
Those restrictions were relaxed last week in the first phase of the Back to Business plan for Memphis and Shelby County.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but never have we faced this kind of challenge,” James said. “Restaurants and bars closed down, and people started staying at home cooking again. And if they are cooking again, they need groceries and other supplies.
“Children are eating at home, so business was extremely steady. In addition to wearing protective gear, we closed our stores earlier than our normal business hours. But in a grocery store, social distancing is kind of difficult, but we do our best to comply.”
“This gave us time to sanitize our store every day and receive the food trucks. We used that time to make sure everything was fully stocked. Things like toilet paper and sanitizing wipes were hard to keep up with because those were some of the first things people stocked up on.
“Despite the challenges, we are committed to providing the best service we possibly can. Some of our employees have been with me the whole 30 years since I came to Memphis. We are all like a family, not part of a big corporation. The communities we serve are part of our family, and family takes care of one another.”
James is a first-generation grocer. His father made women’s shoes, but the elder James saw the future of shoemaking trend toward international markets. So, he steered his son into the accounting field.
“After I graduated with a degree in accounting, I went to work for a national grocery retailer,” said James. “But I had always liked working in a grocery store as a kid. So instead of going to work in the accounting office, I went through the manager training program. I worked with Big Stars and Piggly Wigglys in 16 different places. When I moved to Memphis, that was my 17th time moving. I married my wife, Cathy, and three weeks later, we moved to Memphis. We love Memphis.”
In 2004, James bought four grocery stores. One owner had passed away, and the other one was ready to retire,” James recalled. “I was working in their stores with the understanding that I would take over at some point. I was blessed to have a wonderful wife who had faith in me and believed in what my dream was. We both knew what we were getting into. With your own business, you’ll have your ups and downs. But we still love the grocery business.”
In 2011, James made a calculated move from the conventional grocery business to the “deep discount” grocery market. Deep discount grocers off consumers quality products using a store-brand strategy to offer both value and excellence that saves them big bucks in monthly grocery budgeting. Cash Saver is one of the most popular deep discount grocery chains in the country.
Courtesy photo)
James’ three stores are situated in communities where consumers seek a clean, friendly grocery which offers an attractive, cost-saving alternative to conventional grocery store chains with higher prices. Cash Saver stores appeal, not only to shoppers looking to stretch grocery dollars, but also to consumers who can afford to shop elsewhere.
“We are marking our 16th anniversary this year in the grocery business,” said James. “And I still love the business. Our three children have graduated from college and have all come to work in the business.
“Two of them graduated from the University of Memphis. But to have them all working with me, I couldn’t be happier. To know that they will continue the business when I am gone, every business owner wants that.”
James has always gotten a good laugh when he tells people his name.
“When I tell people my name is Rick James, it’s always good for a little fun,” James said. “I remember when the Super Freak album came out in 1981. I was working in Elizabethtown, Ky. One of my store employees bought the album and brought the poster from the album to work. He put it on my desk with a little note, saying, ‘Mr. James, may I have your autograph?’ That was great fun. I always tell people that I do know all the words to the song, but I can’t sing.”
Castle Retail Group’s three Cash Saver stores are located at: 1620 Madison Ave. in Midtown; 4049 Elvis Presley Blvd. in Whitehaven; and 1977 S. Third St., in the Southgate Shopping Center.
National Nurses Week 2020 is being observed May 6-12. Jamila Smith-Young's story is one of several included in the TSD's salute. (Courtesy photo)
Jamila Smith-Young has long loved the idea of being a nurse and as that love affair blossomed, she wanted to do more in the field.
“I love working with patients,” she said. “But I also love training nurse practitioners. I find it quite rewarding.”
Jamila Smith-Young (Courtesy photo)
Smith-Young is a nurse practitioner in the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology for UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists. She is also an assistant professor for the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Board certified as a pediatric acute care nurse practitioner, she recently, obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2018.
What, exactly is a nurse practitioner?
A nurse practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse and mid-level practitioner. Nurse practitioners (NP) are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease and prescribe treatment plans.
NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex conditions. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, NPs are educated at the graduate level to provide “primary, acute, chronic, and specialty care to patients of all ages,” depending on their field of practice.
“I studied for my doctorate because I can do research, teach and still be involved in hands-on patient care,” Smith-Young said.
