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Posts by Katherine Burgess

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Trump’s Memphis Crime Task Force Arrested Over 800 Immigrants, Records Show. Only 2% of the Arrests Were for Violent Crimes. Businesses closed. Churches emptied. Parents afraid to take kids to school. Advocates say what was supposed to be a crime-fighting effort is keeping a community in fear.

This powerful collaboration between @mlk50.com's @wendicthomas.bsky.social + @kathsburgess.bsky.social & @propublica.org data journalist @nmcmillan.bsky.social takes us inside Parkway Village, where more immigration arrests occurred than any other part of Memphis.

1 week ago 1 1 1 0
IRE statement on FBI raid of Hannah Natanson’s home IRE strongly condemns the raid of a Washington Post reporter’s home by the FBI, purportedly in an effort to seize classified documents provided to the reporter as she investigates President Donald Tru...

IRE strongly condemns the FBI raid of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's home.

IRE stands with reporter Hannah Natanson and The Washington Post.

Read the rest of our statement: https://bit.ly/4qtP79U

3 months ago 30 16 0 2
Immigration takes center stage as Tennessee legislative session begins Republican leaders are not yet sharing details of a package of bills focused on immigration that leaders have been working on with the White House.

Clergy led a protest to usher in Tennessee's legislative session yesterday, emphasizing the importance of caring for immigrants in an issue that will be central to contentious legislative debates this year, @vivianejones.bsky.social reports: www.tennessean.com/story/news/p...

3 months ago 1 2 0 0

Can I recommend that you get a dictionary? If you want to know what we use, it's Merriam-Webster.

3 months ago 0 0 2 0

I would not agree. The marshal walks in front of the vehicle, but is standing still when the vehicle makes contact with him.

Also, have you seen the video of the two others that were hit? Interesting that THP never released dash cam of that incident...

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

The story also addresses this THP video. The vehicle is clearly moving (you can tell by seeing how the lines on the road continue to disappear until the man is hit, when it stops). There also are videos of other angles that show the vehicle moving.

3 months ago 1 0 1 0
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Definition of HITTING to reach with or as if with a sudden blow; to come in quick forceful contact with; to strike (something, such as a ball) with an object (such as a bat, club, or racket) so as to impart or redirect mot...

Hello, we use Merriam-Webster's definitions when trying to find the best word to use. You can see their definitions of "hitting" here. Definitions here include: "to come into contact with something" and "to come in quick forceful contact with."

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/h...

3 months ago 0 0 2 0
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A peaceful anti-ICE march turned ugly when the Tennessee Highway Patrol drove into the crowd, hitting at least three people Tennessee State Troopers yell at demonstrators after detaining Rebecca Leathers during the "ICE Out for Good" demonstration along Summer Avenue on Jan. 11

A peaceful anti-ICE march turned ugly when the Tennessee Highway Patrol drove into the crowd, hitting at least three people mlk50.com/2026/01/13/a...

3 months ago 2 0 1 1
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In Memphis, volunteers document Task Force arrests and provide aid to those left behind • Tennessee Lookout Vecindarios 901, a Memphis rapid response network to report on Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities, tracks task force arrests.

The volunteer group, Vecindarios 901, responded to 3-5 calls each day about immigration enforcement activities in Memphis during the first Trump administration. Now it gets up to 140 calls daily. From @anitawadhwani.bsky.social.

4 months ago 6 3 0 1
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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

New from me @mlk50.com: Union push is about more than pay, library workers say mlk50.com/2025/12/03/u...

4 months ago 1 1 0 0
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1/THREAD: A surge of traffic stops in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods in #Memphis has given state troopers & federal agents broad power to decide residents’ fates. Over 2 nights, MLK50 documented traffic stops initiated for minor violations that escalated into immigration checks & arrests.👇

4 months ago 2 2 1 0
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MLK50 Year-End Fundraising Campaign We're raising $50,000 to fuel community-centered, accountability reporting in Memphis.

Happy Giving Tuesday! At MLK50, we’re working hard on end-of-year stories and planning for 2026. If you’d like to join us in that effort to report news that’s rooted in Memphis, please consider donating!

givebutter.com/rootedinmemp...

4 months ago 0 0 0 0
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“I Don’t Feel Safe”: Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force A pastor was pulled over for looking lost. A 72-year-old was marched out in his bathrobe due to mistaken identity. Memphis’ mayor welcomed the federal law enforcement surge, but some residents say the...

The Rev. ELaura James Reid was pulled over by a man in fatigues for “driving unsure,” despite obeying traffic rules: “I don’t think it fits the narrative of stopping violent criminals, unless you driving down the street is considered violent.”

