mlk50

Top Democrats stump for Pearson at Memphis rally

Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (from left), Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee stand with Tennessee state representative Justin J. Pearson at a rally for Pearson’s congressional run at New ...
mlk50

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 ...
mlk50

Shelby County is jailing more children, even as serious crimes committed by youth fall

A view of the Juvenile Court building in downtown Memphis. Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America When Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon ran against former Juvenile Court ...
mlk50

We asked every member of Memphis’ new ‘Integrity Policing’ task force where they ...

Clockwise from top left: Rev. Keith Norman; Dr. Audrey Townsel; Daniel Kiel; Toney Armstrong; Amber Sherman; Lucian Dervan; Zayid Saleem; Austin Wyatt, Sr.; Rev. Rosalyn Nichols (center) Photo ...
mlk50

Just 2% of immigration arrests by Memphis Safe Task Force were for violent crime, records show

Elmer, a street vendor from Honduras, said he saw three immigrants arrested by federal agents near his shoe stand in Memphis. Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America This article ...
mlk50

Power and controversy: Why the Juvenile Court Judge election matters

The Shelby County Juvenile Court has been led by Judge Dan Michael since 2014. A Department of Justice investigation found the court treated Black children more harshly than white children, among ...
mlk50

A volunteer observing a traffic stop in Memphis ended up in jail. Should she have been ...

Tennessee Highway Patrol and federal agents in an unmarked car pull away on Carrington Street after law enforcement arrested Jessica Chodor as she observed one of their traffic stops a few minutes ...
mlk50

When eviction is on the line, some judges are helpful. Some are not.

Foot traffic past Room 134, the office for help with Emergency Rental Assistance funds, is seen from a stairwell at the Shelby County Courthouse. Photos by Andrea Morales for MLK50 When tenants on the ...
mlk50

How a Tennessee housing policy concentrates poverty, denies opportunity

Latoya Akinyemi watches her youngest children as the warm-for-winter weather allows them to play outside on a Sunday afternoon. Her 4-year-old son shows off his scooter skills on the driveway, ...
mlk50

A court ruled that ICE’s mandatory detention policy violated immigrants’ rights. For ...

Lauren Ashe Cuautle sits next to the empty chair her husband, Bryan, usually sits in when hanging out in their yard. Bryan has been in ICE custody since November 2025. Photo by Andrea Morales / MLK50 ...
mlk50

Video shows MPD worked with ICE to identify 18-year-old soccer player before his two-month ...

A screenshot from body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows Memphis Police Officers and Homeland Security agents working together to see which passengers they could detain ...
mlk50

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 ...