She earned a bachelor’s of science degree in microbiology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville; a B.S. in Nursing from the Baptist College of Health Sciences; a Master’s degree in Public Health; a M.S. in Nursing, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Jamila Smith-Young (right) and an associate are suited for duty. (Courtesy photo)
Smith-Young is the face of LeBonheur Children’s Hospital at local events and some public speaking venues.
Licensed in Tennessee as an RN and an NP, Smith-Young is also board certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Acute Care and in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.
Her many honors include: Memphis’ Finest Professional Award Recipient, 2017; Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing, and The International Nurses Association 2019 Top Nurses Honoree, Memphis, TN.
Smith-Young is the wife of Paul Young, director of the Division of Housing and Community Development for the city of Memphis.
MIAMI — Betty Wright, the Grammy-winning soul singer and songwriter whose influential 1970s hits included “Clean Up Woman” and “Where is the Love,” has died at age 66.
Wright died at her home in Miami on Sunday, several media outlets reported. Steve Greenberg of S-Curve Records told the New York Times Wright had been diagnosed with cancer in the fall.
Wright had her breakthrough with 1971′s “Clean Up Woman,” which combined elements of funk, soul and R&B.
Recorded when Wright was just 17, the song would be a top 10 hit on both the Billboard R&B and pop charts, and its familiar grooves would be used and reused in the sampling era of future decades.
The youngest of seven children, Wright was born Bessie Regina Norris in 1953 in Miami, the city whose funk and soul sounds her music would always be identified with.
She started singing with the family gospel group, Echoes of Joy, and released her solo debut album, “My First Time Around,” at age 15 in 1968. The album yielded a top 40 hit, “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do.”
After “Clean Up Woman,” written by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke and later sampled by Afrika Bambaataa and Mary J. Blige, she would have her first hit she wrote herself with “Baby Sitter,” a 1973 hit that showed off her so-called “whistle register” vocals, an ultra-high singing style later employed by Mariah Carey and others.
With members of K.C. and the Sunshine Band, she co-wrote her 1975 proto-disco hit, “Where is the Love,” which would win her a Grammy for best R&B song.
A career lull in the late 1970s and early 1980s prompted Wright to start her own label in 1985, leading to a gold album, “Mother Wit,” in 1987 and the comeback hit “No Pain (No Gain)”
She spent much of the rest of her life as a producer and mentor to younger artists, many of whom were singing her praises after her death.
“Thank you for being a master teacher, a friend and one of the greatest female soul singers in our industry,” Ledisi said on Twitter. “You were so much more than your music. We were blessed to be around royalty.”
John Legend tweeted that Wright “was always so loving and giving to younger artists. Always engaged, always relevant. She will be missed.”
People react during a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man, Friday, May 8, 2020, in Brunswick Ga. Two men have been charged with murder in the February shooting death of Arbery, whom they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
By Aaron Morrison and Russ Bynum —
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead.
The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing comparisons to a much darker period of U.S. history — when extrajudicial killings of black people, almost exclusively at the hands of white male vigilantes, inflicted racial terror on African Americans. It frequently happened with law enforcement complicity or feigned ignorance.
The footage of Arbery’s death was not the only thing that rattled the nation’s conscience. It took more than two months for his pursuers — who told police they suspected he was a burglar — to be arrested and taken into custody. That is fueling calls for the resignation of local authorities who initially investigated the case and reforms of Georgia’s criminal justice system.
“The modern-day lynching of Mr. Arbery is yet another reminder of the vile and wicked racism that persists in parts of our country,” said the Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP. “The slothfulness and inaction of the judicial system, in this case, is a gross testament to the blatant white racial privileges that permeates throughout our country and our institutions.”
The case appeared frozen as it was handled by police in the small city of Brunswick.
After the video emerged on social media this week, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took one day after launching its probe Wednesday to arrest Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34. They are jailed on murder and aggravated assault charges and did not have lawyers as of Friday who could comment on their behalf.
Several hundred people crowded outside the Glynn County Courthouse on Friday to mark what would have been Arbery’s 26th birthday, with many saying it’s too soon to celebrate because the case must still go before a grand jury that will decide whether to indict the McMichaels.
