Memphis Black Restaurant Week will be held this year, from March 6-12.

Cynthia Daniels, creator of the idea said she wants to get more people acquainted with black-owned restaurants in Memphis and create a platform where they can be showcased.

“Many Memphians aren’t aware of new black-owned restaurants, Daniels said. You haven’t heard of most of these restaurants. Certain restaurants are on the radar. You know a year in advance something is about to open. We don’t have that in our community, unfortunately.”

In 2015, the first year, Daniels was able to eight restaurants to participate. What happened next was something that she did not anticipate: $85,000 was spent in one week and 38 jobs were created.

Because of job creation a lot the staff was able to stay on board full time.

“This will be the second year. Really, what happened is I’m a big fan of Downtown Dining Week. I have a company that does a lot of social media for different companies in the city — Cynthia Daniels & Co. So, I was working with HM Dessert Lounge. She opened up November 2015. That’s during the same time as Downtown Dining Week.”

This year, participating restaurants will feature a two-course lunch for $15 and a three-course dinner for $25.

Daniels who seeks to provide a holistic experience for those in attendance, for example this year during Black Restaurant Week Two Vegan Sistas will be on the roster. Two Vegan Sistas is a vegan restaurant in the Summer-Bartlett area which serves only gluten free foods and is about holistic eating.

HM Dessert Lounge, who does chicken and waffles will be participating again this year. Fran Mosely the owner says Black Restaurant Week brought exposure to his restaurant and other restaurants.

“It brought folks from around the tri-state. So, we had folks from Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas. We also had folks from Louisiana, Texas, Chicago that came in to support the effort to bring awareness and drive revenue to some small restaurants that are owned by African-Americans” Mosley said.

If you’re in the area or are interested in participating you can find out more information on their website here: https://www.blackrestaurantweek.com/memphis

Earlier this week, an article was published on WREG (an NBC affiliate in Memphis)’s website, which reported the Memphis police’s alleged crackdown on crime in the Binghampton area of Memphis.

Tuesday (January 26), court injunctions were placed on two gangs, the Vicelords and the Grape Street Crips.

To the uninformed masses, this would appear to be a noble deed committed by the Memphis police. On the contrary, gang injunctions have had a notorious history of singling out innocent Black males (just because they randomly knew of a gang member, for example), and often gives municipalities in urban areas across the U.S. reason to gentrify traditionally Black neighborhoods.

We will continue to keep you informed of further developments as it pertains to this story.

B. Clark

The woman, named Alexis Cain, was sentenced to two years in prison after leaving her puppy in the car on a hot July afternoon. Although the puppy succumbed to the summer heat while sitting in the car, the owner of the dog (Cain) had no intent to inflict harm upon the animal.

The 24-year-Cain, who worked in a supervisory role at her job, displayed the ability to be a responsible young adult, despite what state prosecutor, Eric Christiansen says. ““I think it’s fair,” he says. “She left the dog in there for two hours. She killed the dog, basically. Just let it cook to death.”

The two year prison sentence is excessive due to the nature of the crime, yet Christiansen states that it was done to make an example out of people who may do what Ms. Cain did back in July. Alexis Cain is eligible for a program that would enable her to do her time outside of prison with stipulations of good behavior.

Regardless of the fact that she is granted such an opportunity, this is yet another example of the lives of animals being valued over the lives of Black humans. In the process, another Black life (Cain’s) has been made more difficult for trivial purposes.

For more on this story, follow this link.

B. Clark