Trailblazer: Judge W. Otis Higgs

Services are pending for Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs, who died Friday after working earlier in the day before going home ill. He was 75.

Judge Higgs was rushed to a hospital by ambulance following a collapse at his home in East Memphis.

History will note Mr. Higgs as the first African American to serve as sheriff in Shelby County.

Cohen and the difficult decision

Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis said the decision to publicly acknowledge he had a daughter he didn't know about until three years ago was difficult for both of them.

In an interview with CNN's "The Situation Room" on Friday, Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat, described how an Internet search for a former romantic interest led him to discover the woman has a daughter. She bears a striking resemblance to him.

"My staff people looked at her pictures and they said, 'I think she's your daughter,'" Cohen told CNN's Kate Bolduan.

100-year-old COGIC Bishop A. E. Reed dies

Bishop Albert E. Reed, the longest living bishop in the Church Of God In Christ, died Monday at the age of 100.

Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, COGIC founder, ordained and consecrated Reed, a bishop in COGIC in 1948. He pastored several COGIC churches in six states, including California, Montana, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and Tennessee. He was a jurisdictional prelate for 27 years in the COGIC Montana jurisdiction.

Bishop Reed was born in 1912 in Okemah, Okla. A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Bristow, Okla., he received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration from Alexander Hamilton School of Business in New York City. He later earned a doctorate in Theology from Bishops College in Marshall, Texas.

The Extraordinary Bold Souls of African Kinship Exhibition

Dr. Carnita Atwater is a force. "The Extraordinary Bold Souls of African Kinship Exhibition" is evidence of what she can muscle up.

A native of Clarksdale, Miss., Atwater has traveled to myriad parts of the world in search-and-retrieval mode, always on the look out for pieces to add to her artful narrative history of African and African-American people.

You don't have to travel out of the city to get a glimpse for yourself. In celebration of African American History Month, two versions of her exhibition prowess are on display at the Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library and the Cossitt Library down.

Accused, jailed and acquitted, Southwest player makes comeback

As I entered the gym of Southwest Tennessee Community College on Union Ave., I could hear the basketballs bouncing on the hardwood floors. The stopping-and-going sounds made by the sneakers were sharp and precise as the Saluqis players moved in rhythm.

This was pre-practice, where some of interim coach Kevin Whitted players show up early – for the betterment of the team – to work on the individual things they haven't perfected yet. Free throws, left-handed lay-ups, catch-and-shoot three pointers all help the team.

Crime keys ‘Operation Take Back’

A long-awaited chance to vent at the Memphis Police Department?

No, that wasn't the idea behind the Operation Take Back town hall meeting hosted Tuesday night by the Memphis chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Convened at Mt. Moriah East Baptist Church, 1248 Haynes St., the meeting put Mayor AC Wharton Jr. and MPD Director Toney Armstrong in position to respond to citizen concerns and hear recommendations about police conduct, policies and procedures.

TSD Women of Excellence gala set for April 27

The New Tri-State Defender will honor and recognize the ­significant ­achievements, contributions and work of outstanding African-American women from the Greater Memphis community during its sixth annual Women of Excellence Brunch and Awards Celebration at the Memphis Botanic Gardens on April 27.

"Women have long been the backbone of our community, contributing significantly to our growth and progress," said TSD President/ Publisher Bernal E. Smith II. "They deserve a day of recognition and reward for all they do and for all they mean to us."

Math teacher picks up from football player’s handoff

If I told you that 1+1= 2, you'd agree. If I told you that 2+2= 4, you'd say right on. If I told you that 4+4= 8, you'd say OK, now make your point.

Our simple addition here is 100 percent correct, but I'm not handing out any cookies. Why? Because I see another law at work. The one where 1+1 just may equal millions.

That's the way Christopher Ryan Marve sees it. He's an educator, and educators – the ones who are really serious about their profession – must see it this way.

Street buzz: The next school superintendent

What would you like to see in and/or from the superintendent who is hired to run the Unified School District?

Jeff Shelton

"(Homegrown) with some national enlightenment as to the inner workings of a large urban district....This is a grand opportunity for the district to access the wealth of young talent and their ideas as to how to guide this unique educational experience with the new consolidated system. Though an educational background is important, someone with stringent leadership abilities and a keen sense of community and diversity will be of great value....The key is to place the dollar value in the education of the student and not so much the administration."

What state is Shelby County in?

Asked by the Kiwanis Club to speak on the "State of the County," Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. vowed not to " sugar coat things."

"We have serious issues that are facing our county," said Luttrell, speaking Wednesday at the University Club on Central at Lamar. "Issues that require aggressive leadership and collaboration – issues like education, crime, blight, access to healthcare, juvenile court reform, government inefficiencies, and lack of job growth.

"If we bring the right people to the table, have candid discussions, and educate the public, I believe we can overcome these challenges."

Changes in 2013-14 student transfer process

"Instead of getting in line, parents will get online," says William White, executive director of Research, Assessment, Evaluation and Student Information at Memphis City Schools.

White's words concisely describe the new General Choice Transfer process, designed as an easier way for parents to apply for student transfers in the public school system.

Starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb, 15, and running through April 1, parents throughout Memphis and Shelby County may apply for student transfers for 2013-14 using any available computer with Internet access without standing in line.

U of M set to host ‘The Warmth of Other Suns’ author

Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, will deliver the Belle McWilliams Lecture in American History at the University of Memphis on Thursday evening.

The first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, Wilkerson will speak during an event that begins with a reception at Rose Theatre at 6 p.m. Her lecture is set for 6:30 p.m.

In her book, "The Warmth of Other Suns," Wilkerson describes one of the great under-reported stories of twentieth-century American history: the "Great Migration" of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. She tells the story of three who made the journey, of the forces that compelled them to leave, and of the many others – famous and not so famous – who went as far as they could to realize the American Dream.