Ahmaud Arberry
Arbery’s killing reminds some of Emmett Till, a black teen from Chicago who was kidnapped in 1955 in Mississippi, lynched and dumped in a river after he was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman. An all-white jury acquitted the white men accused of killing Till, who was 14. His death helped fuel the civil rights movement and brought about the eventual passage of federal civil rights protections.
During Friday’s protest, demonstrator Anthony Johnson said he sees echoes of Till and others. Arbery “died because he was black like the rest of them did. For no reason,” Johnson said.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her son, a former high school football player, was jogging for exercise before he was killed.
Gregory and Travis McMichael told police they suspected Arbery was the same man recorded by a security camera committing a break-in. When they saw Arbery running on a Sunday afternoon, the McMichaels grabbed guns, got into a pickup truck and pursued him.
Video footage shows a runner grappling with a man armed with a shotgun. Shots are fired and the runner staggers and falls. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement said the McMichaels confronted Arbery with two firearms and that Travis McMichael fatally shot Arbery.
Arbery’s death has drawn sharp reactions and expressions of sadness across the U.S. A Change.org petition calling for justice hit over 700,000 signatures on Friday, President Donald Trump called the video “very disturbing” and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said it was like seeing Arbery “lynched before our very eyes.”
The Players Coalition, a racial justice group made up of professional athletes, sent a letter Friday to the FBI and prosecutors requesting a federal investigation into Arbery’s death.
“The absence of justice is ever present,” said Malcolm Jenkins, a safety for the New Orleans Saints and the foundation’s co-founder. “Another black life has been taken by a bullet and the slaying justified by white fear.”
Others joined demands from Arbery’s family for the resignations of local law enforcement authorities. Before the case was turned over to special prosecutor Tom Durden, Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson and Ware County District Attorney George Barnhill recused themselves because of their connections to the McMichaels. Gregory McMichael was an investigator for Johnson’s office before retiring last year and before that served as a local police officer.
Johnson and Barnhill “must be held accountable for their shameless dereliction of duty,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a former head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division during President Barack Obama’s administration. She also called on the Justice Department to investigate Arbery’s killing under the federal hate crimes statute.
While likening Arbery’s death to a lynching may seem like an apt comparison, doing so isn’t sufficient for understanding why the man’s death is a tragedy, said Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative. The organization has cataloged more than 4,400 racial terror lynchings in the U.S. that took place between Reconstruction and World War II.
“Law enforcement did nothing about lynchings for a century,” Stevenson said. “It should be a national priority to eliminate this kind of racial terror so that we do more, not less, when someone like Ahmaud Arbery is killed in this manner.”
He added: “Our nation continues to underestimate the painful burden that has been placed on black people and the traumatic injury we continue to aggravate when our justice system refuses to hold accountable perpetrators of unnecessary violence if they are white and invoke some public safety defense.”
The shooting of Arbery has also been compared to the 2012 case of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black Florida teenager shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The shooter, George Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, suspected without evidence that Martin was casing the area for burglaries. Zimmerman was not charged initially after claiming self-defense under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which provides immunity to people who use lethal force out of fear for their lives.
Phillip Agnew, an organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, said vigilantism involving black victims has been “driven by hate, resentment and generations-old racial anxiety.”
“We need to make people afraid to do something like this to other people,” Agnew added. “And until we do that, this is going to continue to happen.”
___
(Morrison reported from New York and is a member of The Associated Press’ Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronlmorrison.)
Arieale Munson in the front yard of the home she purchased with the help of the Rise Foundation. Two weeks lat- er, it caught fire and now she is get- ting help to rebuild. (Courtesy photo)
by Amelia Ables —
Arieale Munson was 16 years old when she became a mother. Since then, she has founded a non-profit, written a book and become a motivational speaker. With motherhood as the priority, she vowed to provide her two sons with their own home to feel safe, and she recently purchased her first home through the RISE Foundation’s Save Up Program.
Two weeks after closing on her first home, the house caught fire, destroying all of her family’s possessions. Material possessions, said Munson, aren’t the most important.
“People say to me, ‘You lost everything, but you’re still smiling.’ But I didn’t lose everything,” she said. “I still have the gift of life. My sons and I are still standing strong. Sometimes God tests your faith, but I know something good will come out of this.”