By @wendicthomas.bsky.social @kathsburgess.bsky.social

5 months ago 674 259 20 8
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MLK50 Year-End Fundraising Campaign We're raising $50,000 to fuel community-centered, accountability reporting in Memphis.

MLK50 is raising funding to fuel community-centered, accountability journalism in Memphis. I hope you'll join us in this work!

givebutter.com/rootedinmemp...

5 months ago 0 0 0 0
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A volunteer observing a traffic stop in Memphis ended up in jail. Should she have been arrested? 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 …

Tennessee’s new 25-foot “buffer” law is beginning to reshape how the public interacts with police. One Memphis woman’s arrest calls into question whether documenting officers is still a protected right.

Read more here 👇

5 months ago 4 2 0 1
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“I Don’t Feel Safe”: Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force A pastor was pulled over for looking lost. A 72-year-old was marched out in his bathrobe due to mistaken identity. Memphis’ mayor welcomed the federal law enforcement surge, but some residents say the...

Phillip Lewis, a 72-year-old cancer patient, said he was woken up and marched outside his home in his robe and underwear before federal officers even checked his ID.

He was not, it turned out, the man they were looking for.

By @wendicthomas.bsky.social & @kathsburgess.bsky.social

5 months ago 2696 1325 48 39
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They were sleeping, driving, walking in Memphis. Then Trump’s police task force came. Officers with the Memphis Safe Task Force, created by President Donald Trump to target violent crime, conduct a traffic stop on Summer Avenue near N.

They were sleeping, driving, walking in Memphis. Then Trump’s police task force came. Read the latest from 👇
@wendicthomas.bsky.social @kathsburgess.bsky.social
@propublica.org
mlk50.com/2025/11/03/t...

5 months ago 86 28 2 2
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Shelby Co officials sue Gov. Bill Lee over National Guard deployment • Tennessee Lookout Shelby County officials late Friday filed suit against Gov. Bill Lee and other state leaders, seeking an immediate halt to the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis, which they say violates the ...

Shelby Co officials sue Gov. Bill Lee over National Guard deployment, alleging it's in violation of both the Tennessee Constitution and state law

A Nashville judge has set a Nov. 3 hearing date to consider a temporary injunction

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/17/s... @anitawadhwani.bsky.social

6 months ago 47 18 1 0
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More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
www.propublica.org/article/immi... @propublica.org

6 months ago 2 3 0 0
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Memphis tightens scrutiny on the unhoused as task force arrives, but offers no funding to help them find shelter A person and their belongings rest on a bench in Civic Center Plaza. Photo by Andrea Morales/MLK50 Rick was charging his phone at an outdoor power outlet

As Memphis' law enforcement crackdown ramps up, I talked to some of our most vulnerable neighbors: unhoused people.

The city says it's eager to get them off the streets-- but hasn't offered any plan or directed any funding to do so.

My latest for @mlk50.com:
mlk50.com/2025/10/15/m...

6 months ago 3 1 0 0
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Bill Lee said people arrested by task force are “violent criminals and known gang members.” Data show that’s not true. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a Tuesday morning press conference with Memphis Mayor Paul Young at the temporary command center for the Memphis Safe Task Force. Photo by Andrea Morales / MLK…

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism obtained a report on one day’s worth of activities of the ‘Memphis Safe Task Force.’ It contradicts claims made by the governor about how the task force is focused on violent criminals. mlk50.co/4qkfz6b

6 months ago 1 5 0 1
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Memphis tightens scrutiny on the unhoused as task force arrives, but offers no funding to help them find shelter A person and their belongings rest on a bench in Civic Center Plaza. Photo by Andrea Morales/MLK50 Rick was charging his phone at an outdoor power outlet

Memphis tightens scrutiny on the unhoused as task force arrives, but offers no funding to help them find shelter mlk50.com/2025/10/15/m... From @narwhallington.bsky.social

6 months ago 1 1 0 0
National Guard troops join Memphis Safe Task Force, begin patrols in city The National Guard troops are part of a multi-agency task force meant to suppress crime in Memphis. Guard troops started patrolling on Oct. 10, 2025.

Well, they’re here and they’re armed: www.commercialappeal.com/picture-gall...

6 months ago 0 0 0 0
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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. Ju…

Justin J. Pearson, known for his environmental activism and his expulsion from the Tennessee Statehouse over gun control advocacy, is now seeking to challenge a longstanding U.S. congressman mlk50.co/473XBvR

6 months ago 3 2 0 0
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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.

State Rep. Justin J. Pearson to challenge U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen mlk50.com/2025/10/08/s...

6 months ago 0 0 0 0
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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

An important story from my colleague Rebecca Cadenhead @mlk50.com: No school, no fresh air and isolated mlk50.com/2025/10/01/n...

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