… Walking In Memphis
Jake and I are back on the road, spending last night in Nashville and driving down to Memphis this morning. We’ll be here on the Mighty Mississippi for several days.
First thing, we headed for Beale Street – no not for the music (though I’m going to try to get back over there if I can tear Jake away from Graceland). We stopped by to meet Dr. Karanja Ajanaku, executive editor at the Tri-State Defender, whose offices sit in the shadow of the Fedex Forum.
The Defender bills itself as “one of the one of the longest, continuously published African-American papers in the United States” and was active in the civil rights movement. I could have sat and listened to Dr. Ajanaku all day.
We had an uplifting conversation about the cultural patchwork that is Tennessee. “Our numerators may all be different, but we all come under a common denominator,” he told me.
What does a learned man like Dr. Ajanaku look for in a lawmaker? Someone whose eye is on a better future for ALL Tennesseans, especially its young people.
Got me to thinking about something President Kennedy said (JFK’s been on my mind, since we are attending the Shelby County Democrats’ Kennedy Day Dinner tomorrow night):
“Whether they be young in spirit or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great.”
I hated to end this engaging visit – and I promised Dr. Ajanaku I’d be back – but Jake and I had plans to tour Memphis this afternoon with a local friend, “Big John” Bratcher. I’ll let you know how it goes…Mike
