MLK50: Justice Through JournalismOpinion

AI Memes: Public safety, transparency or shock factor?

Posts like this make it more difficult for him to do his job because the public believes all law enforcement officers “think ...
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Want to support the library worker’s charter referendum? Here’s how to vote.

On the last page of the Nov. 3 ballot, there’s a proposed change to the City of Memphis charter. It’s wordy, and barely mentions library employees at all, but workers at the Memphis Public Libraries ...
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A new bill would limit bail funds, leaving fewer defendants in Memphis with access to community support

The Bail Hearing Room at the Shelby County Justice Center is seen on April 2. Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America Laramie Wheeler walked into a dim room at the Walter L ...
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‘It hurts my heart’: Senior voters reflect on state redistricting that will strip Memphis of representation

A Memphis resident’s ‘I Voted’ sticker is seen after voting in the primary election on Tuesday. Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America Memphis voters braved the rain Tuesday ...
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‘We deserve to breathe clean air’: Southwest Memphians take on Elon Musk’s xAI

Easter Knox (center) stands for a portrait at her home. Knox is a longtime Boxtown resident. Photos by Lucy Garrett for MLK50 Easter Knox’s brick home in Boxtown has a garden, space for her dog to run ...
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No school, no fresh air and isolated

David spent eight months incarcerated at the Youth Justice and Education Center. Center portrait by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report for America; Image of the Shelby County Youth and ...
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State Rep. Justin J. Pearson to challenge U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen

State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, seen here in a 2023 constituent meeting at the Tennessee State Capitol, announced his intention to run for U.S. Congress. Photo by Andrea Morales / MLK50 State Rep.
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Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s push for Elon Musk’s xAI data center

Photo illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica. Source images: Andrea Morales/MLK50, screenshot by MLK50, U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley via Wikimedia Commons Marilyn Gooch was already ...
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Union push is about more than pay, library workers say

Some of the library workers who are a part of the Memphis Public Library Workers United union sit for a portrait at Crosstown Concourse. Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report for ...
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FedEx says it’s a safe workplace. So why is Jessica James dead?

Jessica James had to get up and down that ramp. Her job at FedEx’s World Hub was to help ensure the trucks in her area were loaded and unloaded on time. That meant navigating forklifts on sloped ramps ...
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Memphis had another shameful tragedy in 1968. It could have been avoided

On Feb. 1, 1968, an especially rainy Thursday afternoon, city sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker took shelter in the back of a garbage truck when it malfunctioned. They were pulled into ...