Arieale Munson and her sons, Nyigel Turner, 14, and 8-year-old Steven Cole Jr. (Courtesy photo)
Rather than celebrate Mother’s Day in their new home, Munson’s family is living in a nearby apartment. They are in good spirits, and are prepared to move forward in rebuilding and repairing their home.
The Save Up Program is a matched savings account program that teaches participants to create a budget based on their income and expenses and to establish a bank account and purchase assets, such as homes and vehicles.
Within 10 months of beginning the program, Munson had saved enough money paired with matching funds from RISE for a down payment for a home.
“The program gave me a refresher on different things, such as how to increase my credit score and save money,” she said.
RISE provided Munson with the tools to purchase a home, but she said her sons are the motivation for her accomplishments.
“A lot of people counted me out when I got pregnant as a teenager, but God pushed me through. I’ve experienced domestic abuse and being a teenage single mother,” she said. “Now, I want to be resourceful and useful to the community, and I take a lot of pride in giving back.”
Munson founded her non-profit, Operation Taking Back 901, in 2016. Three years later, she published her first book, “When Pleasing Has No Purpose,” which tells the story of how misery connected her to her ministry.
She continues to live out her story despite the home-destroying fire. What she learned in the Save Up program, she said, “is helping me balance my budget and still save. I’ve been working from home, bought a home, lost a home, and now I’m re-building a home, but I’m still advocating for my community through my non-profit.”
This Mother’s Day is also her youngest son’s ninth birthday.
“Our plans are to have a cake and just be together as a family. My greatest gift is seeing my kids grow up and knowing I can give them things I didn’t have.”
(To learn more about the RISE Foundation and their Save Up program, visit http://risememphis.org/.)
TSD iMom columnist Brittany Holst enjoys a pre-Mother’s Day moment with her daughter, Niah, and her mother, Shirley Jackson. (Photo: Shirley Jackson)
by Brittany Holst —
I am so used to spending Mother’s Day with my grandmother, mother, aunt and the rest of my family.
However, due to COVID-19, things will be a little different this year. We have to be creative as we continue to practice social distancing.
Although Mother’s Day is not considered a national holiday, it is a special day to honor the special woman or even women in our lives. I’m looking forward to video conferencing with my loved ones while spending time with my husband and our daughter, Niah.
TSD iMom columnist Brittany Holst with her mother, Shirley Jackson. (Photo: Shirley Jackson)
My mother has been a blessing to me. I look at her and think, “Wow! Where would I be now had I not been catered with all the unconditional love and knowledge she has provided me?”
I tell her all the time that I hope I am just as great of a mom to my daughter as she has been to me. I would not be the person I am today had it not been for my mom.
Growing up, I did not always understand my mother’s reason for doing things. But as I got older, I understood why there were times when she wouldn’t allow me to go here and there and do other things I wanted to do.
From a very early age, she put a lot of emphasis on education, community service, faith, being creative and having a competitive spirit in sports and other activities.
I remember when my mom was helping me learn to tell time on a clock. She did fun things like driving near the airport and parking the car to watch the airplanes come in. We would use the directions of the planes landing as imaginary hands on the clock. I would say, “it’s coming in at 9 o’clock” or “it’s coming from 3 o’clock.”
We would laugh and give “high fives.” That’s when she knew I understood the workings of the clock and how to tell time.
We did everything together. I gained my entrepreneurial spirit from her. Mom told me, “You can do anything you want to do and you can be whatever you want to be in life. She said, “it takes hard work and determination to make it happen”.
Though gentle and loving, she also was not one to play with. If my mom said to do or not do something, she meant it.
She would say, “If you don’t believe me, try me.”
I tested her a few times to see if “fat meat was greasy” and she did not hesitate to show me that it was. After that, I got my act together because I knew my mama did not play games with me.
iMom Mother’s Day Music Vibe:
Now, I look at my own daughter and find joy every time she smiles. She is so precious and I recognize with her, a love like no other. I have discovered a more patient and compassionate side of me that I’d never known.
I can share experiences with her that my mother shared with me — being the first teacher, nurturer, providing loving guidance to help mold her to be successful in life.
Whitney Daniels with her children, Paris and Paul. (Courtesy photo)
Whitney Daniels, mother to Paul and Paris, said, “Being a mother means the world to me. I always hear people say, ‘I don’t know where I would be in like’ or ‘I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have my kids.”
Those statements have never made a difference to her because “nothing means more to her than being a mom.” It has completely changed her life for the better!
“Being a mom means loving myself so much more than I have before. That same love is magnified so much more because it grows rapidly every day for me to give to my children.
You would think that love can’t possibly be greater but it doesn’t stop there,” said Daniels.
The relationship between mother and child is so pure and innocent.
“My children reciprocate the same love unconditionally to the point it has become an everlasting circle of love. It’s selfless. It’s the most comforting when the times come that I don’t feel deserving of it and it’s assuring that, although, I’m not a perfect mother, I’m exactly the one they need,” Daniels said.
Legendary composer, singer and musician Stevie Wonder said it best:
“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.”
Mother’s Day is a day of celebrating the living and a day to acknowledge special loved ones who has passed away.
However you decide to celebrate, do so with love and appreciation.
From the iMom — Being a mother is not always easy, but it is one of the greatest gifts from God. We are our child’s first teacher. We’re strong and wise. We are nurturers and providers. We are the definition of love, patience, compassion and forgiveness. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and thank you for your unconditional love and sacrifices.
Joanna Lewis Walton and her husband, Andre Walton Sr., will celebrate Mother’s Day with their two-year-old “A.J” and their newest addition, Journey Gracelynn Walton, who was born Feb. 26. (Courtesy photo)
On Feb, 26, when Joanna Lewis Walton gave birth to Journey Gracelynn Walton, the delivery was relatively uneventful.
Shortly after they came home, COVID-19 changed life as they knew it, including the fact that she will not be able to traditionally celebrate Mother’s Day – church and dinner – as new mother because COVID-19 related restrictions.
When Walton and her husband, Andre Walton Sr., brought their baby daughter home, their family felt complete.
A.J was getting to know Journey, but a bout with the flu forced A.J. to be separated from his mom and sister.
After his father nursed him back to health, little family settled into a daily routine. But by the time Journey was turning 6 weeks old, everything changed.
“The school children were released early that week when spring break was starting,” said Walton. “I had been in the house with my children since leaving the hospital. That’s pretty normal for a new mother. I was rebuilding my strength and trying to get Journey into a good feeding and sleeping routine.”
More and more, there was talk about a “novel coronavirus,” and Walton took some interest in keeping up with the growing numbers of new cases in America.
For a time, none had been confirmed in the state of Tennessee, or in Shelby County. When that changed and the number of local cases began to rise, they were unrelated cases of people who had traveled, or come in contact with someone who had recently traveled.
“We were just nesting while my husband continued to work,” Walton said. “But when community spread hit Memphis and Shelby County, I understood just how dangerous this COVID-19 was.
“I have kept my children isolated from everyone, except their grandparents. With the safer-at-home orders, we continue to shelter in place. The four of us have created our own little world inside the house.”
Walton graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in professional studies. She marked her fourth wedding anniversary on March 19, her birthday on April 20, and now, Mother’s Day on Sunday — all celebrated inside the house.
“All of my special days come in springtime each year,” she said. “My anniversary, my birthday, and Mother’s Day — it feels strange not being able to celebrate them like we had planned. There will be no special date nights or family trips.
“On Mother’s Day every year, we were always in church. Life has changed so drastically, and I don’t know when things will return to normal — or if they ever will,” she said.
Andre Sr. has used this time of “nearly unlimited overtime” to build a nest egg that will come in handy when the family moves to a large house this summer, if things are a bit safer.
“I would love for my children to play outside,” Andre Sr. said. “I would love to run around the yard with my son and toss a ball to him. But he is young enough that staying inside won’t affect him so much. I thank God he will have very little memory of this time.”
Walton has been optimistic as a new mother caring for two, young children. She has been home-schooling A.J. since his first birthday. Walton has gotten accustomed to the rambunctious 2 year old tearing about the house. He has a lot of energy, but he can’t play outside.
“We have been blessed, and I can really see an end to this virus,” Walton said. “As a mother, it is my job to prepare our children for a bright future. My son will be three in the fall, and already, he can count to 60, recite the alphabet, and name his colors.
“I am now teaching him to read. Our children emulate what they see. They are hopeful because we remain hopeful. Mother’s Day is going to be a wonderful day. God is still in control.”
